Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method is used for reducing the power consumption of a terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: when a secondary cell group (SCG) of the terminal device is in a deactivated state, the terminal device acquires a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period; when the SCG is in an activated state, the terminal device acquires a second evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period; and the terminal device performs wireless link monitoring or a link recovery process on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the prior art, in the application of dual-connectivity (DC) technology, when a terminal device does not need to use a secondary cell group (SCG) to provide communication services for itself, the SCG can be temporarily suspended, such as suspending the configuration of the SCG, and no data transmission is performed through the SCG, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device and the network device. In addition, when the terminal device needs to use the SCG to provide communication services for itself, the terminal device can restore the configuration of the SCG, and also can perform data transmission through the SCG to meet the needs of the terminal device for data transmission rate.

[0003] However, even under the condition that the terminal device suspends the SCG, unnecessary high energy consumption can still exist due to the signal quality detection and other operations performed by the terminal device. SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device for reducing the power consumption of a terminal device.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: when a secondary cell group (SCG) of a terminal device is in a deactivated state, the terminal device acquires a first evaluation result of a link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period; when the SCG is in an activated state, the terminal device acquires a second evaluation result of a link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period; and the terminal device performs radio link monitoring or a link recovery process on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

[0007] In this embodiment, the terminal device uses evaluation periods corresponding to the suspension of the SCG and the restoration of the SCG, respectively, to evaluate the link signal quality of the SCG. By setting evaluation periods corresponding to different SCG states, the power consumption of the terminal device and the accuracy of the evaluation result can be taken into account, thereby more flexibly performing radio link monitoring or a link recovery process. For example, a longer evaluation period can be used when the SCG is suspended, and a shorter evaluation period can be used when the SCG is restored, which can make the energy consumption of the terminal device in the suspended SCG state lower than that in the non-suspended SCG state.

[0008] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device, first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

[0009] In the design above, the first evaluation period can be informed to the terminal device by the network device. In this way, compared with the terminal device determining the first evaluation period by using a manner of determining an evaluation period in the prior art, the implementation manner can avoid the size of the evaluation period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with a DXR, a DRX period size, and the like, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device. In addition, in the design, since the first evaluation period can be informed to the terminal device by the network device, the size of the first evaluation period can be controlled by the network device.

[0010] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device, first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first scaling factor; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device. The terminal device determines the first evaluation period according to the third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0011] In the design above, the terminal device can determine the first evaluation period according to the third evaluation period and the first scaling factor according to the first scaling factor from the network device (for example, the third evaluation period is scaled according to the first scaling factor, and the first evaluation period is obtained). In this way, compared with the terminal device determining the first evaluation period by using a manner of determining an evaluation period in the prior art, the implementation manner can avoid the size of the evaluation period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with a DXR, a DRX period size, and the like, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device. In addition, in the design, the size of the first evaluation period can be controlled by the network device.

[0012] In a possible design, the first evaluation period is an evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined discontinuous reception (DRX) period.

[0013] In the design above, by taking the evaluation period corresponding to the predetermined DRX period as the first evaluation period, the size of the evaluation period can be avoided from being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with a DXR, a DRX period size, and the like, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device.

[0014] In a possible design, the method further includes: reporting, by the physical layer of the terminal device, indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to an upper layer protocol stack according to a first indication period; or reporting, by the physical layer of the terminal device, indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to a second indication period.

[0015] In the design above, different indication periods can be selected according to the current state (i.e., the deactivated state or the activated state) of the SCG of the terminal device, to report the indication information to the upper layer protocol stack. Specifically, when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the first indication period is selected to report the indication information to the upper layer protocol stack; and when the SCG is in the activated state, the second indication period is selected to report the indication information to the upper layer protocol stack. For example, a longer indication period is used in the case of suspending the SCG, and a shorter indication period is used in the case of resuming the SCG. In this way, the energy consumption of the terminal device in the suspended SCG state can be lower than that in the non-suspended SCG state. In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device, second indication information from a network device; and the second indication information is used to indicate the first indication period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

[0016] In the design above, the first indication period can be notified by the network device to the terminal device. In this way, compared with determining the first indication period by the terminal device using the manner of determining the indication period in the prior art, the implementation manner can avoid the size of the indication period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with the DXR, the DRX period size and other parameters, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device. In addition, in the design, since the first indication period can be notified by the network device to the terminal device, the effect of controlling the size of the first indication period by the network device can also be achieved.

[0017] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device, second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate a second scaling factor; the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device; and the terminal device determines the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0018] In the foregoing design, the terminal device can determine the first indication period according to the third indication period and the second scaling factor according to the second scaling factor from the network device (for example, scaling the third indication period according to the second scaling factor to obtain the first indication period). In this way, compared with the terminal device determining the first indication period by using the manner of determining the indication period in the prior art, the implementation manner can avoid the size of the indication period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with the DXR, the DRX period size and other parameters, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device. In addition, in the design, the effect of controlling the size of the first indication period by the network device can also be achieved.

[0019] In a possible design, the first indication period is an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

[0020] In the foregoing design, by taking the indication period corresponding to the predetermined discontinuous reception DRX period as the first indication period, the size of the indication period can be avoided from being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with the DXR, the DRX period size and other parameters, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device.

[0021] In a possible design, the method further includes: when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the terminal device receives first information from the master node; the first information includes: activated transmission configuration indication TCI state information; the activated TCI state information is used for the terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel PDCCH of the SCG. The terminal device acquires a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period, including: the terminal device acquires the first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to the first evaluation period based on a reference signal corresponding to the activated TCI state information.

[0022] In the foregoing design, when the SCG of the terminal device is in the deactivated state, the activated TCI state information can be transmitted to the terminal device by the master node transmitting the activated TCI state information to the terminal device in this manner. In this way, the terminal device can evaluate the link signal quality of the SCG according to the reference signal corresponding to the activated TCI state information, thereby avoiding the problem that the terminal device cannot acquire the activated TCI state of the received PDCCH of the SCG, and further cannot perform the RLM or link recovery process on the SCG.

[0023] In a possible design, the first information is a first radio resource control RRC message, the first RRC message includes a second RRC message, and the activated TCI state information is included in the second RRC message; the second RRC message is an RRC message from the secondary node.

[0024] In the design, when the SCG of the terminal device is in the deactivated state, the second RRC message can be sent from the secondary node to the primary node, and the primary node sends the first RRC message including the second RRC message to the terminal device, so as to send the activated TCI state information to the terminal device. In the design, the primary node does not need to parse the second RRC message, and the activated TCI state information can be sent from the secondary node to the terminal device without occupying too many resources of the primary node.

[0025] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0026] In the design, the primary node can send the activated TCI state information to the terminal device by sending an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0027] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is the TCI state information of the SCG.

[0028] In the design, the third indication information is added to the first information, so that the terminal device can know whether the activated TCI state information included in the first information is the TCI state information of the MCG or the TCI state information of the SCG.

[0029] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a network device sending first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first evaluation period or a first scaling factor; and the network device is a primary node or a secondary node of the terminal device. The first evaluation period is used to indicate that the terminal device obtains a first evaluation result according to the first evaluation period when a secondary cell group (SCG) is in a deactivated state; the first evaluation result is used for radio link monitoring or link recovery process of the SCG; and the first scaling factor is used to indicate that the terminal device determines the first evaluation period according to a third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0030] In a possible design, the method further includes: the network device sending second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate a first indication period or a second scaling factor; the first indication period is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the first evaluation result from a physical layer to an upper layer protocol stack according to the first indication period; and the second scaling factor is used to indicate that the terminal device determines the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0031] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving, by a master node, second information from a secondary node, the second information including activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; the activated TCI state information being used for a terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the secondary node; wherein the SCG is in a deactivated state; and sending, by the master node, first information to the terminal device, the first information including the activated TCI state information.

[0032] In a possible design, the second information is a second radio resource control (RRC) message, and the first information is a first RRC message; and the first RRC message includes the second RRC message.

[0033] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0034] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: sending, by a secondary node, second information to a master node, the second information including activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; the activated TCI state information being used for a terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the secondary node; wherein the SCG is in a deactivated state.

[0036] In a possible design, the second information is an RRC message sent by the secondary node to the master node, or the second information is an interface message between the secondary node and the master node.

[0037] The technical effects brought by any of the designs in the second aspect to the fourth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by the different designs in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: detecting, by a terminal device, a beam failure of a first cell in a secondary cell group (SCG); wherein the SCG is in a deactivated state; the first cell being a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) in the SCG; and initiating, by the terminal device, a random access procedure on a first partial bandwidth (BWP) of a PSCell in the SCG.

[0039] In the method, when the beam failure of the PSCell or the SCell is detected in the case that the SCG is in the deactivated state, the terminal device performs a random access procedure on the PSCell, so that the link recovery procedure of the PSCell or the SCell can be successfully completed.

[0040] In a possible design, the first BWP is an initial BWP of the PSCell; and the method further includes: switching, by the terminal device, from the first BWP to a dormant BWP of the PSCell after the random access procedure.

[0041] In the design, by switching from the first BWP to the dormant BWP of the PSCell, the PSCell can be recovered to the deactivated state, thereby saving the power of the terminal device, reducing the network side from sending the terminal device a command to enter the deactivated state, and reducing the overhead.

[0042] In a possible design, the first BWP is a dormant BWP of the PSCell.

[0043] In the design, in the case that the SCG is in the deactivated state, when the beam failure of the PSCell or the SCell is detected, the terminal device can initiate a random access procedure on the dormant BWP of the PSCell, so that the link recovery procedure of the PSCell or the SCell can be successfully completed.

[0044] In a possible design, when the first cell is an SCell, the method further includes: after the random access procedure succeeds, sending, by the terminal device, a first medium access control control element (MAC CE) to the secondary node; and the first MAC CE is used to indicate the beam failure of the first cell.

[0045] In the design, in the case that the SCG is in the deactivated state, when the beam failure of the SCell (i.e., the first cell) is detected, by initiating a random access procedure on the first cell, and after the random access procedure succeeds, sending, by the terminal device, a first medium access control control element (MAC CE) to the secondary node, the link recovery procedure of the first cell can be successfully completed.

[0046] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: when an SCG is in a deactivated state, sending, by a terminal device, fourth indication information to a secondary node through a master node; the fourth indication information is used to indicate a beam failure of a first cell in the SCG; and the first cell is the PSCell or a secondary cell (SCell) in the SCG.

[0047] In the method, when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the terminal device can inform the secondary node of the beam failure of the first cell in the SCG by sending fourth indication information to the secondary node through the primary node. This avoids the problem that the terminal device cannot inform the secondary node of the beam failure of the first cell because the SCG is in the deactivated state.

[0048] In a possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0049] In the design, the terminal device can inform the secondary node of the beam failure of the first cell in the SCG by sending an RRC message or a MAC CE to the secondary node through the primary node.

[0050] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: a secondary node of a terminal device receiving fourth indication information from a primary node of the terminal device, the fourth indication information being used to indicate beam failure of a first cell in a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0051] In a possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0052] The technical effects brought by any of the design manners in the seventh aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by the different design manners in the sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus includes: a processing unit configured to obtain a first evaluation result of link signal quality of a secondary cell group (SCG) of a terminal device according to a first evaluation period when the SCG is in a deactivated state; the processing unit is further configured to obtain a second evaluation result of link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period when the SCG is in an activated state; and the processing unit is further configured to perform radio link monitoring or a link recovery procedure on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

[0054] In a possible design, the communication apparatus further includes: a receiving unit configured to receive first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation period; and the network device is a primary node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

[0055] In a possible design, the communication apparatus further includes a receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first scaling factor; the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine the first evaluation period according to a third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0056] In a possible design, the first evaluation period is an evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined discontinuous reception (DRX) period.

