Communication method, system and related devices

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, system and related device, including: receiving, by a UE, an RRC reconfiguration message from a first network element and a first signal, the RRC reconfiguration message being used to add a carrier of a second network element for the UE, and the first signal being used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element and measure a channel state corresponding to the first signal; the UE further receives an activation message from the first network element, the activation message being used to activate the carrier of the second network element added for the UE, so that the UE sends a channel state report to the second network element, the channel state report including a measurement result of the UE for the channel state corresponding to the first signal. In this way, after receiving the activation message, the UE can execute sending the channel state report to the second network element, which can effectively improve the efficiency of adding the carrier of the second network element for the UE, and meanwhile, the UE obtains the downlink synchronization with the second network element according to the first signal sent by the first network element, which enables the second network element to achieve network energy saving without broadcasting signals.

Description

Communication method, system and related equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on March 21, 2024, with application number 202410327974.4 and application name “Communication Methods, Systems and Related Equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, system and related equipment. Background Art

[0003] In practical application scenarios, multiple network elements (such as base stations) often provide communication services to user equipment (UE). Different network elements use different frequencies to communicate with the UE. Furthermore, these multiple network elements can support carrier aggregation (CA) to meet the UE's high bandwidth requirements. Multiple network elements can share the same site (i.e., co-located); or they can be deployed at different sites.

[0004] After the UE establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with one of the multiple network elements, the network element can serve as the primary cell and provide corresponding communication services for the UE. In actual application scenarios, such as when the UE downloads a large amount of video data from the network side, since the communication speed of the carrier of a single network element is limited, the primary cell can add carriers of other network elements (as secondary cells) for the UE to improve the data communication efficiency between the UE and the network side.

[0005] In specific implementation, after the primary cell configures and activates the carrier of the secondary cell for the UE, the UE needs to receive the signal sent by the secondary cell to obtain downlink synchronization, and after obtaining downlink synchronization, send a measurement report corresponding to the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) sent by the primary cell to the secondary cell, thereby completing the process of adding the carrier of the secondary cell to the UE.

[0006] However, the delay of adding a carrier of a secondary cell to the UE is relatively high, which reduces the efficiency of adding the carrier of the secondary cell and affects the overall data communication efficiency between the UE and the network side.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a communication method, system and related equipment, the purpose of which is to improve the overall data communication efficiency between UE and network side.

[0009] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0010] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a UE (user equipment), where the UE establishes an RRC (radio resource control) connection with a first network element (primary cell), and the UE does not establish an RRC connection with a second network element (secondary cell). Then, the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message from the first network element, where the RRC reconfiguration message is used to add a carrier of the second network element to the UE, and the UE also receives a first signal from the first network element, where the first signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element, and the first signal is also used to measure the channel state corresponding to the first signal; then, the UE receives an activation message from the first network element, where the activation message is used to activate the carrier of the second network element added for the UE, so that the UE sends a channel state report to the second network element, where the channel state report includes the UE's measurement result of the channel state corresponding to the first signal.

[0011] Because the UE can receive the first signal in the gap between receiving the RRC reconfiguration message and the activation message, the UE can perform the process of measuring the channel state corresponding to the first signal and generating a corresponding channel state report before receiving the activation message, and achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal. Therefore, after receiving the activation message, the UE can execute the process of sending the channel state report to the second network element. Compared with the method in which the UE spends time receiving the first signal, achieving downlink synchronization with the second network element, measuring the channel state corresponding to the first signal, and generating a channel state report after receiving the activation message, this can effectively improve the process of the UE feeding back the channel state report to the second network element, that is, it can effectively improve the efficiency of adding the carrier of the second network element to the UE. In addition, the UE achieves downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal sent by the first network element, which means that the second network element does not need to broadcast the signal to enable the UE to achieve downlink synchronization with it, thereby achieving network energy saving because the second network element does not need to broadcast the signal.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a first time-frequency resource associated with the second network element, and the first signal is transmitted to the UE via the first time-frequency resource. In this way, the UE can detect the first signal on the first time-frequency resource indicated by the RRC reconfiguration message, thereby achieving downlink synchronization with the second network element and measuring the channel state based on the detected first signal.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a second time-frequency resource associated with a third network element; the second time-frequency resource is used to transmit a second signal from the first network element to the UE when adding a carrier of the third network element to the UE, the second signal being used for the UE to achieve downlink synchronization with the third network element, and the second signal being further used to measure the channel state corresponding to the second signal; and the activation message received by the UE includes indication information of the first signal. In this way, when the first network element adds carriers of different network elements to the UE, it can send different signals associated with different network elements to the UE, so that the UE can achieve downlink synchronization with each network element and measure the channel state based on the signal associated with each network element.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first signal includes a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a tracking reference signal TRS.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the carrier configured for the UE by the first network element and the carrier configured for the second network element are two carriers within the same frequency band; or, the carrier configured for the UE by the first network element and the carrier configured for the second network element are two carriers within different frequency bands. This improves the flexibility of the first network element in configuring carriers for the UE.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the UE may further send an RRC message to the first network element. The RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the capability to achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal, or the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the capability to generate a channel state report before receiving the activation message. In this way, by proactively reporting its capabilities to the first network element, the first network element can adopt different strategies for different UEs to add carriers of other network elements to the UE.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network element, the first network element establishes an RRC (radio resource control) connection with a UE (user equipment), and the UE does not establish an RRC connection with a second network element, the method comprising: the first network element sends a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, and sends a notification message to the second network element, the RRC reconfiguration message is used to add a carrier of the second network element to the UE, and the notification message is used to notify the second network element to add the carrier to the UE; the first network element sends a first signal to the UE, the first signal is used for the UE and the second network element to obtain downlink synchronization, and the first signal is also used to measure the channel state corresponding to the first signal; the first network element sends an activation message to the UE, and the activation message is used to activate the carrier of the second network element added for the UE.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message is also used to configure a first time-frequency resource associated with the second network element; the first network element sends a first signal to the UE, including: the first network element sends the first signal to the UE through the first time-frequency resource.

