Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and device are provided. A UE can acquire first information, and the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The UE can also perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, and when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M, and M is determined based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the UE. This helps the base station and the UE to consistently understand the state after the UE performs radio frequency chain switching each time, and can improve uplink transmission performance.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] Cross-reference regarding related applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202110310453.4, titled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS," filed with the State Intellectual Property Administration of China on March 23, 2021, and to Chinese patent application No. 202110512598.2, titled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS," filed with the State Intellectual Property Administration of China on May 11, 2021, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference in the present application.

[0003] Technology field

[0004] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to communication methods and devices. Background Technology

[0005] With the continuous increase in the number of intelligent terminal users, user service volume and data throughput are also continuously rising. This imposes higher demands on communication rates. To meet the requirements for larger downlink and uplink peak rates, larger transmission bandwidth must be provided. Due to the scarcity of continuous spectrum with wide bandwidth, carrier aggregation solutions are provided in LTE. Carrier aggregation (CA) is the combination of two or more component carriers (CC) to support larger transmission bandwidth.

[0006] If a terminal has two radio frequency chains on a single carrier, the number of ports allowed by the terminal for uplink transmission on the carrier may be 2 or 1, or the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal for uplink transmission on the carrier may be 2. In a CA scenario, if the terminal supports a merge mode for two uplink carriers, has a total of two radio frequency chains, and supports dynamic uplink radio frequency chain switching on two uplink carriers, the terminal may dynamically allocate radio frequency chains on the two carriers. For example, the terminal performs transmission on Carrier X using one radio frequency chain and performs transmission on Carrier Y using the other radio frequency chain; or the terminal does not perform transmission on Carrier X and performs transmission on Carrier Y using two radio frequency chains. Additionally, if the number of radio frequency chains of the terminal on the carrier is x, the number of ports allowed by the terminal for uplink transmission on the carrier is a positive integer less than or equal to x.

[0007] In the case of a terminal that supports dynamic uplink radio frequency chain switching, when the number of radio frequency chains of the terminal on the carrier is less than the number of ports for uplink transmission scheduled by the base station and to be performed by the terminal on the carrier, the terminal must switch radio frequency chains on another carrier to the carrier to support the uplink transmission scheduled by the base station. Currently, the terminal determines a specific number of radio frequency chains to be switched to the carrier, while the base station does not know the number of radio frequency chains switched by the terminal. This causes a mismatch in the uplink transmission configuration between the base station and the terminal, resulting in degraded uplink transmission performance.

[0008] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving uplink communication performance.

[0009] According to a first embodiment, a communication method is provided. This method may be performed by a terminal device. The method comprises: the terminal device may acquire first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule the terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The terminal device may also perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, wherein, when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M, and M is determined based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, and at least one uplink carrier includes the first uplink carrier, and M≥N, wherein the second information includes at least one of priority indication information, bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length, identifier of a cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, number, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell, or information indicating whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier.

[0010] According to this method, the base station and the terminal device determine the number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device on the first uplink carrier in the first transmission on the first uplink carrier based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, so the base station and the terminal device consistently understand the state after the terminal device performs radio frequency chain switching each time, and the uplink transmission performance can be improved.

[0011] According to a second embodiment, a communication method is provided. This method may be performed by a base station. The method comprises: the base station may transmit first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The base station may also determine M based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, wherein M is the quantity of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier when the first transmission is performed, and M≥N, wherein the second information includes at least one of priority indication information, bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length, identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, number, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, or information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell.

[0012] For the beneficial effects of the second mode, refer to the beneficial effects shown in the first mode.

[0013] According to a third embodiment, a communication method is provided. This method may be performed by a terminal device. The method comprises: the terminal device may acquire first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule the terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The terminal device may also perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, wherein when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is N, and the terminal device does not support N-port transmission on the first uplink carrier prior to the start moment of the first duration, wherein the first duration is an uplink switching gap, the start moment of the first duration is between the moment the terminal device acquires the first information and the moment the first transmission starts and is after the first moment, the first moment is the end moment of the last uplink transmission before the first transmission is performed, and the end moment of the first duration is prior to the moment the first transmission starts.

[0014] According to this method, the base station and the terminal device determine the number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device on the first uplink carrier in the first transmission on the first uplink carrier, so the base station and the terminal device consistently understand the state after the terminal device performs radio frequency chain switching each time, and the uplink transmission performance can be improved.

[0015] According to a fourth embodiment, a communication method is provided. This method may be performed by a base station. The method comprises: the base station may transmit first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The base station may also determine that when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is N, and the terminal device does not support N-port transmission on the first uplink carrier prior to the start moment of the first duration, where the first duration is an uplink switching gap, the start moment of the first duration is between the moment the terminal device acquires the first information and the moment the first transmission starts and is after the first moment, the first moment is the end moment of the last uplink transmission before the first transmission is performed, and the end moment of the first duration is prior to the moment the first transmission starts. The carrier where the last uplink transmission and the first transmission are located may be the same uplink carrier or may belong to the same set of first uplink carriers.

[0016] For the beneficial effects of the fourth mode, refer to the beneficial effects shown in the third mode.

[0017] In relation to the first and third modes;

[0018] In a possible design, the number of uplink carriers of a terminal device supporting uplink radio frequency chain switching exceeds 2, and the terminal device may also determine a third uplink carrier of the terminal device based on second information, wherein the number of radio frequency chains on which switching is permitted on the third uplink carrier is not 0. The terminal device may also skip the performance of uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier and the third uplink carrier within a first duration, wherein the first duration is an uplink switching gap.

[0019] In this design, the terminal device can determine the uplink carrier to which the radio frequency chain will be switched as the first uplink carrier. This helps the base station and the terminal device to consistently understand the state after the terminal device has performed radio frequency chain switching each time, and can further improve uplink transmission performance.

[0020] In a possible design, the uplink carrier of the terminal device, supporting uplink radio frequency chain switching, further comprises a fourth uplink carrier; k+L <P가 만족될 때, 단말 장치는 또한 제 1 지속기간 내에 제 4 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 송신의 수행을 스킵할 수 있다. P는 제 1 전송을 수행하기 위해 단말 장치에 의해 필요한 라디오 주파수 체인의 최소 수량이고, K≥M 이고, L은 제 3 업링크 캐리어 상에서 스위칭이 허용되는 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이고, K는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 단말 장치에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이며, 제 2 순간은 제 1 순간과 제 1 지속기간의 시작 순간 사이의 임의의 순간을 포함한다.

[0021] In a possible design, when a first condition is satisfied and a first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M. The first condition includes: M1+N>Z, where M1 is the total number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device's uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier at the second moment, Z is the total number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device, and the first uplink carrier set is a set of carriers that support uplink radio frequency chain switching.

[0022] In a possible design, when the first condition is satisfied and the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M. The first condition includes the following: M2 <N 이며, 여기서 M2는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 단말 장치에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이고 M2는 양의 정수이다.

[0023] In relation to any one of the first to fourth embodiments and its possible designs:

[0024] In a possible design, M may also be determined based on the number of ports on which the terminal device performs a second transmission, and the second transmission is a transmission performed by the terminal device on at least one uplink carrier other than the first uplink carrier. According to this design, the operating state of the terminal device can be determined more appropriately, and uplink transmission performance can be improved.

[0025] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the first uplink carrier is 1 and the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device exceeds 1, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0026] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a special cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0027] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0028] The second information may include priority indication information; and when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier; or

[0029] The second information includes information indicating whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier; when the first uplink carrier is a carrier in which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, where

[0030] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, and the terminal device does not perform transmission on the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier simultaneously, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0031] In this design, the operating state of the terminal device can be determined more appropriately, so more radio frequency chains are switched to higher-priority uplink carriers, and uplink transmission performance is improved.

[0032] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the first uplink carrier is 1 and the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device exceeds 1, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission;

[0033] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a special cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission;

[0034] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0035] The second information includes priority indication information; and when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission; or

[0036] The second information includes information indicating whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier; and when the first uplink carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission, where

[0037] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, the second transmission is a transmission performed by the terminal device on the second uplink carrier, the time domain resources for the second transmission overlap with the time domain resources for the first transmission, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0038] In this design, the operating state of the terminal device can be determined more appropriately, so more radio frequency chains are switched to higher-priority uplink carriers, and uplink transmission performance is improved.

[0039] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is 1 and the number of the first uplink carrier exceeds 1, M is equal to N or;

[0040] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a special cell, M is the same as N or;

[0041] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the same as N or;

[0042] The second information includes priority indication information; and when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is not higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is equal to N; or

[0043] The second information includes information indicating whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier; and when the first uplink carrier is a carrier on which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured, M is the same as N, where

[0044] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0045] In a possible design, the first transmission is a 1-port transmission, and the first uplink carrier is a carrier without a position for uplink radio frequency switching time. In this case, during the 1-port transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports 2-port transmission on the first uplink carrier, i.e., M is equal to the maximum number of ports (2 ports) supported for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. Also, during the first transmission, the second transmission is not performed on the other uplink carrier. Optionally, the transmission prior to the first transmission is a 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier; or a 1-port transmission on the other uplink carrier, and the UE supports 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier.

[0046] In a possible design, the first transmission is a 1-port transmission, and the first uplink carrier is the carrier on which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located. In this case, during the 1-port transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports 1-port transmission on the first uplink carrier (in other words, the UE does not support 2-port transmission on the first uplink carrier), that is, M is equal to the quantity of ports for the first transmission, 1 (i.e., M=N). Also, during the first transmission, the second transmission is not performed on the other uplink carrier. Optionally, the transmission prior to the first transmission is a 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier or a 1-port transmission on the other uplink carrier, and the UE supports 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier.

[0047] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device that implements a method implemented by a terminal device in any one of the first aspect or a possible design of the first aspect, or a method implemented by a terminal device in any one of the third aspect or a possible design of the third aspect. The device includes a corresponding unit or component configured to perform the aforementioned method. The unit included in the device may be implemented by software and / or hardware. The device may be, for example, a network device; or a chip, chip system, module, or processor capable of supporting the network device in implementing the aforementioned method.

[0048] For example, a communication device may include modular components such as a transceiver module and a processing module. The module may perform the corresponding function of a terminal device in a first embodiment or any of the possible designs of the first embodiment, or may perform the corresponding function of a network device in a third embodiment or any of the possible designs of the third embodiment. The transceiver unit may include a receiving module or a receiving unit configured to perform a receiving function, and a transmitting module or a transmitting unit configured to perform a transmitting function. When the communication device is a terminal, the transceiver unit may be a transmitting unit when performing the transmitting step, and the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step. The transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, the transmitting unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit may be replaced by a receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, etc. The processing unit may be a processor, for example, a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the function of a terminal device, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface of the chip system, and the processing unit may be a processor of the chip system, for example, a central processing unit (CPU).

[0049] The transceiver unit may be configured to perform a receiving operation and / or a transmitting operation performed by a terminal device in any one of the first embodiment or a possible design of the first embodiment, or to perform a corresponding function of a network device in any one of the third embodiment or a possible design of the third embodiment. The processing unit may be configured to perform a control operation other than receiving and transmitting performed by a terminal device in any one of the first embodiment or a possible design of the first embodiment, for example, processing of information to be transmitted by the transceiver unit and / or processing of information received by the transceiver unit, or to perform a corresponding function of a network device in any one of the third embodiment or a possible design of the third embodiment.

[0050] When performing an operation performed by a terminal device in the first embodiment, the transceiver unit may acquire first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The transceiver unit can also perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, wherein, when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by a terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M, and M is determined based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, and at least one uplink carrier includes the first uplink carrier, and M≥N, wherein, the second information includes at least one of priority indication information, bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length, identifier of a cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, number, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell, or information indicating whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier.

[0051] When performing an operation performed by a terminal device in a third embodiment, the transceiver unit may acquire first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The transceiver unit may also perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, wherein when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is N, and the terminal device does not support N-port transmission on the first uplink carrier prior to the start moment of the first duration, wherein the first duration is an uplink switching gap, the start moment of the first duration is between the moment the terminal device acquires the first information and the moment the first transmission starts, and is after the first moment, the first moment is the end moment of the last uplink transmission before the first transmission is performed, and the end moment of the first duration is before the moment the first transmission starts.

[0052] In relation to the first and third modes;

[0053] In a possible design, the number of uplink carriers supporting uplink radio frequency chain switching of the communication device exceeds 2, and the processing unit may also determine a third uplink carrier of the terminal device based on the second information, wherein the number of radio frequency chains on which switching is allowed on the third uplink carrier is not 0. The processing unit may also skip the performance of uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier and the third uplink carrier within a first duration, wherein the first duration is an uplink switching gap.

[0054] In a possible design, the uplink carrier of the terminal device, which supports uplink radio frequency chain switching, further includes a fourth uplink carrier, and k+L <P가 만족될 때, 프로세싱 유닛은 또한 단말 장치를 제어하여 제 1 지속기간 내에 제 4 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 송신의 수행을 스킵할 수 있다. P는 제 1 전송을 수행하기 위해 단말 장치에 의해 필요한 라디오 주파수 체인의 최소 수량이고, K≥M 이고, L은 제 3 업링크 캐리어 상에서 스위칭이 허용되는 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이고, K는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 단말 장치에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이며, 제 2 순간은 제 1 순간과 제 1 지속기간의 시작 순간 사이의 임의의 순간을 포함한다.

[0055] In a possible design, when a first condition is satisfied and a first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M. The first condition includes: M1+N>Z, where M1 is the total number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device's uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier at the second moment, Z is the total number of radio frequency chains of the terminal device, and the first uplink carrier set is a set of carriers that support uplink radio frequency chain switching.

[0056] In a possible design, when the first condition is satisfied and the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M. The first condition includes the following: M2 <N 이며, 여기서 M2는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 단말 장치에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이고 M2는 양의 정수이다.

[0057] Optionally, the communication device may further include memory configured to store computer program instructions. When calling and executing computer program instructions, the processing unit or processing module may use the transceiver unit or transceiver module to perform a method performed by the terminal device in any one of the first embodiment or possible designs of the first embodiment, or perform a corresponding function of the network device in any one of the third embodiment or possible designs of the third embodiment.

[0058] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device that implements a method implemented by a base station in any one of the second aspect or a possible design of the second aspect, or a method implemented by a base station in any one of the fourth aspect or a possible design of the fourth aspect. The device includes a corresponding unit or component configured to perform the aforementioned method. The unit included in the device may be implemented by software and / or hardware. The device may be, for example, a base station; or a chip, chip system, module, or processor capable of supporting the base station in implementing the aforementioned method.

[0059] For example, a communication device may include modular components such as a transceiver module (or communication module) and a processing module. The module may perform the corresponding function of a base station in a second embodiment or any of the possible designs of the second embodiment, or may perform the corresponding function of a base station in a fourth embodiment or any of the possible designs of the fourth embodiment. The transceiver unit may include a receiving module or receiving unit configured to perform a receiving function, and a transmitting module or transmitting unit configured to perform a transmitting function. If the communication device is a base station, the transceiver unit may be a transmitting unit when performing the transmitting step, and the transceiver unit may be a receiving unit when performing the receiving step. The transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver, the transmitting unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit may be replaced by a receiver. The transceiver unit may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, etc. The processing unit may be a processor, for example, a baseband chip. When the communication device is a component having the function of a base station, the transceiver unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface of the chip system, and the processing unit may be a processor of the chip system, for example, a CPU.

[0060] The transceiver unit may be configured to perform receiving and / or transmitting operations performed by the base station in any one of the second embodiment or a possible design of the second embodiment, or to perform the corresponding function of the base station in any one of the fourth embodiment or a possible design of the fourth embodiment. The processing unit may be configured to perform control operations other than receiving and transmitting performed by the base station in any one of the second embodiment or a possible design of the second embodiment, for example, processing of information to be transmitted by the transceiver unit and / or processing of information received by the transceiver unit, or to perform the corresponding function of the base station in any one of the fourth embodiment or a possible design of the fourth embodiment.

[0061] When performing an operation performed by a base station in the second embodiment, the transceiver unit may receive first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The processing unit may also determine M based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, wherein M is the quantity of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier when the first transmission is performed, and M≥N, where the second information includes at least one of priority indication information, bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length, identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, number, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, or information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell.

[0062] When performing an operation performed by a base station in the fourth embodiment, the transceiver unit may receive first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a terminal device to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, the first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer. The processing unit also determines that when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is N, and the terminal device does not support N-port transmission on the first uplink carrier prior to the start moment of the first duration, wherein the first duration is an uplink switching gap, the start moment of the first duration is between the moment the terminal device acquires the first information and the moment the first transmission starts, and is after the first moment, the first moment is the end moment of the last uplink transmission before the first transmission is performed, and the end moment of the first duration is before the moment the first transmission starts. The carrier where the last uplink transmission and the first transmission are located may be the same uplink carrier or may belong to the same set of first uplink carriers.

[0063] Optionally, the communication device may further include memory configured to store computer program instructions. When calling and executing computer program instructions, the processing unit or processing module may use the transceiver unit or transceiver module to perform a method performed by the base station in any one of the second embodiment or possible designs of the second embodiment, or perform the corresponding function of the base station in any one of the fourth embodiment or possible designs of the fourth embodiment.

[0064] In the third or fourth embodiment, when the communication device implements an operation performed by a UE or a base station in any one of the first through fourth embodiments and possible designs of the first through fourth embodiments, it should be understood that the method further comprises the following:

[0065] In a possible design, M may also be determined based on the number of ports on which the terminal device performs a second transmission, and the second transmission is a transmission performed by the terminal device on at least one uplink carrier other than the first uplink carrier.

[0066] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the first uplink carrier is 1 and the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device exceeds 1, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0067] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a special cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier;

[0068] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier; or

[0069] The second information may include priority indication information; and when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the maximum number of ports supported by a terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, where

[0070] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, and the terminal device does not perform transmission on the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier simultaneously, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0071] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the first uplink carrier is 1 and the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device exceeds 1, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission;

[0072] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a special cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission;

[0073] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier; or

[0074] The second information includes priority indication information; when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is also determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission, where

[0075] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, the second transmission is a transmission performed by the terminal device on the second uplink carrier, the time domain resources for the second transmission overlap with the time domain resources for the first transmission, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0076] In a possible design, the second information may include a number; and when the number of the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is 1 and the number of the first uplink carrier exceeds 1, M is equal to N or;

[0077] The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a secondary cell and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a special cell, M is the same as N or;

[0078] The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell; and when the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, and the cell corresponding to the second uplink carrier of the terminal device is a physical uplink control channel secondary cell, M is the same as N; or

[0079] The second information includes priority indication information; when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is not higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is equal to N, where

[0080] The uplink carriers of the terminal device that support uplink radio frequency chain switching are a first uplink carrier and a second uplink carrier, and the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the same as the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the second uplink carrier.

