Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and device, which are applied to a communication system including a base station and a terminal, the base station sends a system message, the system message at least includes configuration information of a cell for access, available frequency bands of the base station include a first frequency band and an extended frequency band, and the extended frequency band is a frequency band not included in the first frequency band. The terminal determines that the cell for access is a first type cell, and the allocated frequency band belongs to the first frequency band; and the terminal accesses the cell for access. Because the terminal confirms that the allocated frequency band of the cell for access specified by the base station belongs to the first frequency band available to the terminal before accessing, the frequency band allocated by the base station to the terminal can be prevented from exceeding the frequency band supported by the terminal, so that the possibility that the terminal cannot normally communicate or is even damaged is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the development of mobile communications, the increase in the bandwidth of wireless resources available to terminals has become a trend.

[0003] However, once a terminal leaves the factory, the bandwidth it is compatible with is fixed. Under these circumstances, if operators promote the use of larger bandwidth frequency band resources, the terminal may experience problems such as being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and apparatus, which aims to solve the problem of terminals being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged due to bandwidth mismatch between the terminal and the network.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution:

[0006] The first aspect of this application provides a communication method applied to a communication system including a base station and a terminal. The base station sends a system message, which includes at least configuration information of a cell for access. The base station's available frequency bands include a first frequency band and an extended frequency band, where the extended frequency band is a frequency band not included in the first frequency band. The terminal determines that the cell for access is a first-class cell whose allocated frequency band belongs to the first frequency band, and the terminal accesses the cell for access. Because the terminal confirms before accessing that the frequency band allocated to the cell for access by the base station belongs to the first frequency band, and that the terminal's available frequency band is the first frequency band, it can avoid the base station allocating a frequency band to the terminal that exceeds the frequency band supported by the terminal, thereby reducing the possibility of the terminal being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged.

[0007] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method applied to a terminal whose available frequency band is a first frequency band. The method includes: receiving a system message sent by a base station, wherein the system message includes at least configuration information of a cell for access, and the available frequency bands of the base station include the first frequency band and extended frequency bands not included in the first frequency band. The method further involves determining that the cell for access is a first-type cell whose allocated frequency band belongs to the first frequency band, and then performing access in the cell for access. It is evident that access is performed after determining that the frequency band of the cell for access belongs to the available frequency band of the terminal, thus reducing the possibility of communication failure or even damage caused by the terminal not supporting the cell's frequency band.

[0008] In some implementations of the first or second aspect of this application, after the terminal accesses the cell used for access, the method further includes: the terminal sending a capability message to the base station.

[0009] In some implementations of the first or second aspect of this application, the capability message includes information about the available frequency bands of the terminal and the starting frequency point of the available frequency bands of the terminal, thereby enabling the base station to inform the terminal of the frequency bands it supports, preventing the base station from allocating frequency bands to the terminal that exceed the frequency bands it supports, and reducing the possibility that the terminal will be unable to communicate normally or even be damaged.

[0010] In some implementations of the first or second aspect of this application, the capability message further includes: information about the bandwidth capability of the terminal, providing the base station with more information about the terminal, and increasing the likelihood that the base station will configure the available frequency bands for the terminal.

[0011] In some implementations of the first or second aspect of this application, the capability message further includes: carrier aggregation capability information, which indicates that the terminal supports carrier aggregation in the available frequency bands of the base station, so as to lay the foundation for improving the uplink and downlink rates of the terminal.

[0012] In some implementations of the first or second aspect of this application, the method further includes: the terminal determining that the frequency band allocated to the cell configured by the base station for cell handover and cell measurement is at least an extended frequency band, and reporting the measurement results of the first type of cell, so as to protect the terminal from performing measurement and handover in unsupported frequency bands, and further reduce the possibility that the terminal will be unable to communicate normally or even be damaged due to not supporting the frequency band configured by the base station.

[0013] A third aspect of this application provides a communication method applied to a base station. The available frequency bands of the base station include a first frequency band and an extended frequency band, wherein the extended frequency band is a frequency band not included in the first frequency band. The method includes: determining that there are existing terminals in the communication system, wherein the existing terminals are terminals that do not support the extended frequency band; sending a system message, wherein the system message includes at least the configuration information of a first type of cell, wherein the first type of cell is a cell used for access, and the frequency band allocated to the first type of cell belongs to the first frequency band. Therefore, it can ensure that existing terminals initiate access in the supported frequency band, reducing the possibility that existing terminals cannot communicate normally or may even be damaged because they do not support the frequency band of the cell configured by the base station.

[0014] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the method further includes: a base station receiving a capability message of the terminal, the capability message including information about the bandwidth capability of the terminal.

[0015] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the capability message further includes information about the available frequency bands of the terminal and the starting frequency point of the available frequency bands. The terminal informs the base station of the supported frequency bands and the starting frequency point of the supported frequency bands to avoid the base station allocating frequency bands to the terminal that exceed the frequency bands supported by the terminal, thereby reducing the possibility that the terminal will be unable to communicate normally or even be damaged.

[0016] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the capability message further includes: carrier aggregation capability information of the terminal, wherein the carrier aggregation capability information indicates that the terminal supports carrier aggregation in the available frequency band of the base station, thereby laying the foundation for improving the uplink and downlink rates of the terminal through carrier aggregation.