[0019] In one possible embodiment, the RRC reconfiguration message is also used to configure a second time-frequency resource associated with a third network element; the second time-frequency resource is used to transmit a second signal from the first network element to the UE when adding a carrier of the third network element to the UE, and the second signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the third network element, and the second signal is also used to measure the channel state corresponding to the second signal; the activation message includes indication information of the first signal.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first signal includes a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a tracking reference signal TRS.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in the same frequency band; or, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in different frequency bands.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first network element may also receive an RRC message from the UE, where the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal, or the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to generate a channel status report before receiving the activation message.

[0023] Since the communication method provided in the second aspect corresponds to the communication method provided in the first aspect, the technical effects of any implementation method in the second aspect can be referred to the relevant description of the technical effects of the corresponding implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a second network element, where the second network element has not established a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE), and the UE establishes an RRC connection with a first network element. The method includes: the second network element receives a notification message from the first network element, where the notification message is used to notify the second network element to add the carrier of the second network element to the UE; the second network element receives a channel status report from the UE, where the channel status report includes a measurement result of the UE for a channel status corresponding to a first signal, where the first signal comes from the first network element, and the first signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element, and the first signal is also used to measure the channel status corresponding to the first signal.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in the same frequency band; or, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in different frequency bands.

[0026] Since the communication method provided in the third aspect corresponds to the communication method provided in the first aspect, the technical effects of any implementation method in the third aspect can be referred to the relevant description of the technical effects of the corresponding implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a network element, which includes a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is used to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect, or to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method described in the third aspect or any embodiment of the third aspect; the processor is used to perform other operations in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect except the receiving operation and the sending operation, or to perform other operations in the method described in the third aspect or any embodiment of the third aspect except the receiving operation and the sending operation.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a UE (user equipment), which includes a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is used to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect; the processor is used to perform other operations except the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a UE (user equipment) and a network element, wherein the UE is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect; the network element is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect, or execute the method described in the third aspect or any embodiment of the third aspect.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium for storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, it is used to implement any communication method provided in the first to third aspects of the present application.

[0031] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one computing device, enables the at least one computing device to implement any communication method provided in the first to third aspects of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] FIG1 is a structural diagram of an exemplary communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a UE provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the specification and appended claims of the present application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "one or more" refers to one, two or more; "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0037] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with that embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and "in yet other embodiments" appearing in various places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more but not all embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including," "comprising," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0038] The "multiple" involved in the embodiments of the present application means greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0039] The embodiments of the present application are applied to a communication system, which may be a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, or a hybrid architecture of LTE and 5G, or a 5G New Radio (5G NR) system, or a new communication system that will emerge in future communication developments.

[0040] An example of a communication system is shown in FIG1 . The communication system includes a network element 1 , a network element 2 , and a UE 3 .

[0041] In the embodiments provided in the present application, network element 1 can be any device located on the network side and having wireless transceiver functions, including but not limited to: a base station (gNodeB or gNB) or a transmission receiving point (TRP) in new radio (NR). Network element 1 can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, a relay station, a partial sector antenna on a base station, or a balloon station. Network element 1 can include one or more co-site or non-co-site transmission points (Transmission Reception Point, TRP). Network element 1 can also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), and / or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Network element 1 can communicate with a terminal device, or communicate with a terminal device through a relay station. Network element 2 is similar to network element 1.