[0057] In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to cause a physical layer of the terminal device to report, to an upper layer protocol stack, indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result according to a first indication period, or to report, to the upper layer protocol stack, indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result according to a second indication period.

[0058] In a possible design, the receiving unit is configured to receive second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate the first indication period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

[0059] In a possible design, the receiving unit is configured to receive second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate a second scaling factor; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device. The processing unit is further configured to determine the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0060] In a possible design, the first indication period is an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

[0061] In a possible design, the receiving unit is configured to receive, when the SCG is in a deactivated state, first information from a master node; the first information includes activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; and the activated TCI state information is used for the terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the SCG.

[0062] In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to obtain, according to a first evaluation period, the first evaluation result of link signal quality of the SCG based on a reference signal corresponding to the activated TCI state information.

[0063] In a possible design, the first information is a first radio resource control (RRC) message, the first RRC message includes a second RRC message, and the activated TCI state information is included in the second RRC message; and the second RRC message is an RRC message from a secondary node.

[0064] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0065] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0066] In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes: a sending unit, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first evaluation period or a first scaling factor; the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device; the first evaluation period is used to indicate that the terminal device acquires a first evaluation result according to the first evaluation period when a secondary cell group (SCG) is in a deactivated state; the first evaluation result is used for wireless link monitoring or link recovery procedure of the SCG; and the first scaling factor is used to indicate that the terminal device determines the first evaluation period according to a third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0067] In a possible design, the sending unit is further configured to send second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate a first indication period or a second scaling factor; the first indication period is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the first evaluation result to an upper layer protocol stack of a physical layer of the terminal device according to the first indication period; and the second scaling factor is used to indicate that the terminal device determines the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive second information from a secondary node, where the second information includes activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; the activated TCI state information is used for the terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the secondary node; and the SCG is in a deactivated state; and a sending unit, configured to send first information to the terminal device, where the first information includes the activated TCI state information.

[0069] In a possible design, the second information is a second radio resource control (RRC) message, and the first information is a first RRC message; and the first RRC message includes the second RRC message.

[0070] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0071] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0072] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes: a sending unit, configured to send, to a master node, second information, where the second information includes activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; and the activated TCI state information is used for a terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of a secondary node; and the SCG is in a deactivated state.

[0073] In a possible design, the second information is an RRC message sent by the secondary node to the master node, or the second information is an interface message between the secondary node and the master node.

[0074] In a twelfth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes: a processing unit, configured to detect a beam failure of a first cell in a secondary cell group (SCG); where the SCG is in a deactivated state; and the first cell is a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) in the SCG; and the processing unit is further configured to initiate a random access procedure on a first bandwidth part (BWP) of the PSCell in the SCG.

[0075] In a possible design, the first BWP is an initial BWP of the PSCell; and the processing unit is further configured to switch from the initial BWP to a dormant BWP of the PSCell after the random access procedure.

[0076] In a possible design, the first BWP is a dormant BWP of the PSCell.

[0077] In a possible design, when the first cell is an SCell, the communication apparatus further includes: a sending unit, configured to send, to a secondary node, a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) after the random access procedure succeeds; and the first MAC CE is used to indicate the beam failure of the first cell.

[0078] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes: a sending unit, configured to send, to a master node, second information, where the second information includes activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; and the activated TCI state information is used for a terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of a secondary node; and the SCG is in a deactivated state.

[0079] In a possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0080] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises a receiving unit configured to receive a fourth indication message from a master node of the terminal device, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a beam failure of a first cell in a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0081] In a possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0082] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor and an interface circuit, and when the processor executes computer program instructions, the communication apparatus performs the method provided in the first aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the second aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the third aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fourth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fifth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the sixth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the seventh aspect and possible designs.

[0083] In a sixteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which comprises a processor, and when the processor executes computer program instructions, the chip performs the method provided in the first aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the second aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the third aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fourth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fifth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the sixth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the seventh aspect and possible designs.

[0084] In a seventeenth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which comprises computer software instructions, and when the computer software instructions run in a communication apparatus or a chip built in the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus performs the method provided in the first aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the second aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the third aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fourth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the fifth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the sixth aspect and possible designs, or the method provided in the seventh aspect and possible designs.

[0085] In an eighteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions, when the computer program product is run on a computer, causing the computer to execute the method provided in the first aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the second aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the third aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the fourth aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the fifth aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the sixth aspect and possible designs thereof, or the method provided in the seventh aspect and possible designs thereof.

[0086] The technical effects brought by the method of any one of the eighth aspect to the eighteenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by the method of the first aspect to the seventh aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0087] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a network system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of indicating a period T1 and an evaluation period T2 in a wireless link monitoring provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Figure 3 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Figure 4 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Figure 5 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] Figure 6 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Figure 7 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Figure 8 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] Figure 9 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Figure 10 A flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Figure 11 FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] Figure 12 FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 13 FIG. 3 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Figure 14 FIG. 4 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0101] Figure 15 FIG. 5 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Figure 16 FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Figure 17 FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Figure 18 FIG. 8 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0105] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In order to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and roles are distinguished by using “first”, “second”, etc. The skilled in the art can understand that “first”, “second”, etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and “first”, “second”, etc. also do not necessarily mean different. Meanwhile, in the embodiments of the present application, “exemplary” or “for example” means example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. In fact, “exemplary” or “for example” is used to present the related concept in a specific way, so as to be easy to understand. The term “and / or” in the present application is only used to describe the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. “Multiple” in the embodiments of the present application means two or more.

[0106] In addition, the network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0107] The related technologies involved in the present application are introduced as follows:

[0108] 1. Dual connectivity technology

[0109] In a wireless network, a terminal device (also referred to as user equipment (UE)) can communicate with multiple base stations, and this technology is referred to as dual connectivity (DC), also known as multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC). These multiple base stations that communicate with the terminal device can be base stations belonging to the same radio access technology (RAT), for example, multiple base stations are all fourth generation mobile communication technology (4G) base stations, or multiple base stations are all fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) base stations. In addition, these multiple base stations that communicate with the terminal device can also be base stations of different RATs, for example, two base stations that communicate with the terminal device include one 4G base station and one 5G base station. In DC, the network side can use the resources of multiple base stations to provide communication services for the terminal device, thereby providing high-rate transmission services for the terminal device.

[0110] In DC, among the multiple base stations that communicate with the terminal device, the base station that has control plane signaling interaction with the core network is referred to as the master node (MN), and the other base stations are referred to as secondary nodes (SNs). In addition to control plane signaling interaction, the master node can establish a data plane connection with the core network; the secondary base station can establish a data plane connection with the core network.

[0111] Among them, the terminal device can accept the service of multiple cells under one node at the same time, the set of cells that the MN provides services for the terminal device can be called the master cell group (MCG); the set of cells that the SN provides services for the terminal device can be called the secondary cell group (SCG). The cells in the MCG and the SCG provide transmission resources for the terminal device through the carrier aggregation (CA) technology. Each cell in the MCG and the SCG can be called a serving cell of the UE. Among them, the MCG and the SCG respectively contain at least one cell (Cell).

[0112] There is a primary cell (PCell) in the MCG of the terminal device. The PCell refers to the cell deployed at the primary frequency point, and the terminal device initiates the initial connection establishment process, or the terminal device initiates the connection re-establishment process, or the cell indicated as the PCell in the handover process.

[0113] There is a primary secondary cell (PSCell) in the SCG of the terminal device. The PSCell refers to the cell in which the terminal device initiates the random access process at the secondary node, or the cell in which the terminal device initiates the data transmission without performing the random access process during the secondary node change process, or the cell of the secondary node in which the random access is initiated during the synchronization reconfiguration process.

[0114] In some protocols, such as new radio (NR), the PCell and the PSCell are collectively referred to as a special cell (SpCell). When there are multiple cells in the MCG or the SCG, in addition to the SpCell, the cells other than the SpCell can be called secondary cells (SCells). In other protocols, all the cells other than the PCell in the MCG and the SCG are called SCells. In this application, unless otherwise specified, the SCell is used to represent the cells other than the SpCell in the MCG and the SCG.

[0115] In current applications, according to different structures of network deployment, dual connectivity can be divided into EN-DC, NGEN-DC, NE-DC, NR-DC, etc. Among them:

[0116] The master node in EN-DC is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) base station eNB having a control plane connection with a 4G core network EPC, and the secondary node is an NR base station. In some scenarios, the NR base station in EN-DC is also referred to as a non-standalone (NSA) NR base station, and the terminal device cannot camp on the NR cell of the non-standalone NR base station. The NR base station that can camp the terminal device is referred to as a standalone (SA) NR base station.

[0117] The master node in NG EN-DC is an LTE base station ng-eNB having a control plane connection with a 5G core network 5GC, and the secondary node is an NR base station.

[0118] The master node in NE-DC is an NR base station having a control plane connection with a 5G core network 5GC, and the secondary node is an LTE base station.

[0119] The master node in NR-DC is an NR base station having a control plane connection with a 5G core network 5GC, and the secondary node is an NR base station.

[0120] An exemplary structure of a dual connectivity communication system is shown in FIG. 1. The master node 102 has a control plane connection with the core network 101, and the terminal device 104 establishes a wireless connection with the master node 102 and the secondary node 103. In addition, the master node 102 is also connected to the secondary node 103. Figure 1 An exemplary structure of a dual connectivity communication system is shown in FIG. 1. The master node 102 has a control plane connection with the core network 101, and the terminal device 104 establishes a wireless connection with the master node 102 and the secondary node 103. In addition, the master node 102 is also connected to the secondary node 103.

[0121] The master node 102 and the core network 101 can be connected through an S1 or NG interface. The master node 102 and the core network 101 include at least a control plane connection, and can also have a user plane connection. The interface between the master node 102 and the core network 101 includes S1-U / NG-U and S1-C / NG-C. Among them, S1-U / NG-U represents a user plane connection, and S1-C / NG-C represents a control plane connection. The secondary node 103 and the core network 101 can have a user plane connection or can not have a user plane connection. When the secondary node 103 and the core network 101 do not have a user plane connection, the data of the terminal device 104 can be split by the master node 101 at the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer to the secondary node 103. The master node 102 can also be referred to as a master base station or a master access network device, and the secondary node 103 can also be referred to as a secondary base station or a secondary access network device.

[0122] The master node 102 and the secondary node 103 described above can be collectively referred to as a network device. The network device includes, but is not limited to, an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, such as a home gateway, a router, a server, a switch, a bridge, and the like, an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission and reception point (TRP or TP), and the like, and can also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G, such as a new radio (NR) system, one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a DU, a road side unit (RSU) with a base station function, and the like.

[0123] The network device can adopt a CU-DU architecture. That is, the network device can be composed of a CU and at least one DU. In this case, part of the functions of the network device are deployed on the CU, and another part of the functions of the network device are deployed on the DU. The CU and the DU are functionally divided according to a protocol stack. As an implementation manner, the CU is deployed with a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a PDCP layer, and a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the protocol stack; and the DU is deployed with a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY) in the protocol stack. Thus, the CU has the processing capability of RRC, PDCP, and SDAP. The DU has the processing capability of RLC, MAC, and PHY. It can be understood that the above-mentioned function division is only an example and does not limit the CU and the DU. That is, there can be other ways of function division between the CU and the DU, which are not described herein.

