Communication methods and devices

Abstract

An embodiment of this application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method includes: a terminal device can report a first switching delay for switching within a frequency band group, or a terminal device can report a second switching delay for switching between frequency band groups, so that a network device can schedule uplink data for the terminal device based on the switching delay, and the terminal device can effectively implement frequency band switching within or between frequency band groups, that is, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively switch between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Embodiments of this application relate to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to communication methods and apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210260407.2, titled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS," filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on 16 March 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] In scenarios such as supplementary uplink (UL, SUL) scenarios, terminal devices need to switch between multiple frequency bands to ensure data transmission performance (e.g., 700MHz to 800MHz, 700MHz to 900MHz, 1.8GHz to 2.1GHz, and 3.5GHz to 4.9GHz).

[0004] Generally, considering the cost of terminal devices and the complexity of the hardware, the number of phase-locked loops in a terminal device does not perfectly match the number of frequency bands. Therefore, when a terminal device needs to switch between multiple frequency bands, and when the number of phase-locked loops in the terminal device does not match the number of frequency bands, how the terminal device effectively switches between multiple frequency bands to ensure data transmission performance becomes an urgent issue that needs to be resolved. [Overview of the project]

[0005] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus that enable a terminal device to effectively perform frequency band switching within a frequency band group. That is, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively switch between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0006] According to the first embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method may be carried out by a terminal device (e.g., user equipment) or by a component of the terminal device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0007] The method includes: a terminal device determining a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, wherein the N frequency band groups include an i-th frequency band group, the first switching delay for the N frequency band groups includes an i-th first switching delay, the i-th first switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between at least two different frequency bands included in the i-th frequency band group, where N is a positive integer; and the terminal device transmitting first information to a network device, wherein the first information includes a first switching delay for N frequency band groups.

[0008] The “frequency band group” as used in this application may be understood as a “frequency band set.” “Frequency band” may be replaced with “carrier,” “band,” or “carrier within a frequency band.” “Frequency band group” may be replaced with “carrier group” or “carrier set.” “Within a frequency band” may be understood as “on a carrier within a frequency band.”

[0009] In this application, frequency band group #1 (e.g., the first frequency band group) and frequency band group #2 (e.g., the second frequency band group) may be completely different. In other words, the frequency bands included in frequency band group #1 and the frequency bands included in frequency band group #2 may be completely different. Alternatively, frequency band group #1 and frequency band group #2 may have an intersection set. In other words, in this application, the frequency bands of frequency band group #1 and the frequency bands of frequency band group #2 are imperfectly the same. That is, the two groups may have the same frequency bands or they may have different frequency bands.

[0010] In this application, the frequency band group may include "at least one frequency band".

[0011] In this application, all N frequency band groups may be pre-configured by a network device. For example, the network device may perform the pre-configuration as follows: Frequency band group #1 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #3 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, frequency band #C}, and so on.

[0012] When “frequency band” in this application is understood to mean “carrier,” for example, frequency band #A supports three carriers, namely carrier #1, carrier #2, and carrier #3; frequency band #B supports four carriers, namely carrier #4, carrier #5, carrier #6, and carrier #7; frequency band #C supports two carriers, namely carrier #8 and carrier #9; and frequency band #D supports two carriers, namely carrier #10 and carrier #11. “Frequency band group #1 includes {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}” may mean that carrier group #1 includes carrier #1 and carrier #6. “Frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}” may mean that carrier group #2 includes carrier #8 and carrier #3.

[0013] In this application, the following switching in frequency band groups can also be understood as, for example, switching between carrier #1 and carrier #6 within carrier group #1, or in another example, switching between carrier #3 and carrier #8 within carrier group #2. The following switching between frequency band groups (for example, switching between frequency band group #1 and frequency band group #2) can also be understood as switching between carrier groups (for example, switching between carrier group #1 and carrier group #2).

[0014] For example, frequency band #A may be 3.5 GHz, frequency band #B may be 2.1 GHz, frequency band #C may be 1.8 GHz, and frequency band #D may be 700 MHz / 800 MHz / 900 MHz, and so on.

[0015] In this application, the network device may configure frequency band groups semi-statically. For example, the network device may configure frequency band groups for terminal devices once for every five slots. For example, the terminal device may pre-lock phase-locked loops to the corresponding frequency bands in the five slots.

[0016] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application describes a terminal device that can report a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, where the first switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between at least two different frequency bands included in the frequency band group. In other words, the terminal device reports a delay for switching within a frequency band group, and the network device can schedule uplink data to the terminal device so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching within the frequency band group. That is, the terminal device can switch flexibly and effectively between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first piece of information further includes the i-th frequency band group identifier, which is one of N frequency band group identifiers, and the N frequency band group identifiers correspond one-to-one with the switching delays of the N frequency band groups.

[0018] In possible implementations, the method further includes: a terminal device receiving frequency band group identification information from a network device, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0019] In possible implementations, the method may further include: N frequency band group identifiers can be pre-configured.

[0020] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application uses a correspondence between frequency band group identifiers and frequency band groups so that frequency band groups can be distinguished from one another. In this way, a terminal device can report a first switching delay corresponding to a frequency band group identifier (this can also be understood as reporting the first switching delay by using the frequency band group as granularity). Compared to existing methods in which a terminal device reports the switching delay by using each frequency band as granularity, this embodiment allows for a significant reduction in signaling overhead.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in at least two different frequency bands, and the first information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0022] Based on the aforementioned technical solutions, this application further allows the terminal device to report the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in different frequency bands, thereby enabling the network device to schedule appropriate resources for uplink data to the terminal device when scheduling uplink data, by further determining the switching delay required to switch between frequency bands based on the terminal device's ability to support radio frequency chains. This improves data transmission performance.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first switching delay is an item in the first switching set, which includes 0 microseconds and 35 microseconds.

[0024] In this application, the value in the first switching set can be 35 microseconds or less. For example, the first switching set can include {0 microseconds, 30 microseconds, 35 microseconds}, or the first switching set can include {0 microseconds, 35 microseconds}, or the first switching set can include {0 microseconds, 15 microseconds, 20 microseconds, 35 microseconds}.

[0025] Based on the above technical solution, in this application, the phase-locked loop can be pre-locked to the switched frequency band. When the frequency band before switching and the switched frequency band are in different channels, the switching between the two different frequency bands can be implemented in 0 microseconds. In this way, the delay for switching between the two frequency bands by the terminal device can be significantly reduced, and the switching can be completed more efficiently. This ensures the data transmission performance.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receives second information from the network device, where the second information indicates a target frequency band group identifier, and the terminal device implements a frequency band switch within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier based on the second information, where the target frequency band group identifier is one or more of N frequency band group identifiers.

[0027] Based on the above technical solution, in this application, the network device further dynamically indicates the frequency band group in which the terminal device is to perform the switch, thereby improving the flexibility and real-time quality of the terminal device for performing the switch within the frequency band group.

[0028] According to a second embodiment, a communication method is provided. The method may be carried out by a terminal device (e.g., user equipment) or by a component of the terminal device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0029] The method includes: a terminal device determining M second switching delays, where the j-th second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, where the j-th second switching delay is one of the M second switching delays, where the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each contain at least one frequency band, and M is a positive integer; and the terminal device transmitting third information to a network device, where the third information includes at least the j-th second switching delay.

[0030] In this application, a terminal device may determine a plurality of second switching delays, each second switching delay corresponding to two different frequency band groups. For example, the terminal device may determine a k-th second switching delay, where the k-th second switching delay is the delay for switching between a third frequency band group and a fourth frequency band group. In another example, the terminal device may determine a p-th second switching delay, where the p-th second switching delay is the delay for switching between a fifth frequency band group and a sixth frequency band group.

[0031] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application allows a terminal device to report a second switching delay for switching between frequency band groups, wherein the second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group. In other words, the terminal device reports a delay for switching between frequency band groups, and the network device can determine the K2 delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching between frequency band groups. In this way, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively complete switching between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0032] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0033] In this application, the first frequency band group identifier and the second frequency band group identifier may be pre-configured or transmitted to the terminal device by the network device.

[0034] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application uses a correspondence between frequency band group identifiers and frequency band groups so that frequency band groups can be distinguished from one another. In this way, a terminal device can report a second switching delay corresponding to a frequency band group identifier (this can also be understood as reporting a second switching delay by using frequency band groups as granularity). Compared to existing methods in which a terminal device reports a switching delay by using each frequency band as granularity, this embodiment allows for a significant reduction in signaling overhead.

[0035] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first and second frequency band groups, and the third piece of information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0036] Based on the aforementioned technical solutions, this application further allows the terminal device to report the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in different frequency bands, thereby enabling the network device to schedule appropriate resources for uplink data to the terminal device when scheduling uplink data, by further determining the switching delay required to switch between frequency bands based on the terminal device's ability to support radio frequency chains. This improves data transmission performance.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, which includes 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0038] In this application, the values ​​in the second switching set may be greater than 35 microseconds and less than or equal to 1 millisecond. For example, the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 280 microseconds}, or the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 500 microseconds}, or the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 280 microseconds, 400 microseconds, 500 microseconds, 1 millisecond}.

[0039] In this application, when a terminal device performs switching between two frequency band groups, if a series switching method is used in a phase-synchronous loop, for example, if the series switching of the phase-synchronous loop is performed within 280 microseconds, then the delay for switching by the terminal device between the two frequency band groups is sufficiently taken into account, making it easier for network devices to schedule resources. This allows the terminal device to complete the switching more efficiently, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the frequency band group identification information includes X frequency band group identifiers, where X is a positive integer, and the method further includes: a terminal device receiving a fourth piece of information from a network device, the fourth piece of information indicating a target frequency band group identifier; and the terminal device performing a frequency band switch between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier based on the fourth piece of information, wherein the target frequency band group identifier is at least two of the X frequency band group identifiers.

[0041] Based on the aforementioned technical solutions, this application further dynamically indicates that the network device may represent the frequency band groups to which the terminal device is to perform the switching, thereby improving the flexibility and real-time quality of switching between frequency band groups by the terminal device.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the third piece of information further includes at least the j-th frequency band group switching identifier, which is an identifier for a switch made by a terminal device between the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group.

[0043] In this application, a terminal device can determine a plurality of second switching delays, each second switching delay corresponding to a different frequency band group switching identifier. For example, a terminal device can determine a k-th second switching delay, where the k-th second switching delay may correspond to the k-th frequency band group switching identifier (switching between a third frequency band group and a fourth frequency band). In another example, a terminal device can determine a p-th second switching delay, where the p-th second switching delay corresponds to the p-th frequency band group switching identifier (switching between a fifth frequency band group and a sixth frequency band).

[0044] In this application, the frequency band group switching identifier may be pre-configured or transmitted to the terminal device by the network device.

[0045] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application describes a system in which frequency band groups are distinguished from one another, and a network device constitutes a frequency band group switching identifier, thereby enabling a terminal device to report a second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group switching identifier (e.g., an index) (this can also be understood as reporting the second switching delay by using the frequency band group switching as a granularity). In this way, signaling overhead can be further reduced.

[0046] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first and second frequency band groups, identified by the j-th frequency band group switching identifier, and the third piece of information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data for transmission.

[0047] Based on the aforementioned technical solutions, this application further allows the terminal device to report the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in different frequency bands, thereby enabling the network device to schedule appropriate resources for uplink data to the terminal device when scheduling uplink data, by further determining the switching delay required to switch between frequency bands based on the terminal device's ability to support radio frequency chains. This improves data transmission performance.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the second switching delay is an item in the third switching set, which includes 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0049] In this application, the third switching set is designed to take into account various scenarios in which the phase-synchronous loop may use a series switching method, a partially series switching method, and a parallel switching method, and the phase-synchronous loop is pre-locked to the frequency band to be switched when a terminal device performs a switch between two frequency band groups. In this case, the delay for the terminal device to switch between the two frequency band groups is taken into full consideration, which facilitates resource scheduling by the network device. This allows the terminal device to complete the switch more efficiently, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the frequency band group switching identifier comprises Y frequency band group switching identifiers, where Y is a positive integer, and the method further comprises: a terminal device receiving a fifth piece of information from a network device, the fifth piece of information indicating a target frequency band group switching identifier; and the terminal device performing a frequency band switch between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group switching identifier based on the fifth piece of information, where the target frequency band group switching identifier is one or more of the Y frequency band group switching identifiers.

[0051] Based on the aforementioned technical solutions, this application further dynamically indicates that the network device may represent the frequency band groups to which the terminal device is to perform the switching, thereby improving the flexibility and real-time quality of switching between frequency band groups by the terminal device.

