A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The method comprises the following steps: a network device sends a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to a terminal, wherein the first MAC CE is used for indicating to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells. By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the SSB transmission of the secondary cell can be indicated by a single MAC CE, and the signaling redundancy can be reduced.

Description

A communication method and apparatus TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the gradual application of large-scale active antenna arrays and the large-scale construction of the 5th generation (5G) mobile network, the energy consumption of wireless communication networks has increased significantly, and network energy saving is an important means for operators to reduce the cost of operating 5G systems.

[0003] The cell in the carrier aggregation scenario can include a secondary cell supporting a network energy saving (NES) mode and a non-energy saving secondary cell (also referred to as a normal cell, i.e., a secondary cell transmitting an SSB according to a transmission period of the SSB). The secondary cell supporting the network energy saving (NES) mode can support an on-demand SSB (also referred to as an OD-SSB) function, and the secondary cell transmitting the on-demand SSB (SSB) can be referred to as an on-demand SSB Scell (also referred to as an OD-SSB Scell). In the related art, the secondary cell (SCell) is usually activated / deactivated by a MAC (media access control) CE (control element) activating or deactivating the SCell. However, this approach can cause signaling redundancy.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus.

[0006] According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a network device, and the method comprises:

[0007] sending, to a terminal, a first media access control (MAC) control element (CE), the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0008] According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a terminal, and the method comprises:

[0009] receiving a first media access control (MAC) control element (CE) sent by a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0010] According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising:

[0011] The transceiver is configured to send, to a terminal, a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises:

[0013] The transceiver is configured to receive a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) sent by a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0014] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, which comprises:

[0015] The network device is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0016] The terminal is configured to perform the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0017] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which comprises one or more processors.

[0018] The processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0019] According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, which stores instructions, when the instructions are run on a communication device, causing the communication device to perform the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0020] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, which comprises a computer program, when the computer program is executed on the communication device, realizing the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0021] According to the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the SSB transmission of the secondary cell can be indicated by a separate MAC CE, without carrying the information of the secondary cell whose SSB transmission has been activated, so as to reduce the transmission of unnecessary information in the communication process, reduce the bandwidth consumption and delay, and reduce the signaling redundancy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following describes the drawings required for the embodiments, and the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not specifically limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2 is an example diagram of a scenario to which an on-demand SSB is applicable according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of interactions of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of interactions of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of interactions of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 3D is a schematic diagram of interactions of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 5B is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 5C is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 5D is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 5E is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of interactions of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of a structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device 8100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram of a structure of a chip 8200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus.

[0041] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a network device, and includes: sending, to a terminal, a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the SSB transmission on the secondary cell can be deactivated by using a separate MAC CE, without carrying the information of the secondary cell whose SSB transmission has been activated, so that unnecessary information is reduced in the communication process, bandwidth consumption and delay are reduced, and signaling redundancy is reduced.

[0043] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first MAC CE includes a first bitmap, and the first bitmap includes at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with a first secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the SSB transmission on the secondary cell can be deactivated by using a separate MAC CE, without designing other redundant fields (such as indication information associated with the secondary cell (information indicating a period and / or other parameters)) and carrying the information of the secondary cell whose SSB transmission has been activated, so that the message structure is simplified, and signaling redundancy is reduced.

[0045] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the one or more first secondary cells include a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell, a first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell, and the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0046] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit, or the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0047] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the one or more first secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand, a first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell, and the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0048] In the above embodiments, the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell can be deactivated by the separate MAC CE, without carrying the related information of the OD-SSB SCell whose SSB transmission has been activated, reducing the transmission of unnecessary information in the communication process, reducing bandwidth consumption and delay, and reducing signaling redundancy.

[0049] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first auxiliary cell associated with the first indication bit is an auxiliary cell not configured for the terminal; and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0050] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, the method further includes: sending a second MAC CE to the terminal, the second MAC CE being used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second auxiliary cells.

[0051] In the above embodiments, the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE (i.e., the second MAC CE) can be used in combination with the MAC CE for indicating deactivation of SSB transmission on the SCell, i.e., first activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more SCells by using the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, and then in the subsequent process, for the SCell in the one or more SCells whose SSB transmission has been activated, the SSB transmission of the SCell can be deactivated by the MAC CE for indicating deactivation of SSB transmission on the SCell (such as the first MAC CE described above). Compared with the prior art of deactivating SSB transmission on the SCell by using the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, for the SCell whose SSB transmission remains activated, the indication information (such as the information of the indication period and / or other parameters) associated with the SCell does not need to be carried in the MAC CE, thereby reducing signaling redundancy and saving signaling overhead.

[0052] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, the method includes: sending a third MAC CE to the terminal on a third auxiliary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the third auxiliary cell, and the third auxiliary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

[0053] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0054] In the above embodiments, the third MAC CE is used to deactivate SSB transmission of which OD-SSB SCell, and the third MAC CE is sent on the OD-SSB SCell, which can further reduce signaling redundancy and save signaling overhead.

[0055] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending, to the terminal, a fourth MAC CE, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0056] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises a second bitmap, the second bitmap comprising at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with one fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0057] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells comprise on-demand SSB requesting cells and / or normal cells; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0058] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a normal cell, and the value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0059] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all on-demand SSB requesting cells; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0060] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises first indication information, a number of the first indication information being the same as a number of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated being associated with one first indication information, and the first indication information being sorted according to an index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicating activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0061] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending, to the terminal, a fifth MAC CE on a fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth secondary cell being an on-demand SSB requesting cell.

[0062] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE comprises second indication information, the second indication information indicating the activated SSB configuration, the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information being one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0063] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, the method being performed by a terminal, the method comprising: receiving a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) sent by a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0064] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first MAC CE comprises a first bitmap, the first bitmap comprising at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with one first secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells.

[0065] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells comprise a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0066] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first indication bit is associated with a first secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal or is a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0067] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein the value of the first indication bit is set to the first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0068] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first indication bit is associated with a first secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal; and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0069] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a second MAC CE sent by the network device, the second MAC CE being used to indicate to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0070] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method comprises: receiving a third MAC CE sent by the network device on the third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the third secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

[0071] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0072] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a fourth MAC CE sent by the network device, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0073] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises a second bitmap, the second bitmap comprising at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with one of the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0074] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells comprise a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and a value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignoring the second indication bit.

[0075] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or the second indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and a value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0076] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and a value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignoring the second indication bit.

[0077] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises first indication information, a number of the first indication information being the same as a number of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated being associated with one of the first indication information, and the first indication information being sorted according to an index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicating activated SSB configuration, the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0078] In some embodiments combined with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fifth MAC CE sent by the network device on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, and the fifth secondary cell being the cell from which the SSB is requested on demand.

[0079] In some embodiments combined with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, the second indication information indicating the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information being one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0080] In the third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network device, including at least one of a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein the network device is configured to execute the optional implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0081] In the fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal, including at least one of a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0082] In the fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system, including:

[0083] The network device is configured to execute the optional implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0084] The terminal is configured to execute the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0085] In the sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, including: one or more processors; wherein the processor is configured to invoke instructions to make the communication device execute the optional implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0086] In the seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, including: one or more processors; wherein the processor is configured to invoke instructions to make the communication device execute the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0087] In the eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, when the instructions are run on a communication device, making the communication device execute the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0088] In the ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, when the program product is executed by a communication device, making the communication device execute the method described in the optional implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0089] In a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0090] In an eleventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip or a chip system. The chip or the chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0091] It can be understood that the network device, the terminal, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, the computer program, the chip or the chip system are used to perform the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects achieved by the network device, the terminal, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, the computer program, the chip or the chip system can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be described here.

[0092] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a communication method and apparatus. In some embodiments, the terms of information processing method and communication method can be replaced with each other, the terms of information processing apparatus and communication apparatus can be replaced with each other, and the terms of information processing system and communication system can be replaced with each other.

[0093] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but only illustrate some embodiments, and are not specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the scheme after removing some steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be exchanged arbitrarily, in addition, the optional implementation manners in an embodiment can be combined arbitrarily; in addition, the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, an embodiment can be combined with the optional implementation manners of other embodiments.

[0094] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the terms and / or descriptions of the embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0095] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and not as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, an element represented in a singular form, such as "a", "an", "the", "said", "the aforementioned", "the foregoing", "this", and the like, unless otherwise specified, can represent "one and only one", or can represent "one or more", "at least one", and the like. For example, in the case of using an article such as "a", "an", "the" in English, the noun after the article can be understood as a singular expression, or can be understood as a plural expression.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, "plurality" refers to two or more.

[0098] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0099] In some embodiments, the description manner such as "at least one of A, B", "A and / or B", "A in one case and B in another case", "in response to a case A, in response to a case B", and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: in some embodiments, A is executed regardless of B; in some embodiments, B is executed regardless of A; in some embodiments, A and B are selectively executed from A and B; in some embodiments, A and B are executed (A and B are both executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0100] In some embodiments, the description manner such as "A or B" and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the case: in some embodiments, A is executed regardless of B; in some embodiments, B is executed regardless of A; in some embodiments, A and B are selectively executed from A and B. When there are more branches such as A, B, C, and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0101] The prefix words "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute limitation on the position, sequence, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The description of the description objects should refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and should not constitute redundant limitation because of the use of the prefix words. For example, the description objects are "fields", and the ordinal words before "fields" in "first field" and "second field" do not limit the position or sequence between "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified thereby are in the same message, nor do they limit the sequence of "first field" and "second field". For another example, the description objects are "levels", and the ordinal words before "levels" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the quantity of the description objects is not limited by the ordinal words, and can be one or more. For example, "first device", wherein the quantity of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefix words can be the same or different. For example, the description objects are "devices", and "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, the description objects are "information", and "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0102] In some embodiments, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A, or indirectly indicating A.

[0103] In some embodiments, the terms "time / frequency", "time / frequency domain", etc. refer to the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

[0104] In some embodiments, the terms "in response to", "in response to determining", "in the case of", "when", "when", "if", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0105] In some embodiments, the terms "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", "above", etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", "below", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0106] In some embodiments, the apparatuses and devices can be interpreted as entities, and can also be interpreted as virtual, whose names are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and in some cases can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0107] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as an apparatus contained in the network, for example, access network device, core network device, etc.

[0108] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" can also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", and in some embodiments can also be understood as "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)", etc.

[0109] In some embodiments, a "terminal" or "terminal device" can be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE), a "user terminal," a "mobile station" (MS), a "mobile terminal" (MT), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, and the like.

[0110] In some embodiments, data, information, and the like can be acquired in compliance with laws and regulations of the country in which the location is situated.

[0111] In some embodiments, data, information, and the like can be acquired after obtaining consent of a user.

[0112] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system can include, but is not limited to, one network device and one terminal. The number and form of devices shown in FIG. 1 are used only for example and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure, and in actual applications, two or more network devices and two or more terminals can be included. The communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 takes one network device 101 and one terminal 102 as an example.

