Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method includes the steps of: a terminal device receiving configuration information of a first BWP, where the first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device; and the terminal device performing measurement gapless measurements based on an SSB, where frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include frequency domain resources of the SSB or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of frequency domain resources of the SSB. According to the method provided in the present application, the terminal device can perform measurement gapless measurements on an SSB outside the first BWP without interrupting communication and transmission on the first BWP to improve communication efficiency of the terminal device.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications technology, and more particularly to communications methods and devices. [Background technology]

[0002] To support terminal devices with different bandwidth capabilities, the concept of a bandwidth part (BWP) is introduced into the NR system. A BWP is a segment of contiguous frequency domain resources, including an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP, which are used for uplink and downlink transmissions, respectively. If multiple BWPs are configured for a terminal device, the terminal device can operate on only one of the BWPs at a time, and such a BWP is called an active BWP. The terminal device can perform data transmission with a network device only on the active BWP. In other words, the frequency domain resources occupied by the terminal device for each data transmission are within the frequency domain resource range of only one BWP.

[0003] Currently, a terminal device can use a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block, SSB) to perform related measurements, such as channel quality measurements. If the frequency domain resources occupied by the SSB are located in the BWP, the terminal device can simultaneously perform data transmission and SSB-based measurements. If the frequency domain resources occupied by the SSB are not located entirely within the BWP, the network device configures a measurement gap, and the terminal device measures the SSB outside the BWP with the help of the measurement gap. However, data transmission must be interrupted, which affects the service transmission rate of the terminal device.

[0004] Therefore, how to measure SSB outside BWP and improve communication efficiency is an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for performing SSB measurements and improving communication efficiency.

[0006] According to a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement a function of a terminal device. For example, the method may be applied to a terminal device or a chip within the terminal device. The specific execution entity of the method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules in the terminal device, and methods performed by each functional module also fall within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a terminal device. In the method, the terminal device receives configuration information of a first BWP, the first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device, the terminal device performs measurement gapless measurement based on a measurement signal, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the measurement signal or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the measurement signal.

[0007] According to the above method, the terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurements on measurement signals outside the active BWP without interrupting signal transmission between the terminal device and the network device, improving communication efficiency of the terminal device when measurements are performed.

[0008] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the measurement signal may be an SSB, a CSI-RS, or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0009] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes receiving measurement configuration information from the network device, wherein the measurement configuration information does not include measurement gap configuration information, or the measurement configuration information includes measurement gap configuration information, and the measurement gap configuration information indicates that the measurement gap is 0 milliseconds.

[0010] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

[0011] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, a terminal device performs a first data transmission with a network device over a first BWP. The time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other. Specifically, the time occupied by the terminal device for performing the first data transmission and the time occupied for performing the measurement gap-free measurement overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other. Alternatively, the terminal device does not perform radio frequency tuning between the first data transmission and the first measurement. Therefore, resource utilization of the communication system can be improved, and communication efficiency of the terminal device can be improved. Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the measurement gap-free measurement includes at least one of a channel state information measurement, a time-frequency synchronization measurement, a radio resource management measurement, a radio link monitoring measurement, a radio link failure measurement, a beam management measurement, and a beam failure detection measurement.

[0012] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, a terminal device supports measurement gapless measurements in a first bandwidth, where the first bandwidth includes frequency domain resources of a first BWP and frequency domain resources of an SSB. Because the terminal device does not need to support measurement gapless measurements on frequency domain resources outside the first bandwidth, power consumption can be reduced.

[0013] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the size of the first bandwidth is smaller than the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device, and / or the first bandwidth is smaller than the bandwidth size of the carrier on which the terminal device is located.

[0014] Referring to the first aspect, in possible designs, the size of the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz.

[0015] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes a step in which the terminal device receives configuration information of a first bandwidth from a network device, the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicating a size and / or a location of the first bandwidth, or a step in which the terminal device determines the first bandwidth according to a first rule, the first rule indicating a location relationship between frequency domain resources of the first BWP, frequency domain resources of the SSB, and a frequency domain range of the first bandwidth.

[0016] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, the first threshold being predefined or configured by the network device, and since the size of the first bandwidth is limited, the terminal device only needs to support measurement gapless measurements within a certain range to reduce power consumption.

[0017] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the interval between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB does not exceed a second threshold, and the second threshold is predefined or configured by the network device. Because the interval between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB is limited, the terminal device only needs to support a certain range of measurement gapless measurements to reduce power consumption.

[0018] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes a step of the terminal device transmitting first capability information to the network device, where the first capability information indicates a first threshold and / or a second threshold supported by the terminal device, or a step of the terminal device transmitting second capability information to the network device, where the second capability information indicates that the terminal device supports measurement gapless measurement. The terminal device can indicate a bandwidth capability supported by the terminal device or whether the terminal device supports measurement gapless measurement by using the capability information, so that the network device configures measurement gapless measurement or the first bandwidth for the terminal device based on the capability of the terminal device, in order to more flexibly configure communication resources and improve communication efficiency of the terminal device.

[0019] Referring to a first aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information for measurement gapless measurement, where the terminal device performing measurement gapless measurement based on the SSB includes the terminal device performing measurement gapless measurement based on the SSB during a first time period indicated by the first configuration information. The terminal device may not support measurement gapless measurement at times outside the first time period. The time period during which the terminal device performs measurement gapless measurement is limited to configure the first time period during which the terminal device performs measurement gapless measurement based on service requirements of the terminal device to reduce power consumption of the terminal device.

[0020] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the start of the first time period is the end of the second time period, the end of the first time period is the start of the third time period, and the second time period and the third time period are not used by the terminal device to perform data transmission.

[0021] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a second time period and a third time period.

[0022] Referring to a first aspect, in a possible design, the first configuration information indicates at least one of a periodicity, a length, and a time-domain offset of the first time period.

[0023] According to a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The method is used to implement a function on a network device. For example, the method may be applied to a network device or a chip within the network device. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation of the method. Optionally, the method may be jointly implemented by multiple functional modules on the network device, and methods performed by each functional module also fall within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the method is applied to a network device. In the method, the network device transmits first configuration information to a terminal device, a first time period indicated by the first configuration information is used to perform measurement gapless measurement based on a measurement signal, and the network device performs first data transmission with the terminal device over a first BWP, the first BWP being an active BWP for the terminal device, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the measurement signal or include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the measurement signal.

[0024] According to the above method, the network device can configure the terminal device to perform measurement gapless measurements on measurement signals outside the active BWP without interrupting signal transmission with the network device, thereby improving communication efficiency of the terminal device when the measurements are performed. In addition, to improve communication efficiency, the terminal device only needs to support measurement gapless measurements in a first time period. To reduce power consumption, the terminal device does not need to support measurement gapless measurements outside the first time period.

[0025] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the measurement signal may be an SSB, a CSI-RS, or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0026] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes a step in which the network device transmits first configuration information to the terminal device, the first configuration information indicating a first time period, the first time period being used to perform measurement gap-free measurements based on the measurement signal.