[0042] A base station can be configured with multiple cells, each of which can be the same component carrier (CC) or a different carrier. In this application, the term "cell" and the term "carrier" can be interchanged. A carrier can be understood as a frequency within a frequency band / band. For example, in NR, the frequency band numbered 78, namely Band n78, has a frequency range of 3300MHz-3800MHz, so the band has a bandwidth of 500MHz. If a CC occupies 100MHz bandwidth, 5 CCs can be formed based on Band n78. In addition, the base station can be configured with 3 sectors, and each sector corresponds to a cell. In the carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, carrier aggregation can be intra-band carrier aggregation or inter-band carrier aggregation. Taking the aggregation of two carriers as an example, for intra-band carrier aggregation, the aggregated carriers can be two carriers within the same band, such as two CCs occupying 100MHz bandwidth in Band n78. For inter-band carrier aggregation, the aggregated carriers can be two carriers in different frequency bands, such as a CC in Band n78 occupying 100MHz bandwidth and a CC in Band n41 occupying 100MHz bandwidth. The aggregated carriers can come from the same base station. In this case, these carriers can be considered to be co-located. The aggregated carriers can also come from different base stations. In this case, these carriers may be co-located or non-co-located. Network element 1 and network element 2 are used to implement different cells. At this time, network element 1 and network element 2 can be different base stations for implementing different cells; or, network element 1 and network element 2 can be located on the same base station, such as different sector antennas on the same base station, for implementing different cells. Network element 1 and network element 2 can support CA (carrier aggregation) to meet the higher bandwidth requirements of UE3. For example, when UE3 accesses network element 1 and network element 2 at the same time, network element 1 can implement the primary cell (PCell), for example, responsible for signaling and user data transmission between UE3 and the network side; network element 2 can implement the secondary cell (SCell), for example, responsible for user data transmission between UE3 and the network side.

[0043] UE3 can communicate with multiple network elements of different technologies. For example, UE3 can communicate with network elements that support LTE networks, network elements that support 5G networks, and can also establish dual connections with network elements that support LTE networks and network elements of 5G networks.

[0044] In the embodiments provided in the present application, UE3 can be in various forms, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. UE can also sometimes be referred to as a terminal device, an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, an industrial control terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent or a UE device, etc. A terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0045] The above description uses an example of a communication system including network element 1, network element 2, and UE 3. In other possible implementations, the communication system may include multiple UEs or a larger number of network elements. Alternatively, in other possible implementations, network element 1 in the communication system may be replaced with other network elements, without limitation. For ease of understanding, the following description uses the interaction between UE 3 and network element 1 as an example.

[0046] Normally, after UE3 establishes an RRC connection with network element 1 in the communication system, network element 1 can add the carrier of network element 2 for UE3. At this time, the carrier of network element 1 can be used as the main carrier, and the carrier of network element 2 can be used as the auxiliary carrier, thereby utilizing the carriers of multiple network elements to communicate data with UE3, which can effectively improve the data communication efficiency between UE3 and the network side. However, in the process of adding the carrier of network element 2 for UE3, if UE3 first waits for network element 1 to send an activation message indicating the activation of the carrier of network element 2 added for UE3, UE3 then obtains downlink synchronization based on the signal broadcast by network element 2 (such as SSB, etc.), and then performs channel state measurement on the signal, and finally reports the channel state measurement result to network element 2, this will result in a longer time-consuming process of adding the carrier of network element 2 for UE3, resulting in a lower efficiency of adding the carrier of network element 2, thereby affecting the overall data communication efficiency between UE3 and the network side.

[0047] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which, in the gap between UE3 receiving an RRC reconfiguration message and an activation message, network element 1 sends a first signal to UE3 for downlink synchronization with network element 2 and for measuring the channel state, so that UE3 can perform the process of measuring the channel state corresponding to the first signal and generating a corresponding channel state report before receiving the activation message, and obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element according to the first signal, so that after receiving the activation message, UE3 can execute the channel state report to network element 2, thereby improving the efficiency of adding a carrier of the second network element to the UE. At the same time, network element 2 does not need to broadcast a signal for UE3 to obtain downlink synchronization with network element 2, which enables network element 2 to achieve network energy saving (NES).

[0048] The following describes various communication methods for achieving network energy conservation provided by this application, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For ease of understanding, the various communication methods described below, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, are exemplified using the communication system shown in FIG1 as an example. In actual applications, the communication process between a network element and a UE in the communication system can also be applied to other communication systems supporting Carrier Access Control (CA), without limitation.

[0049] Referring to Figure 2, a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Figure 2, the process of the communication method includes the following steps:

[0050] S201: Network element 1 broadcasts SSB and SIB1.

[0051] In this embodiment, network element 1 may periodically transmit SSBs and system information block 1 (SIB1) so that UE 3 within the signal coverage of network element 1 can, based on the received SSBs and SIB1, perform downlink synchronization with network element 1 in the time and frequency domains and access network element 1. At this time, network element 2 may not broadcast SSBs or other signals used to achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2, thereby reducing energy consumption of network element 2 and achieving network energy saving.

[0052] For example, the period for network element 1 to broadcast SSB and SIB1 may be, for example, 20 milliseconds (ms) or 40 ms, and this is not limited. Furthermore, network element 1 may broadcast SSB and SIB1 separately on one or more beams. For example, network element 1 may transmit SSB and SIB1 separately on eight beams. When network element 1 transmits SSB and SIB1 on different beams, it may transmit them separately on different time domain resources. Alternatively, network element 1 may transmit SSB and SIB1 without distinguishing between beams.

[0053] S202: UE3 accesses network element 1 according to the received SSB and SIB1.

[0054] In actual application, UE3 can be located within the signal coverage range of network element 1, so that after receiving the SSB and SIB1 broadcast by network element 1, UE3 can achieve downlink synchronization with network element 1 according to the SSB, and access network element 1 according to the MIB in the SSB and the SIB1.

