A method, device and readable storage medium for uplink switching

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, device and readable storage medium for uplink switching, the method comprising: receiving switching capability information sent by a user equipment, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; determining switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, a first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and a second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier; and sending the switching time configuration information to the user equipment. In the method of the present disclosure, the network equipment can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information for the uplink switching of the user equipment according to the switching time length and the timing advance values of the two uplink carriers. This is conducive to the user equipment to better complete the uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network equipment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly relates to a method, device and readable storage medium for uplink switching. BACKGROUND

[0002] A user equipment (UE) can switch the carrier frequency of uplink through uplink switching (UL switching) to achieve better uplink coverage and uplink transmission rate capability. At present, the UE can perform uplink switching between two uplink carriers of co-sited base stations, such as uplink switching between two uplink carriers of the same base station, or uplink switching between uplink carriers of two base stations in the same site.

[0003] The problem of uplink switching between uplink carriers of base stations in different geographical locations needs to be solved. SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides a method, device and readable storage medium for uplink switching.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for uplink switching, performed by a network device, and the method comprises:

[0006] receiving switching capability information sent by a user equipment, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier;

[0007] determining switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, a first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and a second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier;

[0008] sending the switching time configuration information to the user equipment.

[0009] In the method of the present disclosure, the network device learns the switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching capability information reported by the user equipment. On this basis, the network device can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information for the user equipment to perform uplink switching according to the switching time length and the timing advance values of the two uplink carriers. This is conducive to the user equipment to better complete uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network device.

[0010] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time configuration information is used to indicate a switching start time of the user equipment.

[0011] In some possible implementation, the determining the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier comprises:

[0012] In response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value and the first difference value being greater than the switching time length, determining that the switching start time is located in a first interval;

[0013] wherein the first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and an end position of the first interval is a first time length after the start position of the first interval, and the first time length is a difference between the first difference value and the switching time length.

[0014] In some possible implementation, the determining the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier comprises:

[0015] In response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value and the first difference value being less than the switching time length, determining that the switching start time is a first time position;

[0016] wherein the first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, and the second time length is a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

[0017] In some possible implementation, the method further comprises:

[0018] sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0019] In some possible implementation, the method further comprises:

[0020] determining a first number of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot;

[0021] sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate the first number.

[0022] In some possible implementation, the determining the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier comprises:

[0023] in response to the first TA value being less than the second TA value, determining the switching start time as a second time position;

[0024] wherein the second time position is located at a third time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the third time length being a sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, the first difference value being a difference between the first TA value and the second TA value.

[0025] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0026] sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0027] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0028] determining a second number of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot;

[0029] sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate the second number.

[0030] In a second aspect, an uplink switching method is provided, which is performed by a user equipment and includes:

[0031] sending, to a network device, switching capability information, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier;

[0032] receiving switching time configuration information sent by the network device;

[0033] switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information.

[0034] In the method of the present disclosure, the user equipment can report its switching capability information to the network device, so as to inform the network device of the switching time length required for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier. In this way, the network device can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information for the user equipment to perform uplink switching according to the switching time length and the TA values of the two uplink carriers. The user equipment performs uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network device, and the uplink switching is more efficient.

[0035] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time configuration information is used to indicate a switching start time of the user equipment.

[0036] In some possible implementation, if the first TA value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second TA value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is greater than the switching time length, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is located in a first interval.

[0037] The first difference value is a difference between the first TA value and the second TA value, a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and an end position of the first interval is the start position of the first interval plus a first time length, and the first time length is a difference between the first difference value and the switching time length.

[0038] In some possible implementation, if the first TA value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second TA value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is less than the switching time length, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a first time position.

[0039] The first difference value is a difference between the first TA value and the second TA value, and the first time position is a second time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second time length is a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

[0040] In some possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0041] receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot;

[0042] According to the uplink scheduling configuration information, no uplink data is sent in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0043] In some possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0044] receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate a first number of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot;

[0045] According to the uplink scheduling configuration information, no uplink data is sent in the first number of symbols starting from the switching start time in the first time slot.

[0046] In some possible implementation manners, if the first TA value of the first uplink carrier is smaller than the second TA value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a second time position.

[0047] The second time position is located at a third time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the third time length is a sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, and the first difference value is a difference between the first TA value and the second TA value.

[0048] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0049] receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot;

[0050] According to the uplink scheduling configuration information, no uplink data is sent in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0051] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes:

[0052] receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate a second number of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot;

[0053] According to the uplink scheduling configuration information, no uplink data is sent in the second number of symbols in the first time slot starting from the switching start time.

[0054] In a third aspect, an apparatus for uplink switching is provided. The apparatus can be configured to perform the steps of the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The apparatus can be implemented by means for performing each of the steps of the methods described above. These means can be one or more of the components of the network device.

[0055] When the apparatus is implemented by means of software modules, the apparatus can include: a transceiver module and a processing module coupled to each other, wherein the transceiver module can be configured to support the communication apparatus to communicate, and the processing module can be configured to perform processing operations of the communication apparatus, such as generating information / messages to be sent or processing received signals to obtain information / messages.

