Data transmission method and related apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a data transmission method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: receiving or sending a signal on the basis of a first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; executing transmission mode switching from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability; and receiving or sending the signal on the basis of the second transmission mode. In this way, a terminal device can dynamically switch a transmission mode, such that energy conservation of the terminal device is realized when the service volume is relatively small, and high-capacity transmission is realized when the service volume is relatively large.

Description

Data transmission method and related device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese invention patent application entitled “Data transmission method and related device” and application number 202311244361.6 filed on September 22, 2023, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a data transmission method and related devices. Background Art

[0004] In wireless communication systems, the baseband processing capability of the user equipment (UE) is one of the main factors affecting the cost and power consumption of the UE. The main factors related to baseband processing capability include port capability and bandwidth capability. Baseband processing includes at least one of the following: channel estimation, equalization, channel coding, channel decoding, symbol modulation, symbol demodulation, waveform modulation, waveform demodulation, source coding, or source decoding. In view of the large bandwidth spectrum resources of some frequency bands and the rich multipath characteristics of the channel environment, as well as the diversified needs of future communication services, the UE side may have a variety of transmission and signal processing requirements with different bandwidths and different numbers of ports. Under the premise of limiting cost and power consumption, different service transmission requirements can be met. At present, the scheduling method of baseband processing capability needs further research.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a data transmission method and related apparatus, which can realize the sharing of port capacity and bandwidth capacity, thereby helping to save power consumption of terminal equipment or improve user-perceived rate.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a data transmission method, which can be performed by a terminal device, or by a component in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method includes: receiving or sending a signal based on a first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; performing a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability; and receiving or sending a signal based on the second transmission mode.

[0008] In this way, terminal devices can dynamically switch transmission modes to save power or achieve higher transmission rates, thereby improving user-perceived data rates. For example, a terminal device can dynamically shut down some transmit or receive channels to save power, or dynamically open more transmit or receive channels to achieve higher transmission rates, thereby improving user-perceived data rates.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the radio frequency (RF) chain and the antenna.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0011] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability. In other words, the terminal device side can support the sharing of bandwidth capability and port capability. For example, the terminal device can reduce the number of transceiver ports and support a larger bandwidth transmission based on the saved processing power, or the terminal device can reduce the transmission bandwidth and support a larger number of ports based on the saved processing power. In this way, the terminal device can dynamically switch the working bandwidth and change the number of uplink and downlink antenna ports under a fixed capability resource pool, thereby achieving the performance requirements of power consumption and capacity of the terminal device in different channel environments.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further includes: before executing the transmission mode switching, sending capability information to the network device to indicate capability supported by the terminal device, wherein the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least a first port capability and a second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least a first bandwidth capability and a second bandwidth capability.

[0013] In some embodiments, the capability information further indicates the processing delay of switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay of switching between different capabilities can be reported separately.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes: before performing the transmission mode switch, receiving a transmission mode indication from the network device, wherein the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode. In this way, the terminal device can perform the transmission mode switch based on the transmission mode indication of the network device, enabling the network device to decide the transmission mode to be switched by the terminal device based on real-time scheduling requirements.

[0015] In some embodiments, receiving the transmission mode indication includes at least one of: receiving the transmission mode indication via radio resource control (RRC) signaling; receiving the transmission mode indication via bandwidth part (BWP) configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication via serving cell configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication via secondary cell (SCell) activation signaling; or receiving the transmission mode indication via SCell deactivation signaling. In this manner, a flexible transmission mode indication method is provided.

[0016] In some embodiments, performing transmission mode switching includes at least one of the following: changing a working port of the terminal device; changing a working bandwidth of the terminal device; or changing a baseband processing capability of the terminal device. In this way, the terminal device can achieve flexible switching between different transmission modes.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further includes: before performing the transmission mode switching, sending a transmission mode switching request to the network device.

[0018] In some embodiments, sending the transmission mode switch request includes at least one of: sending the transmission mode switch request via a physical random access channel (PRACH); sending the transmission mode switch request via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); or sending the transmission mode switch request via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). In this way, a flexible transmission mode switch request method is provided.