[0124] The terminal device 104 is a device with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device 104 can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water surface (such as ships, etc.); and can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.). The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a computing device with wireless communication function. Illustratively, the UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiving function. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart power grid, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Specifically, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the terminal device 104 can be a terminal device, or an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system.

[0125] For ease of description, the terminal device 104 is taken as an example of a UE in the embodiments, and descriptions are made.

[0126] 2, Partial bandwidth

[0127] Currently, in order to adapt to the capabilities of various UEs, the receiving bandwidth and the transmitting bandwidth of a UE can not need to be consistent with the bandwidth of a cell. In a cell, the network side can configure multiple partial bandwidths (bandwidth parts, BWP) for a UE and notify the UE of the currently activated BWP. With the difference of the currently activated BWP of the UE, the receiving and transmitting bandwidths of the UE can correspondingly change, and the position of the bandwidth can also correspondingly change. In dual connectivity or carrier aggregation, for a PCell, the BWP used for initial access is called an initial BWP. For other cells, the initial BWP is the first BWP operated by the network side for the UE in the corresponding serving cell.

[0128] Currently, in carrier aggregation, when the amount of data that needs to be communicated by the UE is small, in order for the UE to save power and for subsequent data transmission, the network side can quickly schedule the UE, and the dormant BWP technology is introduced in the SCell. When the UE enters the dormant BWP in the SCell, the SCell is still in an activated state. The UE does not listen to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the SCell dormant BWP, does not transmit data on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and does not receive the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), so as to achieve the purpose of saving power.

[0129] 3、beam

[0130] A beam is a kind of communication resource. The beam can be a wide beam, or a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology for forming the beam can be beamforming technology or other technical means. The beamforming technology can be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Different beams can be considered as different resources. The same information or different information can be transmitted through different beams. Alternatively, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as one beam. One beam can be formed by one or more antenna ports, which are used to transmit data channels, control channels, and sounding signals, etc. The one or more antenna ports forming one beam can be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0131] Among them, the antenna port is a logical concept, one antenna port can correspond to one physical transmitting antenna, or can correspond to multiple physical transmitting antennas. In these two cases, the receiver of the UE will not decompose the signal from the same antenna port. Because from the perspective of the UE, whether the channel is formed by a single physical transmitting antenna, or is combined by multiple physical transmitting antennas, the reference signal corresponding to this antenna port (Reference Signal) defines this antenna port, for example, the antenna port corresponding to the de-modulation reference signal (DMRS) is the DMRS port, and the terminal can obtain the channel estimation of the antenna port according to the reference signal. Each antenna port corresponds to a time / frequency resource grid, and has its own reference signal. An antenna port is a channel, and the terminal needs to perform channel estimation and data demodulation according to the reference signal corresponding to the antenna port.

[0132] The beam includes a transmitting beam and a receiving beam. The transmitting beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receiving beam can refer to the distribution of the antenna array strengthening or weakening reception of wireless signals in different directions in space.

[0133] In the current NR protocol, the beam can be embodied by the antenna port quasi co-location (QCL) relationship. Specifically, two signals of the same beam have a QCL relationship with respect to the spatial Rx parameter, that is, QCL-Type D: {Spatial Rx parameter} in the protocol. The beam can be specifically represented by the identification of various signals in the protocol, such as the resource index of the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the index of the synchronous signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block, which can also be referred to as SSB), the resource index of the sounding reference signal (SRS), and the resource index of the tracking reference signal (TRS).

[0134] Generally, one beam corresponds to one DMRS port or one transmission configuration index (TCI) or one TRP or one SRS resource indicator (SRI) (for uplink data transmission), and thus different beams can also be represented by different DMRS ports or TCIs or TRPs or SRIs.

[0135] 4. QCL relationship

[0136] The QCL relationship is used to indicate that multiple resources have one or more same or similar communication characteristics, and for multiple resources with quasi-co-location relationship, the same or similar communication configuration can be used.

[0137] Specifically, the signals corresponding to the antenna ports with QCL relationship have the same parameters, or the parameters (also referred to as QCL parameters) of one antenna port can be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port with QCL relationship with the antenna port, or the two antenna ports have the same parameters, or the parameter difference between the two antenna ports is less than a certain threshold. The above-mentioned parameters can include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, average gain, spatial Rx parameters. The spatial Rx parameters can include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average angle of departure AOD, AOD spread, receive antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0138] 5. Transmission configuration indicator (TCI)

[0139] The TCI is used to indicate the QCL information of PDCCH or PDSCH. For example, the TCI can be used to indicate which reference signal satisfies the QCL relationship with the DMRS of PDCCH or PDSCH, and then the UE can determine the reference signal according to the TCI, and receive PDCCH / PDSCH using the same or similar spatial parameters as the spatial parameters of the reference signal.

[0140] 6. TCI state for receiving PDCCH

[0141] The TCI state of receiving the PDCCH can be understood as the TCI state for receiving the PDCCH.

[0142] Specifically, the network side can indicate one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) for the PDCCH of each downlink (DL) BWP of the UE. In some protocols, the network side is configured to configure up to 3 CORESETs for each BWP of each cell.

[0143] In each CORESET, one or more TCI states of receiving the PDCCH can be configured for the UE, which can be referred to as candidate TCI states. The TCI state can indicate the QCL type between the DMRS of the PDCCH and one or more reference signals.

[0144] In addition, the network side can indicate the search space of the BWP for the PDCCH of each DL BWP of the UE, and in some protocols, the network side is configured to configure up to 10 search spaces for each BWP of each cell. Each search space is associated with a CORESET. Then the UE listens to the PDCCH according to the CORESET and the corresponding search space configuration.

[0145] For example, after the network side informs the UE of the activated TCI state corresponding to a CORESET through a medium access control control element (MAC CE), the UE can determine the information of the DMRS of the PDCCH according to the activated TCI state. Then the PDCCH can be listened to according to the corresponding search space configuration.

[0146] The search space defines how / where to search for PDCCH candidates, and each search space is associated with a CORESET.

[0147] 7. Suspend / store SCG

[0148] Currently, in the prior art, in the embodiments of the present application, the UE suspends the SCG, which can be understood as that the UE suspends the signaling transmission and / or data transmission through the communication link of the SCG, but the terminal retains or stores part or all of the configuration of the SCG.

[0149] Suspending the SCG means that the UE temporarily stops using the SCG for data transmission, but retains the configuration of the SCG. Specifically, when the UE does not need to use the SCG to provide services for itself or in other words, when the UE does not need to use the SCG link, for example, when the data rate of the UE is low, the UE can suspend the SCG according to the indication of the network side, such as retaining the configuration of the SCG, and not transmitting data through the SCG; when it is needed to use the SCG to provide services for itself or in other words, when it is needed to use the SCG link, for example, when the data rate of the UE is high, the UE can restore / resume the configuration of the SCG according to the indication of the network side, and transmit data through the SCG.

[0150] It should be noted that the suspended SCG can also be referred to as the SCG being in a suspended state, or the SCG being in an inactive state, or the UE being in a dormancy state or an inactive state or a deactivation state in the SCG, etc. Restoring the SCG can be referred to as restore SCG or resume SCG. The restored SCG or the SCG that is not suspended can also be referred to as the SCG being in an active state, or the UE being in an active state or an activation state in the SCG, etc.

[0151] Currently, the suspend SCG can be implemented by using the following methods:

[0152] Solution one: A method of making the UE enter a dormant state in the PSCell and the SCell. For example, the suspend SCG is implemented by making the UE enter a dormant BWP in the PSCell and the SCell. In this way, the UE does not need to listen to the PDCCH / PDSCH in the PSCell and the SCell, and does not need to send the PUSCH.

[0153] Solution two: A method of using long discontinuous reception (long DRX) in the SCG. In this way, the UE can not perform data transmission in the SCG for a long time, thereby saving power.

[0154] In addition, the UE can not perform a random access procedure in the suspended SCG, that is, the UE does not perform an SCG RACH.

[0155] 8. Radio link monitoring (RLM)

[0156] In the RLM process, the UE detects the downlink signal quality of the PCell and the PSCell, and indicates a synchronization or out-of-sync indication to the higher layer at each indication period. Among them, the UE usually only monitors the downlink signal quality of the active downlink BWP of the PCell and the PSCell.

[0157] The following describes the implementation process of RLM, taking the MN and the SN as NR base stations as an example. It should be noted that the UE monitors the downlink signal quality of the PCell and the PSCell independently, that is, the UE monitors the PCell and the PSCell respectively in the following description. Specifically, the process of RLM can include:

[0158] S11, determining a reference signal for RLM.

[0159] In an implementation manner, the network side configures a reference signal (RS) set for each BWP of the primary cell and the primary secondary cell of the UE for RLM (these RSs can be referred to as explicit RSs for RLM). The reference signals in the reference signal set can be CSI-RS or SSB. Among them, at most N RLM reference signals in the reference signal set are used for radio link monitoring. Then, the UE can perform radio link monitoring according to the reference signals in the reference signal set.

[0160] Among them, N RLM may be determined by the maximum number of SSBs L max of the corresponding cell, for example, the corresponding relationship between N RLM and L max may be determined according to the following table 1:

[0161] Table 1

[0162] [[ L max ]]> <![CDATA[N RLM ]]> 4 2 8 4 64 8

[0163] In another possible design, the network side does not configure the UE with the above-mentioned reference signal set, but configures the UE with TCI states for receiving PDCCH. Among them, each TCI state in these TCI states includes one or more CSI-RS, and the RS included in the TCI state can be referred to as an implicit RS for RLM.

[0164] In this design, the network side will inform the UE of the active TCI state for receiving PDCCH. Then, the UE can determine the reference signals included in the active TCI state for receiving PDCCH according to the active TCI state. Then the UE can perform radio link monitoring according to the reference signals. Wherein:

[0165] If the active TCI state for receiving PDCCH only includes one reference signal, the UE performs RLM using the reference signal.

[0166] If the active TCI state for receiving PDCCH includes two reference signals, and one of the RS is set as QCL-TypeD, the UE performs RLM using the reference signal set as QCL-TypeD. (The network side will not set two reference signals as QCL-TypeD for the UE.)

[0167] In addition, in RLM, the UE usually does not use aperiodic or semi-static reference signals for radio link monitoring.

[0168] In addition, in a cell, the UE can perform radio link monitoring according to at most N RLM reference signals. Wherein N RLM may be determined by the maximum number of SSBs L max of the corresponding cell, for example, the corresponding relationship between N RLM and L max may be determined according to the above table 1.

[0169] Specifically, the UE selects N RLM RSs for RLM from the active TCI state of the corresponding received PDCCH of the CORESETs associated with the search space set. Wherein, the UE can select from low to high according to the period of the RS. If multiple CORESETs have the same period, the UE selects from small to large according to the index of the CORESET.

[0170] S12, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the corresponding cell once every indication period to obtain the evaluation result.

[0171] Wherein, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality in the previous evaluation period to obtain the evaluation result corresponding to the indication period.

[0172] Wherein, before evaluating the link signal quality in an indication period, there can be multiple evaluation periods. When evaluating the link signal quality in the indication period, one of the multiple evaluation periods can be selected to evaluate the link signal quality in the evaluation period.

[0173] For example, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality in the evaluation period closest to the end of the indication period, to obtain the evaluation result corresponding to the indication period.