[0027] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes a step in which the network device sends measurement configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the measurement configuration information does not include configuration information for a measurement gap, or the measurement configuration information includes configuration information for a measurement gap, and the configuration information for the measurement gap indicates that the measurement gap is 0 milliseconds.

[0028] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

[0029] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other.

[0030] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the measurements without measurement gaps include at least one of channel state information measurements, time-frequency synchronization measurements, radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, radio link failure measurements, beam management measurements, and beam failure detection measurements.

[0031]

[0013] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes a step of: transmitting, by the network device, configuration information of a first bandwidth to the terminal device, the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicating a size and / or a location of the first bandwidth, the first bandwidth including frequency domain resources of the first BWP and frequency domain resources of the SSB. Since the terminal device does not need to support measurement gapless measurements on frequency domain resources outside the first bandwidth, power consumption can be reduced.

[0032] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the size of the first bandwidth is smaller than the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device, and / or the first bandwidth is smaller than the bandwidth size of the carrier on which the terminal device is located.

[0033] Referring to the second aspect, in possible designs, the size of the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz.

[0034] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, the first threshold being predefined or the first threshold being configured by the network device.

[0035] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the spacing between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB does not exceed a second threshold, and the second threshold is predefined or configured by the network device.

[0036]

[0013] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the method further includes: receiving, by the network device, first capability information from the terminal device, the first capability information indicating a first threshold and / or a second threshold supported by the terminal device; or receiving, by the network device, second capability information from the terminal device, the second capability information indicating that the terminal device supports measurement gapless measurement. The network device can configure measurement gapless measurement or the first bandwidth for the terminal device based on the capability of the terminal device to more flexibly configure communication resources and improve communication efficiency of the terminal device.

[0037] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible design, the start of the first time period is the end of the second time period, the end of the first time period is the start of the third time period, and the second time period and the third time period are not used by the terminal device to perform data transmission.

[0038] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a second time period and a third time period.

[0039] Referring to a second aspect, in a possible design, the first configuration information indicates at least one of a periodicity, a length, and a time-domain offset of the first time period.

[0040] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal device, a module capable of implementing a function of the terminal device, or a chip that can be disposed inside the terminal device. The communication device has a function that realizes the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for performing some or all of the steps in the first aspect. The functions, units, or means may be implemented using software or hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0041] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to implement communication between the communication device and another device. For example, the communication unit may be configured to receive configuration information from a network device. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. Functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit may correspond to a first aspect and a possible design of the first aspect.

[0042] For example, the communication device may be a terminal device or a chip within the terminal device, and may include a communication unit and a processing unit. The communication unit is configured to receive configuration information for a first bandwidth portion BWP, the first BWP being an active BWP of the terminal device. The processing unit is configured to perform measurement gapless measurements based on a synchronization signal block SSB. The frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0043] In a possible design, the communications device may include a processor and may further include a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive and transmit signals, and the processor executes program instructions to complete a method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the first aspect by using the transceiver. The communications device may further include one or more memories. The memories may be coupled to the processor, and may store computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. Execution of the computer programs or instructions enables the communications device to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the first aspect.

[0044] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor coupled to a memory. The memory may store a computer program or instructions for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. Execution of the computer program or instructions enables the communication device to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the first aspect.

[0045] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the processor configured to communicate with another device via the interface circuit and to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the first aspect.

[0046] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a network device, a module capable of implementing a function of the network device, or a chip capable of being disposed inside the network device. The communication device has a function of implementing the second aspect. For example, the communication device includes a corresponding module, unit, or means for performing the operations of the second aspect. The module, unit, or means may be implemented by using software or hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0047] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit may be configured to receive and transmit signals to implement communication between the communication device and another device. For example, the communication unit may be configured to receive uplink information from a terminal device. The processing unit may be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication device. Functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit may correspond to the operations of the second aspect above.

[0048] For example, a communication apparatus includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to transmit first configuration information to a terminal device by using the communication unit, the first configuration information indicating a first time period, the first time period being a time period used by the terminal device to perform measurement gap-free measurements based on an SSB. The communication unit is further configured to perform first data transmission with the terminal device over a first BWP. The first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device, and frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0049] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor and may further include a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive and transmit signals, and the processor executes program instructions to complete the method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect by using the transceiver. The communication device may further include one or more memories. The memory may be coupled to the processor, and the memory may store computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device is enabled to implement the method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0050] In a possible design, the communication device may include a processor coupled to a memory. The memory may store a computer program or instructions for implementing the functions of the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device is enabled to implement the method of any one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0051] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the processor configured to communicate with another device via the interface circuit and to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs or implementations of the second aspect.

[0052] It should be understood that the processor can be implemented using hardware or software. When the processor is implemented using hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When the processor is implemented using software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor and is executed by reading software code stored in a memory. In addition, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor may be located separately. In a specific implementation process, the memory and the processor may be integrated into one chip or located on different chips. The type of memory and the manner in which the memory and the processor are located are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0053] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system including a communication device according to the third aspect and a communication device according to the fourth aspect.

[0054] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer storage medium storing computer-readable instructions, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to perform a method in any one of any possible designs of the first or second aspect above.

[0055] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to perform a method according to any one of the possible designs of the first and second aspects.

[0056] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, the chip including a processor, coupled to a memory, configured to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement a method according to any one of the possible designs of the first or second aspect. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0057] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of a communication system to which the present application can be applied; [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship between BWP and SSB. [Figure 2B] FIG. 10 illustrates another relationship between BWP and SSB. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a measurement gap. [Figure 4A] 1 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to the present application; [Figure 4B] 1 is a diagram of the positional relationship between a first BWP and an SSB according to the present application. FIG. [Figure 4C] 10 is a diagram of another positional relationship between a first BWP and an SSB according to the present application. FIG. [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a first bandwidth according to the present application. [Figure 5B] FIG. 10 is another first bandwidth diagram according to the present application. [Figure 6] 4 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to the present application. [Figure 7] 4 is a schematic flow diagram of yet another method for communicating information according to the present application. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram of an apparatus according to the present application; [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram of another device according to the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0058] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of the specification.

[0059] Embodiments of the present application may be applied to various mobile communication systems, for example, the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication network or new radio (NR) system, 4G mobile communication network or long term evolution (LTE) system, and other communication systems, such as future communication systems, which are not specifically limited herein.

