Band grouping method and apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a frequency band grouping method and device, and relates to the field of communication. The technical scheme of the present application is that a network device sends frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, the frequency band grouping information indicating a grouping manner for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of a serving cell of the terminal device into a plurality of frequency band groups, so that the terminal device can divide the one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into the plurality of frequency band groups, and perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication technology, and in particular to a frequency band grouping method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] To aggregate the use of contiguous or discontinuous bandwidth, LTE / 5G NR employs carrier aggregation (CA). One cell corresponds to one component carrier (CC). CC configuration and activation are implemented based on higher-layer signaling, which leads to large configuration and activation / deactivation delays and high signaling overhead. Therefore, a cell can be designed to correspond to multiple discontinuous frequency bands or a frequency band with a large frequency range. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure proposes a frequency band grouping method and apparatus, which can divide multiple discontinuous frequency bands or frequency bands with a large frequency range of a cell into multiple groups, so that terminal devices can perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0004] A first aspect of this disclosure provides a frequency band grouping method, the method being executed by a network device, the method comprising: sending frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0005] Optionally, the method further includes: determining the grouping method based on at least one of the following information: the frequency range of each accessible frequency band; the frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands; and the distance between multiple transmit and receive points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands.

[0006] Optionally, each band group may include multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidth bands (BWPs).

[0007] Optionally, the network device sends the frequency band packet information to the terminal device through one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0008] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a frequency band grouping method, which is executed by a terminal device. The method includes: receiving frequency band grouping information sent by a network device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups; and dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups based on the grouping method.

[0009] Optionally, each band group may include multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidth bands (BWPs).

[0010] Optionally, the terminal device receives the frequency band packet information from the network device through one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0011] Optionally, the reference signal of any sub-band or BWP can be shared by other sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group to which the sub-band or BWP belongs.

[0012] Optionally, the reference signal is shared to perform at least one of the following operations: time-frequency synchronization; path loss estimation; radio link detection (RLM); radio resource management (RRM) measurement; and beam measurement reporting.

[0013] Optionally, all sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group may share the same beam or timing advance (TA).

[0014] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a frequency band grouping apparatus, including: a transceiver module for sending frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0015] A fourth aspect of this disclosure provides a frequency band grouping apparatus, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving frequency band grouping information sent by a network device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups; and a processing module for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups based on the grouping method.

[0016] A fifth aspect embodiment of this disclosure provides a communication device, including: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor, respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, configured to control the wireless signal transmission and reception of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and capable of implementing the frequency band grouping method of the first aspect embodiment or the second aspect embodiment described above.

[0017] A sixth aspect of this disclosure provides a computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions; when executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions can implement the frequency band grouping method described in the first or second aspect of the present invention.

[0018] This disclosure provides a frequency band grouping method and apparatus. A network device sends frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, which indicates a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups. This enables the terminal device to divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups so as to perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of this disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a frequency band grouping device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a frequency band grouping device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a frequency band grouping device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain this disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting this disclosure.

[0031] To better understand the frequency band grouping method and apparatus disclosed in the embodiments of this application, the communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable will be described first below.

[0032] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system may include, but is not limited to, a network device and a terminal device. Figure 1 The number and form of devices shown are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of this application. In actual applications, two or more network devices and two or more terminal devices may be included. Figure 1 The communication system shown is exemplified by a network device 101 and a terminal device 102.

[0033] It should be noted that the technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems. For example, long term evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, 5G new radio (NR) systems, or other future new mobile communication systems, etc.

[0034] The network device 101 in this embodiment is a network-side entity used for transmitting or receiving signals. For example, the network device 101 can be an evolved NodeB (eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, a base station in other future mobile communication systems, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. This application does not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device. The network device provided in this embodiment can be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU can also be called a control unit. Using a CU-DU structure allows the protocol layer of a network device, such as a base station, to be separated. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining or all protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU.