[0113] In some embodiments, the terminal 102 herein can be an entity for receiving or transmitting signals on the user side, such as a mobile phone. It can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), and the like. The terminal can be at least one of a car, a smart car, a mobile phone, a wearable device, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, and the like. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0114] In some embodiments, the network device 101 can be an access network device. In some embodiments, the access network device is at least one of, for example, an evolved NodeB (eNB) in a 5G communication system, a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an Open RAN, a Cloud RAN, a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0115] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be applied to an Open RAN architecture, at this time, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can become internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0116] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be referred to as a control unit. The CU-DU structure can split the protocol layers of the access network device, and some of the functions of the protocol layers are controlled by the CU, and the remaining or all of the functions of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0117] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, as the system architecture evolves and new business scenarios appear, the technical solutions proposed by the embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0118] The following embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 or part of the subject, but are not limited thereto. The subjects shown in FIG. 1 are exemplary, and the communication system can include all or part of the subjects in FIG. 1, or other subjects other than FIG. 1. The number and form of each subject is arbitrary, each subject can be real or virtual, the connection relationship between each subject is exemplary, each subject can not be connected or can be connected, the connection can be in any way, can be direct connection or indirect connection, can be wired connection or wireless connection.

[0119] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device-to-Device (D2D) system, Machine to Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), system using other communication methods, next-generation system expanded based thereon, and the like. Further, a plurality of systems can be applied in combination (for example, combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, and the like).

[0120] It should be noted that, with the pursuit of rate, delay, high-speed mobility, energy efficiency, and the diversity and complexity of services in future life, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3rd Generation Partnership Project) international standard organization begins to develop 5G. The main application scenarios of 5G are: enhanced mobile broadband (Enhanced Mobile Broadband, eMBB), low latency and high reliability communication (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications, URLLC), and massive machine type communication (Massive Machine Type Communication, mMTC). eMBB still aims to provide users with multimedia content, services and data, and its demand is growing rapidly. On the other hand, since eMBB can be deployed in different scenarios, such as indoor, urban, rural, etc., the difference between its capabilities and requirements is also relatively large, so it cannot be generalized and must be analyzed in detail in combination with the specific deployment scenario. Typical applications of URLLC include: industrial automation, power automation, remote medical operation (surgery), traffic safety guarantee, etc. The typical characteristics of mMTC include: high connection density, small data volume, delay-insensitive service, low-cost module and long service life, etc.

[0121] Since the energy consumption of a 5G base station is four times that of an LTE base station, network energy saving is an important means for operators to reduce the cost of operating a 5G system. In some embodiments, in order to save energy for terminals in RRC_CONNECTED state, a WUS (wake up signal) is introduced. An offset before the on duration of UE C-DRX (Connected Discontinuous Reception) defines a duration for sending a WUS signal, and a WUS signal, i.e. DCI format 2-6, scrambled by PS-RNTI (Power Saving RNTI) is sent during the WUS duration, which is used to indicate whether the terminal wakes up to listen to the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) during the next UE C-DRX on duration.

[0122] In some embodiments, paging WUS (paging wake-up signal) is introduced for RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE (RRC idle state / inactive state) terminal power saving. That is, paging WUS, i.e., PEI (paging early indication), is sent at a certain time before PO (paging occasion), which is used to indicate whether the terminal listens to paging scheduling information in the PO. The PEI is a DCI format 2-7 scrambled by a PEI-RNTI (paging early indication radio network temporary identifier).

[0123] In some embodiments, NES (network energy saving) has supported SSB-less SCell in the inter-band CA scenario. The SSB-less SCell does not send SSB (synchronization signal block), and the terminal achieves time-frequency synchronization on the SCell (secondary cell), L1 / L3 (layer 1 / layer 3) measurement, SCell activation, and other functions through the SSB of the reference cell. However, SSB-less in the inter-band CA scenario has many limitations, such as PCell (primary cell) and SCell co-located and only working in frequency band FR1. Frequency band FR2 and non-co-located scenarios are not supported.

[0124] In some embodiments, R19 NES supports FR2 and non-co-located scenarios, and on-demand SSB (also called OD-SSB) can be used as an enhancement to SSB transmission for scenarios not covered by SSB-less operation to achieve network element gain and ensure proper / enhanced SCell functions, including time / frequency synchronization, L1 / L3 measurement, and SCell activation. If the terminal needs to acquire the SSB of the on-demand SSB SCell, it can request the SSB of the on-demand SSB SCell through the UL WUS (wake-up signal). That is, the SSB of the SCell is sent based on the request, or on-demand. Another possible implementation is that the network device triggers the SSB transmission on the SCell based on the implementation, for example, the network device needs to acquire the RRM (radio resource management) measurement report of the SCell, and the network device needs to notify the terminal through the indication information.

[0125] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the on-demand SSB can be applicable to the following scenarios: scenario #2, adding an SCell but not yet activating the SCell; scenario #2A, SCell activation command; scenario #3A, during SCell activation; scenario #3B, after SCell activation. Exemplarily, in any of the above scenarios (such as scenario #2, or scenario #2A, or scenario #3A, or scenario #3B), the terminal can request SSB from the on-demand SSB SCell through a replacement signal if it needs to obtain the SSB of the on-demand SSB SCell; or the network device triggers SSB transmission on the on-demand SSB SCell based on implementation.

[0126] In some embodiments, SSB transmission can be indicated by using MAC (Media Access Control) CE (Control Element) and RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling. In some embodiments, for request-based SSB, at least the transmission period (and possibly other parameters), multiple candidate values can be configured through RRC signaling, and then the used value is indicated through MAC CE.

[0127] In related technologies, the SSB transmission of an SCell is usually activated or deactivated by a conventional SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE. However, if the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE is used to indicate the activation and deactivation of SSB transmission on multiple OD-SSB (on-demand SSB) SCells at the same time, when the SSB transmission of one or more OD-SSB SCells is deactivated, the OD-SSB SCell associated with the OD-SSB SCell that remains activated for SSB transmission still needs to carry the associated indication information (such as the indication period and / or other parameters) in the SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, resulting in signaling redundancy.

[0128] To this end, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and device, which can use a separate MAC CE to only indicate the deactivation of the SSB transmission of a secondary cell, without carrying the related information of the secondary cell whose SSB transmission has been activated, thereby reducing unnecessary information transmission in the communication process, reducing bandwidth consumption and delay, and reducing signaling redundancy.

[0129] FIG. 3A is an interaction schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3A, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method applicable to a communication system 100, and the above method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0130] At step S3101, the network device 101 sends a first MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the first MAC CE can be used to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0131] For example, if it is necessary to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells, the network device 101 can send a first MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the terminal 102 receives the first MAC CE sent by the network device 101, and the first MAC CE can be used to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission on the one or more first secondary cells. In some embodiments, the terms “SSB transmission”, “SSB sending” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0132] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE can be used to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells, which can also be understood as: the first MAC CE can be used to instruct to deactivate one or more first secondary cells, or the first MAC CE can be used to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission of one or more first secondary cells. That is, “deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells”, “deactivate one or more first secondary cells”, “deactivate SSB transmission of one or more first secondary cells”, “SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells is deactivated” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0133] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE can be a MAC CE that is used only to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells, that is, the first MAC CE can be used only to instruct to deactivate SSB transmission on a secondary cell, for example, if it is necessary to deactivate a certain secondary cell or certain secondary cells, the network device 101 can deactivate SSB transmission of the secondary cell through the first MAC CE, and the first MAC CE only instructs to deactivate SSB transmission of the secondary cell.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE can be associated with one LCID (logical channel identify) or eLCID (enhanced logical channel identify). For example, the first MAC CE can be identified by an LCID, and the LCID can be selected from an LCID reserved pool, and the LCID reserved pool can include at least one LCID. For example, the first MAC CE can be identified by an eLCID, and the eLCID can be selected from an eLCID reserved pool, and the eLCID reserved pool can include at least one eLCID.

[0135] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE can include a first bitmap, and the size of the first bitmap can be 1 byte, or the size of the first bitmap can also be 4 bytes, which is not limited in the present disclosure. For example, the first MAC CE with a 1 byte bitmap can be associated with one LCID or eLCID, and the first MAC CE with a 4 byte bitmap can be associated with one LCID or eLCID. For example, the LCID or eLCID associated with the first MAC CE with a 1 byte bitmap can be different from the LCID or eLCID associated with the first MAC CE with a 4 byte bitmap.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first bitmap in the first MAC CE can include at least one first indication bit, and each of the at least one first indication bit can be associated with one of the one or more first secondary cells.

[0137] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells can include an on-demand SSB SCell (OD-SSB SCell) and / or a normal cell. For example, when the value of a first indication bit in the first bitmap is set to a first value, the first indication bit can be used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell. For example, when the value of a first indication bit in the first bitmap is set to a second value, the terminal can ignore the first indication bit.

[0138] For example, if the size of the first bitmap is 1 byte, the 1-byte first bitmap can include one R bit (reserved bit) and 7 first indication bits (e.g., Ci, other naming can be used). The 7 first indication bits can be arranged according to the size of the SCell index, for example, arranged in ascending order of SCell index. Each of the 7 first indication bits corresponds to a first SCell. For example, if the size of the first bitmap is 4 bytes, the 4-byte first bitmap can include one R bit (reserved bit) and 31 first indication bits (e.g., Ci, other naming can be used). For example, if the value of the first indication bit Ci is set to a first value, it can indicate that the SSB transmission of the first SCell with SCell index i is deactivated. If the value of the first indication bit Ci is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the Ci. The first value can be 1 and the second value can be 0, or the first value and the second value can also be represented by other values, that is, the value of the first indication bit associated with the first SCell can also be represented by other values, which are not limited in the present disclosure and will not be described again.