[0081] According to the seventh embodiment, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the communication device shown in the fifth and sixth embodiments, namely, a network device configured to perform the method mentioned in the first embodiment and a terminal device configured to perform the method mentioned in the second embodiment, or a network device configured to perform the method mentioned in the third embodiment and a terminal device configured to perform the method mentioned in the fourth embodiment. Of course, other devices or devices may be included. This is not limited to the specification of the present application.

[0082] According to the eighth embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium is configured to store computer instructions or a program. When computer instructions are executed on a computer or a program is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform a method in any one of the first through fourth embodiments or a possible implementation of the first through fourth embodiments.

[0083] According to the ninth embodiment, a computer program product is provided. When the computer program product is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform a method in any one of the first through fourth embodiments or a possible implementation of the first through fourth embodiments.

[0084] According to the tenth embodiment, a circuit is provided. The circuit is coupled to a memory, and the circuit is configured to read a program or instruction in the memory and perform a method in any one of the first to fourth embodiments or a possible implementation of the first to fourth embodiments. The circuit may include a chip circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.

[0085] For the fifth through tenth embodiments and the beneficial effects of the possible designs of the fifth through tenth embodiments, refer to the first through fourth embodiments and the beneficial effects of the possible designs of the first through fourth embodiments. Details are not described again herein. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0086] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency chain switching according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another radio frequency chain switching according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another radio frequency chain switching according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an uplink switching gap according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of radio frequency chain switching according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of radio frequency chain switching according to an embodiment of the present application. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0087] To make the purpose, technical solution, and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0088] To facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the present application, the technical terms of the present application are briefly explained below.

[0089] 1. Terminal device: The terminal device is, for example, a terminal device, or a module configured to implement the functions of the terminal device, for example, a chip system, wherein the chip system may be placed in the terminal device. The terminal device includes a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, specifically, a device that provides voice to a user, a device that provides data connectivity to a user, or a device that provides voice and data connectivity to a user. For example, the terminal device may include a handheld device having wireless connectivity capabilities or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with a core network through a radio access network (RAN) and may exchange voice or data with the RAN or exchange voice and data with the RAN. Terminal devices may include user equipment (UE), wireless terminal devices, mobile terminal devices, device-to-device (D2D) terminal devices, V2X terminal devices, machine-to-machine / machine type communication (M2M / MTC) terminal devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) terminal devices. Most typically, the terminal device may be a vehicle or a terminal-type roadside unit; or a communication module or chip embedded in the vehicle or roadside unit.

[0090] As an example, not a limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may alternatively be a wearable device. A wearable device is a general term for wearable devices such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes developed by applying wearable technology to the intelligent design of everyday clothing, also referred to as a wearable intelligent device or intelligent wearable device, etc. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly or integrated into a user's clothing or accessories. Although a wearable device is merely a hardware device, it is configured to implement powerful functions through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. Generalized wearable intelligent devices include large, fully functional devices such as smart watches or smart glasses that can implement full or partial functions without relying on a smartphone; and devices such as various smart bands, smart helmets, or smart jewelry for monitoring body signals that focus on only one type of application function and need to be linked with other devices such as smartphones.

[0091] If the various terminal devices described above are located within a vehicle (for example, placed within the vehicle or mounted within the vehicle), all terminal devices can be considered as vehicle-mounted terminal devices. For example, vehicle-mounted terminal devices are also referred to as on-board units (OBUs).

[0092] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may further include a relay. Alternatively, it may be understood that any device capable of performing data communication with a base station can be considered a terminal device.

[0093] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device supports communication with a network device, such as a base station, through a wireless interface. The terminal device supports reception through a plurality of receive (RX) ports.

[0094] In the following description, the UE is used as the body for executing the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. Unless otherwise specified, in the following description, the UE may be replaced with a body such as a terminal device or a terminal device.

[0095] 2. Network Device: A network device includes an access network (AN) device, such as, for example, a base station (e.g., an access point), and may be a device that communicates with a terminal over a wireless interface through one or more cells of the access network. Alternatively, for example, in V2X technology, a network device is a roadside unit (RSU). An RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting V2X applications and may exchange messages with other entities supporting V2X applications. A network device may include a next-generation NodeB (gNB) of a 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) system (also abbreviated as NR system), for example, a base station including at least one remote radio unit (RRU) and at least one baseband unit (BBU), or may include a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) of a cloud access network (cloud RAN) system. This is not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0096] Since the embodiments of the present application relate primarily to access network devices, the network devices described below are access network devices unless otherwise specified. In the following description, a base station may represent a network device and / or an access network device.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present application, a device configured to implement the function of a network device may be a network device, or a device capable of supporting a network device in implementing the function, such as a chip system. The device may be installed in a network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is described using an example in which the device configured to implement the function of a network device is a network device.

[0098] In the following description, a base station is used as the body for executing the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. Unless otherwise specified, in the following description, the base station may be replaced with a body such as an access network device or a network device.

[0099] As shown in Fig. 1, the UE supports wireless communication with a base station.

[0100] 3. Primary Cell (PCell): A PCell is a cell where the UE performs initial connection setup, a cell where the UE performs radio resource control (RRC) connection reset, or a primary cell specified in the handover process. The PCell is responsible for RRC communication with the terminal. The component carrier corresponding to the PCell is the primary component carrier (PCC) unit. The downlink (DL) carrier of the PCell is the downlink DL PCC, and the uplink (UL) carrier of the PCell is the UL PCC.

[0101] 4. Secondary cell (SCell): The SCell is added during RRC reconfiguration and is used to provide additional radio resources. The component carrier corresponding to the SCell is called the secondary component carrier (SCC). The downlink carrier of the SCell is called the DL SCC, and the uplink carrier of the SCell is called the UL SCC.

[0102] The PCell is determined during connection setup, and the SCell is added / modified / released using RRC connection reconfiguration messages after initial access is complete.

[0103] 5. Single Carrier: The UE accesses the cell, and the cell includes an uplink carrier and a downlink carrier. Both the uplink carrier and the downlink carrier are active.

[0104] 6. Carrier Merging: A plurality of cells are configured for the UE, and each cell includes one downlink carrier and zero to two uplink carriers. The UE may activate some of the plurality of cells, but some UEs have limited uplink capabilities, and up to two uplink carriers may be configured and activated. For convenience of explanation, it should be understood that carriers appearing in this application hereinafter are uplink carriers unless further description or limitation regarding the carriers.

[0105] In the present application, one carrier corresponds to one cell. This means that the carrier is the carrier of the cell.

[0106] 7. Secondary Uplink (SUL): A cell is configured for a UE, and the cell includes an uplink carrier, a secondary uplink carrier, and a downlink carrier. When the cell is activated, all uplink and downlink carriers of the cell are activated. However, the UL and SUL of the cell cannot transmit uplink data simultaneously.

[0107] 8. Uplink Carrier Merging in Time Division Transmission Mode: A carrier merging mode with two uplink carriers can be configured for the UE. The UE performs time division transmission on the two carriers.

[0108] 9. Multi-Antenna Uplink Carrier Time-Division Transmission: A carrier merging mode with two uplink carriers can be configured for the UE, the UE performs time-division transmission on the two carriers, and the UE has a total of two radio frequency chains that can be used for simultaneous transmission. In this case, the two radio frequency chains can be dynamically assigned to the two carriers. For example, one radio frequency chain may be used for transmission on Carrier X and the other radio frequency chain may be used for transmission on Carrier Y, or no transmission may be performed on Carrier X and both radio frequency chains may be used for transmission on Carrier Y.

[0109] 10. Radio frequency chain: A radio frequency chain is also referred to as an uplink radio frequency chain. A UE can perform uplink transmission only when there is a radio frequency chain on the carrier. A radio frequency chain may be represented by Tx. A radio frequency chain may also be replaced by an antenna, radio frequency, transmission channel, or transmission port. In this application, the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the carrier is equal to the maximum value of the number of ports on the carrier where the UE's uplink transmission (or uplink transmission, transmission, or transmission) is allowed (or available).

[0110] It should be understood that in this application, the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on the uplink carrier being x may also be substituted with the following: the UE supports x-port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier; the quantity of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the uplink carrier is x; the quantity of ports for uplink transmission supported by the UE on the uplink carrier is x; or the UE does not support (x+q)-port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier, where q is a positive integer. Furthermore, in this application, it should be understood that if the UE supports x-port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier, or the quantity of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the uplink carrier is x, this means that the UE is allowed to perform x0-port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier—where 1 ≤ x0 ≤ x—and that the UE does not support (x+q)-port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier.

[0111] For example, if a UE has two radio frequency chains on a single carrier, the UE supports performing 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier; specifically, it may perform 1-port uplink transmission, 2-port uplink transmission, or no uplink transmission. In other words, the UE does not support performing uplink transmission using three or more ports on the carrier. In a CA scenario, the UE must allocate and switch radio frequency chains between multiple carriers. For example, the UE allocates two radio frequency chains to two carriers respectively, with the number of radio frequency chains on each carrier being one. If the UE needs to perform 2-port uplink transmission on one carrier, the radio frequency chain on the other carrier must be switched to that carrier.

[0112] Additionally, the base station may configure a fixed number of radio frequency chains for the UE's uplink carriers; in other words, the number of radio frequency chains for each of some uplink carriers is fixed, and switching cannot be performed. To facilitate the description of the radio frequency chain switching process, unless otherwise specified, the uplink carrier in this application may be considered an uplink carrier that supports radio frequency chain switching (or also referred to as a switchable uplink radio frequency chain).

[0113] In a CA scenario, the operating state of the UE (referred to as the radio frequency chain state, which may also be referred to as the state in this application) may indicate the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on a carrier or on each carrier. The operating state of the UE is that the UE supports X-port transmission on one uplink carrier. This is equivalent to one uplink carrier of the UE supporting X-port transmission, and equivalent to the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on one carrier being X. For example, the uplink carriers of the UE are Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. If the UE assigns two radio frequency chains to two carriers respectively, the operating state of the UE may be that the UE supports 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and supports 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2; or the UE may support 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. Of course, the operating state of the UE may, alternatively, be that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2; The UE may support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1.

[0114] Additionally, the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on each uplink carrier is determined. For example, a maximum of X radio frequency chains may be configured for the UE on the uplink carrier. This means that the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on the uplink carrier (or the maximum number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the uplink carrier) is X, or that the UE supports a maximum of X radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier. This implies that the UE supports uplink transmission using a maximum of X ports on the uplink carrier, or that the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the uplink carrier is X, or that the UE does not support (X+q) port uplink transmission on the uplink carrier, where q is a positive integer. In the present application, the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the uplink carrier may be replaced with the following description, for example, the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on the uplink carrier, or the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the uplink carrier when the number of radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier is the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on the carrier.

[0115] Additionally, possible values ​​of the quantity of a set of radio frequency chains of a UE on a carrier may be determined by a base station, predefined in a protocol, or in a preconfigured manner. In this application, "set" may be referred to as the quantity of a set of radio frequency chains of a carrier. Different quantities of radio frequency chains may support uplink transmission using the same quantity of ports or different quantities of ports. If a UE has four uplink radio frequency chains, the quantity set of the UE's radio frequency chains on a carrier may be {0, 1, 2, 4}, {0, 1, 2}, or {0, 1}. If a UE has three uplink radio frequency chains, the quantity set of the UE's radio frequency chains on a carrier may be {0, 1, 2} or {0, 1}. If the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on a carrier is 0, it may be understood that the UE does not support uplink transmission on that carrier. When the quantity of radio frequency chains is 4, 1-port, 2-port, or 4-port uplink transmission may be supported. A prerequisite for a UE to support X-port uplink transmission on a carrier is that the quantity Y of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier is greater than or equal to X, and the quantity Y of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier belongs to the set of quantities of the carrier's radio frequency chains.

[0116] The minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform uplink transmission on the carrier is the minimum value within the set of quantities of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier, which is not less than the number of ports scheduled by the base station and performed by the UE for uplink transmission on the carrier. For example, the set of quantities of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier is {0, 1, 2, 4}. If the base station schedules a UE to perform 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform uplink transmission on the carrier is 2; or if the base station schedules a UE to perform 3-port or 4-port uplink transmission on the carrier, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform uplink transmission on the carrier is 4.

[0117] The number of radio frequency chains on a carrier that are allowed to be switched (or switchable) is defined as follows: If no uplink transmission is performed on the carrier and the number of radio frequency chains on the carrier is not zero, the carrier has switchable uplink radio frequency chains. The number of switchable uplink radio frequency chains on the carrier is the number of all radio frequency chains on the current carrier. For a carrier on which an uplink transmission is to be performed, if the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for an uplink transmission to be performed on the carrier is less than the number of all radio frequency chains on the current carrier, the number of switchable radio frequency chains on the carrier is the number of all radio frequency chains on the current carrier minus the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for an uplink transmission to be performed on the carrier; otherwise, the number of switchable radio frequency chains on the carrier is zero, or the carrier does not have switchable radio frequency chains. A UE intends to transmit an uplink transmission on at least one carrier. If the number of radio frequency chains on at least one of the carriers does not support uplink transmission on the carrier (or if the number of ports supported for uplink transmission on at least one carrier is less than the number of ports for uplink transmission to be transmitted on the carrier), the set of at least one carrier that does not support uplink transmission is defined as a fourth uplink carrier set. In a possible manner, the first uplink carrier is the lowest priority carrier in the fourth uplink carrier set (if there is only one carrier in the fourth uplink carrier set, that carrier is the first uplink carrier).According to the method of the present application, first, for a first uplink carrier, radio frequency chain switching may be performed so that the UE can support a transmission to be performed on the first uplink carrier, and then for a lowest priority carrier in a fourth set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier, radio frequency chain switching is performed so that the UE can support an uplink transmission to be performed on that carrier. For all carriers in the fourth set of uplink carriers, the remainder may be inferred by inference in ascending order of priority until the UE supports an uplink transmission on each carrier. During the first transmission or after the first duration, the number of radio frequency chains on all carriers of the UE is the number of radio frequency chains on all carriers in the fourth set of uplink carriers obtained through radio frequency chain switching according to the method of the present application.

[0118] In this application, expressions such as “performance of x-port transmission on an uplink carrier (or x-port uplink transmission),” “transmission on an uplink carrier through an x-port,” “x-port transmission on an uplink carrier,” or “transmission of x-port transmission on an uplink carrier” may be used interchangeably and should all be understood to indicate that the transmission performed by the UE on the uplink carrier is an x-port transmission.

[0119] 11. Band Combination: The UE reports one or more band combinations available for simultaneous uplink transmission. A combination indicates that the UE supports simultaneous uplink transmission on carriers within the bands in the combination. A band combination may include one or more bands, and a band may include one or more consecutive or discontinuous carriers.

[0120] 12. Transmission Channel (Transmitter, TX): This is a physical concept and may also be referred to as a radio frequency (RF) transmission channel, which is abbreviated as transmission channel in this application. In this application, the transmission channel may operate in the following manner, but is not limited to the following: the transmission channel may receive a baseband signal from a baseband chip, perform radio frequency processing (such as up-conversion, amplification, and filtering) on ​​the baseband signal to acquire a radio frequency signal, and finally radiate the radio frequency signal into space through an antenna. Specifically, the transmission channel may include electronic components such as an antenna switch, an antenna tuner, a low noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier (PA), a frequency mixer, a local oscillator (LO), and a filter. Electronic components may be integrated into one or more chips based on requirements. An antenna may also sometimes be considered as part of the transmission channel.

[0121] 13. Antenna port: This is a logical concept. During actual signal transmission, the antenna port is mapped to a corresponding transmission channel. Currently, when scheduling a terminal device to transmit data, the network device may explicitly indicate the port number of the antenna port used for data transmission. In this application, the antenna port may be abbreviated as port.

[0122] Next, referring to Tables 1 and 2, the operating principle of uplink transmission by the UE based on the quantity of radio frequency chains in a CA scenario is explained.

[0123] For a UE that supports two radio frequency chains on two carriers and supports switching of radio frequency chains on two carriers (specifically, in this case, the first uplink carrier set has two carriers, and the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE is 2), the transmission behavior of the UE on two carriers is defined using Table 1 in the existing protocol. Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 each represent two carriers. Case 1 in Table 1 indicates that the UE has one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 2, and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on Carrier 1 is 1 and the number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on Carrier 2 is 2. Case 2 indicates that the UE has no radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 and has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 2. The UE may perform switching between two cases, specifically switching a radio frequency chain between two carriers, and switching the radio frequency chain between the two cases requires a switching time. The switching time may be referred to as the uplink switching gap. For convenience of explanation, the uplink switching gap may hereinafter be referred to as the first duration. The UE does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration. Additionally, it should be understood that in this application, "not expected" may be replaced with "not expected."

[0124] Currently, the UE can indirectly indicate whether radio frequency chain switching needs to be performed for the current uplink transmission—that is, whether switching time exists—by using the number of ports used by the UE for transmitting uplink transmissions on the carrier. This indication is based on the mapping relationship between the radio frequency chain and the uplink transmission port. Table 2 shows the mapping relationship between the radio frequency chain and the uplink transmission port of a UE that supports dual UL uplink carrier aggregation.

[0125] From Table 2, it can be seen that in Case 1 shown in Table 1, the state of the UE is when there is one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 (indicated as 1T+1T in Table 2), the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (indicated as 1P+0P in Table 2); or transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and simultaneously transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (indicated as 1P+1P in Table 2); or transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 1 (indicated as 0P+1P in Table 2). In Case 2 shown in Table 1, the state of the UE is when there is no radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 and there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 (indicated as 0T+2T in Table 2); when the UE transmits a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 1 (indicated as 0P+2P in Table 2); or when the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 1 (indicated as 0P+1P in Table 2). Currently, in some cases, the UE must perform radio frequency chain switching to meet the requirements for the number of ports for uplink transmissions scheduled by the base station.When radio frequency chain switching is to be performed, the UE switches the radio frequency chain on another uplink carrier in the first uplink carrier set to the uplink carrier on which the uplink transmission is to be performed within a first duration, and before starting the uplink transmission, the UE does not expect to perform the uplink transmission on all or some carriers in the first uplink carrier set (all or some carriers in the first uplink carrier set include at least the uplink carrier on which the uplink transmission is to be performed and other carriers associated with the radio frequency chain switching) within the first duration. Unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that in this application, the other uplink carrier is an uplink carrier belonging to the same first uplink carrier set as the first uplink carrier (or the carrier on which the uplink transmission is to be performed).

[0126] It should be understood that in this application, the first uplink carrier set is a carrier set configured by a base station for a UE and supports uplink radio frequency chain switching. The UE can perform dynamic uplink radio frequency chain switching among carriers within the first uplink carrier set. A carrier supporting radio frequency chain switching includes a carrier within the first uplink carrier set. Among the carriers, when there is a carrier whose radio frequency chain quantity is not zero, the radio frequency chain of the carrier can be switched to another carrier.

[0127] For example, a 2-port uplink transmission is to be transmitted on one carrier, and the previously performed uplink transmission on the carrier was a 1-port uplink transmission, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that a 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier is not supported (e.g., 0P+1P in Case 1 is switched to 0P+2P in Case 2). In this case, the UE must perform radio frequency chain switching and is not expected to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration.