[0052] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be implemented by a terminal device (e.g., user equipment) or by a component of the terminal device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0053] The method includes: a terminal device determining a third switching delay, the third switching delay being a delay for the terminal device to switch from a first state to a second state, the first state being a state in which the terminal device supports a first number of transmission radio frequency chains in a frequency band within a seventh frequency band group, and the second state being a state in which the terminal device supports a second number of transmission radio frequency chains in a frequency band within an eighth frequency band group, the seventh frequency band group and the eighth frequency band group each containing at least one frequency band; and the terminal device transmitting a sixth piece of information to a network device, the sixth piece of information including the third switching delay.

[0054] This application concerns the seventh frequency band group and the eighth frequency band. group Each of these may include at least one frequency band. For example, the method can also be understood as follows: The terminal device determines a third switching delay, the third switching delay being the delay for the terminal device to switch from a first state to a second state, the first state being a state in which the terminal device supports a first number of transmission radio frequency chains in at least one a-th frequency band, and the second state being a state in which the terminal device supports a second number of transmission radio frequency chains in at least one b-th frequency band, and the terminal device transmits a sixth piece of information to a network device, the sixth piece of information including the third switching delay.

[0055] In this application, the a-th frequency band and the b-th frequency band are different, or at least one a-th frequency band and at least one b-th frequency band are completely different, or at least one a-th frequency band and at least one b-th frequency band are imperfectly the same. In other words, it can also be understood that at least one a-th frequency band and at least one b-th frequency band may have a common frequency band. Further details will not be explained again below.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is an item in the fourth switching set, and the value in the fourth switching set is between 0 milliseconds and 1 millisecond. Alternatively, the value in the fourth switching set may be greater than or equal to the duration of three slots or greater than or equal to the duration of four slots.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is 280 microseconds.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is an item in the fourth switching set, which includes at least 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0059] In possible implementations, a third switching delay is used by network devices to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0060] In possible implementations, the sixth piece of information further includes a seventh frequency band group identifier and an eighth frequency band group identifier.

[0061] In possible implementations, the sixth piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands within the seventh frequency band group, and the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands within the eighth frequency band group.

[0062] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application allows a terminal device to report a third switching delay for switching between states. The third switching delay may be a typical value. A network device may determine the scheduling of uplink data to the terminal device based on the third switching delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching between states. That is, the terminal device can switch flexibly and effectively between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0063] According to a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be implemented by a network device (e.g., a base station) or by a component of a network device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0064] For information regarding the beneficial effects of network-side technical solutions and the beneficial effects of devices, please refer to the explanation of the beneficial effects on the terminal side. Further details will not be explained again here.

[0065] The method includes: a network device receiving first information from a terminal device, the first information including a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, the N frequency band groups including an i-th frequency band group, the first switching delay for the N frequency band groups including an i-th first switching delay, the i-th first switching delay being the delay for the terminal device to switch between at least two different frequency bands included in the i-th frequency band group, where N is a positive integer, and the network device determining the scheduling of uplink data based on the first information.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the first piece of information further includes the i-th frequency band group identifier, which is one of N frequency band group identifiers, and the N frequency band group identifiers correspond one-to-one with the switching delays of the N frequency band groups.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the network device transmits frequency band group identification information to a terminal device, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0068] In a possible implementation, the first piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in at least two different frequency bands.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the first switching delay is an item in the first switching set, which includes 0 microseconds and 35 microseconds.

[0070] In possible implementations, the method further includes: the network device transmits second information to a terminal device, the second information indicating a target frequency band group identifier, the target frequency band group identifier instructing the terminal device to perform frequency band switching within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier, the target frequency band group identifier being one or more of N frequency band group identifiers.

[0071] According to a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be implemented by a network device (e.g., a base station) or by a component of a network device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0072] The method includes: a network device receiving third information from a terminal device, the third information including at least j-th second switching delays, where j-th second switching delay is the delay for switching by the terminal device between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, where j-th second switching delay is one of M second switching delays, where the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each include at least one frequency band, and M is a positive integer, and the terminal device deciding on the scheduling of uplink data based on the third information.

[0073] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0074] In possible implementations, the method further includes: the network device transmits frequency band group identification information to the network device, the frequency band group identification information includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0075] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first and second frequency band groups.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, which includes 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the frequency band group identification information includes X frequency band group identifiers, where X is a positive integer, and the method further includes: the network device transmits a fourth piece of information to a terminal device, the fourth piece of information indicating a target frequency band group identifier, the target frequency band group identifier is used to perform frequency band switching between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier, and the target frequency band group identifier is at least two of the X frequency band group identifiers.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the third piece of information further includes at least the j-th frequency band group switching identifier, which is an identifier for switching between the first and second frequency band groups by the terminal device.

[0079] In possible implementations, the method further includes: the network device transmits frequency band group switching identifier information to a terminal device, wherein the frequency band group switching identifier information includes at least the j-th frequency band group switching identifier.

[0080] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first and second frequency band groups, identified by the j-th frequency band group switching identifier.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the second switching delay is an item in the third switching set, which includes 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the frequency band group switching identifier includes Y frequency band group switching identifiers, where Y is a positive integer, and the method further includes: the network device transmits a fifth piece of information to a terminal device, the fifth piece of information indicating a target frequency band group switching identifier, the target frequency band group switching identifier instructs the terminal device to perform a frequency band switching between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group switching identifier, where the target frequency band group switching identifier is one or more of the Y frequency band group switching identifiers.

[0083] According to the sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be implemented by a network device (e.g., a base station) or by a component of a network device (e.g., a chip or circuit), but is not limited thereto.

[0084] The method includes: a network device receiving a sixth piece of information from a terminal device, the sixth piece of information including a third switching delay, the third switching delay being a delay for the terminal device to switch from a first state to a second state, the first state being a state in which the terminal device supports a first number of transmission radio frequency chains in a frequency band within a seventh frequency band group, the second state being a state in which the terminal device supports a second number of transmission radio frequency chains in a frequency band within an eighth frequency band group, the seventh frequency band group and the eighth frequency band group each including at least one frequency band, and the terminal device transmitting the sixth piece of information to the network device, the sixth piece of information including a third switching delay.

[0085] This application concerns the seventh frequency band group and the eighth frequency band. group Each of these may include at least one frequency band. For example, the method can also be understood as follows: The network device receives a sixth piece of information, the sixth piece of information including a third switching delay, the third switching delay being a delay for the terminal device to switch from a first state to a second state, the first state being a state in which the terminal device supports a first number of transmission radio frequency chains in at least one a-th frequency band, and the second state being a state in which the terminal device supports a second number of transmission radio frequency chains in at least one b-th frequency band; and the terminal device transmits the sixth piece of information to the network device, the sixth piece of information including a third switching delay.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is 280 microseconds.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is an item in the fourth switching set, which includes at least 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds.

[0088] In possible implementations, a third switching delay is used by network devices to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0089] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is an item in the fourth switching set, and the value in the fourth switching set is between 0 milliseconds and 1 millisecond. Alternatively, the value in the fourth switching set may be greater than or equal to the duration of three slots or greater than or equal to the duration of four slots.

[0090] In possible implementations, the sixth piece of information further includes a seventh frequency band group identifier and an eighth frequency band group identifier.

[0091] In possible implementations, the sixth piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands within the seventh frequency band group, and the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands within the eighth frequency band group.

[0092] According to the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The device is configured to implement a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects. Specifically, the device may include a unit and / or module (e.g., a transceiver unit and / or a processing unit) configured to implement a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first to third aspects.

[0093] In implementation, the device is a terminal device. When the device is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface, and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0094] In another implementation, the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or terminal device. When the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or communication device, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or associated circuit of the chip, chip system, or circuit, and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0095] According to the eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device is configured to implement a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the fourth to sixth aspects. Specifically, the device may include a unit and / or module (e.g., a transceiver unit and / or a processing unit) configured to implement a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the fourth to sixth aspects.

[0096] In implementation, the device is a network device. When the device is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface, and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0097] In another implementation, the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or network device. When the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or communication device, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or associated circuit of the chip, chip system, or circuit, and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0098] According to the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in memory in order to carry out a method by any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects. Optionally, the device further includes memory configured to store computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface through which the processor reads computer programs or instructions stored in memory.

[0099] In the implementation, the device is a terminal device.

[0100] In another implementation, the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or terminal device.

[0101] According to the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in memory in order to carry out a method according to any one possible implementation of any one of the fourth to sixth aspects. Optionally, the device further includes memory configured to store computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface through which the processor reads computer programs or instructions stored in memory.

[0102] In implementation, the device is a network device.

[0103] In another implementation, the device is a circuit used in a chip, chip system, or network device.

[0104] According to the tenth aspect, the application provides a processor comprising an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and to transmit a signal through the output circuit, thereby enabling the processor to implement a method by any possible implementation of any one of the first to sixth aspects.

[0105] In a specific implementation process, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or any logic circuit. An input signal received through the input circuit may be received and input by, for example, a transceiver (not limited to), and so on. A signal output through the output circuit may be output to, for example, a transmitter (not limited to), and transmitted by the transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be a single circuit that functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. Specific implementations of the processor and circuit are not limited to this embodiment of this application.

[0106] Unless otherwise specified, or in relation to the actual function or internal logic of the operation in the relevant description, the transmission, acquisition / reception, and other operations associated with the processor can be understood as outputs, receptions, inputs, and other operations performed by the processor, or as transmissions, receptions, and other operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna. This is not limited to this application.

[0107] According to the eleventh aspect, a processing device including a processor and memory is provided. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in memory, receive signals via transceivers, and transmit signals via transmitters in order to carry out a method according to any possible implementation of any one of the first to sixth aspects.

[0108] Optionally, it may have one or more processors and one or more memory.

[0109] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and processor may be located separately.

[0110] In a specific implementation process, the memory may be non-transitory memory, such as read-only memory (ROM). The memory and processor may be integrated on a single chip or on separate chips. The type of memory and the arrangement of the memory and processor are not limited to this embodiment of this application.

[0111] It should be understood that related data exchange processes, such as the transmission of indication information, may be processes that output indication information from the processor, and the reception of capability information may be processes that receive input capability information by the processor. Specifically, data output by the processor may be output to the transmitter, and input data received by the processor may come from the transceiver. Transmitters and transceivers are sometimes collectively referred to as transceivers.

[0112] The processing device of the eleventh embodiment may be one or more chips. The processor of the processing device may be implemented using hardware or using software. When the processor is implemented using hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit or an integrated circuit, etc. When the processor is implemented using software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor and may be implemented by reading software code stored in memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0113] According to the twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores program code to be executed by a device, the program code including instructions used to carry out a method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects.

[0114] According to the 13th aspect, a computer program product including instructions is provided. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer becomes capable of implementing any one of the possible implementations of the first through sixth aspects.

[0115] According to the fourteenth aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system includes a processor configured to call a computer program from memory and run the computer program, thereby enabling a device on which the chip system is installed to implement a method according to any one implementation of the first to sixth aspects.

[0116] According to the 14th aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to implement a method by any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects, and the network device is configured to implement a method by any possible implementation of any one of the fourth to sixth aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0117] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating an application scenario according to the embodiments of this application. [Figure 2] This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 200 described in this application. [Figure 3] This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 300 described in this application. [Figure 4] This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 600 described in this application. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram of the communication device 100 according to this application. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram of the communication device 200 according to this application. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0118] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0119] Wireless communication systems to which embodiments of this application may be applied include, but are not limited to, global systems for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE) frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, LTE systems, long-term evolution (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A) advanced systems, next-generation communication systems (e.g., 6G communication systems), systems integrating multiple access systems, or advanced systems.

[0120] The technical solutions provided in this application may also be applied to machine-type communication (MTC), long-term evolution-machine (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) networks, machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or other networks. IoT networks may include, for example, the Internet of Vehicles. The communication modes in a vehicle internet system are collectively referred to as vehicle-to-X (V2X, where X represents anything). For example, V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication.

[0121] The terminal devices of the embodiments of this application may include various access terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, or user equipment having wireless communication capabilities. For example, the terminal device may be user equipment (UE), such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer (pad), a computer having wireless transmission and reception capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, or an augmented reality (AR) terminal device. Alternatively, terminal devices may include wireless terminals in industrial control, machine-type communication (MTC) terminals, customer premises equipment (CPE), wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals for telemedicine (remote medical) applications, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phone sets, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices, other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or terminal devices in future advanced public land mobile networks (PLMNs).

