Multi-carrier-based communication method and device, terminal equipment and network equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device based on multiple carriers, terminal equipment and network equipment. The method comprises the steps that the terminal equipment operates in a first cell based on the characteristics of the first cell; the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: the first cell comprises a plurality of downlink carriers; the first cell comprises a plurality of uplink carriers; at least one downlink carrier supporting frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) exists in the first cell.

Description

A multi-carrier based communication method and device, terminal equipment, and network equipment Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of mobile communication technology, and specifically to a multi-carrier based communication method and apparatus, terminal equipment, and network equipment. Background Art

[0002] Future communication systems (such as 6G) will operate in a wider spectrum range, and terminal devices may operate in high-frequency or even ultra-high-frequency spectrum. This will result in a relatively high time and energy cost for terminal devices to search for cells. Furthermore, the application scenarios of future communication systems (such as 6G) will be more diverse, which will lead to a significant increase in the number of cell connections. Therefore, initial access capacity is also a factor that needs to be considered.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a multi-carrier based communication method and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment, chip, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program.

[0005] The multi-carrier communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0006] The terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell; the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0007] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0008] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0009] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

[0010] The multi-carrier communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0011] The network device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, where the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0012] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0013] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0014] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0015] The multi-carrier communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is applied to a terminal device, and the device includes:

[0016] a communication unit, configured to operate in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, wherein the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0017] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0018] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0019] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0020] The multi-carrier communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is applied to a network device, and the device includes:

[0021] a communication unit, configured to operate in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, wherein the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0022] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0023] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0024] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0025] The terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to perform the above-mentioned multi-carrier based communication method.

[0026] The network device provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to perform the above-mentioned multi-carrier based communication method.

[0027] The chip provided in the embodiment of the present application is used to implement the above-mentioned multi-carrier based communication method.

[0028] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above-mentioned multi-carrier-based communication method.

[0029] The computer-readable storage medium provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to store a computer program, which enables a computer to execute the above-mentioned multi-carrier-based communication method.

[0030] The computer program product provided in an embodiment of the present application includes computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above-mentioned multi-carrier-based communication method.

[0031] The computer program provided in the embodiment of the present application, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above-mentioned multi-carrier-based communication method.

[0032] Through the above technical solution, the redefined cell has at least one of the following characteristics: the cell includes multiple downlink carriers; the cell includes multiple uplink carriers; and at least one downlink carrier in the cell supports both FDD and TDD. This cell can adapt to the complex service requirements and application scenarios of future communication systems (such as 6G systems), meeting the requirements of low cell search latency, low cell search energy consumption, and large initial cell access capacity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0034] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG2 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-carrier communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG3-1 is a schematic diagram showing that multiple downlink carriers provided in an embodiment of the present application belong to the same frequency band;

[0037] FIG3-2 is a schematic diagram showing that multiple downlink carriers provided in an embodiment of the present application belong to different frequency bands;

[0038] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of multiple uplink carriers provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a carrier supporting TDD and FDD according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of an inter-zone handover provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG7 is a first schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-carrier communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG8 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-carrier communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, communication system 100 may include network device 110, which may be a device that communicates with terminal device 120 (also referred to as a communication terminal or terminal). Network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and may communicate with terminal devices within that coverage area.

[0048] Figure 1 exemplarily shows a network device and two terminal devices. In some embodiments of the present application, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0049] The terminal device in FIG1 may be any terminal device. For example, the terminal device may refer to an access terminal, user equipment (UE), a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, an IoT device, a satellite handheld terminal, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolution network, etc.

[0050] It should be noted that Figure 1 is merely an example of a system applicable to this application. Of course, the methods described in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other systems. Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" herein simply describes an association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association relationship. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that A and B have an association relationship. It should also be understood that the "correspondence" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can mean that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between two objects, or that there is an association relationship between the two objects, or a relationship between an indicator and the indicated, a configuration and the configured, and so on. It should also be understood that the “predefined” or “predefined rules” mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a terminal device and a network device), and the present application does not limit its specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to a definition in a protocol. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it can include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0051] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0052] In Long Term Evolution (LTE), there is a one-to-one correspondence between logical cells and physical cells. Each logical cell has an E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and each physical cell corresponds to a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI).

[0053] Each LTE cell has a center frequency and an uplink (DL) bandwidth and a downlink (UL) bandwidth. The terminal device measures the Primary Synchronisation Signal (PSS) / Secondary Synchronisation Signal (SSS) at the center frequency and reads the Master Information Block (MIB) to determine whether the current cell is a suitable cell and identify the cell, and then performs the initial cell access process. After the terminal device enters the connected state, the operating bandwidth of the terminal device is the DL bandwidth and UL bandwidth configured in the system broadcast. In LTE, the DL carrier and the UL carrier are tightly coupled, that is, the DL carrier and the UL carrier belong to one cell.