[0055] Specifically, UE3 can attempt to detect the SSB and decode the PSS and SSS. Once UE3 successfully detects the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) in the SSB, UE3 attempts to decode the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in the SSB. After successfully detecting the PBCH, UE3 can continue to decode to obtain the master information block (MIB). Then, UE3 finds the location and SearchSpace information of CORESET0 (i.e., the CORESET for PDCCH or DCI transmitted for SIB1) based on the pdcch-ConfigSIB1 information in the MIB. UE3 blindly decodes downlink control information (DCI) 1_0 in the SearchSpace. Based on DCI 1_0, UE3 detects and decodes the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying SIB1, and then decodes SIB1. If SIB1 carries information about other SIBs, UE3 can also decode other SIBs (such as SIB2, etc.). Through the above process, UE3 can obtain time and frequency synchronization with network element 1, detect the ID of network element 1, and access network element 1 according to the decoded information.

[0056] S203: UE3 establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with network element 1.

[0057] For example, after accessing network element 1, UE3 can establish an RRC connection with network element 1, so that UE3 can communicate with network element 1 based on the RRC connection, such as downloading video data from network element 1. The specific implementation process of UE3 establishing the RRC connection with network element 1 has relevant applications in actual application scenarios and is not described in detail here.

[0058] In this embodiment, the establishment of an RRC connection between UE3 and network element 1 is taken as an example for description. In other embodiments, UE3 and network element 1 may also establish a connection in other ways, which is not limited to this.

[0059] S204: Network element 1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE3 based on the established RRC connection. The RRC reconfiguration message is used to add a carrier of network element 2 for UE3.

[0060] S205: Network element 1 sends a notification message to network element 2, where the notification message is used to notify network element 2 to add a carrier of network element 2 for UE3.

[0061] Normally, after establishing an RRC connection with network element 1, UE3 can communicate data with the network side through the carrier provided by network element 1. However, in actual application scenarios, the data communication requirements between UE3 and the network side usually change dynamically. For example, the amount of data that the network side needs to send to network element 1 may be large (for example, the amount of data to be transmitted is greater than a threshold). In this case, network element 1 can dynamically add the carrier of network element 2 for UE3. In this way, the network side uses the carrier of network element 1 and the carrier of network element 2 at the same time to send data to UE3, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission. At this time, the carrier of network element 1 can be used as the primary carrier, for example, to be responsible for the signaling and part of the user data transmission between the network side and UE3, and the carrier of network element 2 can be used as the secondary carrier, for example, to be responsible for the transmission of another part of the user data between the network side and UE3.

[0062] In a specific implementation, NE 1 can send an RRC reconfiguration message to UE3. The configuration field in this RRC reconfiguration message indicates that NE 2's carrier has been added for UE3. At this point, the carrier of NE 2 configured by NE 1 for UE3 is in an inactive state. That is, UE3 cannot use the inactive carrier for data communication with the network. Therefore, NE 1 will typically send an activation message to UE3 to instruct it to activate the carrier.

[0063] The carrier of network element 1 and the carrier of network element 2 added for UE3 can be two carriers within the same frequency band, for example, both carriers are two carriers within Band n78 occupying 100 MHz bandwidth. Alternatively, the carrier of network element 1 and the carrier of network element 2 added for UE3 can be carriers within different frequency bands, for example, the carrier of network element 1 can be a carrier occupying 100 MHz within Band n78, while the carrier of network element 2 can be a carrier occupying 100 MHz bandwidth within Band n41, etc., without limitation. Furthermore, after adding the carrier of network element 2 for UE3, the carriers of network element 1 and network element 2 can be aggregated to provide higher data communication efficiency for UE3.

[0064] At the same time, network element 1 also notifies network element 2 of information about adding a carrier for UE3.

[0065] As an implementation example, network element 1 can send a notification message to network element 2 through the Xn interface (such as the X2 interface, etc.). The notification message may include, for example, the identifier of UE3, the configuration information of the carrier of network element 2 to be added, etc., so as to notify the network element 2 to add the carrier as an auxiliary carrier to UE3 based on the notification message.

[0066] It's worth noting that after receiving the RRC reconfiguration message sent by network element 1, UE3 takes some time to complete the configuration update. That is, UE3 needs some time to respond to the configuration update for UE3. Therefore, typically, network element 1 will wait a while after sending the RRC reconfiguration message before sending the activation message to UE3, so that the updated carrier can be activated after UE3 completes the carrier configuration update. To this end, in this embodiment, network element 1 can perform step S205 before sending the activation message to UE3.

[0067] S206: Network element 1 sends a first signal to UE3.

[0068] S207: UE3 obtains downlink synchronization with network element 2 according to the received first signal, and UE3 also measures the channel state corresponding to the first signal according to the first signal to obtain a channel state report.

[0069] As some implementation examples, the first signal sent by network element 1 may be an SSB or a tracking reference signal (TRS), and the TRS may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). Alternatively, the first signal may be other types of signals, which are not limited to this.