[0139] In some embodiments, if the first SCell associated with the first indication bit is an SCell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or if the first SCell associated with the first indication bit is a normal cell, the value of the first indication bit can be set to the second value. For example, if the terminal does not configure the SCell with SCell index i or the SCell corresponding to SCell index i is not an on-demand SSB SCell (e.g., the SCell corresponding to SCell index i is a normal cell), the terminal ignores the first indication bit associated with the SCell with SCell index i. For example, assuming that the first SCell (e.g., the SCell corresponding to SCell index i) associated with the first indication bit Ci is an SCell not configured for the terminal or the first SCell (e.g., the SCell corresponding to SCell index i) associated with the first indication bit Ci is a normal cell, the terminal ignores the first indication bit Ci. It can be understood that at this time, the terminal ignores the first indication bit Ci regardless of whether the first indication bit Ci is the first value or the second value. Alternatively, for example, if the first SCell (e.g., the SCell corresponding to SCell index i) associated with the first indication bit Ci is a normal cell, the value of the first indication bit Ci can be set to the second value (e.g., 0). For example, if the value of the first indication bit Ci is set to 0, the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0140] For example, the bitmap size of the first bitmap in the first MAC CE can be 1 byte, the at least one first secondary cell includes SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 SCell, wherein SCellindex 1, 3, 5 SCell is on-demand SCell, SCellindex 2, 4, 6 SCell is normal cell, the terminal 102 is not configured SCellindex 7 SCell (that is, SCellindex 7 SCell is not configured to the terminal 102), then the first bitmap can include 1 reserved bit (R bit) and 7 first indication bits (for example, represented by Ci, which can also be named by other names). According to the secondary cell index (SCellindex) from small to large, each of the 7 first indication bits corresponds to one of the SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 SCell, for example, C1 corresponds to SCellindex 1 secondary cell, C2 corresponds to SCellindex 2 secondary cell, and so on. Each first indication bit is used to indicate the SSB transmission deactivation on the corresponding secondary cell. Wherein, for i respectively 1, 3, 5, the first indication bit Ci associated with SCellindex i SCell is a first value (such as 1), indicating deactivating SSB transmission of SCellindex i SCell; the first indication bit Ci associated with SCellindex i SCell is a second value (such as 0), then the terminal can ignore the first indication bit Ci. For i respectively 2, 4, 6, the terminal 101 ignores the first indication bit Ci associated with SCellindex i SCell, or the first indication bit Ci associated with SCellindex i SCell is a second value (such as 0). For i is 7, the terminal 101 ignores the first indication bit C7 associated with SCellindex 7.

[0141] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the terminal ignores the first indication bit Ci, and the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the previous state. For example, before the first MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit Ci is in the activated state, and after the terminal receives the first MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the activated state. For another example, before the first MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit Ci is in the deactivated state, and after the terminal receives the first MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the deactivated state. For example, assuming that the SCells with SCell indexes of 1, 3, and 5 have all activated the SSB transmission, if the network device only wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of a certain secondary cell (for example, the SCells with SCell indexes of 1 and 3), the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 1 can be set to 1, the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 3 can be set to 1, and the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 5 can be set to 0. Then, the terminal can determine to deactivate the SSB transmission of the SCells with SCell indexes of 1 and 3, and ignore the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 5. The SSB transmission of the SCell with SCell index of 5 continues to maintain the activated state. For another example, assuming that the SCells with SCell indexes of 1 and 3 have both activated the SSB transmission, and the SSB transmission of the SCell with SCell index of 5 is not activated, if the network device only wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of a certain secondary cell (for example, the SCells with SCell indexes of 1 and 3), the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 1 can be set to 1, the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 3 can be set to 1, and the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 5 can be set to 0. Then, the terminal can determine to deactivate the SSB transmission of the SCells with SCell indexes of 1 and 3, and ignore the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 5. The SSB transmission of the SCell with SCell index of 5 continues to maintain the deactivated state or the first indication bit corresponding to the SCell with SCell index of 5 is set to 1, and the terminal can determine that the SSB transmission of the SCell with SCell index of 5 continues to maintain the deactivated state.

[0142] It should be noted that the one or more first secondary cells whose SSB transmission is deactivated by the first MAC CE described above can all be on-demand SSB secondary cells (OD-SSB SCells, or also called on-demand SSB SCells). That is, the network device can deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell by the first MAC CE, that is, for the OD-SSB SCell, the SSB transmission on the secondary cell can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells can all be on-demand SSB secondary cells (OD-SSB SCells); wherein the value of the first indication bit in the first bitmap is set to a first value (such as 1), which can be used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit in the first bitmap is set to a second value (such as 0), and the terminal ignores the first indication bit. In some embodiments, the first secondary cell associated with the first indication bit is a secondary cell not configured by the terminal, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0143] For example, the first indication bit Ci in the first bitmap can only correspond to an OD-SSB SCell, and can be arranged according to the size of the secondary cell index (SCell index), for example, arranged in ascending order of the SCell index, and one first indication bit Ci corresponds to one OD-SSB SCell. For example, the first indication bit Ci can indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell, that is, the first indication bit Ci can indicate the deactivation of the SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell (that is, indicate that the activation state of the SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell is deactivated).

[0144] For example, the size of the first bitmap in the first MAC CE can be 1 byte, and the at least one first secondary cell includes SCellindex 1, 3, 5, wherein the SCellindex 1, 3, 5 are on-demand SCells. The first bitmap can include 5 reserved bits (R bit) and 3 first indication bits (for example, denoted as Ci, or other names). According to the index (SCellindex) of the on-demand SCell in ascending order, each of the 3 first indication bits corresponds to one of the SCellindex 1, 3, 5. For example, C1 corresponds to the SCellindex 1, C2 corresponds to the SCellindex 3, and C3 corresponds to the SCellindex 5. Each of the second indication bits is used to indicate the deactivation of the SSB transmission on the corresponding secondary cell. For example, C1 indicates the deactivation of the SSB transmission of the SCellindex 1, C2 indicates the deactivation of the SSB transmission of the SCellindex 3, and C3 indicates the deactivation of the SSB transmission of the SCellindex 5. For example, Ci can be a first value (such as 1).

[0145] That is, if it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission of one or more secondary cells, the network device can indicate the deactivation of the SSB transmission of the one or more secondary cells through the first MAC CE. For example, the first indication bit can be included in the first MAC CE, without carrying the information of the activated SSB transmission secondary cell, and without including the information indicating the related configuration (such as the period and / or other parameters) of the SSB transmission, thereby simplifying the message structure, and reducing the signaling redundancy.

[0146] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3A, the method can include step S3102, wherein the step S3102 can be performed before step S3101.

[0147] In step S3102, the network device 101 sends a second MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the second MAC CE can be used to indicate the activation or deactivation of the SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0148] Exemplarily, if it is needed to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells, the network device 101 can send a second MAC CE to the terminal 102, and correspondingly, the terminal 102 receives the second MAC CE sent by the network device 102, and the second MAC CE can be used to indicate to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on the one or more second secondary cells.

[0149] In some embodiments, the second MAC CE can be used for SSB transmission activation and deactivation of a secondary cell. That is, whether to activate SSB transmission of a secondary cell or deactivate SSB transmission of a secondary cell can be indicated by the second MAC CE.

[0150] In some embodiments, the second MAC CE can include an indication bit, which can indicate SSB transmission activation or deactivation of a corresponding second secondary cell. If the value of the indication bit is 1, it indicates that SSB transmission of the corresponding second secondary cell is activated, and if the value of the indication bit is 0, it indicates that SSB transmission of the corresponding second secondary cell is deactivated. In some embodiments, the one or more second secondary cells associated in the second MAC CE can include an SSB on-demand requesting cell and / or a normal cell. Exemplarily, if the second secondary cell associated with the indication bit in the second MAC CE is an SSB on-demand requesting cell, if the value of the corresponding indication bit is 1, it indicates that SSB transmission of the SSB on-demand requesting cell is activated, and if the value of the corresponding indication bit is 0, it indicates that SSB transmission of the SSB on-demand requesting cell is deactivated. Exemplarily, if the second secondary cell associated with the indication bit in the second MAC CE is a normal cell, the terminal ignores the indication bit.

[0151] Exemplarily, the second MAC CE can further include indication information, and the number of the indication information can be the same as the number of the second secondary cells that activate SSB transmission. Exemplarily, if the number of the second secondary cells that activate SSB transmission is 0, the number of the indication information is 0. Exemplarily, one indication information is associated with each of the second secondary cells that activate SSB transmission, and the indication information can be sorted according to the index size of the second secondary cells that activate SSB transmission, and the indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration. The SSB configuration indicated by the indication information can be one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding second secondary cell. For example, taking the SCell with SCellindex i that activates SSB transmission as an example, the SCell with SCellindex i is associated with one indication information, and the indication information can indicate the activated SSB configuration, such as SSB configuration identifier, which is one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the SCell with SCellindex i. The SSB configuration includes but is not limited to SSB period, frequency / band, SSB start and end time position, SSB burst number, etc.

[0152] In some embodiments, if some second secondary cells that do not activate SSB transmission are activated by the second MAC CE, for the second secondary cells that have activated SSB transmission, the corresponding indication bit is still set to 1, but the corresponding indication information of the second secondary cell is default. That is, for the second secondary cell that has activated SSB transmission, if the network device needs to continue to activate SSB transmission, the indication bit corresponding to the second secondary cell in the second MAC CE sent by the network device is still set to 1 (indicating activation), but the corresponding indication information does not need to be carried.

[0153] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S3101+step S3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the first MAC CE and the second MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly. Exemplarily, the above step S3102 can be executed before step S3101, that is, the network device 101 can send the second MAC CE to the terminal 102 to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells. If it is necessary to deactivate one or more first secondary cells, the network device 101 can send the first MAC CE to the terminal 102, that is, to deactivate SSB transmission on the one or more first secondary cells by the first MAC CE. The description of the first MAC CE can be referred to the description of the above step S3101, which will not be described here.

[0154] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells can be some or all of the one or more second secondary cells. In some embodiments, some or all of the one or more first secondary cells can be secondary cells in the one or more second secondary cells. For example, the first secondary cells associated with the first indication bits in the first MAC CE can be the same as the second secondary cells associated with the indication bits in the second MAC CE, e.g., the SCells with SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, wherein the SCells with SCellindex 1, 3, 5 are on-demand SCells, the SCells with SCellindex 2, 4, 6 are normal cells, the terminal 102 is not configured with the SCell with SCellindex 7 (i.e., the SCell with SCellindex 7 is not configured to the terminal 102), the SSB transmission of the SCells with SCellindex 1, 3, 5 can be activated or deactivated by the second MAC CE, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of one or more on-demand SCells with SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the first MAC CE can be used to deactivate, for example, the value of the first indication bit associated with the on-demand SCell with activated SSB transmission in the first MAC CE can be set to 1, the value of the first indication bit associated with the on-demand SCell with deactivated SSB transmission in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, the value of the first indication bit associated with the normal cell in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, the value of the first indication bit associated with the SCell with SCellindex 7 in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit set to 0; or the value of the first indication bit associated with the on-demand SCell with deactivated SSB transmission in the first MAC CE can be set to 1, indicating that the on-demand SCell with deactivated SSB transmission remains in the SSB deactivated state. In this scenario, the above step S3102 is performed before step S3101.

[0155] For example, the first indicated SCell associated with the first indication bit in the first MAC CE can be partially the same as the second indicated SCell associated with the indication bit in the second MAC CE. For example, the SSB transmission of a plurality of SCells is activated by the second MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the plurality of SCells is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of some on-demand SCells, the on-demand SCells can include some of the plurality of SCells, and the SSB transmission of the on-demand SCells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. In this scenario, the step S3102 is performed before the step S3101. For example, the first indicated SCell associated with the first indication bit in the first MAC CE can be completely different from the second indicated SCell associated with the indication bit in the second MAC CE. For example, the SSB transmission of a plurality of SCells is activated by the second MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the plurality of SCells is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of some SCells, the some SCells are neither the same as the plurality of SCells, and the SSB transmission of the some SCells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. In this scenario, the step S3101 can be performed before the step S3102, or the step S3102 can be performed before the step S3101.