[0122] The network device of the embodiments of this application (e.g., a radio access network device) may be an access device in a mobile communication system to which terminal devices are wirelessly connected. The radio access network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNB), or a home NodeB, or an access point (AP), radio relay node, radio backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or transmission and reception point (TRP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, or a macro base station, micro base station, or radio frequency base station. Alternatively, the radio access network device may be a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, or a component or several devices constituting a base station, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a baseband unit (BBU). It should be understood that the specific technologies and specific device configurations used by the radio access network device are not limited to the embodiments of this application. In this application, a wireless access network device is abbreviated as a network device. Unless otherwise specified, in this application, all network devices are wireless access network devices. In this application, a network device may be the network device itself or a chip used in the network device to provide wireless communication processing functions.

[0123] It should be understood that the scenario shown in Figure 1 is merely an illustrative scenario used in the technical solution of this application. In this application, the terminal device may also need to switch between multiple frequency bands in other scenarios. In other words, the technical solution of this application can be applied to various scenarios in which the terminal device needs to switch between multiple frequency bands.

[0124] In 5G new radio (NR) systems, network devices (e.g., base stations) can transmit radio waves over considerable distances with high transmission power. However, terminal devices have low transmission power and limited uplink coverage. As a result, when the uplink transmission signal reaches the network device, it may not have sufficient received signal strength to ensure the terminal device's coverage performance. In addition, the uplink spectrum may be insufficient. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure the uplink coverage performance of the terminal device through data retransmission.

[0125] Figure 1 illustrates a scenario in which the technical solution of this application is applicable. As shown in Figure 1, currently, supplementary uplinks (SULs) are used in NR as an alternative when the uplink coverage of the NR system is insufficient. Since the low-frequency bands of long-term evolution (LTE) typically have better coverage performance, SULs are being considered for use in the low-frequency bands of LTE (e.g., 700 MHz, 1.8 GHz, or 2.1 GHz) for NR uplink transmission. Currently, when NR transmission is performed using LTE frequency bands, it has been decided that terminal devices may reuse the frequency band by LTE uplink time division duplex (TDD). Specifically, terminal devices use the TDD mid-frequency bands when they are within the coverage area of ​​the TDD mid-frequency bands (2.6 GHz, 3.5 GHz, or 4.9 GHz). When a terminal device moves outside the coverage area of ​​the TDD mid-frequency band (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz, or 4.9GHz), the terminal device may use the LTE low-frequency band for the uplink. This supplements the TDD mid-frequency band uplink coverage and extends the uplink coverage area. Of course, with future advancements, terminal devices may, as an alternative, use another frequency band for the uplink as a supplementary uplink to further extend the uplink coverage area.

[0126] When a terminal device transmits uplink data in an NR frequency band (e.g., 2.6GHz), it can also be understood that a carrier in a lower frequency band of LTE (e.g., 700MHz / 800MHz / 900MHz, 1.8GHz, or 2.1GHz) may be used for NR uplink transmission. This carrier can be understood as the SUL frequency band. In other words, in an SUL scenario, the terminal device is expected to dynamically switch between multiple frequency bands, such as 700MHz / 800MHz / 900MHz, 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz, 3.5GHz, or 4.9GHz, based on the channel state or load state of the corresponding frequency band.

[0127] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions presented in this application, some technical terms used in this application are briefly explained below.

[0128] Phase-locked loop (PLL) switching delay: Generally, it takes approximately 300 microseconds to relock a phase-locked loop to a frequency band. Specifically, if a phase-locked loop corresponding to a frequency band is deactivated, the phase-locked loop is relocked to a different frequency band, or a new phase-locked loop is activated, and in these cases, such a switching delay is necessary.

[0129] Transmission channel (transmitter,T XA transmission channel is sometimes called a "radio frequency (RF) transmission channel," which is sometimes abbreviated as a "transmission channel." In this application, a transmission channel may, but is not limited to, operate as follows: The transmission channel receives a baseband signal from a baseband chip, performs radio frequency processing (such as upconversion, amplification, and filtering) on ​​the baseband signal to obtain a radio frequency signal, and finally radiates the radio frequency signal into space using an antenna. For example, a transmission channel may include electronic components such as an antenna switch, antenna tuner, low noise amplifier (LNA), power amplifier (PA), mixer, local oscillator (LO), and filter. These electronic components may be integrated on one or more chips as needed. The antenna may sometimes be considered part of the transmission channel.

[0130] The “channel” as referred to in the following embodiments of this application may also be understood as a “radio frequency chain.” A radio frequency chain in this application is T X These may be replaced by an antenna, radio frequency, transmission channel, transmission port, receiving channel, or any combination thereof. Further details will not be described again below.

[0131] It should be understood that the “frequency band” (band) as referred to in the embodiments of this application may also be understood as “band,” “frequency,” and “spectrum.” The “frequency band” in this application may also be understood as a component carrier (CC) (sometimes abbreviated as “carrier”). That is, the technical solutions of this application are also fully applicable to “carriers.” The “frequency band” is used primarily as an example for the following descriptions of the embodiments of this application.

[0132] In this application, a transmission radio frequency chain may also be understood as a radio frequency chain used or capable of being used for transmission or transmission. Correspondingly, the number of transmission radio frequency chains may also be understood as the number of radio frequency chains used or capable of being used for transmission or transmission. The number of transmission radio frequency chains may also be understood as the "number of layers," the "number of antenna layers," or the "number of channels."

[0133] The term "switching" as used in the embodiments of this application may also be understood as "switchover." The term "switching delay" as used in the embodiments of this application may also be understood as "carrier switching delay," "carrier switchover delay," "carrier switching period (duration or interval)," or "switching gap." The term "switching delay" as used in the embodiments of this application may also be called "switching time during carrier switching preparation time" or "switching time during switching preparation." Accordingly, when performing uplink scheduling, the network device performs the corresponding scheduling process based on the switching delay. Specifically, the scheduling process may be understood as setting N2 (where N2 may be understood as uplink processing delay or uplink preparation delay). Further details will not be explained again below.

[0134] Currently, terminal devices have two phase-synchronous loops, allowing them to dynamically switch between two frequency bands. However, considering the cost and hardware complexity of terminal devices, they are typically configured with only a small number of phase-synchronous loops. While it may be understood that the number of phase-synchronous loops in a terminal device is essentially constant, terminal devices may need to switch between multiple frequency bands. In other words, when a terminal device needs to switch between multiple frequency bands, the switching delay of the phase-synchronous loops increases. As a result, the flexibility of the terminal device in switching between multiple frequency bands is limited, affecting data transmission performance. Therefore, when the number of phase-synchronous loops in a terminal device does not match the number of frequency bands, the technical problem that needs to be solved is how the terminal device can flexibly and effectively switch between multiple frequency bands to ensure data transmission performance.

[0135] In this regard, this application provides a communication method and apparatus. A terminal device can report a first switching delay of N frequency band groups, where the first switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between at least two different frequency bands included in the frequency band group. In other words, the terminal device reports a delay for switching within the frequency band group so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching within the frequency band group. That is, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively switch between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0136] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 200 described in this application. The steps shown in Figure 2 will be explained below. Note that the steps shown with dashed lines in Figure 2 are optional and will not be repeated below.

[0137] Step 201: The terminal device determines the first switching delay for N (where N is a positive integer) frequency band groups.

[0138] N frequency band groups include the i-th frequency band group, and the first switching delay of the N frequency band groups includes the i-th first switching delay. In this application, the i-th first switching delay is the delay for switching by a terminal device between at least two different frequency bands included in the i-th frequency band group.

[0139] The “frequency band group” as used in this application may be understood as a “frequency band set.” “Frequency band” may be replaced with “carrier,” “band,” or “carrier within a frequency band.” “Frequency band group” may be replaced with “carrier group” or “carrier set.” “Within a frequency band” may be understood as “on a carrier within a frequency band.”

[0140] In this application, the frequency bands included in frequency band group #1 (e.g., the first frequency band group) and the frequency bands included in frequency band group #2 (e.g., the second frequency band group) may be completely different frequency bands. Alternatively, the frequency bands included in frequency band group #1 and the frequency bands included in frequency band group #2 may have an overlapping set. In other words, in this application, the frequency bands of frequency band group #1 and the frequency bands of frequency band group #2 are imperfectly the same. That is, the two groups may have the same frequency bands or they may have different frequency bands.

[0141] In this application, a frequency band group may include at least one frequency band.

[0142] In this application, it should be understood that all N frequency band groups may be pre-configured by a network device. For example, a network device may perform the pre-configuration as follows: frequency band group #1 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #3 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, and frequency band #C}, and so on.

[0143] For example, frequency band #A could be 3.5 GHz, frequency band #B could be 2.1 GHz, frequency band #C could be 1.8 GHz, and frequency band #D could be 700 MHz / 800 MHz / 900 MHz, and so on.

[0144] When “frequency band” in this application is understood to mean “carrier,” for example, frequency band #A supports three carriers, namely carrier #1, carrier #2, and carrier #3; frequency band #B supports four carriers, namely carrier #4, carrier #5, carrier #6, and carrier #7; frequency band #C supports two carriers, namely carrier #8 and carrier #9; and frequency band #D supports two carriers, namely carrier #10 and carrier #11. “Frequency band group #1 includes {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}” may mean that carrier group #1 includes carrier #1 and carrier #6. “Frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}” may mean that carrier group #2 includes carrier #8 and carrier #3.

[0145] In this application, the following switching of frequency band groups can also be understood as, for example, switching between carrier #1 and carrier #6 of carrier group #1, or in another example, switching between carrier #3 and carrier #8 of carrier group #2. The following switching between frequency band groups (for example, switching between frequency band group #1 and frequency band group #2) can also be understood as switching between carrier groups (for example, switching between carrier group #1 and carrier group #2).

[0146] In possible implementations, network devices can configure frequency band groups semi-statically. For example, a network device may configure frequency band groups for terminal devices once for every five slots. For example, a terminal device may pre-lock phase-locked loops to the corresponding frequency bands within the five slots.

[0147] In possible implementations, each of the N frequency band groups may correspond to one first switching delay. In other implementations, some of the N frequency band groups may correspond to the same first switching delay. When determining the first switching delays corresponding to the N frequency band groups, it can be understood that the terminal device may select a first switching delay for each frequency band group, or it may select the same switching delay for some of the frequency band groups. In other words, the specific internal implementation of the terminal device is not limited in this application.

[0148] In step 201, "the terminal device determines the first switching delays for N frequency band groups" can be understood as follows: For example, the first switching set may be pre-configured by the terminal device (or "pre-defined by the protocol") and the first switching set may contain different first switching delays. The terminal device may select the corresponding first switching delays for the N frequency band groups from the first switching set. For example, the values ​​in the first switching set may be 35 microseconds or less. For example, the first switching set may include {0 microseconds, 30 microseconds, 35 microseconds}, or the first switching set may include {0 microseconds, 35 microseconds}, or the first switching set may include {0 microseconds, 15 microseconds, 20 microseconds, 35 microseconds}.

[0149] This application assumes that a terminal device has two phase-locked loops. When the terminal device switches between frequency band #A and frequency band #B within a frequency band group, the following scenarios are possible: Phase-locked loop #1 may be locked to frequency band #A, and phase-locked loop #2 may be pre-locked to frequency band #B, and it is assumed that frequency band #A is on channel #1 and frequency band #B is on channel #2 (it is also possible to understand that frequency bands #A and #B are on different channels). In this case, since the phase-locked loops are also pre-locked to frequency band #B, the terminal device can seamlessly switch between frequency bands #A and #B within the frequency band group, i.e., the switching delay is 0 microseconds. In other words, this application further proposes that, based on the above scenario, the time required for switching between two different frequency bands within a frequency band group is 0 microseconds. Thus, the delay for switching between two frequency bands can be greatly reduced by the terminal device, and the switching can be completed more efficiently. This ensures data transmission performance. If both frequency band #A and frequency band #B can be in channel #1, then the phase-locked loop is also pre-locked to frequency band #B, so when the terminal device switches between frequency bands #A and #B within the frequency band group, only the delay for switching between the channel frequency bands is required (for example, frequency band #A was already in channel #1, and the frequency band of channel #1 needs to be switched to frequency band #B, so only the switching between the frequency bands ("frequency") of that channel is required) (i.e., channel switching delay). The switching delay is 35 microseconds.

[0150] In this application, step 201 is optional; that is, the terminal device does not have to perform step 201. In this case, it can be understood that the "decision" operation does not need to be performed during the internal implementation of the terminal device, and step 202 is performed immediately.

[0151] Step 202: The terminal device transmits first information to the network device, where the first information includes a first switching delay for N frequency band groups.