[0070] After receiving the first signal sent by network element 1, UE3 can achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 according to the first signal (without the need for network element 2 to broadcast a signal for downlink synchronization). The following is an exemplary description of its implementation.

[0071] 1. When network element 1 and network element 2 are co-located, the frame headers of the carrier of network element 1 and the carrier of network element 2 are aligned.

[0072] When the first signal sent by network element 1 is specifically SSB, UE3 can calculate the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of the two network elements based on the carrier frequency of network element 1 carried in SIB1 broadcast by network element 1 in step S201 and the carrier frequency between network element 2, and achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the frequency difference and the SSB broadcast by network element 1 in step S205.

[0073] When the first signal sent by network element 1 is specifically a TRS, network element 1 may send the TRS to UE 3 according to the RRC connection. UE 3 may calculate the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of network element 1 and network element 2 based on the carrier frequency of the two network elements carried in SIB1 broadcast by network element 1 in step S201, and achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the frequency difference and the TRS.

[0074] In a first implementation, before sending a TRS to UE3, network element 1 may configure the first time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send the TRS in the RRC reconfiguration message sent to UE3. For example, the RRC reconfiguration message may include indication information of the first time-frequency resource. The first time-frequency resource includes time domain resources and frequency domain resources. Time domain resources may, for example, be time slots and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols that UE3 can occupy in the time domain; frequency domain resources may, for example, be one or more REs that UE3 can occupy in the frequency domain. In addition, the RRC reconfiguration message may also associate the first time-frequency resource with network element 2. In this way, after receiving the RRC reconfiguration message, UE3 may detect whether a TRS exists on the first time-frequency resource indicated by the RRC reconfiguration message. When a TRS is detected on the first time-frequency resource, UE3 may achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the TRS and the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of the two network elements.

[0075] In actual application, the communication system may further include a larger number of network elements, such as network element 4. Therefore, in a further possible implementation, the RRC reconfiguration message sent by network element 1 to UE3 may include indication information of the first time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send the first signal (TRS), and indication information of the second time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send the second signal (such as TRS, etc.). When network element 1 adds the carrier of network element 4 to UE3, network element 1 may use the second time-frequency resource to send the second signal to UE3 based on the RRC connection, so that UE3 uses the second signal and the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of network element 1 and network element 4 to achieve downlink synchronization with network element 4.

[0076] In a second implementation, during the process of establishing an RRC connection between UE3 and network element 1, network element 1 may send an RRC configuration message to UE3. The RRC configuration message may include a first time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send a TRS, and the RRC configuration message is used to configure the first time-frequency resource to be associated with network element 2. In this way, after network element 1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE3 to add the carrier of network element 2 to UE3, UE3 may detect whether a TRS (i.e., a first signal) exists on the first time-frequency resource indicated by the RRC configuration message. When a TRS is detected on the first time-frequency resource, UE3 may achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the TRS and the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of the two network elements.

[0077] Furthermore, when the communication system includes a larger number of network elements, the RRC reconfiguration message sent by network element 1 to UE3 may include the first time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send the first signal (TRS), and the second time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send the second signal (such as TRS, etc.). The first time-frequency resource is associated with network element 2, and the second time-frequency resource is associated with network element 4. Accordingly, UE3 can determine, based on the network element to which the added carrier indicated by the RRC reconfiguration message belongs, whether to detect a signal for achieving downlink synchronization with the network element on the first time-frequency resource or the second time-frequency resource associated with the network element.

[0078] 2. When network element 1 and network element 2 are not co-located, the frame headers of the carrier of network element 1 and the carrier of network element 2 are aligned.

[0079] When the first signal sent by network element 1 is specifically SSB, UE3 can calculate the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of the two network elements based on the carrier frequency of network element 1 carried in SIB1 broadcast by network element 1 in step S201 and the carrier frequency between network element 2, and calculate the position difference between the two network elements based on the position of network element 1 and the position of network element 2 carried in the SIB1, so that UE3 can achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the frequency difference, position difference and SSB broadcast by network element 1 in step S205.

[0080] When the first signal sent by network element 1 is specifically a TRS, network element 1 may send the TRS to UE 3 according to the RRC connection. UE 3 may calculate the frequency difference between the carrier frequencies of the two network elements based on the carrier frequency of network element 1 and the carrier frequency of network element 2 carried in the SIB1 broadcast by network element 1 in step S201, and calculate the position difference between the two network elements based on the position of network element 1 and the position of network element 2 carried in the SIB1. UE 3 may thereby achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the frequency difference, the position difference, and the TRS.

[0081] At this time, network element 1 can use the first time-frequency resource to send a first signal to UE3. The first time-frequency resource can be configured in the RRC reconfiguration message sent by network element 1 to UE3, or can be configured by the RRC configuration message sent by network element 1 to UE3 during the process of establishing an RRC connection with UE3. Furthermore, the RRC reconfiguration message or RRC configuration message can also configure the second time-frequency resource used by network element 1 to send a second signal to UE3 during the process of adding the carrier of network element 4 to UE3. Among them, the specific implementation method of network element 1 configuring the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource can be found in the description of the relevant parts above and will not be repeated here.