[0060] Figure 1 is a diagram of a communication system to which the present application can be applied. The communication system includes at least one network device, such as the network device shown in Figure 1. The system may further include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device shown in Figure 1. The network device can communicate with the terminal device via a wireless link to exchange information. It will be understood that the network device and the terminal device may also be referred to as communication devices.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device is a user-side device having a wireless transceiver function, and may be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device (e.g., a mobile phone), a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, or a wireless device (e.g., a communication module, a modem, or a chip) disposed in the above-mentioned devices. The terminal device may also be called a terminal, user equipment (UE), or access terminal. Terminal devices are configured to connect people, objects, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, V2X communication, machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC), Internet of Things, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, industrial sensing, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart surveillance, smart transportation, smart city, unmanned aerial vehicles, and robotics. In an embodiment of the present application, an apparatus configured to perform a function of the terminal device may be the terminal device itself, or may be a device, such as a chip system, that can assist the terminal device in performing the function. The apparatus may be installed in the terminal device or used together with the terminal device. A terminal device in this application may be a legacy terminal device, a reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal device, an enhanced reduced capability (eREDCAP) terminal device, or a further reduced capability (fREDCAP) terminal device.A legacy terminal device may be a legacy capability terminal device, a normal capability terminal device, or a high capability terminal device and may be referred to as a normal terminal device. In this application, a legacy terminal device may include an NR enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) terminal device. An NR eMBB terminal device supports a wide bandwidth and has high processing capabilities, and a REDCAP terminal device is a frequency range (FR) 1 20 MHz / FR 2 100 MHz terminal device defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 17 (Rel-17).

[0062] A network device is a network-side device having a radio transceiver function. The network device may be a device located in a radio access network (RAN) and providing a wireless communication function to a terminal device, and is referred to as a RAN device. For example, the network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a subsequent evolved 3GPP base station, a transmission reception point (TRP), an access node in a Wi-Fi system, a wireless relay node, or a wireless backhaul node. In communication systems using different radio access technologies (RATs), devices having base station functions may have different names. For example, a base station may be called an eNB or eNodeB in an LTE system, and a gNB in a 5G system or an NR system. The specific name of the base station is not limited in this application. The network device may include one or more co-site or non-co-site transmission and reception points. As another example, a network device may include one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more CUs and one or more DUs. For example, the functions of a CU may be performed by one entity or different entities. For example, the functions of a CU may be further divided. In other words, the control plane and the user plane are separated and performed by separate entities, i.e., a control plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-CP entity) and a user plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-UP entity), respectively. The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity may be coupled to the DU to jointly complete the functions of the access network device.In this way, some functions of a radio access network device may be implemented by multiple network function entities. These network function entities may be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). In another example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, an access network device may be a road side unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system may be base stations of the same type or different types. A base station may communicate with a terminal device, or may communicate with the terminal device via a relay station. In embodiments of the present application, an apparatus configured to implement the functions of a network device may be a network device or an apparatus that can assist the network device in implementing its functions, such as a chip system, or a composite component or component that can implement the functions of an access network device. This apparatus may be installed in a network device. In embodiments of the present application, a chip system may include a chip or may include a chip and other individual components. In embodiments of the present application, a network device is used as an example to describe technical solutions.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes a relationship between related entities and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can indicate three cases: when only A is present, when both A and B are present, and when only B is present, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " typically indicates an "or" relationship between related entities. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions indicates any combination of these items, including any combination of one item or multiple items. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" may indicate a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural.

[0064] Unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" referred to in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and are not intended to limit the size, content, order, chronological order, priority, importance, etc. of the multiple objects. For example, the first threshold and the second threshold are merely used to distinguish between different thresholds and do not indicate the size, content, different priority, different importance, etc. of the two thresholds.

[0065] In order to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained below.

[0066] (1) Bandwidth part (BWP) To support terminal devices with different bandwidth capabilities and reduce their power consumption, the concept of BWP is introduced into NR. A BWP is a segment of contiguous frequency domain resources in the frequency domain, including an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP used for uplink and downlink transmissions, respectively. During the initial access phase, the network device configures an initial uplink BWP and an initial downlink BWP for the terminal device. After entering the RRC connected mode, the network device further configures one or more uplink BWPs and downlink BWPs dedicated to the terminal device for the terminal device.

[0067] According to the protocol, uplink channels or signal transmissions are performed using an uplink BWP, and downlink channels or signal transmissions are performed using a downlink BWP. If a terminal device receives multiple BWP configurations, the terminal device can operate using only one of the BWPs at a time, and the BWP is called an active BWP. Currently, it is agreed that a terminal device can only perform data transmission with a network device by using an active BWP. In other words, the frequency resource corresponding to each time of data transmission of the terminal device can be within the frequency resource range corresponding to only one BWP. Note that in subsequent version developments or in other communication systems, the active BWP may have a different name. This is not limited here.

[0068] (2) Synchronization signal block (PBCH block, SSB) In NR, when accessing a network device, a terminal device uses SSB to perform time and frequency synchronization with the network device and obtain broadcast information. SSB includes a synchronization signal, a physical broadcast channel, etc. The synchronization signal may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The terminal device completes time and frequency synchronization with the network device using the PSS and SSS and obtains a physical layer cell ID (PCI). The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) mainly carries broadcast information, including a master information block (MIB) from higher layers and timing-related information from the physical layer.

[0069] SSB may further be used for channel quality measurements, radio resource management (RRM) measurements, radio link monitoring (RLM), beam management (BM) measurements, and beam failure detection (BFD) measurements. For ease of explanation, the following SSB-based measurements are collectively referred to as SSB measurements.

[0070] As described above, a terminal device can perform data transmission with a network device only by using an active BWP. In this case, when the BWP includes an SSB, the terminal device can perform both SSB measurements and data transmission, as shown in Figure 2A. When the BWP does not include an SSB, the terminal device needs to switch to performing SSB measurements outside the BWP, for example, using a measurement gap, as shown in Figure 2B.

[0071] (3) Measurement gap The network device transmits measurement gap configuration information to the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 3, outside the measurement gap, the terminal device can perform data transmission with the network device within the BWP range. Within the measurement gap, the network device does not perform data transmission with the terminal device. In other words, the network device neither receives data transmitted by the terminal device nor transmits data to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device can perform SSB measurements outside the BWP in time period T2 and does not need to transmit data within the active BWP range. In times T1 and T3, the terminal device can perform radio frequency retuning (RF retuning). Note that the terminal device determines whether radio frequency retuning is necessary based on the radio frequency and baseband capabilities of the terminal device. If the radio frequency and baseband capabilities of the terminal device can support SSB measurements outside the BWP, the terminal device may not require radio frequency retuning, and time periods T1 and T3 are used as guard intervals.

[0072] When a terminal device switches to perform SSB measurements outside the BWP, it needs to stop data transmission with the network device. Therefore, data transmission is interrupted and communication efficiency is affected. Alternatively, the network device needs to configure an additional measurement signal, such as an additional SSB or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), in the active BWP so that the terminal device performs measurements based on the additional measurement signal. The additional resource overhead causes a decrease in network capacity and spectral efficiency, affecting the service transmission rate of the terminal device. However, according to the communication method provided in the present application, it is not necessary to configure an additional reference signal in the terminal device to save communication resources and improve the communication efficiency of the terminal device.