[0152] In response, the network device may receive the first piece of information and determine the scheduling of uplink data based on that information.

[0153] For example, a terminal device may report a first capability information (an example of the first information) to a network device, where the capability information includes a first switching delay corresponding to N frequency band groups.

[0154] In one example, a terminal device reports a first capability information, which includes a first switching delay of 0 seconds. In this case, a first switching delay of 0 microseconds can be understood as follows: for example, the switching delay for switching by the terminal device between different frequency bands within N frequency band groups may be 0 microseconds; the switching delay for switching by the terminal device between different frequency bands contained in the first X1 frequency band groups of the N frequency band groups is 0 microseconds; or the switching delay for switching by the terminal device between different frequency bands contained in the last Y1 frequency band group of the N frequency band groups is 0 microseconds. The values ​​of X1 and Y1 may be predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device, but are not limited to this.

[0155] In another example, a terminal device reports a first capability information, which includes a first switching delay of 0 seconds and 35 microseconds. For example, this can be understood as follows: the delay for switching by the terminal device between different frequency bands in the first X2 frequency band groups of N frequency band groups is all 0 microseconds, or the delay for switching by the terminal device between different frequency bands in the last Y2 frequency band groups of N frequency band groups is 35 microseconds. The values ​​of X2 and Y2 may be predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device, but are not limited to this.

[0156] In the implementation, the first information may further include the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in at least two different frequency bands. Here, the first capability information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0157] In one example, the first information transmitted by the terminal device may include data on the radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #A and the number of radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #B within frequency band group #1{frequency band #A, frequency band #B}. For example, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains and frequency band #B supports two radio frequency chains. In another example, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain. In yet another example, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain. The network device may decide to schedule data to the terminal device based on the first switching delay of the frequency band group and / or the number of radio frequency chains supported by the frequency bands within the frequency band group, where the first switching delay and the number of radio frequency chains are reported by the terminal device.

[0158] Step 203 may be included before step 202. The terminal device receives frequency band group identification information from the network device, where the frequency band group identification information includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0159] In possible implementations, the frequency band group identifier may also be predefined or preconfigured in the protocol.

[0160] In response, the network device transmits frequency band group identification information to the terminal device. For example, the network device may transmit frequency band group identification information to the terminal device using radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control (MAC) signaling.

[0161] The order between steps 201 and 203 is not limited. For example, a terminal device may receive frequency band group identification information from a network device after determining the first switching delay for N frequency band groups. In another example, the terminal device may first receive frequency band group identification information from a network device and then determine the first switching delay for N frequency band groups. In yet another example, the terminal device may receive frequency band group identification information from a network device while determining the first switching delay for N frequency band groups. This is not limited to this application.

[0162] For example, in this application, a network device may configure N frequency band group identifiers for a terminal device, and the N frequency band group identifiers may correspond one-to-one with N frequency band groups. Furthermore, in this case, the N frequency band group identifiers may correspond one-to-one with the switching delays of the N frequency band groups.

[0163] For example, a terminal device receives frequency band group identification information from a network device, which includes frequency band group identifier #1 (e.g., group #1), frequency band group identifier #2 (e.g., group #2), and frequency band group identifier #3 (e.g., group #3). For example, the frequency band group identified by group #1 is {frequency band #A, frequency band #D}. In another example, the frequency band group identified by group #2 is {frequency band #B, frequency band #D}. In yet another example, the frequency band group identified by group #3 is {frequency band #C, frequency band #D}.

[0164] In this case, the first information transmitted by the terminal device in step 202 may further include an i-th frequency band group identifier, where the i-th frequency band group identifier is one of the N frequency band group identifiers.

[0165] In the example, the terminal device reports a first capability information, which includes {frequency band group identifier #1, first switching delay of 0 microseconds}, {frequency band group identifier #2, first switching delay of 35 microseconds}, and {frequency band group identifier #3, first switching delay of 30 microseconds}, etc.

[0166] Step 204: The terminal device receives second information from the network device, where the second information indicates the target frequency band group identifier.

[0167] In response, the network device transmits second information to the terminal device. For example, the network device may use downlink control information (DCI) to indicate the target frequency band group identifier.

[0168] In this application, the target frequency band group identifier may be one or more of the N frequency band group identifiers. For example, a network device may have N frequency band group identifiers for a terminal device, and the target frequency band group identifier may be frequency band group identifier #2, frequency band group identifier #5, and frequency band group identifier #6 among the N frequency band group identifiers.

[0169] Step 205: Based on the second piece of information, the terminal device performs a frequency band switch within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier.

[0170] For example, a terminal device may perform frequency band switching within a target frequency band group corresponding to a target frequency band group identifier, based on the target frequency band group identifier indicated by the second piece of information.

[0171] Step 206: The terminal device transmits uplink data using the target frequency band group.

[0172] It is also possible to understand that, based on a first switching delay reported by a terminal device, the network device schedules resources that match the first switching delay to the terminal device so that the terminal device can flexibly and effectively perform frequency band switching, thereby improving data transmission performance.

[0173] In this application, “resources” can be understood as time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, physical resource blocks, or resource blocks, etc., but is not limited to these.

[0174] Figure 3 shows the communication method 300 according to this application. Method 300 illustrates steps of a particular embodiment of the technical solution of this application in terms of interaction between a terminal device and a network device. Method 300 includes the following steps:

[0175] In this application, network devices may have pre-configured frequency band groups. For example, a network device may have pre-configured as follows: frequency band group #1 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #3 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, frequency band #C}, and so on.

[0176] In possible implementations, network devices can perform a semi-static configuration. See the description in Method 200 for details; further details are not provided here.

[0177] Step 301: The network device transmits frequency band group identification information to the terminal device. Here, the frequency band group identification information includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0178] In possible implementations, in this application, the frequency band group identifier may be predefined or preconfigured in the protocol.

[0179] In this application, for example, N frequency band group identifiers may correspond one-to-one with N frequency band groups.

[0180] For example, a network device may transmit RRC signaling to a terminal device. Here, RRC signaling includes N frequency band group identifiers. For example, frequency band group identifier #1 (e.g., group #1) identifies frequency band group #1 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group identifier #2 (e.g., group #2) identifies frequency band group #2 {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group identifier #3 (e.g., group #3) identifies frequency band group #3 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, frequency band #C}, and so on.

[0181] Step 302: The terminal device receives frequency band group identification information from the network device. Here, the first switching delay for N frequency band groups is determined.

[0182] In this application, for example, the first switching delay of N frequency band groups may correspond one-to-one with the N frequency band group identifiers.

[0183] For example, a terminal device may determine that the first switching delay corresponding to group #1 is 0 microseconds, and the first switching delay corresponding to group #2 is 35 microseconds, and so on. Specifically, a terminal device may select a corresponding switching delay for each frequency band group from the first switching set. For an explanation of the value of "first switching set," please refer to the explanation in Method 200. Further details will not be explained again here.

[0184] It should be noted that in this application, the value sets within the first, second, third, and fourth switching sets are used merely as examples. For example, the first switching set may include 35 microseconds and 140 microseconds as alternatives. In another example, the first switching set may include 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, and 140 microseconds as alternatives. Correspondingly, the values ​​within the second, third, and fourth switching sets in the following embodiments are also used merely as examples, and each switching set may include other values ​​as alternatives. In this application, the switching sets (e.g., the first switching delay set and the second switching delay set) may have cross sets or may be entirely different sets.

[0185] Furthermore, when determining the first switching delay corresponding to each frequency band group, the terminal device may also take into account the number of radio frequency chains supported in each frequency band. For example, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains (where "radio frequency chain" is "T"). X (Sometimes written as "), frequency band #B supports two radio frequency chains, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains, and so on. For example, details are listed in Table 1.

[0186] [Table 1]

[0187] For example, if a terminal device determines that the first switching delay for group #1 is 0 microseconds, it indicates that the switching delay required for the terminal device to switch between frequency band #A and frequency band #B (e.g., switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B, or switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A) is 0.

[0188] In another example, if a terminal device determines that the first switching delay for group #3 is 35 microseconds, and that frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, and frequency band #C supports two radio frequency chains, then it indicates that the switching delay required by the terminal device for switching between any two frequency bands (e.g., switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B, switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #C, switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A, or switching from two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B to two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #C) is 35 microseconds.

[0189] In this embodiment, frequency band groups are distinguished from each other, and network devices constitute frequency band group identifiers. In this way, terminal devices can report a first switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier (this can also be understood as the terminal device reporting the first switching delay by using the frequency band group as granularity). Compared to existing methods in which terminal devices report switching delays by using each frequency band as granularity, this embodiment allows for a significant reduction in signaling overhead.

[0190] Step 303: The terminal device transmits first information to the network device, where the first information includes a first switching delay for N frequency band groups.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the terminal device transmits first capability information (an example of first information) to the network device, where the first capability information includes first switching delays for N frequency band groups. For example, the first switching delays are 0 microseconds and 35 microseconds. For further details, please refer to the explanation of step 202 of Method 200 for understanding. Details are not explained again here.

[0192] In another possible implementation, the first capability information includes a frequency band group identifier and a first switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier. For example, the first capability information includes {group #1, first switching delay of 0 microseconds} and {group #2, first switching delay of 35 microseconds}, and so on.

[0193] In yet another possible implementation, the first capability information may include the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the frequency bands within a frequency band group, for example, the number of radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #A and the number of radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #B within group #1{frequency band #A, frequency band #B}. For example, frequency band #A supports 2 radio frequency chains and frequency band #B supports 2 radio frequency chains. In another example, frequency band #A supports 2 radio frequency chains and frequency band #B supports 1 radio frequency chain. In yet another example, frequency band #A supports 1 radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports 1 radio frequency chain.

[0194] In possible implementations, the first capability information may further include the switching delay required by the terminal device to switch from the default or fallback state to a new frequency band. In this case, after the terminal device has completed transmission in the current frequency band, the current frequency band may further fall back to the frequency band corresponding to the default / fallback state. For example, the switching delay may be 35 microseconds. The fallback to the frequency band corresponding to the default / fallback state indicates that the phase-locked loop is locked to the frequency band corresponding to the default / fallback state. In this application, the default / fallback state may be predefined or preconfigured by the network device. In this application, preconfiguration can be understood as a configuration implemented by the network device using RRC signaling.

[0195] In possible implementations, the terminal device may further report an expected minimum value for at least one of K1 or K2 so that the network device can determine an appropriate value for K1 or K2 of the terminal device (see the description in step 304 for specific descriptions of K1 and K2).

[0196] Step 304: The network device receives the first piece of information. Based on this information, it decides to schedule the uplink data.

[0197] For example, a terminal device may determine K2 and / or K1 based on the first piece of information. K2 is the delay for scheduling uplink data transmission (sometimes called data processing time or data preparation time), and K1 is the delay from scheduling the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to providing feedback to the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Specifically, for a description of K2, please refer to the Technical Specification (TS) 38.214 of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), and for a description of K1, please refer to the 3GPP Technical Specification TS 38.213. Further details are not provided in this application.

[0198] In one example, a network device receives a first switching delay corresponding to N frequency band groups and determines the scheduling of uplink data based on this first information. For example, the network device may determine, based on the first switching delay corresponding to the frequency band groups, slot resources and / or symbol resources (or frame resources, or minislot resources, etc., but not limited to these) to be scheduled and use those resources for data transmission in the switched frequency bands. Specifically, assuming that the first information received by the network device includes a first switching delay of 35 microseconds corresponding to group #2 ({frequency band #A, frequency band #C}), the network device may determine the resources for terminal devices to transmit uplink data. For example, slots on which data is transmitted using frequency band #A and slots on which data is transmitted using frequency band #B are separated by a single symbol.

[0199] In another example, a network device receives a first switching delay corresponding to N frequency band groups and the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in the frequency bands of the N frequency band groups, and determines the scheduling of uplink data based on the first information. Specifically, the network device may schedule uplink data resources to terminal devices based on a switching delay of 0 microseconds corresponding to group #1{frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #A, and two radio frequency chains supported in frequency band #B. For example, slots in which data is transmitted using frequency band #A and slots in which data is transmitted using frequency band #B are separated by a single symbol.

[0200] Step 305: The network device sends a second piece of information to the terminal device. Here, the second piece of information indicates the target frequency band group identifier.

[0201] For example, a network device may use DCI to indicate a target frequency band group identifier. In this application, the target frequency band group identifier may be one or more of N frequency band group identifiers. For example, a network device may configure N frequency band group identifiers for a terminal device, and the target frequency band group identifier may be group #1, group #5, and group #6 of the N frequency band group identifiers.