[0035] In this application embodiment, the terminal device 102 is a user-side entity used to receive or transmit signals, such as a mobile phone. A terminal device can also be called user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. Terminal devices can be communication-enabled vehicles, smart cars, mobile phones, wearable devices, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminal devices in industrial control, wireless terminal devices in self-driving, wireless terminal devices in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, wireless terminal devices in smart homes, and so on. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal device.

[0036] It is understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0037] To aggregate the use of continuous or discontinuous bandwidth, LTE / 5G NR employs carrier aggregation (CA). Each cell corresponds to one component carrier (CC). To support a wide variety of services and different types of terminals, 5G NR introduces the concept of bandwidth part (BWP). A Baseband Window (BWP) is a continuous frequency band within a cell. The Radio Network (NR) uses the BWP to adaptively and flexibly adjust the receiving and transmitting bandwidth of terminal equipment, ensuring that the receiving and transmitting bandwidth of the terminal equipment does not need to be as large as the cell's own bandwidth. For example: 1) When the terminal equipment is in a low-activity period, the base station can instruct the terminal equipment to reduce its bandwidth usage (i.e., use a smaller bandwidth BWP) through higher-layer signaling or downlink control information (DCI), thus saving power; 2) When the terminal equipment requires a large throughput, the base station can instruct the terminal equipment to increase its bandwidth usage (i.e., use a larger bandwidth BWP) through higher-layer signaling or DCI, thus improving the data rate of the terminal equipment; 3) The base station can instruct the terminal equipment to use different BWPs, and the location of the bandwidth used by the terminal equipment can be moved in the frequency domain, thus increasing scheduling flexibility; 4) Different BWPs can use different subcarrier intervals, and by selecting BWPs with different subcarrier intervals, different services can be better supported.

[0038] However, CC configuration and activation are based on higher-layer signaling, which leads to large configuration and activation / deactivation delays and high signaling overhead. To address this, a cell can be designed to correspond to multiple discontinuous frequency bands or a frequency band with a large frequency range.

[0039] This disclosure proposes a frequency band grouping method and apparatus, which can divide multiple discontinuous frequency bands or frequency bands with a large frequency range of a cell into multiple groups, so that terminal devices can perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0040] The frequency band grouping method and apparatus provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2As shown, the method can be executed by a network device and includes the following steps.

[0042] Step S201: Send frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0043] In this embodiment, the serving cell currently providing services to the terminal device may correspond to multiple discontinuous accessible frequency bands or to one accessible frequency band with a large frequency range. In this case, it is advantageous to manage one or more accessible frequency bands by grouping them. Therefore, the network device can send frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, indicating the grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell for that terminal device. The terminal device then divides one or more accessible frequency bands into multiple frequency band groups according to this frequency band grouping information.

[0044] According to the frequency band grouping method of the present invention, a network device sends frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, which indicates a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups, so that the terminal device can divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups to perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0045] In some embodiments, each band group includes multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidths (BWPs).

[0046] In this embodiment, when grouping one or more accessible frequency bands, the grouping can be done by sub-bands or by BWPs, so that each frequency band group after grouping includes multiple sub-bands or multiple BWPs.

[0047] In some embodiments, the network device sends band packet information to the terminal device via one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0048] Figure 3 A schematic flowchart of a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the method can be executed by a network device and includes the following steps.

[0049] Step S301: Determine the grouping method based on at least one of the following information: the frequency range of each accessible frequency band; the frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands; and the distance between multiple transmitting and receiving points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands.

[0050] Network devices can be based on the frequency range of each accessible frequency band, the frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands, and / or the distance between multiple transmit and receive points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands.

[0051] For example, if a cell corresponds to an accessible frequency band with a large frequency range, network devices can determine the grouping method based on the frequency range of that accessible frequency band. For instance, if the frequency range of the accessible frequency band is 2.4–5 GHz, which is too large, the network device can divide it into multiple groups based on this frequency range, for example, into 3 groups: <2.4–3.3 GHz>, <3.3–4.2 GHz>, and <4.2 GHz–5 GHz>.