[0054] In New Radio (NR), the spectrum is characterized by high frequency and a wide spectrum range. Each cell has an initial bandwidth part (initial BWP), and the initial BWP contains synchronization signal blocks (PSS / SSS and PBCH, SSB) for terminal devices to search and identify the cell and then perform cell access. In NR, the Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN) and the Global Synchronisation Channel Number (GSCN) are defined to reduce cell search latency and energy consumption. After the terminal device enters the connected state, based on the network side configuration, the terminal device can operate in other spectrum ranges outside the initial BWP, that is, the dedicated bandwidth part (dedicated BWP). The network side can configure up to four dedicated BWPs, and these four dedicated BWPs belong to the same frequency band. In NR, to compensate for the limited UL coverage caused by high frequencies, a supplementary uplink (SUL) carrier is introduced. Consequently, a cell has one DL carrier and two UL carriers (i.e., a NUL carrier and a SUL carrier). The NUL and SUL carriers are tightly coupled and belong to the same cell. The SUL carrier is optional, meaning a cell can have only one DL carrier and one NUL carrier.

[0055] In future communication standards (such as 6G), terminal devices may operate at high frequencies or even ultra-high frequencies, with a wider spectrum range, which will result in a relatively large time cost and energy consumption cost for cell searches. Therefore, the cell search delay and the energy consumption of terminal devices need to be considered in the cell search. In addition, the number of connections on the network side will also increase significantly in the future, and the initial access capacity issue is also a factor that needs to be considered. Therefore, cells in future communication standards (such as 6G) need to have fewer cell search frequencies and more cell access frequencies to simultaneously meet the requirements of cell search delay, cell search energy consumption, and cell initial access capacity. To this end, the following technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are proposed.

[0056] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies can be combined arbitrarily with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all of them fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

[0057] FIG2 is a flow chart of a multi-carrier communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the multi-carrier communication method includes the following steps:

[0058] Step 201: The terminal device and / or network device operates in the first cell based on the characteristics of the first cell; the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers; the first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; there is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0059] Option 1

[0060] In some embodiments, the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the network device sends a first part of the signal on a first part of the multiple downlink carriers, and the terminal device performs a cell search on the first part of the multiple downlink carriers to receive the first part of the signal; and / or, the network device sends a second part of the signal on a second part of the multiple downlink carriers, and the terminal device performs initial access on the second part of the multiple downlink carriers to receive the second part of the signal.

[0061] Here, the first cell supports multiple downlink carriers, wherein a first part of the carriers is used for cell search and a second part of the carriers is used for initial access, thereby achieving decoupling of cell search and initial access.

[0062] In some embodiments, the number of carriers in the first part is less than or equal to the number of carriers in the second part. That is, the first cell has fewer cell search frequencies and more cell access frequencies, thereby simultaneously meeting the requirements of cell search latency, cell search energy consumption, and cell initial access capacity. Here, frequency refers to the frequency of the carrier. Since the first part of the carriers is used for cell search, the frequency of the first part of the carriers belongs to the cell search frequency. Similarly, since the second part of the carriers is used for initial access, the frequency of the second part of the carriers belongs to the cell access frequency.

[0063] As an example, the first part of carriers includes T1 downlink carriers, the second part of carriers includes T2 downlink carriers, T1 is less than or equal to T2, and T1 and T2 are positive integers.

[0064] For the terminal device, although the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, when performing cell search, the terminal device only needs to perform cell search on the first part of the carriers (such as T1 downlink carriers) to receive the first part of the signal. This can reduce the number of frequency points for cell search and shorten the cell search time.

[0065] In some embodiments, after the terminal device performs a cell search on the first part of carriers and successfully resides on a target downlink carrier in the first part of carriers, the terminal device receives a system broadcast message through the target downlink carrier, and determines carrier information of multiple downlink carriers and / or multiple uplink carriers included in the first cell based on the system broadcast message. Here, optionally, the carrier information includes at least one of the following: a carrier identifier, an initial access bandwidth of a carrier, a frequency of a carrier, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a carrier, etc.

[0066] As an example: After the terminal device performs a cell search and successfully resides on a downlink carrier (i.e., a frequency point), the terminal device can receive a system broadcast message through the downlink carrier, and determine through the system broadcast message that the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers and / or multiple uplink carriers. Optionally, the initial access bandwidth, frequency point, SCS, etc. of each carrier can also be determined.

[0067] For the terminal device, although the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the terminal device only needs to perform initial access on the second part of the carriers (such as T2 downlink carriers) to receive the second part of the signal when performing initial access. However, the network device can send the second part of the signal on a larger number of downlink carriers (for example, all downlink carriers of the first cell) to meet the initial access capacity requirements of the cell.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first part of the signal includes an SSB or includes an SSB and a system broadcast message; the second part of the signal includes a paging message and / or a system broadcast message.

[0069] In some implementations, the system broadcast message is transmitted on N downlink carriers, and the paging message is transmitted on M downlink carriers, where N and M are positive integers.

[0070] In some implementations, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on the same downlink carrier; or, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers.

[0071] In some embodiments, when the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers, the terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers through multiple radio frequency components; or, the terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers in different time periods through a single radio frequency component.

[0072] In the above solution, the terminal device and / or the network device may determine the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier of the second part of the signal in the following manner, but is not limited to:

[0073] Method 1: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to receive the second part of the signal based on the first rule, and the network device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal based on the first rule.

[0074] In some implementations, the first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, where UE id is an identifier of the terminal device, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0075] Method 2: The network device sends a second indication message to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to receive the second part of the signal based on the second indication message of the network device. The network device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal based on the second indication message, and the second indication message is used to indicate the carrier identifier of a downlink carrier.