[0202] Step 306: The terminal device receives the second piece of information and, based on the indication of the second piece of information, performs a frequency band switch within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier.

[0203] In one example, it is assumed that the target frequency band group identifier indicated by the second piece of information is group #1. In this case, the terminal device may perform a frequency band switch within the frequency band group {frequency band #B, frequency band #D} identified by group #1. For example, the terminal device is currently transmitting data in slot #1 using frequency band #B. It is assumed that the switching time required for switching within the frequency band group identified by frequency band group identifier #2, as reported by the terminal device, is 0 microseconds (as mentioned above, the phase-synchronous loop is pre-configured and the two frequency bands are on separate channels, so there is no phase-synchronous loop switching delay for the terminal device). In this case, the network device may perform scheduling for the terminal device to transmit data in slot #2 using frequency band #D. In other words, the terminal device may transmit data in two consecutive slots and consecutive symbols. In another example, it is assumed that the switching time required for switching within a frequency band group, as reported by the terminal device and identified by frequency band group identifier #2, is 35 microseconds (in this case, the terminal device does not have a phase-locked loop switching delay, but does have a channel switching delay). In this case, the network device may perform scheduling for the terminal device to transmit data starting from a second or third symbol in slot #2 using frequency band #D. Based on different subcarrier spacings, the number of symbols that need to be occupied by the switching time may differ, and therefore the number of symbols that need to be scheduled may differ.

[0204] In another example, when a terminal device cannot complete a frequency band switch within a frequency band group in time in a slot scheduled by a network device (the network device may schedule the terminal device to transmit data in slot #2 using frequency band #D, starting from the first symbol), the terminal device punctures the uplink data. In this case, the network device may perform detection based on the number of uplink symbols originally scheduled, or based on the number of symbols that can be reduced. In the latter case, a mask may be added to the uplink demodulation reference signal (UL DMRS), or scrambling may be performed on the UL DMRS, and the number of symbols currently being reduced is indicated using the mask or scramble information, so that the network device can perform the corresponding detection based on the number of symbols reduced. For example, the network device schedules 13 symbols for uplink transmission. The terminal device punctures more symbols when the switching delay of the terminal device necessitates the occupation of another symbol; that is, when the terminal device finds that one symbol is insufficient to accommodate the delay for switching within a frequency band group.

[0205] Optionally, encoding may be performed based on 10 symbols for uplink transmission by the terminal device. Optionally, the network device may detect that the energy of the first four symbols is 0 and preferentially perform decoding based on 10 symbols, or it may perform decoding multiple times based on 11, 12, or even 13 symbols. For example, the network device may directly perform detection based on 13 symbols, although the accuracy will be somewhat compromised. However, this does not significantly affect the performance of the low-order modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (e.g., non-256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)).

[0206] Step 307: The terminal device transmits uplink data using the target frequency band group.

[0207] For example, a terminal device may transmit uplink data using a frequency band within a target frequency band group, thereby utilizing resources scheduled by a network device.

[0208] Based on the method provided in this embodiment, a terminal device may report a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, where the first switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between at least two different frequency bands included in the frequency band group. In other words, the terminal device reports a delay for switching within a frequency band group, and the network device may determine a K2 delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching within the frequency band group. In this way, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively complete switching between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0209] This application further provides a communication method 400. Method 400 illustrates steps of another specific embodiment of the technical solution of this application in terms of interaction between a terminal device and a network device. The steps of Method 400 are similar to those of Method 300. For further details, please refer to the steps in Figure 3 for understanding. Details will not be explained again.

[0210] In this embodiment, the network device may pre-configure frequency band groups. For example, the network device may pre-configure as follows: frequency band group #1 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #3 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #4 may include {frequency band #D}, frequency band group #5 may include {frequency band #A}, and so on.

[0211] Note that the frequency band group in Method 300 includes at least two frequency bands. In contrast to Method 300, the frequency band group in Method 400 may include at least one frequency band. In other words, in Method 400, the frequency band group may contain only one frequency band.

[0212] Step 401: The network device transmits frequency band group identification information to the terminal device, where the frequency band group identification information includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0213] For example, a network device may transmit RRC signaling to a terminal device. Here, RRC signaling includes X frequency band group identifiers. For example, frequency band group identifier #1 (e.g., group #1) identifies frequency band group #1 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group identifier #2 (e.g., group #2) identifies frequency band group #2 {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group identifier #3 (e.g., group #3) identifies frequency band group #3 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B, frequency band #C}, frequency band group identifier #4 (e.g., group #4) identifies frequency band group #4 {frequency band #D}, frequency band group identifier #5 (e.g., group #5) identifies frequency band group #5 {frequency band #A}, and so on.

[0214] Step 402: The terminal device receives frequency band group identification information from the network device and determines M (where M is a positive integer) second switching delays.

[0215] In possible implementations, in this application, the frequency band group identifier may be predefined or preconfigured in the protocol.

[0216] For example, the j-th second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group, and the j-th second switching delay is one of M second switching delays. In another example, the k-th second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between the third frequency band group and the fourth frequency band group, and the k-th second switching delay is another one of M second switching delays. In this embodiment, each of the M second switching delays represents the delay for the terminal device to switch between the two frequency band groups.

[0217] In this embodiment, the second switching delay may be an item in the second switching set. For example, the values ​​in the second switching set may be greater than 35 microseconds and less than or equal to 1 millisecond. For example, the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 280 microseconds}, or the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 500 microseconds}, or the second switching set may include {140 microseconds, 280 microseconds, 400 microseconds, 500 microseconds, 1 millisecond}. It should be understood that the values ​​in the second switching set are used only as examples. For example, the second switching set may include, as an alternative, 0 microseconds and 35 microseconds, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0218] In the example, it is assumed that the terminal device has two phase-synchronous loops. When the terminal device performs a switch between group #4 and group #2, the following scenarios are possible: Assume that phase-synchronous loop #1 is locked to frequency band #D and phase-synchronous loop #2 is locked to frequency band #B. When the terminal device switches from frequency band #D to frequency bands #A and #C, the phase-synchronous loops may use a serial switching technique. For example, phase-synchronous loop #1 may be relocked to frequency band #A first, and then phase-synchronous loop #2 may be relocked to frequency band #D. The serial switching delay of the phase-synchronous loops is 280 microseconds. In other words, this application further proposes that, based on the above scenario, a 280-microsecond delay is required for switching between frequency band groups. In this way, the delay for switching by the terminal device between the two frequency band groups is adequately taken into account, making resource scheduling easier for network devices. This allows the terminal device to complete the switch more efficiently, thereby ensuring data transmission performance. It should be understood that the serial switching delay of the phase-locked loop may be a different value, for example, 300 microseconds, 350 microseconds, or 400 microseconds. This is not limited to the values ​​shown here.

[0219] In another example, assume a terminal device has two phase-locked loops. When the terminal device switches between group #4 and group #2, the following scenario is possible: Assume that phase-locked loop #1 is locked to frequency band #D and phase-locked loop #2 is locked to frequency band #B. When the terminal device switches from frequency band #D to frequency bands #A and #C, the phase-locked loops may use a partial serial switching technique. For example, phase-locked loop #1 is first relocked to frequency band #A, and approximately 70 microseconds later, phase-locked loop #2 is relocked to frequency band #D. The partial serial switching delay for the phase-locked loops is 210 microseconds. It should be understood that the partial serial switching delay for the phase-locked loops may also be other values, e.g., 230 microseconds, 245 microseconds, or 250 microseconds. This is not limited here.

[0220] In another example, assume that a terminal device has two phase-synchronous loops. When the terminal device performs a switch between group #4 and group #2, the following scenarios are possible: Assume that phase-synchronous loop #1 is locked to frequency band #D and phase-synchronous loop #2 is locked to frequency band #B. When the terminal device switches from frequency band #D to frequency bands #A and #C, the phase-synchronous loops may use a parallel switching technique. For example, phase-synchronous loop #2 may be relocked to frequency band #D, and phase-synchronous loop #1 may be relocked to frequency band #A. The parallel switching delay for the phase-synchronous loops is 140 microseconds. It should be understood that the parallel switching delay for the phase-synchronous loops may also be a different value, e.g., 200 microseconds, 150 microseconds, or 180 microseconds. This is not limited to this example.

[0221] Furthermore, when determining the second switching delay, the terminal device may also take into account the number of radio frequency chains supported in each frequency band. For example, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports two radio frequency chains, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains, and frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains. For example, details are listed in Table 2.

[0222] [Table 2]

[0223] For example, a terminal device determines that the second switching delay for switching between group #4 and group #1 is 140 microseconds (this could be a switch from group #4 to group #1, or from group #1 to group #4). For example, parallel switching of a phase-locked loop could be performed in this case.

[0224] In another example, a terminal device determines that a second switching delay of 140 microseconds is required to switch between group #4 and group #5 (this could be a switch from group #4 to group #5, or from group #5 to group #4). For example, parallel switching of a phase-locked loop could be performed in this case.

[0225] In yet another example, a terminal device determines that a second switching delay of 210 microseconds is required to switch between group #5 and group #2 (this could be a switch from group #5 to group #2, or from group #2 to group #5). For example, a partial serial switching of a phase-locked loop could be performed in this case.

[0226] In yet another example, a terminal device determines that a second switching delay of 280 microseconds is required to switch between group #5 and group #1 (this could be a switch from group #5 to group #1, or from group #1 to group #5). For example, a series switch of a phase-locked loop could be performed in this case.

[0227] In this embodiment, frequency band groups are distinguished from each other, and network devices constitute frequency band group identifiers. In this way, terminal devices can report a second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier (this can also be understood as reporting the second switching delay by using the frequency band group as granularity). Compared to existing methods in which terminal devices report switching delays by using each frequency band as granularity, this embodiment allows for a significant reduction in signaling overhead.

[0228] Step 403: The terminal device sends third information to the network device, where the third information includes at least the j-th second switching delay.

[0229] In this embodiment, the third piece of information may be, for example, capability information of the terminal device.

[0230] In possible implementations, the third piece of information may include multiple second switching delays, e.g., the k-th second switching delay, the p-th second switching delay, and so on. Each second switching delay corresponds to the delay for switching between two frequency band groups.

[0231] In another possible implementation, the third piece of information includes a frequency band group identifier and a second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier. For example, the third piece of information might include {group #1, group #4, second switching delay of 140 microseconds}, {group #4, group #5, second switching delay of 140 microseconds}, and {group #5, group #1, second switching delay of 280 microseconds}, and so on.

[0232] In yet another possible implementation, the third piece of information may further include the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the frequency bands within a frequency band group, for example, the data of the radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #A and the number of radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #B in group #1{frequency band #A, frequency band #B}. For example, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain. In another example, frequency band #A in group #5{frequency band #A} supports two radio frequency chains.

[0233] In possible implementations, the third piece of information may further include K2', which can be accepted by the terminal device (for example, K2' is greater than or equal to the duration of three or four slots). For example, K2' may be the existing K2 plus the lock time of the phase-locked loop. In one example, a separate table may be defined for K2', and the value of K2' may differ from the values ​​listed in the existing K2 table. When the network device presents K2' to the terminal device, table index indication and K2' value indication are required. In another example, the value of K2' may be further added to the existing K2 table. For example, bits may be expanded. In this case, table index indication is not required. Optionally, the network device may determine the scheduling of uplink data to the terminal device based on the K2' reported by the terminal device. In another possible implementation, the terminal device may, as an alternative, report the expected minimum values ​​of K1 and K2 so that the network device can determine appropriate values ​​for K1 and K2 for the terminal device.

[0234] In possible implementations, the third piece of information may further include the switching delay required for the terminal device to switch from the default or fallback state to a new frequency band. In this case, after the terminal device has completed transmission in the current frequency band, the current frequency band may further fall back to the frequency band corresponding to the default / fallback state for data transmission. For example, the switching delay could be 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, or 280 microseconds. In another example, the switching delay could be 400 microseconds, 500 microseconds, or 1 millisecond, etc.

[0235] Step 404: The network device receives the third piece of information and decides to schedule the uplink data based on that information.

[0236] For example, a terminal device may determine K2 and / or K1 based on third information. For a description of K1 and K2, see the description in step 304 of Method 300. Further details are not provided here.

[0237] In the example, the network device receives a second switching delay and determines the scheduling of uplink data based on the third piece of information. For example, the network device may determine which slot resources should be scheduled based on the second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier and use those resources for data transmission in the switched frequency band group. Specifically, assuming the third piece of information received by the network device includes {group #1, group #4, second switching delay of 140 microseconds}, the network device may determine which resources to use for uplink data transmission by the terminal device.