[0052] For example, if a cell corresponds to multiple accessible frequency bands, network devices can determine the grouping method based on the frequency intervals of these multiple accessible frequency bands. For instance, if the multiple accessible frequency bands are 2.4–2.8 GHz (accessible frequency band 1), 3–3.3 GHz (accessible frequency band 2), 3.8–4.2 GHz (accessible frequency band 3), and 4.4 GHz–5 GHz (accessible frequency band 4), the network device can determine the grouping method based on the frequency intervals between the intermediate frequencies of each band. That is, the frequency intervals between accessible frequency bands 1 and 4 are 0.55, 0.85, and 0.7, respectively. For example, the network device can group two accessible frequency bands with a frequency interval less than 0.6 together, thereby dividing the above four accessible frequency bands into three groups: <2.4–2.8 GHz, 3–3.3 GHz>, <3.8–4.2 GHz>, and <4.4 GHz–5 GHz>.

[0053] It should be noted that the frequency interval between the two accessible frequency bands can also be the interval between the upper limit frequencies of the two accessible frequency bands, the interval between the lower limit frequencies, the interval between the upper limit frequency of the lower frequency band and the lower limit frequency of the higher frequency band, etc., and this application does not limit it in this way.

[0054] For example, if a cell corresponds to multiple accessible frequency bands, network devices can determine the grouping method based on the distances between multiple transmit and receive points corresponding to these multiple accessible frequency bands. For instance, if four accessible frequency bands, accessible frequency bands 1 to 4, correspond to transmit and receive points TRP1 to TRP4 respectively, where TRP1 and TRP2 are co-located or quasi-co-located, TRP2 and TRP3 are separated by a first distance, TRP3 and TRP4 are separated by a second distance, and TRP2 and TRP4 are separated by a third distance, the network device can, for example, group the two accessible frequency bands corresponding to two TRPs whose interval distance between TRPs is less than a certain threshold. That is, if the first distance is less than the threshold, while the second and third distances are both greater than the threshold, then the above four accessible frequency bands can be divided into two groups: <accessible frequency band 1, accessible frequency band 2, accessible frequency band 3>, and <accessible frequency band 4>.

[0055] For example, network devices can comprehensively consider information such as the frequency range of each accessible frequency band, the frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands, and / or the distance between multiple transmitting and receiving points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands to determine the packet method.

[0056] Step S302: Send frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0057] For a detailed description of step S302 above, please refer to the relevant description of step S201, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] According to the frequency band grouping method of the present invention, the network device can determine the grouping method based on the frequency range of each accessible frequency band, the frequency interval between multiple accessible frequency bands, and / or the distance between multiple transmitting and receiving points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands, so as to group multiple accessible frequency bands with small frequency intervals or close corresponding transmitting and receiving points into a group.

[0059] In some embodiments, each band group includes multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidths (BWPs).

[0060] When grouping one or more accessible frequency bands, the grouping can be done by sub-bands or by BWPs, so that each frequency band group after grouping includes multiple sub-bands or multiple BWPs.

[0061] In some embodiments, the network device sends band packet information to the terminal device via one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0062] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart of a frequency band grouping method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the method can be executed by a terminal device and includes the following steps.

[0063] Step S401: Receive frequency band grouping information sent by the network device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0064] In this embodiment, the serving cell currently providing services to the terminal device may correspond to multiple discontinuous accessible frequency bands or to one accessible frequency band with a large frequency range. In this case, it is advantageous to manage one or more accessible frequency bands by grouping them. Therefore, the network device may send frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, indicating the grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell for that terminal device.

[0065] Step S402: Divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups based on the grouping method.

[0066] After receiving frequency band packet information from the network device, the terminal device can divide one or more accessible frequency bands into multiple frequency band groups according to the packetization method indicated by the frequency band packet information.

[0067] According to the frequency band grouping method of the present invention, a network device sends frequency band grouping information to a terminal device, which indicates a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups, so that the terminal device can divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups to perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0068] In some embodiments, each band group includes multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidths (BWPs).

[0069] In this embodiment, when grouping one or more accessible frequency bands, the grouping can be done by sub-bands or by BWPs, so that each frequency band group after grouping includes multiple sub-bands or multiple BWPs.