[0076] In some implementations, the multiple downlink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple downlink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0077] In one example, as shown in Figure 3-1, the first cell includes three downlink carriers, namely carrier 1, carrier 2, and carrier 3, all of which belong to frequency band 1. When performing a cell search, the terminal device only performs a cell search on carrier 2 to receive the SSB or the SSB and the first system broadcast message. After a successful search, the terminal device resides on carrier 2 and identifies the cells including carrier 1, carrier 2, and carrier 3 through the system broadcast message on carrier 2. The network device can send paging messages and / or second system broadcast messages on carriers 1, 2, and 3, while the terminal device only needs to receive paging messages and / or second system broadcast messages on one of carriers 1, 2, and 3. The second system broadcast message and the first system broadcast message can be the same, different, or partially different. The first system broadcast message includes the OSI and / or RMSI, and the second system broadcast message includes the OSI and / or RMSI. For example, a network device can send system broadcast messages on only one downlink carrier (e.g., carrier 2 visible in a cell search), and can send paging messages on multiple downlink carriers (e.g., carrier 1, carrier 2, and carrier 3), but a terminal device only needs to receive paging messages on one downlink carrier. If system broadcast information and paging messages are sent on different carriers, the terminal device needs to be able to receive them simultaneously on both carriers, i.e., the terminal device needs to use multiple RF components to simultaneously receive paging messages and system broadcast messages on different downlink carriers; or, the network side needs to ensure that the reception time periods of paging messages and system broadcast messages do not overlap.

[0078] In one example, as shown in Figure 3-2, a first cell includes six downlink carriers: carrier 1, carrier 2, carrier 3, carrier 4, carrier 5, and carrier 6. These three carriers belong to frequency bands 1 and 2. When performing a cell search, a terminal device only performs a cell search on carrier 2, thereby receiving an SSB or an SSB and a first system broadcast message. After a successful search, the terminal device resides on carrier 2 and identifies the cells on carrier 2 as carrier 1, carrier 2, carrier 3, carrier 4, carrier 5, and carrier 6 through a system broadcast message. The network device can send paging messages and / or second system broadcast messages on carriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, while the terminal device only needs to receive paging messages and / or second system broadcast messages on one of the carriers. The second system broadcast message and the first system broadcast message can be the same, different, or partially different. The first system broadcast message includes an OSI and / or RMSI, and the second system broadcast message includes an OSI and / or RMSI. For example, a network device may send a system broadcast message on only one downlink carrier (e.g., carrier 2 visible in a cell search), and may send a paging message on multiple downlink carriers (e.g., carrier 1, carrier 2, carrier 3, carrier 4, carrier 5, and carrier 6), but a terminal device only needs to receive the paging message on one downlink carrier. If the system broadcast information and the paging message are sent on different carriers, the terminal device needs to have the ability to receive them simultaneously on both carriers, i.e., the terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message simultaneously on different downlink carriers through multiple RF components; or, the network side ensures that the reception time periods of the paging message and the system broadcast message do not overlap.

[0079] In some implementations, a first cell having multiple downlink carriers may dynamically select a set of available downlink carriers according to an inter-cell interference level.

[0080] Option 2

[0081] In some implementations, the first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; and configuration information associated with each uplink carrier in the multiple uplink carriers includes at least one of the following: uplink transmission resources and uplink transmission parameters.

[0082] Here, optionally, the uplink transmission resources include at least one of the following: physical random access channel (PRACH) resources, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources, and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources.

[0083] Here, optionally, the uplink transmission parameter includes: maximum allowed uplink transmit power.

[0084] In some embodiments, each of the multiple uplink carriers is associated with at least one of the following: the type of the terminal device and the capabilities supported by the terminal device. The terminal device selects an uplink carrier from the multiple uplink carriers based on its own type and / or supported capabilities, and performs uplink transmission based on the selected uplink carrier. Here, optionally, the uplink transmission includes at least one of the following: PRACH transmission, PUCCH transmission, and PUSCH transmission. The capabilities supported by the terminal device include duplex capability.

[0085] In one example, in future communication systems (such as 6G systems), there are massive connections, so the capacity of uplink initial access needs to be increased to meet the needs of a large number of terminal accesses. To this end, the cell supports multiple uplink carriers, which can achieve the following benefits: multi-frequency access, improving uplink coverage; multi-frequency access, improving uplink capacity; multi-frequency switching, improving data transmission performance; multi-frequency deployment, improving inter-cell switching performance. Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a cell including n uplink carriers. Each uplink carrier is configured with PRACH resources, PUCCH resources, PUSCH resources, and the maximum allowed uplink transmit power (Pmax) required for each carrier, etc. These configurations are carried in the system broadcast message. Different uplink carriers can also be used for the following purposes: (1) Different uplink carriers can be used to distinguish different terminal device types. For example, the system broadcast message gives the mapping relationship between the uplink carrier index and the terminal device type. The terminal device selects the corresponding uplink carrier to initiate the random access process according to the terminal device type to which it belongs. The network device identifies the type of the access terminal device based on different uplink carriers. (2) Different uplink carriers can be used to distinguish different duplex capabilities. For example, the mapping relationship between uplink carrier index and duplex capability is given in the system broadcast message. For example, uplink carrier 1 is suitable for access by terminal devices supporting FDD, and uplink carrier 2 is suitable for access by terminal devices supporting TDD. The terminal device selects the corresponding uplink carrier to initiate the random access process based on the duplex capability it supports. The network device identifies the duplex capability of the access terminal device based on different uplink carriers.