[0056] In the execution of the steps of the first aspect, the transceiver module is configured to receive the switching capability information sent by the user equipment, the switching capability information being used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier; the processing module is configured to determine the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier; and the transceiver module is further configured to send the switching time configuration information to the user equipment.

[0057] In the fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device for uplink switching, which can be used to execute the steps performed by the user equipment in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect. The user equipment can implement the functions in the above methods in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module.

[0058] In the implementation of the device in the fourth aspect by a software module, the device can include a transceiver module and a processing module which are coupled to each other. The transceiver module can be used to support the communication device to communicate, and the processing module can be used for the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information / messages to be sent or processing received signals to obtain information / messages.

[0059] In the execution of the steps of the second aspect, the transceiver module is configured to send the switching capability information to the network equipment, the switching capability information being used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier; the transceiver module is further configured to receive the switching time configuration information sent by the network equipment; and the processing module is configured to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information.

[0060] In the fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0061] In the sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic device including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0062] In the seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions (or computer programs, programs) therein, when the instructions are invoked to execute on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0063] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions (or a computer program, a program) that, when invoked to execute on a computer, causes the computer to execute the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0064] It should be understood that the general description above and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and are not limiting to the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0065] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and the principles thereof, and are used for explaining the present disclosure, and do not limit the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0066] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and the principles thereof, and are used for explaining the present disclosure, and do not limit the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0067] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system architecture provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0068] Figure 2 is an interaction diagram of a method for uplink switching according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0069] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0070] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0071] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0072] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0073] Figure 7 is a time slot diagram of two uplink carriers according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0074] Figure 8 is a time slot diagram of two uplink carriers according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0075] Figure 9 is a time slot diagram of two uplink carriers according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0076] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a method of uplink switching according to an example embodiment;

[0077] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus of uplink switching according to an example embodiment;

[0078] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an example embodiment;

[0079] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus of uplink switching according to an example embodiment;

[0080] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0082] The example embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements, unless otherwise specified. The following example embodiments described in the following detailed description are not meant to be all inclusive or to be the only embodiments that are consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0083] The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0084] It is to be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used herein to describe various information, the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one piece of information from another. For example, a first information can also be termed a second information, and, similarly, a second information can also be termed a first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Depending on the context, the word "if' and "when' as used herein can be interpreted to mean "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to a determination."

[0085] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein the same or like reference numerals and characters throughout the figures denote the same or like elements. The embodiments described below are exemplary and are intended to provide examples of the present disclosure and not limit the present disclosure.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, which can be applied to a wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 can include, but is not limited to, a network device 101 and a user equipment 102. The user equipment 102 is configured to support carrier aggregation, and the user equipment 102 can be connected to multiple carrier units of the network device 101, including a primary carrier unit and one or more secondary carrier units. Figure 1

[0087] It should be understood that the above wireless communication system 100 can be applied to both low frequency scenarios and high frequency scenarios. The application scenarios of the wireless communication system 100 include, but are not limited to, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a cloud radio access network (CRAN) system, a future 5th-Generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR) communication system, or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) system, etc.

[0088] The above user equipment 102 can be a user equipment (UE), a terminal, an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent, or a user equipment, etc. The user equipment 102 can have a wireless transceiving function, which can communicate (e.g., wirelessly communicate) with one or more network devices 101 of one or more communication systems and accept network services provided by the network device 101, where the network device 101 includes, but is not limited to, a base station.

[0089] ​The user equipment 102 can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device having wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a user equipment in a future 5G network, or a user equipment in a future evolved PLMN network, and the like.

[0090] The network device 101 can be an access network device (or an access network site). The access network device refers to a device having a network access function, such as a radio access network (RAN) base station, and the like. The network device can specifically include a base station (BS) device, or include a base station device and a radio resource management device for controlling the base station device, and the like. The network device can also include a relay station (relay device), an access point, a base station in a future 5G network, a base station in a future evolved PLMN network, or an NR base station, and the like. The network device can be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device. The network device can also be a communication chip having a communication module.

[0091] For example, the network device 101 includes, but is not limited to, a next generation base station (gnodeB, gNB) in 5G, an evolved node B (eNB) in an LTE system, a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB) in a WCDMA system, a radio controller under a CRAN system, a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, a home base station (for example, a home evolved node B, or a home node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a mobile switching center, and the like.

[0092] For the scenario that two uplink carriers are in the co-sited base station, based on the fact that there is only one distance value from the UE to the co-sited base station, the timing advance values (TA) of the two uplink carriers belong to the same timing advance group (TAG), and thus the TA of the two uplink carriers is the same.

[0093] For the scenario that two uplink carriers are in different geographical position base stations, the distance from the UE to the different geographical position base stations and the transmission path loss are different, the TA of the two uplink carriers is different and located in different TAGs. Therefore, for the UE, the time advance of the two uplink carriers relative to the downlink carrier is inconsistent, and the two uplink carriers cannot be aligned in time. In this scenario, the UE involves switching in different TAGs when switching uplink, and the switching time needs to be reasonably configured to overcome the influence of the overlap of the TA of the two uplink carriers.