[0156] In some embodiments, the names of information and the like are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "code point", "bit", "data", "program", "chip", and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0157] In some embodiments, the terms of “uplink”, “uplink”, “physical uplink”, and the like can be replaced with each other, the terms of “downlink”, “downlink”, “physical downlink”, and the like can be replaced with each other, the terms of “side”, “sidelink”, “sidelink communication”, “sidelink communication”, “direct connection”, “direct connection link”, “direct connection communication”, “direct connection link communication”, and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0158] In some embodiments, the terms of “acquire”, “obtain”, “get”, “receive”, “transmit”, “bidirectional transmission”, “send and / or receive” can be replaced with each other, which can be interpreted as receiving from other subjects, acquiring from protocols, acquiring from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomously implementing, and the like.

[0159] In some embodiments, the terms of “send”, “transmit”, “report”, “issue”, “transmit”, “bidirectional transmission”, “send and / or receive” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0160] In some embodiments, the terms of “certain”, “preset”, “preset”, “set”, “indicated”, “certain”, “arbitrary”, “first” and the like can be replaced with each other, “certain A”, “preset A”, “preset A”, “set A”, “indicated A”, “certain A”, “arbitrary A”, “first A” can be interpreted as A specified in advance in protocols and the like, can be interpreted as A obtained by setting, configuring, or indicating, and the like, can be interpreted as certain A, certain A, arbitrary A, or first A, and the like, but not limited thereto.

[0161] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (Boolean value) represented by true or false, or by comparison of numerical values (for example, comparison with a predetermined value), but not limited thereto.

[0162] The method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps S3101-S3102. For example, step S3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3101+step S3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0163] In some embodiments, step S3102 is optional, and one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0164] In some embodiments, step S3101 is optional, and one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0165] In some embodiments, other optional implementations can be found in the description before or after the description of FIG. 3A.

[0166] FIG. 3B is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method applicable to the communication system 100, and the above method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0167] Step S3201, the network device 101 sends a third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, and the third MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0168] For example, if it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the network device 101 can send a third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, and the terminal 102 receives the third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the third secondary cell. The third MAC CE can be used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0169] In some embodiments, the third MAC CE used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell can be understood as: the third MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate the third secondary cell, or the third MAC CE is used to indicate that the SSB transmission of the third secondary cell is deactivated. That is, “deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell”, “deactivate the third secondary cell”, “deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell”, “the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell is activated” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0170] In some embodiments, the third MAC CE can be a MAC CE used for indicating deactivation of SSB transmission on the third secondary cell only. In some embodiments, the third secondary cell can be an on-demand requested SSB cell (OD-SSB SCell). That is, the third MAC CE can be a dedicated MAC CE for deactivating SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell, and the third MAC CE can be used to deactivate SSB transmission on which OD-SSB SCell, the third MAC CE is sent on the OD-SSB SCell. In some embodiments, the third MAC CE can be associated with one LCID or one eLCID. In some embodiments, the third MAC CE can be fixed 0-bit size. For example, the third MAC CE can be applicable to scenario #3A (during SCell activation) or scenario #3B (after SCell activation). For example, in scenario #3A (during SCell activation) or scenario #3B (after SCell activation), if it is needed to deactivate SSB transmission on a certain OD-SSB SCell, the network device 101 can deactivate SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell through the third MAC CE, that is, the network device 101 can send the third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the OD-SSB SCell, and correspondingly, the terminal 102 receives the third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the OD-SSB SCell, and based on the third MAC CE, performs deactivation operation of SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell, wherein the third MAC CE is fixed 0-bit size and does not need to carry other information, thereby reducing unnecessary information transmission in the communication process, reducing bandwidth consumption and delay, and reducing signaling redundancy.

[0171] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3B, the method can include step S3202, wherein step S3202 can be performed before step S3201.

[0172] Step S3202, the network device 101 sends a second MAC CE to the terminal 102, the second MAC CE being used for indicating activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0173] The optional implementation of step S3202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3102 of FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments involved by FIG. 3A, which will not be described here.

[0174] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S3201+step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the second MAC CE and the third MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly. For example, the above step S3202 can be executed before step S3201, that is, the network device 101 can send the second MAC CE to the terminal 102 through which the SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells is activated or deactivated. If it is necessary to deactivate a third secondary cell, which can be an OD-SSB SCell activated for SSB transmission on the one or more second secondary cells, the network device 101 can send a third MAC CE with a fixed size of 0 bits to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, and the terminal 102 receives the third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the third secondary cell, and performs the deactivation operation of the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell. Wherein, the description of the third MAC CE can refer to the description of the above step S3201, which will not be described here.

[0175] In some embodiments, the third secondary cell can be one of the one or more second secondary cells that is activated for SSB transmission. In some embodiments, the third secondary cell can be a secondary cell that is not one of the one or more second secondary cells. For example, the third secondary cell can be one of the one or more second secondary cells that is activated for SSB transmission, e.g., SSB transmission of a certain OD-SSB SCell is activated by the second MAC CE, such that the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is in an activated state, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell, the third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell, in this scenario, the step S3202 is performed before the step S3201. For example, the third secondary cell can be a secondary cell that is not one of the one or more second secondary cells, e.g., SSB transmission of a plurality of secondary cells is activated by the second MAC CE, such that the SSB transmission of the plurality of secondary cells is in an activated state, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of a certain OD-SSB SCell, the certain OD-SSB SCell can not be a secondary cell in the plurality of secondary cells, the third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell, in this scenario, the step S3201 can be performed before the step S3202, or the step S3202 can be performed before the step S3201.

[0176] The method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of the steps S3201-S3202. For example, the step S3201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, the step S3201+the step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0177] In some embodiments, the step S3202 is optional, and one or more of the steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0178] In some embodiments, the step S3201 is optional, and one or more of the steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0179] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the corresponding description of FIG. 3B can be referred to.

[0180] FIG. 3C is an interaction diagram of a communication method, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3C, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method applicable to the communication system 100, and the method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0181] In step S3301, the network device 101 sends a fourth MAC CE to the terminal, and the fourth MAC CE is used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0182] For example, if it is necessary to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells, the network device 101 can send a fourth MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the terminal 102 receives the fourth MAC CE sent by the network device 101, and the fourth MAC CE can be used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0183] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE can be used to indicate to activate one or more fourth secondary cells, or the fourth MAC CE can be used to indicate activation of SSB transmission of one or more fourth secondary cells. That is, “activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells”, “activate one or more fourth secondary cells”, “activation of SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells”, “SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells is activated” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0184] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE can be a MAC CE specifically used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells, that is, the fourth MAC CE can be a dedicated MAC CE used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells, or the fourth MAC CE can only be used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on a secondary cell. For example, if it is necessary to activate a certain secondary cell or certain secondary cells, the network device 101 can activate SSB transmission on the secondary cell through the fourth MAC CE.

[0185] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE can be associated with an LCID or an eLCID. For example, the fourth MAC CE is identified by an LCID, and the fourth MAC CE is identified by an LCID selected from an LCID reserved pool, and the LCID reserved pool includes at least one LCID. For example, the fourth MAC CE is identified by an eLCID, and the fourth MAC CE is identified by an eLCID selected from an eLCID reserved pool, and the eLCID reserved pool includes at least one eLCID.

[0186] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE can comprise a second bitmap, and an example size of the second bitmap can be 1 byte, or the size of the second bitmap can also be 4 bytes, which is not limited in the present disclosure. An example of the 1 byte bitmap fourth MAC CE can be associated with one LCID or eLCID, and the 4 byte bitmap fourth MAC CE can be associated with one LCID or eLCID. An example of the 1 byte bitmap fourth MAC CE associated LCID or eLCID is different from the 4 byte bitmap fourth MAC CE associated LCID or eLCID.

[0187] In some embodiments, the second bitmap in the fourth MAC CE can comprise at least one second indication bit, and each of the at least second indication bits can be associated with one of the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0188] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells can comprise an on-demand request SSB cell (OD-SSB SCell) and / or a normal cell; wherein the value of the second indication bit in the second bitmap is set to a first value, which can be used to indicate to activate the SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit in the second bitmap is set to a second value, and the terminal can ignore the second indication bit.

[0189] For example, the size of the second bitmap can be 1 byte, the 1 byte second bitmap can comprise one R bit (reserved bit) and 7 second indication bits (for example, Ci, which can have other names). They can be arranged according to the size of the secondary cell index (SCellindex), for example, arranged in ascending order of SCellindex, and each of the 7 second indication bits corresponds to one fourth secondary cell. For example, the size of the second bitmap can be 4 bytes, and the 4 byte second bitmap can comprise one R bit (reserved bit) and 31 second indication bits (for example, Ci, which can have other names). For example, if the value of the second indication bit Ci is set to a first value, it can indicate to activate the SSB transmission of the fourth secondary cell with SCellindex i (SCellindex is i), and if the value of the second indication bit Ci is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the Ci. Wherein the first value can be 1, and the second value can be 0, or the first value and the second value can also represent other values, that is, the value of the second indication bit associated with the above fourth secondary cell can also use other numerical values, which is not limited in the present disclosure, and will not be described again.

[0190] In some embodiments, if the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or is a normal cell, the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or if the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a normal cell, the value of the second indication bit can be set as the second value. For example, if the terminal does not configure the secondary cell of SCellindex i or the secondary cell corresponding to SCellindex i is not an on-demand SSB SCell (e.g., the secondary cell corresponding to SCellindex i is a normal cell), the terminal ignores the second indication bit associated with the secondary cell of SCellindex i. For example, assuming that the fourth secondary cell (e.g., the secondary cell corresponding to SCellindex i) associated with the second indication bit Ci is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or the fourth secondary cell (e.g., the secondary cell corresponding to SCellindex i) associated with the second indication bit Ci is a normal cell, the terminal ignores the second indication bit Ci. It can be understood that at this time, no matter whether the second indication bit Ci is the first value or the second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit Ci. Alternatively, for example, if the fourth secondary cell (e.g., the secondary cell corresponding to SCellindex i) associated with the second indication bit Ci is a normal cell, the value of the second indication bit Ci can be set as the second value (e.g., 0). For example, if the value of the second indication bit Ci is set as 0, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0191] For example, the bitmap size of the second bitmap in the fourth MAC CE is 1 byte, the at least one fourth secondary cell includes SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, SCellindex 1, 3, 5 of the SCell is on-demand SCell, SCellindex 2, 4, 6 of the SCell is normal cell, the terminal 102 is not configured SCellindex 7 of the SCell (i.e. SCellindex 7 of the SCell is not configured to the terminal 102), the second bitmap can include 1 reserved bit (R bit) and 7 second indication bits (for example, represented by Ci, which can also be named by other names). According to the secondary cell index (SCellindex) from small to large, each of the 7 second indication bits corresponds to one of the SCellindex 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of the SCell, for example, C1 corresponds to the SCellindex 1 of the secondary cell, C2 corresponds to the SCellindex 2 of the secondary cell, and so on. Each second indication bit is used to indicate the SSB transmission activation on the corresponding secondary cell. Wherein, for i respectively 1, 3, 5, the second indication bit Ci associated with the SCellindex i of the SCell is the first value (such as 1), indicating that the SSB transmission of the SCellindex i of the SCell is activated; the second indication bit Ci associated with the SCellindex i of the SCell is the second value (such as 0), and the terminal can ignore the second indication bit Ci. For i respectively 2, 4, 6, the terminal 101 ignores the second indication bit Ci associated with the SCellindex i of the SCell, or the second indication bit Ci associated with the SCellindex i of the SCell is the second value (such as 0). For i is 7, the terminal 101 ignores the second indication bit C7 associated with the SCellindex 7.