[0128] As another example, a 1-port transmission is to be transmitted on one carrier, and an uplink transmission previously performed on the other carrier is a 1-port uplink transmission, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier (e.g., 0P+1P in case 2 is switched to 1P+XP in case 1). In this case, the UE must perform radio frequency chain switching and is not expected to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration.

[0129] As another example, a 2-port uplink transmission is to be transmitted on one carrier, and the previously performed uplink transmission on the other carrier is a 1-port uplink transmission (e.g., 1P+0P or 1P+1P in Case 1 is switched to 0P+2P in Case 2). In this case, the UE must perform radio frequency chain switching and does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration.

[0130] As another example, a 1-port transmission is to be transmitted on one carrier, and the previously performed uplink transmission on the other carrier is a 2-port uplink transmission (e.g., 0P+2P in Case 2 is switched to 1P+0P or 1P+1P in Case 1). In this case, the UE must perform radio frequency chain switching and does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration.

[0131] From Table 2, it can be seen that both Case 1 and Case 2 have the 0P+1P state, and both support transmission in the 0P+1P state. Therefore, if the UE needs to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2 without transmitting on Carrier 1, the UE's state is the state of the previous uplink transmission. In other words, the UE's state does not change; that is, the UE does not require switching time.

[0132] Furthermore, if the UE does not perform an uplink transmission, the UE's state is the state of the previous uplink transmission. In other words, the UE's state does not change, radio frequency chain switching does not need to be performed, and no switching time is required.

[0133] In the same case, radio frequency chain switching is not required between uplink transmissions using different ports. Therefore, switching time is not required.

[0134] Additionally, the prerequisite for Case 1 and Case 2 shown in Table 2 may be that the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on Carrier 1 is different from the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on Carrier 2. Specifically, Carrier 1 may support up to one radio frequency chain, while Carrier 2 may support two radio frequency chains. Therefore, based on Table 2, when configuring a carrier for a UE, the base station must distinguish between Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 by specifying whether the configured carrier is Carrier 1 or Carrier 2.

[0135] When the number of radio frequency chains of the UE is still 2, and Carrier 1 also supports 2 radio frequency chains, the correspondence shown in Table 2 can be extended to Table 3, that is, Case 3 can be added to represent a UE state where the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 is 2 and the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 2 is 0. In this case, the state of the UE can be switched between the UE states represented by Case 1, Case 2, and Case 3, respectively.

[0136] Based on Table 3, in some cases, the base station cannot accurately determine whether the UE needs to perform radio frequency chain switching, that is, whether the first duration needs to be maintained.

[0137] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when a third transmission of the UE is a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and no uplink transmission is performed on Carrier 2, and a first transmission scheduled by the base station is a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2, the UE attempts to switch at least one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 to Carrier 2, and the base station can see that a first duration must be maintained during the first transmission, wherein the first transmission and the third transmission are two adjacent times of the UE's uplink transmission, and the third transmission is performed before the first transmission. In other words, the third transmission is the UE's last uplink transmission (or also referred to as the previous uplink transmission) before the first transmission. In this application, the third transmission may be indicated as the last uplink transmission before the first transmission. The carriers on which the third transmission and the first transmission are located may be the same carrier or belong to the same set of first uplink carriers. The problem is that the base station does not determine the number of radio frequency chains switched to Carrier 2 by the UE. This is because the UE can perform a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 in both Case 1 and Case 2; however, in Case 1, the UE switches one radio frequency chain on the original Carrier 1 to Carrier 2, and in Case 2, the UE switches two radio frequency chains on the original Carrier 1 to Carrier 2. Consequently, when scheduling the fourth transmission, the base station does not determine whether the first duration must be maintained. The first and fourth transmissions are two adjacent uplink transmissions of the UE, and the first transmission is performed before the fourth transmission. For example, the fourth transmission scheduled by the base station is a 2-port transmission to be performed by the UE on Carrier 2.If the UE switches to Case 1 before performing the first transmission, the UE must still switch one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 to Carrier 2 when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station must maintain the first duration. However, if the UE switches to Case 2 before performing the first transmission, the UE does not need to perform radio frequency chain switching when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station does not need to maintain the first duration. In this application, it should be understood that the operating state of the UE at the second moment may also be replaced by the operating state of the UE when the UE performs the third transmission.

[0138] As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when the third transmission of the UE is a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and no uplink transmission is performed on Carrier 2, if the first transmission scheduled by the base station is a 1-port uplink transmission to be performed by the UE on Carrier 2, the UE can switch from Case 3 to Case 1 or Case 2. Later, the fourth transmission scheduled by the base station is a 1-port transmission to be performed by the UE on Carrier 1. If the UE switches to Case 1 before performing the first transmission, the UE does not need to perform radio frequency chain switching when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station does not need to maintain the first duration. However, if the UE switches to Case 2 before performing the first transmission, the UE must switch at least one radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station must maintain the first duration.

[0139] As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when the third transmission of the UE is a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and no uplink transmission is performed on Carrier 1, if the first transmission of the UE scheduled by the base station is a 1-port uplink transmission to be performed by the UE on Carrier 1, the UE can switch from Case 2 to Case 1 or Case 3. Later, the fourth transmission scheduled by the base station is a 1-port transmission to be performed by the UE on Carrier 2. If the UE switches to Case 1 before performing the first transmission, the UE does not need to perform radio frequency chain switching when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station does not need to maintain the first duration. However, if the UE switches to Case 3 before performing the first transmission, the UE must switch at least one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 to Carrier 2 when performing the fourth transmission, that is, the base station must maintain the first duration.

[0140] Similarly, if the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE, the number of carriers within the first uplink carrier set, and / or the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier are further increased based on Table 3, the probability that the base station cannot predict the UE state increases. Therefore, the probability that the base station does not know whether the first duration should be maintained for the UE is higher. In this application, the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE is the sum of the number of radio frequency chains of all carriers of the UE within the first uplink carrier set.

[0141] In conclusion, in the uplink transmission mechanism of the current CA scenario, since the base station may not determine whether the UE will perform radio frequency chain switching, the base station may not determine whether to maintain the first duration for uplink transmission. Consequently, uplink transmission performance is degraded. Specifically, if the base station determines that the first duration must be maintained for a specific uplink transmission, but the UE does not actually need to perform radio frequency chain switching, the UE delays transmission. Consequently, uplink transmission delay increases. If the base station determines that the first duration does not need to be maintained for a specific uplink transmission, but the UE actually needs to perform radio frequency chain switching before performing uplink transmission, the UE's time domain position on the uplink transmission resources configured by the base station may still be within the first duration. Therefore, the UE may not perform the uplink transmission at this time. Consequently, uplink resources are wasted.

[0142] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that improves uplink transmission performance.

[0143] The communication method can be implemented by a UE and a base station. The UE and / or base station may include the structure illustrated in FIG. 5 and / or FIG. 6.

[0144] For example, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a possible communication device. The structure may include a processing module (or processing unit) (510) and a transceiver module (or transceiver unit) (520). For example, the structure illustrated in FIG. 5 may be a UE and / or base station, or a component having the functions of a UE and / or base station illustrated in the present application. When the structure is a UE and / or base station, the transceiver module (520) may be a transceiver, and the transceiver may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, etc.; the processing module (510) may be a processor, for example, a baseband processor, and the baseband processor may include one or more CPUs. When the structure is a component having the functions of a UE or base station illustrated in the present application, the transceiver module (520) may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module (510) may be a processor, for example, a baseband processor. When the structure is a chip system, the transceiver module (520) may be an input / output interface of the chip system (e.g., a baseband chip), and the processing module (510) may be a processor of the chip system and may include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the processing module (510) of this embodiment of the application may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver module (520) may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component.

[0145] For example, the processing module (510) may be configured to perform and / or support any operation, e.g., processing operation, excluding transmission and / or reception operations performed by the UE and / or base station in any embodiment of the present application, or other processes of the embodiments described herein, e.g., generation of messages, information and / or signals transmitted by the transceiver module (520) and processing of messages, information and / or signals received by the transceiver module (520). The transceiver module (520) may be configured to perform and / or support any reception and / or transmission operations performed by the UE and / or base station in any embodiment of the present application, or other processes of the embodiments described herein, e.g., data transmission and / or reception.

[0146] Additionally, the transceiver module (520) may be a functional module. The functional module may implement both transmission and reception operations. For example, the transceiver module (520) may be configured to perform all transmission and reception operations performed by the UE and / or base station in the following description. For example, when a transmission operation is performed, the transceiver module (520) may be considered a transmission module; and when a reception operation is performed, the transceiver module (520) may be considered a reception module. Alternatively, the transceiver module (520) may be two functional modules, and the transceiver module (520) may be a collective term for two functional modules, and the two functional modules may each be a transmission module and a reception module. The transmission module is configured to implement transmission operations. For example, the transmission module may be configured to perform all transmission operations performed by the UE and / or base station in the following description. The reception module is configured to implement reception operations. The receiving module may be configured to perform all receiving operations performed by the UE and / or base station in the following description.

[0147] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device configured to perform operations performed by a UE and / or base station according to an embodiment of the present application. As illustrated in FIG. 6, for ease of understanding and convenience of the description of the drawings, the communication device may include at least one of a processor, memory, radio frequency circuit, antenna, or input / output device. The processor is configured to primarily process communication protocols and communication data, control the UE and / or base station, execute software programs, and process data from software programs. The memory is configured to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is configured to primarily perform conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and to process radio frequency signals. The antenna is configured to primarily transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, e.g., a touchscreen, a display screen, a keyboard, or an interface, are configured to primarily receive data input by a user and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of UEs and / or base stations may not have input / output devices.

[0148] When data is to be transmitted, after performing baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, the processor outputs a baseband signal to a radio frequency circuit; the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal externally in the form of electromagnetic waves through an antenna. When data is to be transmitted to a communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, FIG. 6 illustrates only one memory and one processor. Actual UE and / or base station products may have one or more processors and one or more memories. Memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. Memory may be placed independently of the processor or integrated with the processor. This is not limited to this embodiment of the application.

[0149] If the device illustrated in FIG. 6 may be a base station, it should be understood that the device may include at least one RRU and a BBU. The RRU is configured to primarily receive and transmit radio frequency signals, perform conversion between radio frequency signals and baseband signals, and, for example, transmit display information to the UE. The BBU is configured primarily to perform baseband processing and base station control, etc. The RRU and BBU may be physically placed together and may, for example, share the same processor and / or memory of the communication device. Alternatively, the RRU and BBU may be physically separated, that is, the distributed base station may, for example, use different processors and memory of the communication device.

[0150] In an embodiment of the present application, an antenna and a radio frequency circuit having transmitting and receiving functions may be considered as a transceiver unit (wherein the transceiver unit may be a functional unit, and the functional unit may implement transmitting and receiving functions; the transceiver unit may include two functional units, a receiving unit capable of implementing receiving functions and a transmitting unit capable of implementing transmitting functions). A processor having processing functions is considered as a processing unit. As illustrated in FIG. 6, a communication device includes a transceiver unit (610) and a processing unit (620). The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver machine, or a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, or a processing device, etc. Optionally, a component within the transceiver unit (610) configured to implement receiving functions may be considered as a receiving unit, and a component within the transceiver unit (610) configured to implement transmitting functions may be considered as a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit (610) may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The transceiver unit may sometimes be referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit may sometimes be referred to as a receiver machine, a receiver, or a receiver circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may sometimes be referred to as a transmitter machine, a transmitter, or a transmitter circuit, etc.

[0151] It should be understood that the transceiver unit (610) may correspond to the transceiver module (520), and the transceiver module (520) may be implemented by the transceiver unit (610). The transceiver unit (610) is configured to perform the transmission and / or reception operations of the UE and / or base station in the embodiments shown below, and / or is configured to support other processes of the technology described herein. The processing unit (620) may correspond to the processing module (510), and the processing module (510) may be implemented by the processing unit (620). The processing unit (620) is configured to perform the operations of the UE and / or base station in the embodiments shown below, in addition to the reception and / or transmission operations, for example, to perform all operations performed by the UE and / or base station in the embodiments shown below, excluding reception and / or transmission, and / or is configured to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0152] With reference to FIG. 7, a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application will be described next. In the following method embodiment, a receiving or transmitting operation performed by a UE or base station may be performed by a transceiver module (520) shown in FIG. 5 and / or a transceiver unit (610) shown in FIG. 6, and a processing operation performed by a UE or base station may be performed by a processing module (510) shown in FIG. 5 and / or a processing unit (620) shown in FIG. 6.

[0153] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the communication method may include the following steps.

[0154] (S101): The base station transmits first information, wherein the first information is used to schedule a UE to perform a first transmission on a first uplink carrier. The first transmission is an N-port transmission, where N is a positive integer.

[0155] The first information may be returned from downlink control information (DCI) or to upper-level signaling. Alternatively, the first information is DCI or upper-level signaling.

[0156] Optionally, the first uplink carrier is a carrier within the UE's first uplink carrier set.

[0157] Accordingly, the UE obtains the first information.

[0158] (S102): The UE performs a first transmission on a first uplink carrier. When the UE performs the first transmission, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M, and M is determined based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the UE, and M≥N. The second information includes at least one of the bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length, number (or also referred to as an identifier or index), identifier (ID), or index of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier; information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell (SpCell); information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell; information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell; information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell of a non-PUCCH secondary cell (or referred to as information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a PUCCH secondary cell); and third information or priority indication information. The third information indicates whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier.

[0159] Accordingly, the base station receives the first transmission.

[0160] It must be understood that at least one uplink carrier is an uplink carrier of the UE that supports uplink radio frequency chain switching (or referred to as an uplink carrier in which the uplink radio frequency chain can be switched).

[0161] Optionally, at least one uplink carrier of the UE includes a first uplink carrier. Alternatively, at least one uplink carrier of the UE may include an uplink carrier having the highest priority, the smallest number, or the largest number.

[0162] Optionally, at least one uplink carrier of the UE includes a carrier on which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located.

[0163] Optionally, at least one uplink carrier of the UE includes a carrier that has no position of uplink radio frequency switching time.

[0164] Optionally, the carrier on which the uplink radio frequency switching time location is located can be replaced with a carrier having the uplink radio frequency switching time location. One carrier is a carrier on which the uplink radio frequency switching time location is located, that is, a carrier on which the uplink radio frequency switching time location is configured.

[0165] Optionally, a carrier without a position in the uplink radio frequency switching time can be replaced with a carrier where no position in the uplink radio frequency switching time is located. One carrier is a carrier without a position in the uplink radio frequency switching time, that is, a carrier where no position in the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the carrier.

[0166] Optionally, if the carrier has a position for the uplink switching time, this means that the carrier's time-frequency resources (or the cell where the carrier is located) may not be used during the uplink switching. In other words, the time-frequency resources of a carrier without a position for the uplink switching time are more important. To ensure the existence of the time-frequency resources of a carrier without a position for the uplink switching time, the priority of the carrier without a position for the uplink switching time is higher than the priority of the carrier where the position for the uplink switching time is located.

[0167] (S103): Based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the UE, the base station determines the quantity (M) of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier.

[0168] Possible values ​​of M are used as examples herein. For example, M is equal to the minimum number of ports required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on N or the first uplink carrier. Alternatively, M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier, or M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier (i.e., M is the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on the first uplink carrier).

[0169] (S103) may be prior to (S102). For example, after determining the first information, the base station performs (S102) before transmitting the first information.

[0170] According to this method, the base station and the UE determine the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the first uplink carrier in the first transmission based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the UE, so the base station and the UE consistently understand the state after the UE performs radio frequency chain switching each time, and uplink transmission performance can be improved.

[0171] Optionally, prior to (S102), if the UE determines that the number of radio frequency chains on the first uplink carrier does not support the UE in performing an N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink resource, the UE must switch a radio frequency chain on another uplink carrier to the first uplink carrier within the first duration. In other words, before starting the first transmission, the UE does not expect to perform an uplink transmission on all or some carriers within the first uplink carrier set (including at least the first uplink carrier and other carriers associated with radio frequency chain switching) within the first duration.

[0172] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the start moment of the first duration is after the UE receives the first information and after the first moment, and the end moment of the first duration is before the UE starts the first transmission. The first moment is the end moment of the UE's third transmission, and the third transmission includes an uplink transmission performed on the first uplink carrier and / or an uplink transmission performed on another uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set. The length of the first duration may be pre-configured, pre-defined in the protocol, or indicated by the base station.

[0173] Specifically, after determining that the first condition is satisfied, the UE can switch a radio frequency chain on another uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set to the first uplink carrier. In other words, when the first condition is satisfied, the UE does not support N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier.

[0174] The first condition includes M1+N>Z. M1 is the sum of the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the uplink carriers in the set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier at the second moment, and Z is the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE.

[0175] The second moment includes any moment between the first moment and the start moment of the first duration. Alternatively, the second moment may be any moment between the moment when the UE starts the third transmission and the start moment of the first duration. Fig. 8 is used as an example. When the UE attempts to perform the first transmission, the second moment (or referred to as the second moment corresponding to the first transmission) may be any moment between the start moment of the third transmission and the start moment of the first duration.

[0176] Alternatively, the first condition is M2 <N을 포함한다. M2는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 UE에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이고, M2는 양의 정수이다.

[0177] The following explains the second information and how to determine M based on the second information.

[0178] (1) The second information may include bandwidth. A larger bandwidth of the uplink carrier indicates better transmission performance of the uplink carrier.

[0179] The bandwidth of the uplink carrier can be configured by the base station using upper layer signaling or DCI.

[0180] If the UE has a larger bandwidth on the first uplink carrier, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To prioritize the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on another uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the UE has a smaller bandwidth on the first uplink carrier, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier only. In this application, the fact that the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is configured for the first uplink carrier alone can be understood to mean that the number of radio frequency chains switched from the second uplink carrier to the first uplink carrier is determined based on the number of existing radio frequency chains of the first uplink carrier and the minimum number (or can be substituted therefor). Optionally, in this case, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0181] It should be understood that in this specification, the bandwidth of the first uplink carrier is greater than / less than the bandwidth of the uplink carrier in the first uplink carrier set of the UE other than the first uplink carrier.

[0182] Optionally, the carrier where the second transmission is located in the present application and the first uplink carrier may belong to the same first uplink carrier set.

[0183] (2) The second information may include frequency. A lower frequency of the uplink carrier indicates better transmission performance of the uplink carrier.

[0184] The frequency of the uplink carrier can be configured by the base station using upper layer signaling or DCI.

[0185] If the UE's first uplink carrier has a lower frequency, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To prioritize the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the UE's first uplink carrier has a higher frequency, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier alone. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0186] It should be understood that in this specification, the frequency of the first uplink carrier is higher / lower than the frequency of the uplink carrier in the first uplink carrier set of the UE other than the first uplink carrier.

[0187] (3) The second information may include path loss. A lower path loss of the uplink carrier indicates better transmission performance of the uplink carrier.

[0188] The path loss of the uplink carrier may be configured for the UE by the base station using upper layer signaling or DCI, or it may be obtained by measuring the downlink carrier corresponding to the uplink carrier.