[0094] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for uplink switching, Figure 2 The method for uplink switching is shown in a flowchart according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in the figure, the method comprises steps S201-S206, specifically: Figure 2

[0095] In step S201, the user equipment 102 sends switching capability information to the network device 101, and the switching capability information is used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0096] In step S202, the network device 101 receives the switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, and the switching capability information is used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0097] In step S203, the network device 101 determines the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier.

[0098] In step S204, the network device 101 sends the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0099] In step S205, the user equipment 102 receives the switching time configuration information sent by the network device 101.

[0100] In step S206, the user equipment 102 switches from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information.

[0101] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time length can be carried in the switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102 in a set of two or more bit positions.​

[0102] In some possible implementation manners, the first uplink carrier CC1 and the second uplink carrier CC2 correspond to base stations in different geographical locations. The timing advance values of the two uplink carriers belong to different TAGs.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment 102 reports the switching capability information of the user equipment 102 to the network device 101 according to the switching capability of the user equipment 102, so as to inform the network device 101 of the switching time length required for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier. After learning the switching time length, the network device 101 can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information for the uplink switching of the user equipment 102 according to the switching time length and the timing advance values of the two uplink carriers. The user equipment 102 performs the uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network device 101, and more efficiently completes the uplink switching and saves network overhead.

[0104] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to an example embodiment, as Figure 3 shown, the method comprises steps S301-S303:

[0105] Step S301, receiving the switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, the switching capability information being used to indicate the switching time length required for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier by the user equipment 102.

[0106] Step S302, determining the switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier.

[0107] Step S303, sending the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0108] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time length from the first uplink carrier CC1 to the second uplink carrier CC2 indicated in the switching capability information is Ts.

[0109] In some possible implementation manners, the first timing advance value of CC1 is NTA1, the second timing advance value of CC2 is NTA2, there is a difference between NTA1 and NTA2, and NTA1 and NTA2 belong to different TAGs. The network device 101 can determine reasonable switching time configuration information according to the relationship among Ts, NTA1 and NTA2.

[0110] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time configuration information is used to indicate the switching start time of the user equipment 102.

[0111] In one example, if NTA1 > NTA2, combined Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, network device 101 can configure the handover start time using the time domain interval between the end position of the first timeslot of CC1 and the start position of the second timeslot of CC2. This ensures that uplink transmission is not affected before and after the uplink handover.

[0112] In one example, if NTA1 < NTA2, then... Figure 9 As shown, network device 101 can utilize a portion of the time domain interval before the end of the first timeslot of CC1 to configure the handover start time, ensuring that uplink transmission is unaffected before and after the uplink handover.

[0113] In the method disclosed herein, network device 101 obtains the handover duration required for user equipment 102 to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier based on the handover capability information reported by user equipment 102. Based on this, network device 101 can configure more reasonable uplink handover time configuration information for user equipment 102, such as the handover start time, according to the handover duration and the timing advance values ​​of the two uplink carriers. This facilitates user equipment 102 in better completing uplink handover based on the handover time configuration information configured by network device 101.

[0114] This disclosure provides an uplink handover method applied to network device 101. Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an uplink handover method according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the method includes steps S401 to S403:

[0115] Step S401: Receive handover capability information sent by user equipment 102. The handover capability information is used to indicate the handover duration required for user equipment 102 to handover from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0116] Step S402: In response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and the first difference being greater than the handover duration, it is determined that the handover start time is within the first interval;

[0117] Wherein, the first difference is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, the starting position of the first interval is the ending position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the ending position of the first interval is the first duration after the starting position of the first interval, and the first duration is the difference between the first difference and the handover duration.

[0118] Step S403: Send handover time configuration information to user equipment 102.

[0119] In some possible implementations, when NTA1 > NTA2, the first difference Td is recorded as NTA1 - NTA2. Based on the relationship between the first difference Td and the handover duration Ts, the handover start time configured for network device 101 varies. For example... Figure 7 As shown, when NTA1 > NTA2 and Td > Ts, Td corresponds to the time domain interval between the end position of the first time slot (n-1) and the start position of the second time slot (n), and Ts is located within Td. Network device 101 can configure the handover start time within the time domain interval corresponding to Td.

[0120] In some possible implementations, the time domain interval defined by the first interval is contained within Td, and the start position t1 and end position t2 of the first interval can be referenced. Figure 7 The indicated position is shown, where t1 is the end position of the first time slot (n-1). The switching start time is configured in the first interval [t1, t2].

[0121] In one example, t2 is the latest time domain position that can be configured for the switching start position. The time domain interval between t2 and the start position of the second time slot should not be less than the switching duration Ts. That is, the first duration corresponding to the first interval should satisfy: first duration = Td - Ts.

[0122] In one example, the handover start time is configured at position t1, and the handover duration is Ts. User equipment 102 can complete the handover from the first uplink carrier CC1 to the second uplink carrier CC2 within Td. In this example, network device 101 can issue normal uplink scheduling configuration information so that user equipment 102 can send the corresponding uplink data in the first time slot of CC1 and the corresponding uplink data in the second time slot of CC2.

[0123] In one example, the handover start position is configured at position t2, and the handover duration is Ts. User equipment 102 can still complete the handover from the first uplink carrier CC1 to the second uplink carrier CC2 within Td. Correspondingly, network equipment 101 can still send out normal uplink scheduling configuration information.