[0192] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the terminal ignores the second indication bit Ci, and the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the second indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the previous state, for example, before the fourth MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the second indication bit Ci is in the activated state, and after the terminal receives the fourth MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the second indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the activated state; for another example, before the fourth MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the second indication bit Ci is in the deactivated state, and after the terminal receives the fourth MAC CE, the SSB transmission of the SCell corresponding to the second indication bit Ci can continue to maintain the deactivated state.

[0193] It should be noted that the one or more fourth secondary cells activated by the fourth MAC CE for SSB transmission can each be a cell requesting SSB on demand (OD-SSB SCell, or also called on-demand SSB SCell). That is, the network device can activate SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell through the fourth MAC CE, that is, for the OD-SSB SCell, SSB transmission on the secondary cell can be activated through the fourth MAC CE. In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells can each be a cell requesting SSB on demand (OD-SSB SCell); wherein the value of the second indication bit in the second bitmap is set to the first value (such as 1), which can be used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit in the second bitmap is set to the second value (such as 0), and the terminal ignores the second indication bit. In some embodiments, the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0194] For example, the second indication bit Ci in the second bitmap can correspond to only OD-SSB SCell, and can be arranged according to the size of the secondary cell index (SCell index), such as arranged in ascending order of SCell index, and one second indication bit Ci corresponds to one OD-SSB SCell. For example, the second indication bit Ci can indicate to activate SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell, that is, the second indication bit Ci can indicate to activate SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell (i.e., indicate that the activation state of SSB transmission of the corresponding OD-SSB SCell is activated).

[0195] For example, the bitmap size of the second bitmap in the fourth MAC CE described above can be taken as an example of 1 byte, the at least one fourth secondary cell includes SCellindex 1, 3, 5 SCell, wherein the SCellindex 1, 3, 5 SCell is an on-demand SCell, then the second bitmap can include 5 reserved bits (R bit) and 3 second indication bits (for example, represented by Ci, which can also be named by other names). According to the index (SCellindex) of the on-demand SCell arranged from small to large, each second indication bit of the 3 second indication bits corresponds to one of the SCellindex 1, 3, 5 SCell, for example, C1 corresponds to the SCell of SCellindex 1, C2 corresponds to the SCell of SCellindex 3, and C3 corresponds to the SCell of SCellindex 5. Each second indication bit is used to indicate the activation of SSB transmission on the corresponding secondary cell. For example, C1 indicates the activation of SSB transmission of the SCell of SCellindex 1, C2 indicates the activation of SSB transmission of the SCell of SCellindex 3, and C3 indicates the activation of SSB transmission of the SCell of SCellindex 5. For example, Ci can be a first value (such as 1).

[0196] In some embodiments, in addition to including the second bitmap, the fourth MAC CE described above can also include first indication information, the number of which can be the same as the number of fourth secondary cells activating SSB transmission, each fourth secondary cell activating SSB transmission can be associated with one first indication information, and the first indication information can be sorted according to the index size of the fourth secondary cell activating SSB transmission. The first indication information can indicate the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information can be one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0197] Exemplarily, the fourth MAC CE can include one or more first indication information, the number of the one or more first indication information is the same as the number of the fourth secondary cell whose SSB transmission is activated. Exemplarily, taking the secondary cell whose SSB transmission is activated as SCellindex1's SCell and SCellindex 3's SCell as an example, the number of the first indication information in the fourth MAC CE is 2, SCellindex1's SCell and SCellindex 3's SCell respectively associate with a first indication information, and the two first indication information are sorted according to SCellindex, for example, the two first indication information are sorted according to SCellindex from small to large or from large to small, and each first indication information indicates one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell. For example, the two first indication information are sorted according to SCellindex from small to large, the first indication information indicates one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with SCellindex 1's SCell, and the second indication information indicates one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with SCellindex 3's SCell.

[0198] Exemplarily, each of the first indication information in the fourth MAC CE can indicate an identity of an activated SSB configuration (e.g., can be represented by an SSB ID), for example, the identity of the SSB configuration can be an index of the SSB configuration. Exemplarily, the SSB ID indicates that the SCell using / activating the SSB ID associated SSB configuration for the activated SSB transmission. Exemplarily, each SSB configuration is associated with a configuration identity, for example, index / ID / Configuration ID. The SSB configuration can include related parameters of the SSB transmission, for example, period, frequency / band, SSB start / stop position, etc. Exemplarily, the SCell can be associated with one or more SSB configurations. Exemplarily, the first indication information can indicate SSB transmission information, for example, the SSB transmission information can include but is not limited to at least one of the following: SSB sending period; SSB start position (or SSB start time); SSB end position (or SSB end time); SSB duration; number of SSB transmission bursts; interval between two consecutive SSB bursts, etc. Exemplarily, the start time and / or end time can be represented by radio frame, radio subframe, time slot, time domain symbol, etc. Exemplarily, the start time and / or end time can be a relative time position, for example, an offset from the first information, indicating the SSB start time and / or SSB end time. Exemplarily, the SSB duration can be measured by time, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, etc., or by radio frame, radio subframe, time slot, time domain symbol, etc. In some embodiments, the terms of "start time", "start position", etc. can be replaced with each other. In some embodiments, the terms of "end time", "end position", etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0199] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3C, the method can include step S3302.

[0200] In step S3302, the network device 101 sends a first MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0201] The optional implementation of step S3302 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 of FIG. 3A and other related parts in the embodiments involved by FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0202] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S3301+step S3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the first MAC CE and the fourth MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly. For example, the above step S3302 can be executed after step S3301, that is, the network device 101 can send the fourth MAC CE to the terminal, and activate the SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells through the fourth MAC CE. If it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells, the network device 101 can send the first MAC CE to the terminal 102, that is, deactivate the SSB transmission on the one or more first secondary cells through the first MAC CE. Wherein, the description of the first MAC CE can refer to the description of the above step S3101, which will not be described here.

[0203] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells can be some or all of the one or more fourth secondary cells. In some embodiments, some or all of the one or more first secondary cells can be secondary cells among the one or more fourth secondary cells. For example, the first secondary cells associated with the first indication bits in the first MAC CE can be the same as the fourth secondary cells associated with the second indication bits in the fourth MAC CE, e.g., the SCells with SCellindex of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, wherein the SCells with SCellindex of 1, 3, 5 are on-demand SCells, the SCells with SCellindex of 2, 4, 6 are normal cells, the terminal 102 is not configured with the SCell with SCellindex of 7 (i.e., the SCell with SCellindex of 7 is not configured to the terminal 102), the SSB transmission of the SCells with SCellindex of 1, 3, 5 can be activated by the fourth MAC CE, and if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of one or more on-demand SCells with SCellindex of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the first MAC CE can be used to deactivate, for example, the value of the first indication bit associated with the on-demand SCell with activated SSB transmission in the first MAC CE can be set to 1, the value of the first indication bit associated with the on-demand SCell with deactivated (deactivated) SSB transmission in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, the value of the first indication bit associated with the normal cell in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, the value of the first indication bit associated with the SCell with SCellindex of 7 in the first MAC CE can be set to 0, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit set to 0. In this scenario, the above step S3302 is performed after step S3301.

[0204] For example, the first indicated bit in the first MAC CE can be associated with the first secondary cell which is partially the same as the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indicated bit in the fourth MAC CE. For example, the SSB transmission of a plurality of secondary cells is activated by the fourth MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the plurality of secondary cells is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of some on-demand SCells, the on-demand SCells can include some of the plurality of secondary cells, and the SSB transmission of the on-demand SCells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. In this scenario, the step S3302 is performed after the step S3301. For example, the first indicated bit in the first MAC CE can be associated with the first secondary cell which is completely different from the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indicated bit in the fourth MAC CE. For example, the SSB transmission of a plurality of secondary cells is activated by the fourth MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the plurality of secondary cells is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of some secondary cells, the some secondary cells are neither the same as the plurality of secondary cells, and the SSB transmission of the some secondary cells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. In this scenario, the step S3301 can be performed before the step S3302, or the step S3302 can be performed before the step S3301.

[0205] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3C, the method can include step S3303.

[0206] In step S3303, the network device 101 sends a third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, and the third MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0207] The optional implementation of the step S3303 can refer to the optional implementation of the step S3201 in FIG. 3B and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0208] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3301+ step S3303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the third MAC CE and the fourth MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly. For example, the above step S3303 can be executed after step S3301, that is, the network device 101 can send the fourth MAC CE to the terminal, through which the SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells is activated. If it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, which can be an OD-SSB SCell activated by the SSB transmission of the one or more fourth secondary cells, the network device 101 can send a third MAC CE with a fixed size of 0 bits to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, and the terminal 102 receives the third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the third secondary cell, and executes the deactivation operation of the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell. Wherein, the description of the third MAC CE can refer to the description of the above step S3201, which will not be described here.

[0209] In some embodiments, the third secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell activated by the SSB transmission of the one or more fourth secondary cells. In some embodiments, the third secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell but not a secondary cell in the one or more fourth secondary cells. For example, the SSB transmission of some secondary cells is activated by the fourth secondary cell, so that the SSB transmission of the some secondary cells is in an activated state, and the some secondary cells include an OD-SSB SCell A, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell A, a third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell A to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell A, in this scenario, the above step S3303 is executed after step S3301. For example, the third secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell but not a fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit in the fourth MAC CE, for example, the SSB transmission of a plurality of secondary cells is activated by the fourth MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the plurality of secondary cells is in an activated state, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of a certain OD-SSB SCell, which can not be a secondary cell in the plurality of secondary cells, a third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell, in this scenario, the above step S3301 can be executed before step S3303, or the above step S3303 can be executed before step S3301.

[0210] In some embodiments, step S3302, step S3303 are optional, one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0211] In some embodiments, step S3302 is optional, one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0212] In some embodiments, step S3303 is optional, one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0213] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 3C can be referred to.

[0214] FIG. 3D is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3D, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method applicable to the communication system 100, and the above method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0215] Step S3401, the network device 101 sends a fifth MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the fifth secondary cell, and the fifth MAC CE is used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell.

[0216] For example, if it is necessary to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, the network device 101 can send a fifth MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the fifth secondary cell, and the terminal 102 receives the fifth MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the fifth secondary cell. The fifth MAC CE can be used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell.