[0189] If the UE's first uplink carrier has lower path loss, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To preferentially guarantee the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the UE's first uplink carrier has higher path loss, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier alone. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0190] It should be understood that in this specification, the path loss of the first uplink carrier is higher / lower than the path loss of the uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set of the UE other than the first uplink carrier.

[0191] (4) The second information may include the slot length. A shorter slot length of the uplink carrier indicates better transmission performance of the uplink carrier.

[0192] The slot length of the uplink carrier can be configured by the base station using upper layer signaling or DCI.

[0193] If the UE's first uplink carrier has a shorter slot length, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To prioritize the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the UE's first uplink carrier has a longer slot length, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier alone. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0194] It should be understood that in this specification, the slot length of the first uplink carrier is longer / shorter than the slot length of the uplink carrier in the first uplink carrier set of the UE other than the first uplink carrier.

[0195] (5) The second information may include information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell. The information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell is, for example, special cell configuration information. The information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell is, for example, secondary cell configuration information.

[0196] In the case of dual-connectivity operation, the special cell is the PCell of the master cell group (MCG) or the primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group (SCG). Alternatively, in a non-dual-connectivity scenario, the special cell is the PCell.

[0197] Information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell and / or information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell may be returned from upper-level signaling or DCI.

[0198] Compared to secondary cells, the uplink performance of the uplink carrier of a special cell can be guaranteed preferentially. Therefore, if the cell corresponding to the UE's first uplink carrier is a special cell and the cell corresponding to another uplink carrier is a secondary cell, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier; that is, a larger number of radio frequency chains can be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for second transmission performed by the UE on the other uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. In this case, radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier where the corresponding cell is a secondary cell may be preferentially switched to the first uplink carrier.

[0199] Otherwise, if the cell corresponding to the UE's first uplink carrier is not a special cell and / or the cell corresponding to another uplink carrier of the UE does not include a secondary cell, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier alone. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0200] For example, the carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on both Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 is 2. The base station schedules the UE to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, i.e., the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1. If the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell and the cell corresponding to Carrier 2 is a secondary cell, M can be set to 2. If the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a secondary cell or the cell corresponding to Carrier 2 is a special cell, M can be set to 1.

[0201] (6) The second information may include information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a PUCCH secondary cell and information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell other than a PUCCH secondary cell (or referred to as a non-PUCCH secondary cell or another secondary cell). A PUCCH secondary cell is a secondary cell in which a PUCCH is configured.

[0202] Information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a PUCCH secondary cell is, for example, secondary cell configuration information including PUCCH configuration information. Information indicating that the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell of a non-PUCCH secondary cell is, for example, secondary cell configuration information not including PUCCH configuration information. Information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a PUCCH secondary cell and / or information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell of a non-PUCCH secondary cell may be carried back from upper-level signaling or DCI.

[0203] In addition, compared to other secondary cells, the uplink performance of the uplink carrier of the PUCCH secondary cell can be guaranteed preferentially.

[0204] For example, the above example is still used. If the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is a PUCCH secondary cell, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier, namely, N is less than or equal to M, and M is greater than or equal to the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. In this case, radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier where the corresponding cell is a secondary cell may be preferentially switched to the first uplink carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports used by the UE to perform a second transmission on another uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the cell corresponding to the first uplink carrier is not a PUCCH secondary cell, M may be configured as the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is the same as N.

[0205] (7) The second information may include a number. This may indicate that the number of uplink carriers is related to the priority of the uplink carriers. If the priority is higher, the uplink transmission performance of the uplink carrier must be guaranteed preferentially, that is, the UE can configure a larger number of radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier.

[0206] The number of uplink carriers can be configured by the base station using upper layer signaling or DCI.

[0207] For example, an uplink carrier with a base number of 1 (or the largest number, the smallest number, or another number with a specific value) is the highest priority uplink carrier. If the number of the UE's first uplink carrier is 1, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To preferentially guarantee the carrier's performance, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier. Therefore, M can exceed N. If the number of the UE's first uplink carrier is not 1, there is a tendency for only the radio frequency chains required for the first uplink carrier to be configured. For example, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N. It must be understood that the number 1 here is merely an example for illustrative purposes. Alternatively, an uplink carrier with another number may be configured as the highest or lowest priority uplink carrier. For example, the number of the highest priority uplink carrier can be indicated using upper-layer signaling or DCI. Alternatively, in a manner such as pre-configuration or protocol pre-definition, the UE and base station regard the first number as the highest priority number by default, and the first number is a positive integer.

[0208] In this example, priority is mentioned, but priority may not be mentioned. If the uplink carrier with the number 1 (or the largest number, the smallest number, or another number with a specific value) is the first uplink carrier, it is directly assumed that a larger number of radio frequency chains tend to be configured by default on the first uplink carrier. To prioritize the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. That is, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for second transmission performed by the UE on other uplink carriers. Therefore, M may exceed N or be the default, and the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured only for the first uplink carrier. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is the same as N.

[0209] In the example described above, the number of the uplink carrier may be replaced with the identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, or the number may be replaced with the identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier.

[0210] (8) The second information may include third information, i.e., information indicating whether the location of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier. The time-frequency resources of the carrier without the location of the uplink switching time are more important.

[0211] When the first uplink carrier is a carrier in which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for the second transmission performed by the UE on the other uplink carrier.

[0212] When the first uplink carrier is a carrier configured with a position of uplink radio frequency switching time, M is equal to N.

[0213] For example, the first transmission is a 1-port transmission, and the first uplink carrier is a carrier without a position for uplink radio frequency switching time. In this case, during the 1-port transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports 2-port transmission on the first uplink carrier, that is, M is equal to the maximum number of ports (2 ports) supported for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. Also, during the first transmission, the second transmission is not performed on another uplink carrier. Optionally, the transmission prior to the first transmission is a 2-port transmission on another uplink carrier; or a 1-port transmission on another uplink carrier, and the UE supports 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier.

[0214] In a possible design, the first transmission is a 1-port transmission, and the first uplink carrier is the carrier on which the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located. In this case, during the 1-port transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports 1-port transmission on the first uplink carrier (i.e., the UE does not support 2-port transmission on the first uplink carrier), that is, M is equal to the quantity of ports for the first transmission, 1 (i.e., M=N). Also, during the first transmission, the second transmission is not performed on the other uplink carrier. Optionally, the transmission prior to the first transmission is a 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier; or a 1-port transmission on the other uplink carrier, and the UE supports 2-port transmission on the other uplink carrier.

[0215] If the UE's first uplink carrier is a carrier without a position for uplink switching time, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To prioritize the performance of the carrier, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on a different uplink carrier. Therefore, M may exceed N. If the UE's first uplink carrier is a carrier without a position for uplink radio frequency switching time, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured for the first uplink carrier alone. That is, M is the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0216] Optionally, third information of the uplink carrier indicates whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier.

[0217] Optionally, third information corresponding to the uplink carrier indicates whether the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on the uplink carrier. This will be explained in detail below using the scenarios in Table 3 as examples.

[0218] If the 12th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 11th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 11th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 12th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 2-port transmission on the 12th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 11th carrier.

[0219] If the 12th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 11th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 11th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 12th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 1-port transmission on the 12th carrier, and the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 12th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 11th carrier is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 11th carrier.

[0220] If the 12th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 11th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 12th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 11th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission was a 2-port transmission on the 11th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission is that the UE does not support a 2-port transmission on the 12th carrier.

[0221] If the 12th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 11th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 12th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 11th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 2-port transmission on the 11th carrier, and the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 11th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 12th carrier is that the UE does not support a 2-port transmission on the 12th carrier.

[0222] Optionally, the 12th carrier and the 13th carrier do not belong to the same band.

[0223] Optionally, in this application, the UE is configured to be in dual UL mode. Optionally, if the UE is configured to be in dual UL mode, the UE may be scheduled or configured for uplink transmission on two carriers simultaneously.

[0224] Optionally, if the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured on Carrier 1.

[0225] Optionally, if the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured on Carrier 2, the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 1.

[0226] For example, the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1. If the UE is in Case 2 from the previous uplink transmission, the UE attempts to switch to Case 3 to perform the 1-port transmission.

[0227] For example, the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, and if the UE is in Case 3 from the previous uplink transmission, the UE attempts to switch to Case 1 to perform a 1-port transmission.

[0228] Optionally, the fact that the UE is in case 2 of the previous uplink transmission may be replaced with the previous uplink transmission being a 2-port transmission on Carrier 2, or the previous uplink transmission being a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2 and 2-port transmission being supported on Carrier 2.

[0229] Optionally, the fact that the UE is in case 3 in the previous uplink transmission may be replaced with the previous uplink transmission being a 2-port transmission on Carrier 1, or the previous uplink transmission being a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1 and 2-port transmission being supported on Carrier 1.

[0230] Optionally, when the UE switches to case 1 to perform a 1-port transmission, the quantity of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the carrier where the 1-port transmission is located may be replaced with 1.

[0231] Optionally, when the UE switches to Case 2 to perform a 1-port transmission, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the carrier where the 1-port transmission is located may be replaced with 2.

[0232] Optionally, when the UE switches to case 3 to perform a 1-port transfer, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transfer on the carrier where the 1-port transfer is located may be replaced with 2.

[0233] For example, if the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1, and during the 1-port transmission on Carrier 1, the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (or the UE attempts to perform a 1P+0P transmission), and the UE is in Case 2 during the previous uplink transmission, the UE switches to Case 3 to attempt to perform a 1-port transmission.

[0234] For example, if the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, and during the 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 1 (or the UE attempts to perform an 0P+1P transmission), and the UE is in Case 3 from the previous uplink transmission, the UE switches to Case 1 to attempt to perform a 1-port transmission.

[0235] Similarly, if the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 1, the method of the example described above is referred to for inference.

[0236] For example, the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 1, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1. If the UE is in Case 2 from the previous uplink transmission, the UE attempts to switch to Case 1 to perform the 1-port transmission.

[0237] For example, the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 1, and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, and if the UE is in Case 3 from the previous uplink transmission, the UE attempts to perform a 1-port transmission by switching to Case 2.

[0238] Next, the UE scenarios are described in Table 4. Table 4 shows switching between two bands, where Band A has one carrier (Carrier 1) and Band B has two carriers (Carrier 2 and Carrier 3). Optionally, Carrier 2 and Carrier 3 can be two consecutive carriers.

[0239]

[0240] From Table 4, it can be seen that in Case 1, the state of the UE is that there is one radio frequency chain in Band A and one radio frequency chain in Band B. The one radio frequency chain in Band B can be shared by two radio frequency chains in Band B. That is, in Case 1, one radio frequency chain is available simultaneously on two carriers in Band B. In Case 2, two radio frequency chains can be used simultaneously on two carriers in Band B. That is, in Case 1, there is one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, and one radio frequency chain on each of Carrier 2 and Carrier 3. In Case 2, there is no radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, and there are two radio frequency chains on each of Carrier 2 and Carrier 3. In Case 3, there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1, and there are no radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 and Carrier 3. Similar to Tables 2 and 3, Table 4 also provides the port status of uplink transmission on each carrier for different cases.

[0241] Assume that the 13th carrier is a carrier in band A and the 14th carrier is one of the two carriers in band B.

[0242] Optionally, if the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located, then the two carriers in band B are both carriers where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located.

[0243] Optionally, if either of the two carriers in band B is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located, the other of the two carriers in band B is also a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located, and the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located.

[0244] If the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 13th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 14th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier.

[0245] If the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 13th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 14th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 1-port transmission on the 14th carrier, and the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 13th carrier is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier.

[0246] If the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 14th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 13th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission was a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission is that the UE does not support a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier.

[0247] If the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 14th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 13th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission was a 1-port transmission on the 13th carrier, and the operating state of the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier, then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 14th carrier is that the UE does not support a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier.

[0248] Similarly, if the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), the behavior of the UE can be obtained through analogy by referring to the example described above.

[0249] For example, if the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 13th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 14th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier (or if the previous uplink transmission is a 1-port transmission on the 14th carrier and the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier), then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 13th carrier is that the UE does not support a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier.

[0250] For example, if the 13th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located (or the 14th carrier is a carrier where the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located), and then the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port uplink transmission on the 14th carrier, and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on the 13th carrier during the 1-port transmission, and the previous uplink transmission is a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier (or if the previous uplink transmission is a 1-port transmission on the 13th carrier and the operating state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 13th carrier), then the operating state of the UE during the 1-port transmission on the 14th carrier is that the UE supports a 2-port transmission on the 14th carrier.

[0251] Optionally, "do not perform uplink transmission on the 14th carrier" may be replaced with "do not perform uplink transmission on any carrier in band B".

[0252] (9) The second information includes priority indication information of the uplink carrier.

[0253] Priority indication information may indicate the priority of an uplink carrier, which is determined by a base station. The base station may determine the priority of an uplink carrier based on at least one of bandwidth, frequency, path loss, slot length of the uplink carrier, an identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier, a number, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a special cell, information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a PUCCH secondary cell or a secondary cell other than a PUCCH secondary cell, or information indicating whether the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier is a secondary cell. For example, an uplink carrier with a larger bandwidth has a higher priority, an uplink carrier with a lower frequency has a higher priority, an uplink carrier with lower path loss has a higher priority, an uplink carrier with a shorter slot length has a higher priority, an uplink carrier with a number (or identifier corresponding to the uplink carrier) of 1 (or may be a maximum, minimum, or specific value) has a higher priority, and the priority of an uplink carrier whose corresponding cell is a special cell is higher than / higher than the priority of an uplink carrier whose corresponding cell is a secondary cell, or the priority of an uplink carrier whose corresponding cell is a PUCCH secondary cell is higher than the priority of an uplink carrier whose corresponding cell is a secondary cell other than a PUCCH secondary cell.

[0254] Optionally, the priority of the carriers may be determined based on third information. For example, the priority of an uplink carrier where the location of the uplink radio frequency switching time is located is lower than the priority of an uplink carrier where the location of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not located. For example, the third information of Carrier 2 indicates that the location of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, and the third information of Carrier 1 indicates that the location of the uplink radio frequency switching time is not configured on Carrier 1. In this case, the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2.

[0255] Optionally, the priority indication information may indicate the priority for each uplink carrier of the UE. Alternatively, the priority indication information may indicate the highest priority uplink carrier and / or lowest priority uplink carrier of the UE, and optionally, may also indicate the priority of other uplink carriers.

[0256] As explained above, the uplink transmission performance of the uplink carrier must be guaranteed preferentially, that is, the UE can configure a larger number of radio frequency chains on the uplink carrier. For example, if the UE's first uplink carrier has a higher priority, there may be a tendency for a larger number of radio frequency chains to be configured on the carrier. To guarantee the carrier's performance preferentially, a larger number of radio frequency chains may be configured on the carrier. For example, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier, or M is determined based on the number of ports for a second transmission performed by the UE on another uplink carrier. Therefore, M can exceed N. If the UE's first uplink carrier has a lower priority, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured only for the first uplink carrier. That is, M may be the minimum number of radio frequency chains required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. For example, M is equal to N.

[0257] It should be understood that in this specification, the priority of the first uplink carrier is higher / lower than the priority of the uplink carrier in the first uplink carrier set of the UE other than the first uplink carrier.

[0258] Priority indication information can be returned from upper-level signaling or DCI.

[0259] Here, an example is described of a switching method for switching a radio frequency chain to a first uplink carrier based on the priority of the carriers when the quantity of carriers in the first uplink carrier set is 2.

[0260] If a base station schedules a UE to perform an N-port first transmission on a first uplink carrier with a lower priority, and the UE does not support the transmission of the N-port transmission on the lower priority carrier during the third transmission, the UE requires a first duration before the first transmission, that is, it is not expected to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration. In this case, during the first transmission, the UE does not support an uplink transmission using N+1 (or any other number exceeding N+1) ports on the lower priority carrier. That is, in this example, M is equal to N. Accordingly, the base station can determine M based on the priority of the UE's carrier in a similar manner. Therefore, the base station and the UE agree on the value of M.

[0261] This has the advantage that the UE switches the number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission only from the low-priority carrier, and maintains as many radio frequency chains as possible on the high-priority carrier to ensure high-priority uplink performance. Since the base station schedules the UE to perform uplink transmission on as many high-priority carriers as possible, there is still a possibility that the UE will later switch radio frequency chains on the low-priority carrier to the high-priority carrier, and the first duration is occupied again for the switching. However, during the current switching, as many radio frequency chains as possible are maintained on the high-priority carrier, so the number of switching cycles can be reduced, that is, the first duration is reduced and transmission delay is reduced.

[0262] Additionally, if the base station schedules the UE to perform an N-port first transmission on a first uplink carrier with a high priority, and the UE does not support N-port transmission on a high-priority carrier in the third transmission, the UE requires a first duration before starting the first transmission to switch a radio frequency chain on a low-priority carrier within the first uplink carrier set to a high-priority carrier, that is, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on either the high-priority carrier or the low-priority carrier within the first duration. If the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier when performing the first transmission, the UE supports K-port uplink transmission on a high-priority carrier when performing the first transmission, i.e., M is equal to K, where K is the maximum number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on a high-priority carrier (i.e., the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE). When the UE performs a first transmission, it also performs an L-port second transmission on a low-priority carrier. When (ML) belongs to a quantity set of the UE's radio frequency chains on a high-priority carrier, the UE supports an (ML)-port uplink transmission on the high-priority carrier when performing the first transmission. When (ML) does not belong to a quantity set of the UE's radio frequency chains on a high-priority carrier, during the first transmission, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on the high-priority carrier is the maximum value within the quantity set of radio frequency chains that is not less than (ML). The time-frequency resources for the first transmission overlap with the time-frequency resources for the second transmission. The overlap here is specifically in the time domain. Accordingly, the base station can determine M based on the priority of the UE's carrier in a similar manner.Therefore, the base station and the UE agree on the value of M.

[0263] This has the advantage that the UE can switch as many radio frequency chains as possible to a high-priority carrier or keep as few radio frequency chains as possible on a low-priority carrier, thereby ensuring high-priority uplink performance preferentially. Since the base station schedules the UE to perform uplink transmissions on as many high-priority carriers as possible, there is still a possibility that the UE will later switch radio frequency chains originally on a low-priority carrier to a high-priority carrier, and the first duration is occupied again for the switching. However, during the current switching, as many radio frequency chains as possible are switched to a high-priority carrier, the number of switching operations can be reduced, that is, the first duration is reduced and transmission delay is reduced.

[0264] Additionally, if the priorities of the two uplink carriers (i.e., the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier) within the UE's first uplink carrier set are the same or no priority is involved between the two uplink carriers, and if the base station schedules the UE to perform an N-port first transmission on the first uplink carrier and the UE does not support the transmission of an N-port transmission on a lower priority carrier in the third transmission, the UE requires a first duration before the first transmission, that is, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration. During radio frequency chain switching, the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is configured for the first uplink carrier alone. Since the base station can be considered to schedule the UE to perform uplink transmission with equal probability on the first uplink carrier and the second uplink carrier, the number of radio frequency chains on the first uplink carrier and the number of radio frequency chains on the second uplink carrier are kept as equal as possible to reduce the number of subsequent switching cycles. In this application, it should be understood that the second uplink carrier is one of the UE's uplink carriers on which the uplink radio frequency chain can be switched.