[0073] It should be noted that the communication method provided in the present application is not limited to SSB-based measurement, and can also be applied to CSI-RS-based or sounding reference signal (SRS)-based measurement scenarios. It will be understood that an embodiment of the present application provides a method to enable a terminal device to measure a first reference signal outside the BWP, thereby increasing the service transmission rate of the terminal device and the spectrum of the communication system. The first reference signal can be SSB, CSI-RS, or SRS. For ease of explanation, the following uses an example in which the first reference signal is SSB for explanation. The following method can also be applied to CSI-RS and SRS. In the embodiments provided in the present application, unless otherwise specified, "transmission" includes transmission and / or reception.

[0074] 4A is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0075] S401: A network device sends configuration information of a first BWP to a terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives the configuration information of the first BWP from the network device.

[0076] The first BWP is the active BWP of the terminal device, or the first BWP is the BWP through which the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device.

[0077] Optionally, S402: The network device performs a first data transmission with the terminal device over a first BWP.

[0078] S403: The terminal device performs measurement without a measurement gap based on an SSB, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0079] In the communication method provided in the present application, the terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurements on an SSB outside the active BWP without interrupting communication with the network device, in order to improve the communication efficiency of the terminal device.

[0080] In S401, the network device transmits configuration information of the first BWP to the terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives the configuration information of the first BWP from the network device.

[0081] The first BWP is the active BWP of the terminal device, or the first BWP is the BWP through which the terminal device performs data transmission with the network device. The configuration information of the first BWP can be carried in system information block 1 (SIB1), radio resource control (RRC) dedicated signaling, media access control element (MAC CE), or DCI signaling. The network device can configure the first BWP as the active BWP of the terminal device and perform data transmission with the terminal device by using the active BWP.

[0082] At S402, the network device performs a first data transmission with the terminal device over a first BWP, the transmission including sending and / or receiving.

[0083] The terminal device and the network device can transmit and / or receive data within the frequency domain range of the active BWP. Step S402 is an optional step, and the sequence of S402 and S403 is not limited in this application.

[0084] Optionally, the network device transmits a DCI to the terminal device over the first BWP, where the DCI indicates to the terminal device to perform uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission on a first time-frequency resource within the first BWP. For example, the network device can schedule the terminal device to perform a first data transmission by using the DCI. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine a first time-frequency resource for performing the first data transmission based on the DCI, and perform the first data transmission on the first time-frequency resource.

[0085] In S403, the terminal device performs measurement without a measurement gap based on an SSB, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0086] FIG. 4B is a diagram of a positional relationship between a first BWP and an SSB according to the present application. The frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB. FIG. 4C is a diagram of another positional relationship between a first BWP and an SSB according to the present application. The frequency domain resources of the first BWP include some of the frequency domain resources of the SSB, but do not include all of the frequency domain resources of the SSB. For ease of understanding, FIGS. 4B and 4C illustrate possible positional relationships between the first BWP and the SSB. The specific locations of the first BWP and the SSB are not limited in the present application.

[0087] Measurement without measurement gaps refers to measurement without a measurement gap. In the case of measurement without a measurement gap, the network device may not configure a measurement gap for the terminal device, or may configure a measurement gap of 0 ms for the terminal device.

[0088] In the existing design, when a terminal device measures an SSB outside the frequency domain range of an active BWP, the terminal device must apply a measurement gap. During the SSB measurement process, data transmission on the active BWP is suspended. However, when a terminal device performs measurement without a measurement gap, data transmission does not need to be suspended. The terminal device may also measure the SSB outside the first BWP when a first data transmission is performed for the first BWP to improve communication efficiency. Specifically, measurement without a measurement gap can be configured in the following two ways.

[0089] In a first embodiment, the terminal device receives measurement configuration information from the network device, and the measurement configuration information does not include measurement gap configuration information. In other words, if the network device does not configure a measurement gap for the terminal device, the terminal device is instructed to perform measurement without a measurement gap. Furthermore, the terminal device can decide to perform measurement without a measurement gap. In this embodiment, signaling resources occupied by the measurement gap configuration information can be reduced, thereby reducing network resource consumption.

[0090] In a second embodiment, a terminal device receives measurement configuration information from a network device, the measurement configuration information including measurement gap configuration information, where the measurement gap configuration information indicates that the measurement gap is 0 milliseconds (ms). Furthermore, the terminal device can decide to perform measurement without a measurement gap on an SSB. For example, a candidate value of 0 ms may be added to the information regarding the measurement gap length. If the measurement gap length configured by the network device for the terminal device is 0 ms, the terminal device is instructed to perform measurement without a measurement gap. In this embodiment, the same signaling format may be used when the network device configures measurement gaps and / or measurement without a measurement gap for different terminal devices. For the terminal device, the configuration information may be analyzed based on the same set of algorithms to reduce processing complexity.

[0091] Optionally, the time domain unit occupied by the terminal device to perform the first data transmission and the time domain unit occupied to perform the measurement gapless measurement overlap, partially overlap, or adjacent to each other. Specifically, the time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or adjacent to each other. In other words, the terminal device may perform the SSB measurement when performing the first data transmission, or may perform the SSB measurement on the next symbol after the first data transmission is completed. The terminal device may perform the gapless SSB measurement before and after the first data transmission is performed. It will also be understood that the terminal device does not perform radio frequency tuning between the first data transmission and the first measurement. Communication efficiency of the terminal device may be improved through the measurement gapless measurement.

[0092] The frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the SSB. In existing designs, a terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurement only when the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include all the frequency domain resources of the SSB. However, according to the communication method provided in this application, the terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurement in a scenario where the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include all the frequency domain resources of the SSB. Optionally, the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier. In other words, the first BWP corresponds to an SSB, and the terminal device performs data transmission for the first BWP, but the first BWP does not include all the frequency domain resources of the SSB. The terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurement according to the method provided in this application.

[0093] The measurement gap-free measurement includes at least one of a channel state information measurement, a time-frequency synchronization measurement, a radio resource management measurement, a radio link monitoring measurement, a radio link failure measurement, a beam management measurement, and a beam failure detection measurement. The terminal device can perform at least one of the aforementioned types of measurements in a measurement gap-free measurement manner to improve communication efficiency, and the terminal does not need to transmit data.

[0094] In the communication method provided in the present application, the bandwidth capability of a terminal device can support performing a first data transmission on a first BWP and performing measurement gapless measurements on an SSB to reduce transmission interruptions. In a possible design, the terminal device performs the first data transmission and measurement gapless in the first bandwidth, where the first bandwidth includes frequency domain resources of the first BWP and frequency domain resources of the SSB. The first bandwidth is a frequency domain resource range in which the terminal device can support performing measurement gapless measurements. The first bandwidth may also be referred to as an operating bandwidth or a measurement bandwidth. Optionally, the size of the first bandwidth is smaller than the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device and / or the first bandwidth is smaller than the bandwidth size of a carrier on which the terminal device is located.

