Method and device for activating secondary cell, terminal and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a method and device for activating a secondary cell, a terminal and a storage medium, and relates to the field of wireless communication. The method comprises the step of reducing a time delay coefficient corresponding to at least one process in related processes of three parts of a layer when the terminal executes an unknown auxiliary cell activation process. According to the terminal disclosed by the invention, the time delay of the related processes of the three layers can be reduced by executing the related processes of the three layers in the enhanced secondary cell activation process, so that the time delay when the secondary cell is activated can be reduced, and meanwhile, the terminal resource overhead and the terminal energy consumption are effectively reduced.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of May 8, 2023, the application number of 202310511750.4, and the title of "Method, Apparatus, Terminal, and Storage Medium for Activating a Secondary Cell". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, terminal, and storage medium for activating a secondary cell. Background Art

[0003] With the continuous evolution of 5G networks, the further development of 5G+ networks and 6G networks, the middle and low frequency bands achieve full network coverage, and the high and middle frequency bands as well as the millimeter wave bands enhance the network capacity carrying capacity. Currently, the carrier aggregation frequency band combinations deployed in the network include 3.5G + 2.1G CA, 2.1G + 1.8G CA, 900M + 800M CA, 26G + 28G CA, 26G + 39G CA, etc. Carrier aggregation technology aggregates high, middle, and low frequency bands as well as millimeter wave bands, which can improve the flexibility of using multiple frequency bands, give play to the performance advantages of multiple frequency bands, and enhance the overall performance of mobile communication networks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide a method, apparatus, terminal, and storage medium for activating a secondary cell, which can reduce the latency of activating an unknown secondary cell.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for activating a secondary cell is proposed, including: when a terminal executes an unknown secondary cell activation process, reducing the latency coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

[0006] In some embodiments, reducing the latency coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part includes: reducing the received beam scanning factor value corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

[0007] In some embodiments, the received beam scanning factor value is an integer less than 8.

[0008] In some embodiments, at least one process includes multiple processes, and among them, the received beam scanning factor values corresponding to any two processes in the multiple processes are the same or different.

[0009] In some embodiments, the terminal has the ability to support the reduced received beam scanning factor value.

[0010] In some embodiments, reducing the latency coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part includes: reducing the sampling quantity corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

[0011] In some embodiments, the number of samplings is 0 or 1.

[0012] In some embodiments, the terminal has the ability to support a reduced number of samplings.

[0013] In some embodiments, the terminal directly executes the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, or executes the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part after reporting the valid layer 3 measurement results to the network.

[0014] In some embodiments, the terminal does not execute one or more of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part.

[0015] In some embodiments, if the terminal has valid layer 3 measurement results before the activation of the unknown secondary cell, it does not execute the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part.

[0016] In some embodiments, after the terminal executes at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, in the case of obtaining a valid synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB index, it no longer executes the other relevant procedures of the layer 3 part except for the at least one executed procedure.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal is further provided, including: a processing module configured to reduce the delay coefficient corresponding to at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part during the execution of the unknown secondary cell activation procedure.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device for activating a secondary cell is further provided, including: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the method for activating a secondary cell as described above based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is further provided, on which computer program instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the method for activating a secondary cell as described above is implemented.

[0020] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by executing the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part in the enhanced secondary cell activation procedure, the terminal can reduce the delay of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, and thus can reduce the delay when activating the secondary cell, while effectively reducing the resource overhead and energy consumption of the terminal.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become clear through the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The drawings constituting a part of the specification depict the embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0023] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure can be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, where:

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of a method for activating a secondary cell according to the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of a terminal according to the present disclosure; and

[0026] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of an apparatus for activating a secondary cell according to the present disclosure. Specific Embodiments

[0027] Now, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0028] Meanwhile, it should be understood that, for the sake of convenience of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual proportional relationships.

[0029] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or its use.

[0030] Techniques, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the techniques, methods, and devices should be regarded as part of the specification.

[0031] In all the examples shown and discussed herein, any specific value should be construed as merely exemplary and not as a limitation. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0032] It should be noted that: Similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0033] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure more clearly understood, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Carrier aggregation includes aggregation between multiple carrier units in frequency range 1, aggregation between multiple carrier units in frequency range 2, and aggregation between a carrier unit in frequency range 1 and a carrier unit in frequency range 2.