[0265] In the present application, the statement that the UE does not support N-port transmission on the carrier means that the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the carrier is less than N. For example, the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE is n, but during uplink transmission, there are k radio frequency chains of n radio frequency chains on the carrier within the first set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier, that is, the UE supports k-port transmission on the carrier within the first set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier. In this case, the number of radio frequency chains on the first uplink carrier is (nk), where (nk) is less than N and k is less than or equal to n.

[0266] In the aforementioned example of determining the switching method based on the priority of the carrier, it should be understood that the high priority carrier may also be replaced by: a carrier with a large bandwidth, a carrier with a low frequency, a carrier with low path loss, a carrier with a short slot length, a carrier in which the number (or identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier) is 1 (or is a maximum, minimum, or specific value), a carrier in which the corresponding cell is a special cell, or a carrier in which the corresponding cell is a PUCCH secondary cell. In the aforementioned example of determining the switching method based on the priority of the carrier, the low priority carrier may also be replaced by: a carrier with a small bandwidth, a carrier with a high frequency, a carrier with high path loss, a carrier with a long slot length, a carrier in which the number (or identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier) is not 1 (or is a maximum, minimum, or specific value), a carrier in which the corresponding cell is a non-special cell, or a carrier in which the corresponding cell is a non-PUCCH secondary cell.

[0267] Optionally, in the aforementioned example in which the switching method is determined based on carrier priority, the high-priority carrier may alternatively be replaced with a carrier that does not have a position at the uplink radio frequency switching time. Optionally, in the aforementioned example in which the switching method is determined based on carrier priority, the low-priority carrier may be replaced with a carrier that has a position at the uplink radio frequency switching time.

[0268] It should be understood that the value of M can be determined based on one or more second pieces of information in the example described above. In the example where the value of M is determined based on multiple pieces of second information, when the bandwidths of multiple uplink carriers are the same, the priority of the uplink carrier is determined based on priority indication information, and the value of M is determined based on the priority.

[0269] Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a base station determines the radio frequency chain switching method of the UE based on different second information, using an example where the uplink carriers having the switchable uplink radio frequency chain of the UE are Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, respectively (i.e., the carriers within the first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1 and Carrier 2), and the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE is 2 and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by both Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 is 2.

[0270] It should be understood that when the first uplink carrier set of the UE includes two carriers and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier within the first uplink carrier set is two, the state of the UE and the number of ports supported for uplink transmission on the carriers are presented in Table 3.

[0271] Example 1: The bandwidth of Carrier 1 is greater than the bandwidth of Carrier 2.

[0272] As illustrated in FIG. 9, if the UE needs to switch from 2P+0P or 1P+0P to 0P+1P in Case 3 shown in Table 3, or if the UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, when the bandwidth of Carrier 1 is greater than the bandwidth of Carrier 2, the UE can switch to 0P+1P of Case 1 instead of switching to 0P+1P of Case 2, specifically, switching one radio frequency chain to Carrier 2 and maintaining one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1. In other words, when radio frequency chain switching to Carrier 2 must be performed to support a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, only one radio frequency chain is switched to Carrier 2. Therefore, the UE can additionally maintain one radio frequency chain with a larger bandwidth to perform uplink transmission on Carrier 1, thereby ensuring the uplink performance of Carrier 1. Alternatively, the base station can determine whether the UE switches from Case 3 to Case 1's 0P+1P based on the bandwidth of Carrier 1 and the bandwidth of Carrier 2.

[0273] As illustrated in FIG. 10, when a UE switches from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 shown in Table 3 to 1P+0P, or when a UE in the 0T+2T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, and when the bandwidth of Carrier 1 is greater than the bandwidth of Carrier 2, the UE may switch to 1P+0P of Case 3 instead of switching to 1P+0P of Case 1, specifically, switching two radio frequency chains to Carrier 1. In other words, when a UE in the 0T+2T state performs a radio frequency chain switching to Carrier 1, the two radio frequency chains are switched directly to Carrier 1, regardless of whether the base station schedules the UE to transmit a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. This is because base stations tend to schedule transmissions using a large number of ports on high-port uplink carriers. In this case, the UE can switch two radio frequency chains within the first duration to prevent the base station from switching the radio frequency chain back from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 when later scheduling a 2-port transmission on Carrier 1, thereby reducing the switching gap. Alternatively, the base station may determine whether the UE switches from Case 2 to Case 3's 1P+0P based on the bandwidth of Carrier 1 and the bandwidth of Carrier 2. Additionally, if the UE is scheduled to perform a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1 and the base station is also scheduled to perform a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, the UE may only switch to Case 1's 1P+0P.

[0274] Similarly, if the bandwidth of Carrier 2 is greater than the bandwidth of Carrier 1, the UE and the base station can perform processing similar to that in Fig. 9 or Fig. 10.

[0275] For example, if the UE switches from Case 3 to 0P+1P, it may switch to Case 2's 0P+1P instead of switching to Case 1's 0P+1P. In other words, when switching to Carrier 2, 2Tx is switched directly to Carrier 2 regardless of whether a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission is being transmitted. Therefore, the UE can switch two radio frequency chains within a single first duration to reduce the switching gap. As another example, if the UE switches from Case 2 to 1P+0P, the UE may switch to Case 1's 1P+0P instead of switching to Case 3's 1P+0P. In other words, when switching to Carrier 1, if only a 1-port uplink transmission is performed on Carrier 1, only one radio frequency chain is switched to Carrier 1, ensuring that the 1-port uplink transmission can continue to be performed on Carrier 2, which has a larger bandwidth.

[0276] Based on the same processing method, if the frequency of Carrier 1 is lower than the frequency of Carrier 2, if the path loss of Carrier 1 is lower than the path loss of Carrier 2, or if the slot length of Carrier 1 is shorter than the slot length of Carrier 2, the processing method of the UE and the base station is referenced to the example illustrated in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10. For example, when the frequency of Carrier 1 is lower than the frequency of Carrier 2, if the path loss of Carrier 1 is lower than the path loss of Carrier 2, or if the slot length of Carrier 1 is shorter than the slot length of Carrier 2, and the UE needs to switch from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 to 0P+1P, or if the UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, the UE can switch from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 to 0P+1P of Case 1 instead of 0P+1P of Case 2. As another example, when the frequency of Carrier 1 is lower than the frequency of Carrier 2, or the path loss of Carrier 1 is lower than the path loss of Carrier 2, or the slot length of Carrier 1 is shorter than the slot length of Carrier 2, the UE may switch from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 to 1P+0P, or when the UE in the 0T+2T state must perform a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1, the UE may switch from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 to 1P+0P of Case 3 instead of 1P+0P of Case 1.

[0277] Based on the same processing method, when the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, the processing method of the UE and the base station is described in the example illustrated in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10. For example, when the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, if the UE needs to switch from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 to 0P+1P, or if the UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, the UE may switch from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 to 0P+1P of Case 1 instead of switching to 0P+1P of Case 2. As another example, when the position of the uplink radio frequency switching time is configured on Carrier 2, the UE switches from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 to 1P+0P, or when the UE in the 0T+2T state needs to perform a 1-port transmission on Carrier 1, the UE can switch from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 to 1P+0P of Case 3 instead of 1P+0P of Case 1.

[0278] Example 2: The number of Carrier 1 is 1.

[0279] Figure 9 is used as an example. Assuming that the UE switches from 2P+0P or 1P+0P in Case 3 shown in Table 3 to 0P+1P, or that the UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, and when the number of Carrier 1 is 1 and the number of Carrier 2 is not 1, and Carrier 1 is the highest priority carrier, the UE can switch to 0P+1P in Case 1 instead of switching to 0P+1P in Case 2; that is, one radio frequency chain can be switched to Carrier 2, or both radio frequency chains can be switched to Carrier 2. In other words, when switching to Carrier 2, if only the 1-port uplink transmission is transmitted on Carrier 2, only one radio frequency chain is switched, ensuring that there is only one radio frequency chain on the higher priority Carrier 1. Alternatively, the base station can determine whether the UE switches from case 3 to case 1's 0P+1P based on the numbers of carrier 1 and carrier 2.

[0280] Figure 10 is used as an example. Assuming that a UE switches from 0P+2P or 0P+1P in Case 2 shown in Table 3 to 1P+0P, or that a UE in the 0T+2T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, and that Carrier 1 is the highest priority carrier when the number of Carrier 1 is 1 and the number of Carrier 2 is not 1, the UE attempts to switch to 1P+0P in Case 3 instead of switching to 1P+0P in Case 1. In other words, when switching to Carrier 1, regardless of whether a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission is transmitted on Carrier 1, the two radio frequency chains are switched directly to Carrier 1, ensuring that the higher priority Carrier 1 has as many radio frequency chains as possible, thereby avoiding subsequent radio frequency chain switching. Alternatively, the base station can determine whether the UE switches from case 2 to case 3's 1P+0P based on the number of carriers 1 and 2.

[0281] Example 3: The cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell.

[0282] FIG. 9 is used as an example. When a UE switches from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 shown in Table 3 to 0P+1P, or when a UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, and the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell, the UE may switch one radio frequency chain to Carrier 2 instead of switching to 0P+1P of Case 2, that is, both radio frequency chains may be switched to Carrier 2. In other words, when switching to Carrier 2, if only a 1-port uplink transmission is transmitted on Carrier 2, only one radio frequency chain is switched, ensuring that there is only one radio frequency chain on the higher priority Carrier 1. Alternatively, when the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell, the base station may decide that the UE switches from Case 3 to 0P+1P of Case 1.

[0283] FIG. 10 is used as an example. When a UE switches from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 shown in Table 3 to 1P+0P, or when a UE in the 0T+2T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, and the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell, the UE intends to switch to 1P+0P of Case 3 instead of switching to 1P+0P of Case 1. In other words, when switching to Carrier 1, regardless of whether a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission is transmitted on Carrier 1, two radio frequency chains are switched directly to Carrier 1, ensuring that the higher priority Carrier 1 has as many radio frequency chains as possible, thereby avoiding subsequent radio frequency chain switching. Alternatively, when the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell, the base station may decide that the UE switches from Case 2 to 1P+0P of Case 3.

[0284] Example 4: Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 have the same priority. In other words, the second information of Carrier 1 is the same as the second information of Carrier 2. In other words, the priorities of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 are not distinguished.

[0285] As illustrated in FIG. 9, when a UE switches from 2P+0P or 1P+0P of Case 3 shown in Table 3 to 0P+1P, or when a UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2, when the priorities of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 are the same, or when the second information of Carrier 1 is the same as the second information of Carrier 2, or when the priorities of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 are indistinguishable, the UE may switch to 0P+1P of Case 1 instead of switching to 0P+1P of Case 2; that is, one radio frequency chain may be switched to Carrier 2, i.e., both radio frequency chains may be switched to Carrier 2. The base station may also know that the UE needs to switch from Case 3 to 0P+1P of Case 1.

[0286] Similarly, if a UE switches from 0P+2P or 0P+1P of Case 2 shown in Table 3 to 1P+0P, or if a UE in the 0T+2T state needs to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, and the priorities of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 are the same, or the second information of Carrier 1 is the same as the second information of Carrier 2, or the priorities of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 are indistinguishable, the UE may switch to 1P+0P of Case 1 instead of 1P+0P of Case 3. The base station may also know that the UE needs to switch from Case 2 to 1P+0P of Case 1.

[0287] Example 5: The number of carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE is 2 (e.g., Carrier 1 and Carrier 2), and the number of radio frequency chains for each uplink carrier is 3 or more.

[0288] When the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 is the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on Carrier 1, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on Carrier 1 is X1 (i.e., the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on Carrier 1 is X1); when the number of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 2 is the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on Carrier 2, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on Carrier 2 is Y1 (i.e., the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on Carrier 2 is Y1); furthermore, it is assumed that the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE on the two carriers is Z, where 0 <X1≤Z 및 0<X2≤Z 이다. 캐리어 1 상에서 UE의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이 캐리어 1 상에서 UE에 의해 지원되는 라디오 주파수 체인의 최대 수량일 때, 캐리어 1 상에서 UE의 업링크 전송을 위한 포트의 수량은 X2, X3, X4 또는 X5일 수 있다. X3, X4 및 X5는 0이 아니며, X2<X3≤X1 이고, X2≤X4≤X1이다. X2는 존재할 수도 있고 존재하지 않을 수 있다(예를 들어, X2는 0이다). 예를 들어, UE가 캐리어 1 상에서 최대 하나의 포트를 사용하여 업링크 전송을 지원하면, X1은 1과 같고 X2는 존재하지 않는다. 다른 예를 들면, UE가 캐리어 1 상에서 최대 2개의 포트를 사용하여 업링크 전송을 지원하면, X1은 2와 같고, X2는 존재하며 1과 같다. Y2, Y3, Y4 및 Y5는, 캐리어 2 상에서 UE의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이 캐리어 2 상에서 UE에 의해 지원되는 라디오 주파수 체인의 최대 수량일 때, UE에 의해 캐리어 2 상에서 전송을 위해 허용되는 포트의 수량이며, 여기서 Y3, Y4 및 Y5는모두 0 이 아니며, Y2<Y3≤Y1 이고, Y2≤Y4≤Y1 이다.Y2 may or may not exist (for example, Y2 is 0).

[0289] If Carrier 1 has a higher priority, or the bandwidth of Carrier 1 is greater than the bandwidth of Carrier 2, or the frequency of Carrier 1 is lower than the frequency of Carrier 2, or the path loss of Carrier 1 is lower than the path loss of Carrier 2, or the slot length of Carrier 1 is shorter than the slot length of Carrier 2, or the number (or identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier) is 1 (or a maximum, minimum, or specified value), or the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a special cell and the cell corresponding to Carrier 2 is a secondary cell, or the cell corresponding to Carrier 1 is a PUCCH secondary cell and the cell corresponding to Carrier 2 is a secondary cell other than a PUCCH secondary cell:

[0290] If the UE attempts to perform an X4-port first transmission on Carrier 1, i.e., the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1, and the UE does not support an X4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 at the second moment, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration, i.e., the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration. If the UE performs an X4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the uplink transmission, the state of the UE includes the following: the UE supports an X1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. Additionally, the state of the UE further includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is the maximum value within the set of quantities of Carrier 2's radio frequency chain, which is less than or equal to (Z-X1). The UE performs an X4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and the UE also performs a Y-5 port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the uplink transmission, where 0 <Y5≤Z-X4 이고 Y5≤Y1이면, 제 1 업링크 전송에서 UE의 상태는 다음을 포함한다: 캐리어 1 상에서 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량은 캐리어 1의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량 세트 내에서 최대 값으로 이는 (Z-Y5) 이하이다. 또한, UE의 상태는 다음을 더 포함한다: 캐리어 2 상에서 UE의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량은 캐리어 2의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량 세트 내에서 최대 값으로 이는 (Z-X5) 이하이다.

[0291] The fact that the UE does not support X4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 at the second moment is not limited to but includes any of the following conditions being satisfied:

[0292] In the third transmission, the UE performs a Y2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE supports a Y3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2, where X4+Y3>Z; the UE transmits a Y3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the third transmission, where X4+Y3>Z; regardless of the number of ports for uplink transmission transmitted by the UE on Carrier 2 during the third transmission, at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE supports a Y3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2, where X4+Y3>Z; or the UE performs any uplink transmission using a number of ports less than X4 on Carrier 1 during the third transmission, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE does not support an X4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1.

[0293] If the UE attempts to perform a first Y4-port transmission on Carrier 2, that is, the first uplink carrier is Carrier 2, and the UE does not support a Y4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 at the second moment, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on either of the two carriers within the first duration. When the UE transmits a Y4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2, the state of the UE in the Y4-port uplink transmission includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is Y4. Additionally, the state of the UE further includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 is the maximum value within the set of quantities of Carrier 1's radio frequency chain, which is less than or equal to (Z-Y4).

[0294] The reason the UE does not support Y4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 at the second moment may be as follows:

[0295] In the third transmission, the UE transmits an X2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE supports an X3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, where Y4+X3>Z; during the third transmission, the UE transmits an X3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, where Y4+X3>Z; regardless of the number of ports for uplink transmission transmitted by the UE on Carrier 1 during the third transmission, at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE supports an X3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, where Y4+X3>Z; or in the third transmission, the UE performs any uplink transmission using a number of ports less than Y4 on Carrier 2, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE does not support a Y4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2.

[0296] In another possible example, in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, (S102) illustrated in FIG. 7 may be replaced with the following:

[0297] The UE performs a first transmission on the first uplink carrier. When the UE performs the first transmission, the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is N; or the number of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is the minimum number of ports required by the UE to perform N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. In this example, at the second moment, the UE does not support N-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier.

[0298] Accordingly, the base station receives the first transmission.

[0299] Therefore, based on this example, when the UE performs radio frequency chain switching, since the minimum number of radio frequency chains required for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier tends to be configured only on the first uplink carrier, the UE and the base station can reach an agreed understanding regarding the radio frequency chain switching method.

[0300] Figure 10 is used as a continuing example. If a UE switches from 2P+0P or 1P+0P in Case 3 shown in Table 3 to 0P+1P, or if a UE in the 2T+0T state needs to perform a 1-port transmission on Carrier 2, the UE can switch to 0P+1P in Case 1 instead of switching to 0P+1P in Case 2; that is, by first switching one radio frequency chain to Carrier 2, i.e., switching both radio frequency chains to Carrier 2, the number of switching operations can be reduced. The base station also knows that the UE needs to switch from Case 3 to 0P+1P in Case 1.

[0301] In the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, if the number of carriers in the first uplink carrier set of a UE other than the first uplink carrier is two or more, when a radio frequency chain on another uplink carrier needs to be switched to the first uplink carrier, the UE and the base station can determine the uplink carrier to which the radio frequency chain will be switched to the first uplink carrier based on second information of the other uplink carrier, so that the UE and the base station can reach an agreement regarding the uplink carrier to which the radio frequency chain will be switched, thereby improving uplink transmission performance. Refer to the foregoing description for the second information.

[0302] Specifically, if the UE performs a first transmission on a first uplink carrier and determines that a third uplink carrier is an uplink carrier within the UE's first uplink carrier set to which a radio frequency chain can be switched, the UE can switch the radio frequency chain on the third uplink carrier to the first uplink carrier. In other words, within a first duration, the UE does not expect (or does not expect) to perform at least an uplink transmission on either the first uplink carrier or the third uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set. Accordingly, the base station can determine that the UE switches the radio frequency chain on the third uplink carrier to the first uplink carrier, that is, that the UE does not expect to perform at least an uplink transmission on either the first uplink carrier or the third uplink carrier within the first uplink carrier set. The third uplink carrier can be understood as identical to the second uplink carrier.