[0174] For example, assume that the indication period of RLM is T1 and the evaluation period is T2. Referring to Figure 2 , the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell once every interval T1, i.e., as shown in Figure 2 , the physical layer of the UE needs to evaluate the link signal quality of the cell at t1, t2, t3, …, t n , respectively. In addition, Figure 2 , the rectangular box shows the time corresponding to each evaluation period when the evaluation period is T2.

[0175] , the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell at t1, t2, t3, …, t n , respectively. In addition, Figure 2 , the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell at t1, t2, t3, …, t n , respectively. In addition, n , the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell at t1, t2, t3, …, t

[0176] On the one hand, the size of the indication period used in the evaluation of the link signal quality in RLM is related to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the currently measured cell, the shortest period of the RLM resource, and the size of the DRX period configured by the UE in the currently measured cell, and other parameters. Specifically, it can be divided into the following two cases (which can be described with reference to Chapter 8.1.6 of 3GPP TS 38.133):

[0177] First, in the case where the UE is not configured with DRX (i.e., no DRX) in the currently measured cell, the maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM resource and 10 ms is taken as the indication period.

[0178] Secondly, in the case that the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, the maximum value between the shortest period of RLM resource and the DRX period is taken as the indication period. Alternatively, in the case that the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, when the DRX period is less than or equal to 320ms, the maximum value of 10ms, 1.5*DRX period and 1.5*the shortest period of RLM resource is taken as the indication period, and when the DRX period is greater than 320ms, the DRX period is taken as the indication period.

[0179] On the other hand, it is described in Chapter 8.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 that the size of the evaluation period employed in the evaluation of link signal quality in RLM is related to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, the DRX period configured by the UE in the current measured cell, the type of reference signal employed in the evaluation (SSB or CSI-RS), the frequency range (FR1 or FR2) of the BWP of the current measured cell, and the type of indication (synchronization indication or out-of-sync indication) sent to the upper layer protocol stack corresponding to the indication period. Specifically, it can be divided into the following four cases:

[0180] Firstly, in the case that the reference signal employed in the evaluation is SSB and the frequency range of the BWP of the current measured cell is FR1, the evaluation period T Evaluate_out_SSB and the evaluation period T Evaluate_in_SSB of the out-of-sync indication can be determined according to the following Table 2:

[0181] Table 2

[0182]

[0183] wherein the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-system measurement gaps, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB.

[0184] Secondly, in the case that the reference signal employed in the evaluation is SSB and the frequency range of the BWP of the current measured cell is FR2, the evaluation period T Evaluate_out_SSB and the evaluation period T Evaluate_in_SSB of the out-of-sync indication can be determined according to the following Table 3:

[0185] Table 3

[0186]

[0187] wherein the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-system measurement gaps, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB.

[0188] The third, when the reference signal used for evaluation is CSI-RS, and the BWP of the current measured cell is located in FR1, the evaluation period T of the synchronization indication Evaluate_out_CSI-RS and the evaluation period T of the out-of-synchronization indication Evaluate_in_CSI-RS may be determined according to the following Table 4:

[0189] Table 4

[0190]

[0191] wherein the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurement gaps, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of the CSI-RS. Mout and Min are parameters related to the transmission density and transmission bandwidth of the resources of the CSI-RS, i.e. the values of Mout and Min can be obtained based on the transmission density and transmission bandwidth of the resources of the CSI-RS, for example, when the transmission density of the resources of the CSI-RS is 3 and the transmission bandwidth is greater than or equal to 24 PRBs, Mout = 20 and Min = 10.

[0192] The fourth, when the reference signal used for evaluation is CSI-RS, and the BWP of the current measured cell is located in FR2, the evaluation period T of the synchronization indication Evaluate_out_CSI-RS and the evaluation period T of the out-of-synchronization indication Evaluate_in_CSI-RS may be determined according to the following Table 5:

[0193] Table 5

[0194]

[0195] wherein the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurement gaps, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of the CSI-RS. The value of N is 1. If the transmission density of the resources of the CSI-RS is 3 and the transmission bandwidth is greater than or equal to 24 PRBs, Mout = 20 and Min = 10.

[0196] Specifically, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell to obtain an evaluation result according to the reference signal obtained in the previous evaluation period.

[0197] For example, the UE compares the link signal quality in one evaluation period with Qout (Qout is used to define the corresponding link signal quality when the downlink wireless link cannot be reliably received. Qout can correspond to a level of in-sync block error rate (BLERin)) and Qin (Qin is used to define the corresponding link signal quality when the downlink wireless link can be received with a higher reliability than the reliability corresponding to Qout. Qin can correspond to a level of out-of-sync block error rate (BLERout)), and then obtains the evaluation result.

[0198] S13, after obtaining the evaluation result in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE sends the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0199] The physical layer of the UE sends the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack, including: the physical layer of the UE sends a synchronization indication or an out-of-sync indication to the upper layer protocol stack. The upper layer protocol stack can be an RRC layer.

[0200] Specifically, when the link signal quality corresponding to all RSs of the RLM is worse than Qout, the physical layer of the UE sends an out-of-sync indication to the upper layer protocol stack. When the link signal quality corresponding to any RS of the RLM is better than Qin, the physical layer of the UE sends a synchronization indication to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0201] Optionally, the RLM further includes: S14, when the RRC layer of the UE receives N310 consecutive out-of-sync indications from the physical layer, the UE starts a timer T310. After starting the timer, the UE performs link signal quality monitoring assuming that the current evaluation period and indication period corresponding to DRX are not configured, until T310 expires or stops.

[0202] 9, link recovery procedure

[0203] In DC, if the MN and the SN are both NR base stations, the UE performs a link recovery procedure in each serving cell in the MCG or the SCG. In the link recovery procedure, the UE detects the downlink signal quality of each serving cell in the MCG or the SCG, and when beam failure occurs in one of the serving cells, the UE performs corresponding operations to re-access the serving cell.

[0204] The description of the link recovery procedure can refer to Chapter 6 of the 3GPP TS 38.213 protocol.

[0205] For example, the link recovery procedure is described as follows:

[0206] S21, determining the reference signals for the link recovery procedure.

[0207] In an implementation, for each BWP of each serving cell of the UE, the network side configures a set of CSI-RS resources for the UE for the link signal quality evaluation in the link recovery procedure (all the CSI-RS in the set of CSI-RS resources are periodic). At most two RSs are included.

[0208] In another possible design, for a BWP of a serving cell, if the network side does not configure a set of CSI-RS resources for the UE the UE takes the periodic CSI-RS in the active TCI state for receiving PDCCH in the BWP as the set of CSI-RS resources and if two RSs are included in the active TCI state, takes the RS with QCL-TypeD as the RS in . At most two RSs are included in

[0209] S22, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the corresponding cell once in each indication period.

[0210] Similar to the above RLM, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality in the previous evaluation period to obtain the evaluation result corresponding to the indication period. For example, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality in the evaluation period closest to the end of the indication period to obtain the evaluation result corresponding to the indication period.

[0211] In one aspect, the size of the indication period for evaluating the link signal quality in the link recovery procedure is related to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the currently measured cell, the shortest period corresponding to each reference signal in and the size of the DRX period configured for the UE in the currently measured cell. Specifically, it can be divided into the following two cases (which can be described with reference to Chapter 8.5.4 of 3GPP TS 38.133):

[0212] First, in the case where the UE is not configured with DRX in the currently measured cell (i.e., no DRX), the maximum value between the shortest period corresponding to each reference signal in and 2ms is taken as the indication period.

[0213] second, in case that the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, it is described in chapter 8.5 of 3GPP TS 38.133. For example, for SSB, if the DRX cycle length is longer than 320ms, the cycle is the DRX cycle; if the DRX cycle length is shorter than or equal to 320ms, the cycle is the maximum of (1.5 x DRX cycle length, in the shortest period of SSB), i.e., the maximum of (1.5 x DRX cycle length, and (1.5 x DRX cycle length in the shortest period of csi-rs).

[0214] On the other hand, it is described in chapter 8.5 of 3GPP TS 38.133 that the size of the evaluation period for evaluating the link signal quality in the link recovery procedure is related to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, the DRX cycle configured by the UE in the current measured cell, the type of the reference signal used for evaluation (SSB or CSI-RS), and the frequency range (FR1 or FR2) where the BWP of the current measured cell locates, etc. Specifically, it can be divided into the following four cases:

[0215] First, in case that the reference signal used for evaluation is SSB and the BWP of the current measured cell locates in FR1, the evaluation period T Evaluate_BFD_SSB can be determined according to the following table 6:

[0216] Table 6

[0217]

[0218] Wherein, the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with the measurement gap of the same frequency, different frequency or different system, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB.

[0219] Second, in case that the reference signal used for evaluation is SSB and the BWP of the current measured cell locates in FR2, the evaluation period T Evaluate_BFD_SSB can be determined according to the following table 7:

[0220] Table 7

[0221]

[0222] Wherein, the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-system measurement gap, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB. The value of N is 8.

[0223] Thirdly, when the reference signal for evaluation is CSI-RS, and the BWP of the current measured cell is located in FR1, the evaluation period T Evaluate_BFD_CSI-RS may be determined according to the following table 8:

[0224] Table 8

[0225]

[0226] Wherein, the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-system measurement gap, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB. The value of N is 1. The value of N is 1. If the transmission density of the resource of CSI-RS is 3, then M BFD = 10.

[0227] Fourthly, when the reference signal for evaluation is CSI-RS, and the BWP of the current measured cell is located in FR2, the evaluation period T Evaluate_BFD_CSI-RS may be determined according to the following table 9:

[0228] Table 9

[0229]

[0230] Wherein, the value of P is related to whether the cell is configured with intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-system measurement gap, and whether these measurement gaps overlap with the transmission time of SSB. The value of N is 1. The value of N is 1. If the transmission density of the resource of CSI-RS is 3, then M BFD = 10.

[0231] Specifically, in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE evaluates the link signal quality of the cell according to the reference signal obtained in the previous evaluation period to obtain the evaluation result.

[0232] For example, the link signal quality of the UE in one evaluation period is compared with the threshold Q out,LR (threshold Q out,LR defines the corresponding link signal quality when the downlink signal quality cannot be reliably received. For example, Qout can correspond to a level with a transmission error rate of 10% assuming that the transmission parameters of PDCCH are the transmission parameters specified by the protocol.

[0233] S23, after obtaining the evaluation result in each indication period, the physical layer of the UE sends the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0234] Specifically, the UE's physical layer sends indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper-layer protocol stack, including: the UE's physical layer sending indication information of beam failure to the upper-layer protocol stack. The upper-layer protocol stack can be the MAC layer.

[0235] Among them, when the UE's physical layer uses All RS-evaluated link signal quality is better than the threshold Q. out,LR If the error is poor, the UE's physical layer sends a beam failure indication message to the higher layer.

[0236] S24. When the UE's MAC layer receives a beam failure indication message from the physical layer for a serving cell, the UE's MAC layer starts or restarts a timer and increments the count of currently received beam failure indication messages by 1. If the UE's MAC layer receives a certain number of beam failure indication messages from the serving cell before the timer expires, if the serving cell is a PCell or PSCell, the UE initiates a random access procedure in that cell; if the serving cell is an SCell, the UE triggers the SCell beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure. If the timer expires, the UE's MAC layer sets the count of currently received beam failure indication messages to 0.

[0237] The UE triggers the BFR procedure of the SCell, including:

[0238] If the UE currently has uplink resources for uplink data transmission, and the uplink resources can accommodate the BFRMACCE and corresponding MAC subheader of the SCell, then the UE's MAC layer will generate a BFR MAC CE for the SCell and send the BFR MAC CE to the network side (if it is the SCell of the primary node, it will be sent to the primary node; if it is the SCell of the secondary node, it will be sent to the secondary node).