[0035] There are many processes for activating an unknown secondary cell in carrier aggregation, such as an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) adjustment process, a cell search process, a time-frequency tracking process, and a beam information acquisition process, etc. In related technologies, when activating an unknown secondary cell, the time delay is relatively long. How to reduce the activation time delay of an unknown secondary cell in carrier aggregation is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of some embodiments of the method for activating a secondary cell according to the present disclosure. This embodiment is executed by a terminal. The terminal can also be referred to as a UE (user equipment). A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver functions, and can communicate with one or more CNs (core networks) via an access network device in an (R)AN ((radio) access network). It can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water, such as on a ship, etc.; it can also be deployed in the air, for example, deployed on an airplane, a balloon or a satellite, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a VR (virtual reality) terminal device, an AR (augmented reality) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0037] In step 110, when the terminal is executing the process of activating an unknown secondary cell, it reduces the delay coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the relevant processes of the layer 3 part.

[0038] In some embodiments, the delay coefficient includes a received beam scanning factor value, a sampling quantity, etc.

[0039] For example, when the terminal is executing the process of activating an unknown secondary cell, it reduces the received beam scanning factor value corresponding to at least one process in the relevant processes of the layer 3 part.

[0040] For another example, when the terminal is executing the process of activating an unknown secondary cell, it reduces the sampling quantity corresponding to at least one process in the relevant processes of the layer 3 part.

[0041] In step 120, the terminal completes the activation of the unknown secondary cell.

[0042] After the terminal executes the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, it continues to execute the relevant procedures of the layer 1 part. For example, it executes the layer 1 reference signal received power measurement and reporting procedures and the fine time tracking procedures, etc., and reports the effective channel state information report to the network to complete the activation of the unknown secondary cell.

[0043] In the above embodiment, by executing the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part in the enhanced secondary cell activation procedure, the terminal can reduce the delay of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, and thus can reduce the delay when activating the secondary cell, while effectively reducing the terminal resource overhead and the terminal power consumption.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure reduces the receive beam scanning factor value corresponding to one or more procedures in the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part. In the secondary cell activation of the related art, the receive beam scanning factor value of FR (Frequency Range) 2 is 8. In this embodiment, the receive beam scanning factor value is an integer less than 8. By reducing the receive beam scanning factor value, the delay of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part can be reduced.

[0045] In some embodiments, the terminal reduces the receive beam scanning factor value corresponding to one procedure in the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part.

[0046] For example, N can take values within the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} or {2, 4, 6} or {1, 2, 4, 6} or other possible combinations of integers less than 8. The terminal selects a certain value within the above range according to its own capabilities for secondary cell activation.

[0047] For example, when reducing the receive beam scanning factor value corresponding to the cell search procedure, the delay requirement for the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part is: T1 + 15 * T2 + N * T3. Another example is that when reducing the receive beam scanning factor value corresponding to the AGC adjustment procedure, the delay requirement for the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part is: T1 + (2 * N - 1) * T2 + 8 * T3, or T1 + (7 + N) * T2 + 8 * T3.

[0048] In the above embodiments, N is the value of the receive beam scanning factor; T1 is the time when the first complete SSB (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block) burst set indicated by SMTC ends, or 5 ms when SMTC is not configured; T2 is the longer SMTC (SSB-based Measurement Timing Configuration) period or SSB period among multiple cells, or the SMTC period or SSB period of the activated secondary cell; T3 is the SMTC period or SSB period of the activated secondary cell, or the SMTC period or SSB period configured in the higher layer parameters. Since the SSB period may be configured to be less than the SMTC period, therefore, if the SSB period is adopted, compared with the SMTC period, the delay of secondary cell activation can be further reduced.

[0049] In some embodiments, the terminal reduces the receive beam scanning factor values corresponding to multiple processes in the related procedures of the layer 3 part.

[0050] For the case of reducing the receive beam scanning factor values corresponding to multiple processes, the receive beam scanning factor values corresponding to any two processes may be the same or different.

[0051] For example, N can take values within the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} or {2, 4, 6} or {1, 2, 4, 6} or other possible combinations of integers less than 8. The terminal selects one or more values within the above range according to its own capabilities for secondary cell activation.

[0052] For example, when reducing the receive beam scanning factor values corresponding to the AGC adjustment process and the cell search process, the delay requirements for the related procedures of the layer 3 part are: T1+(2*N1 - 1)*T2+N2*T3; or T1+(7 + N1)*T2+N2*T3; where T1, T2, and T3 are defined as in the above embodiments, and the values of N1 and N2 can be the same or different.

[0053] Since the side condition for secondary cell activation is relatively high and more stringent than requirements in scenarios such as handover, therefore, under this side condition, reducing the receive beam scanning factor value has a relatively small impact on communication quality.