[0303] Optionally, the third uplink carrier may be the lowest priority uplink carrier within the first set of uplink carriers of the UE, the radio frequency chain of which can be switched. It should be understood that in this application, the lowest priority uplink carrier may also be replaced by an uplink carrier having the minimum bandwidth, maximum frequency, maximum path loss, and maximum slot length; an uplink carrier in which the number (or identifier of the cell corresponding to the uplink carrier) is not 1 (or is a maximum, minimum, or specific value); an uplink carrier in which the corresponding cell is a non-special cell; or an uplink carrier in which the corresponding cell is a non-PUCCH secondary cell.

[0304] If the number of carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set is three or more, the UE may also switch at least one radio frequency chain on the fourth uplink carrier to the first uplink carrier when certain conditions are satisfied. Specifically, K+L <P가 만족될 때, UE는 제 1 지속기간 내에 제 4 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 송신을 수행하지 않는다(또는 예상하지 않는다). P는 제 1 전송을 수행하기 위해 UE에 의해 필요한 라디오 주파수 체인의 최소 수량이고, K≥M 이고, L은 제 3 업링크 캐리어 상에서 스위칭이 허용되는 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이고, K는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 업링크 전송을 위해 UE에 의해 지원되는 포트의 수량이며, 제 2 순간은 제 1 순간과 제 1 지속기간의 시작 순간 사이의 임의의 순간을 포함한다. 다시 말해서, K는 제 2 순간에 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 UE의 라디오 주파수 체인의 수량이다. 그러므로 제 3 업링크 캐리어의 모든 라디오 주파수 체인이 제 1 업링크 캐리어로 스위칭될 때, UE가 여전히 제 1 업링크 캐리어 상에서 제 1 전송을 지원하지 않으면, 제 4 업링크 캐리어 상의 적어도 하나의 라디오 주파수 체인은 제 1 업링크 캐리어로 스위칭되어야 한다.

[0305] Optionally, the fourth uplink carrier is the lowest priority carrier within the uplink carriers, which is a carrier whose radio frequency chain can be switched from the UE's first set of uplink carriers and whose priority is higher than that of the third uplink carrier.

[0306] When the number of uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE is 3 or more, the total number of radio frequency chains of the UE is 2, and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on each uplink carrier is 2, the priority relationships between multiple uplink carriers can be classified into at least the following two cases: In case 1, the priorities of multiple carriers are different. In case 2, the priorities of at least two carriers are the same but different from the priority of at least one carrier.

[0307] The following provides an explanation with reference to Examples 6 and 7.

[0308] Example 6: The uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, and Carrier 1 has a higher priority than Carrier 2, and Carrier 2 has a higher priority than Carrier 3.

[0309] If a UE intends to perform a first transmission on Carrier 1, and the first transmission is a 1-port uplink transmission, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1, and the UE does not support the transmission of a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 at a second moment, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on Carrier 1 within a first duration. If the UE does not perform a transmission on a carrier within the first set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier when performing the first transmission, the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 during the first transmission.

[0310] The fact that the UE does not support 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 at the second moment is not limited to but includes any of the following second conditions:

[0311] In the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier, and supports a 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier transmitting the 1-port uplink transmission; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 2-port uplink transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier; in the third transmission, the UE transmits an uplink transmission using any number of ports on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier, and supports a 2-port uplink transmission on the carrier performing the uplink transmission; during the third transmission, the UE simultaneously performs a 1-port transmission on two carriers within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier; during the third transmission, the UE supports the simultaneous transmission of a 1-port transmission on two carriers within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier; Or the last two transmissions performed by the UE prior to the first transmission are each 1-port uplink transmissions performed by the UE on two carriers within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier, but radio frequency chain switching is not performed between the two 1-port uplink transmissions.

[0312] If the UE intends to perform a first transmission on Carrier 2, and the first transmission is a 1-port uplink transmission, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 2, and any one of the second conditions is satisfied, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on Carrier 2 within the first duration. If the third condition is satisfied, the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission. The third condition includes: the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and supports a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 in the third transmission; the UE transmits a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 in the third transmission, or the UE performs an uplink transmission using any number of ports on Carrier 3 in the third transmission, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 is 2. If the fourth condition is satisfied, the UE supports a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission. The fourth condition includes: the UE transmits at least a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 during the third transmission, or at the second moment, the state of the UE supports at least a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1.

[0313] Additionally, if the UE intends to transmit a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 3, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 3 and the first condition is satisfied, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on Carrier 3 within at least the first duration, and during the first transmission, the UE supports only a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 (i.e., the UE does not support a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3, or the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 is 1).

[0314] Example 7: The uplink carriers in the EU's first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, Carrier 1 has a higher priority than Carrier 2, and Carrier 2 has the same priority as Carrier 3.

[0315] If a UE intends to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, and the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1, and any one of the second conditions is satisfied, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on Carrier 1 within the first duration. If the UE does not perform a transmission on a carrier within the first set of uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier when performing the first transmission, the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 during the first transmission.

[0316] If the UE intends to perform a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 2 (Carrier 3), that is, if the first uplink transmission is Carrier 2 (Carrier 3) and any one of the second conditions is satisfied, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on Carrier 2 (Carrier 3) within the first duration. During the first transmission, the UE supports a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (Carrier 3) and does not support a 2-port uplink transmission.

[0317] Similarly, the case where the priority of Carrier 1 is the same as the priority of Carrier 2, and the priority of Carrier 1 and the priority of Carrier 2 are higher than the priority of Carrier 3, is implemented by referring to Example 7. For example, a 1-port first transmission must be performed on one of Carrier 1 or Carrier 2 (this carrier is the first uplink carrier), and when the UE does not support a 1-port uplink transmission on that carrier at the second moment, if the UE does not perform a transmission on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier when performing the first transmission, then after the first transmission starts, the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. A 1-port first transmission must be performed on Carrier 3, that is, the first uplink carrier is Carrier 3, and when the UE does not support a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 at the second moment, after the first transmission starts, the UE supports a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3.

[0318] Additionally, when the three carriers have the same priority or there is no priority among the three carriers, if the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port first transmission on any carrier (which is the first uplink carrier) and the UE does not support a 1-port uplink transmission on that carrier at the second moment, the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on that carrier within the first duration. When the UE transmits the first transmission, the UE supports a 1-port uplink transmission on the carrier.

[0319] Next, with reference to examples, an implementation of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described when the number of carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE is 2 or more and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 2 or more.

[0320] It should be noted that in this application, carrier priority is used to define the radio frequency chain switching behavior of the carrier, but priority is merely an auxiliary descriptive method. In the protocol, priority may or may not be directly reflected, but the radio frequency chain switching behavior is still defined according to priority rules. For example, a radio frequency chain switching rule for a carrier in which numbers are in descending order, numbers are in ascending order, corresponding cell identifiers are in descending order, corresponding cell identifiers are in ascending order, frequency is in descending order, path loss is in ascending order, bandwidth is in descending order, or slot length is in ascending order corresponds to a radio frequency chain switching rule for a carrier in which priority is in descending order. As another example, a radio frequency chain switching rule for a carrier in a special cell corresponds to a radio frequency chain switching rule for a high-priority carrier, and a radio frequency chain switching rule for a carrier in a secondary cell corresponds to a radio frequency chain switching rule for a low-priority carrier. Furthermore, the priority of the secondary cells is the same, and the radio frequency chain switching rule of the secondary cells corresponds to the radio frequency chain switching rule of the carrier with the same priority. As another example, the radio frequency chain switching rule of the carrier of a physical uplink control channel secondary cell corresponds to the radio frequency chain switching rule of the high-priority carrier, and the radio frequency chain switching rule of the carrier of a secondary cell other than the physical uplink control channel secondary cell corresponds to the radio frequency chain switching rule of the low-priority carrier. Additionally, the secondary cells of the non-physical uplink control channel secondary cells have the same priority, and the radio frequency chain switching rule of the secondary cells of the non-physical uplink control channel secondary cells corresponds to the radio frequency chain switching rule of the carrier with the same priority.

[0321] Where possible, any two carriers of the UE cannot share a radio frequency chain, that is, a single radio frequency chain can be used by only one carrier at a time. Therefore, switching time is required for switching between any two carriers. The examples of this application relate to this case.

[0322] In other possible cases, some carriers of the UE may share a single radio frequency chain, that is, a single radio frequency chain may be used by multiple carriers simultaneously. Therefore, the behavior of dynamic radio frequency chain switching between multiple carriers that can simultaneously share a radio frequency chain and other carriers that cannot simultaneously share a radio frequency chain is consistent. For example, a set containing multiple carriers that can simultaneously share radio frequency chain 1 is a second uplink carrier set, wherein carriers A and B belong to the second uplink carrier set and carrier C does not belong to the second uplink carrier set, and there is no need to perform radio frequency chain switching between carrier A and carrier B, or the time required to perform radio frequency chain switching between carrier A and carrier B is zero. If uplink radio frequency chain switching can be performed and the carriers configured for the UE by the base station are carriers A, B, and C, the rules for performing radio frequency chain switching between the three carriers may be equivalent to the switching rules when only carriers A (or B) and C exist. Specifically, the switching rule between Carrier A and C or Carrier B and C complies with the rule in this application when the quantity of carriers in the first uplink carrier set is 2. The quantity of radio frequency chains of Carrier A is equal to the quantity of radio frequency chains of Carrier B, and there is no need to perform radio frequency chain switching between Carrier A and Carrier B, or the time for performing radio frequency chain switching between Carrier A and Carrier B is 0. Similarly, if there is still Carrier D and Carrier D does not share radio frequency chains with the other three carriers, the switching rule for Carrier A (or B), C, and D complies with the rule in this application when the quantity of carriers in the first uplink carrier set is 3.For example, when there are multiple carriers in a band, the carriers can share a single radio frequency chain.

[0323] In a possible implementation, the second uplink carrier set in the present application includes a carrier for switching the radio frequency chain to the carrier where the first transmission is located, and further includes the carrier where the first transmission is located.

[0324] Example 8: Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 both belong to a first uplink carrier set. Carrier 2 is the lowest priority carrier among the carriers having a switchable radio frequency chain within the first uplink carrier set other than the UE's Carrier 1, and the UE intends to transmit a first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, it is assumed that the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1. In this embodiment of the application, a principle for determining whether a first duration is required is described when the number of carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set is 2 or more and the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 2 or more.

[0325] The first value of the carrier is defined as the minimum number of radio frequency chains required to support the UE in transmitting an X-port uplink transmission on the carrier, and the second value of the carrier is defined as the maximum number of radio frequency chains required to support the UE in transmitting an X-port uplink transmission on the carrier. The first value is less than or equal to the second value, and both the first value and the second value belong to a set of quantities of radio frequency chains.

[0326] Next, referring to the priority of each carrier of the UE and the quantity set of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1, the process of the UE switching the radio frequency chain to Carrier 1 in Example 8 is described.

[0327] I. If all switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 of the UE are switched to Carrier 1 but are still insufficient to support the UE's uplink transmission on Carrier 1, the UE may switch all switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 and then continue searching for other carriers with switchable radio frequency chains within the first set of uplink carriers in ascending priority until Carrier 3 is found. In this Example 8, Carrier 3 has a switchable radio frequency chain and is still insufficient to support uplink transmission on Carrier 1 even after the radio frequency chains of all other carriers with a priority lower than that of Carrier 3 have been switched to Carrier 1, but Carrier 3 is sufficient to support uplink transmission on Carrier 1 after the switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 3 have been switched to Carrier 1.

[0328] (I) If the priority of Carrier 3 is lower than the priority of Carrier 1, all other carriers with a priority lower than the priority of Carrier 3 and the radio frequency chain of Carrier 3 are switched to Carrier 1.

[0329] (1) In this case, if the quantity of the radio frequency chain of the UE on Carrier 1 belongs to the quantity set of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1, the behavior of the UE is a first behavior, and the first behavior includes the UE requiring a first duration (or the UE performing radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE not expecting to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE not expecting to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE not expecting to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE not expecting to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; In other words, the first behavior involves the UE switching all switchable radio frequency chains of carriers in a second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 to Carrier 1. The second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 3, and all other carriers having switchable radio frequency chains and having a priority lower than the priority of Carrier 3, namely, also including Carrier 2.

[0330] Possible behaviors of the UE further include the following: The UE performs a first transmission.

[0331] If the UE does not perform an uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, then after the first duration or during the first transmission, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is the sum of the quantity of the UE's switchable radio frequency chains on all carriers in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 at the second moment and the sum of the quantity of the radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 at the second moment. Additionally, during the first transmission, the UE does not support an uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1.

[0332] Alternatively, if the UE also performs an uplink transmission on a carrier in a second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, it is assumed that the set containing the carriers in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 on which the uplink transmission is performed during the first transmission is a third uplink carrier set, and the third uplink carrier set may contain only one carrier. In this case, during the first transmission, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is the sum of the quantity of the UE's switchable radio frequency chains on all carriers in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 at the second moment and the sum of the quantity of the radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 at the second moment. During the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and on all carriers in the third uplink carrier set. Additionally, the operating state of the UE during the first transmission further includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier within the third uplink carrier set is the quantity of ports for uplink transmission performed by the UE on the carrier during the first transmission.

[0333] (2) In this case, if the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 (referred to as the third value) does not belong to the set of quantities of radio frequency chains of Carrier 1, the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 must be reduced to a maximum value (referred to as the fourth value) less than the third value within the set of quantities of radio frequency chains of Carrier 1, and the excess radio frequency chains are switched back to Carrier 3, that is, only a specific quantity of radio frequency chains of Carrier 3 must be switched to Carrier 1 so that the quantity of radio frequency chains of Carrier 1 reaches the fourth value. In this case, the behavior of the UE is the second behavior, and the second behavior is that the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); and the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier, including Carrier 1, within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; The UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier, including Carrier 1, within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; in other words, the second behavior includes switching the radio frequency chains of the uplink carrier and Carrier 2, whose priority is between the priority of Carrier 2 and the priority of Carrier 3, to Carrier 1 and switching some of the radio frequency chains of Carrier 3 to Carrier 1, so that the quantity of the radio frequency chains of Carrier 1 becomes a fourth value.The second uplink carrier set includes carrier 1, carrier 3, and all other carriers that have a switchable radio frequency chain and have a priority lower than the priority of carrier 3.

[0334] Possible behaviors of the UE further include the following: the UE performs a first transmission, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on carrier 1 is a fourth value.

[0335] If the UE does not perform uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 after the first duration or during the first transmission is the quantity of radio frequency chains remaining after the radio frequency chain is switched from Carrier 3 to Carrier 1. Additionally, during the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and Carrier 3.

[0336] Alternatively, if the UE also performs uplink transmission on a carrier in a second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, this is assumed to mean that the carriers in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and Carrier 3, on which uplink transmission is performed during the first transmission, constitute a third uplink carrier set. The third uplink carrier set may contain only one carrier. In this case, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 during the first transmission is the quantity of radio frequency chains remaining after the radio frequency chain is switched from Carrier 3 to Carrier 1. Additionally, during the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, Carrier 3, and all carriers in the third uplink carrier set. Additionally, the operational state of the UE during the first transmission further includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on a carrier in the third uplink carrier set is the quantity of ports for uplink transmission performed by the UE on the carrier during the first transmission.

[0337] (II) If the priority of Carrier 3 is greater than or equal to the priority of Carrier 1, all other carriers having switchable radio frequency chains and having a priority lower than the priority of Carrier 3 are first switched to Carrier 1, and then the switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 3 are switched to Carrier 1 until the number of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 becomes equal to the minimum number of radio frequency chains required to support uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and then no radio frequency chains are switched from Carrier 3 to Carrier 1. In this case, the behavior of the UE is a third behavior, and the third behavior is that the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); that the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; and that the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. It includes not expecting the UE to perform transmission on any carrier in the first set of uplink carriers within the first duration; or not expecting the UE to perform transmission on any carrier in the second set of uplink carriers within the first duration; in other words, the third behavior includes the UE switching all radio frequency chains of all uplink carriers whose priority is lower than the priority of carrier 3 to carrier 1 and switching some radio frequency chains of carrier 3 to carrier 1 so that the number of radio frequency chains of carrier 1 becomes the minimum number of radio frequency chains required to support uplink transmission on carrier 1.The second uplink carrier set includes carrier 1, carrier 3, and all other carriers that have a switchable radio frequency chain and have a priority lower than the priority of carrier 3.

[0338] Possible behaviors of the UE further include the following: the UE performs a first transmission, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on carrier 1 is the quantity of ports for the first transmission.

[0339] Additionally, if no uplink transmission is performed on a carrier within the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 after the first duration or during the first transmission is the quantity of radio frequency chains remaining after the radio frequency chain is switched from Carrier 3 to Carrier 1. If the UE does not have a radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3. During the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on a carrier within the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and Carrier 3.

[0340] Alternatively, furthermore, if the UE also performs an uplink transmission on a carrier in a second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 during the first transmission, it is assumed that the set containing carriers in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and Carrier 3, on which the uplink transmission is performed during the first transmission, is the third uplink carrier set. The third uplink carrier set may contain only one carrier. In this case, the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 during the first transmission is the quantity of radio frequency chains remaining after the radio frequency chain is switched from Carrier 3 to Carrier 1. If the UE does not have a radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, the UE does not support an uplink transmission on Carrier 3. During the first transmission, the UE does not support an uplink transmission on a carrier in the second uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, Carrier 3, and all carriers in the third uplink carrier set. Additionally, the operating state of the UE during the first transmission further includes the following: the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on the carrier within the third uplink carrier set is the quantity of ports for uplink transmission performed by the UE on the carrier during the first transmission.

[0341] II. When all switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 are switched to Carrier 1, it is sufficient to support a first transmission on Carrier 1:

[0342] (I) If the priority of Carrier 2 is lower than the priority of Carrier 1, all switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 are switched to Carrier 1.

[0343] 1. In this case, if the quantity of the radio frequency chain of the UE on Carrier 1 belongs to the set of quantities of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1, the behavior of the UE is a fourth behavior, and the fourth behavior includes: the UE requiring a first duration (or the UE performing radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE not expecting to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE not expecting to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE not expecting to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE not expecting to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; In other words, the fourth behavior includes the UE switching all switchable radio frequency chains of Carrier 2 to the first uplink carrier. The second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2.

[0344] Possible behaviors of the UE further include the following: The UE performs a first transmission.

[0345] If the UE does not perform uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is the sum of the quantity of switchable radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 2 at the second moment and the sum of the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 at the second moment. Additionally, during the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2.

[0346] Alternatively, if the UE also performs uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is the sum of the quantity of switchable radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 2 at the second moment and the sum of the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 1 at the second moment. Also, during the first transmission, the quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE on Carrier 2 is the quantity of ports for uplink transmission performed by the UE on Carrier 2 during the first transmission.