[0017] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the terminal's bandwidth capability is a first bandwidth, which is the bandwidth of the base station's available frequency band. The method further includes: the base station configuring a second or third type of cell for the terminal's cell measurement and / or cell handover, wherein the frequency band allocated to the second type of cell belongs to the base station's available frequency band, and the frequency band allocated to the third type of cell belongs to a second frequency band, which at least includes an extended frequency band. The base station configures cells for the terminal's cell measurement and / or cell handover based on the terminal's bandwidth capability, ensuring both normal communication and protection of existing terminals from damage, while also improving frequency band utilization.

[0018] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the terminal's bandwidth capability is a first bandwidth, which is the bandwidth of the base station's available frequency band. The method further includes: the base station configuring a high-priority cell for the terminal's cell measurement and / or cell handover; the high-priority cell is the higher-priority cell between a first-class cell and a target cell; the target cell includes second-class cells and / or third-class cells; the frequency band allocated to the second-class cells belongs to the base station's available frequency band; the frequency band allocated to the third-class cells belongs to the second frequency band; the second frequency band includes at least an extended frequency band, thereby ensuring both normal communication and protection of existing terminals from damage, while also improving frequency band utilization.

[0019] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the terminal's bandwidth capability is a second bandwidth, which is the bandwidth of the first frequency band. The method further includes: the base station configuring a first-type cell for cell measurement and cell handover for the terminal, ensuring that existing terminals initiate access in the supported frequency bands, and reducing the possibility that existing terminals may be unable to communicate normally or even be damaged due to not supporting the frequency bands of the cells configured by the base station.

[0020] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the method further includes: the base station configuring an arbitrary cell for a terminal in a connected state, wherein the frequency band allocated to the arbitrary cell belongs to the available frequency band of the base station, so as to improve the utilization rate of the frequency band and the uplink and downlink rates of the terminal.

[0021] In some implementations of the first or third aspect of this application, the methods for determining the existence of existing terminals include: determining the existence of existing terminals based on the bandwidth capabilities reported by terminals with historical connections; or, determining the existence of existing terminals based on information about terminals with historical connections and a pre-configured list of existing terminals; or, determining the existence of existing terminals based on configuration information.

[0022] A fourth aspect of this application provides an electronic device, including a memory and at least one processor. The memory is used to store a program, and the at least one processor is used to run the program, so that the electronic device implements the communication method provided in the second or third aspect of this application.

[0023] The fifth aspect of this application is a computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement the communication method provided in the second or third aspect of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is an example diagram illustrating a scenario where a base station communicates with a terminal.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 3a and Figure 3b Example diagram of the frequency band resources configured for the base station disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating yet another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 5a and Figure 5b An example diagram of another type of frequency band resource configured for a base station as disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 6a This is a flowchart illustrating yet another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 6b This is a flowchart illustrating yet another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating yet another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 8 This is a structural example diagram of the electronic device disclosed in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0034] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0035] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying order.

[0036] The embodiments of this application are applied to communication systems, which can be second-generation (2G) communication systems, third-generation (3G) communication systems, LTE systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, LTE and 5G hybrid architectures, 5G New Radio (5G NR) systems, and new communication systems that will emerge in the future development of communication.

[0037] An example of a communication system is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 It includes base station 1 and terminal 2.

[0038] In the embodiments provided in this application, the base station can be any device located on the network side and having wireless transceiver capabilities, including but not limited to: evolved base stations (NodeB, eNB, or e-NodeB) in Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations (gNodeB or gNB) or transmission receiving points / transmission reception points (TRPs) in New Radio (NR), base stations in subsequent 3GPP evolutions, access nodes in Wi-Fi systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, etc. The base station can be: macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small cell, relay station, or balloon station, etc. The base station can include one or more co-located or non-co-located Transmission Reception Points (TRPs). The base station can also be a radio controller, centralized unit (CU), and / or distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The base station can communicate with the terminal, or it can communicate with the terminal through a relay station. The terminal can communicate with multiple base stations using different technologies. For example, the terminal can communicate with base stations that support LTE networks, base stations that support 5G networks, and can also establish dual connections with both LTE and 5G base stations.

[0039] In the embodiments provided in this application, the terminal can take various forms, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal device, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal may also be referred to as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile device, UE terminal equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. The terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0040] Taking a mobile phone as an example, after the mobile phone is turned on, it establishes a connection with the base station by selecting the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and going through the initial access process.

[0041] Mobile phones communicate with base stations via electromagnetic waves. Frequency band or frequency range refers to the frequency range of electromagnetic waves, and the width of the frequency band is called bandwidth or frequency width, etc.

[0042] Taking a 5G NR communication system as an example, N28 is a typical frequency band for 5G NR. N28 refers to the available uplink frequency band of 703MHz-748MHz and the available downlink frequency band of 758MHz-803MHz. Currently, 5G NR communication systems only use a portion of N28. For example, operators use the uplink frequency band of 703MHz-733MHz and the downlink frequency band of 758MHz-788MHz, meaning both the uplink and downlink bandwidths are 30MHz. The 703MHz-733MHz uplink band and the 758MHz-788MHz downlink band can be referred to as band N28A. It is evident that within the available frequency bands of N28, 15MHz of both the uplink and downlink bands are unused.

[0043] With the development of mobile communications, upgrading bandwidth has become a trend. For example, 5G NR communication systems increase both uplink and downlink bandwidth from 30MHz to 45MHz, meaning the uplink band is upgraded to 703MHz-748MHz and the downlink band to 758MHz-803MHz. Alternatively, the uplink and downlink bandwidth can be increased from 30MHz to 40MHz, for example, the uplink band to 703MHz-743MHz and the downlink band to 758MHz-798MHz.