[0238] For example, a network device determines that the slots scheduled for group #1 to transmit data and the slots scheduled for group #2 to transmit data are separated by four symbols.

[0239] Step 405: The network device sends the fourth piece of information to the terminal device. Here, the fifth piece of information indicates the target frequency band group identifier.

[0240] For example, a network device may use DCI to indicate a target frequency band group identifier. In this application, the target frequency band group identifier may be at least two of X frequency band group identifiers. For example, a network device may configure X frequency band group identifiers for a terminal device, and the target frequency band group identifier may be group #1 and group #4 of the X frequency band group identifiers.

[0241] Step 406: The terminal device receives the fourth piece of information and, based on the indication of the fourth piece of information, performs a frequency band switch within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier.

[0242] In one example, it is assumed that the target frequency band group identifiers indicated by the fourth piece of information are group #1, group #4, and group #5. In this case, the terminal device may perform frequency band switching between the three frequency band groups. It is assumed that the terminal device performs switching between group #1 and group #4. For example, the terminal device is currently transmitting data in slot #1 using the frequency band included in group #1. It is assumed that the switching time reported by the terminal device and required to switch between group #1 and group #4 is 140 microseconds (parallel switching of the phase-locked loop may be performed as described above). In this case, the network device may perform scheduling for the terminal device to transmit data in slot #2 using group #4, starting from the fifth or sixth symbol.

[0243] In another example, if a terminal device cannot switch between frequency band groups in time in a slot scheduled by a network device (the network device schedules the terminal device to use group #4 to transmit data in slot #2 starting from the second symbol), the terminal device may puncture the uplink data. In this case, the network device may perform detection based on the number of uplink symbols originally scheduled, or based on the number of symbols that can be reduced. In the latter case, a mask may be added to the uplink demodulation reference signal (UL DMRS) to indicate the number of symbols currently being reduced, thereby allowing the network device to perform corresponding detection based on the number of symbols reduced. For example, a network device schedules 13 symbols for uplink transmission. The terminal device punctures more symbols when the switching delay of the terminal device requires the occupation of three more symbols, i.e., when the terminal device finds that one symbol is insufficient to be occupied by the delay for switching between frequency band groups.

[0244] Optionally, encoding may be performed based on 10 symbols for uplink transmission by the terminal device. Optionally, the network device may detect that the energy of the first four symbols is 0 and preferentially perform decoding based on 10 symbols, or it may perform decoding multiple times based on 11, 12, or even 13 symbols. For example, the network device could directly perform detection based on 13 symbols, but the accuracy would be somewhat compromised. However, this would not significantly affect the performance of the MCS (e.g., non-256QAM).

[0245] Step 407: The terminal device transmits uplink data using the target frequency band group.

[0246] For example, a terminal device may transmit uplink data using a frequency band within a target frequency band group, thereby utilizing resources scheduled by a network device.

[0247] Based on the method provided in this embodiment, a terminal device may report a second switching delay for switching between frequency band groups, where the second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group. In other words, the terminal device reports a delay for switching between frequency band groups, and the network device may determine a K2 delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching between frequency band groups. In this way, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively complete switching between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0248] This application further provides a communication method 500. Method 500 illustrates steps of yet another specific embodiment of the technical solution of this application in terms of interaction between a terminal device and a network device. The steps of Method 500 are similar to those of Method 300. For further details, please refer to the steps in Figure 3 for understanding. Details will not be explained again.

[0249] In this application, network devices may have pre-configured frequency band groups. For example, a network device may have pre-configured as follows: frequency band group #1 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}, frequency band group #2 may include {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}, frequency band group #3 may include {frequency band #B}, frequency band group #4 may include {frequency band #D}, frequency band group #5 may include {frequency band #A}, and so on.

[0250] It should be noted that a frequency band group in Method 500 may contain at least one frequency band. In other words, in Method 500, a frequency band group may contain only one frequency band.

[0251] Step 501: The network device transmits frequency band group switching identification information to the terminal device. Here, the frequency band group switching identification information includes an identifier for the switching by the terminal device between the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group.

[0252] In possible implementations, in this application, the frequency band group identifier may be predefined or preconfigured in the protocol.

[0253] For example, a network device may transmit RRC signaling to a terminal device, and the RRC signaling includes Y frequency band group identifiers.

[0254] For example, frequency band group switching identifier #1 (e.g., index #1) identifies the switching by a terminal device between group #1 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B} and group #2 {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}.

[0255] For example, frequency band group switching identifier #2 (e.g., index #2) identifies the switching by a terminal device between group #5 {frequency band #A} and group #2 {frequency band #A, frequency band #C}.

[0256] For example, frequency band group switching identifier #3 (e.g., index #3) identifies the switching by a terminal device between group #5 {frequency band #A} and group #1 {frequency band #A, frequency band #B}.

[0257] For example, frequency band group switching identifier #4 (e.g., index #4) identifies the switching by a terminal device between group #5 {frequency band #A} and group #4 {frequency band #D}.

[0258] For example, frequency band group switching identifier #5 (e.g., index #5) identifies the switching by a terminal device between group #5 {frequency band #A} and group #3 {frequency band #B}.

[0259] Step 502: The terminal device receives frequency band group switching identification information from the network device and determines M (where M is a positive integer) second switching delays.

[0260] In this embodiment, the second switching delay may be an item in the third switching set. For example, the values ​​in the third switching set may be between 0 microseconds and 1 millisecond. For example, the third switching set may include {0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 280 microseconds}, or {0 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, 500 microseconds}, or {35 microseconds, 280 microseconds, 400 microseconds, 500 microseconds, 1 millisecond}. Specifically, for the meaning of the values ​​in the third switching set, please refer to the explanations of Methods 200 and 400 for understanding. Further details will not be explained again here.

[0261] In this embodiment, the second switching delay may correspond to frequency band group switching identifiers such as {index #1,140 microseconds}, {index #2,210 microseconds}, {index #3,280 microseconds}, {index #4,0 microseconds}, and {index #5,35 microseconds}.

[0262] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when determining the second switching delay, the terminal device may also take into account the number of radio frequency chains supported in each frequency band. For example, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports two radio frequency chains, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports two radio frequency chains, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, and frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains. Alternatively, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain, frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain, frequency band #C supports transmission by two radio frequency chains, and frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains, and so on. For example, details are listed in Table 3.

[0263] [Table 3]

[0264] In this embodiment, frequency band groups are distinguished from one another, and network devices constitute frequency band group switching identifiers. In this way, terminal devices can report a second switching delay corresponding to a frequency band group switching identifier (e.g., an index) (this can also be understood as reporting a second switching delay by using frequency band group switching as granularity). Compared to the method in Method 400, in which a second switching delay corresponding to at least two frequency band group identifiers must be reported, this embodiment can further reduce signaling overhead.

[0265] Step 503: The terminal device sends third information to the network device, where the third information includes at least the j-th second switching delay.

[0266] In this embodiment, the third piece of information may be, for example, capability information of the terminal device.

[0267] In possible implementations, the third piece of information may include multiple second switching delays, e.g., the k-th second switching delay, the p-th second switching delay, and so on. Each second switching delay corresponds to a single frequency band group switching identifier.

[0268] In another possible implementation, the third piece of information includes a frequency band group switching identifier and a second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group identifier. For example, the third piece of information may include {index #1,140 microseconds for the second switching delay}, {index #2,210 microseconds for the second switching delay}, and {index #3,280 microseconds for the second switching delay}, and so on.

[0269] In yet another possible implementation, the third piece of information may further include the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the frequency bands within a frequency band group, for example, the data of the radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #A and the number of radio frequency chains supported by frequency band #B in group #1{frequency band #A, frequency band #B}. For example, frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain. In another example, frequency band #A in group #5{frequency band #A} supports two radio frequency chains.

[0270] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes K2', which can be received by the terminal device. For details, see the corresponding description in step 403 of Method 400. Further details are not provided here.

[0271] In possible implementations, the third piece of information further includes the switching delay required by the terminal device to switch from the default or fallback state to the new frequency band. For details, see the corresponding description in step 403 of Method 400. Further details are not provided here.

[0272] Step 504: The network device receives the third piece of information and decides to schedule the uplink data based on that information.

[0273] For example, a terminal device may determine K2 and / or K1 based on third information. For a description of K1 and K2, see the description in step 304 of method 300. Further details are not provided here.

[0274] In the example, the network device receives a second switching delay and determines the scheduling of uplink data based on the third piece of information. For example, the network device may determine which slot resources should be scheduled based on the second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group switching identifier and use those resources for data transmission in the switched frequency band group. Specifically, assuming that the third piece of information received by the network device includes {a second switching delay with index #1,140 microseconds}, the network device may determine which resources are available for the terminal device to transmit uplink data.

[0275] For example, a network device determines that the slots scheduled for group #1 to transmit data and the slots scheduled for group #2 to transmit data are separated by four symbols.

[0276] Step 505: The network device sends a fifth piece of information to the terminal device, where the fifth piece of information indicates the target frequency band group switching identifier.

[0277] For example, a network device may use DCI to indicate a target frequency band group switching identifier. In this application, the target frequency band group switching identifier may be one or more of Y frequency band group switching identifiers. For example, a network device may configure Y frequency band group switching identifiers for a terminal device, and the target frequency band group switching identifier may be index #1 and index #3 of the Y frequency band group switching identifiers.

[0278] Step 506: The terminal device receives the fifth piece of information and, based on the indication of the fifth piece of information, performs a frequency band switch between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group switching identifier.

[0279] In the example, it is assumed that the target frequency band group identifier indicated by the fifth piece of information is index #1. In this case, the terminal device may decide to perform a switch between group #1 and group #2. For example, the terminal device is currently transmitting data in slot #1 using the frequency band included in group #1. It is assumed that the switching time reported by the terminal device and required to switch between group #1 and group #2 is 140 microseconds (parallel switching of the phase-locked loop may be performed as described above). In this case, the network device may perform a scheduling for the terminal device to transmit data in slot #2 using group #4, starting from the fifth or sixth symbol.

[0280] In another example, a puncturing technique may be used when a terminal device is unable to switch between frequency band groups in time within the slots scheduled by the network device. For further details, please refer to step 406 of Method 400 for understanding. Further details will not be explained again here.

[0281] Step 507: The terminal device transmits uplink data using the target frequency band group identified by the target frequency band group switching identifier.

[0282] For example, the terminal device can transmit uplink data using the resources scheduled by the network device by using the frequency bands within the target frequency band group.

[0283] Based on the method provided in this embodiment, the terminal device can report a second switching delay corresponding to the frequency band group switching identifier. Here, the second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between two frequency band groups. In other words, the terminal device reports the delay for switching between frequency band groups, and the network device can determine the K2 delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform the frequency band switching between frequency band groups. In this way, the terminal device can flexibly and effectively complete the switching between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring the data transmission performance and reducing the signaling overhead.

[0284] As shown in FIG. 4, this application further provides a communication method 600. The method includes the following steps.

[0285] Step 601: The terminal device reports a third switching delay to the network device.

[0286] In this embodiment, the third switching delay can be understood as the delay required for the terminal device to switch between the first state and the second state.

[0287] In an example, a terminal device may report to a network device the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in the frequency bands within a third frequency band group (which can also be understood as a first state) (the third frequency band group may contain at least one frequency band). For example, the third frequency band group may include frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one transmission radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one transmission radio frequency chain. In another example, the third frequency band group may include frequency band #A, where frequency band #A supports two transmission radio frequency chains. The terminal device may also report to a network device the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in the frequency bands within a fourth frequency band group (which can also be understood as a second state) (the fourth frequency band group may contain at least one frequency band). For example, the fourth frequency band group may include frequency band #C and frequency band #D, where frequency band #C supports one transmission radio frequency chain and frequency band #D supports transmission by one transmission radio frequency chain. In another example, the fourth frequency band group includes frequency band #B and frequency band #C, where frequency band #B supports one transmission radio frequency chain and frequency band #C supports transmission by one transmission radio frequency chain. The terminal device may also report a third switching delay to the network device, which is required for the terminal device to switch from the third frequency band group to the fourth frequency band group.

[0288] Please understand that terminal devices may also report a third switching delay between the third and fourth states, or a switching delay between the first and third states, etc., but are not limited to these.

[0289] For example, the third delay could be 280 microseconds. In another example, the third delay could be 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, or 280 microseconds. In yet another example, the third delay could be used by a network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data.