[0239] Otherwise, if the uplink resources can accommodate the truncated BFR MAC CE and the corresponding MAC subheader of the SCell, the UE's MAC layer will generate a truncated BFR MAC CE and send the truncated BFR MAC CE to the network side (if it is the SCell of the primary node, it will be sent to the primary node; if it is the SCell of the secondary node, it will be sent to the secondary node).

[0240] Otherwise, a scheduling request is triggered for the SCell beam failure recovery, and then the UE sends a BFR MAC CE to (if the SCell is of the master node, the master node is sent; if the SCell is of the secondary node, the secondary node is sent).

[0241] Among them, the content carried in the BFR MAC CE mainly includes: 1) serving cell index: used to indicate which serving cell detects beam failure; 2) candidate beam identification whose signal quality is higher than or equal to a threshold Q out,LR .

[0242] From the description of the above related technologies, it can be known that in the current wireless link monitoring of the UE, the evaluation period for evaluating the link signal quality is determined according to whether the DRX is configured in the current measured cell, the DRX cycle configured in the current measured cell by the UE, the type of the reference signal used for evaluation (SSB or CSI-RS), and the frequency band (FR1 or FR2) where the BWP of the current measured cell is located. That is, the same method is used to determine the evaluation period regardless of whether the UE suspends the SCG or resumes the SCG. This results in that the evaluation period used by the UE in the wireless link monitoring process does not match the current state of the UE.

[0243] In view of the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the communication system as shown in the Figure 1 The following embodiments take the terminal device included in the communication system as an example, that is, the UE, for illustration. As shown in the Figure 3 The method comprises the following steps.

[0244] S101, when the SCG of the UE is in a deactivated state, the UE obtains a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period.

[0245] Wherein, the SCG in the deactivated state can mean that the configuration of the SCG is suspended, and the UE does not transmit data through the SCG. From the perspective of the UE, the SCG in the deactivated state can also be considered as the UE in the SCG in the deactivated state. In the case of the SCG in the deactivated state, the UE suspends (or retains) the configuration of the SCG but does not completely release the configuration of the SCG, so that when the UE needs to transmit data through the SCG, the SCG can be restored to the activated state by using the suspended (or retained) configuration of the SCG.

[0246] Wherein, the first evaluation period specifically refers to the time length corresponding to the link signal quality reflected by each evaluation result when evaluating the link signal quality of the SCG when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state. Figure 2For example, if the first evaluation period is T2, when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state, the link signal quality of the SCG is evaluated, and the evaluation result is obtained each time the link signal quality in a time period of T2 is evaluated.

[0247] S102, when the SCG of the UE is in the activated state, the UE obtains a second evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period.

[0248] Wherein, the second evaluation period is specifically a length of time corresponding to the link signal quality reflected by the evaluation result each time the link signal quality is evaluated when the SCG of the UE is in the activated state.

[0249] In this embodiment, when the link signal quality of the SCG is evaluated, for example, when the UE performs wireless link monitoring of the SCG or performs a link recovery process of the SCG, the UE can use the evaluation period corresponding to the current state to obtain the evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG when the SCG is in different states (deactivated state or activated state). By setting the evaluation period corresponding to different SCG states, the power consumption of the terminal device and the accuracy of the evaluation result can be considered, so that the wireless link monitoring or the link recovery process can be performed more flexibly. For example, a longer evaluation period corresponds to the deactivated state of the SCG, and a shorter evaluation period corresponds to the activated state of the SCG. In this way, the power consumption of the UE in the deactivated state of the SCG can be lower than that in the activated state of the SCG. In an implementation, before S101 or S102 is executed, the UE can determine whether to execute S101 or S102 according to the current state (i.e., the deactivated state or the activated state) of the SCG of the UE, and then obtain the evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to the evaluation period (i.e., the first evaluation period or the second evaluation period) corresponding to the current state.

[0250] Wherein, in this embodiment, the evaluation result (i.e., the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result) of the link signal quality of the SCG is obtained according to the evaluation period (i.e., the first evaluation period or the second evaluation period), and the specific implementation process of this content can refer to the description of the link signal quality evaluated by the physical layer of the UE in each evaluation period before the evaluation of the UE in each indication period in the above introduction of the wireless link monitoring, or can refer to the description of the link signal quality evaluated by the physical layer of the UE in each evaluation period before the evaluation of the UE in each indication period in the above introduction of the link recovery process, which will not be described here.

[0251] The steps S101 and S102 described in the embodiment can be understood as that the UE can obtain the evaluation result of the SCG link signal quality according to the evaluation period corresponding to the current state of the SCG. Therefore, in some specific scenarios, for example, when the shortest period of the RLM resource is a specific value or the DRX period is a specific value, the length of the first evaluation period corresponding to the deactivation state of the SCG and the length of the second evaluation period corresponding to the activation state of the SCG can be equal. However, in the specific implementation mode of the method provided in the present application, at least in some scenarios, the length of the first evaluation period corresponding to the deactivation state of the SCG and the length of the second evaluation period corresponding to the activation state of the SCG are not equal.

[0252] In the present application, the network device can indicate the SCG of the UE to enter the deactivation state or indicate the SCG of the UE to recover from the deactivation state to the activation state through various existing technologies. The network device can be the master node or the secondary node of the UE, and the present application does not limit this.

[0253] S103, the UE performs radio link monitoring or link recovery process on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

[0254] That is to say, when the method provided in the embodiment is applied to the scenario of performing RLM on the SCG, if the SCG is in the deactivation state, the UE performs radio link monitoring on the SCG according to the first evaluation result; if the SCG is in the activation state, the UE performs radio link monitoring on the SCG according to the second evaluation result.

[0255] Similarly, when the method provided in the embodiment is applied to the scenario of performing link recovery process on the SCG, if the SCG is in the deactivation state, the UE performs link recovery process on the SCG according to the first evaluation result; if the SCG is in the activation state, the UE performs link recovery process on the SCG according to the second evaluation result.

[0256] In the embodiment, according to the evaluation result (i.e. the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result), the radio link monitoring or the link recovery process is performed on the SCG, and the specific implementation process of this content can refer to the description of the UE sending the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack by the physical layer in each indication period in S13 in the above introduction of the radio link monitoring, or can refer to the description of the UE sending the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack by the physical layer in each indication period in S23 in the above introduction of the link recovery process, and details are not described herein.

[0257] In one implementation mode, the method provided in the embodiment further includes:

[0258] S104, according to the first indication period, the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack. Or, according to the second indication period, the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0259] That is, in the present implementation, when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the first indication period; when the SCG is in the activated state, the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the second indication period.

[0260] Through the above implementation, the UE can report the indication information corresponding to the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the indication period corresponding to the current state (the first indication period or the second indication period) when the SCG is in different states (the deactivated state or the activated state).

[0261] For example, in the case where the SCG is in the deactivated state, the corresponding indication period is longer; in the case where the SCG is in the activated state, the corresponding indication period is shorter. In this way, the energy consumption of the UE when the SCG is in the deactivated state can be lower than that when the SCG is in the activated state.

[0262] The above step S104 of the present embodiment can be understood as that the UE can report the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the indication period corresponding to the current state of the SCG. Therefore, in some specific scenarios, for example, the DRX period is a specific value, the length of the first indication period corresponding to the deactivated state of the SCG and the length of the second indication period corresponding to the activated state of the SCG can be equal. However, in the specific implementation of the method provided by the present application, at least in some scenarios, the lengths of the first indication period corresponding to the deactivated state of the SCG and the second indication period corresponding to the activated state of the SCG are not equal.

[0263] When the method provided by the present embodiment is applied to wireless link monitoring, the upper layer protocol stack can be specifically the RRC layer. When the method provided by the present embodiment is applied to the link recovery process, the upper layer protocol stack can be specifically the MAC layer.

[0264] The first indication period can be understood as the period in which the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack. The second indication period can be understood as the period in which the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0265] For example, referring to the above S12-S13, when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state, the UE obtains a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG in a first evaluation period before each first indication period, and after obtaining the first evaluation result in each first indication period, the physical layer of the UE reports indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the RRC layer.

[0266] The indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result can include a synchronization indication or an out-of-sync indication. For example, when the first evaluation result indicates that the link signal quality corresponding to all RSs of the RLM is worse than Qout, the physical layer of the UE sends an out-of-sync indication to the RRC layer. When the first evaluation result indicates that the link signal quality corresponding to any one RS of the RLM is better than Qin, the physical layer of the UE sends a synchronization indication to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0267] In addition, when the SCG of the UE is in the activated state, the UE obtains a second evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG in a second evaluation period before each second indication period, and after obtaining the second evaluation result in each second indication period, the physical layer of the UE reports indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the RRC layer.

[0268] The indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result can include a synchronization indication or an out-of-sync indication, similar to the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result.

[0269] For another example, referring to the above S22-S23, when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state, the UE obtains a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG in a first evaluation period before each first indication period, and after obtaining the first evaluation result in each first indication period, if the first evaluation result indicates that the link signal quality evaluated by the physical layer of the UE with all RSs in the set of RSs is worse than a threshold Q , the physical layer of the UE reports indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the MAC layer (i.e., beam failure indication information). out,LR

[0270] In addition, when the SCG of the UE is in the activated state, the UE obtains a second evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG in a second evaluation period before each second indication period, and after obtaining the second evaluation result in each second indication period, if the second evaluation result indicates that the link signal quality evaluated by the physical layer of the UE with all RSs in the set of RSs is worse than a threshold Q , the physical layer of the UE reports indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the MAC layer (i.e., beam failure indication information). out,LR

[0271] ​​When the UE's SCG is active, the UE can determine the second evaluation period according to the method for determining the evaluation period during radio link monitoring or link recovery as described in S12 or S22 above.

[0272] Optionally, in one implementation of this application, the aforementioned first evaluation period can be obtained from indication information from the network device, as follows: Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 Two specific implementation methods are described respectively:

[0273] Implementation method 1: such as Figure 4 As shown, the method described above in this embodiment may further include:

[0274] S105, the UE receives the first indication information from the network device.

[0275] The first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation cycle.

[0276] The network device can be either the primary node or the secondary node of the UE. That is, the first indication information can be sent to the UE by either the primary node or the secondary node, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0277] The network device can send the first indication information to the UE using various technologies. For example, the network device can send the first indication information to the UE by sending any of the following methods: MAC CE, RRC, or L1 indication messages.

[0278] exist Figure 4 In the implementation shown, the first evaluation period can be notified to the UE by the network device. This implementation avoids the evaluation period being affected by parameters such as whether the tested cell is configured with DXR or the DRX period size, thereby preventing the UE from consuming unnecessary power. It is particularly suitable for scenarios where the SCG is in an inactive state and no DRX is configured for the SCG, avoiding the problem of high power consumption caused by the UE using an evaluation period other than the DRX to evaluate the link signal quality. In addition, since the first evaluation period can be notified to the UE by the network device in this implementation, the size of the first evaluation period can also be controlled by the network device.

[0279] Implementation method two: such as Figure 5 As shown, the method described above in this embodiment may further include:

[0280] S106, The UE receives the first instruction information from the network device.

[0281] The network device can be either a primary or secondary node of the UE. The first indication information is used to indicate the first scaling factor.

[0282] Similar to the description in S105, the network device can send the first indication information to the UE through various technologies.