[0095] Optionally, the radio frequency range of the terminal device includes a first bandwidth, in other words, the radio frequency portion of the terminal device operates in the first bandwidth. Therefore, the terminal device does not need to perform radio frequency tuning when performing measurements without measurement gaps within the first bandwidth. Therefore, there is no interruption of data. There are two embodiments of the operating bandwidth of the baseband portion of the terminal device. In one embodiment, the baseband portion of the terminal device operates in the bandwidth of the active BWP. In another embodiment, the baseband portion of the terminal device operates in the first bandwidth. The first embodiment helps to reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device and the power consumption of the terminal device. The second embodiment helps to maintain integration between the operating bandwidth of the radio frequency portion and the operating bandwidth of the baseband portion of the terminal device, reducing the impact on the implementation architecture of the terminal device and the complexity of the terminal device.

[0096] Each functional module of a terminal device typically includes a radio frequency (RF) section and a baseband (BB) section. The radio frequency section typically includes modules such as an antenna array, a filter, a radio frequency transceiver, a power amplifier, and a multiplexer / converter. The baseband section typically includes modules such as an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) / digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a fast Fourier transform (FFT) module, or an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) module. Note that the baseband and radio frequency sections of different terminal devices may be slightly different. This is not limited here. Therefore, the operating bandwidth of a terminal device can be considered as the operating bandwidth of the radio frequency section and / or the operating bandwidth of the baseband section of the terminal device. The terminal device setting the first bandwidth of the terminal device based on the bandwidth of the active BWP or the first bandwidth can be considered as the terminal device setting the bandwidth of an associated functional module, such as a filter, an ADC / DAC, or an FFT / IFFT module, based on the bandwidth of the active BWP or the first bandwidth.

[0097] Specifically, the terminal device determines the first bandwidth in the following two ways:

[0098] In a first method, a terminal device receives configuration information of a first bandwidth from a network device, where the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicates a size and / or a location of the first bandwidth.

[0099] In the second method, the terminal device determines the first bandwidth according to a first rule, which indicates a positional relationship between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP, the frequency domain resources of the SSB, and the frequency domain range of the first bandwidth. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the first rule may specify that if the lowest frequency of the frequency domain resources of the SSB is lower than the lowest frequency of the first BWP, the frequency domain range of the first bandwidth includes frequencies from the lowest frequency of the frequency domain resources of the SSB to the highest frequency of the first BWP. As shown in FIG. 5B, if the highest frequency of the frequency domain resources of the SSB is higher than the highest frequency of the first BWP, the frequency domain range of the first bandwidth includes frequencies from the lowest frequency of the first BWP to the highest frequency of the frequency domain resources of the SSB. In this case, the terminal device can determine the first bandwidth according to the first rule by referring to the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB. Note that FIGS. 5A and 5B are examples for ease of understanding. According to the method provided in this embodiment of the present application, for different positional relationships between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB, for example, when the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB partially overlap, the frequency domain range of the first bandwidth can also be determined according to the first rule.

[0100] For a terminal device, the larger the operating bandwidth of the terminal device, the more power it consumes. The size of the operating bandwidth of the terminal device and its power consumption have the following relationship: The power consumption of the terminal device when the bandwidth is 100 MHz is used as the baseline. When the bandwidth of the terminal device is reduced to X MHz, the power consumption of the terminal device is reduced as follows:

number

[0101] For example, when the value of X is 40, the power consumption is reduced to 55% of that when the bandwidth is 100 MHz. When the value of X is 60, the power consumption is reduced to 70% of that when the bandwidth is 100 MHz. When the value of X is 80, the power consumption is reduced to 85% of that when the bandwidth is 100 MHz. It can be seen that a larger operating bandwidth of the terminal device indicates higher power consumption of the terminal device. Therefore, when the terminal device maintains an operating bandwidth larger than the operating bandwidth of the active BWP, power consumption increases. To avoid a significant increase in power consumption of the terminal device, the first bandwidth may be limited. In a possible embodiment, the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, which is predefined or configured by the network device. For example, if the first threshold is predefined as 80 MHz in the protocol, the terminal device can set the first bandwidth of the terminal device to a value not exceeding 80 MHz. The terminal device can set the first bandwidth by referring to the radio frequency and / or baseband capabilities of the terminal device to implement more flexible configuration. In another example, the network device may indicate the first threshold value by using a configuration message, and may configure and update the first threshold value by using the configuration message to perform real-time adjustments based on the capacity and efficiency of the communication system. The configuration message may be a broadcast message and may be used to implement dynamic configuration of multiple terminal devices in an area. Alternatively, the configuration message may be a terminal device-specific message and may be used to perform fine-grained control for a specific terminal device.

[0102] Furthermore, the size of the first bandwidth may be set to 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz. This can avoid excessive energy consumption caused by an excessively large first bandwidth of the terminal device when the terminal device needs to detect and transmit signals over a wide frequency range. Also, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz are typical channel bandwidths, and structural designs such as filters corresponding to the channel bandwidths are more mature. This can reduce the implementation complexity of the terminal device and have less impact on the existing protocols and structural designs of the terminal device. For example, in scenarios with low complexity and low power consumption requirements, the first bandwidth of the terminal device may be set to 20 MHz or 40 MHz, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device at the expense of certain communication efficiency. However, in deployment scenarios with high requirements for communication efficiency and performance, the first bandwidth of the terminal device may be set to 60 MHz or 80 MHz to ensure that the terminal device can perform measurement gap-free measurements over a wide frequency range to improve communication efficiency.

[0103] In a possible implementation, if the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, the terminal device can perform measurement gapless measurements on SSBs outside the range of the first bandwidth when transmitting and receiving data within the range of the first bandwidth. Otherwise, the terminal device cannot receive or transmit data within the range of the first bandwidth and cannot perform measurement gapless measurements on SSBs outside the range of the first bandwidth.

[0104] In a possible embodiment, the first interval between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB does not exceed a second threshold of Y MHz. If the first interval does not exceed Y MHz, the terminal device can perform measurement gapless measurements on SSBs outside the range of the first BWP when transmitting or receiving data within the range of the first BWP. Otherwise, the terminal device cannot receive or transmit data within the range of the first BWP and cannot perform measurement gapless measurements on SSBs outside the range of the first BWP. The first interval may be the frequency-domain interval between the lowest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the SSB, the frequency-domain interval between the highest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the SSB, the frequency-domain interval between the highest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP and the lowest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the SSB, the frequency-domain interval between the highest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the SSB and the lowest frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP, or the frequency-domain interval between the center frequency of the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the SSB. The first interval is limited to control the frequency-domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency-domain resources of the SSB to be within a specific frequency-domain range, thereby reducing the frequency-domain range in which the terminal device maintains communication and reducing power consumption of the terminal device. The second threshold is predefined or configured by the network device. For information about configuring the second threshold, see the method for configuring the first threshold. In addition, the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be applied separately or in combination, which is not limited in the present application.