[0019] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switch request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request for reporting the second transmission mode, a reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after the switch, and a transmission mode switch protection interval. The above-mentioned reason for the transmission mode switch in the transmission mode switch request can be a direct reason or a classified reason, such as a reason on the terminal device side or a reason on the network device side.

[0020] In some embodiments, the triggering condition for sending a transmission mode switch request to the network device includes at least one of the following: a change in the energy saving requirements of the terminal device, a change in the channel quality of the terminal device, a change in the service load of the network device, a change in the amount of service to be transmitted by the terminal device, or a change in the channel characteristics of the terminal device. In this way, the terminal device can request the network device to switch the transmission mode based on real-time status requirements to achieve terminal device energy saving or achieve higher transmission rates to improve user perceived speed.

[0021] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method that can be performed by a network device, or by a component in the network device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. The method includes: sending a signal to or receiving a signal from a terminal device based on a first transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; and after the terminal device performs a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, sending a signal to or receiving a signal from the terminal device based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability.

[0022] In this way, network equipment can support dynamic switching of transmission modes on the terminal side, achieving power conservation in the terminal device or enabling higher-speed transmission, thereby improving user-perceived rates. For example, network equipment can dynamically change the transmission bandwidth and number of transmit and receive antenna ports of the terminal device based on real-time service needs. When the terminal device needs to save energy or has a small amount of service to transmit, the baseband signal processing requirements can be reduced by shutting down some RF channels, reducing the transmission bandwidth, or reducing the number of transmission ports, thereby achieving energy conservation. When the terminal device channel environment is multipath-rich and the network load is heavy, the number of air interface transmission streams of the terminal device can be increased by opening more transmit and receive channels or switching the connection between the terminal device's RF chain and the physical antenna from an antenna structure using hybrid beam forming (HBF) to an antenna structure using digital beam forming (DBF), thereby achieving high-capacity transmission.

[0023] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0025] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability. In other words, the terminal device side can support bandwidth capability and port capability sharing to meet the power consumption and capacity performance requirements of the terminal device in different channel environments.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving capability information from the terminal device indicating capability supported by the terminal device, wherein the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least a first port capability and a second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least a first bandwidth capability and a second bandwidth capability.

[0027] In some embodiments, the capability information further indicates the processing delay of switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay of switching between different capabilities can be reported separately.

[0028] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining one or more transmission modes supported by the terminal device based on the capability information; and determining a second transmission mode to which the terminal device is to switch from the one or more transmission modes.

[0029] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a transmission mode indication to the terminal device, where the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode. In this way, the network device can determine the transmission modes supported by the terminal device based on the capability information reported by the terminal device, and decide the transmission mode to be switched by the terminal device based on real-time scheduling requirements.

[0030] In some embodiments, sending the transmission mode indication includes at least one of the following: sending the transmission mode indication via RRC signaling; sending the transmission mode indication via BWP configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication via serving cell configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication via SCell activation signaling; or sending the transmission mode indication via SCell deactivation signaling. In this way, a flexible transmission mode indication method is provided.

[0031] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a transmission mode switching request from the terminal device.

[0032] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request of the terminal device for reporting the second transmission mode, the reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switching protection interval.

[0033] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a transmission mode switched message from the terminal device, wherein the transmission mode switched message includes at least one of the following: whether the transmission mode switch is complete, a reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, and an indication of a second transmission mode after the switch. The reason for the transmission mode switch received in the transmission mode switched message can be a direct reason or a classified reason, such as a reason on the terminal device side or a reason on the network device side.

[0034] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module is configured to receive or transmit signals based on a first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability. The processing module is configured to perform a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability. The transceiver module is further configured to receive or transmit signals based on the second transmission mode.

[0035] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

[0036] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0037] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability.

[0038] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is also used to: before executing the transmission mode switching, send capability information indicating the capability supported by the terminal device to the network device, wherein the capability information indicates the port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least the first port capability and the second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability.

[0039] In some embodiments, the capability information further indicates a processing delay for switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay for switching between different capabilities may be reported separately by the transceiver module.