[0283] S107. The UE determines the first evaluation period based on the third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0284] The third evaluation period can be any evaluation period used in the prior art. For example, the third evaluation period can be an evaluation period determined by the UE based on parameters such as whether the UE has DRX configured in the current tested cell, the DRX period configured by the UE in the current tested cell, the type of reference signal used for evaluation (SSB or CSI-RS), and the frequency band of the BWP of the current tested cell (FR1 or FR2), as listed in any of the tables in Table 2-9. Another example is that the third evaluation period is determined by the UE based on whether DRX is configured in the current tested cell or based on the UE using a specific DRX period in the current tested cell, according to the tables in Table 2-9. In this embodiment, the size of the third evaluation period is not limited.

[0285] exist Figure 5 In the implementation shown, the UE can determine the first evaluation period based on the first scaling factor from the network device, the third evaluation period, and the first scaling factor (for example, scaling the third evaluation period based on the first scaling factor to obtain the first evaluation period). This implementation avoids the evaluation period being affected by parameters such as whether the tested cell is configured with DXR or the DRX period size, thus preventing unnecessary power consumption by the UE. It is particularly suitable for scenarios where the SCG is deactivated and no DRX is configured for the SCG, avoiding the high power consumption caused by the UE using an evaluation period not corresponding to the DRX to evaluate link signal quality. Furthermore, this implementation also allows the network device to control the size of the first evaluation period.

[0286] Optionally, the aforementioned first indication period can be obtained by the UE according to predetermined rules. In one implementation, the first evaluation period can be the evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

[0287] For example, the first evaluation period can be the evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period in any of the tables in Tables 2-9.

[0288] For example, the predetermined DRX period could be the largest DRX period in the current protocol (e.g., 10240ms). Another example is that the predetermined DRX period could be a DRX period greater than 320ms.

[0289] Optionally, in an implementation of the present application, the first indication period described in S104 can be obtained from the indication information from the network device, and the following Figure 6 and Figure 7 Two specific implementations are described respectively.

[0290] Implementation one: as shown in the method further includes: Figure 6

[0291] S108, the UE receives second indication information from the network device.

[0292] The second indication information is used to indicate the first indication period. The network device is the master node or the secondary node of the UE.

[0293] Specifically, after receiving the second indication information from the network device, the UE can determine the first indication period according to the second indication information. Then, the UE can report the indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the first indication period.

[0294] In this implementation, the first indication period can be notified to the UE by the network device. In this way, compared with the UE determining the first indication period by using the existing technology to determine the evaluation period, the present implementation can avoid the size of the indication period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with DXR, DRX period size and other parameters, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the UE. In addition, in this implementation, since the first indication period can be notified to the UE by the network device, the effect of controlling the size of the first indication period by the network device can also be achieved.

[0295] Implementation two: as shown in the method further includes: Figure 7

[0296] S109, the UE receives second indication information from the network device.

[0297] The second indication information is used to indicate the second scaling factor. The network device is the master node or the secondary node of the UE.

[0298] S110, the UE determines the first indication period according to the third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0299] ​​The third indication period can be an indication period used in the prior art. For example, the third indication period can be an indication period determined by the UE according to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell, a DRX period configured for the UE in the current measured cell, a period of a reference signal used in an RLM or link recovery procedure, and the like. For another example, the third indication period is an indication period determined by the UE according to whether the UE is configured with DRX in the current measured cell or according to a specific DRX period configured for the UE in the current measured cell. In this embodiment, the size of the third indication period can not be limited.

[0300] In this implementation, the UE can determine the first indication period according to the third indication period and the second scaling factor according to the second scaling factor from the network device (for example, the third indication period is scaled according to the second scaling factor, and the first indication period is obtained). In this way, compared with the UE determining the first indication period by using the method for determining the evaluation period in the prior art, the implementation can avoid the size of the indication period being affected by whether the measured cell is configured with DXR, the size of the DRX period, and the like, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption of the UE. In addition, in this implementation, the size of the first indication period can also be controlled by the network device.

[0301] In another implementation, in the method provided in this embodiment, the first indication period can be an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

[0302] For example, the indication period corresponding to the predetermined DRX period can be an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period in the manner of determining the indication period in S12 or S22 described above. For example, when the method provided in this embodiment is applied to RLM, the first indication period can be a maximum value between the shortest period of the RLM resource and the predetermined DRX period. For another example, when the method provided in this embodiment is applied to RLM, when the predetermined DRX period is less than or equal to 320 ms, the first indication period can be a maximum value of 10 ms, 1.5 times the predetermined DRX period, and 1.5 times the shortest period of the RLM resource, and when the predetermined DRX period is greater than 320 ms, the predetermined DRX period is taken as the first indication period.

[0303] For example, when the method provided in this embodiment is applied to the link recovery procedure, for evaluating the link signal quality by using SSB, if the length of the predetermined DRX period exceeds 320 ms, the first indication period can be the predetermined DRX period, and if the length of the predetermined DRX period is less than or equal to 320 ms, the first indication period is max(1.5×predetermined DRX period, the shortest period of the SSB), that is, (1.5×predetermined DRX period) and ( a maximum value of max(1.5 x a shortest period of the SSB, 1.5 x a shortest period of the csi-rs); for another example, when the method provided by the embodiment is applied to a link recovery procedure, for evaluating a link signal quality by using a CSI-RS, if a predetermined DRX period length is greater than 320 ms, a first indication period is the predetermined DRX period; if the predetermined DRX period length is less than or equal to 320 ms, the period is max(1.5 x the predetermined DRX period, 1.5 x a shortest period of the csi-rs). a maximum value of max(1.5 x a shortest period of the SSB, 1.5 x a shortest period of the csi-rs); for another example, when the method provided by the embodiment is applied to a link recovery procedure, for evaluating a link signal quality by using a CSI-RS, if a predetermined DRX period length is greater than 320 ms, a first indication period is the predetermined DRX period; if the predetermined DRX period length is less than or equal to 320 ms, the period is max(1.5 x the predetermined DRX period, 1.5 x a shortest period of the csi-rs).

[0304] It should be noted that, in some scenarios, when different evaluation periods are not required to be selected according to different states (deactivated state or activated state) of the SCG to evaluate the link signal quality of the SCG, but different indication periods are required to be selected according to different states of the SCG to report the evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack of the UE, the communication method provided by the embodiment can not perform the contents of S101-S103 before performing S107. That is, in some scenarios, the technical means described in S107-S110 in the method provided by the embodiment can be implemented independently without using the method provided by S101-S103, to achieve the corresponding technical effects.

[0305] In addition, it is considered that: on the one hand, in the RLM or link recovery procedure, the UE can need to determine a reference signal used for the RLM or link recovery procedure according to an activated TCI state of the SCG receiving PDCCH. On the other hand, the activated TCI state of the PDCCH receiving is usually transmitted by a MAC CE carried in a PDSCH channel. When the SCG is in a deactivated state, the UE can not be able to receive the PDSCH of the secondary node. This results in that the UE cannot obtain the activated TCI state of the PDCCH receiving of the SCG, and further cannot perform the RLM or link recovery procedure on the SCG.

[0306] Therefore, in one implementation manner, when the SCG of the UE is in a deactivated state, as shown in

[0307] Therefore, in one implementation manner, when the SCG of the UE is in a deactivated state, as shown in Figure 8 The method provided by the embodiment can further include:

[0308] S111, the secondary node of the UE sends second information to the master node.

[0309] The second information includes the activated TCI state information.

[0310] The activation TCI state information is used for the UE to receive the PDCCH of the SCG. In other words, the activation TCI state information is used to indicate the activated TCI state of the PDCCH received by the SCG.

[0311] The secondary node can obtain a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS) that meets the condition through the SRS from the UE, and then adjust the activated TCI state of the PDCCH received by the SCG to take the TCI state corresponding to the reference signal that meets the condition as the activated TCI state. That is, the secondary node determines the activation TCI state information included in the second information to indicate the TCI state corresponding to the reference signal that meets the condition.

[0312] Alternatively, the UE can send the measurement result of the reference signal listened to by the UE in the SCG to the secondary node through the primary node, and then the secondary node can determine the content of the second information according to the measurement result of the reference signal listened to by the UE in the SCG.

[0313] S112, the primary node sends the first information to the UE.

[0314] The first information includes the activation TCI state information.

[0315] S113, the UE obtains an evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG based on the reference signal corresponding to the activation TCI state information.

[0316] That is, in the design, when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state, the activation TCI state information can be sent to the UE by the secondary node first sending the activation TCI state information to the primary node, and then the primary node sending the activation TCI state information to the UE. In this way, it can be avoided that the UE cannot obtain the activated TCI state of the PDCCH received by the SCG, and then cannot perform RLM or link recovery process on the SCG.

[0317] When the content of S111-S113 is combined with the content of evaluating the link signal quality of the SCG according to different evaluation periods selected according to different states (deactivated state or activated state) of the SCG (e.g., S101-S103), S113 or S101 can specifically include:

[0318] The UE obtains a first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG based on the reference signal corresponding to the activation TCI state information according to the first evaluation period.

[0319] The specific implementation of obtaining the first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to the first evaluation period can refer to the related description in S101 above. Then, after the UE obtains the first evaluation result, the UE can perform wireless link monitoring or link recovery process on the SCG according to the related description in S103 above.

[0320] It should be noted that in some scenarios, the UE can also not select different evaluation periods to evaluate the link signal quality of the SCG according to the different states (deactivated state or activated state) of the SCG (i.e., S101-S103) and use other ways to perform RLM measurement or wireless link recovery. When the UE does not perform RLM measurement or wireless link recovery according to the method of S101-S103 above, the method provided in S111-S113 above can also be implemented separately to achieve the corresponding technical effects, and the present application can not be limited in this regard.

[0321] The different implementation manners of the first information and the second information in the above design are described below:

[0322] Implementation manner one: the first information can be a first RRC message, and the second information can be a second RRC message. The first RRC message includes the second RRC message, and the activation TCI state information is included in the second RRC message.

[0323] That is, in the present application, the secondary node can carry the activation TCI state information in an RRC message (referred to as a second RRC message) and send it to the master node. For example, when the secondary node is a CU / DU architecture, the DU of the secondary node can send the activation TCI state information to the CU of the secondary node, and then the CU of the secondary node generates an RRC message (i.e., a second RRC message), and then sends the second RRC message to the master node. In addition, the second information can be carried in the interface message (such as s-node addition request acknowledge, s-node modification request acknowledge, s-node modification required) sent by the secondary base station to the master node.

[0324] Then the master node encapsulates the second RRC message into an RRC message (referred to as a first RRC message) and sends it to the UE, which is a way to send the activation TCI state information to the UE. The second RRC message is generated by the secondary node. The first RRC message is generated by the master node.

[0325] In the second implementation, the first information can be an RRC message or a medium access control element (MAC CE). In addition, the second information can be sent to the master node in a manner that is perceptible to the master node, such as being explicitly carried in an information element in an interface message (for example, s-node addition request acknowledge, s-node modification request acknowledge, s-node modification required) sent by the secondary base station to the master node.

[0326] That is, in the second implementation, the secondary node can send the second information to the master node in a manner that is perceptible to the master node, such as by sending an interface message, so that the master node can parse the second information to obtain the activated TCI state information carried in the second information. For example, when the secondary node is a CU / DU architecture, the activated TCI state can be sent by the DU of the secondary node to the CU of the secondary node, and then the CU of the secondary node generates an interface message and sends the second information to the master node.