[0217] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell can be understood as: the fifth MAC CE is used to indicate to activate the fifth secondary cell, or the fifth MAC CE is used to indicate that the SSB transmission of the fifth secondary cell is activated. That is, “activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell”, “activate the fifth secondary cell”, “activation of SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell”, “SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell is activated” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0218] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE can be a MAC CE used for indicating activation of SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell only. In some embodiments, the fifth secondary cell can be an on-demand requested SSB cell (OD-SSB SCell). That is, the fifth MAC CE can be a dedicated MAC CE for activating SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell, and the fifth MAC CE can be used to activate SSB transmission on which OD-SSB SCell, and the fifth MAC CE is sent on the OD-SSB SCell. In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE can be associated with an LCID or an eLCID. For example, the fifth MAC CE can be applicable to scenario #3A (during SCell activation) or scenario #3B (after SCell activation). For example, in scenario #3A (during SCell activation) or scenario #3B (after SCell activation), if it is necessary to activate SSB transmission on an OD-SSB SCell, the network device 101 can activate SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell through the fifth MAC CE, that is, the network device 101 can send the fifth MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the OD-SSB SCell, and the terminal 102 receives the fifth MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the OD-SSB SCell, and based on the fifth MAC CE, performs an activation operation of SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell.

[0219] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE can include second indication information, which can indicate an activated SSB configuration. The SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information can be one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell. For example, taking the SCell with SCellindex 1 as an example, the second indication information in the fifth MAC CE described above can indicate one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the SCell with SCellindex 1.

[0220] Exemplarily, the second indication information in the fifth MAC CE can indicate an identity of an activated SSB configuration (e.g., can be denoted by an SSB ID), e.g., the identity of the SSB configuration can be an index of the SSB configuration. Exemplarily, the SSB ID indicates that the SCell using / activating the SSB ID associated SSB configuration for the activated SSB transmission. Exemplarily, each SSB configuration is associated with a configuration identity, e.g., index / ID / Configuration ID. The SSB configuration can include related parameters of the SSB transmission, e.g., period, frequency / band, SSB start / stop position, etc. Exemplarily, the SCell can be associated with one or more SSB configurations. Exemplarily, the second indication information can indicate SSB transmission information, e.g., the SSB transmission information can include but not limited to at least one of the following: SSB transmission period; SSB start position (or referred to as SSB start time); SSB end position (or referred to as SSB end time); SSB duration; number of SSB transmission bursts; interval between two consecutive SSB bursts, etc. Exemplarily, the start time and / or end time can be denoted by radio frame, radio subframe, time slot, time domain symbol, etc. Exemplarily, the start time and / or end time can be a relative time position, e.g., an offset from the first information, indicating the SSB start time and / or SSB end time. Exemplarily, the SSB duration can be measured by time, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, etc., or by radio frame, radio subframe, time slot, time domain symbol, etc. In some embodiments, the terms of “start time”, “start position”, etc. can be replaced by each other. In some embodiments, the terms of “end time”, “end position”, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0221] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3D, the method can further include step S3402.

[0222] In step S3402, the network device 101 sends a first MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0223] The optional implementation of step S3402 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 of FIG. 3A and other related parts in the embodiments involved by FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0224] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S3401+step S3402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the first MAC CE and the fifth MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly. For example, the above step S3402 can be executed after step S3401, that is, the network device 101 can send the fifth MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the fifth secondary cell, and activate the SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell through the fifth MAC CE. If it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells, the fifth secondary cell can be one of the one or more first secondary cells, and the network device 101 can send the first MAC CE to the terminal 102 to deactivate the SSB transmission on the one or more first secondary cells, that is, including the SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell. That is, the SSB transmission of the fifth secondary cell can be activated by the fifth MAC CE, and can be deactivated by the first MAC CE. Wherein, the description of the first MAC CE can refer to the description of the above step S3101, which will not be described here.

[0225] In some embodiments, the fifth secondary cell can be one of the one or more first secondary cells that is an OD-SSB SCell. In some embodiments, the fifth secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell but not a secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells. For example, the fifth secondary cell is one of the one or more first secondary cells that is an OD-SSB SCell, e.g., the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is activated by the fifth MAC CE, such that the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is in an activated state, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of certain secondary cells including the OD-SSB SCell, the SSB transmission of the certain secondary cells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE, wherein the value of the first indication bit associated with the OD-SSB SCell in the first MAC CE is set to 1, in this scenario, the above step S3402 is performed after step S3401. For example, the fifth secondary cell can not be the first secondary cell associated with the first indication bit in the first MAC CE, e.g., the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is activated by the fifth MAC CE, such that the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is in an activated state, if the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of certain secondary cells not including the OD-SSB SCell, the SSB transmission of the certain secondary cells can be deactivated by the first MAC CE, wherein the certain secondary cells associated in the first MAC CE do not include the OD-SSB SCell, in this scenario, the above step S3401 can be performed before step S3402, or the above step S3402 can be performed before step S3401.

[0226] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3D, the method can further include step S3403.

[0227] Step S3403, the network device 101 sends a third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0228] The optional implementation of step S3403 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3201 of FIG. 3B and other associated parts in the embodiments involved by FIG. 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0229] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3401+ step S3403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, that is, the third MAC CE and the fifth MAC CE in this paper can be used jointly, and the third secondary cell and the fifth secondary cell are the same secondary cell, that is, the same OD-SSB SCell. For example, the above step S3403 can be executed after step S3401, that is, the network device 101 can send the fifth MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the fifth secondary cell, and activate the SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell through the fifth MAC CE. If it is necessary to deactivate the SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell, the network device 101 can send the third MAC CE to the terminal 102 on the OD-SSB SCell, and deactivate the SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell through the third MAC CE. The terminal 102 receives the third MAC CE, and can execute the deactivation operation of the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell. That is, the SSB transmission on the OD-SSB SCell can be activated through the fifth MAC CE, and can be deactivated through the third MAC CE. The description of the third MAC CE can be referred to the description of the above step S3201, which will not be described here.

[0230] In some embodiments, the fifth secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell, and the same secondary cell as the third secondary cell. In some embodiments, the fifth secondary cell can be an OD-SSB SCell, and a different secondary cell from the third secondary cell. For example, the fifth secondary cell and the third secondary cell are the same secondary cell, and both are OD-SSB SCells. For example, the SSB transmission of an OD-SSB SCell is activated by the fifth MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell, the third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell. In this scenario, the above step S3403 is executed after step S3401. For example, the fifth secondary cell and the third secondary cell are different secondary cells. For example, the SSB transmission of an OD-SSB SCell A is activated by the fifth MAC CE, so that the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell A is in an activated state. If the network device wants to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell B, the third MAC CE can be sent on the OD-SSB SCell B to deactivate the SSB transmission of the OD-SSB SCell B. In this scenario, the above step S3401 can be executed before step S3403, or the above step S3403 can be executed before step S3401.

[0231] In some embodiments, steps S3402 and S3403 are optional, and one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0232] In some embodiments, step S3402 is optional, and one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0233] In some embodiments, step S3403 is optional, and one or more of these steps can be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0234] In some embodiments, other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 3D can be referred to.

[0235] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the present embodiment relates to a communication method, which can be executed by the network device 101. The above method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0236] In step S4101, a first MAC CE is sent to the terminal, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE comprises a first bitmap, the first bitmap comprising at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with a first secondary cell among the one or more first secondary cells.

[0238] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells comprise an SSB-on-demand cell and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0239] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells are all SSB-on-demand cells; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0240] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending a second MAC CE to the terminal, the second MAC CE being used to indicate to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0241] In some embodiments, the method comprises: sending a third MAC CE to the terminal on a third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the third secondary cell being an SSB-on-demand cell. In some embodiments, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0242] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending a fourth MAC CE to the terminal, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0243] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises a second bitmap, the second bitmap comprising at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bit being associated with a fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0244] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells include cells that request SSB on demand and / or normal cells; wherein the value of the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate that SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell is activated; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit. For example, the second indication bit is associated with a fourth secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal or is a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or, the second indication bit is associated with a fourth secondary cell that is a normal cell, and the value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0245] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all cells that request SSB on demand; wherein the value of the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate that SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell is activated; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0246] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, the number of first indication information is the same as the number of fourth secondary cells for which SSB transmission is activated, each first indication information is associated with a fourth secondary cell for which SSB transmission is activated, and the first indication information is sorted according to the index size of the fourth secondary cell for which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information is one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0247] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a fifth MAC CE to the terminal on a fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate that SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell is activated, and the fifth secondary cell being a cell that requests SSB on demand.

[0248] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, the second indication information indicating the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information being one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0249] The optional implementation of the method on the network device side according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to the related description of the network device side in the above-described embodiments of FIGS. 3A to 3D, which will not be described here again.

[0250] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5A, the present disclosure relates to a communication method, which can be executed by the terminal 102, and the above-described method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0251] In step S5101, a first MAC CE sent by the network device 101 is received, and the first MAC CE can be used to indicate that SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells is deactivated.

[0252] The optional implementation of step S5101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0253] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5A, the method can include step S5102, wherein step S5102 can be performed before step S5101.

[0254] In step S5102, a second MAC CE sent by the network device 101 is received, and the second MAC CE can be used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0255] The optional implementation of step S5102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3102 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0256] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S5101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S5101+step S5102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0257] FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5B, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which can be performed by the terminal 102, and the above method can include but not limited to the following steps.

[0258] In step S5201, a third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on a third secondary cell is received, and the third MAC CE is used to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0259] The optional implementation of step S5201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3201 in FIG. 3B and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0260] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5B, the method can include step S5202, wherein step S5202 can be performed before step S5201.

[0261] In step S5202, a second MAC CE sent by the network device 101 is received, and the second MAC CE is used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0262] The optional implementation of step S5202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3102 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0263] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S5201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S5201+step S5202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0264] FIG. 5C is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5C, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which can be performed by the terminal 102, and the above method can include but not limited to the following steps.

[0265] Step S5301, receiving a fourth MAC CE sent by the network device 101, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0266] The optional implementation of step S5301 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3301 in FIG. 3C and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3C, which will not be repeated here.

[0267] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5C, the method can include step S5302.

[0268] Step S5302, receiving a first MAC CE sent by the network device 101, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0269] The optional implementation of step S5302 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments related to FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0270] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S5301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S5301+step S5302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0271] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5C, the method can include step S5303.

[0272] Step S5303, receiving a third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on a third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0273] The optional implementation of step S5303 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3201 in FIG. 3B and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0274] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S3301+step S3303 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0275] FIG. 5D is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5D, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which can be performed by the terminal 102, and the above method can include but not limited to the following steps.

[0276] Step S5401, receiving a fifth MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell.

[0277] The optional implementation of step S5401 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3401 in FIG. 3D and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3D, which will not be repeated here.

[0278] Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5D, the method can include step S5402.