[0105] In a possible design, the network device may further perform the configuration by referring to the capabilities of the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may transmit first capability information to the network device, where the first capability information indicates a first threshold and / or a second threshold supported by the terminal device, and the network device may configure measurement gapless measurement and / or a first bandwidth for the terminal device based on the first capability information. In another example, the terminal device may transmit second capability information to the network device, where the second capability information indicates that the terminal device supports measurement gapless measurement, and the network device may configure measurement gapless measurement for the terminal device based on the first information. In another example, the terminal device may transmit third capability information to the network device, where the third capability information indicates a first bandwidth size supported by the terminal device, a bandwidth capability of the terminal device, or a first bandwidth size recommended by the terminal device, and the network device may configure a first BWP and / or SSB for the terminal device based on the first information. The terminal device may report the capability information by using the first information, and the network device may configure the terminal device based on the first information, resulting in better use of network resources and improved communication efficiency for the terminal device.

[0106] As described above, the frequency domain range for communication performed by a terminal device can be limited by using a first threshold and / or a second threshold. As shown in Figure 6, the present application provides a communication method, whereby a terminal device determines whether to perform measurement gapless measurement based on the bandwidth capability of the terminal device. For terminal devices whose bandwidth capability can support measurement gapless measurement, communication efficiency can be improved, and for terminal devices whose bandwidth capability cannot support measurement gapless measurement, energy consumption can be reduced.

[0107] S601: A network device sends configuration information of a first BWP to a terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives configuration information of the first BWP from the network device, and the first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device.

[0108] Optionally, S602: The network device performs a first data transmission with the terminal device on a first BWP, where the transmission includes sending and / or receiving.

[0109] Optionally, S603: The terminal device determines a first bandwidth, where the first bandwidth includes a frequency domain resource of a first BWP and a frequency domain resource of an SSB.

[0110] The first bandwidth is configured by the network device, or the first bandwidth is determined according to a first rule. For the specific meaning and configuration method of the first bandwidth, please refer to the detailed description above.

[0111] S604: If the first bandwidth satisfies the first threshold and / or the second threshold, the terminal device performs a first data transmission in the first bandwidth and performs measurement gap-free measurement based on the SSB, where the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a part of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0112] In this embodiment of the present application, only the first threshold value may be applied, only the second threshold value may be applied, or both the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be applied. For the specific meanings and configuration methods of the first threshold value and the second threshold value, please refer to the detailed description above.

[0113] S605: If the first bandwidth does not satisfy the first threshold and / or the second threshold, the terminal device performs measurement with a measurement gap.

[0114] In one embodiment, the terminal device performs measurement with a measurement gap. Measurement with a measurement gap means performing measurement within a measurement gap, and data transmission needs to be suspended during the measurement process. Alternatively, S605 may be understood to mean that if it determines that the first bandwidth does not satisfy the first threshold and / or the second threshold, the terminal device no longer performs measurement without a measurement gap, and performs measurement using a CSI-RS within the first BWP or performs measurement with a measurement gap on an SSB outside the first BWP.

[0115] In a possible embodiment, the terminal device may determine the first threshold and / or the second threshold based on the capabilities of the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may receive configuration information of a first bandwidth from a network device, the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicating a size and / or a location of the first bandwidth, and the terminal device may determine whether the first bandwidth satisfies the first threshold and / or the second threshold, and further determine whether to perform measurement gapless measurement on the first bandwidth.

[0116] In another possible embodiment, the terminal device determines the first bandwidth according to a first rule (see the above specific description for a definition of the first rule). The terminal device determines whether the first bandwidth satisfies a first threshold and / or a second threshold, and further determines whether to perform measurement gapless measurement in the first bandwidth.

[0117] It should be noted that steps S604 and S605 are optional steps. For a terminal device, one of the steps may be performed after determining whether the first bandwidth satisfies the first threshold and / or the second threshold, and the two steps do not need to be performed together.

[0118] According to the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can perform measurement without measurement gaps in the first bandwidth, and the frequency domain range in which the terminal device needs to support communication is limited, so that the terminal device can improve communication efficiency while reducing power consumption.

[0119] If the terminal device maintains a measurement bandwidth larger than the bandwidth of the active BWP, adverse effects such as increased power consumption and processing complexity of the terminal device will occur. To further reduce the energy consumption of the terminal device, the terminal device applies the above-mentioned communication method to measurements without measurement gaps within a time range. Specifically, please refer to the schematic flowchart of the communication method shown in Figure 7.

[0120] S701: A network device sends configuration information of a first BWP to a terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives configuration information of the first BWP from the network device, and the first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device.

[0121] Optionally, S702: The network device performs a first data transmission with the terminal device on a first BWP, where the transmission includes sending and / or receiving.

[0122] S703: The network device sends first configuration information for measurement without a measurement gap to the terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives first configuration information from the network device, where the first configuration information indicates a first time period for performing measurement without a measurement gap.

[0123] S704: The terminal device performs measurement gap-free measurements based on an SSB during a first time period, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a portion of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0124] The terminal device needs to perform measurement gap-free measurements during the first time period and perform communication only through the first BWP outside the first time period, and does not need to support measurement gap-free measurements, thereby improving communication efficiency, reducing power consumption of the terminal device, and extending the life of the terminal device.

[0125] The execution order of S701 to S703 is not limited in this application. For the terms of S701 to S704, please refer to the above definitions and related explanations. The first time period will be described in detail below. The first time period is used by the terminal device to perform measurement without a measurement gap. In other words, during the first time period, the terminal device supports measurement of SSBs outside the first BWP and does not need to interrupt the first data transmission.

[0126] In a possible embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the network device may further reserve a second time period T2 and a third time period T3 for the terminal device. The start of the first time period T1 is the end of the second time period, and the end of the first time period is the start of the third time period. T2 and T3 are not used by the terminal device to perform data transmission. In other words, T2 and T3 are used by the terminal device to perform radio frequency tuning. In this case, T2 and T3 may be determined based on the time required for radio frequency retuning of the terminal device. As described above, the terminal device may determine whether radio frequency tuning is necessary based on the capabilities of the terminal device. If radio frequency tuning is not performed, the terminal device may also support measurement of SSBs outside the first BWP. In this case, the terminal device does not need to perform radio frequency tuning during T2 and T3; T2 and T3 are used only as guard time periods, and the terminal device does not perform the first data transmission during T2 and T3.

[0127] Specifically, the second time period and the third time period may alternatively be indicated by the first configuration information, or may be indicated by another first message, or may be predefined in a protocol. The first configuration information and / or the first message may be carried in a SIB, an RRC message, a MAC CE, or DCI signaling.

[0128] The method for configuring the first time period may be indicated in an explicit manner or in an implicit manner.