[0082] In addition to the above implementation method in which UE3 achieves downlink synchronization with network element 2 according to the first signal, in actual application, UE3 may also achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 in other ways, which is not limited to this.

[0083] Furthermore, after receiving the first signal sent by the network element 1, the UE 3 can also measure the channel state corresponding to the first signal according to the first signal.

[0084] In specific implementation, UE3 can perform channel measurement on the received first signal, such as measuring the gain, interference level, channel quality, etc. of the channel transmitting the first signal, and obtain corresponding measurement results. The measurement results can be used to indicate the status of the channel corresponding to the first signal, so that UE3 can generate a channel status report based on the measurement results.

[0085] In this way, before network element 1 sends the activation message, UE3 can complete the downlink synchronization process with network element 2 and the process of generating a channel status report according to the first signal sent by network element 1.

[0086] S208: Network element 1 sends an activation message to UE3. The activation message is used to activate the carrier of network element 2 added for UE3.

[0087] Exemplarily, the activation message sent by the network element 1 may be, for example, a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) message, or may be other types of messages, which are not limited thereto.

[0088] Only after receiving the activation message can UE3 perform data communication with network element 2 by using the carrier of the activated network element 2.

[0089] In a possible implementation, when the RRC configuration message or RRC reconfiguration message sent by network element 1 to UE3 includes indication information of the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource (as well as time-frequency resources associated with other network elements), UE3 can perform signal detection on the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource and generate a corresponding channel status report for the detected signal. Then, the activation message sent by network element 1 to UE3 can include an identifier of the first signal, so that UE3 can determine to send the generated channel status report corresponding to the first signal to network element 2 based on the identifier of the first signal in the activation message.

[0090] S209: UE3 sends a channel state report corresponding to the first signal to network element 2. The channel state report includes a measurement result of UE3 on the channel state corresponding to the first signal.

[0091] It can be understood that before receiving the activation message, UE3 has already achieved downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the first signal sent by network element 1 and generated a corresponding channel status report. Therefore, after receiving the activation message, UE3 can directly send the generated channel status report to network element 2 so that the network side can perceive the channel status between UE3 and the network side. Typically, in a carrier aggregation scenario, the channel status measured by UE3 based on the first signal sent by network element 1 is similar to the status of the channel used when UE3 and network element 2 communicate data. Therefore, the network side can perceive the status of the channel used when UE3 and network element 2 communicate data based on the channel status report reported by UE3.

[0092] Since UE3 can receive the first signal in the gap between receiving the RRC reconfiguration message and the activation message, UE3 can execute the process of measuring the channel state corresponding to the first signal and generating the corresponding channel state report before receiving the activation message, and achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal. Therefore, after receiving the activation message, UE3 can execute the process of sending the channel state report to network element 2. Compared with the method in which UE3 spends time receiving the first signal, achieving downlink synchronization with network element 2, measuring the channel state corresponding to the first signal, and generating the channel state report after receiving the activation message, this can effectively improve the process of UE3 feeding back the channel state report to network element 2, that is, it can effectively improve the efficiency of adding the carrier of network element 2 to UE3.

[0093] Moreover, UE3 achieves downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the first signal sent by network element 1, which makes it unnecessary for network element 2 to broadcast a signal for UE3 to achieve downlink synchronization with it, thereby enabling network energy saving due to the lack of signal broadcasting.

[0094] It is worth noting that in the embodiment shown in FIG2 above, network element 1 is used as an example to illustrate the addition of a carrier of network element 2 to UE3. In other embodiments, when the communication system also includes other network elements, taking network element 4 as an example, network element 1 can also be the carrier for adding network element 4 to UE3. At this time, after sending the RRC reconfiguration message, network element 1 can send a second signal corresponding to network element 4 to UE3, and UE3 can achieve downlink synchronization with network element 4 according to the second signal, as well as measure the channel state corresponding to the second signal and generate a channel state report, so that after receiving the activation message, UE3 sends the generated channel state report to network element 4 to quickly activate the carrier of network element 4 added to UE3. For its specific implementation method, please refer to the relevant description of the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0095] In actual application scenarios, there may be multiple different UEs establishing RRC connections with network element 1, but these multiple different UEs may have different capabilities. For example, some UEs may support downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the first signal sent by network element 1, and support the accelerated addition of a carrier for network element 2 based on the method flow shown in Figure 2 above; while other UEs may not support downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the first signal sent by network element 1, or support the accelerated addition of a carrier for network element 2 based on the method flow shown in Figure 2 above.

[0096] Based on this, in a further possible implementation, after UE3 establishes an RRC connection with network element 1, before network element 1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE3, UE3 can also report the capabilities of UE3 to network element 1, so that network element 1 can adopt different strategies for different UEs to add carriers of other network elements for the UE.

[0097] In a specific implementation, before network element 1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to UE3, UE3 may send an RRC message to network element 1, where the RRC message is used to indicate the capabilities of UE3. For example, the RRC message may include an information element (IE), such as an information element named "UE capability information elements," so that UE3 can use the information element to indicate the capabilities of UE3.