[0124] In the method of this embodiment, in the scenario where NTA1>NTA2 and Td>Ts, network device 101 can configure the handover start time within a first interval so that the handover duration can be fully configured within the first difference Td between the two uplink carriers. Thus, user equipment 102 can complete the uplink handover within Td according to the handover start time indicated by the handover configuration information, and the normal uplink data transmission of the first and second time slots will not be affected before or after the uplink handover.

[0125] This disclosure provides an uplink handover method applied to network device 101. Figure 5is a flow chart of a method for uplink switching according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figure 5 The method includes steps S501-S503.

[0126] In step S501, the network device 101 receives the switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, and the switching capability information is used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0127] In step S502, in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and the first difference value being less than the switching time length, the network device 101 determines the switching start time as the first time position.

[0128] The first difference value is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, the first time position is located at the second time length before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second time length is the difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

[0129] In step S503, the network device 101 sends the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0130] In some possible implementation manners, the method is used in combination with Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 6, when NTA1>NTA2 and Td<Ts, Td still corresponds to the time domain interval between the end position of the first time slot slot(n-1) and the start position of the second time slot slot n, and at this time, Ts includes Td and a part of the first time slot slot(n-1). The network device 101 configures the switching start time in the time domain interval corresponding to Td.

[0131] In some possible implementation manners, the first time position t3 and the end position t1 of the first time slot can refer to the positions shown in FIG. 7, the switching start time is configured at t3, and the switching time length Ts satisfies Ts=second time length+Td, and the second time length is Ts-Td. Figure 8

[0132] In the scenario of NTA1>NTA2 and Td<Ts in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 101 can still configure the switching time by using Td. In the scenario of the present disclosure, the first time position is configured as the switching start time, which is beneficial to ensure that the switching time length can occupy Td to the maximum extent, and reserve additional switching time in the first time slot. In order to facilitate the user equipment 102 to effectively realize uplink switching and reduce the impact on uplink data transmission in the first time slot when performing uplink switching.

[0133] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, and the method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can include steps S501-S504.

[0134] ​Step S501, receiving switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0135] Step S502, in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and the first difference value being less than the switching time length, determining the switching start time as the first time position.

[0136] The first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, and the second time length is a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

[0137] Step S503, sending switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0138] Step S504, sending uplink scheduling configuration information to the user equipment 102, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment 102 is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot.

[0139] In some possible implementation manners, the method is combined with Figure 8 As shown in the figure, for a first time length part in the first time slot occupied by a time domain interval between the switching start time t3 and the end position t1 of the first time slot, i.e. the switching time length Ts, the network device 101 can indicate, through the downlink sent uplink scheduling configuration information, that the user equipment 102 does not send uplink data in this first time length.

[0140] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 101 effectively indicates, through the downlink sent uplink scheduling configuration information, that the user equipment 102 avoids the part of the first time slot occupied by the switching time length in the uplink data sending process. This is conducive to uplink data sending in an effective time and avoiding uplink data loss.

[0141] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, and the method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can include steps S501-S503 and steps S505-S506.

[0142] Step S501, receiving switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0143] Step S502, in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and the first difference value being less than the switching time length, determining the switching start time as the first time position.

[0144] The first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, the first time position is located at a second time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second time length is a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

[0145] In step S503, the network device 101 sends the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0146] In step S505, the network device 101 determines a first quantity of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0147] In step S506, the network device 101 sends the uplink scheduling configuration information to the user equipment 102, where the uplink scheduling configuration information is used to indicate the first quantity.

[0148] In some possible implementation manners, the network device 101 can still determine the first quantity of symbols corresponding to the time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot. Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 6, for the time interval in the first time slot occupied by the switching time length Ts, the network device 101 can further determine a quantity of symbols (i.e., the first quantity) in the time interval. The network device 101 indicates the first quantity in the uplink scheduling configuration information, so that the user equipment 102 determines the symbols occupied by Ts according to the first quantity, and does not perform uplink data transmission in the first quantity of symbols.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 101 indicates the quantity of symbols occupied by the configured switching time length in the first time slot by issuing the uplink scheduling configuration information. In this way, the user equipment 102 does not perform uplink data transmission in the indicated quantity of symbols, so as to avoid uplink data loss.

[0150] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, Figure 6 FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to an example embodiment. Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes steps S601-S603.

[0151] In step S601, the network device 101 receives switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, where the switching capability information is used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier.

[0152] In step S602, in response to the first timing advance value being less than the second timing advance value, the network device 101 determines the switching start time as a second time position.

[0153] The second time position is located at a third time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the third time length is a sum of the switching time length and the first difference value. The first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value.

[0154] Step S603, sending the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0155] In some possible implementation manners, in combination with Figure 9 As shown in the figure, when NTA1 < NTA2, the first difference value Td can correspond to a time domain interval in which the first time slot and the second time slot overlap. The network device 101 can configure the switching start time in the first time slot.

[0156] As shown in the figure, the network device 101 can take the end position t1 of the first time slot as the end position of the switching time in the process of configuring the switching time. The third time length between the second time position t4 and t1 satisfies: the third time length = the switching time length Ts + Td. Figure 9 In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the scenario of NTA1 < NTA2, the network device 101 configures the switching start time before the end of the first time slot, and the user equipment 102 starts the uplink switching before the end of the first time slot and ends the uplink switching at the end of the first time slot according to the configuration of the network device 101.