[0129] In a possible embodiment, the first configuration information includes at least one of the periodicity, length, and time-domain offset of the first time period. For example, the first configuration information indicates the periodicity, length, and time-domain offset of the first time period. The terminal device can determine a specific time-domain configuration for the first time period based on the first configuration information and perform measurement gap-free measurements in the first time period. Furthermore, the first configuration information further includes at least one of the periodicity, length, and time-domain offset of the second and third time periods. The terminal device can determine not to perform data transmission in the second or third time period based on the first configuration information. In the explicit indication method, the information about the three time periods can be flexibly configured to implement individual configurations.

[0130] In another possible embodiment, the first configuration information may include configuration information for the second and third time periods, specifically, at least one of the periodicity, length, and time domain offset of the second and third time periods. The terminal device determines the first time period based on the second and third time periods. For example, the terminal device uses the end of the second time period as the start of the first time period and the start of the third time period as the end of the first time period. In the implicit indication scheme, fewer information elements may be used to configure information about the three time periods to reduce signaling consumption.

[0131] According to the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device does not need to maintain a bandwidth larger than the bandwidth of the active BWP. Therefore, more energy can be saved. Compared with the existing measurement gap mechanism, the data transmission interruption time is shorter, and the impact on the transmission rate of the terminal device is reduced.

[0132] The above-mentioned different embodiments can be used in combination or separately, and the relationship between the steps of each embodiment is not restricted, and not all steps are required, and some steps may be selected according to the actual requirements for implementation.

[0133] To implement the functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, a network device, a terminal device, or a communication apparatus may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and the functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether a function among the above-mentioned functions is implemented by using a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0134] In this embodiment of the present application, the module division is an example and is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. In addition, the functional modules in the embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processor, or may exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0135] As shown in Fig. 8, an embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus 800. The communication apparatus 800 may be the terminal device of Fig. 1 and is configured to implement the method for the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment. Alternatively, the communication apparatus may be the network device of Fig. 1 and is configured to implement the method corresponding to the network device in the aforementioned method embodiment. For specific functions, please refer to the description of the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0136] Specifically, the device 800 may include a processing unit 810 and a communication unit 820. In this embodiment of the present application, the communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit, which are configured to respectively perform the transmitting and receiving steps of the network device or the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. Hereinafter, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to Figures 8 to 9.

[0137] In some possible implementations, the behavior and functionality of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiments may be implemented by using a communication device 800, e.g., a method performed by the terminal device in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A and 6. The communication device 800 may be a terminal device, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in the terminal device, or a chip or chipset for the terminal device, or a portion of a chip configured to perform associated method functions. The communication unit 820 may be configured to perform the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, and the processing unit 810 may be configured to perform operations other than the receiving and transmitting operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A. For example, The communication unit is configured to receive configuration information of a first BWP, the first BWP being an active BWP of the terminal device; and The processing unit is configured to perform measurement gapless measurements based on SSB.

[0138] The frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a part of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0139] In a possible embodiment, the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to perform a first data transmission with the network device over the first BWP.

[0141] The time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSBs overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to one another.

[0142] In a possible embodiment, the measurements without measurement gaps include at least one of channel state information measurements, time-frequency synchronization measurements, radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, radio link failure measurements, beam management measurements, and beam failure detection measurements.

[0143] In a possible embodiment, the processing unit performs a first data transmission and measurement without a measurement gap in a first bandwidth, the first bandwidth including frequency domain resources of a first BWP and frequency domain resources of an SSB.

[0144] In some possible implementations, the behavior and functionality of the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments may be implemented by using a method performed by a communication device 800, e.g., a network device in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A and 6. For example, the communication device 800 may be a network device, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in a network device, or a network device chip or chipset, or a portion of a chip configured to perform associated method functions. The communication unit 820 may be configured to perform the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, and the processing unit 810 may be configured to perform operations other than the receiving and transmitting operations performed by the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A. For example, The processing unit is configured to send first configuration information to the terminal device by using the communication unit, and a first time period indicated by the first configuration information is used to perform measurement gap-free measurement based on SSB; and The communication unit is further configured to perform a first data transmission with the terminal device over the first BWP.

[0145] The first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a part of the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

[0146] In a possible embodiment, the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

[0147] In possible implementations, the time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other.

[0148] In a possible embodiment, the measurements without measurement gaps include at least one of channel state information measurements, time-frequency synchronization measurements, radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, radio link failure measurements, beam management measurements, and beam failure detection measurements.

[0149] It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. For the device structure used to implement the terminal device and network device of Figures 4A to 6, please refer to the device 800. Therefore, for the contents not explained in detail, please refer to the above-mentioned method embodiment. For the sake of brevity, the details will not be explained again here.

[0150] The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver machine, a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Optionally, a component in the communication unit 820 configured to perform a receiving function may be considered a receiving unit, and a component in the communication unit 820 configured to implement a transmitting function may be considered a transmitting unit; in other words, the communication unit 820 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver machine, a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may also be referred to as a transmitter machine, a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0151] The above is just an example. The processing unit 810 and the communication unit 820 may further perform other functions. For more detailed descriptions, please refer to the related descriptions of the method embodiments shown in Figures 4A to 6. Details will not be described here.

[0152] 9 illustrates an apparatus 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 9 may be an implementation of the hardware circuit of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 8. The communication apparatus is applicable to the aforementioned flowcharts and performs the functions of the terminal device or network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. For ease of explanation, FIG. 9 illustrates only the main components of the communication apparatus.

[0153] 9 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that the parts enclosed in dashed lines in FIG. 9 are optional and will not be described in detail below.

[0154] The communications device 900 includes one or more processors 901. The processor 901 may be configured to execute internal processes of the device to perform certain control processing functions. Optionally, the processor 901 includes instructions 903. Optionally, the processor 901 may store data. Optionally, the processor 901 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, or the like. Optionally, separate processors may be separate components, located in separate physical locations, or located on separate integrated circuits. Optionally, separate processors may be integrated into one or more processors, for example, integrated into one or more integrated circuits.

[0155] Optionally, the communications device 900 further includes one or more memories 902 configured to store instructions 904. Optionally, the memory 902 may further store data. The processor and memory may be located separately or integrated together.

[0156] Optionally, the communications device 900 may further include a transceiver 905 and / or an antenna 906. The transceiver 905 may be configured to transmit information to or receive information from another device.

[0157] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include one or more of the following components: a wireless communication module, an audio module, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a power management module, an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, an input / output module, a sensor module, a motor, a camera, or a display, etc. The components may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0158] The processor 901 executes instructions stored in the communication device 900, i.e., the instructions stored in the communication device may be executed on the processor 901, such that the communication device 900 performs the methods described in the above embodiments. Optionally, the instructions are instructions 903 in the processor, or the instructions are instructions 904 in the memory.