[0279] Step S5402, receiving a first MAC CE sent by the network device 101, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0280] The optional implementation of step S5402 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0281] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S5401 can be implemented as an independent embodiment. In some embodiments, the above step S5401+step S5402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0282] Step S5403, receiving a third MAC CE sent by the network device 101 on the third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell.

[0283] The optional implementation of step S5403 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3201 in FIG. 3B and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0284] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the above step S5401+ step S5403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0285] FIG. 5E is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5E, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which can be performed by the terminal 102, and the above method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0286] Step S5501, receiving the first MAC CE sent by the network device 101, the first MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0287] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes a first bitmap, and the first bitmap includes at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with a first secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells.

[0288] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells include an SSB on-demand requesting cell and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured by the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or, the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0289] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells are all SSB on-demand requesting cells; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured by the terminal, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0290] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a second MAC CE sent by the network device, the second MAC CE being used to indicate to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0291] In some embodiments, the method includes: receiving a third MAC CE sent by the network device on a third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, and the third secondary cell being an SSB on-demand requesting cell.

[0292] In some embodiments, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0293] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fourth MAC CE sent by the network device, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0294] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes a second bitmap, the second bitmap including at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with a fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0295] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells include a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit. For example, the second indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or, the second indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0296] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein a value of the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0297] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, a number of the first indication information being the same as a number of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated being associated with one of the first indication information, and the first indication information being sorted according to an index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicating an activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0298] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fifth MAC CE sent by the network device on a fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

[0299] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, the second indication information indicating an activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0300] The optional implementation of the method on the terminal side according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can refer to the related description of the terminal side in the above embodiments, which will not be described herein again.

[0301] FIG. 6 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100, and the method includes but is not limited to the following steps.

[0302] In step S6101, the network device 101 sends a first MAC CE to the terminal 102, and the first MAC CE can be used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0303] The optional implementation of step S6101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S3101 in FIG. 3A and other associated parts in the embodiments involved in FIG. 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0304] In some embodiments, the above method can include the method described in the above network device side, terminal side, and other embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0305] It is worth noting that if the activation and deactivation of SSB transmission on multiple OD-SSB (on-demand SSB) SCells are indicated by a traditional SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE at the same time, when deactivating the SSB transmission of one or more OD-SSB SCells, for the OD-SSB SCell whose SSB transmission is still activated, the indication information (period and / or other parameters) associated with the OD-SSB SCell still needs to be carried in the MAC CE, causing signaling redundancy. To this end, the present disclosure provides an indication method of SSB transmission, which deactivates the SSB transmission of the SCell through a separate MAC CE, reducing the signaling redundancy.

[0306] Core invention point 1: The network device deactivates the SSB transmission of one or more SCells through a first MAC CE.

[0307] Embodiment: The first MAC CE can contain a 1-byte bitmap or a 4-byte bitmap. The 1-byte bitmap MAC CE is associated with an LCID or an eLCID, and the 4-byte bitmap is associated with an LCID or an eLCID.

[0308] Embodiment: This 1 byte bitmap contains one R bit (reserved bit) and 7 indication bits, e.g. Ci (other naming can be used). Each of the 7 indication bits corresponds to one SCell according to the ascending order of SCellindex. This 4 byte bitmap contains one R bit (reserved bit) and 31 indication bits, e.g. Ci. For example, Ci is set to 1 to indicate to deactivate the SSB transmission of SCell with SCellindex i, and if Ci is set to 0, the UE ignores this Ci. If a MAC entity is not configured with SCell with SCellindex i or the SCell corresponding to SCellindex i is not an on-demand SSB SCell, the UE ignores this Ci. Or the SCell corresponding to SCellindex i is not an on-demand SSB SCell, the indication bit is set to 0, and if Ci is set to 0, the UE ignores this Ci.

[0309] Embodiment: Ci only corresponds to on-demand SCell, and according to the ascending order of index of on-demand SCell, for example, SCell with SCellindex 1 3 5 are on-demand SCell, then C1 indicates to deactivate the SSB transmission of SCell with SCellindex 1, C2 indicates to deactivate the SSB transmission of SCell with SCellindex 3, and so on.

[0310] Core invention point 2: The network device activates the SSB transmission of one or more SCells through the fourth MAC CE.

[0311] Embodiment: The fourth MAC CE can contain a 1 byte bitmap or a 4 byte bitmap. The 1 byte bitmap of the fourth MAC CE is associated with one LCID or one eLCID, and the 4 byte bitmap of the fourth MAC CE is associated with one LCID or one eLCID.

[0312] Embodiment: The 1 byte bitmap contains one R bit (reserved bit) and 7 bits, e.g. Ci (other naming is possible). Each of the 7 bits corresponds to one SCell according to the ascending order of Scellindex. The 4 byte bitmap contains one R bit (reserved bit) and 31 bits, e.g. Ci. For example, Ci is set to 1 to indicate that the SSB of the SCell with Scellindex i is activated, and Ci is set to 0, the UE ignores this Ci. If a MAC entity is not configured with the SCell with Scellindex i or the SCell corresponding to Scellindex i is not an on-demand SSB SCell, the UE ignores this Ci. Or the SCell corresponding to Scellindex i is not an on-demand SSB SCell, the bit is set to 0, and if Ci is set to 0, the UE ignores this Ci.

[0313] Embodiment: The Ci only corresponds to on-demand SCell, and is arranged according to the index of on-demand SCell. For example, the SCells with Scellindex 1, 3 and 5 are on-demand SCells, and C1 indicates that the SSB transmission of the SCell with Scellindex 1 is activated, C2 indicates that the SSB transmission of the SCell with Scellindex 3 is activated, and so on.

[0314] Embodiment: The fourth MAC CE can contain one or more first indication information in addition to the bitmap. For example, each SCell whose SSB transmission is activated is associated with one first indication information. The one or more SSB first indication information is arranged in ascending order of the index of the activated SCell. For example, the first indication information indicates the index of the first configuration that is activated. For example, the SSB ID indicates that the SCell whose SSB transmission is activated uses / activates the first configuration associated with the SSB ID. For example, each first configuration is associated with a configuration identifier, e.g. index / ID / Configuration ID. The first configuration can contain relevant parameters of SSB transmission, e.g. period, frequency / band, SSB start and end position, etc. For example, one or more first configurations can be associated with one SCell. For example, the first indication information indicates SSB transmission information, e.g. SSB transmission period and / or SSB start position, and / or SSB end position, and / or SSB duration and / or the number of SSB transmission bursts and / or the interval between two consecutive bursts, etc.

[0315] Core Invention Point 3: The network device activates SSB transmission of one SCell by a fifth MAC CE.

[0316] Embodiment: The fifth MAC CE is associated with one LCID or one eLCID, and the fifth MAC CE contains second indication information similar to the first indication information in Invention Point 2. The specific details of the second indication information refer to the description of the first indication information in Invention Point 2, which will not be repeated here. The fifth MAC CE is used to activate SSB transmission of which SCell, and the fifth MAC CE is sent on the SCell. Exemplarily, the fifth MAC CE is applicable to scenario #3A / scenario #3B.

[0317] Core Invention Point 4: The network device deactivates SSB transmission of one SCell by a third MAC CE.

[0318] Embodiment: The third MAC CE is associated with one LCID or one eLCID, and the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits. The third MAC CE is used to deactivate SSB transmission of which SCell, and the third MAC CE is sent on the SCell. Exemplarily, the third MAC CE is applicable to scenario #3A / scenario #3B.

[0319] The embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also proposed, comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods.

[0320] It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above apparatus is only a logical function division, and all or part of them can be integrated into a physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the apparatus can be implemented in the form of processor calling software: for example, the apparatus includes a processor, the processor is connected with a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to realize the functions of any of the above methods or the units or modules of the above apparatus, wherein the processor is a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory in the apparatus or a memory outside the apparatus. Alternatively, the units or modules in the apparatus can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, and the functions of part or all of the units or modules can be realized by the design of the hardware circuit. The above hardware circuit can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of part or all of the units or modules are realized by the design of the logical relationship between the elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the above hardware circuit is a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) is taken as an example, which can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by a configuration file, so as to realize the functions of part or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above apparatus can be all implemented in the form of processor calling software, or all implemented in the form of hardware circuit, or part implemented in the form of processor calling software and the remaining part implemented in the form of hardware circuit.

[0321] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with information processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), a digital signal processor (DSP), and the like. In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through a logical relationship of hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit. It can be understood that the processor loads instructions to implement the functions of the above part or all units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), and the like.

[0322] FIG. 7A is a structural schematic diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7A, the network device 7100 can include at least one of a transceiver module 7101, a processing module 7102, and the like. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 7101 is configured to send a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to a terminal, where the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

[0323] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes a first bitmap, and the first bitmap includes at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with one first secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells.

[0324] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells comprise cells requesting SSB on demand and / or normal cells; wherein the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the first indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or, the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, wherein the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0325] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; and the first indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the first indication bit. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal, wherein the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

[0326] In some embodiments, the transceiver 7101 is configured to send a second MAC CE to the terminal, the second MAC CE being used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0327] In some embodiments, the transceiver 7101 is configured to send a third MAC CE to the terminal on a third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the third secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand. In some embodiments, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0328] In some embodiments, the transceiver 7101 is configured to send a fourth MAC CE to the terminal, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate activation of SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0329] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE comprises a second bitmap, the second bitmap comprising at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with one of the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0330] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells comprise cells requesting SSB on demand and / or normal cells; wherein the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate activation of SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit. For example, the second indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or, the second indication bit is associated with a normal cell, wherein the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0331] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all on-demand SSB requesting cells; wherein the value of the second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value to indicate that the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0332] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, the number of the first indication information is the same as the number of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated is associated with one of the first indication information, and the first indication information is sorted according to the index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information is one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0333] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 7101 is configured to send a fifth MAC CE to the terminal on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, and the fifth secondary cell is an on-demand SSB requesting cell.

[0334] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, the second indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information is one or more of the at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0335] Optionally, the transceiver module described above is configured to perform at least one of the communication steps (for example, steps S3101, S3102, S3201, S3202, S3301, S3302, S3303, S3401, S3402, S3403, but not limited thereto) of the sending and / or receiving performed by the network device 101 in any of the above methods. Details are not repeated here. Optionally, the processing module described above is configured to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the network device 101 in any of the above methods. Details are not repeated here.

[0336] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7B, the terminal 7200 can include at least one of a transceiver module 7201, a processing module 7202, and the like. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 7201 described above is configured to receive a first MAC CE sent by a network device, where the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells. Optionally, the transceiver module described above is configured to perform at least one of the communication steps, such as receiving and / or sending, performed by the terminal 102 in any of the methods described above, which will not be described herein again. Optionally, the processing module described above is configured to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the terminal 102 in any of the methods described above, which will not be described herein again.

[0337] In some embodiments, the first MAC CE includes a first bitmap, and the first bitmap includes at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with a first secondary cell in the one or more first secondary cells.