[0098] Among them, the capabilities of UE3 may include the ability to achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the signal sent by network element 1 (such as the first signal mentioned above), and may also include the ability to generate a channel status report based on the signal sent by network element 1 before receiving the activation message sent by network element 1 (to improve the efficiency of the network side in adding auxiliary carriers for UE3).

[0099] For other UEs that establish an RRC connection with network element 1 in the communication system, they may not have the ability to achieve downlink synchronization with network element 2 based on the signal sent by network element 1, or may not have the ability to generate a channel status report based on the signal sent by network element 1 before receiving the activation message sent by network element 1, or may not have both of these capabilities.

[0100] In actual application, the UE capabilities reported by UE3 and other UEs may be other types of capability information in addition to the above capabilities, and there is no limitation on this.

[0101] 3 and 4 , the hardware implementation of the network element and the UE will be further described.

[0102] Referring to Figure 3, a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a network element is shown. The network element shown in Figure 3 includes at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112, at least one transceiver 113, at least one network interface 114 and one or more antennas 115. The processor 111, the memory 112, the transceiver 113 and the network interface 114 are connected, for example, via a bus. In the embodiment of the present application, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines or buses, etc., which are not limited in this embodiment. The antenna 115 is connected to the transceiver 113. The network interface 114 is used to connect the network element to other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 114 may include a network interface between the network element and the network element in the core network, such as an S1 interface. The network interface may include a network interface between the network element and other network elements, such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0103] Among them, the processor 111 shown in Figure 3 can specifically complete the network element processing actions in the above method, the memory 112 can complete the storage actions in the above method, the transceiver 113 and the antenna 115 can perform the sending and receiving actions on the air interface in the above method, and the network interface 114 can complete the actions of interacting with the network element or other network elements in the above method.

[0104] The processor in the embodiments of the present application, such as processor 111, may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., which are various types of computing devices that run software. Each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing. The processor can be a separate semiconductor chip or integrated into a semiconductor chip together with other circuits. For example, it can form an SoC (system on chip) with other circuits (such as a codec circuit, a hardware acceleration circuit, or various bus and interface circuits), or it can be integrated into the ASIC as a built-in processor of the ASIC. The ASIC with the integrated processor can be packaged separately or with other circuits. In addition to the core for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a PLD (programmable logic device), or a logic circuit that implements dedicated logic operations.

[0105] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this.

[0106] The memory 112 can be independent and connected to the processor 111. Optionally, the memory 112 can be integrated with the processor 111, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 112 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 111. The various computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers for the processor 111. For example, the processor 111 is used to execute the computer program codes stored in the memory 112, thereby implementing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0107] The transceiver 113 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the network element and other devices. The transceiver 113 can be connected to the antenna 115. The transceiver 113 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 115 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of the transceiver 113 is used to receive the radio frequency signal from the antenna, convert the radio frequency signal into a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and provide the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to the processor 111 so that the processor 111 can further process the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 113 is also used to receive a modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 111, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and send the radio frequency signal through one or more antennas 115. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a RF signal. The order of the up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0108] Figure 4 shows an example of the components of a UE provided in an embodiment of the present application. The UE may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smart wearable device (such as a smartwatch), etc. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the UE may include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display 330, a camera 340, antenna 1, antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360.

[0109] It should be understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the UE. In other embodiments, the UE may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined or separated, or arranged differently. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0110] The processor 310 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 310 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a time-frequency codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU). The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0111] It is understood that the interface connection relationship between the modules illustrated in this embodiment is only for illustrative purposes and does not constitute a structural limitation on the UE. In other embodiments of the present application, the UE may also adopt different interface connection methods in the above embodiments, or a combination of multiple interface connection methods.

[0112] The external memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the UE's storage capacity. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 via the external memory interface 320 to implement data storage. For example, files such as music and time and frequency files can be stored on the external memory card.

[0113] The internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program codes, and the executable program codes include instructions. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321. The internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area may store an operating system, an application required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during the use of the UE (such as time-frequency stream data), etc. In addition, the internal memory 321 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, a universal flash storage (UFS), etc. The processor 310 executes various functions and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321, and / or the instructions stored in the memory provided in the processor.

[0114] The wireless communication function of the UE can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor and baseband processor.

[0115] Antenna 1 and Antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the UE can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with a tuning switch.

[0116] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G applied on the UE. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 1, and filter, amplify, and process the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit them to the modulation and demodulation processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modulation and demodulation processor, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the same device as at least some of the modules of the processor 310.

[0117] In some embodiments, the UE initiates or receives a call request via the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1 .

[0118] Furthermore, an operating system runs on the above-mentioned components. Examples include the iOS operating system, the Android operating system, and the Windows operating system. Applications can be installed and run on the operating system. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for ease of description and brevity, the explanation and beneficial effects of the relevant contents of any of the above-mentioned UEs can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be further elaborated here.

[0119] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute the communication method described in the above embodiment.