[0044] In this situation, some terminals may fail to function properly or even become damaged. For example, a terminal that originally operated in the uplink band of 703MHz-733MHz and the downlink band of 758MHz-788MHz may be unable to communicate properly if it is assigned to a cell with a frequency band of 733MHz-748MHz (i.e., the unused portion of the uplink band of N28) or a frequency band of 788MHz-803MHz (i.e., the unused portion of the downlink band of N28). It may even be damaged due to poor performance of the built-in filter.

[0045] This application provides a communication method to address the problem of how to ensure compatibility between existing terminals and frequency bands after the bandwidth of frequency bands on the network side increases, thereby reducing the possibility that existing terminals may not be able to communicate normally or may even be damaged.

[0046] Figure 2 This application discloses a communication method in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 The process shown is illustrated by upgrading the network-side frequency band from N28A (i.e., the first frequency band) to an uplink frequency band of 703MHz-743MHz and a downlink frequency band of 758MHz-798MHz. It is also assumed that the operating frequency bands of terminal A are 703MHz-733MHz (uplink) and 758MHz-788MHz (downlink), and the operating frequency bands of terminal B are 703MHz-743MHz (uplink) and 758MHz-788MHz (downlink).

[0047] Figure 2 The process includes the following steps:

[0048] S201. The base station determines whether there are existing terminals in the communication system.

[0049] In this embodiment, terminals that do not support the upgraded frequency band are referred to as existing terminals. Referring to the example above, terminal A operates on the N28A frequency band with a bandwidth of 30MHz, therefore terminal A is an existing terminal. Terminal B, however, operates on the N28 frequency band with a bandwidth of 40MHz, and is not an existing terminal.

[0050] In some implementations, base stations can be pre-configured with code or files to indicate the presence of existing terminals in the communication system.

[0051] In other implementations, the base station can determine the existence of existing terminals in the communication system by using the bandwidth capacity (e.g., 30MHz) reported by terminals with historical connections. Terminals with historical connections include, but are not limited to, terminals that have accessed the base station within a preset time period (e.g., three months).

[0052] In some implementations, the base station can be pre-configured with a list of existing terminals and can identify whether a historically connected terminal is on the list. If so, it is determined that an existing terminal exists. The list of existing terminals may include the model number of the existing terminals.

[0053] In some implementations, S201 can be executed periodically.

[0054] If the judgment result is yes, proceed to step S202. If the judgment result is no, there is no need to execute the subsequent steps to ensure normal communication and prevent damage to existing terminals, thus saving base station resources and power consumption. It is understandable that if there are no existing terminals, communication can proceed according to the communication protocol, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0055] S202, the base station is configured with Class I cells and Class II cells.

[0056] Because there are still existing terminals, in order to ensure that the existing terminals can communicate normally and are not damaged, the base station, although the frequency band has been upgraded, needs to be configured with Category 1 cells for the existing terminals.

[0057] The first type of cell refers to a cell that can only be allocated subcarriers within the frequency bands available to existing terminals (referred to as the first part of the frequency band). The second type of cell refers to a cell that can be allocated subcarriers within the frequency bands available to the base station. In other words, the base station can allocate any subcarrier within the available frequency bands to a second type of cell, but can only allocate subcarriers within the frequency bands available to existing terminals to a first type of cell. It is understandable that a second type of cell may be allocated subcarriers from frequency bands newly added after the base station's frequency band upgrade.

[0058] Based on the examples above, Figure 3a The diagram shows two types of frequency bands used for uplink cells before and after the base station's frequency band upgrade. f1 is the center frequency of the uplink band used by N28A, which is 703MHz-733MHz. f2 is the center frequency of the upgraded band, i.e., the uplink band used by N28, which is 703MHz-743MHz.

[0059] Figure 3bThe diagram shows the two types of frequency bands used for downlink cells before and after the base station's frequency band upgrade. f3 is the center frequency of the downlink band used by N28A, which is 758MHz-788MHz. f4 is the center frequency of the upgraded band, i.e., the downlink band used by N28, which is 758MHz-798MHz.

[0060] Understandable, Figure 3a and Figure 3b The N28 shown refers to all the frequency bands shown, not all of N28.

[0061] Terminal A operates in the uplink band of 703MHz-733MHz and the downlink band of 758MHz-788MHz. Therefore, the 733MHz-743MHz or 788MHz-798MHz bands cannot be used by Terminal A. Thus, Terminal A needs to be configured with a Type I cell, i.e., from... Figure 3a The subcarriers are selected from the 703MHz-733MHz band with center frequency f1, and allocated to the uplink cells in the first type of cells, as well as from... Figure 3b The center frequency point is f3. Subcarriers are selected in the frequency band 758MHz-788MHz and allocated to downlink cells in the first type of cell.

[0062] Terminal B operates in the uplink frequency band of 703MHz-743MHz and the downlink frequency band of 758MHz-798MHz. Therefore, from Figure 3a The subcarriers shown are selected from the 703MHz-743MHz band with center frequency f2 and allocated to the uplink cells in the second type of cells, as well as from... Figure 3b The subcarrier is selected from the 758MHz-798MHz frequency band with center frequency point f4 and allocated to the downlink cell in the second type of cell. It is understood that the cells in the second type of cell allocated the frequency bands 733MHz-743MHz or 788MHz-798MHz cannot be used by terminal A.