[0040] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further configured to: before executing the transmission mode switching, receive a transmission mode indication from the network device, wherein the transmission mode indication includes the second transmission mode and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode.

[0041] In some embodiments, the transceiver module receives the transmission mode indication through at least one of the following: receiving the transmission mode indication through RRC signaling; receiving the transmission mode indication through BWP configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication through serving cell configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication through SCell activation signaling; or receiving the transmission mode indication through SCell deactivation signaling.

[0042] In some embodiments, the processing module performs transmission mode switching by at least one of: changing a working port of the terminal device; changing a working bandwidth of the terminal device; or changing a baseband processing capability of the terminal device.

[0043] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further configured to: before executing the transmission mode switching, send a transmission mode switching request to the network device.

[0044] In some embodiments, the transceiver module sends the transmission mode switching request through at least one of the following: sending the transmission mode switching request through PRACH; sending the transmission mode switching request through PUSCH; or sending the transmission mode switching request through PUCCH.

[0045] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request for reporting the second transmission mode, the reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switching protection interval.

[0046] In some embodiments, the triggering conditions for sending a transmission mode switching request to a network device include at least one of the following: a change in the energy-saving requirements of the terminal device, a change in the channel quality of the terminal device, a change in the service load of the network device, a change in the amount of service to be transmitted by the terminal device, or a change in the channel characteristics of the terminal device.

[0047] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above embodiment. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above embodiment.

[0048] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device includes a transceiver module configured to send signals to or receive signals from a terminal device based on a first transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; and the transceiver module is further configured to, after the terminal device switches from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, send signals to or receive signals from the terminal device based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability.

[0049] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

[0050] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0051] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability.

[0052] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is also used to: receive capability information from the terminal device indicating capability supported by the terminal device, wherein the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least a first port capability and a second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least a first bandwidth capability and a second bandwidth capability.

[0053] In some embodiments, the capability information further indicates the processing delay of switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay of switching between different capabilities can be reported separately.

[0054] In some embodiments, the communication apparatus further includes a processing module, which is used to: determine one or more transmission modes supported by the terminal device based on the capability information; and determine a second transmission mode to which the terminal device is to switch from the one or more transmission modes.

[0055] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further used to: send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device, where the transmission mode indication includes the second transmission mode and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode.

[0056] In some embodiments, the transceiver module sends the transmission mode indication through at least one of the following: sending the transmission mode indication through RRC signaling; sending the transmission mode indication through BWP configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication through serving cell configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication through SCell activation signaling; or sending the transmission mode indication through SCell deactivation signaling.

[0057] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further used to: receive a transmission mode switching request from the terminal device.

[0058] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request of the terminal device for reporting the second transmission mode, the reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switching protection interval.

[0059] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is also used to: receive a transmission mode switched message from the terminal device, wherein the transmission mode switched message includes at least one of the following: whether the transmission mode switch is completed, the reason why the terminal device switches the transmission mode, and an indication of the second transmission mode after switching.

[0060] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above embodiment. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above embodiment.

[0061] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, including a processor configured to execute a computer program or computer instruction in a memory to perform the method of the first aspect or the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0062] Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the processor is used to control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals. The transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter is used to perform the transmitting operation in the above embodiment, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving operation in the above embodiment.

[0063] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a computer program or computer instructions, and the processor is configured to call and execute the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor implements the method of the first aspect or the second aspect, or any embodiment thereof.

[0064] Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the processor is used to control the transceiver to transmit and receive signals. The transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter is used to perform the transmitting operation in the above embodiment, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving operation in the above embodiment.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with another device via the interface circuit and execute the method of the first aspect or the second aspect or any embodiment thereof. The processor includes one or more.

[0066] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device includes a processor, connected to a memory, configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, or any of the embodiments thereof. The memory may be located within or outside the communication device. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0067] In some embodiments, the apparatus of the third to eighth aspects described above may be a chip or a chip system.