[0338] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells include a normal cell and / or a cell requesting SSB on demand; and wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value to be ignored by the terminal. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell or a secondary cell not configured for the terminal, and the first indication bit is ignored by the terminal; or the first indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value.

[0339] In some embodiments, the one or more first secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; and wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to a second value to be ignored by the terminal. For example, the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal, and the first indication bit is ignored by the terminal.

[0340] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 7201 is configured to receive a second MAC CE sent by a network device, where the second MAC CE is used to indicate to activate or deactivate SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

[0341] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 7201 is configured to receive a third MAC CE sent by a network device on a third secondary cell, where the third MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, and the third secondary cell is a cell requesting SSB on demand. In some embodiments, the third MAC CE is fixed at 0 bits.

[0342] In some embodiments, the transceiver 7201 is configured to receive a fourth MAC CE sent by the network device, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0343] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes a second bitmap, the second bitmap including at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with one fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

[0344] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells include a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit. For example, the second indication bit is associated with a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or a normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or the second indication bit is associated with a normal cell, and the value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

[0345] In some embodiments, the one or more fourth secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein a value of a second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; and the value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

[0346] In some embodiments, the fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, a number of the first indication information being the same as a number of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated being associated with one first indication information, and the first indication information being sorted according to an index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicating activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

[0347] In some embodiments, the transceiver 7201 is configured to receive a fifth MAC CE sent by the network device on a fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate to activate SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

[0348] In some embodiments, the fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, the second indication information indicating activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

[0349] In some embodiments, the transceiving module can include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which can be separate or integrated together. Alternatively, the transceiving module can be mutually replaced with a transceiver.

[0350] In some embodiments, the processing module can be one module or include multiple sub-modules. Alternatively, the multiple sub-modules perform all or part of the steps required to be performed by the processing module, respectively. Alternatively, the processing module can be mutually replaced with a processor.

[0351] FIG. 8A is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 8100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication device 8100 can be a network device (for example, an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (for example, a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 8100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and details can be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0352] As shown in FIG. 8A, the communication device 8100 includes one or more processors 8101. The processor 8101 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (for example, a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process data of the programs. Alternatively, the communication device 8100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Alternatively, the one or more processors 8101 are used to call instructions to enable the communication device 8100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0353] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more transceivers 8103. When the communication device 8100 includes one or more transceivers 8103, the transceiver 8103 performs at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S3101, S3102, S3201, S3202, S3301, S3302, S3303, S3401, S3402, S3403, but not limited to) of transmitting and / or receiving in the above-described methods, and the processor 8101 performs at least one of the other steps. In alternative embodiments, the transceiver can include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which can be separate or integrated together. Alternatively, the terms transceiver, transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc. can be replaced with each other, the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. can be replaced with each other, and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0354] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more memories 8102 for storing data. Alternatively, all or part of the memory 8102 can also be outside the communication device 8100. In alternative embodiments, the communication device 8100 can include one or more interface circuits 8104. Alternatively, the interface circuit 8104 is connected with the memory 8102, and the interface circuit 8104 can be used to receive data from the memory 8102 or other devices, and can be used to send data to the memory 8102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8104 can read the data stored in the memory 8102 and send the data to the processor 8101.

[0355] The communication device 8100 described in the above embodiments can be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 8100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 8100 can not be limited by FIG. 8A. The communication device can be a standalone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally include storage components for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, a smart terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0356] FIG. 8B is a structural schematic diagram of the chip 8200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the case that the communication device 8100 can be a chip or a chip system, the structural schematic diagram of the chip 8200 shown in FIG. 8B can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0357] The chip 8200 comprises one or more processors 8201. The chip 8200 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0358] In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further comprises one or more interface circuits 8202. Optionally, the terms of interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, etc. can be replaced with each other. In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further comprises one or more memories 8203 for storing data. Optionally, all or part of the memory 8203 can be outside the chip 8200. Optionally, the interface circuit 8202 is connected with the memory 8203, the interface circuit 8202 can be configured to receive data from the memory 8203 or other devices, and the interface circuit 8202 can be configured to send data to the memory 8203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8202 can read the data stored in the memory 8203 and send the data to the processor 8201.

[0359] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 8202 performs at least one of the communication steps (such as steps S3101, S3102, S3201, S3202, S3301, S3302, S3303, S3401, S3402, S3403, but not limited thereto) of transmitting and / or receiving in the above methods. The interface circuit 8202 performing the communication steps such as transmitting and / or receiving in the above methods means that the interface circuit 8202 performs data interaction between the processor 8201, the chip 8200, the memory 8203 or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 8201 performs at least one of the other steps.

[0360] The present disclosure further proposes a storage medium, and the above storage medium stores instructions, when the above instructions run on the communication device 8100, the communication device 8100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the above storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the above storage medium is a computer readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the above storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and can also be a transitory storage medium.

[0361] The present disclosure further proposes a program product, and the above program product is executed by the communication device 8100, so that the communication device 8100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the above program product is a computer program product.

[0362] The present disclosure also provides a computer program which, when executed in a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0363] In the above embodiments, the system, device and unit can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part. When implemented by software, the system, device and unit can be implemented in whole or in part as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer programs are loaded and executed in a computer, the system, device and unit described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer programs can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (such as high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0364] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

[0365] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0366] The above merely provides the specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, any person skilled in the art can easily think of the changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the present disclosure, which should be covered in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is performed by a network device, and the method comprises: sending, to a terminal, a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), the first MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first MAC CE comprises a first bitmap, the first bitmap comprising at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with a first secondary cell among the one or more first secondary cells.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The one or more first secondary cells comprise a SSB-on-demand cell and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value, to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; a value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal or with the normal cell, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or the first indication bit is associated with the normal cell, and the value of the first indication bit is set to the second value.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, The one or more first secondary cells are all SSB-on-demand cells; wherein a value of the first indication bit is set to a first value, to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; a value of the first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first indication bit is associated with a secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal, a second MAC CE, the second MAC CE being used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, comprises: sending, to the terminal on a third secondary cell, a third MAC CE, the third MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the third secondary cell being a SSB-on-demand cell.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The third MAC CE is of a fixed 0-bit size.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: sending, to the terminal, a fourth MAC CE, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate activation of SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The fourth MAC CE comprises a second bitmap, the second bitmap comprising at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bit being associated with a fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The one or more fourth secondary cells comprise a SSB-on-demand cell and / or a normal cell; wherein a value of the second indication bit is set to a first value, to indicate activation of SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; a value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second indication bit is associated with a secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal or with the normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or the second indication bit is associated with the normal cell, and the value of the second indication bit is set to the second value. The fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is the normal cell, and the second indication bit is set to the second value.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein, The one or more fourth secondary cells are all on-demand SSB requesting cells; wherein The second indication bit is set to a first value to indicate activation of SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; The second indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit.

15. The method of any one of claims 10-14, wherein, The fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, the number of the first indication information is the same as the number of the fourth secondary cell on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cell on which SSB transmission is activated is associated with one of the first indication information, and the first indication information is sorted according to the index size of the fourth secondary cell on which SSB transmission is activated. The first indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information is one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein, The method further comprises: sending the fifth MAC CE to the terminal on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate activation of SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, and the fifth secondary cell being an on-demand SSB requesting cell.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, and the second indication information indicates the activated SSB configuration, and the SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information is one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

18. A method of communication, comprising: The method is performed by a terminal, and the method comprises: receiving a first media access control (MAC) control element (CE) sent by a network device, the first MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first MAC CE includes a first bitmap, and the first bitmap includes at least one first indication bit, each of the at least one first indication bit being associated with one of the one or more first secondary cells.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The one or more first secondary cells include on-demand SSB requesting cells and / or normal cells; wherein The first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; The first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein The first indication bit is associated with a first secondary cell that is not configured for the terminal or is the normal cell, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit; or The first indication bit is associated with the normal cell, and the first indication bit is set to the second value.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein, The one or more first secondary cells are all on-demand SSB requesting cells; wherein The first indication bit is set to a first value to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the associated first secondary cell; The first indication bit is set to a second value, and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The first secondary cell associated with the first indication bit is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal; and the terminal ignores the first indication bit.

24. The method of any one of claims 18-23, wherein, The method further includes: receiving a second MAC CE sent by the network device, the second MAC CE being used to indicate activation or deactivation of SSB transmission on one or more second secondary cells.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein, comprises: receiving the third MAC CE sent by the network device on a third secondary cell, the third MAC CE being used to indicate deactivation of SSB transmission on the third secondary cell, the third secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The third MAC CE is a fixed 0-bit size.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein, The method further includes: receiving a fourth MAC CE sent by the network device, the fourth MAC CE being used to indicate activation of SSB transmission on one or more fourth secondary cells.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein, The fourth MAC CE includes a second bitmap, the second bitmap including at least one second indication bit, each of the at least second indication bits being associated with a fourth secondary cell among the one or more fourth secondary cells.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein, The one or more fourth secondary cells include a cell requesting SSB on demand and / or a normal cell; wherein, a value of the second indication bit is set to a first value, indicating activation of SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; a value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignoring the second indication bit.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein, the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is a secondary cell not configured for the terminal or is the normal cell, and the terminal ignores the second indication bit; or the fourth secondary cell associated with the second indication bit is the normal cell, and a value of the second indication bit is set to the second value.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein, The one or more fourth secondary cells are all cells requesting SSB on demand; wherein, a value of the second indication bit is set to a first value, indicating activation of SSB transmission on the associated fourth secondary cell; a value of the second indication bit is set to a second value, the terminal ignoring the second indication bit.

32. The method of any one of claims 27-31, wherein, The fourth MAC CE includes first indication information, a number of the first indication information being the same as a number of fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, each of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated being associated with one of the first indication information, and the first indication information being sorted according to an index size of the fourth secondary cells on which SSB transmission is activated, the first indication information indicating activated SSB configuration, the SSB configuration indicated by the first indication information being one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the corresponding fourth secondary cell.

33. The method of claim 27, wherein, The method further includes: receiving a fifth MAC CE sent by the network device on a fifth secondary cell, the fifth MAC CE being used to indicate activation of SSB transmission on the fifth secondary cell, the fifth secondary cell being a cell requesting SSB on demand.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein, The fifth MAC CE includes second indication information, and the second indication information indicates an activated SSB configuration. The SSB configuration indicated by the second indication information is one or more of at least one SSB configuration associated with the fifth secondary cell.

35. A communications device, characterized by Comprising: The transceiver is configured to send, to a terminal, a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

36. A communications device, characterized by Comprising: The transceiver is configured to receive a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) sent by a network device, wherein the first MAC CE is used to indicate to deactivate synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission on one or more first secondary cells.

37. A communication system, characterized by Comprising: A network device configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-17; A terminal configured to perform the method of any one of claims 18-34.

38. A communications device, characterized by Comprising: One or more processors; The communication device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-17, 18-34.

39. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, The instructions, when executed on the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-17, 18-34.

40. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterised in that, The computer program, when executed on the communication device, implements the steps of the method of any one of claims 1-17, 18-34.

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