[0157] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, and the method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can include steps S601-S604.

[0158] Step S601, receiving the switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, the switching capability information being used to indicate the switching time length required by the user equipment 102 for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier.

[0159] Step S602, in response to the first timing advance value being less than the second timing advance value, determining the switching start time as a second time position.

[0160] The second time position is located before a third time length of the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the third time length is the sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, and the first difference value is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value.

[0161] Step S603, sending the switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0162] Step S604, sending the uplink scheduling configuration information to the user equipment 102, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment 102 is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0163]

[0164] ​In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device 101 indicates the user equipment 102 to avoid part of the first time slot occupied by the switching time length in the uplink data sending process by issuing the uplink scheduling configuration information. This is beneficial to uplink data sending in an effective time and avoids uplink data loss.

[0165] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for uplink switching, applied to a network device 101, and the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure can include steps S601-S603 and steps S605-S606.

[0166] Step S601, receiving switching capability information sent by the user equipment 102, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment 102 to switch from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier.

[0167] Step S602, in response to the first timing advance value being less than the second timing advance value, determining a switching start time as a second time position.

[0168] The second time position is located at a third time length before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the third time length is the sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, and the first difference value is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value.

[0169] Step S603, sending switching time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0170] Step S605, determining a second number of symbols corresponding to the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

[0171] Step S606, sending uplink scheduling configuration information to the user equipment 102, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate the second number.

[0172] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device 101 indicates the switching time length configured by the user equipment 102 to occupy the number of symbols in the first time slot by issuing the uplink scheduling configuration information. In order to avoid uplink data loss, the user equipment 102 does not perform uplink data sending in the indicated number of symbols.

[0173] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for uplink switching, applied to a user equipment 102, Figure 10 is a flowchart of a method for uplink switching according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figure 10 The method includes steps S1001-S1003.

[0174] Step S1001, sending switching capability information to the network device 101, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment 102 to switch from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier.

[0175] Step S1002, receiving the switching time configuration information sent by the network device 101.

[0176] Step S1003, switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information.

[0177] In some possible implementation manners, the user equipment 102 can carry the switching duration in two or more bits set in the switching capability information.

[0178] In some possible implementation manners, the switching time configuration information is used to indicate the switching start time of the user equipment.

[0179] In some possible implementation manners, the user equipment 102 performs uplink switching starting from the switching start time configured by the network device 101, and the required switching duration is Ts.

[0180] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment 102 reports its own switching capability information to the network device 101 according to its own switching capability, to inform the network device 101 of the required switching duration of uplink switching. After learning the switching duration, the network device 101 can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information such as the switching start time for the user equipment 102 according to the switching duration and the timing advance values of the two uplink carriers. The user equipment 102 performs uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network device 101, and more efficiently completes the uplink switching.

[0181] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to the user equipment 102, and the method comprises steps S1001-S1003, and in the method:

[0182] If the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is greater than the switching duration, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is located in the first interval;

[0183] The first difference value is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, the start position of the first interval is the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the end position of the first interval is the start position of the first interval plus a first time duration. The first time duration is the difference between the first difference value and the switching duration.

[0184] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in combination with Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 10, in the scenario of NTA1>NTA2 and Td>Ts, the user equipment 102 can complete the uplink switching within the first difference value Td according to the configuration of the network device 101, and the normal uplink data transmission of the first time slot and the second time slot will not be affected before and after the uplink switching.

[0185] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for uplink switching, which is applied to a user equipment 102, and the method comprises the following steps S1001-S1003, and in the method:

[0186] If the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is less than the switching duration, and the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is the first time position;

[0187] The first difference value is the difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, the first time position is located at the second duration before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second duration is the difference between the switching duration and the first difference value.

[0188] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in combination with Figure 8 As shown in the figure, in the scenario of NTA1>NTA2 and TdTs, the user equipment 102 occupies the end part of the first time slot additionally according to the configuration of the network device 101, which can effectively realize the uplink switching and reduce the influence on the uplink data transmission in the first time slot.

[0189] In some possible implementation manners, in the scenario of NTA1>NTA2 and TdTs, the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the following steps S1001-S1005:

[0190] In step S1001, the switching capability information is sent to the network device 101, and the switching capability information is used to indicate the switching duration required by the user equipment 102 for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0191] In step S1002, the switching time configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received.

[0192] In step S1003, the switching time configuration information is used to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0193] In step S1004, the uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received, and the uplink scheduling configuration information is used to indicate that the user equipment 102 is prohibited from sending uplink data in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot;

[0194] In step S1005, the uplink data is not sent in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot according to the uplink scheduling configuration information.

[0195] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment 102 can not send uplink data in the time domain interval for uplink switching according to the uplink scheduling configuration information of the network device 101, so as to avoid the loss of uplink data.

[0196] In some possible implementation, in the scenario where NTA1>NTA2 and Td<Ts, the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can further include steps S1001-S1003 and steps S1006-S1007.