[0054] In some embodiments, the terminal has the ability to support reduced receive beam scanning factor values.

[0055] For example, the ability to support reduced receive beam scanning factor values is defined by new terminal capabilities or existing terminal capabilities. The terminal reports this ability to the network.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal reduces the sampling quantity corresponding to one or more processes in the relevant processes of the layer 3 part. The sampling quantity is reduced to 1 or 0.

[0057] For example, for the FR2 frequency band, the terminal reduces the sampling quantity to reduce the latency of the relevant processes of the layer 3 part. The latency requirements for the relevant processes of the layer 3 part are: T1 + 7 * T2 + 8 * T3; or T1 + 15 * T2 + 0 * T3; or T1 + 7 * T2 + 0 * T3, where the definitions of T1, T2, and T3 are the same as those in the above embodiments.

[0058] For example, in the related art, the sampling quantity of the AGC process is 2, and the sampling quantity of the cell search process is 1. In this embodiment, the sampling quantity in the AGC process is reduced from 2 to 1, or the sampling quantity in the cell search process is reduced from 1 to 0. Thus, the latency of the relevant processes of the layer 3 part can be reduced.

[0059] In some embodiments, the terminal has the ability to support the reduced sampling quantity.

[0060] For example, the reduced sampling quantity is supported by defining new terminal capabilities or existing terminal capabilities.

[0061] In the above embodiments, when the terminal executes the relevant processes of the layer 3 part and reduces the sampling quantity, it can effectively reduce the latency of carrier aggregation unknown secondary cell activation, and at the same time effectively reduce the terminal resource overhead and terminal power consumption.

[0062] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal directly executes the relevant processes of the layer 3 part, or executes the relevant processes of the layer 3 part after reporting the valid layer 3 measurement results to the network.

[0063] The layer 3 measurement results are, for example, the measurement results of the layer 3 RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power). The valid layer 3 measurement results are, for example, that the RSRP value of the layer 3 is greater than a certain threshold.

[0064] In the above embodiments, when the terminal meets certain conditions and executes the relevant processes of the enhanced layer 3 part, it can reduce the latency of secondary cell activation.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal does not execute one or more processes in the relevant processes of the layer 3 part.

[0066] For example, for the FR1 frequency band and the FR2 frequency band, the terminal does not execute at least one of the AGC adjustment process, the cell search process, the time-frequency tracking process, or the beam information acquisition process.

[0067] In some embodiments, if the terminal has valid layer 3 measurement results before the activation of the secondary cell, the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part are not executed.

[0068] In some other embodiments, after the terminal executes at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part and obtains a valid SSB index, it no longer executes the other relevant procedures of the layer 3 part except for the at least one executed procedure.

[0069] For example, after the terminal executes the AGC adjustment procedure and the cell search procedure and can obtain time-frequency information and SSB index beam information, the terminal may not additionally execute the time-frequency tracking and beam information acquisition procedure.

[0070] In the above embodiments, when the terminal does not execute one or more of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, the latency of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part can be reduced, thereby reducing the overall latency of secondary cell activation, and it also helps the terminal save resource overhead and energy consumption.

[0071] In some embodiments, the terminal does not execute one or more of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part and reduces the received beam scanning factor value or the number of samples corresponding to at least one of the executed procedures. This can effectively reduce the latency of carrier aggregation unknown secondary cell activation, and at the same time effectively reduce the terminal's resource overhead and energy consumption.

[0072] Figure 2 The following is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of the terminal of the present disclosure. The terminal includes a processing module 210, which is configured to reduce the latency coefficient corresponding to at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part during the execution of the unknown secondary cell activation process.

[0073] In some embodiments, the processing module 210 reduces the received beam scanning factor value corresponding to at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part. The received beam scanning factor value is an integer less than 8.

[0074] For the case of reducing the received beam scanning factor values corresponding to multiple procedures, the received beam scanning factor values corresponding to any two procedures may be the same or different.

[0075] In this embodiment, the terminal has the ability to support reducing the received beam scanning factor value.

[0076] In some embodiments, the processing module 210 reduces the number of samples corresponding to at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part. The number of samples is 0 or 1.

[0077] In this embodiment, the terminal has the ability to support reducing the number of samples.

[0078] In some embodiments, the processing module 210 does not execute one or more of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part.

[0079] For example, if the processing module 210 has valid layer 3 measurement results before the activation of an unknown secondary cell, the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part are not executed.