[0347] 2. In this case, if the quantity of the radio frequency chain of the UE on Carrier 1 (referred to as the 5th value) does not belong to the set of quantities of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1, the quantity of the radio frequency chain of the UE on Carrier 1 must be reduced to a maximum value (referred to as the 6th value) less than the 5th value within the set of quantities of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1, and the excess radio frequency chain is switched back to Carrier 2, that is, only a specific quantity of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 2 must be switched to Carrier 1 so that the quantity of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1 reaches the 6th value. In this case, the behavior of the UE is the 5th behavior, and the 5th behavior is that the UE requires a 1st duration (or that the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the 1st duration); and that the UE does not expect to perform at least one transmission on at least one carrier, including Carrier 1, within the 1st uplink carrier set within the 1st duration; The UE does not expect to perform a transmission on at least one carrier, including Carrier 1, within a second uplink carrier set within a first duration; the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on any carrier within a first uplink carrier set within a first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform a transmission on any carrier within a second uplink carrier set within a first duration; wherein the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. Possible behavior of the UE further includes: the UE performs a first transmission, wherein the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 in the first transmission is a value 6, and the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is the quantity of the radio frequency chain remaining on Carrier 2 after the radio frequency chain is switched from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 (e.g., the difference between a value 5 and a value 6).

[0348] (II) If the priority of Carrier 2 is greater than or equal to the priority of Carrier 1, the switchable radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 are switched to Carrier 1 until the number of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 becomes equal to the minimum number of radio frequency chains required to support uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and then no radio frequency chains are switched from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1. In this case, the behavior of the UE is the sixth behavior, at least the sixth behavior is that the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); at least the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or includes not expecting the UE to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; in other words, the sixth behavior includes the UE switching some radio frequency chains of Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 such that the number of radio frequency chains of Carrier 1 becomes the minimum number of radio frequency chains required to support uplink transmission on Carrier 1. The second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2.

[0349] Possible behaviors of the UE further include the following: The UE performs a first transmission. During the first transmission, the quantity of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on Carrier 1 is the quantity of ports for the first transmission, and the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is the quantity of the UE's radio frequency chains remaining on Carrier 2 after the radio frequency chains are switched from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1. If the UE does not have radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 during the first transmission, the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2.

[0350] In a possible manner, if the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on the uplink carrier is 2, the quantity set of radio frequency chains of the UE on the carrier may be {0, 1, 2} or {0, 1}. If the maximum number of radio frequency chains supported by the UE on the uplink carrier is 1, the quantity set of radio frequency chains of the UE on the carrier may be {0, 1}. In this application, the quantity set of each radio frequency chain of the carrier includes 0. Of course, in a possible implementation, the quantity set of radio frequency chains of the carrier does not include 0, that is, includes only non-zero values ​​other than 0.

[0351] Example 9: The uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, and the quantity set of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is {0, 1, 2}, and the total quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE is 3, and the maximum quantity of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 2, but at most 2 carriers have radio frequency chains simultaneously. Therefore, when there are 2 radio frequency chains on a carrier, a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission may be transmitted on the carrier; when there is 1 radio frequency chain on the carrier, a 1-port uplink transmission may be transmitted on the carrier; or when there is no radio frequency chain on the carrier, an uplink transmission may not be transmitted on the carrier.

[0352] In Example 9, an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0353] I. If the UE attempts to perform a 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 5th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 7th behavior.

[0354] In the present application, in the fifth transmission (or during the fifth transmission), the fact that the UE performs an uplink transmission using a specific number of ports on the eighth uplink carrier can be understood as the fifth transmission being the UE's current transmission on the eighth uplink carrier, the fifth transmission being a simultaneous transmission of a plurality of carriers and including the UE's current transmission on the eighth uplink carrier, and the fifth transmission and the UE's current transmission on the eighth uplink carrier overlapping at a time domain location. Additionally, in the fifth transmission (or during the fifth transmission), the fact that the UE performs at least one uplink transmission on at least one carrier can be understood as the fifth transmission being at least one uplink transmission of the UE on at least one carrier, or the fifth transmission being a simultaneous transmission of a plurality of carriers and including at least one uplink transmission of the UE on at least one carrier, or the fifth transmission and at least one uplink transmission of the UE on at least one carrier overlapping at a time domain location.

[0355] The fifth condition comprises at least one of the following: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the UE supports a 2-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 2-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier; or the UE performs an uplink transmission using any number of ports on the fifth uplink carrier in the third transmission, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 2. The fifth uplink carrier is any one of the carriers in the first set of uplink carriers other than carrier 1, e.g., carrier 2 or carrier 3. The fifth condition means that at the second moment, the state of the UE is that there are 2 radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier.

[0356] The seventh behavior includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0357] In the first transmission, if the UE does not simultaneously perform a transmission on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, and furthermore, if the operating state of the UE at the second moment is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 1, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier. In this case, the behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 1. In other words, the fifth uplink carrier does not support 2-port uplink transmission, and carriers other than Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier do not support uplink transmission. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. In this case, regardless of the priority of Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier, the maximum and minimum quantities of radio frequency chains switched from the fifth uplink carrier to Carrier 1 are both 1. Since Carrier 1 supports only up to 2 radio frequency chains, the maximum number of radio frequency chains that can be switched is 1, and the minimum number of radio frequency chains supported for current transmission on Carrier 1 is also 2. Therefore, at least one radio frequency chain must be switched.

[0358] Alternatively, in the first transmission, if the UE does not simultaneously perform a transmission on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, furthermore, if at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the UE does not support any uplink transmission on Carrier 1, or if at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier is 1, then the fifth uplink carrier is assumed to be Carrier 2. In this case, Carrier 3 is a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier. If the priority of Carrier 2 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, and the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein in the first transmission the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 1. In other words, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers. If the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, and the behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, where the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 3 is 1. In other words, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1.This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers.

[0359] Alternatively, furthermore, if the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3) during the first transmission, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3) is 1. If the fifth uplink carrier is Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3), the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3). If the fifth uplink carrier is not Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3), the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3.

[0360] II. If the UE attempts to perform a 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 6th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 8th behavior.

[0361] The sixth condition comprises at least one of the following: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 is 1.

[0362] The eighth behavior includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0363] Additionally, if the UE does not perform uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and Carrier 3 during the first transmission, and at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. In this case, the behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 1. That is, during the first transmission, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. In this case, regardless of the priority of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, the maximum and minimum quantities of the radio frequency chain switching from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 are both 1. Since Carrier 1 supports only up to 2 radio frequency chains, the maximum number of radio frequency chains that can be switched is 1, and the minimum number of radio frequency chains supported for current transmission on Carrier 1 is also 2. Therefore, at least one radio frequency chain must be switched.

[0364] Alternatively, furthermore, if the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission (the 6th transmission) on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3) during the 1st transmission, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits the 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the 1st transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3) is 1. If, at the 2nd moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the carrier where the 6th transmission is located is 2, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3). If, at the 2nd moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on a carrier other than the carrier where the 6th transmission is located is 2, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3.

[0365] III. When the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, when the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 7th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 9th behavior.

[0366] The seventh condition comprises at least one of the following: during the third transmission, the UE performs a 2-port transmission on the sixth uplink carrier and performs a 1-port transmission on the seventh uplink carrier; during the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port transmission on the sixth uplink carrier and simultaneously transmits a 1-port transmission on the seventh uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the sixth uplink carrier and the seventh uplink carrier is 2 and 1, respectively; the last two transmissions prior to the first transmission are a 2-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the sixth uplink carrier and a 1-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the seventh uplink carrier, respectively, but there is no switching time between the two transmissions; at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the sixth uplink carrier is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the seventh uplink carrier is 1; In the third transmission, the UE transmits a 2-port uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 7th uplink carrier is 1; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 7th uplink carrier is 1; or in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port uplink transmission on the 7th uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier is 2. Each of the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier is any one of the carriers in the 1st carrier set other than the 1st carrier, and the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier are different carriers.Condition 7 means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier and one radio frequency chain on the 7th uplink carrier. Next, an explanation is provided using an example where the 6th uplink carrier is Carrier 2 and the 7th uplink carrier is Carrier 3.

[0367] The ninth behavior includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0368] Based on the priorities of Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, the number of radio frequency chains of the switched UE may differ. The following cases may be included:

[0369] 1. If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, and the priority of Carrier 2 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 3. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 1 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 2. That is, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains are switched to the highest priority carrier.

[0370] 2. If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, and the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: The UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1. During the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 3. That is, the UE does not support a 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and does not support an uplink transmission on Carrier 2. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains are switched to the highest priority carrier.

[0371] 3. If the priority of Carrier 2 is the highest among the priorities of Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 3. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 1. That is, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains are switched to the highest priority carrier.

[0372] 4. If the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, and the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 3 is 1 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2. That is, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3, and the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2. The advantage is that the higher priority carrier has more radio frequency chains.

[0373] 5. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there is one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, two radio frequency chains on Carrier 2, and no radio frequency chain on Carrier 3.

[0374] 6. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, and the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chain on Carrier 2, and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 3. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, and the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the UE has one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chain on Carrier 2, and two radio frequency chains on Carrier 3.

[0375] Example 10: The uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, and the quantity set of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is {0, 2, 4}, and the total quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE is 4, and the maximum quantity of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 4, but at most 2 carriers have radio frequency chains simultaneously. Therefore, when there are 4 radio frequency chains on the carrier, 1-port, 2-port, or 4-port uplink transmissions can be transmitted on the carrier; when there are 2 radio frequency chains on the carrier, 1-port or 2-port uplink transmissions can be transmitted on the carrier; when there is 1 radio frequency chain on the carrier, the UE can transmit 1-port uplink transmissions on the carrier; or when there are no radio frequency chains on the carrier, the UE cannot transmit uplink transmissions on the carrier.

[0376] In Example 10, an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0377] I. When a UE attempts to transmit a 4-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, when the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 8th or 9th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 10th behavior. In such transmission, it is clear that the UE supports a 4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not support an uplink transmission on the other two carriers.

[0378] The eighth condition is that the third transmission is any uplink transmission of the UE on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1. The eighth condition means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE has at least one radio frequency chain on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1.

[0379] The ninth condition is as follows: the third transmission is that the UE transmits a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 1 is 2.

[0380] The 10th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0381] II. When a UE attempts to transmit a 1-port or 2-port first transmission on carrier 1, that is, the first uplink carrier is carrier 1 and the 10th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 11th behavior.

[0382] Condition 10 includes any one of the following: during the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port transmission on the 6th uplink carrier and simultaneously transmits a 2-port transmission on the 7th uplink carrier; or at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier is 2. Each of the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier is one of the carriers in the set of 1st uplink carriers other than the 1st uplink carrier (here, Carrier 1), and the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier are different carriers. Condition 10 means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that there are 2 radio frequency chains on each of the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier.

[0383] The 11th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0384] Additionally, if the priority of the 6th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of the 7th uplink carrier, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 7th uplink carrier. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the 1st transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission, and does not support uplink transmission on the 7th uplink carrier. That is, the operating state of the UE in the 1st transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier is 2.

[0385] Alternatively, furthermore, if the priority of the 7th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of the 6th uplink carrier, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 6th uplink carrier. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the 1st transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission, and does not support uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier. That is, the operating state of the UE in the 1st transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 7th uplink carrier is 2.

[0386] III. If the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port or 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 11th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 12th behavior. In this case, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 5th uplink carrier.

[0387] Condition 11 comprises at least one of the following: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 4; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 4-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier; or in the third transmission, the UE performs an uplink transmission using any quantity of ports on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 4. The fifth uplink carrier is any one of the carriers in the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier (here, Carrier 1). Condition 11 means that, at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that there are 4 radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier.

[0388] The 12th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0389] If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of the 5th uplink carrier, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE for transmitting the first transmission is that the UE has four radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support uplink transmission on the 5th uplink carrier.

[0390] If the priority of the 5th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in transmitting the first transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and supports 2-port uplink transmission on the 5th uplink carrier and does not support 4-port uplink transmission. In other words, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on a carrier within the set of 1st uplink carriers other than the 1st uplink carrier and the 5th uplink carrier, supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and supports 2-port uplink transmission on the 5th uplink carrier.

[0391] Example 11: If the quantity of uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE is 4 (Carrier 1, Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 7, respectively), the quantity set of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is {0, 2, 4}, the total quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE is 4, and the maximum quantity of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 4, but only 2 carriers have 2 radio frequency chains at the same time. When there are 4 radio frequency chains on a carrier, 1-port, 2-port, or 4-port uplink transmissions can be transmitted on the carrier; when there are 2 radio frequency chains on a carrier, 1-port or 2-port uplink transmissions can be transmitted on the carrier; when there is 1 radio frequency chain on a carrier, the UE can transmit 1-port uplink transmissions on the carrier; or when there are no radio frequency chains on a carrier, the UE cannot transmit uplink transmissions on the carrier.

[0392] In Example 11, an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0393] I. When a UE attempts to transmit a 4-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, when the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and Condition 12 or Condition 13 is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the behavior of Condition 13. In such a transmission, it is evident that the UE supports a 4-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not support an uplink transmission on the other three carriers.

[0394] Condition 12 includes the following: In the third transmission, the UE performs an uplink transmission using any number of ports on a carrier in the first carrier set other than Carrier 1. Condition 12 means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE has at least one radio frequency chain on any carrier in the first carrier set other than Carrier 1.

[0395] Condition 13 includes at least one of the following: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2.

[0396] The 13th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0397] II. If the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port or 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 14th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 14th behavior.

[0398] Condition 14 comprises at least one of the following: during the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port transmission on the 6th uplink carrier and simultaneously transmits a 2-port transmission on the 7th uplink carrier; or at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier is 2. Each of the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier is one of the carriers in the set of 1st uplink carriers other than the 1st uplink carrier (here, Carrier 1), and the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier are different carriers. Condition 14 means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that there are 2 radio frequency chains on each of the 6th uplink carrier and the 7th uplink carrier.

[0399] The 14th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0400] Additionally, if the priority of the 6th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of the 7th uplink carrier, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 7th uplink carrier. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in transmitting the 1st transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission, and does not support uplink transmission on the 7th uplink carrier. That is, in the 1st transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the 6th uplink carrier is 2, and uplink transmission is not supported on Carrier 7.

[0401] Alternatively, furthermore, if the priority of the 7th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of the 6th uplink carrier, the 2nd uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 6th uplink carrier. The behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE for transmitting the 1st transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission, and does not support uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier. That is, the operating state of the UE is that it has one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, two radio frequency chains on the 7th carrier, and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 7.

[0402] III. If the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port or 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 15th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 15th behavior. In this case, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the 5th uplink carrier.

[0403] Condition 15 comprises at least one of the following: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 4; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a 4-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier; or regardless of whether the UE performs an uplink transmission using any quantity of ports on the fifth uplink carrier during the third transmission, the UE supports a 4-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier at the second moment. The fifth uplink carrier is any one of the carriers in the first uplink carrier set other than the first uplink carrier (here, Carrier 1). Condition 15 means that at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that there are 4 radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier.

[0404] Condition 15 comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0405] If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of the 5th uplink carrier, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE has four radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support uplink transmission on the 5th uplink carrier. That is, the operating state of the UE is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier and does not support uplink transmission on the 7th carrier.

[0406] If the priority of the 5th uplink carrier is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a 1st transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the 1st transmission is that the UE has two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and does not support 4-port uplink transmission, and supports 2-port uplink transmission on the 5th uplink carrier and does not support 4-port uplink transmission. That is, the operating state of the UE is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier, has two frequency chains on Carrier 1, has two radio frequency chains on the 5th uplink carrier, and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 7.

[0407] Example 12: If the uplink carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, respectively, and up to X radio frequency chains are supported on each carrier, and X is 2 or greater, and the total number of radio frequency chains in the UE is X, then an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0408] I. If the UE attempts to perform an X-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and condition 16 or condition 17 is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 16th behavior.

[0409] Condition 16 includes the following: In the third transmission, the UE performs an uplink transmission using any number of ports on a carrier in the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1.

[0410] Condition 17 includes the following: the UE performs a Y-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 in the third transmission, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is less than X, where 0 <Y<X 이다.

[0411] The 16th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0412] II. The UE attempts to perform a Y-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1, and 0 <Y<X 이며, 제 18 조건, 제 19 조건 또는 제 20 조건이 만족되면, UE의 거동은 제 17 거동이다.

[0413] Condition 18 includes at least one of the following conditions: in the third transmission, the UE transmits a Y2-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the fifth uplink carrier is Y3; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a Y3-port uplink transmission on the fifth uplink carrier; or in the third transmission, the UE transmits a transmission using any quantity of ports on the fifth uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the fifth uplink carrier is Y3, where 0 <Y<X, 0<Y2<Y3≤X 이며, Y3+Y> X is. Y2 may or may not exist. For example, if X=1, Y2 does not exist. For another example, if X=2, Y2 exists and is equal to 1. The fifth uplink carrier is any one of the carriers in the first uplink carrier set other than carrier 1.

[0414] In other words, the 18th condition means that, in addition to Carrier 1, there is too much of a radio frequency chain of one of the carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set. Consequently, Y-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 cannot be completed without borrowing a radio frequency chain from the carrier.

[0415] Condition 19 includes at least one of the following conditions: during the third transmission, the UE performs a Y4-port uplink transmission on the sixth uplink carrier and performs a Y5-port uplink transmission on the seventh uplink carrier; during the third transmission, the UE performs a Y6-port uplink transmission on the sixth uplink carrier and simultaneously performs a Y7-port uplink transmission on the seventh uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the sixth uplink carrier is Y4 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on the seventh uplink carrier is Y5; during the third transmission, the UE simultaneously performs transmissions individually with any quantity of ports on the sixth uplink carrier and the seventh uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantities of radio frequency chains on the sixth uplink carrier and the seventh uplink carrier are Y4 and Y5, respectively; The last two transmissions performed by the UE prior to the first transmission are, respectively, a Y4-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the 6th uplink carrier and a Y5-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the 7th uplink carrier, but there is no switching time between the two transmissions; at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 6th uplink carrier is Y4 and the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 7th uplink carrier is Y5; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a Y6-port uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 6th uplink carrier is Y4 and the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 7th uplink carrier is Y5; in the third transmission, the UE transmits a Y4-port uplink transmission on the 6th uplink carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 7th uplink carrier is Y5;Or, the UE transmits a transmission using any number of ports on the sixth uplink carrier in the third transmission, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the number of radio frequency chains on the sixth uplink carrier is Y4 and the number of radio frequency chains on the seventh uplink carrier is Y5;

[0416] Here 0 <Y4<X, 0<Y5<X, Y4+Y≤X, Y5+Y≤X, Y4+Y5+Y> X, 0 <Y6≤Y4, 0<Y7≤Y5, Y6+Y7<Y4+Y5 이다. 제 6 업링크 캐리어와 제 7 업링크 캐리어 각각은 제 1 업링크 캐리어 이외의 제 1 업링크 캐리어 세트 내 캐리어들 중 하나(여기서는 캐리어 1)이며, 제 6 업링크 캐리어와 제 7 업링크 캐리어는 상이한 캐리어이다.

[0417] In other words, condition 19 means that, in addition to Carrier 1, there are too many radio frequency chains of two carriers among the carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set. Consequently, Y-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 cannot be completed without borrowing radio frequency chains from two carriers.