[0197] In step S1001, the network device 101 is sent with switching capability information, and the switching capability information is used to indicate a switching time length required for switching the user equipment 102 from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0198] In step S1002, the network device 101 is received with switching time configuration information.

[0199] In step S1003, the network device 101 is switched from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information.

[0200] In step S1006, the network device 101 is received with uplink scheduling configuration information, and the uplink scheduling configuration information is used to indicate a first quantity of symbols corresponding to a time period between a switching start time and an end position of a first time slot.

[0201] In step S1007, the network device 101 is not sent with uplink data in the first quantity of symbols starting from the switching start time within the first time slot according to the uplink scheduling configuration information.

[0202] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment 102 can not send uplink data in the first quantity of symbols occupied by the switching time according to the uplink scheduling configuration information of the network device 101, so as to avoid loss of uplink data.

[0203] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for uplink switching, applied to the user equipment 102, and the method includes steps S1001-S1003, and in the method:

[0204] If the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is less than the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a second time position;

[0205] The second time position is located before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier by a third time length, and the third time length is a sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, and the first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value.

[0206] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in combination with Figure 9 As shown in FIG. 10, in the scenario where NTA1<NTA2, the user equipment 102 starts uplink switching before the end of the first time slot and ends uplink switching at the end of the first time slot according to the configuration of the network device 101.

[0207] In some possible implementation manners, in the scenario of NTA1 < NTA2, the method comprises steps S1001-S1003 and steps S1009-S1010.

[0208] In step S1001, the switching capability information is sent to the network device 101, and the switching capability information is used to indicate a switching time length required for switching of the user equipment 102 from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0209] In step S1002, the switching time configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received.

[0210] In step S1003, the switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier is performed according to the switching time configuration information.

[0211] In step S1009, the uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received, and the uplink scheduling configuration information is used to indicate that the user equipment 102 is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between a switching start time and an end position of a first time slot.

[0212] In step S1010, the uplink data is not sent in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot according to the uplink scheduling configuration information.

[0213] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment 102 can not perform uplink data sending in the time domain interval of uplink switching according to the uplink scheduling configuration information of the network device 101, so as to avoid uplink data loss.

[0214] In some possible implementation manners, in the scenario of NTA1 < NTA2, the method comprises steps S1001-S1003 and steps S1011-S1012.

[0215] In step S1001, the switching capability information is sent to the network device 101, and the switching capability information is used to indicate a switching time length required for switching of the user equipment 102 from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier.

[0216] In step S1002, the switching time configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received.

[0217] In step S1003, the switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier is performed according to the switching time configuration information.

[0218] In step S1011, the uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device 101 is received, and the uplink scheduling configuration information is used to indicate a second quantity of symbols corresponding to a time interval between a switching start time and an end position of a first time slot.

[0219] Step S1012: According to the uplink scheduling configuration information, no uplink data is transmitted in the second number of symbols starting from the handover start time within the first time slot.

[0220] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the user equipment 102 may, according to the uplink scheduling configuration information of the network equipment 101, refrain from sending uplink data during the second number of symbols occupied by the handover time, so as to avoid uplink data loss.

[0221] Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, this disclosure also provides an uplink switching apparatus. This apparatus may possess the functions of the network device 101 in the above method embodiments and is used to execute the steps performed by the network device 101 provided in the above embodiments. This function can be implemented in hardware, or in software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0222] In one possible implementation, such as Figure 11 The apparatus 1100 shown can serve as the network device 101 involved in the above method embodiments, and perform the steps executed by the network device 101 in the above method embodiments. The apparatus 1100 includes a transceiver module 1101 and a processing module 1102 coupled to each other. The transceiver module 1101 can be used to support communication devices in communication, and the processing module 1102 can be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information / messages to be sent, or processing received signals to obtain information / messages.

[0223] When performing the steps executed by the network device 101, the transceiver module 1101 is used to receive handover capability information sent by the user equipment, the handover capability information being used to indicate the handover duration required for the user equipment 102 to handover from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier; the processing module 1102 is used to determine handover time configuration information based on the handover duration, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier, and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier; the transceiver module 1101 is also used to send the handover time configuration information to the user equipment 102.

[0224] When the communication device is network device 101, its structure can also be as follows: Figure 12 As shown. Figure 12As shown, the device 1200 includes a memory 1201, a processor 1202, a transceiver component 1203, and a power supply component 1206. The memory 1201 is coupled to the processor 1202 and can be used to store the programs and data necessary for the communication device 1200 to implement its various functions. The processor 1202 is configured to support the communication device 1200 in performing the corresponding functions described above; this function can be implemented by calling the programs stored in the memory 1201. The transceiver component 1203 can be a wireless transceiver, used to support the communication device 1200 in receiving signaling and / or data, and transmitting signaling and / or data via a wireless air interface. The transceiver component 1203 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit or communication unit. The transceiver component 1203 may include a radio frequency component 1204 and one or more antennas 1205. The radio frequency component 1204 can be a remote radio unit (RRU), specifically used for transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals. The one or more antennas 1205 are specifically used for radiating and receiving radio frequency signals.