[0063] In some implementations, the base station determines the first part of the frequency band based on the available frequency bands before the upgrade. For example, if the frequency band on the network side is upgraded from N28A to an uplink frequency band of 703MHz-743MHz and a downlink frequency band of 758MHz-798MHz, the base station will use the frequency band N28A before the upgrade as the first part of the frequency band to improve the possibility of the first part of the frequency band being compatible with the capabilities of existing terminals.

[0064] In other implementations, the base station pre-configures a list of existing terminal frequency bands, which includes information about the frequency bands adapted to the existing terminals, such as the identifier N28A. In this case, the base station can configure the first part of the frequency bands based on the pre-configured list of existing terminal frequency bands, for example, using N28A as the first part of the frequency bands.

[0065] Understandably, the bandwidth of the first frequency band is not limited to 30MHz. As long as the frequency point is f1, the upper limit of the bandwidth does not exceed 30MHz. For example, the bandwidth can also be 20MHz.

[0066] It is understandable that S202 is an optional step; for example, S202 can be performed in... Figure 2 The process shown is executed before, but not included in, the process. Figure 2 In the process shown.

[0067] S203. The base station is configured with a first-class cell as the cell for terminal access.

[0068] Understandably, the first type of cell is the cell in which the terminal initiates access. In other words, the base station only allows the terminal to initiate access in the first type of cell, and does not allow it to initiate access in the second type of cell. This ensures the normal communication of existing terminals and prevents them from being damaged before the bandwidth capability of the terminal is obtained.

[0069] In some implementations, S203 specifically refers to the base station sending the information of the first type of cell in a system message, i.e., the base station sending a system message to the terminal. An example of a system message is a System Information Block (SIB) or a Master Information Block (MIB).

[0070] Understandably, based on the above example, both terminal A and terminal B will receive information about the first type of cell and will initiate a random access procedure (S204) on the first type of cell.

[0071] S204. The terminal completes access in the first type of cell.

[0072] In some implementations, the terminal obtains information about Category 1 cells through cell search. This means the terminal performs a cell search after powering on. Alternatively, the terminal can perform a cell search during cell handover or cell reselection processes. Regardless of the service scenario, because the base station uses Category 1 cells as the cells for terminal access, both existing terminals and terminals supporting upgraded frequency bands can only search for Category 1 cells and cannot search for Category 2 cells.

[0073] Regardless of the service scenario, after the terminal finds a first-class cell through the cell search process, it still needs to initiate a random access process in the first-class cell and interact with the base station through signaling to complete the random access process in order to establish uplink and downlink synchronization with the base station.

[0074] S205. The base station sends a capability query message to the terminal.

[0075] S206. The terminal reports capability messages to the base station.

[0076] Capability messages include, but are not limited to, information about the terminal's bandwidth capabilities, which are the bandwidths supported by the terminal.

[0077] In some implementations, after the terminal completes the random access procedure with the base station, it initiates an attach procedure. During the attach procedure, the base station sends a capability query message to the terminal, and the terminal responds to the capability query message by sending a capability message to the base station.

[0078] For example, terminal A reports a bandwidth capacity of 30MHz, while terminal B reports a bandwidth capacity of 40MHz.

[0079] In other implementations, the capability message includes information about bandwidth capability, available frequency bands for the terminal, and the starting frequency of the available frequency bands. For example, terminal A reports a bandwidth capability of 30MHz, an available frequency band of N28A, an uplink starting frequency of 703MHz, and a downlink starting frequency of 758MHz.

[0080] S207. The base station determines whether the terminal supports the upgraded frequency band based on the capability message. If not, proceed to S208; if yes, proceed to S209.

[0081] by Figure 3a and Figure 3b For example, the center frequency of the uplink band in the upgraded frequency band is f2, and the center frequency of the downlink band in the upgraded frequency band is f4, both with a bandwidth of 40MHz. Based on the above example, if terminal B reports a bandwidth capability of 40MHz, the base station determines that terminal B supports the upgraded frequency band (which can be referred to as the full frequency band), while terminal A reports a bandwidth capability of 30MHz, the base station determines that terminal A does not support the full frequency band.

[0082] S208, Cell measurement and cell handover configuration for base station terminals, Class I cells.

[0083] Based on the above example, if terminal A reports a bandwidth capability of 30MHz, the base station determines that terminal A does not support the full frequency band available to the base station. Therefore, it configures a Class I cell for both cell measurement and cell handover for terminal A.

[0084] S209, Base station for terminal cell measurement and / or cell handover configuration of second type cell.

[0085] Based on the above example, if terminal B reports a bandwidth capability of 40MHz, and the base station determines that terminal B supports the entire frequency band, then for at least one of the operations of cell measurement and cell handover for terminal B, a second type of cell is configured.

[0086] Cell measurement refers to the process by which a terminal measures the power of at least one beam in each cell and determines the cell quality based on the measurement results. Cell handover refers to the process of switching from one cell to another, after the terminal has established a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the base station, in order to meet the terminal's mobility requirements.

[0087] It is understandable that, because existing terminals do not support some of the frequency bands in the upgraded frequency bands, they cannot be instructed to perform cell handover or cell measurement on unsupported frequency bands, in order to avoid problems such as existing terminals being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged.