[0080] As another example, after the processing module 210 executes at least one of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, in the case of obtaining valid synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) indexes, the other relevant procedures of the layer 3 part after the at least one executed procedure are no longer executed.

[0081] In some embodiments, the processing module 210 directly executes the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, or executes the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part after reporting the valid layer 3 measurement results to the network.

[0082] In the above embodiments, by executing the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part in the enhanced secondary cell activation process, the terminal can reduce the latency of the relevant procedures of the layer 3 part, and at the same time helps the terminal save resource overhead and energy consumption.

[0083] Figure 3 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of the apparatus for activating a secondary cell according to the present disclosure. The apparatus is, for example, a terminal, and includes a memory 310 and a processor 320. Among them: The memory 310 can be a magnetic disk, a flash memory, or any other non-volatile storage medium. The memory is used to store the instructions in the above embodiments. The processor 320 is coupled to the memory 310 and can be implemented as one or more integrated circuits, such as a microprocessor or a microcontroller. The processor 320 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory.

[0084] In some embodiments, the processor 320 is coupled to the memory 310 through a BUS bus 330. The apparatus 300 can also be connected to an external storage system 350 through a storage interface 340 to call external data, and can also be connected to a network or another computer system (not shown) through a network interface 360. Details are not described here again.

[0085] In this embodiment, by storing data instructions in the memory and then processing the above instructions by the processor, it can be applied to the scenario of activating an unknown secondary cell in carrier aggregation, and reduce the latency of activating the unknown secondary cell.

[0086] In some other embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the methods in the above embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be provided as methods, apparatuses, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present disclosure can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0087] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processors of general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, embedded processors, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processors of the computer or other programmable data processing devices produce means for implementing the functions specified in Figure 1 one or more of the flows Figure 1 or blocks or combinations of blocks.

[0088] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufactured article including instruction means that implement the functions specified in Figure 1 one or more of the flows Figure 1 or blocks or combinations of blocks.

[0089] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, such that a series of operation steps are performed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, and thus the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in Figure 1 one or more of the flows Figure 1 or blocks or combinations of blocks.

[0090] So far, the present disclosure has been described in detail. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details well known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0091] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for activating a secondary cell, comprising: When the terminal executes an unknown secondary cell activation process, reducing the delay coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part, where the delay coefficient corresponding to the at least one process includes the receiving beam scanning factor value corresponding to the cell search process, and the receiving beam scanning factor value is an integer less than 8. Among them, The terminal has the ability to support the reduced receiving beam scanning factor value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one process includes multiple processes, where The receiving beam scanning factor values corresponding to any two processes among the multiple processes are the same or different.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Reducing the delay coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part further includes: Reducing the sampling quantity corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The sampling quantity is 0 or 1.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein The terminal has the ability to support the reduced sampling quantity.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The terminal directly executes the related processes of the layer 3 part, or executes the related processes of the layer 3 part after reporting valid layer 3 measurement results to the network.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein Reducing the receiving beam scanning factor value corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part includes: Reducing the receiving beam scanning factor value corresponding to the cell search process in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The delay requirement for the related processes of the layer 3 part is: T1 + 15 * T2 + N * T3, where T1 is the time when the first complete SSB burst set ends indicated by the measurement timing configuration SMTC based on the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block SSB, or within 5 ms when SMTC is not configured; T2 is the longer SMTC period or SSB period among multiple cells, or the SMTC period or SSB period of the activated secondary cell; N is the receiving beam scanning factor value; T3 is the SMTC period or SSB period of the activated secondary cell, or the SMTC period or SSB period configured in the high-layer parameter.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein The terminal does not execute one or more processes in the related processes of the layer 3 part.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein If the terminal has valid layer 3 measurement results before the unknown secondary cell activation, it does not execute the related processes of the layer 3 part.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein After the terminal executes at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part, in the case of obtaining a valid synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block SSB index, it no longer executes the other related processes of the layer 3 part except the at least one process that has been executed.

12. A terminal, comprising: A processing module, configured to reduce the delay coefficient corresponding to at least one process in the related processes of the layer 3 part when executing an unknown secondary cell activation process, where the delay coefficient corresponding to the at least one process includes the receiving beam scanning factor value corresponding to the cell search process, and the receiving beam scanning factor value is an integer less than 8. Among them, The terminal has the ability to support a reduced receive beam scanning factor value.

13. An apparatus for activating a secondary cell, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the method for activating a secondary cell according to any one of claims 1 to 11 based on instructions stored in the memory.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor implement the method for activating a secondary cell according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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