[0225] When the communication device 1200 needs to send data, the processor 1202 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) unit. The RF unit then performs RF processing on the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal as electromagnetic waves through an antenna. When data is sent to the communication device 1200, the RF unit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1202. The processor 1202 converts the baseband signal back into data and processes the data.

[0226] Based on the same concept as the above method embodiments, this disclosure also provides an uplink switching device. This device may have the functions of the user equipment 102 in the above method embodiments and is used to execute the steps performed by the user equipment 102 provided in the above embodiments. This function can be implemented by hardware, or by software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0227] In one possible implementation, such as Figure 13 The apparatus 1300 shown can serve as the user equipment 102 involved in the above method embodiment, and perform the steps executed by the user equipment 102 in the above method embodiment. The apparatus 1300 includes a transceiver module 1301 and a processing module 1302 coupled to each other. The transceiver module 1301 can be used to support the communication device to perform communication, and the processing module 1302 can be used by the communication device to perform processing operations, such as generating information / messages to be sent, or processing received signals to obtain information / messages.

[0228] In performing the steps performed by the user equipment 102 described above, the transceiver 1301 is configured to transmit, to a network device, handover capability information, the handover capability information being used to indicate a handover duration required for the user equipment to handover from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; and the transceiver 1301 is further configured to receive handover time configuration information transmitted by the network device; and the processing component 1302 is configured to handover from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the handover time configuration information.

[0229] When the electronic device is the user equipment 102, the apparatus can further include an apparatus as shown in FIG. 13. Figure 14 Figure 14 FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an apparatus 1400 for transmitting user equipment capability, according to an example embodiment. The apparatus 1400 can be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a message communicator, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, and the like, for example.

[0230] Referring to FIG. 13, Figure 14 the apparatus 1400 can include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1402, a memory 1404, a power supply component 1406, a multimedia component 1408, an audio component 1410, an input / output (I / O) interface 1412, a sensor component 1414, and a communication component 1416.

[0231] The processing component 1402 generally controls the overall operation of the apparatus 1400. The processing component 1402 can include one or more processors 1420 to execute instructions. The instructions can be stored in a memory, such as the memory 1404. The processing component 1402 can include one or more modules to facilitate interaction with other components. For example, the processing component 1402 can include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 1408 and the processing component 1402.

[0232] The memory 1404 is configured to store various types of data to support the operations of the apparatus 1400. Examples of these data include instructions, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and so on for any application or method operating on the apparatus 1400. The memory 1404 can be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory, or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, a magnetic disk or a optical disk.

[0233] ​Power component 1406 provides power to various components of the device 1400. The power component 1406 can include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the device 1400.

[0234] The multimedia component 1408 includes a display for the device 1400 to provide an output interface between the device 1400 and a user. In some embodiments, the display can include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the display includes a touch panel, the display can be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors for sensing touch, swiping, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors can not only sense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also detect duration and pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 1408 includes a front camera and / or a rear camera. When the device 1400 is in an operation mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and / or the rear camera can receive external multimedia data. Each of the front and rear cameras can be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

[0235] The audio component 1410 is configured to output and / or input an audio signal. For example, the audio component 1410 includes a microphone (MIC) that is configured to receive an external audio signal when the device 1400 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal can be further stored in the memory 1404 or transmitted via the communication component 1416. In some embodiments, the audio component 1410 also includes a speaker for outputting an audio signal.

[0236] The I / O interface 1412 provides an interface between the processing component 1402 and peripheral interface modules, which can be a keyboard, a click wheel, a button, and the like. The buttons can include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

[0237] The sensor component 1414 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessments for various aspects of the device 1400. For example, the sensor component 1414 can detect an open / closed position of the device 1400, relative positioning of components of the device 1400, such as a display and a keypad of the device 1400, a change in position of the device 1400 or a component of the device 1400, presence or absence of user contact with the device 1400, orientation or acceleration / deceleration / g-force and temperature changes of the device 1400. The sensor component 1414 can include proximity sensor(s) configured to detect presence of an object in proximity thereto without any physical contact. The sensor component 1414 can also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 1414 can also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor.

[0238] The communication component 1416 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device 1400 and another device. The device 1400 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 4G, or 5G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1416 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1416 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module can be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technology.

[0239] In an exemplary embodiment, the device 1400 can be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors or other electronic elements, for performing the above-described methods.

[0240] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory 1404 including instructions, is also provided, which can be executed by the processor 1420 of the device 1400 to complete the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, and an optical data storage device, etc.

[0241] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the features disclosed herein. It is intended that the present disclosure cover any and all variations of the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein including those adaptations that are within the scope of the present disclosure. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

[0242] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise construction that has been described above and shown in the accompanying drawings and that various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

[0243] Industrial applicability

[0244] In the present disclosure, the user equipment reports its switching capability information to the network equipment according to its switching capability, so as to inform the network equipment of the switching time length required for switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier. After learning the switching time length, the network equipment can configure more reasonable switching time configuration information for the uplink switching of the user equipment according to the switching time length and the timing advance values of the two uplink carriers. The user equipment performs the uplink switching according to the switching time configuration information configured by the network equipment, more efficiently completes the uplink switching, and saves the network overhead.