[0120] In addition, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed by one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices perform any of the aforementioned communication methods. The computer program product may be a software installation package. When any of the aforementioned communication methods is required, the computer program product may be downloaded and executed on a computer.

[0121] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general hardware, and of course can also be implemented by special hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, special CPUs, special memories, special components, etc. In general, all functions performed by computer programs can be easily implemented with corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structures used to implement the same function can also be diverse, such as analog circuits, digital circuits or special circuits, etc. However, for the present application, software program implementation is a better implementation method in most cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a computer's floppy disk, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., and includes a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, training equipment, or network equipment, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0122] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product.

[0123] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, a computer, a training device or a data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, a computer, a training device or a data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a training device, a data center, etc. that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0124] The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a user equipment (UE), where the UE establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a first network element, but does not establish an RRC connection with a second network element. The method includes: The UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message from the first network element, where the RRC reconfiguration message is used to add a carrier of the second network element for the UE; The UE receives a first signal from the first network element, where the first signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element according to frequency indication information of a carrier of the first network element and frequency indication information of a carrier of the second network element, where the frequency indication information of the carrier of the first network element and the frequency indication information of the carrier of the second network element are obtained according to a message pre-sent by the first network element, and the first signal is further used to measure a channel state corresponding to the first signal, where the first signal includes a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a tracking reference signal TRS; The UE receives an activation message from the first network element, where the activation message is used to activate a carrier of the second network element added for the UE; The UE sends a channel state report to the second network element, where the channel state report includes a measurement result of the UE on the channel state corresponding to the first signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a first time-frequency resource associated with the second network element, and the first signal is transmitted to the UE via the first time-frequency resource.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a second time-frequency resource associated with a third network element; the second time-frequency resource is used to transmit a second signal from the first network element to the UE when adding a carrier of the third network element for the UE, the second signal being used for the UE to achieve downlink synchronization with the third network element, and the second signal being further used to measure a channel state corresponding to the second signal; The activation message includes indication information of the first signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in the same frequency band; Alternatively, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in different frequency bands.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: The UE sends an RRC message to the first network element, where the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal, or the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to generate the channel status report before receiving the activation message.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first network element, where the first network element establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE), and the UE does not establish an RRC connection with a second network element. The method includes: The first network element sends a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, and sends a notification message to the second network element, where the RRC reconfiguration message is used to add a carrier of the second network element to the UE, and the notification message is used to notify the second network element to add the carrier to the UE; The first network element sends a first signal to the UE, where the first signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element according to the frequency indication information of the carrier of the first network element and the frequency indication information of the carrier of the second network element, and the frequency related information of the carrier of the first network element and the frequency related information of the carrier of the second network element are based on The first signal is obtained according to a message pre-sent by the first network element, and the first signal is further used to measure a channel state corresponding to the first signal, where the first signal includes a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a tracking reference signal TRS; The first network element sends an activation message to the UE, where the activation message is used to activate a carrier of the second network element added for the UE.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a first time-frequency resource associated with the second network element; The first network element sending a first signal to the UE includes: The first network element sends a first signal to the UE through the first time-frequency resource.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The RRC reconfiguration message is further used to configure a second time-frequency resource associated with a third network element; the second time-frequency resource is used to transmit a second signal from the first network element to the UE when adding a carrier of the third network element for the UE, the second signal being used for the UE to achieve downlink synchronization with the third network element, and the second signal being further used to measure a channel state corresponding to the second signal; The activation message includes indication information of the first signal.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in the same frequency band; Alternatively, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in different frequency bands.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network element receives an RRC message from the UE, where the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to achieve downlink synchronization with the second network element based on the first signal, or the RRC message is used to indicate that the UE has the ability to generate a channel status report before receiving the activation message.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second network element, where the second network element does not establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE), and the UE establishes an RRC connection with a first network element, and the method includes: The second network element receives a notification message from the first network element, where the notification message is used to notify the second network element to add a carrier of the second network element to the UE; The second network element receives a channel status report from the UE, and the channel status report includes a measurement result of the UE for the channel status corresponding to the first signal. The first signal comes from the first network element, and the first signal is used for the UE to obtain downlink synchronization with the second network element according to the frequency indication information of the carrier of the first network element and the frequency indication information of the carrier of the second network element. The frequency indication information of the carrier of the first network element and the frequency indication information of the carrier of the second network element are obtained according to the message sent in advance by the first network element, and the first signal is also used to measure the channel status corresponding to the first signal. The first signal includes a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block SSB, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, or a tracking reference signal TRS.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in the same frequency band; Alternatively, the carrier of the first network element and the carrier of the second network element configured for the UE are two carriers in different frequency bands.

13. A network element, characterized in that: include: A transceiver, configured to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method according to any one of claims 6 to 12; A processor, configured to perform other operations except the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method described in any one of claims 6 to 12.

14. A user equipment UE, characterized in that include: A transceiver, configured to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5; A processor, configured to perform other operations except the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

15. A communication system, characterized in that: It includes a user equipment UE, a first network element and a second network element, the UE is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the first network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, and the second network element is used to execute the method according to claim 11 or 12.

16. A computer storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed, it is used to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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