[0290] In a possible implementation, the third switching delay is an item in the fourth switching set, and the value in the fourth switching set is between 0 milliseconds and 1 millisecond. Alternatively, the value in the fourth switching set may be greater than or equal to the duration of three slots or greater than or equal to the duration of four slots.

[0291] Step 602: The network device receives the third switching delay and may decide to schedule uplink data to terminal devices based on the third switching delay.

[0292] For further details, please refer to the descriptions of step 304 of Method 300, step 404 of Method 400, and step 504 of Method 500. Further details will not be explained again here.

[0293] Step 603: The network device sends indication information to the terminal device to show the terminal device to switch between target states.

[0294] For example, the target state could be the first state and the second state. In another example, the target state could be the third state and the fourth state, and so on.

[0295] Step 604: The terminal device receives indication information and performs frequency band switching between target states.

[0296] For example, a terminal device may switch between a first state and a second state, or a terminal device may switch between a first state and a third state.

[0297] Step 605: The terminal device transmits uplink data using the frequency band in the target state on the resource scheduled by the network device.

[0298] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, this application allows a terminal device to report a third switching delay for switching between states. The third switching delay may be a typical value. A network device may determine the scheduling of uplink data to the terminal device based on the third switching delay so that the terminal device can effectively perform frequency band switching between states. That is, the terminal device can switch flexibly and effectively between multiple frequency bands, thereby ensuring data transmission performance.

[0299] This application further provides Method 700. For an understanding of the interaction procedure between a network device and a terminal device, please refer to Figure 4 of Method 600. Further details will not be explained again.

[0300] Step 701: The terminal device reports the fourth switching delay to the network device.

[0301] In this embodiment, the fourth switching delay may have two values, or any one of the two values. The first value may be used by a network device to determine, for example, the advance for scheduling data to a terminal device. For example, the first value may be the T of the 3GPP standard. procThis is the switch time. In another example, the advance may include radio frequency tuning delay and software timing advance (for example, the network device constructs a new instruction before the software stops transmitting the instruction and configures the new instruction to the terminal device to show the terminal device to activate a new phase-synchronous loop). The second value is the interruption delay for switching within a frequency band group, between frequency band groups, or between states. The first value (the first value may be 280 microseconds or more, and the first value may be, for example, 280 microseconds, 300 microseconds, 430 microseconds, 500 microseconds, or 1 millisecond) is used to schedule the switch preparation and belongs to the switch time or radio frequency tuning time (tuning / retuning time) during the scheduled switch preparation time. A second value (which may be less than 280 microseconds, e.g., 0 microseconds, 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, or 200 microseconds) may be used as a gap for switching within a frequency band group, between frequency band groups, or between states, or for interrupting the switching within a frequency band group, between frequency band groups, or between states.

[0302] Step 702: The network device receives the fourth switching delay and may decide to schedule uplink data to the terminal device based on the third switching delay.

[0303] For example, a network device may determine, based on a first value, the symbol or slot on a terminal device where a scheduled resource for uplink data will be placed.

[0304] In another example, the network device uses a second value to determine the delay required for a terminal device to switch within a frequency band group, between frequency band groups, and between states, and based on that delay, determines the location of a time-domain resource for the terminal device's uplink data.

[0305] Optionally, step 703 further includes: The network device sends indication information to the terminal device to indicate that the terminal device should switch between target frequency bands.

[0306] For example, the target frequency bands can be frequency band #A and frequency band #B. In another example, the target states can be frequency band #A and frequency band #C, etc.

[0307] Optionally, step 704 further includes: The terminal device receives the indication information and performs a frequency band switch between the target frequency bands

[0308] For example, the terminal device may switch between frequency band #A and frequency band #B, or the terminal device may switch between frequency band #A and frequency band #C.

[0309] Step 705: The terminal device uses the target frequency band to transmit uplink data with the resources scheduled by the network device.

[0310] In the example, for the second value, the terminal device punctures the uplink data when it cannot complete the frequency band switching in time within the slot scheduled by the network device. In this case, the network device may perform the detection based on the number of uplink symbols initially scheduled, or based on the number of symbols that can be reduced. In the latter case, a mask may be added to the uplink demodulation reference signal (UL DMRS), or scrambling may be performed on the UL DMRS, and the number of symbols currently being reduced is indicated using the mask or scramble information, so that the network device can perform the corresponding detection based on the number of symbols reduced. For example, the network device schedules 13 symbols for uplink transmission. The terminal device punctures more symbols when the switching delay of the terminal device requires the occupation of one more symbol, i.e., when the terminal device finds that one symbol is insufficient to be occupied by the delay for switching within the frequency band group.

[0311] Optionally, encoding may be performed based on 10 symbols for uplink transmission by the terminal device. Optionally, the network device may preferentially perform decoding based on 10 symbols after detecting that the energy of the first 4 symbols is 0, or it may perform decoding multiple times based on 11, 12, or even 13 symbols. For example, the network device may directly perform detection based on 13 symbols, although the accuracy will be somewhat compromised. However, this does not significantly affect the performance of MCS (e.g., non-256QAM).

[0312] Based on the foregoing technical solution, in this application, the terminal device may report a fourth switching delay, and the fourth switching delay may include two values. The terminal device may encode the corresponding symbol based on the two values. If the terminal device cannot complete data transmission within the slot scheduled by the network device, the terminal device may further perform puncturing to indicate the network device. This can reduce the duration for the network device to perform decoding and ensure the data transmission performance while ensuring that the terminal device completes the switching between frequency bands.

[0313] Furthermore, in this application, in four frequency bands, due to the following two factors, the number of combinations of the frequency bands of the terminal device and the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported in those frequency bands increase (for example, there are 10 combinations): (1) The amount of on-chip memory is limited. The on-chip memory supports radio frequency channel parameters corresponding to a maximum of six combination states. Each of the four frequency bands (four carriers) supports two radio frequency chains, and there can be 10 combinations. This will dynamically switch between off-chip and on-chip, resulting in a switching time for radio frequency parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of parallel combination states supported in the four frequency bands. (2) Some, one T X + one T X combinations (for example, frequency band #A supports one transmission radio frequency chain, and frequency band #B supports one transmission radio frequency chain) may have an intra-modulation (IMD) interference problem, which increases the design difficulty of the product. The terminal device may report the combination states supported in 10 combination states. For example, the terminal device uses user capabilities to inform the network device of two Ts X specifically supported in the frequency band, and one T X and one T X + one TX Parallel combinations can be reported. This application proposes that the number of combination states reported by the terminal device be six or fewer. This ensures that on-chip memory can be implemented and reduces the time required for dynamic switching.

[0314] In this application, it may be specified that, in possible implementations, regardless of subcarrier spacings (SCS), the delay for switching within a frequency band group, the delay for switching between frequency band groups, or the delay for switching between states is greater than 1 millisecond.

[0315] In this application, methods 200, 300, 400, and 500 may be combined. For example, a terminal device may report to a network device together the delay for switching within a frequency band group and the delay for switching between frequency band groups. As another example, a network device may transmit to a terminal device together a frequency band group identifier and a frequency band group switching identifier, etc. In other words, technical solutions for switching within frequency band groups and technical solutions for switching between frequency band groups can be combined with each other.

[0316] The examples of Methods 200 to 700 in the embodiments of this application are merely to help those skilled in the art understand the embodiments of this application, but it can be understood that they do not limit the embodiments of this application to the specific scenarios of the examples. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various equivalent modifications or variations can be made to the examples of Methods 200 to 700, and such modifications or variations also fall within the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0317] Some optional features in the embodiments of this application may be understood to be independent of other features in some scenarios, or to be combined with other features in some scenarios. This is not limited to these examples.

[0318] The embodiments described in this application may be understood to be independent solutions or to be combined based on internal logic. All of these solutions fall within the scope of protection of this application. In addition, the interpretation or description of the terms of the embodiments may be referenced or interpreted from one another in the embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0319] The various numerical sequence numbers in the implementations of this application do not signify an execution order, but are merely for differentiation to facilitate explanation, and can therefore be understood as not constituting any limitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of this application. For example, in method 300, steps 301 and 305 may be performed simultaneously, i.e., when the network device transmits the frequency band group identifier to the terminal device, it also delivers the target frequency band group identifier.

[0320] In this application, "pre-define" can be understood as "define," "pre-define," "memorize," "pre-memorize," "pre-negotiate," "pre-configure," "incorporate into," or "pre-burn."

[0321] In this application, "when," "in the case of," and "in the event of" all mean that the device performs the corresponding process in the intended circumstances, and do not imply a time limit, nor do they require the device to have the determined operation during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0322] In this specification, the term "and / or" can be understood to describe only the relationship of relating to the related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B could represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, or only B exists. In addition, in this specification, the letter " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the related objects.

[0323] The above primarily describes the solutions provided in embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between nodes. To implement the aforementioned functions, nodes such as terminal devices and network devices can be understood to include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing the functions. Those skilled in the art should recognize that, in combination with the units and algorithmic steps in the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented by hardware or by a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether the functions are implemented using hardware or by computer software driving the hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art should be aware that different methods may be used to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0324] In embodiments of this application, functional modules for terminal devices and network devices may be obtained by partitioning based on the method examples described above. For example, a functional module may be obtained by partitioning corresponding to a function, or two or more functions may be integrated into a single processing module. The integrated module may be implemented in hardware form or in the form of a software functional module. The partitioning into modules in embodiments of this application is illustrative and merely a logical functional partition; other partitions may be used in actual implementation. Hereinafter, an example in which a functional module is obtained by partitioning corresponding to a function will be used for explanation.

[0325] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a communication device 100 according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in the figure, the device 100 may include a transceiver unit 110 and a processing unit 120.

[0326] In possible designs, the apparatus 100 may be a terminal device in an embodiment of the method described above, or a chip configured to implement the functions of a terminal device in an embodiment of the method described above. It should be understood that the apparatus 100 may correspond to the terminal devices of Methods 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 according to embodiments of this application. The apparatus 100 may perform steps corresponding to the terminal devices of Methods 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 according to embodiments of this application.

[0327] In a possible implementation, a processing unit is configured to determine a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, and a transceiver unit is configured to transmit first information, the first information including the first switching delay for N frequency band groups.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive frequency band group identification information, which includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0329] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive second information, which indicates a target frequency band group identifier, and the processing unit is configured to perform frequency band switching within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier based on the second information, where the target frequency band group identifier is one or more of N frequency band group identifiers.

[0330] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine M second switching delays, where the j-th second switching delay is the delay for the terminal device to switch between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, where the j-th second switching delay is one of the M second switching delays, where the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each contain at least one frequency band, where M is a positive integer, and the transceiver unit is configured to transmit third information, where the third information includes at least the j-th second switching delay.

[0331] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive frequency band group identification information, which includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a fourth piece of information, which indicates a target frequency band group identifier, and the processing unit is configured to perform frequency band switching between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier based on the fourth piece of information, where the target frequency band group identifier is at least two of X frequency band group identifiers.

[0333] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive frequency band group switching identification information, which includes at least the j-th frequency band group switching identifier.

[0334] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a fifth piece of information from a network device, the fifth piece of information indicating a target frequency band group switching identifier, and the processing device is configured to perform frequency band switching between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group switching identifier based on the fifth piece of information, the target frequency band group switching identifier being one or more of Y frequency band group switching identifiers.

[0335] In possible designs, the device 100 may be a network device in the embodiments of the methods described above, or a chip configured to implement the functions of a terminal device in the embodiments of the methods described above. It should be understood that the device 100 may correspond to the network devices of Methods 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 according to embodiments of this application. The device 100 may perform the steps corresponding to the network devices of Methods 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 according to embodiments of this application.

[0336] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive first information, the first information including a first switching delay for N frequency band groups, the N frequency band groups including an i-th frequency band group, the first switching delay for N frequency band groups including an i-th first switching delay, the i-th first switching delay being the delay for switching by a terminal device between at least two different frequency bands included in the i-th frequency band group, where N is a positive integer, and the processing unit is configured to determine the scheduling of uplink data based on the first information.

[0337] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit frequency band group identification information, which includes N frequency band group identifiers.

[0338] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit second information, which indicates a target frequency band group identifier, which instructs a terminal device to perform frequency band switching within the target frequency band group corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier, and the target frequency band group identifier is one or more of N frequency band group identifiers.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive third information, the third information including at least j-th second switching delays, where the j-th second switching delay is the delay for switching by a terminal device between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, where the j-th second switching delay is one of M second switching delays, where the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each include at least one frequency band, and M is a positive integer, and the processing unit is configured to determine the scheduling of uplink data based on the third information.