[0070] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives band packet information from the network device through one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0071] In some embodiments, the reference signal of any sub-band or BWP can be shared by other sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group to which the sub-band or BWP belongs.

[0072] Because frequency bands are grouped together, for example, if the frequency spacing is small or the corresponding transmitting and receiving points are close together, subbands or BWPs belonging to the same group can share a reference signal. For example, a frequency band group includes three subbands: Subband 1, Subband 2, and Subband 3. If a reference signal has been obtained for Subband 1, that reference signal can be used to implement various operations on Subband 2 and Subband 3.

[0073] In some embodiments, the reference signal is shared to perform at least one of the following operations: time-frequency synchronization; path loss estimation; radio link monitoring (RLM); radio resource management (RRM) measurement; and beam measurement reporting.

[0074] As illustrated in the example above, the reference signal of Subband 1 can be used on Subband 2 and Subband 3, for example, to achieve time-frequency synchronization; path loss estimation; RLM; RRM measurement; and beam measurement reporting, etc.

[0075] In some embodiments, all sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group share the same beam or timing advance (TA).

[0076] Similarly, because frequency bands are grouped together, for example, if the frequency spacing is small or the corresponding transmit and receive points are close together, subbands or BWPs belonging to the same group can share the same beam or TA. For example, if a frequency band group includes three BWPs: BWP 1, BWP 2, and BWP 3, then these three BWPs 1-BWP 3 can use the same receive and transmit beams, and can use the same TA.

[0077] The methods provided in the embodiments of this application above have been described from the perspectives of network devices and user equipment, respectively. To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application above, the network device and user equipment may include hardware structures and software modules, implementing the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. One of the above functions can be executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules.

[0078] Corresponding to the frequency band grouping methods provided in the above embodiments, this disclosure also provides a frequency band grouping device. Since the frequency band grouping device provided in this disclosure corresponds to the frequency band grouping methods provided in the above embodiments, the implementation methods of the frequency band grouping methods are also applicable to the frequency band grouping device provided in this embodiment, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0079] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a frequency band grouping device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] like Figure 5 As shown, the device 500 may include a transceiver module 501, which can be used to send frequency band grouping information to a terminal device. The frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method that divides one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0081] According to the frequency band grouping apparatus of the present disclosure, the network device sends frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, which indicates a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups, so that the terminal device can divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups to perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0082] In some embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the device 500 may further include a processing module 502, which may be used to determine the grouping method based on at least one of the following information: the frequency range of each accessible frequency band; the frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands; and the distance between multiple transmit and receive points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands.

[0083] In some embodiments, each band group includes multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidths (BWPs).

[0084] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 501 transmits the frequency band packet information to the terminal device via one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0085] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a frequency band grouping device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0086] like Figure 7 As shown, the device 700 may include a transceiver module 701 and a processing module 702.

[0087] The transceiver module 701 can be used to receive frequency band grouping information sent by the network device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups.

[0088] The processing module 702 can be used to divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups based on the grouping method.

[0089] According to the frequency band grouping apparatus of the present disclosure, the network device sends frequency band grouping information to the terminal device, which indicates a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups, so that the terminal device can divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups to perform various operations based on the grouped frequency bands.

[0090] In some embodiments, each band group includes multiple subbands or multiple partial bandwidths (BWPs).

[0091] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 701 may receive the band packet information from the network device through one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media Access Control (MAC) signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0092] In some embodiments, the reference signal of any sub-band or BWP can be shared by other sub-bands or BWPs within the band group to which the sub-band or BWP belongs.

[0093] In some embodiments, the reference signal is shared to perform at least one of the following operations: time-frequency synchronization; path loss estimation; radio link detection (RLM); radio resource management (RRM) measurement; and beam measurement reporting.

[0094] In some embodiments, all sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group share the same beam or timing advance (TA).

[0095] Please see Figure 8 , Figure 8This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 800 can be a network device, a user equipment, a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports a terminal device in implementing the above methods. This device can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0096] The communication device 800 may include one or more processors 801. The processor 801 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU can be used to control the communication device (e.g., base station, baseband chip, terminal equipment, terminal equipment chip, DU or CU, etc.), execute computer programs, and process data from the computer programs.