[0068] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product comprising computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method of the first aspect or the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0069] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute a method as in the first aspect or the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0070] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a chip device comprising a processor for calling a computer program or computer instruction in a memory so that the processor executes a method as in the first aspect or the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0071] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0072] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication system, which includes a first device and a second device; the first device is used to execute the method in any embodiment of the first aspect, and the second device is used to execute the method in the second aspect or any embodiment thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several implementations of the present disclosure are shown here in an exemplary and non-limiting manner. In the accompanying drawings:

[0074] FIG1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied;

[0075] FIG1B shows a schematic diagram of another communication system in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied;

[0076] FIG1C shows a schematic diagram of a network element structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] FIG2 shows a schematic signaling diagram of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0078] FIG3 shows a schematic signaling diagram of another communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0079] FIG4 shows a schematic signaling diagram of another communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0080] FIG5 shows a flow chart of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0081] FIG6 shows a flow chart of another communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0082] FIG7 shows a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0083] FIG8 shows a schematic structural diagram of another possible communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0084] In the various drawings, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0086] Throughout this disclosure, the terms "including" and similar expressions should be understood as open inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based, at least in part, on." The terms "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The terms "first," "second," and so on may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0087] It can be understood that "sending" and "receiving" in this disclosure indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0088] In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be performed within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0089] It is understandable that information may be processed between the source and destination, such as encoding and modulation, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this disclosure can be understood similarly and will not be repeated.

[0090] The following introduces the terminal device and network device involved in the present disclosure.

[0091] Terminal devices, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), mobile terminals (MT), and customer premise equipment (CPE), are devices that include wireless communication capabilities (providing voice and data connectivity to users). Examples include handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, and machine-type communication (MTC) terminals with wireless connectivity. Currently, terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals used in industrial control, self-driving vehicles, remote medical surgery, smart grids, transportation safety, smart cities, and smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in unmanned driving can be drones, helicopters, or airplanes. For example, wireless terminals in the Internet of Vehicles can be onboard equipment, complete vehicle equipment, onboard modules, vehicles, or ships. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, or robotic arms. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be televisions, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, speakers, or set-top boxes.

[0092] It should be noted that the terminal device may be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, module or control unit in the device or apparatus shown above, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0093] A network device is a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication capabilities for terminal devices. A network device can also be called an access network (RAN) entity, access node, network node, or communication device.

[0094] Specifically, the network device may be an access network device of a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, a fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication system or a 5G mobile communication system. The network device may also be an access network device in an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, the network device may be an access network device in a communication system obtained by integrating two or more of the above communication systems.

[0095] The network equipment includes, but is not limited to, evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, macro base station, micro base station, wireless relay node, donor node, wireless controller in CRAN scenario, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP) or transmission and receiving point (TRP). The network equipment may also be access network equipment in 5G mobile communication system. For example, the next generation NodeB (gNB) in new radio (NR) system, TRP, TP, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in 5G mobile communication system. Alternatively, the network device may also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point. For example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be configured separately or included in the same network element. For example, a BBU. The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit. For example, in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). Alternatively, the network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, in V2X technology, the network device may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0096] It should be noted that in different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU may also be called an open centralized unit (O-CU) or an open CU, DU may also be called an open distributed unit (O-DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) may also be called an open centralized unit control plane (O-CU-CP) or an open CU-CP, a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) may also be called an open centralized unit user plane (O-CU-UP) or an open CU-UP, and RU may also be called an open radio unit (O-RU), but this disclosure does not limit this. Any of the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU in this disclosure may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0097] Optionally, for network elements in the ORAN system, each network element may implement the protocol layer functions shown in Table 1 below.

[0098] Table 1

[0099] It should be noted that the network device may be one or more network elements shown in Table 1 above, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0100] It should be noted that Table 1 above is merely an example. In actual applications, the protocol layer functions supported by each network element are not limited. For example, each network element may support more protocol layer functions, or the protocol layer functions supported by each network element may be specifically configured based on actual conditions. This disclosure does not impose any specific limitations.

[0101] The following describes the architecture of the CU and DU of an access network device. The access network device includes at least one CU and at least one DU. Optionally, the access network device also includes at least one RU.