[0086] In some implementations, the multiple uplink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple uplink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0087] Option 3

[0088] In some embodiments, there is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD, and the terminal device performs a cell search on the downlink carrier that supports FDD and TDD, and resides on the downlink carrier that supports FDD and TDD.

[0089] In some embodiments, the network device sends a first indication message to a terminal device residing on a downlink carrier supporting FDD and TDD, and the terminal device receives the first indication message sent by the network device, where the first indication message is used to indicate the uplink carrier and / or downlink carrier on which the terminal device works; the first indication message is determined by the network device based on the duplex capability of the terminal device.

[0090] Here, for ordinary cells, either TDD or FDD is supported, depending on the frequency band used by the cell. If a cell only supports FDD, terminal devices that only support TDD cannot access the cell; if a cell only supports TDD, terminal devices that only support FDD cannot access the cell. If a cell supports both FDD and TDD, it can simultaneously access terminal devices that only support FDD and terminal devices that only support TDD, which can meet the access needs of more terminal devices, while also reducing network construction costs and providing flexible networking. In addition, terminal devices do not need to blindly detect this type of cell during the cell search process, which improves search efficiency.

[0091] In one example, in a future communication system (such as a 6G system), one or more downlink carriers among the multiple downlink carriers of a cell support both FDD and TDD, that is, the downlink carrier is both an FDD carrier and a TDD carrier. As shown in Figure 5, carrier 1 and carrier 2 are downlink carriers that support FDD and TDD. Terminal devices that support TDD and terminal devices that support FDD can both identify such carriers and reside on them. After the network device identifies the duplex capability of the terminal device, for example, by identifying the duplex capability of the terminal device through the uplink carrier to which the terminal device accesses, it can decide which uplink carrier and which downlink carrier the terminal device is to work on.

[0092] Option 4

[0093] In some implementations, for a first cell having multiple downlink carriers, to increase paging capacity, each downlink carrier can transmit paging messages, but it is not necessary to send paging messages on each downlink carrier. The terminal device and the network device need to specify which downlink carrier to send and receive paging messages on. The determination of the downlink carrier can be achieved, but is not limited to, by the following methods:

[0094] Option 1-1): Determine the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier based on a first rule. For example, the first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, where UE id is the identifier of the terminal device and K is the number of downlink carriers included in the first cell.

[0095] Option 1-2): Determine the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier based on an instruction from the network device. For example, the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the carrier identifier of a downlink carrier.

[0096] In some embodiments, for a first cell having multiple downlink carriers and multiple uplink carriers, during a random access process, a terminal device and a network device need to clarify an association relationship between the downlink carrier and the uplink carrier. The terminal device performs an uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and receives a downlink transmission on a first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the network device receives an uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and performs a downlink transmission on a first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the uplink transmission has an association relationship with the downlink transmission, and the first uplink carrier has an association relationship with the first downlink carrier. Determination of this association relationship may be achieved, but is not limited to, in the following manner:

[0097] Option 2-1) The terminal device and / or the network device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on a second rule. The second rule is: information identifier mod K = carrier identifier, where the information identifier is an identifier of the uplink information carried by the uplink transmission, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0098] For example, the second rule is: preamble id mod K = carrier identifier; here, preamble id is the preamble id selected by the terminal device during the random access process. Here, the preamble is required to be unique within the cell.

[0099] Option 2-2) The terminal device and / or the network device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the identifier of the first uplink carrier.

[0100] For example: the identifier of the first uplink carrier = the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier.

[0101] Option 2-3) The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the first configuration information of the network device, and the first configuration information is used to configure the carrier identifier of the corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group.

[0102] For example, the network device configures the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier through a system broadcast message. The carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier may be configured per uplink carrier, per preamble, per RO resource, or per RO resource group.

[0103] Option 2-4) The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the first configuration information of the network device, and the first configuration information is used to configure the carrier identifier of the corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group. Here, the uplink transmission resource group is divided based on the frequency domain position and / or time domain position of the uplink transmission resource.

[0104] In the above scheme, the uplink transmission is PRACH transmission, and the downlink transmission is Random Access Response (RAR) transmission; or, the uplink transmission is MsgA transmission, and the downlink transmission is MsgB transmission; or, the uplink transmission is PUSCH transmission, and the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission; or, the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission, and the uplink transmission is PUCCH transmission.

[0105] Plan 5

[0106] In some embodiments, the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, and the terminal device receives a handover command sent by a network device, the handover command being used to trigger the terminal device to perform a cell handover, and the handover command is a layer 1 or layer 2 command. The terminal device switches an operating carrier to a second downlink carrier of the first cell, where the second downlink carrier of the first cell at least partially overlaps with a third downlink carrier of the second cell; and the terminal device switches from the second downlink carrier of the first cell to the third downlink carrier of the second cell.