[0088] In some implementations, the base station may also configure Type I cells for cell measurement and / or cell handover of terminals supporting 40MHz bandwidth (e.g., terminal B). However, since Type I cells are used as resources for access by terminals (e.g., terminal A and terminal B), configuring Type II cells for cell measurement and cell handover of these terminals (those supporting 40MHz bandwidth) is beneficial for improving frequency band utilization. Furthermore, configuring Type II cells for both cell measurement and cell handover of terminals supporting the upgraded frequency band (e.g., terminal B) can further improve frequency band utilization.

[0089] Figure 2 The process shown in the diagram involves configuring the base station with Class 1 cells for both cell measurement and cell handover of existing terminals. Since the subcarriers allocated to Class 1 cells come from frequency bands that existing terminals can adapt to, the possibility of terminals being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged due to frequency bands exceeding the terminal's capability range can be reduced.

[0090] Figure 4 This is yet another communication method disclosed in the embodiments of this application, and... Figure 2 The main difference in the process shown lies in the way the base station configures the frequency band for the cell.

[0091] Figure 4 The process includes the following steps:

[0092] S401. The base station determines whether there are existing terminals in the communication system.

[0093] The definition and judgment method of existing terminals can be found in S301, and will not be repeated here.

[0094] If the judgment result is yes, execute S402.

[0095] S402, the base station is configured with Class I cells and Class III cells.

[0096] After the frequency band upgrade, the available frequency bands for the base station are divided into two parts. One part is the frequency band used by the base station before the upgrade, which is called the first part of the frequency band (i.e., the first frequency band). The frequency bands available to the base station after the upgrade (i.e., the full frequency band), other than the first part of the frequency band, are called extended frequency bands. The frequency bands that include at least the extended frequency bands are called the second part of the frequency band (which can be called the second frequency band).

[0097] It is understandable that the first part of the frequency band may overlap with the second part of the frequency band.

[0098] Based on the examples above, the first frequency band is N28A, that is, as shown... Figure 5a As shown, the uplink frequency band used in the N28A is the 703MHz-733MHz band with a center frequency of f1. For example... Figure 5b As shown, the downlink frequency band used in N28A is the 758MHz-788MHz band at the center frequency point f3. That is, the first part of the frequency band is the same as the first part of the frequency band mentioned above, both using N28A as an example.

[0099] In this embodiment, the second frequency band is taken as N28B as an example. According to the above definition, the frequency bands in N28 other than N28A are called extended frequency bands. Figure 5a and Figure 5b For example, the extended frequency bands are 733MHz-748MHz and 788MHz-803MHz. N28B refers to the extended frequency bands that include N28. Figure 5a In the N28B, the bandwidth is the same as that of the N28A (both are 30MHz). The uplink frequency band used in the N28B is the frequency band of 718MHz-748MHz with the center frequency point f2. Figure 5b In the N28B and N28A, the bandwidth is 30MHz. The downlink frequency band used in the N28B is 773MHz-803MHz, with a center frequency of f4. For example... Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown, N28A and N28B overlap.

[0100] It is understood that in this embodiment, the upgraded frequency band is N28 (i.e., the upgraded bandwidth is 45MHz) as an example.

[0101] As can be seen, in this embodiment, the available frequency band is divided into multiple small-bandwidth frequency bands to improve the utilization rate of frequency resources.

[0102] Understandably, the bandwidth of the first frequency band is not limited to 30MHz, as long as the frequency point is f1 and the upper limit of the bandwidth does not exceed 30MHz. The specific value of the frequency point of the second frequency band is not limited, nor is the bandwidth limited to 30MHz, as long as the second frequency band includes the extended frequency band available after the upgrade.

[0103] The definition of the first type of cell can be found in S203, and will not be repeated here. The third type of cell refers to a cell that can be allocated subcarriers belonging to the second part of the frequency band (such as N28B).

[0104] In some implementations, the base station can also be configured to have a lower priority for Category 1 cells than for Category 3 cells. The purpose of configuring priorities will be explained in conjunction with S409.

[0105] Understandably, S402 is an optional step.

[0106] S403. The base station is configured with a first-class cell as the cell for terminal access.

[0107] For details on base station configuration, please refer to S203, which will not be repeated here.

[0108] S404, the terminal completes access in the first type of cell.

[0109] S405, The base station sends a capability query message to the terminal.

[0110] S406, The terminal reports capability messages to the base station.

[0111] In this embodiment, it is understood that the capability message includes at least the starting frequency point of the terminal's available frequency band, which can provide the base station with more comprehensive and accurate bandwidth capabilities. For example, in Figure 5a When both N28A and N28B have a bandwidth of 30MHz, if the terminal only reports its bandwidth capability, it is insufficient for the base station to determine the available frequency band for the terminal.

[0112] Referring to the examples above, the capability message reported by terminal A includes the uplink starting frequency of 703MHz and the downlink starting frequency of 758MHz for terminal A's available frequency bands. The capability message reported by terminal B includes the uplink starting frequencies of 703MHz and 718MHz for terminal B's available frequency bands, and the downlink starting frequencies of 758MHz and 773MHz for terminal B's available frequency bands.

[0113] In some implementations, the capability message also includes bandwidth capability. For example, the capability message reported by terminal A also includes a bandwidth capability of 30MHz. The capability message reported by terminal B also includes a bandwidth capability of 45MHz.

[0114] S407. The base station determines whether the terminal supports the upgraded frequency band based on the capability message. If not, proceed to S408; if yes, proceed to S409.

[0115] by Figure 5a and Figure 5b For example, the center frequency of the upgraded frequency band is f2, and the bandwidth is 45MHz. Based on the capability messages reported by terminal A and terminal B in S406, the base station determines that terminal A does not support the upgraded frequency band, while terminal B supports the upgraded frequency band.