[0340] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit frequency band group identification information, which includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier.

[0341] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit a fourth piece of information, which indicates a target frequency band group identifier, and is used to perform frequency band switching between target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group identifier, and the target frequency band group identifier is at least two of X frequency band group identifiers.

[0342] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit frequency band group switching identification information, which includes at least the j-th frequency band group switching identifier.

[0343] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit a fifth piece of information, the fifth piece of information, which indicates a target frequency band group switching identifier, the target frequency band group switching identifier instructs the terminal device to perform a frequency band switch between the target frequency band groups corresponding to the target frequency band group switching identifier, and the target frequency band group switching identifier is one or more of Y frequency band group switching identifiers.

[0344] Here, the device 100 should also be understood as being embodied in the form of a functional unit. Here, the term “unit” may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor configured to run one or more software or firmware programs (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a packet processor), memory, coupled logic circuits, and / or other suitable components that support the described function. To avoid repetition, further details are not described here.

[0345] Each of the solutions described above has a function to implement the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device or network device of the method described above. This function may be implemented using hardware or by hardware running the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the function described above. In the method embodiment, to perform the transmit / receive operation and the associated processing operation, for example, a transceiver unit may be replaced with a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit of the transceiver unit may be replaced with a transmitter, and the receiving unit of the transceiver unit may be replaced with a receiver), and other units such as a processing unit may be replaced with a processor.

[0346] In addition, the transceiver unit 110 may be replaced by a transceiver circuit (for example, which may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0347] It should be noted that the device in Figure 5 may be a terminal device or network device as described in the embodiments above, or it may be a chip or chip system, such as a system on a chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit on a chip. This is not limited to the above.

[0348] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a communication device 200 according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in the figure, the device 200 includes at least one processor 220. The processor 220 is coupled to memory and is configured to execute instructions stored in memory to transmit and / or receive signals. Optionally, the device 200 further includes memory 230 configured to store instructions. Optionally, the device 200 further includes a transceiver 210, the processor 220 controlling the transceiver 210 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0349] It should be understood that the processor 220 and memory 230 may be integrated into a processing device, and that the processor 220 is configured to execute program code stored in memory 230 to implement the aforementioned functions. In a particular implementation, memory 230 may, alternatively, be integrated into the processor 220 or be independent of the processor 220.

[0350] Transceiver 210 may also be understood to include a transceiver (or receiver) and a transmitter (or transmitter). The transceiver may further include an antenna. There may be one or more antennas. Transceiver 210 may be a communication interface or interface circuit.

[0351] Specifically, the transceiver 210 of device 200 may correspond to the transceiver unit 110 of device 100, and the processor 220 of device 200 may correspond to the processing unit 120 of device 200.

[0352] In the solution, the device 200 is configured to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the method embodiment described above.

[0353] For example, the processor 220 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 230 to implement the relevant operations performed by the wireless access network device in the aforementioned method embodiments (for example, a method implemented by any one of the embodiments of Method 200 to Method 600).

[0354] In an alternative solution, the device 200 is configured to implement the operations performed by the network device in the embodiment of the method described above.

[0355] For example, the processor 220 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 230 to implement the relevant operations performed by the network device in the aforementioned method embodiments (for example, a method implemented by any one of the embodiments of Method 200 to Method 700).

[0356] Please understand that the specific processes performed by the transceiver and processor in the corresponding steps are detailed in the method embodiments described above. For brevity, the details will not be explained again here.

[0357] In implementation, the steps of the method described above may be carried out using the integrated logic circuits of the processor hardware or using instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to embodiments of this application may be carried out directly using a hardware processor or using a combination of processor hardware and software modules. The software modules may be installed in mature storage media of the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is installed in memory, and the processor reads information from memory and, in combination with the processor hardware, completes the steps of the method described above. To avoid repetition, further details are not described again here.

[0358] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip and has signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the method embodiments described above may be implemented using the integrated logic circuits of the processor hardware or using instructions in the form of software. The aforementioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate, a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor may implement or carry out the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to embodiments of this application may be implemented directly using a hardware decoding processor, or they may be implemented using a combination of hardware and software modules of a decoding processor. The software module may be installed in a mature storage medium in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is installed in memory, the processor reads information from memory, and in combination with the processor hardware completes the steps of the method described above.

[0359] The memory in the embodiments of this application may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random assess memory (RAM) and may be used as an external cache. Rather than providing a limited explanation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory in the systems and methods described herein includes, but is not limited to, these types of memory and any other suitable types of memory.

[0360] Based on the methods provided in embodiments of this application, this application further provides a computer program product which stores computer program code. When the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is able to perform a method which is performed by a terminal device or a network device in any one of the embodiments of Method 200 to Method 700.

[0361] Based on the methods provided in embodiments of this application, this application further provides a computer-readable medium that stores program code. When the program code is run on a computer, the computer becomes capable of performing the methods performed by the terminal device or network device of the embodiments described above.

[0362] Based on the methods provided in embodiments of this application, this application further provides a communication system, the communication system including terminal devices and network devices. The terminal devices are configured to perform steps corresponding to the terminal devices of the aforementioned methods 200 to 700, and the network devices are configured to perform steps corresponding to the network devices of the aforementioned methods 200 to 700.

[0363] For a description of the relevant aspects and beneficial effects of any of the devices provided above, please refer to the corresponding embodiments of the methods provided above. Further details are not provided here.

[0364] All or part of the embodiments described above may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If software is used to implement the embodiments described above, all or part of the embodiments described above may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded into a computer and executed, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated, either completely or partially. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or another programmable device. Computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) means. Computer-readable storage media may be any available media accessible by a computer, or they may be data storage devices such as servers or data centers that integrate one or more available media. Available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0365] In the embodiments of the apparatus described above, corresponding modules or units perform corresponding steps. For example, a transceiver unit (transceiver) may perform a receiving step or a transmitting step in a method embodiment, and a processing unit (processor) may perform steps other than the transmitting step and the receiving step. For specific functions of the units, please refer to the corresponding method embodiment. There may be one or more processors.

[0366] As used herein, terms such as “component,” “module,” and “system” are used to describe computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or running software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. As shown in the figure, both a computing device and an application running on the computing device may be components. One or more components may reside in a process and / or a thread of execution, components may be located on one computer and / or distributed across two or more computers. In addition, these components may run from various computer-readable media that store various data structures. For example, components may communicate using local and / or remote processing based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with each other in a local system, in a distributed system, and / or across a network such as the Internet that interacts with other systems using signals).

[0367] Those skilled in the art will recognize, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, that the units and algorithmic steps can be implemented by electronic hardware or by a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software will depend on the specific application and the design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art will recognize that different methods may be used to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations will not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0368] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of ease and conciseness of explanation, detailed working procedures of the aforementioned systems, devices, and units should be referred to the corresponding procedures in the method embodiments described above. Further details will not be described again here.

[0369] In some embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the described device embodiments are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical functional division, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated to form another system, or some features may be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection shown or discussed may be implemented through some interfaces. Indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be implemented in an electrical, mechanical, or other form.

[0370] Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separated, and parts shown as units may or may not be physical units. Specifically, these parts may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to the actual requirements for achieving the objectives of the solution of the embodiment.

[0371] In addition, the functional units of the embodiments of this application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically independently, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit.

[0372] When a function is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the essential technical solution of this application, or a portion of the prior art, or a part of the technical solution may be implemented in the form of a software product. A computer software product is stored on a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, network device, etc.) to carry out all or part of the steps of the method described in embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0373] Throughout this specification, the “embodiments” referred to indicate that certain features, structures, or characteristics related to these embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, the embodiments throughout this specification do not necessarily have to be identical. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0374] It should be understood that the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" used in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and do not limit the dimensions, content, order, chronological order, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, the first PDSCH and the second PDSCH may be the same physical channel or different physical channels. In addition, these names do not indicate that the two physical channels have different amounts of information, content, priority, or importance.

[0375] In this application, it should be understood that "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one item (part)" or similar expression means one or more items (parts), i.e., any combination of singular items (parts) or multiple items (parts). For example, at least one item (part) among a, b, or c represents a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc.

[0376] In the embodiments of this application, it should also be understood that “B corresponding to A” indicates that B is associated with A and that B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A. B can, alternatively, be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0377] The foregoing description is merely a specific implementation of this application and does not limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modification or substitution that can be readily understood by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should fall within the scope of protection of this application. Accordingly, the scope of protection of this application should be limited to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applicable to a terminal device or a chip for said terminal device, A step of determining M second switching delays, wherein the j-th second switching delay is a delay for switching by the terminal device between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, the j-th second switching delay is one of the M second switching delays, the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each include at least one frequency band, and M is a positive integer. A step of transmitting third information to a network device, wherein the third information includes at least the j-th second switching delay. A communication method that includes this.

2. The third information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier, The method according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned method, A step of receiving frequency band group identification information from the network device, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes at least the first frequency band group identifier and the second frequency band group identifier, further comprising the steps of The method according to claim 2.

4. The third information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group, and the third information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data. The method according to claim 2.

5. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds. The method according to claim 2.

6. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes 35 microseconds. The method according to claim 2.

7. The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #D, where frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains; or The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #C, where frequency band #C supports one radio frequency chain. The method according to claim 1.

8. A communication method applicable to a network device or a chip for said network device, A step of receiving third information from a terminal device, wherein the third information includes at least a j-th second switching delay, the j-th second switching delay being a delay for switching by the terminal device between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, the j-th second switching delay being one of M second switching delays, the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each including at least one frequency band, and M being a positive integer, Based on the third piece of information mentioned above, the step of determining the scheduling of uplink data and A communication method that includes this.

9. The third information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier, The method according to claim 8.

10. The aforementioned method, A step of transmitting frequency band group identification information to the terminal device, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes at least the first frequency band group identifier and the second frequency band group identifier, The method according to claim 9.

11. The third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the terminal device in the frequency bands included in the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group. The method according to claim 9.

12. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds. The method according to claim 9.

13. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item in the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes 35 microseconds. The method according to claim 9.

14. The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #D, where frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains; or The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #C, where frequency band #C supports one radio frequency chain. The method according to claim 8.

15. The method involves determining M second switching delays, where the j-th second switching delay is a delay for switching between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, the j-th second switching delay is one of the M second switching delays, the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each contain at least one frequency band, and M is a positive integer. The method involves transmitting a third piece of information, wherein the third piece of information includes at least the j-th second switching delay. A device including one or more processors configured in such a manner.

16. The third information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier, The apparatus according to claim 15.

17. The aforementioned one or more processors are The system is further configured to receive frequency band group identification information, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes at least the first frequency band group identifier and the second frequency band group identifier. The apparatus according to claim 16.

18. The third information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by the device in the frequency bands included in the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group, and the third information is used by the network device to determine the scheduling of uplink data. The apparatus according to claim 16.

19. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item of the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes at least one of 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds. The apparatus according to claim 16.

20. The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #D, where frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains; or The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #C, where frequency band #C supports one radio frequency chain. The apparatus according to claim 15.

21. The process involves receiving a third piece of information, wherein the third piece of information includes at least a j-th second switching delay, the j-th second switching delay being a delay for switching by a terminal device between a first frequency band group and a second frequency band group, the j-th second switching delay being one of M second switching delays, the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group each including at least one frequency band, and M being a positive integer. Based on the third piece of information described above, the scheduling of the uplink data is determined. A device including one or more processors configured in such a manner.

22. The third information further includes at least a first frequency band group identifier and a second frequency band group identifier, The apparatus according to claim 21.

23. The aforementioned one or more processors are The system is further configured to transmit frequency band group identification information, wherein the frequency band group identification information includes at least the first frequency band group identifier and the second frequency band group identifier. The apparatus according to claim 22.

24. The third piece of information further includes the number of transmission radio frequency chains supported by terminal devices in the frequency bands included in the first frequency band group and the second frequency band group. The apparatus according to claim 22.

25. The aforementioned second switching delay is an item of the second switching set, the aforementioned second switching set includes at least one of 35 microseconds, 140 microseconds, 210 microseconds, and 280 microseconds. The apparatus according to claim 22.

26. The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #D, where frequency band #D supports two radio frequency chains; or The first frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #B, where frequency band #A supports one radio frequency chain and frequency band #B supports one radio frequency chain; the second frequency band group includes frequency band #A and frequency band #C, where frequency band #C supports one radio frequency chain. The apparatus according to claim 21.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed on the computer, the computer is able to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 14.

28. A computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is capable of carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 14.

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