[0107] In one example, in network deployment, for cells with multiple downlink carriers, the downlink carriers between adjacent cells can overlap, as shown in Figure 6. During the inter-cell handover process of the terminal device, the original cell (cell 1) first switches the working carrier of the terminal device to carrier 1-2 of the cell, which overlaps with carrier 2-2 of the adjacent cell, and then performs the handover. In this way, co-frequency handover can be achieved, thereby reducing the impact of the handover and improving mobility performance. In addition, during the handover process, handover can be performed based on layer 1 or layer 2 commands, thereby achieving fast handover and reducing the impact of handover on data transmission.

[0108] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present application, the technical solution of the present application can be subjected to a variety of simple modifications, and these simple modifications all fall within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application will no longer describe the various possible combinations separately. For another example, the various different embodiments of the present application can also be arbitrarily combined, as long as they do not violate the idea of ​​the present application, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed in the present application. For another example, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments and / or the technical features in each embodiment described in the present application can be arbitrarily combined with the prior art, and the technical solution obtained after the combination should also fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0109] It should also be understood that in the various method embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply a precedence in the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terms "downlink," "uplink," and "sidelink" are used to indicate the transmission direction of signals or data, where "downlink" is used to indicate the first direction of transmission of signals or data from a site to a user equipment in a cell, "uplink" is used to indicate the second direction of transmission of signals or data from a user equipment in a cell to a site, and "sidelink" is used to indicate the third direction of transmission of signals or data from user equipment 1 to user equipment 2. For example, "downlink signal" indicates that the transmission direction of the signal is the first direction. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. Specifically, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0110] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the first structure of a multi-carrier communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG7 , the multi-carrier communication device includes:

[0111] The communication unit 701 is configured to perform an operation in the first cell based on a characteristic of the first cell, where the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0112] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0113] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0114] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0115] In some implementations, when the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including:

[0116] The terminal device performs a cell search on a first part of the multiple downlink carriers to receive the first part of the signal; and / or,

[0117] The terminal device performs initial access on a second part of the carriers among the multiple downlink carriers to receive the second part of the signal.

[0118] In some embodiments, the communication unit 701 is used to perform a cell search on the first part of the carriers and successfully reside on the target downlink carrier in the first part of the carriers, receive a system broadcast message through the target downlink carrier, and determine the carrier information of multiple downlink carriers and / or multiple uplink carriers included in the first cell based on the system broadcast message.

[0119] In some implementations, the carrier information includes at least one of the following: a carrier identifier, an initial access bandwidth of the carrier, a frequency of the carrier, and an SCS of the carrier.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first part of the signal includes an SSB or includes an SSB and a system broadcast message; the second part of the signal includes a paging message and / or a system broadcast message.

[0121] In some implementations, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on the same downlink carrier; or, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers.

[0122] In some embodiments, when the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers, the terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers through multiple radio frequency components; or, the terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers in different time periods through a single radio frequency component.

[0123] In some implementations, the system broadcast message is transmitted on N downlink carriers, and the paging message is transmitted on M downlink carriers, where N and M are positive integers.

[0124] In some embodiments, the number of carriers in the first portion is less than or equal to the number of carriers in the second portion.

[0125] In some implementations, the apparatus further includes: a determining unit 702, configured to determine, based on a first rule, a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier used to receive the second part of the signal.

[0126] In some implementations, the first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, where UE id is an identifier of the terminal device, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0127] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a determining unit 702, configured to determine a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier for receiving the second portion of the signal based on second indication information of the network device, wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier.

[0128] In some implementations, the multiple downlink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple downlink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0129] In some implementations, the configuration information associated with each uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers includes at least one of the following: uplink transmission resources and uplink transmission parameters.

[0130] In some implementations, the uplink transmission resource includes at least one of the following: a PRACH resource, a PUCCH resource, and a PUSCH resource.

[0131] In some implementations, the uplink transmission parameter includes: a maximum allowed uplink transmit power.

[0132] In some embodiments, each uplink carrier in the plurality of uplink carriers is associated with at least one of the following: a type of terminal device, and a capability supported by the terminal device.

[0133] In some implementations, the communication unit 701 is configured to select an uplink carrier from the multiple uplink carriers based on its own type and / or supported capabilities, and perform uplink transmission based on the selected uplink carrier.

[0134] In some implementations, the uplink transmission includes at least one of the following: PRACH transmission, PUCCH transmission, and PUSCH transmission.

[0135] In some embodiments, the capabilities supported by the terminal device include duplex capability.

[0136] In some implementations, the multiple uplink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple uplink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0137] In some implementations, when there is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD, the communication unit 701 is configured to perform a cell search on the downlink carrier that supports FDD and TDD, and reside on the downlink carrier that supports FDD and TDD.

[0138] In some embodiments, the communication unit 701 is used to receive first indication information sent by a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the uplink carrier and / or downlink carrier on which the terminal device operates; the first indication information is determined by the network device based on the duplex capability of the terminal device.

[0139] In some embodiments, when the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers and multiple uplink carriers, the communication unit 701 is used to perform uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and to receive downlink transmission on a first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the uplink transmission is associated with the downlink transmission, and the first uplink carrier is associated with the first downlink carrier.

[0140] In some implementations, the apparatus further includes: a determining unit 702, configured to determine a carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on a second rule.