[0116] S408, cell measurement and cell handover configuration for base station as terminal, first cell.

[0117] Based on the capability messages reported by terminal A in S406, the base station configures Class I cells for both cell measurement and cell handover of terminal A.

[0118] S409. The base station configures the higher priority cell among the first and third category cells for cell measurement and / or cell handover for the terminal.

[0119] Based on the capability messages reported by terminal B in S406, the base station configures a higher-priority cell among the first-class and third-class cells for at least one of the operations of cell measurement and cell handover for terminal B.

[0120] As mentioned earlier, the base station configures the first type of cell with a lower priority than the third type of cell. Therefore, in S409, the base station configures the third type of cell with a higher priority for cell measurement and / or cell handover of terminal B.

[0121] Because the terminal can only access the first type of cell, it is very likely that the load of the first type of cell is greater than that of the third type of cell. Therefore, in order to improve the utilization of the third type of cell, a terminal that supports the entire frequency band, such as terminal B, can be configured to perform cell measurement and / or cell handover in the third type of cell first.

[0122] visible, Figure 4 The process shown not only reduces the possibility of the terminal being unable to communicate normally or even being damaged due to the base station using a frequency band that exceeds the terminal's capabilities, but also improves the utilization rate of the frequency band.

[0123] In addition to ensuring normal communication and preventing damage to existing terminals by adjusting the frequency bands configured for the cell, base stations can also utilize the upgraded frequency bands to improve uplink and downlink speeds.

[0124] Figure 6a Another communication method disclosed in the embodiments of this application includes the following steps:

[0125] S601. The base station has determined that there are existing terminals that do not support the upgraded frequency band (i.e., existing terminals).

[0126] For the specific determination method, please refer to S201 in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0127] S602, base stations are configured with different types of cells.

[0128] Different types of cells include the aforementioned Type I cells, as well as the aforementioned Type II or Type III cells. It is understood that the available frequency bands for different types of cells are as follows: Figure 3a and Figure 3b As shown, or, as Figure 5a and Figure 5b As shown.

[0129] Understandably, S602 is an optional step.

[0130] S603. The base station is configured with a first-class cell as the cell for terminal access.

[0131] Based on the examples in the above embodiments, both terminal A and terminal B receive information about the first type of cell indicated by the system message, and initiate a random access procedure in the first type of cell.

[0132] S604, the terminal completes access in the first type of cell.

[0133] In some implementations, the terminal in the first type of cell completes access with the base station through a random access procedure in the communication protocol.

[0134] S605. The terminal and the base station establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection in the first type of cell.

[0135] In some implementations, after the terminal completes access to the first type of cell through a random access procedure, it can establish an RRC connection with the base station through the attach procedure specified by the communication protocol. After the terminal establishes an RRC connection with the base station, the terminal and the base station are in the RRC-Connected state, that is, the terminal is in the connected state.

[0136] S606. The base station queries whether the terminal supports carrier aggregation in frequency band N28. If yes, proceed to S607; otherwise, proceed to S608.

[0137] Carrier aggregation refers to the process of combining two or more component carriers (CCs, which can be simply considered as cells) together to achieve higher uplink and downlink speeds for a terminal, thereby increasing transmission bandwidth. The two or more CCs include a primary cell and a secondary cell. The primary cell establishes an RRC connection with the terminal, while the secondary cell does not.

[0138] It is understood that in this embodiment, the first type of cell that establishes an RRC connection with the terminal is the primary cell. If the terminal supports carrier aggregation in frequency band N28, the terminal can use other types of cells besides the first type of cell as secondary cells.

[0139] In some implementations, the terminal can report information about carrier aggregation support in frequency band N28 to the base station in the capability message.

[0140] S607. The base station configures a second-class cell or a third-class cell for terminals in the connected state.

[0141] The connected state refers to the RRC_CONNECTED state. In other words, in the RRC_CONNECTED state, although the terminal does not support some of the upgraded frequency bands, it can use carrier aggregation to enable the terminal to use all of the upgraded frequency bands.

[0142] by Figure 3a For example, the primary cell is configured with subcarriers belonging to N28A, while the secondary cell is configured with subcarriers belonging to N28. Figure 5b For example, the primary cell is configured with a subcarrier belonging to N28A, while the secondary cell is configured with a subcarrier belonging to N28B.

[0143] Therefore, in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the terminal can obtain greater uplink and downlink speeds.

[0144] S608, the base station configures a Type I cell for terminals in the connected state.

[0145] from Figure 6a As can be seen from the process shown, although existing terminals do not support all frequency bands after the base station upgrade, after the terminal establishes an RRC connection with the base station, for terminals that support carrier aggregation of all frequency bands, cells of all frequency bands can be configured in the RRC_CONNECTED state. This not only improves the uplink and downlink rates of the terminal, but also improves the utilization of the frequency bands.

[0146] Understandable, Figure 6aThe flowchart illustrates the base station's frequency band configuration strategy for terminals in the connected state. In some implementations, when a terminal establishes an RRC connection with the base station, the terminal may also undergo cell handover or cell measurement. If the terminal is an existing terminal, it is still necessary to configure the terminal with the frequency band before the upgrade to reduce the possibility of the terminal being unable to communicate normally or being damaged due to incompatibility with the base station's frequency band.