Claims

1. A method of uplink switching, performed by a network device, the method comprising: receiving, from a user equipment, switching capability information, the switching capability information indicating a switching time length required for the user equipment to switch from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; determining, according to the switching time length, a first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier, and a second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, switching time configuration information; sending, to the user equipment, the switching time configuration information, the switching time configuration information indicating a switching start time of the user equipment; and the determining, according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier, and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information comprises: in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and a first difference being greater than the switching time length, determining that the switching start time is located in a first interval, wherein the first difference is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and an end position of the first interval is a first time length after the start position of the first interval, the first time length being a difference between the first difference and the switching time length; or in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value, and the first difference being less than the switching time length, determining that the switching start time is a first time position, the first time position being a second time length before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the second time length being a difference between the switching time length and the first difference.

2. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information indicating that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

3. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: determining a first quantity of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot; and sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information indicating the first quantity. 4.The method of uplink switching according to claim 1, wherein the determining, according to the switching time length, the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier, and the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information comprises: in response to the first timing advance value being less than the second timing advance value, determining that the switching start time is a second time position; and wherein the second time position is a third time length before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the third time length being a sum of the switching time length and a first difference, the first difference being a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value.

5. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information indicating that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

6. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: determining a second quantity of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot; sending, to the user equipment, uplink scheduling configuration information, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate the second quantity. 7.A method of uplink switching, performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: sending, to a network device, switching capability information, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching duration required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; receiving switching time configuration information sent by the network device, the switching time configuration information being used to indicate a switching start time of the user equipment; switching from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information; if a first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is greater than a second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, and a first difference value is greater than the switching duration, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is located in a first interval, wherein the first difference value is a difference between the first timing advance value and the second timing advance value, a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and an end position of the first interval is a first time duration after the start position of the first interval, the first time duration being a difference between the first difference value and the switching duration or if the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is less than the switching duration, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a first time position, wherein the first time position is a second time duration before the end position of the first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the second time duration being a difference between the switching duration and the first difference value.

8. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot; and not sending uplink data in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot according to the uplink scheduling configuration information.

9. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate a first quantity of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot; and not sending uplink data in the first quantity of symbols in the first time slot starting from the switching start time according to the uplink scheduling configuration information. 10.The method of uplink switching according to claim 8, wherein if the first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier is less than the second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a second time position. The second time position is located at a third time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, the third time length is a sum of the switching time length and a first difference value, and the first difference value is a difference between a first timing advance value and a second timing advance value.

11. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 10, wherein, The method further includes: receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate that the user equipment is prohibited from sending uplink data in a time domain interval between the switching start time and an end position of the first time slot; according to the uplink scheduling configuration information, not sending uplink data in the time domain interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot.

12. The method of uplink handoff as claimed in claim 10, wherein, The method further includes: receiving uplink scheduling configuration information sent by the network device, the uplink scheduling configuration information being used to indicate a second number of symbols corresponding to a time interval between the switching start time and the end position of the first time slot; according to the uplink scheduling configuration information, not sending uplink data in the second number of symbols in the first time slot starting from the switching start time.

13. An uplink switching apparatus configured in a network device, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver module configured to receive switching capability information sent by a user equipment, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; a processing module configured to determine switching time configuration information according to the switching time length, a first timing advance value of the first uplink carrier, and a second timing advance value of the second uplink carrier, the switching time configuration information being used to indicate a switching start time of the user equipment; the transceiver module is further configured to send the switching time configuration information to the user equipment; the apparatus is further configured to: in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value and a first difference value being greater than the switching time length, determine that the switching start time is located in a first interval, wherein a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and an end position of the first interval is a first time length after the start position of the first interval, and the first time length is a difference between the first difference value and the switching time length; or, in response to the first timing advance value being greater than the second timing advance value and the first difference value being less than the switching time length, determine that the switching start time is a first time position, the first time position being located at a second time length before an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second time length being a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

14. An uplink switching apparatus configured in a user equipment, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver module configured to send switching capability information to a network device, the switching capability information being used to indicate a switching time length required by the user equipment for switching from a first uplink carrier to a second uplink carrier; The transceiving module is further configured to receive switching time configuration information sent by the network device, the switching time configuration information being used to indicate a switching start time of the user equipment; The processing module is configured to switch from the first uplink carrier to the second uplink carrier according to the switching time configuration information. The apparatus is further configured to: if the first TA value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second TA value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is greater than the switching time length, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is located in a first interval, wherein the first difference value is a difference between the first TA value and the second TA value, a start position of the first interval is an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, an end position of the first interval is the start position of the first interval plus a first time length, and the first time length is a difference between the first difference value and the switching time length or, if the first TA value of the first uplink carrier is greater than the second TA value of the second uplink carrier, and the first difference value is less than the switching time length, the switching time configuration information indicates that the switching start time is a first time position, wherein the first time position is located before a second time length from an end position of a first time slot corresponding to the first uplink carrier, and the second time length is a difference between the switching time length and the first difference value.

15. A communication apparatus, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the method in any one of claims 1-6.

16. An electronic device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; the processor is configured to execute the computer program to implement the method in any one of claims 7-12.

17. A computer readable storage medium, having stored therein instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in any one of claims 1-6.

18. A computer readable storage medium, having stored therein instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in any one of claims 7-12.

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