[0141] In some implementations, the second rule is: information identifier mod K=carrier identifier, where the information identifier is an identifier of uplink information carried by the uplink transmission, and K is the number of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0142] In some implementations, the determining unit 702 is configured to determine the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the identifier of the first uplink carrier.

[0143] In some embodiments, the determination unit 702 is used to determine the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on first configuration information of the network device, and the first configuration information is used to configure the carrier identifier of the corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group.

[0144] In some implementations, the uplink transmission resource groups are divided based on frequency domain positions and / or time domain positions of the uplink transmission resources.

[0145] In some embodiments, the uplink transmission is PRACH transmission, and the downlink transmission is RAR transmission; or, the uplink transmission is MsgA transmission, and the downlink transmission is MsgB transmission; or, the uplink transmission is PUSCH transmission, and the downlink transmission is physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission; or, the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission, and the uplink transmission is PUCCH transmission.

[0146] In some embodiments, the device further includes: a switching unit 703, configured to switch the working carrier to the second downlink carrier of the first cell, the second downlink carrier of the first cell at least partially overlapping with the third downlink carrier of the second cell; and switch from the second downlink carrier of the first cell to the third downlink carrier of the second cell.

[0147] In some implementations, the communication unit 701 is configured to receive a handover command sent by a network device, where the handover command is configured to trigger the terminal device to perform cell handover, and the handover command is a layer 1 or layer 2 command.

[0148] Those skilled in the art should understand that the relevant description of the above-mentioned multi-carrier based communication device in the embodiment of the present application can be understood with reference to the relevant description of the multi-carrier based communication method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0149] FIG8 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-carrier based communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG8 , the multi-carrier based communication device includes:

[0150] The communication unit 801 is configured to perform an operation in the first cell based on a characteristic of the first cell, where the first cell has at least one of the following characteristics:

[0151] The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers;

[0152] The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers;

[0153] There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

[0154] In some implementations, the communication unit 801 is configured to send a first portion of signals on a first portion of carriers among the multiple downlink carriers; and / or send a second portion of signals on a second portion of carriers among the multiple downlink carriers.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first part of the signal includes an SSB or includes an SSB and a system broadcast message; the second part of the signal includes a paging message and / or a system broadcast message.

[0156] In some implementations, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on the same downlink carrier; or, the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers.

[0157] In some implementations, the system broadcast message is transmitted on N downlink carriers, and the paging message is transmitted on M downlink carriers, where N and M are positive integers.

[0158] In some embodiments, the number of carriers in the first portion is less than or equal to the number of carriers in the second portion.

[0159] In some implementations, the apparatus further includes: a determining unit 802, configured to determine, based on a first rule, a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal.

[0160] In some implementations, the first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, where UE id is an identifier of a terminal device, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0161] In some embodiments, the communication unit 801 is used to send second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier; the determination unit 802 is used to determine the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal based on the second indication information.

[0162] In some implementations, the multiple downlink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple downlink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0163] In some implementations, the configuration information associated with each uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers includes at least one of the following: uplink transmission resources and uplink transmission parameters.

[0164] In some implementations, the uplink transmission resource includes at least one of the following: a PRACH resource, a PUCCH resource, and a PUSCH resource.

[0165] In some implementations, the uplink transmission parameter includes: a maximum allowed uplink transmit power.

[0166] In some embodiments, each uplink carrier in the plurality of uplink carriers is associated with at least one of the following: a type of terminal device, and a capability supported by the terminal device.

[0167] In some embodiments, the capabilities supported by the terminal device include duplex capability.

[0168] In some implementations, the multiple uplink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or the multiple uplink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

[0169] In some embodiments, when there is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD, the communication unit 801 is used to send first indication information to a terminal device residing on the carrier on the downlink carrier that supports FDD and TDD, and the first indication information is used to indicate the uplink carrier and / or downlink carrier on which the terminal device works; the first indication information is determined by the network device based on the duplex capability of the terminal device.

[0170] In some embodiments, when the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers and multiple uplink carriers, the communication unit 801 is used to receive uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and to perform downlink transmission on a first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the uplink transmission is associated with the downlink transmission, and the first uplink carrier is associated with the first downlink carrier.

[0171] In some implementations, the apparatus further includes: a determining unit 802, configured to determine a carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on a second rule.

[0172] In some implementations, the second rule is: information identifier mod K=carrier identifier, where the information identifier is an identifier of the uplink information carried by the uplink transmission, and K is the number of the multiple downlink carriers.

[0173] In some implementations, the determining unit 802 is configured to determine the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the identifier of the first uplink carrier.

[0174] In some embodiments, the communication unit 801 is used to send first configuration information to the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to configure the carrier identifier of the corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group; the determination unit 802 is used to determine the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the first configuration information.

[0175] In some implementations, the uplink transmission resource groups are divided based on frequency domain positions and / or time domain positions of the uplink transmission resources.

[0176] In some embodiments, the uplink transmission is PRACH transmission, and the downlink transmission is RAR transmission; or, the uplink transmission is MsgA transmission, and the downlink transmission is MsgB transmission; or, the uplink transmission is PUSCH transmission, and the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission; or, the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission, and the uplink transmission is PUCCH transmission.

[0177] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 includes a processor 910, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0178] Optionally, as shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 920. The processor 910 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 920 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0179] The memory 920 may be a separate device independent of the processor 910 , or may be integrated into the processor 910 .