[0147] Can be combined Figure 6a and Figure 2 ,or Figure 6a and Figure 4 This allows for the configuration of frequency bands for terminals under different states such as RRC_CONNECTED, cell handover, and cell measurement.

[0148] Figure 6b To combine Figure 6a and Figure 2 The communication method, and Figure 6a In comparison, it should be noted that:

[0149] During the execution of S604, the terminal reports capability messages to the base station. The capability messages include information on whether the terminal supports carrier aggregation in N28 and the terminal's bandwidth capabilities. In some implementations, the starting frequency of the terminal's available frequency bands may also be included.

[0150] and Figure 6a compared to, Figure 6b S609-S611 have been added:

[0151] S609: The base station determines whether the terminal supports the upgraded frequency band based on the capability message.

[0152] For details on the specific implementation of S609, please refer to S207, which will not be elaborated here.

[0153] If the result of S609 is negative, proceed to S610; if the result of S609 is positive, proceed to S611. The specific implementation of S610 can be found in S208, and the specific implementation of S611 can be found in S209; these details will not be repeated here.

[0154] In other words, after configuring a frequency band for a terminal in the connected state, the base station continues to configure the frequency band used by the terminal for cell measurement and cell handover, as specifically in S609-S611.

[0155] The above embodiments mainly utilize base station configuration strategies to reduce the possibility of existing terminals failing to communicate properly or even becoming damaged after frequency band upgrades. The following embodiments mainly introduce the strategies adopted by the terminals.

[0156] Figure 7 This application discloses a method executed by a terminal. Figure 7 Includes the following steps:

[0157] S701. The terminal receives system messages sent by the base station in the preset frequency band.

[0158] The preset frequency band is the frequency band that the terminal will attempt to access. In some implementations, the terminal determines the preset frequency band according to the communication protocol before S701. It can be understood that the system messages received by the terminal in the preset frequency band are system messages sent by the base station in the preset frequency band. Receiving or sending in the preset frequency band means receiving or sending near the center frequency point of the preset frequency band.

[0159] The system message carries information about the cell, meaning that the system message indicates at least one cell.

[0160] It is understood that the base station can configure the cell in the manner described in the above embodiments (such as S202 or S402), or it can configure the cell in other ways as specified in the communication protocol, without limitation here. However, a cell configured in other ways may also be a type I cell.

[0161] In this embodiment, cells whose allocated subcarriers belong at least to the extended frequency band are referred to as Class IV cells. The extended frequency band is defined as described in S402, for example, Figure 3a The uplink frequency band of the extended frequency band is 733MHz-743MHz. Figure 5a The uplink frequency band of the extended frequency band is 733MHz-748MHz.

[0162] It is understood that when the base station is configured with cells in the manner described in the above embodiments (such as S202 or S402), the fourth type of cell belongs to the second type of cell or the third type of cell.

[0163] Therefore, it can be seen that in some implementations, the cell information is the information of the first type of cell, while in other implementations, the cell information is the information of the fourth type of cell.

[0164] For an example of a system message, please refer to Figure 2 The process shown will not be repeated here.

[0165] S702: The terminal determines whether the preset frequency band includes the extended frequency band.

[0166] Understandably, S702 is an optional step. If the extended frequency band is not included, the following steps can be omitted to save power consumption in the terminal.

[0167] If the result of S702 is yes, then execute S703.

[0168] S703: The terminal determines whether the cell indicated by the system message is a Class I cell.

[0169] In some implementations, the terminal pre-configures information about Class I cells. The terminal determines whether the cell indicated in the system message is a Class I cell by comparing the cell information in the system message with the information about Class I cells. One example of cell information is the physical cell identifier.

[0170] If the result of S703 is yes, proceed to S704. If the result of S703 is no, proceed to S705.

[0171] S704. The terminal initiates the access procedure in the cell indicated by the system message.

[0172] S705, the terminal adds the cell indicated by the system message to the blacklist.

[0173] The purpose of S705 will be explained in conjunction with S710.

[0174] Without restriction on the execution order of S705, the process returns to execute S701. That is, the terminal re-performs cell search. It is understandable that in some implementations, the preset frequency band used by the terminal in executing S701 again may be different from the preset frequency band used in the previous execution of S701. The cell indicated by the system message received by the terminal again may be the same as or different from the cell indicated by the previously received system message.

[0175] It is understandable that after S704, the terminal can establish an RRC connection with the base station in the first type of cell. During this process, the base station can also execute S706.

[0176] S706, The terminal reports capability messages to the base station.

[0177] After the terminal establishes an RRC connection with the base station, the base station can execute steps such as S207-S209 or S407-S409 to configure a suitable cell for cell measurement and cell handover for the terminal in the connected state. In some implementations, the base station can also execute steps S605-S607 to improve the uplink and downlink rates of the terminal.

[0178] Correspondingly, the terminal in the connected state executes S707:

[0179] S707: The terminal uses carrier aggregation to interact with the base station in Class I and Class IV cells.

[0180] It is understandable that carrier aggregation is achieved by using Class I cells as the primary cells and Class IV cells as secondary cells.

[0181] Understandably, the base station may not perform the steps described in S207-S209 or S407-S409 to configure a suitable cell for a terminal in the connected state. Therefore, in order to reduce the possibility of the terminal being unable to communicate normally or being damaged due to cell incompatibility, the terminal may also perform S708:

[0182] S708. The terminal determines whether the cell configured by the base station for cell handover and cell measurement is a cell in the blacklist. If yes, proceed to S709; otherwise, proceed to S710.