[0418] Condition 20 includes the following: at the second moment, the UE transmits a Y8-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is less than Y, where 0 <Y8<Y<X 이다.

[0419] In other words, the 20th condition means that the quantity of the radio frequency chain of Carrier 1 is not sufficient to support the first transmission to be performed on Carrier 1.

[0420] Conditions 18, 19, and 20 are three possible cases where the quantity of the radio frequency chain of the carrier to be transmitted for uplink transmission is insufficient to support uplink transmission.

[0421] Behavior 17 includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0422] Example 13: If the uplink carriers in the UE's first uplink carrier set are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 4, respectively, and up to X radio frequency chains are supported on each carrier, and X is 2 or greater, and the total number of radio frequency chains in the UE is X, then an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0423] If the UE attempts to transmit a YY-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1, and at least one of the 18th, 19th, 20th, or 21st conditions is satisfied, then the behavior of the UE is the 18th behavior.

[0424] For the 18th, 19th, and 20th conditions, refer to the description above.

[0425] Condition 21 includes at least one of the following:

[0426] During the third transmission, the UE performs Y9-port transmission on the 8th carrier, performs Y10-port transmission on the 9th carrier, and performs Y11-port transmission on the 10th carrier; during the third transmission, the UE performs Y12-port transmission on the 8th carrier, performs Y13-port uplink transmission on the 9th carrier, and performs Y14-port transmission on the 10th carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantities of radio frequency chains on the 8th carrier, the 9th carrier, and the 10th carrier are Y9, Y10, and Y11, respectively; during the third transmission, the UE performs transmission individually with any quantity of ports simultaneously on three or two of the 8th carrier, the 9th carrier, and the 10th carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantities of radio frequency chains on the 8th carrier, the 9th carrier, and the 10th carrier are Y9, Y10, and Y11, respectively; The last three transmissions performed by the UE prior to the first transmission are, respectively, a Y9-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the 8th carrier, a Y10-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the 9th carrier, and a Y11-port uplink transmission performed by the UE on the 10th carrier, but there is no switching time between the three transmissions; during the third transmission, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 8th carrier is Y9, simultaneously the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 9th carrier is Y10, and simultaneously the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 10th uplink carrier is Y11; during the third transmission, the UE transmits a Y12-port uplink transmission on the 8th carrier, and at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 8th carrier is Y9, the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 9th carrier is Y10, and the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 10th uplink carrier is Y11;The UE transmits a Y9-port uplink transmission on the 8th carrier during the 3rd transmission, and at the 2nd moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 9th carrier is Y10 and the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 10th carrier is Y11; or the UE transmits a transmission using any quantity of ports on the 8th carrier during the 3rd transmission, and at the 2nd moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 8th carrier is Y9, the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 9th carrier is Y10, and the quantity of the radio frequency chain on the 10th carrier is Y11, where;

[0427] 0 <Y9<X, 0<Y10<X, 0<Y11<X 이고, Y와 Y9, Y10 및 Y11 중 임의의 하나의 합은 X 미만이고, Y와 Y9, Y10 및 Y11 중 임의의 2개의 합은 X 이하이고, Y9+Y10+Y11+Y> It is X. 0 <Y12≤Y9, 0<Y13≤Y10, 0<Y14≤Y11 이며, Y12+Y13+Y14<Y9+Y10+Y11 이다.

[0428] The 8th carrier, the 9th carrier, and the 10th carrier are each any one of the carriers in the 1st uplink carrier set other than carrier 1, and the 8th carrier, the 9th carrier, and the 10th carrier are different carriers.

[0429] In other words, condition 21 means that there are too many radio frequency chains of three carriers among the carriers in the set of first uplink carriers other than the first uplink carrier. Consequently, Y-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 cannot be completed without borrowing radio frequency chains from three carriers.

[0430] The 18th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0431] If the UE attempts to perform the X-port 1st transmission on Carrier 1 and condition 16 or condition 17 is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 19th behavior.

[0432] For Conditions 16 and 17, refer to the description above.

[0433] The 19th behavior comprises at least one of the following: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. For the first uplink carrier set and the second uplink carrier set, refer to the foregoing description.

[0434] Example 14: The uplink carriers in the first uplink carrier set of the UE are Carrier 1, Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4, and the quantity set of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is {0, 1, 2}, and the total quantity of radio frequency chains of the UE is 3, and the maximum quantity of radio frequency chains supported on each carrier is 2, but at most 2 carriers have radio frequency chains simultaneously. Therefore, when there are 2 radio frequency chains on a carrier, a 1-port or 2-port uplink transmission may be transmitted on the carrier; when there is 1 radio frequency chain on the carrier, a 1-port uplink transmission may be transmitted on the carrier; or when there is no radio frequency chain on the carrier, an uplink transmission may not be transmitted on the carrier.

[0435] In Example 14, an example of the UE's radio frequency chain switching method is as follows:

[0436] I. If the UE attempts to perform a 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 5th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 20th behavior.

[0437] For the fifth condition, refer to the explanation of the fifth condition in Example 9.

[0438] The 20th behavior includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0439] In the first transmission, if the UE does not simultaneously perform a transmission on one of the carriers in the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, and furthermore, if the operating state of the UE at the second moment is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 1, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier. In this case, the behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on the fifth uplink carrier is 1. In other words, the fifth uplink carrier does not support 2-port uplink transmission, and carriers other than Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier do not support uplink transmission. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. In this case, regardless of the priority of Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier, the maximum and minimum quantities of radio frequency chains switched from the fifth uplink carrier to Carrier 1 are both 1. Since Carrier 1 supports only up to 2 radio frequency chains, the maximum number of radio frequency chains that can be switched is 1, and the minimum number of radio frequency chains supported for current transmission on Carrier 1 is also 2. Therefore, at least one radio frequency chain must be switched.

[0440] Alternatively, in the first transmission, if the UE does not simultaneously perform a transmission on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1, furthermore, if at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the UE does not support any uplink transmission on Carrier 1, or if at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 is 1 and the fifth uplink carrier is 1, then the fifth uplink carrier is assumed to be Carrier 2. In this case, Carrier 3 or Carrier 4 is a carrier within the first uplink carrier set other than Carrier 1 and the fifth uplink carrier (it is assumed that the UE has one radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 at the second moment). If the priority of Carrier 2 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, and the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 1. In other words, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 4. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers. If the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, and the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 3 is 1.In other words, the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the UE does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 4. It is clear that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers.

[0441] Alternatively, furthermore, if the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4) during the first transmission, the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operational state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4) is 1. If the fifth uplink carrier is Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4), the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4). If the fifth uplink carrier is not Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4), the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2 (or Carrier 3 or Carrier 4), and the fifth uplink carrier.

[0442] II. If the UE attempts to perform a 2-port first transmission on Carrier 1, that is, if the first uplink carrier is Carrier 1 and the 6th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 21st behavior.

[0443] For the 6th condition, refer to the explanation of the 6th condition in Example 9.

[0444] The 21st behavior comprises at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration.

[0445] Additionally, if the UE does not perform uplink transmission on Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4 during the first transmission, and at the second moment the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. In this case, the behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 1. That is, during the first transmission, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and Carrier 4. It is evident that the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. In this case, regardless of the priority of Carrier 1 and Carrier 2, the maximum and minimum quantities of the radio frequency chain switching from Carrier 2 to Carrier 1 are both 1. Since Carrier 1 supports only up to 2 radio frequency chains, the maximum number of radio frequency chains that can be switched is 1, and the minimum number of radio frequency chains supported for current transmission on Carrier 1 is also 2. Therefore, at least one radio frequency chain must be switched.

[0446] Alternatively, furthermore, if during the first transmission, the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on a carrier within the first carrier set other than Carrier 1 (this carrier is assumed to be Carrier 2), the behavior of the UE may further include: the UE transmits the first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 1. If, at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on Carrier 2 is 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. If, at the second moment, the operating state of the UE is that the quantity of the radio frequency chain on a carrier within the first carrier set other than Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 (this carrier is presumed to be Carrier 3) is 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3.

[0447] III. When the UE attempts to transmit a 1-port first transmission on carrier 1, that is, the first uplink carrier is carrier 1, and the 7th condition is satisfied, the behavior of the UE is the 22nd behavior.

[0448] For the seventh condition, refer to the explanation of the seventh condition in Example 9.

[0449] The 22nd behavior includes at least one of the following behaviors: the UE requires a first duration (or the UE performs radio frequency chain switching within the first duration); the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on at least one carrier including Carrier 1 within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration; the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the first uplink carrier set within the first duration; or the UE does not expect to perform transmission on any carrier within the second uplink carrier set within the first duration. The first uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1, Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4.

[0450] Next, an explanation is provided using an example in which, under the seventh condition, the sixth uplink carrier is Carrier 2 and the seventh uplink carrier is Carrier 3.

[0451] Based on the priorities of Carrier 1, Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4, the number of radio frequency chains of the switched UE may differ. The following cases may be included:

[0452] 1. If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, and the priority of Carrier 2 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 3. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE during the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 1 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 2. That is, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and Carrier 4. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains are switched to the highest priority carrier.

[0453] 2. If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, and the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: The UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1. During the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 3. That is, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3, and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and Carrier 4. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains are switched to the highest priority carrier.

[0454] 3. If the priority of Carrier 2 is the highest among the priorities of Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 3. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 is 2. That is, in the first transmission, the UE supports 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and supports 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1. That is, in the first transmission, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1 and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 3 and Carrier 4. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers.

[0455] 4. If the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, and the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 2, the second uplink carrier set includes Carrier 1 and Carrier 2. The behavior of the UE may further include the following: the UE transmits a first transmission on Carrier 1, wherein the operating state of the UE in the first transmission is that the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 3 is 1 and the quantity of radio frequency chains on Carrier 1 is 2. That is, in the third transmission, the UE does not support 2-port uplink transmission on Carrier 1, and does not support uplink transmission on Carrier 2 and Carrier 4. This has the advantage that more radio frequency chains can be held on higher priority carriers.

[0456] 5. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 2 during the first transmission, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there is one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, two radio frequency chains on Carrier 2, and no radio frequency chain on Carrier 3.

[0457] 6. If the UE also performs a 3-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, and the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 3, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 and Carrier 4, and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 3. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 3 during the first transmission, and the priority of Carrier 3 is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, and Carrier 3. In this case, during the first transmission, the UE has one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chain on Carrier 2, and two radio frequency chains on Carrier 3.

[0458] 7. If the UE also performs a 1-port uplink transmission on Carrier 4 during the first transmission, the second uplink carrier set is Carrier 1, Carrier 2, Carrier 3, and Carrier 4. If the priority of Carrier 1 is higher than the priority of Carrier 4, in the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there are two radio frequency chains on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 and Carrier 3, and one radio frequency chain on Carrier 4. If the priority of Carrier 4 is higher than the priority of Carrier 1, in the first transmission, the operating state of the UE is that there is one radio frequency chain on Carrier 1, no radio frequency chains on Carrier 2 and Carrier 3, and two radio frequency chains on Carrier 4.

[0459] In the above-described method embodiment, a process is described in which a UE determines an uplink carrier to which a radio frequency chain will be switched and an operating state of the UE on the first uplink carrier in the first transmission, and it should be understood that a base station determines an uplink carrier to which the UE will be switched and determines an operating state of the UE on the first uplink carrier in the first transmission.

[0460] It should be understood that in this application, "previous uplink transmission / transmission of UE" refers to the last uplink transmission performed by the UE or the last uplink transmission prior to the uplink transmission to be performed by the UE. Additionally, the previous state of the UE and the previous uplink transmission state of the UE may be replaced by the state of the UE at a second moment.

[0461] Unless otherwise specified, it should also be understood that in this application, "other carriers" refers to carriers within the first set of carriers other than the first uplink carrier.

[0462] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device configured to implement the aforementioned functions implemented by a UE and / or a base station. The device may include the structure illustrated in FIG. 5 and / or FIG. 6. The transceiver module (520) illustrated in FIG. 5 and / or the transceiver unit (610) illustrated in FIG. 6 may perform transmission and / or reception operations performed by the UE or base station in the method embodiments of the present application, for example, a transmission operation such as the transmission of first information and a reception operation such as the reception of first information. The processing module (510) illustrated in FIG. 5 and / or the processing unit (620) illustrated in FIG. 6 may perform processing operations performed by the UE or base station in the method embodiments of the present application. The processing operations are, for example, by the UE or base station, determining the quantity M of ports supported by the UE for uplink transmission on a first uplink carrier, or determining a third uplink carrier and / or a fourth uplink carrier.

[0463] Embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system. The communication system may include the UE and base station of the above-described embodiment. Optionally, the communication system may include the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1. The communication system may be configured to implement the steps of the communication method illustrated in the embodiment of the present application.

[0464] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement a procedure related to a network device and / or terminal provided in the method embodiment described above.

[0465] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product. The computer program product is configured to store a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement a procedure related to a network device and / or terminal provided in the method embodiment described above.

[0466] Embodiments of the present application also provide a chip or a chip system (or circuit). The chip may include a processor, and the processor may be configured to call a program or instruction in memory to perform a procedure related to a network device and / or terminal provided in the method embodiment described above. The chip system may include components such as a chip, memory, or a transceiver.

[0467] It will be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a CPU, or another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, any conventional processor, etc.

[0468] The method steps of the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in a hardware manner or by executing software instructions by a processor. The software instructions may include corresponding software modules. The software modules may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, removable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium well known to those skilled in the art. For example, the storage medium is coupled to the processor to enable the processor to read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be placed in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may be located in a network device and / or terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may exist as discrete components in the network device or terminal device.

[0469] All or part of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or part of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product comprises one or more computer programs and instructions. When a computer program instruction or instruction is loaded into and executed by a computer, all or part of a procedure or function according to an embodiment of the present application is generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium and may be transferred from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instruction may be transferred via wired or wireless means from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that incorporates one or more available media. Available media may be magnetic media, for example, floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes; optical media, for example, digital video disks; or semiconductor media, for example, solid-state drives.

[0470] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, terms and / or descriptions in different embodiments may be consistent and cross-referencing, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined based on their internal logical relationships to form new embodiments.

[0471] It is understood that the sequence number of the aforementioned process does not imply an execution sequence in the various embodiments of the present application. The execution sequence of the process should be determined based on the function and internal logic of the process and should not be interpreted as any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0472] It should be understood that in this application, "when" and "if" mean that the device performs corresponding processing under objective circumstances and are not intended to limit time. The terms do not imply that the device must take a decision action during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0473] A person skilled in the art will understand that various numbers such as 1 and 2 in this application are used merely for distinctions for convenience of explanation and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. In this application, numbers or indices of specific values, amounts of specific values, and positions are used merely as examples and are not unique forms of expression, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. Various numbers such as 1 and 2 in this application are used merely for distinctions for convenience of explanation and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0474] Additionally, in this application, the term "and / or" describes only the association relationship for describing the associated objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: A alone exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. Also, in this application, the letter " / " generally indicates the "or" relationship between the associated objects. In this application, the term "one or more" may represent "one" and "two or more." For example, at least one of A, B, and C may represent the following seven cases: A alone exists, B alone exists, C alone exists, both A and B exist, both A and C exist, both C and B exist, and A, B, and C exist.

[0475] A person skilled in the art should understand that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Therefore, the present application may be used in the form of embodiments of hardware only, embodiments of software only, or embodiments of a combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, the present application may be used in the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media comprising computer-usable program code. Storage media include, but are not limited to, disk memory, CD-ROM, optical memory, etc.

[0476] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices, systems, and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that computer program instructions may be used to implement each procedure and / or each block within a flowchart and / or block diagram, and combinations of procedures and / or blocks within a flowchart and / or block diagram. Such computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to create a machine, so that instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device may create a device for implementing specific functions of one or more procedures within a flowchart and / or one or more blocks within a block diagram.

[0477] Computer program instructions are alternatively stored in computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in computer-readable memory can generate an artifact including an instruction unit. The instruction unit implements specific functions of one or more procedures in a flowchart and / or one or more blocks in a block diagram.

[0478] Alternatively, computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operations and steps are performed on the computer or other programmable device, thereby generating processing implemented by the computer. Therefore, instructions executed on a computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing specific functions in one or more procedures within a flowchart and / or one or more blocks within a block diagram.

[0479] It is evident that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to this application without departing from the scope of protection of this application. This application intends to encompass such modifications and changes if they fall within the scope of the claims of this application and the scope of equivalent technology.

Claims

Claim 1 A communication method performed by a terminal device or a chip within a terminal device, comprising: a step of acquiring first information—the first information is used to schedule the terminal device for performing a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, wherein the first transmission is an N-port transmission and N is a positive integer—and a step of performing the first transmission on the first uplink carrier—when the first transmission is performed, the number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier is M, M is determined based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of the terminal device, wherein the at least one uplink carrier includes the first uplink carrier and M≥N—and the second information includes priority indication information. Claim 2 A communication method according to claim 1, wherein M is also determined based on the number of ports on which the terminal device performs a second transmission, and the second transmission is a transmission performed by the terminal device on at least one uplink carrier other than the first uplink carrier. Claim 3 A communication method according to claim 1, wherein when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. Claim 4 In claim 2, when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is also a communication method determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission. Claim 5 In claim 1, when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is not higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the same communication method as N. Claim 6 delete Claim 7 delete Claim 8 delete Claim 9 delete Claim 10 delete Claim 11 A communication method performed by a network device or a chip of a network device, comprising: a step of transmitting first information - said first information is used to schedule a terminal device for performing a first transmission on a first uplink carrier, said first transmission is an N-port transmission, and N is a positive integer - and a step of determining M based on second information of at least one uplink carrier of said terminal device - said M is a quantity of ports supported by said terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier when the first transmission is performed, and M≥N - and said second information includes priority indication information. Claim 12 In claim 11, M is also determined based on the number of ports on which the terminal device performs a second transmission, and the second transmission is a transmission method performed by the terminal device on at least one uplink carrier other than the first uplink carrier. Claim 13 A communication method according to claim 11, wherein when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the maximum number of ports supported by the terminal device for uplink transmission on the first uplink carrier. Claim 14 In claim 12, when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is also a communication method determined based on the quantity of ports for the second transmission. Claim 15 In claim 11, when the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the first uplink carrier is not higher than the priority indicated by the priority indication information of the second uplink carrier, M is the same communication method as N. Claim 16 delete Claim 17 delete Claim 18 delete Claim 19 delete Claim 20 delete Claim 21 A communication device comprising a module configured to perform the above method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Claim 22 A communication device comprising a module configured to perform the above method according to any one of claims 11 to 15. Claim 23 A communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication device different from the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor; or transmit a signal from the processor to another communication device different from the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by using a logic circuit or executing a code instruction. Claim 24 A communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication device different from the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor; or transmit a signal from the processor to another communication device different from the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15 by using a logic circuit or executing a code instruction. Claim 25 A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a communication device, the communication device is enabled to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Claim 26 A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a communication device, the communication device is enabled to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15. Claim 27 delete

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