[0327] Then, after the master node parses the second information to obtain the activated TCI state information, the master node can send the activated TCI state information to the UE by carrying the activated TCI state information in an RRC message or a MAC CE (i.e., the first information) and sending it to the UE. For example, when the master node is a CU / DU architecture, after the master node obtains the activated TCI state information by parsing the interface message, the CU of the master node sends the activated TCI state information to the DU of the master node, and then the DU of the master node generates a MAC CE and sends the generated MAC CE to the UE.

[0328] Based on the second implementation, the first information can further include third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0329] In consideration of the fact that when the first information is an RRC message or a MAC CE, in order for the UE to know whether the activated TCI state information included in the first information is TCI state information of the MCG or TCI state information of the SCG, the first information further includes the third indication information.

[0330] In consideration of: on the one hand, for the link recovery process, when the MAC layer of the UE receives the indication information of a certain number of beam failures of the PSCell (i.e., indicating the beam failure of the PSCell), the UE triggers the random access procedure of the PSCell; on the other hand, when the MAC layer of the UE receives the indication information of a certain number of beam failures of the SCell in the secondary node (i.e., indicating the beam failure of the SCell), the UE sends the BFR MAC CE to the secondary node. On the other hand, in the current protocol, the method for the UE to initiate the random access procedure to the SCG when the SCG is in the deactivated state has not been determined, which leads to the UE being unable to initiate the random access procedure in the SCG and thus being unable to complete the link recovery procedure of the PSCell; in addition, when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the UE can not send uplink data to the SCG, i.e., cannot send the BFR MAC CE.

[0331] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is used for the case that the SCG is in the deactivated state, and when the beam failure of the PSCell or the SCell is detected, enables the UE to perform the random access procedure in the PSCell or enables the UE to send the BFR MAC CE to the secondary node, so as to complete the link recovery procedure of the PSCell or the SCell.

[0332] Specifically, as shown in the method, the method comprises the following steps: Figure 9

[0333] S201, the UE detects the beam failure of a first cell in the SCG.

[0334] Wherein, the SCG is in the deactivated state, and the first cell is the PSCell or the SCell in the SCG.

[0335] Optionally, the beam failure of the first cell in the SCG can refer to: when the MAC layer of the UE receives the indication information of the beam failure of the first cell of the SCG from the physical layer, the MAC layer of the UE starts or restarts a timer and records the number of received beam failure indication information as 1. If the MAC layer of the UE receives a certain number of beam failure indication information of the first cell before the timer expires, it is considered that the first cell in the SCG has failed.

[0336] S202, the UE initiates the random access procedure in the first BWP of the PSCell in the SCG.

[0337] ​When the first cell is a PSCell, the random access procedure is initiated on the BWP of the PSCell in the SCG when the UE detects a beam failure of the PSCell. Thus, the link recovery procedure of the PSCell is ensured to be successfully completed.

[0338] When the first cell is a SCell, the random access procedure is initiated on the BWP of the PSCell in the SCG when the UE detects a beam failure of the SCell. In this way, the UE can send uplink data to the SCG through the PSCell, i.e., send a BFR MAC CE, and thus ensure the successful completion of the link recovery procedure of the SCell.

[0339] Therefore, in an implementation manner, when the first cell is a SCell, the method further includes:

[0340] S203, after the random access procedure initiated on the first BWP is successful, the UE sends a first MAC CE to the secondary node.

[0341] The first MAC CE is used to indicate a beam failure of the first cell.

[0342] In an implementation manner, the first BWP can be an initial BWP of the PSCell.

[0343] In a possible design, the above method further includes:

[0344] S204, after the random access procedure initiated on the first BWP, the UE switches from the first BWP to a dormant BWP of the PSCell.

[0345] For example, when the first cell is a PSCell, after the UE initiates the random access procedure on the first BWP, the link recovery procedure of the PSCell is completed, and then by switching from the first BWP to the dormant BWP of the PSCell, the PSCell can be restored to the deactivated state, thereby saving the power of the UE and reducing the network side to send the UE to enter the dormant BWP command and reducing the overhead.

[0346] For another example, when the first cell is a SCell, as described above in S202, after the UE initiates the random access procedure on the first BWP, the UE can send a BFR MAC CE to the SCG through the PSCell to complete the link recovery procedure of the SCell. Then by switching from the first BWP to the dormant BWP of the PSCell, the PSCell can be restored to the deactivated state, thereby saving the power of the UE and reducing the network side to send the UE to enter the dormant BWP command and reducing the overhead.

[0347] In another possible design, the first BWP can be a dormant BWP of the PSCell.

[0348] It should be noted that when the communication method shown in Figure 3 is applied to the link recovery procedure, the communication method shown in Figure 9 may be applied to the method shown in Figure 3 to solve the technical problem solved by the method shown in Figure 3 in the method shown in Figure 9 the technical problem solved by the method shown in Figure 9 the technical effect achieved by the method shown in

[0349] For example, in the method shown in Figure 3 , when the SCG of the UE is in the deactivated state, the UE first obtains a first evaluation result of the contact signal instruction of the SCG according to a first evaluation period. Then the UE performs a link recovery procedure on the SCG according to the first evaluation result. In the link recovery procedure, if the MAC layer of the UE receives indication information of a certain number of beam failures of the first cell, it means that the beam of the first cell has failed. For example, after obtaining the first evaluation result of the previous first evaluation period through S107, if the first evaluation result indicates that all RSs in the physical layer of the UE evaluate the link signal quality to be worse than the threshold Q , the physical layer of the UE reports the indication information of the beam failure to the MAC layer. When the MAC layer of the UE receives the indication information of a certain number of beam failures of the PSCell, it means that the beam of the first cell has failed. out,LR

[0350] Then, by using the method shown in Figure 9 , the UE can initiate a random access procedure through the first BWP of the PSCell in the SCG, and thus the link recovery procedure on the first cell can be successfully completed.

[0351] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which is used for completing a link recovery procedure on a PSCell or an SCell when detecting a beam failure of the PSCell or the SCell, in a case where an SCG of a UE is in a deactivated state.

[0352] Specifically, as shown in Figure 10 , the method comprises the following steps:

[0353] S301, when the SCG is in the deactivated state, the UE sends fourth indication information to the secondary node through the primary node.

[0354] ​The fourth indication information is used to indicate a beam failure of a first cell in the SCG. Alternatively, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the UE is ready to perform a beam recovery procedure on the first cell. The first cell can be a PSCell or an SCell in the SCG. Optionally, the beam failure of the first cell in the SCG means that when the MAC layer of the UE receives a beam failure indication information of the first cell in the SCG from the physical layer, the MAC layer of the UE starts or restarts a timer and records the number of currently received beam failure indication information as 1. If the MAC layer of the UE receives a certain number of beam failure indication information of the first cell before the timer expires, it is considered that the first cell in the SCG has a beam failure.

[0355] In addition, the fourth indication information can also carry the index of a candidate beam measured by the UE in the SCell and having a signal quality better than a certain threshold.

[0356] S302, the secondary node receives the fourth indication message from the primary node.

[0357] In the above method, considering that in the link recovery procedure, when the MAC layer of the UE receives a certain number of beam failure information of the PSCell or the SCell, whether the UE initiates a random access procedure in the PSCell or the UE sends a BFR MAC CE to the secondary node, it is to inform the secondary node of the beam failure of the PSCell or the SCell. Therefore, in the above method, the fourth indication information is sent from the UE to the secondary node through the primary node, so that the secondary node can be informed of the beam failure of the first cell (PSCell or SCell) without sending uplink data to the secondary node.

[0358] It should be noted that when the above Figure 3 The communication method shown in the above Figure 10 The communication method shown in the above Figure 3 The method shown in the above Figure 3 The method shown in the above Figure 10 The technical problems solved by the method shown in the above Figure 10 The technical effects achieved by the method shown in the above

[0359] For example, in the above Figure 3In the method shown, when the UE's SCG is in a deactivated state, the UE first obtains the first evaluation result of the communication signal instruction for the SCG according to the first evaluation cycle. Then, the UE performs a link recovery process for the SCG based on the first evaluation result. During the link recovery process, if the UE's MAC layer receives an indication of a certain number of beam failures in the first cell, it indicates that the beam of the first cell has failed. For example, through S107, after obtaining the first evaluation result of the previous first evaluation cycle in each first indication cycle, if the first evaluation result indicates that the UE's physical layer uses... All RS-evaluated link signal quality is better than the threshold Q. out,LR If the signal is poor, the UE's physical layer reports a beam failure indication to the MAC layer. When the UE's MAC layer receives a certain number of beam failure indications from the PSCell, it indicates that the beam of the first cell has failed.

[0360] Then, using Figure 10 The method shown allows the UE to send a fourth indication message to the secondary node through the primary node, thereby notifying the secondary node of beam failure in the first cell (PSCell or SCell) without the UE sending uplink data.

[0361] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the UE and / or network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations thereof may also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps may be performed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to perform all the operations in the embodiments of this application. The embodiments provided in this application are related and may be referenced or cited in relation to each other.

[0362] The above embodiments mainly describe the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It should be understood that the aforementioned UE, master node, or slave node includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function in order to achieve the corresponding functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware 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.

[0363] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functions of the device (including the UE or the master node or the secondary node) according to the above method examples, for example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function module. Optionally, the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used.

[0364] As shown in Figure 11 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 40 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 40 can be a chip or a system on chip in the UE. The communication device 40 can be used to perform the functions of the UE involved in the above embodiments. As a possible implementation manner, the communication device 40 includes:

[0365] The processing unit 401 is configured to obtain a first evaluation result of a link signal quality of a secondary cell group (SCG) according to a first evaluation period when the SCG is in a deactivation state.

[0366] The processing unit 401 is further configured to obtain a second evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period when the SCG is in an activation state.

[0367] The processing unit 401 is further configured to perform a radio link monitoring or a link recovery procedure on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

[0368] In a possible design, the communication device 40 further includes:

[0369] The receiving unit 402 is configured to receive first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the UE.

[0370] In a possible design, the communication device 40 further includes:

[0371] The receiving unit 402 is configured to receive first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the UE.

[0372] The processing unit 401 is further configured to determine the first evaluation period according to a third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0373] In a possible design, the first evaluation period is an evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined discontinuous reception (DRX) period.

[0374] In a possible design, the processing unit 401 is further configured to cause the physical layer of the UE to report, according to a first indication period, indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to an upper layer protocol stack, or cause the physical layer of the UE to report, according to a second indication period, indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

[0375] In a possible design, the receiving unit 402 is configured to receive second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate the first indication period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the UE.

[0376] In a possible design, the receiving unit 402 is configured to receive second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate the second scaling factor; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the UE.

[0377] The processing unit 401 is further configured to determine the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0378] In a possible design, the first indication period is an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

[0379] In a possible design, the receiving unit 402 is configured to receive, when the SCG is in a deactivated state, first information from a master node; the first information includes: activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; and the activated TCI state information is used for the UE to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the SCG.

[0380] In a possible design, the processing unit 401 is further configured to obtain, according to a first evaluation period, the first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG based on a reference signal corresponding to the activated TCI state information.

[0381] In a possible design, the first information is a first RRC message, the first RRC message includes a second RRC message, and the activated TCI state information is included in the second RRC message; and the second RRC message is an RRC message from a secondary node.