[0183] According to S705, the blacklisted communities are classified as Category IV communities.

[0184] S709. The terminal performs cell handover or cell measurement according to the base station configuration.

[0185] It is understandable that the terminal performs cell handover in response to cell handover commands issued by the base station. The terminal also initiates cell measurement in response to cell measurement commands issued by the base station or periodically.

[0186] S710, the terminal reports the measurement results of the first type of cell.

[0187] Because the terminal does not support the frequency band of Category 4 cells, it does not measure Category 4 cells, but only measures Category 1 cells. Therefore, the measurement results of Category 4 cells are not reported.

[0188] One basis for cell handover is the measurement results of the cell reported by the terminal. Therefore, in some implementations, for the base station's instruction to perform cell handover in a Type IV cell, because the terminal does not support the frequency band of Type IV cells, the terminal does not perform measurements on Type IV cells, but only reports the measurement results of Type I cells. Understandably, because the base station does not receive the measurement results for Type IV cells, even if the terminal is configured to perform cell handover in a Type IV cell, the handover process in the Type IV cell will not actually be triggered. In other implementations, the terminal responds to cell measurement instructions issued by the base station or periodically initiates cell measurements on Type I cells.

[0189] It is evident that even if the base station issues instructions to perform cell handover and cell measurement in the fourth type of cell, the terminal will not execute the base station's instructions because the fourth type of cell is incompatible with the terminal.

[0190] Understandably, the terminal can also camp on only the first type of cell without establishing an RRC connection with the base station in the first type of cell. In this case, the terminal can also periodically execute S701-S704, that is, when the terminal in the idle state performs cell reselection, it also avoids reselecting to the fourth type of cell.

[0191] from Figure 7 It can be seen that the terminal selects a suitable cell based on the frequency band it supports in order to ensure that the terminal camps, accesses, switches, and measures in a suitable cell, thereby ensuring normal communication of the terminal and preventing damage.

[0192] Figure 8 This application provides an example of the composition of an electronic device. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the electronic device may include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display screen 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0193] It is understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device. In other embodiments, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0194] Processor 310 may include one or more processing units, such as application processor (AP), modem processor, graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), controller, video codec, digital signal processor (DSP), baseband processor, and / or neural network processing unit (NPU). These different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0195] It is understood that the interface connection relationships between the modules illustrated in this embodiment are merely illustrative and do not constitute a limitation on the structure of the electronic device. In other embodiments of this application, the electronic device may also employ different interface connection methods or combinations of multiple interface connection methods as described in the above embodiments.

[0196] The external storage interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the electronic device. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 through the external storage interface 320 to perform data storage functions. For example, music, video, and other files can be saved on the external memory card.

[0197] Internal memory 321 can be used to store executable program code, including instructions. Processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in internal memory 321. Internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, at least one application program required for a function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during the use of the electronic device (such as audio data, phonebook, etc.). Furthermore, internal memory 321 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc. Processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running instructions stored in internal memory 321 and / or instructions stored in memory located within the processor.

[0198] The wireless communication function of electronic devices can be realized through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor and baseband processor, etc.

[0199] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the electronic device can be used to cover one or more communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with a tuning switch.

[0200] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communication applications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G in electronic devices. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, switch, power amplifier, low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves via antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, and other processing on the received electromagnetic waves before transmitting them to a modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modem processor and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation via antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 may be housed in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 and at least some modules of the processor 310 may be housed in the same device.

[0201] In some embodiments, the electronic device initiates or receives call requests via the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1.

[0202] In addition, an operating system runs on top of the aforementioned components. Examples include iOS, Android, and Windows. Applications can be installed and run on this operating system.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a terminal, the method comprising: Establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection between the third cell and the base station; The terminal receives a first message sent by the base station. The first message includes information for cell measurement, which includes information about a first cell and information about a second cell. Available frequency bands include a first frequency band and a second frequency band. The second frequency band includes an extended frequency band, which is any frequency band other than the first frequency band among the available frequency bands. The terminal supports the first frequency band but does not support the extended frequency band. The frequency band of the first cell overlaps with at least a portion of the extended frequency band, and the frequency bands of the second cell and the third cell are within the range of the first frequency band. Measure the second cell, report the measurement results of the second cell, and do not measure the first cell; After reporting the measurement results of the second cell, the terminal receives a second message sent by the base station, which instructs the terminal to perform a cell handover to the second cell. Perform a cell handover from the third cell to the second cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The available frequency band is frequency band N28, the first frequency band is frequency band N28A, and the second frequency band is frequency band N28B.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The terminal has a bandwidth capability of 30MHz.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The terminal does not report the measurement results of the first cell if it does not measure the first cell.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The downlink frequency band in band N28 is 758MHz-803MHz, the downlink frequency band in band N28A is 758MHz-788MHz, and the downlink frequency band in the extended band is 788MHz-803MHz.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The downlink frequency band in band N28 is 758MHz-798MHz, the downlink frequency band in band N28A is 758MHz-788MHz, and the downlink frequency band in the extended band is 788MHz-798MHz.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Before receiving the first message, the method further includes: Receive system information from the base station, the system information including information about the third cell for access; If the frequency band of the third cell is within the range of frequency band N28A, access is performed in the third cell.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: Memory and at least one processor; The memory is used to store programs; The at least one processor is used to run the program so that the electronic device implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7.

9. A computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7.

10. A communication device applied to an electronic device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor. The processor is used to run a program so that the electronic device implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7.

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