[0180] Optionally, as shown in FIG9 , the communication device 900 may further include a transceiver 930 , and the processor 910 may control the transceiver 930 to communicate with other devices, specifically, to send information or data to other devices, or to receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0181] The transceiver 930 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 930 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0182] Optionally, the communication device 900 may specifically be a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 900 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method in the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0183] Optionally, the communication device 900 may specifically be a mobile terminal / terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 900 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0184] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1000 shown in Figure 10 includes a processor 1010, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0185] Optionally, as shown in FIG10 , the chip 1000 may further include a memory 1020. The processor 1010 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1020 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0186] The memory 1020 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1010 , or may be integrated into the processor 1010 .

[0187] Optionally, the chip 1000 may further include an input interface 1030. The processor 1010 may control the input interface 1030 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0188] Optionally, the chip 1000 may further include an output interface 1040. The processor 1010 may control the output interface 1040 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0189] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0190] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0191] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0192] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the communication system 1100 includes a terminal device 1110 and a network device 1120 .

[0193] Among them, the terminal device 1110 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the terminal device in the above method, and the network device 1120 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the network device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0194] It should be understood that the processor of the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or software instructions. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0195] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0196] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0197] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

[0198] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0199] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0200] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions.

[0201] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0202] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0203] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program.

[0204] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not described here.

[0205] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0206] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel 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.

[0207] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0208] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0209] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0210] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0211] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0212] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A multi-carrier based communication method, the method comprising: The terminal device operates in the first cell based on the characteristics of the first cell; The first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers; The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports frequency division duplexing FDD and time division duplexing TDD.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including: The terminal device performs a cell search on a first part of the multiple downlink carriers to receive the first part of the signal; and / or, The terminal device performs initial access on a second part of the carriers among the multiple downlink carriers to receive the second part of the signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The method further comprises: After the terminal device performs a cell search on the first part of the carrier and successfully resides on the target downlink carrier in the first part of the carrier, the terminal device receives a system broadcast message through the target downlink carrier and determines the carrier information of multiple downlink carriers and / or multiple uplink carriers included in the first cell based on the system broadcast message.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The carrier information includes at least one of the following: a carrier identifier, an initial access bandwidth of the carrier, a frequency of the carrier, and a subcarrier spacing SCS of the carrier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein The first part of the signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB or includes an SSB and a system broadcast message; The second part of the signal includes a paging message and / or a system broadcast message.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on the same downlink carrier; or, The paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: When the paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers, The terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers through multiple radio frequency components; or, The terminal device receives the paging message and the system broadcast message on different downlink carriers in different time periods through a single radio frequency component.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein The system broadcast message is transmitted on N downlink carriers, and the paging message is transmitted on M downlink carriers, where N and M are positive integers.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein The number of the first part of carriers is less than or equal to the number of the second part of carriers.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to receive the second part of the signal based on the first rule.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, UE id is the identifier of the terminal device, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

12. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the downlink carrier used to receive the second part of the signal based on the second indication information of the network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate the carrier identifier of a downlink carrier.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein The multiple downlink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or, The multiple downlink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein The configuration information associated with each uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers includes at least one of the following: uplink transmission resources and uplink transmission parameters.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The uplink transmission resource includes at least one of the following: a physical random access channel PRACH resource, a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource, and a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH resource.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein The uplink transmission parameters include: maximum allowed uplink transmit power.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein Each uplink carrier in the multiple uplink carriers is associated with at least one of the following: a type of terminal equipment, and a capability supported by the terminal equipment.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein When the first cell includes multiple uplink carriers, the terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including: The terminal device selects an uplink carrier from the multiple uplink carriers based on its own type and / or supported capabilities, and performs uplink transmission based on the selected uplink carrier.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The uplink transmission includes at least one of the following: PRACH transmission, PUCCH transmission, and PUSCH transmission.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein The capabilities supported by the terminal device include duplex capability.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein The multiple uplink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or, The multiple uplink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein When at least one downlink carrier in the first cell supports FDD and TDD, the terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including: The terminal device performs a cell search on a downlink carrier supporting FDD and TDD, and resides on the downlink carrier supporting FDD and TDD.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device receives first indication information sent by a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the uplink carrier and / or downlink carrier on which the terminal device operates; the first indication information is determined by the network device based on the duplex capability of the terminal device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein When the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers and multiple uplink carriers, the terminal device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including: The terminal device performs uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and receives downlink transmission on the first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the uplink transmission is associated with the downlink transmission, and the first uplink carrier is associated with the first downlink carrier.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on a second rule.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The second rule is: information identifier mod K=carrier identifier, the information identifier is an identifier of uplink information carried by the uplink transmission, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the identifier of the first uplink carrier.

28. The method according to claim 24, wherein The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the first configuration information of the network device, and the first configuration information is used to configure the carrier identifier of the corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The uplink transmission resource groups are divided based on frequency domain positions and / or time domain positions of the uplink transmission resources.

30. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein The uplink transmission is PRACH transmission, and the downlink transmission is random access response RAR transmission; or, The uplink transmission is MsgA transmission, and the downlink transmission is MsgB transmission; or, The uplink transmission is PUSCH transmission, and the downlink transmission is physical downlink shared channel PDSCH transmission; or, The downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission, and the uplink transmission is PUCCH transmission.

31. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 30, wherein When the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers, the method further includes: The terminal device switches the working carrier to the second downlink carrier of the first cell, where the second downlink carrier of the first cell at least partially overlaps with the third downlink carrier of the second cell; The terminal device switches from the second downlink carrier of the first cell to the third downlink carrier of the second cell.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein Before the terminal device switches from the second downlink carrier of the first cell to the third downlink carrier of the second cell, the method further includes: The terminal device receives a switching command sent by a network device, where the switching command is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching, and the switching command is a layer 1 or layer 2 command.

33. A multi-carrier based communication method, the method comprising: The network device operates in the first cell based on the characteristics of the first cell; The first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers; The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The network device operates in the first cell based on the characteristics of the first cell, including: The network device sends a first portion of signals on a first portion of carriers among the multiple downlink carriers; and / or, The network device sends a second portion of signals on a second portion of carriers among the multiple downlink carriers.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein The first part of the signal includes SSB or includes SSB and system broadcast message; The second part of the signal includes a paging message and / or a system broadcast message.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein The paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on the same downlink carrier; or, The paging message and the system broadcast message are transmitted on different downlink carriers.

37. The method according to claim 35 or 36, wherein The system broadcast message is transmitted on N downlink carriers, and the paging message is transmitted on M downlink carriers, where N and M are positive integers.

38. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 37, wherein The number of the first part of carriers is less than or equal to the number of the second part of carriers.

39. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 38, wherein The method further comprises: The network device determines, based on a first rule, a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal.

40. The method according to claim 40, wherein The first rule is: UE id mod K = carrier identifier, UE id is the identifier of the terminal device, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

41. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 38, wherein The method further comprises: The network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier; The network device determines, based on the second indication information, a carrier identifier of a downlink carrier used to send the second part of the signal.

42. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 41, wherein The multiple downlink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or, The multiple downlink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

43. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 42, wherein The configuration information associated with each uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers includes at least one of the following: uplink transmission resources and uplink transmission parameters.

44. The method according to claim 43, wherein The uplink transmission resource includes at least one of the following: a PRACH resource, a PUCCH resource, and a PUSCH resource.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein The uplink transmission parameters include: maximum allowed uplink transmit power.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 33 to 45, wherein Each uplink carrier in the multiple uplink carriers is associated with at least one of the following: a type of terminal equipment, and a capability supported by the terminal equipment.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein The capabilities supported by the terminal device include duplex capability.

48. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 47, wherein The multiple uplink carriers belong to the same frequency band; or, The multiple uplink carriers belong to multiple frequency bands.

49. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 48, wherein When at least one downlink carrier in the first cell supports FDD and TDD, the method further includes: The network device sends first indication information to a terminal device residing on a downlink carrier supporting FDD and TDD, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the uplink carrier and / or downlink carrier on which the terminal device works; the first indication information is determined by the network device based on the duplex capability of the terminal device.

50. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 49, wherein When the first cell includes multiple downlink carriers and multiple uplink carriers, the network device operates in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell, including: The network device receives an uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier among the multiple uplink carriers, and performs a downlink transmission on a first downlink carrier among the multiple downlink carriers; the uplink transmission is associated with the downlink transmission, and the first uplink carrier is associated with the first downlink carrier.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein: The method further comprises: The network device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on a second rule.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein The second rule is: information identifier mod K=carrier identifier, the information identifier is an identifier of uplink information carried by the uplink transmission, and K is the number of carriers of the multiple downlink carriers.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein: The method further comprises: The network device determines the carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the identifier of the first uplink carrier.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein: The method further comprises: The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to configure a carrier identifier of a corresponding downlink carrier according to the uplink carrier or uplink information or uplink transmission resource or uplink transmission resource group; The network device determines a carrier identifier of the first downlink carrier based on the first configuration information.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein The uplink transmission resource groups are divided based on frequency domain positions and / or time domain positions of the uplink transmission resources.

56. The method according to any one of claims 50 to 55, wherein The uplink transmission is PRACH transmission, and the downlink transmission is RAR transmission; or, The uplink transmission is MsgA transmission, and the downlink transmission is MsgB transmission; or, The uplink transmission is PUSCH transmission, and the downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission; or, The downlink transmission is PDSCH transmission, and the uplink transmission is PUCCH transmission.

57. A multi-carrier based communication device, applied to a terminal device, the device comprising: a communication unit, configured to operate in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell; The first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers; The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

58. A multi-carrier based communication device, applied to a network device, the device comprising: a communication unit, configured to operate in the first cell based on characteristics of the first cell; The first cell has at least one of the following characteristics: The first cell includes multiple downlink carriers; The first cell includes multiple uplink carriers; There is at least one downlink carrier in the first cell that supports FDD and TDD.

59. A terminal device comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

60. A network device comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 33 to 56.

61. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32, or the method according to any one of claims 33 to 56.

62. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32, or the method according to any one of claims 33 to 56.

63. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions, the computer program instructions causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 32, or any one of claims 33 to 56.

64. A computer program, the computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 32, or any one of claims 33 to 56.

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