[0097] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include one or more memories 802, which may store a computer program 804. The processor 801 executes the computer program 804 to cause the communication device 800 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 802 may also store data. The communication device 800 and the memory 802 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0098] Optionally, the communication device 800 may also include a transceiver 805 and an antenna 806. The transceiver 805 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, or transceiver circuit, etc., and is used to implement the transmission and reception functions. The transceiver 805 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or receiving circuit, etc., and is used to implement the receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or transmitting circuit, etc., and is used to implement the transmitting function.

[0099] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include one or more interface circuits 807. The interface circuits 807 are used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor 801. The processor 801 executes the code instructions to cause the communication device 800 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0100] Communication device 800 is user equipment: processor 801 is used to execute Figure 3 Step S301; transceiver 805 is used to perform Figure 2 Step S201 and Figure 3 Step S302 in the process.

[0101] Communication device 800 is a network device: processor 801 is used to execute Figure 4 Step S402; transceiver 805 is used to perform Figure 4Step S401.

[0102] In one implementation, the processor 801 may include a transceiver for implementing receive and transmit functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing receive and transmit functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit can be used for reading and writing code / data, or it can be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0103] In one implementation, processor 801 may store computer program 803, which runs on processor 801 and causes communication device 800 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Computer program 803 may be embedded in processor 801; in this case, processor 801 may be implemented in hardware.

[0104] In one implementation, the communication device 800 may include circuitry capable of performing the functions of transmitting, receiving, or communicating as described in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in this application can be implemented on integrated circuits (ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), mixed-signal ICs, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), electronic devices, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS), n-metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), positive-channel metal oxide semiconductors (PMOS), bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon-germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0105] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal device (such as the first terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments), but the scope of the communication device described in this application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may vary. Figure 8 The communication device may be a standalone device or part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0106] (1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0107] (2) A collection of one or more ICs, optionally including storage components for storing data and computer programs;

[0108] (3) ASIC, such as modem;

[0109] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0110] (5) Receivers, terminal equipment, smart terminal equipment, cellular phones, wireless equipment, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted equipment, network equipment, cloud equipment, artificial intelligence equipment, etc.

[0111] (6) Others, etc.

[0112] For cases where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 9 The diagram shows the structure of the chip. Figure 9 The chip shown includes a processor 901 and an interface 902. There can be one or more processors 901, and multiple interfaces 902.

[0113] In the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the user equipment in the embodiments of this application: the processor 901 is used to execute... Figure 3 Step S301; Interface 902 is used to execute Figure 2 Step S201 and Figure 3 Step S302 in the process.

[0114] In the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiments of this application: the processor 901 is used to execute... Figure 4 Step S402; Interface 902 is used to execute Figure 4 Step S401.

[0115] Optionally, the chip also includes a memory 903, which is used to store necessary computer programs and data.

[0116] Those skilled in the art will also understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether such functionality is implemented through hardware or software depends on the specific application and the overall system design requirements. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality using various methods for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application.

[0117] This application also provides a system for determining a serving cell, the system including the communication device as a user equipment in the aforementioned embodiment of FIG10 and the communication device as a network device in the aforementioned embodiment of FIG11, or the system including the aforementioned... Figure 9 The embodiments include a communication device as a user equipment and a communication device as a network device.

[0118] This application also provides a readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer, implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0119] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0120] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0121] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various numerical designations such as "first," "second," etc., involved in this application are merely for the convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, nor do they indicate the order of sequence.

[0122] At least one in this application can also be described as one or more, and multiple can be two, three, four or more, and this application does not impose any limitation. In the embodiments of this application, for a technical feature, the technical features in that technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", and there is no order or size among the technical features described by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D".

[0123] As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any computer program product, device, and / or apparatus (e.g., disk, optical disk, memory, programmable logic device (PLD)) used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including machine-readable media that receive machine instructions as machine-readable signals. The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor.