[0382] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0383] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0384] As Figure 12The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another communication device 50 provided in this application embodiment. The communication device 50 can be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a network device (such as a UE's primary or secondary node). The communication device 50 can be used to perform the functions of the network device involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 50 includes:

[0385] The sending unit 501 is used to send first indication information to the UE; the first indication information is used to indicate a first evaluation period or a first scaling factor; the network device is the primary node or secondary node of the UE; wherein, the first evaluation period is used to instruct the UE to obtain a first evaluation result according to the first evaluation period when the secondary cell group SCG is in a deactivated state; the first evaluation result is used to perform radio link monitoring or link recovery process on the SCG; the first scaling factor is used to instruct the UE to determine the first evaluation period according to the third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

[0386] In one possible design, the sending unit 501 is further configured to send second indication information to the UE; the second indication information is configured to indicate a first indication period or a second scaling factor; wherein, the first indication period is configured to instruct the UE to report the first evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack according to the first indication period; the second scaling factor is configured to instruct the UE to determine the first indication period according to the third indication period and the second scaling factor.

[0387] like Figure 13 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another communication device 60 provided in this embodiment. The communication device 60 can be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a master node. The communication device 60 can be used to perform the functions of the master node involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 60 includes:

[0388] The receiving unit 601 is configured to receive second information from the secondary node, the second information including activation transmission configuration indication (TCI) status information; the activation TCI status information is used by the UE to receive the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the secondary cell group (SCG) of the secondary node; wherein the SCG is in a deactivated state.

[0389] The sending unit 602 is used to send first information to the UE, the first information including the activated TCI status information.

[0390] In one possible design, the second information is a second Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and the first information is a first RRC message; the first RRC message includes the second RRC message.

[0391] In a possible design, the first information is an RRC message or a medium access control element (MAC CE).

[0392] In a possible design, the first information further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

[0393] As Figure 14 shown in FIG. 7, another constituent schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 70 provided by embodiments of the present application is shown. The communication apparatus 70 can be a chip or a system on chip in a secondary node. The communication apparatus 70 can be used to perform functions of the secondary node involved in the above-described embodiments. As a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 70 includes:

[0394] a sending unit 701 configured to send, to a master node, second information including activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; the activated TCI state information is used for the UE to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of a secondary cell group (SCG) of the secondary node; and the SCG is in a deactivated state.

[0395] In a possible design, the second information is an RRC message sent by the secondary node to the master node, or the second information is an interface message between the secondary node and the master node.

[0396] As Figure 15 shown in FIG. 8, another constituent schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 80 provided by embodiments of the present application is shown. The communication apparatus 80 can be a chip or a system on chip in a UE. The communication apparatus 80 can be used to perform functions of the UE involved in the above-described embodiments. As a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 80 includes:

[0397] a processing unit 801 configured to detect a beam failure of a first cell in a secondary cell group (SCG); the SCG is in a deactivated state; and the first cell is a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) in the SCG.

[0398] The processing unit 801 is further configured to initiate a random access procedure on a first part bandwidth (BWP) of the PSCell in the SCG.

[0399] In a possible design, the first BWP is an initial BWP of the PSCell. The processing unit 801 is further configured to switch from the initial BWP to a dormant BWP of the PSCell after the random access procedure.

[0400] In one possible design, the first BWP is the dormant BWP of the PSCell.

[0401] In one possible design, when the first cell is an SCell, the communication device 80 further includes:

[0402] The sending unit 802 is used to send a first Medium Access Control (MAC) CE to the secondary node after the random access procedure is successful; the first MAC CE is used to indicate that the beam of the first cell has failed.

[0403] like Figure 16 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another communication device 90 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 90 can be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a UE. The communication device 90 can be used to perform the functions of the UE involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 90 includes:

[0404] The transmitting unit 901 is used to send a fourth indication information to the secondary node through the primary node when the secondary cell group (SCG) is in a deactivated state; the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the beam of the first cell in the SCG has failed; the first cell is the PSCell or the secondary cell SCell in the SCG.

[0405] In one possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0406] like Figure 17 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another communication device 100 provided in this application embodiment. The communication device 100 may be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a secondary node of the UE. The communication device 100 can be used to perform the functions of the secondary node involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 100 includes:

[0407] The receiving unit 1001 is used to receive a fourth indication message from the master node of the UE, the fourth indication message being used to indicate that the beam of the first cell in the secondary cell group SCG has failed.

[0408] In one possible design, the fourth indication information is an RRC message, or the fourth indication information is a MAC CE.

[0409] It is understood that a detailed description of the functions of each unit in the aforementioned communication devices 40-100 can be found in the method embodiments, for example... Figures 3-10 The descriptions of the relevant steps performed by the corresponding UE or network device (master node or slave node) in the illustrated embodiments are not repeated here.

[0410] As Figure 18 A constituent diagram of a communication device 110 is shown. The communication device 110 includes at least one processor 1101 and at least one interface circuit 1104. In addition, the communication device 110 can further include a communication line 1102 and a memory 1103.

[0411] The processor 1101 can be a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of program code for implementing the schemes of the present application.

[0412] The communication line 1102 can include a path for transmitting information between the above components.

[0413] The interface circuit 1104 can use any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as an Ethernet network, a radio access network (RAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0414] The memory 1103 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but not limited to. The memory can exist independently of the processor, and can be connected to the processor via the communication line 1102. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0415] The memory 1103 is configured to store computer-executable instructions for implementing the solutions of the present application, and the processor 1101 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1103. The processor 1101 is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1103, so as to implement the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0416] For example, in some embodiments, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S101-S104 as shown in Figure 3 , Figures 6-7 S105 as shown in Figure 4 S106 and S107 as shown in Figure 5 S108 as shown in Figure 6 S109 and S110 as shown in Figure 7 S112 and S113 as shown in Figure 8 , and other operations required to be performed by the UE.

[0417] In another embodiment, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S105 as shown in Figure 4 S106 as shown in Figure 5 S108 as shown in Figure 6 S109 as shown in Figure 7 , and other operations required to be performed by the network device.

[0418] In another embodiment, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S111 and S112 as shown in Figure 8 , and other operations required to be performed by the master node.

[0419] In another embodiment, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S111 as shown in Figure 8 , and other operations required to be performed by the secondary node.

[0420] In another embodiment, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S201-S204 as shown in Figure 9 , and other operations required to be performed by the UE.

[0421] In another embodiment, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 is caused to perform S301 as shown in Figure 10 , and other operations required to be performed by the UE.

[0422] In some embodiments, when the processor 1101 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1103, the communication apparatus 110 performs the method as shown in S302, and other operations required by the secondary node. Figure 10

[0423] Optionally, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0424] In a specific implementation, as an example, the processor 1101 can include one or more CPUs, for example, the CPU0 and the CPU1 in the CPU 1102. Figure 18

[0425] In a specific implementation, as an example, the apparatus 1100 can include a plurality of processors, for example, the processor 1101 and the processor 1107 in the CPU 1102. Each of the processors can be a single-CPU processor or a multi-CPU processor. The processor herein can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing, for example, computer program instructions. Figure 18

[0426] In a specific implementation, as an example, the apparatus 1100 can further include an output device 1105 and an input device 1106. The output device 1105 communicates with the processor 1101 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 1105 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 1106 communicates with the processor 1101 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 1106 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensor device, etc.

[0427] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is performed.

[0428] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer can perform the method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0429] ​​​The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip. The chip comprises a processor. When the processor executes computer program instructions, the chip can execute the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The instructions can come from a memory inside the chip or a memory outside the chip. Optionally, the chip further comprises an input and output circuit as a communication interface.

[0430] The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system comprising a first node and a second node.

[0431] The first node is configured to perform operations required by the master node of the UE in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application, and the second node is configured to perform operations required by the secondary node of the UE in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application.

[0432] For example, the first node is configured to perform S111-S112 in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application, receive the second information from the second node, and send the first information to the terminal device. The second node is configured to perform S111 in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application, and send the second information to the first node. Figure 8 Figure 8

[0433] The functions or actions or operations or steps in the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part. When realized by software, the functions or actions or operations or steps can be realized in the form of computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product comprises one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed by a computer, the computer instructions can generate the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0434] ​​Although the present application has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the specific content thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, it is intended that the present application cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the scope of the application. It should be understood that various holidays and alterations can be made to the application disclosed in this specification without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present application. It is intended that the present application embrace all such alternates, modifications and fall within the scope of the claims accompanying this specification.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: When a secondary cell group (SCG) of a terminal device is in a deactivated state, the terminal device acquires a first evaluation result of link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period, the first evaluation period being an evaluation duration of the link signal quality corresponding to the first evaluation result; When the SCG is in an activated state, the terminal device acquires a second evaluation result of link signal quality of the SCG according to a second evaluation period, the second evaluation period being an evaluation duration of the link signal quality corresponding to the second evaluation result; The terminal device performs radio link monitoring or a link recovery procedure on the SCG according to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal device receives first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate the first evaluation period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal device receives first indication information from a network device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first scaling factor; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device; The terminal device determines the first evaluation period according to a third evaluation period and the first scaling factor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first evaluation period is an evaluation period corresponding to a predetermined discontinuous reception (DRX) period.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: According to a first indication period, a physical layer of the terminal device reports indication information corresponding to the first evaluation result to an upper layer protocol stack; Or, according to a second indication period, the physical layer of the terminal device reports indication information corresponding to the second evaluation result to the upper layer protocol stack.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal device receives second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate the first indication period; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises: The terminal device receives second indication information from a network device; the second indication information is used to indicate a second scaling factor; and the network device is a master node or a secondary node of the terminal device; The terminal device determines the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein: The first indication period is an indication period corresponding to a predetermined DRX period.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further comprises: When the SCG is in the deactivated state, the terminal device receives first information from a master node; the first information comprises activated transmission configuration indication (TCI) state information; and the activated TCI state information is used for the terminal device to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the SCG. The terminal device acquires a first evaluation result of link signal quality of the SCG according to a first evaluation period, comprising: The terminal device acquires the first evaluation result of the link signal quality of the SCG according to the first evaluation period based on a reference signal corresponding to the activated TCI state information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first information is a first radio resource control (RRC) message, the first RRC message includes a second RRC message, and the activated TCI state information is included in the second RRC message; and the second RRC message is an RRC message from a secondary node.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first information is an RRC message or a medium access control element (MAC) CE.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The first information further includes third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the activated TCI state information is TCI state information of the SCG.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The method includes: The network device sends first indication information to the terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate a first evaluation period; and the network device is a primary node or a secondary node of the terminal device. The first evaluation period is used to indicate that the terminal device acquires a first evaluation result according to the first evaluation period when a secondary cell group (SCG) is in a deactivated state, the first evaluation period is an evaluation time length of link signal quality corresponding to the first evaluation result, and the first evaluation result is used for wireless link monitoring or a link recovery process of the SCG.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method further includes: The network device sends second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate a first indication period or a second scaling factor. The first indication period is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the first evaluation result to an upper layer protocol stack by a physical layer of the terminal device according to the first indication period; and the second scaling factor is used to indicate that the terminal device determines the first indication period according to a third indication period and the second scaling factor.

15. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes at least one processor and interface circuitry, and when the processor executes computer program instructions, the communication device performs the method in any one of claims 1-12.

16. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes at least one processor and interface circuitry, and when the processor executes computer program instructions, the communication device performs the method in any one of claims 13-14.

17. A chip, characterized by The chip includes a processor, and when the processor executes computer program instructions, the chip performs the method in any one of claims 1-12 or any one of claims 13-14.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, includes: Computer software instructions; When the computer software instructions run in a communication device or a chip built in the communication device, the communication device performs the method in any one of claims 1-12 or any one of claims 13-14.

19. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product includes instructions, and when the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer performs the method in any one of claims 1-12 or any one of claims 13-14.

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