[0159] In the embodiments of the present application, the instructions may be a computer program, code, program code, program, application program, software, or executable file, such as a computer program or code stored in the communication device 900. The rest of the description will not be repeated in this specification.

[0160] 4A, the processor 901 may be configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory to perform the functions of the terminal device or network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Specifically, the processor 901 may be configured to perform the functions of the processing unit 810. The interface circuit 902 may be configured to receive a signal from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor, or transmit a signal from the processor to a communication device other than the communication device. Specifically, the processor 901 may be configured to perform the functions of the communication unit 820.

[0161] The processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), another general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or another programmable or transistor logic device. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0162] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, the storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may be components of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located within an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located within a network device or a terminal device. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as separate components in the network device or the terminal device.

[0163] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Thus, the present application may take the form of a hardware-only embodiment, a software-only embodiment, or an embodiment having a combination of software and hardware. The present application may also take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk memory, optical memory, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0164] The present application has been described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It will be understood that each process and / or each block of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of the processes and / or blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented using computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or some other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, such that the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or some other programmable data processing device, generate an apparatus that performs the specified functions in one or more processes of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0165] Computer programs or instructions may alternatively be stored in a computer-readable memory that can instruct a computer or another programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate an artifact that includes an instruction apparatus that implements a particular function of one or more steps in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams. [Explanation of symbols]

[0166] 800 Communication Equipment 810 Processing Unit 820 Communication Unit 900 Communication Equipment 901 processor 902 Interface Circuit 902 memory 903 Instructions 904 Instructions 905 Transceiver 906 Antenna

Claims

1. receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information of a first bandwidth portion BWP, the first BWP being an active BWP of the terminal device; performing, by the terminal device, measurement gap-free measurements based on a synchronization signal block (SSB); Including, The frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a part of the frequency domain resources of the SSB; Communication method.

2. The method comprises: receiving measurement configuration information from a network device, wherein the measurement configuration information does not include configuration information for a measurement gap, or the measurement configuration information includes configuration information for a measurement gap, and the configuration information for the measurement gap indicates that the measurement gap is 0 milliseconds; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

4. the method further comprising: conducting, by the terminal device, a first data transmission with the network device over the first BWP; the time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other; 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurements without measurement gaps include at least one of the following: channel state information measurements, time-frequency synchronization measurements, radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, radio link failure measurements, beam management measurements, and beam failure detection measurements.

6. The terminal device supports the measurement without measurement gaps in a first bandwidth, and the first bandwidth includes the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. the size of the first bandwidth is smaller than the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device; and / or The first bandwidth is smaller than the bandwidth size of the carrier. The method of claim 6.

8. 8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the size of the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz.

9. The method comprises: receiving, by the terminal device, configuration information of the first bandwidth from the network device, the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicating the size and / or location of the first bandwidth; determining, by the terminal device, the first bandwidth according to a first rule, wherein the first rule indicates a positional relationship between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP, the frequency domain resources of the SSB, and a frequency domain range of the first bandwidth; 9. The method of any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising:

10. 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, the first threshold being predefined or configured by the network device.

11. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB does not exceed a second threshold, the second threshold being predefined or configured by the network device.

12. The method comprises: sending, by the terminal device, first capability information to the network device, the first capability information indicating the first threshold and / or the second threshold supported by the terminal device; or transmitting, by the terminal device, second capability information to the network device, the second capability information indicating that the terminal device supports the measurement without measurement gaps; The method of claim 11 , further comprising at least one of:

13. the method further comprising receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information, the first configuration information indicating a first time period; The step of performing measurement gap-free measurements based on SSB by the terminal device comprises: performing, by the terminal device, measurement gap-free measurements based on the SSB during the first time period; Including, 13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. a start point of the first time period is an end point of a second time period, an end point of the first time period is a start point of a third time period, and the second time period and the third time period are not used by the terminal device to perform data transmission; The method of claim 13.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first configuration information further indicates the second time period and the third time period.

16. 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the first configuration information indicates at least one of a periodicity, a length, and a time-domain offset of the first time period.

17. sending, by a network device, first configuration information to a terminal device, the first configuration information indicating a first time period, the first time period being a time period during which the terminal device performs measurement gap-free measurements based on SSBs; performing, by the network device, a first data transmission with the terminal device over a first BWP; Including, The first BWP is an active BWP of the terminal device, and the frequency domain resources of the first BWP do not include the frequency domain resources of the SSB, or the frequency domain resources of the first BWP include a part of the frequency domain resources of the SSB; Communication method.

18. The method comprises: transmitting measurement configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the measurement configuration information does not include configuration information for a measurement gap, or the measurement configuration information includes configuration information for a measurement gap, and the configuration information for the measurement gap indicates that the measurement gap is 0 milliseconds; 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

19. 19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB are located on the same carrier.

20. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the time domain symbols occupied for the first data transmission and the time domain symbols occupied by the SSB overlap, partially overlap, or are adjacent to each other.

21. 21. The method of claim 17, wherein the measurements without measurement gaps include at least one of the following: channel state information measurements, time-frequency synchronization measurements, radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, radio link failure measurements, beam management measurements, and beam failure detection measurements.

22. The method comprises: transmitting, by the network device, configuration information of a first bandwidth to the terminal device, the configuration information of the first bandwidth indicating a size and / or a location of the first bandwidth; further comprising The first bandwidth includes the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB; 22. The method of any one of claims 17 to 21.

23. the size of the first bandwidth is smaller than the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device, and / or The first bandwidth is smaller than the bandwidth size of the carrier.

23. The method of claim 22.

24. 24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein the size of the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz.

25. 25. The method of claim 22, wherein the size of the first bandwidth does not exceed a first threshold, the first threshold being predefined or configured by the network device.

26. 26. The method according to claim 22, wherein an interval between the frequency domain resources of the first BWP and the frequency domain resources of the SSB does not exceed a second threshold, the second threshold being predefined or configured by the network device.

27. The method comprises: receiving, by the network device, first capability information from the terminal device, the first capability information indicating the first threshold and / or the second threshold supported by the terminal device; or receiving, by the network device, second capability information from the terminal device, the second capability information indicating that the terminal device supports the measurement without measurement gaps; 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising at least one of:

28. a start point of the first time period is an end point of a second time period, an end point of the first time period is a start point of a third time period, and the second time period and the third time period are not used by the terminal device to perform data transmission; 28. The method of any one of claims 17 to 27.

29. 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the first configuration information further indicates the second time period and the third time period.

30. 30. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein the first configuration information indicates at least one of a periodicity, a length, and a time-domain offset of the first time period.

31. 17. A communication device, the communication device comprising a processor, the processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions to enable the communication device to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

32. 31. A communications device, the communications device comprising a processor, the processor configured to execute computer programs or instructions to enable the communications device to perform the communications method of any one of claims 18 to 30.

33. 31. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, perform the communication method of any one of claims 1 to 16 or perform the communication method of any one of claims 18 to 30.

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