[0124] The systems and technologies described herein can be implemented in computing systems that include backend components (e.g., as a data server), or computing systems that include middleware components (e.g., an application server), or computing systems that include frontend components (e.g., a user computer with a graphical user interface or web browser through which a user can interact with embodiments of the systems and technologies described herein), or any combination of such backend, middleware, or frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected via digital data communication of any form or medium (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the Internet.

[0125] Computer systems can include clients and servers. Clients and servers are generally located far apart and typically interact through communication networks. Client-server relationships are created by computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship with each other.

[0126] It should be understood that the various forms of processes shown above can be used to rearrange, add, or delete steps. For example, the steps described in this disclosure can be executed in parallel, sequentially, or in different orders, as long as the desired result of the technical solution disclosed in this disclosure can be achieved, and this is not limited herein.

[0127] Furthermore, it should be understood that the various embodiments described in this application can be implemented individually or in combination with other embodiments, where the scheme allows.

[0128] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0129] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0130] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A frequency band grouping method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: Frequency band grouping information is sent to the terminal device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups, wherein each frequency band group includes multiple sub-frequency bands or multiple partial bandwidth BWPs; the reference signal of any sub-frequency band or BWP can be shared by other sub-frequency bands or BWPs within the frequency band group to which the sub-frequency band or BWP belongs.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The grouping method is determined based on at least one of the following information: The frequency range of each accessible frequency band; Frequency spacing between multiple accessible frequency bands; as well as The distance between multiple transmitting and receiving points corresponding to multiple accessible frequency bands.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The network device sends the frequency band packet information to the terminal device through one of the following methods: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media access control MAC signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

4. A frequency band grouping method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal device, and the method includes: The system receives frequency band grouping information sent by a network device, wherein the frequency band grouping information is used to indicate a grouping method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups; and Based on the grouping method, one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell are divided into multiple frequency band groups, wherein each frequency band group includes multiple sub-frequency bands or multiple partial bandwidth BWPs; the reference signal of any sub-frequency band or BWP can be shared by other sub-frequency bands or BWPs within the frequency band group to which the sub-frequency band or BWP belongs.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The terminal device receives the frequency band packet information from the network device through one of the following methods: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Media access control MAC signaling; and Downlink Control Information (DCI).

6. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The reference signal is shared for performing at least one of the following operations: Time and frequency synchronization; Path loss estimation; Radio Link Detection (RLM); Radio Resource Management (RRM) Measurement; and Beam measurement reporting.

7. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, All sub-bands or BWPs within the same frequency band group share the same beam or timing advance (TA).

8. A frequency band grouping device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to send frequency band grouping information to the terminal device. The frequency band grouping information is used to indicate the grouping method of dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups. Each frequency band group includes multiple sub-frequency bands or multiple partial bandwidth BWPs. The reference signal of any sub-frequency band or BWP can be shared by other sub-frequency bands or BWPs within the frequency band group to which the sub-frequency band or BWP belongs.

9. A frequency band grouping device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver module is used to receive frequency band packet information sent by the network device, wherein the frequency band packet information is used to indicate the packetization method for dividing one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell of the terminal device into multiple frequency band groups; and The processing module is used to divide one or more accessible frequency bands of the serving cell into multiple frequency band groups based on the grouping method, wherein each frequency band group includes multiple sub-frequency bands or multiple partial bandwidth BWPs; the reference signal of any sub-frequency band or BWP can be shared by other sub-frequency bands or BWPs within the frequency band group to which the sub-frequency band or BWP belongs.

10. A communication device, wherein, include: transceiver; Memory; A processor, connected to both the transceiver and the memory, is configured to control the wireless signal transmission and reception of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-3.

11. A communication device, wherein, include: transceiver; Memory; The processor is connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively, and is configured to control the wireless signal transmission and reception of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and is capable of implementing the method described in any one of claims 4-7.

12. A computer storage medium, wherein, The computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they can implement the method described in any one of claims 1-3.

13. A computer storage medium, wherein, The computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; when executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions can implement the method described in any one of claims 4-7.

Images