[0102] The following is an introduction using the example of an access network device including a CU and a DU. The CU has some functions of the core network, and the CU may include a CU-CP and a CU-UP. The CU and the DU may be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers above it (for example, the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer). The DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (for example, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the physical layer (PHY layer)). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below it (for example, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0103] When a CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP is used to implement the control plane functions of the CU, and the CU-UP is used to implement the user plane functions of the CU. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, RRC layer, and SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the RRC layer functions and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the SDAP layer functions and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer.

[0104] The CU-CP can interact with the network elements in the core network for implementing control plane functions. The network elements in the core network for implementing control plane functions may be access and mobility function network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5G mobile communication system. The access and mobility function network element is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as location update of the terminal device, registration network of the terminal device, switching of the terminal device, etc. The CU-UP can interact with the network elements in the core network for implementing user plane functions. The network elements in the core network for implementing user plane functions, such as the user plane function (UPF) in the 5G mobile communication system, are responsible for forwarding and receiving data in the terminal device.

[0105] The above configuration of CU and DU is only an example, and the functions of CU and DU can also be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements. For example, according to the delay, the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller delay requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are set in the CU.

[0106] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0107] Optionally, the network device may also be a core network device. The core network device is responsible for access control, registration management, service management, mobility management, etc. for terminal devices to access the network. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may involve beams, and the embodiment of beams in the NR protocol may be a spatial domain filter, or a spatial filter, or a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, or Quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, etc. The beam may be indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (TCI-state) parameter, or by a spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in this disclosure, the term "beam" can be replaced by spatial filters, spatial filters, spatial parameters, spatial parameters, spatial settings, spatial settings, QCL information, QCL assumptions, QCL indications, TCI-states (uplink (DL) TCI-state, downlink (UL) TCI-state), spatial relationships, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. Beam can also be replaced by other terms representing beams, which are not limited in this disclosure.

[0108] The beam used to transmit a signal may be referred to as a transmission beam (Tx beam), or may also be referred to as a spatial domain transmission filter, a spatial transmission filter, a spatial domain transmission parameter, or a spatial transmission parameter, or a spatial domain transmission setting. The downlink transmit beam may be indicated by a TCI-state.

[0109] The beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), and can also be called a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter, a spatial reception parameter, a spatial domain reception setting, or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmit beam can be indicated by a spatial relation, an uplink TCI-state, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource (indicating the transmit beam using the SRS). Therefore, the uplink beam can also be replaced by an SRS resource.

[0110] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0111] Furthermore, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The beam forming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies. The beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology.

[0112] Beams generally correspond to resources. For example, during beam measurement, network equipment uses different resources to measure different beams. The terminal device then provides feedback on the measured resource quality, allowing the network equipment to determine the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, beam information is also indicated by its corresponding resource. For example, the network equipment uses the TCI field in the downlink control information (DCI) to indicate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) beam information to the terminal device.

[0113] Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered a single beam. A beam can include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and sounding signals. The one or more antenna ports forming a beam can also be considered an antenna port set.

[0114] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, a beam refers to a transmission beam of a network device. In beam measurement, each beam of a network device corresponds to a resource, so the beam corresponding to the resource can be uniquely identified by the resource index.

[0115] Multiple transmission modes may exist on the terminal device side to meet different service transmission requirements. To reduce the implementation cost of terminal devices, one feasible implementation approach being explored is to "pool" the baseband processing capabilities on the terminal device side. This involves unitizing the baseband processing capabilities on the terminal device side and combining different capability units to complete baseband signal processing based on actual transmission requirements. Baseband processing includes at least one of the following: channel estimation, equalization, channel coding, channel decoding, symbol modulation, symbol demodulation, waveform modulation, waveform demodulation, source coding, or source decoding.

[0116] As used in this disclosure, the term "transmission mode" may generally refer to a certain mode or configuration for transmission, that is, a certain parameter or parameter combination for transmission. For example, "transmission mode" may refer to one or more parameters associated with the transmission capability (e.g., port capability and bandwidth capability) of the terminal device side. Specifically, the transmission mode may be defined as different values ​​of the transmission capability parameter. In this case, different values ​​of the same transmission capability parameter correspond to different transmission modes, and different transmission capability parameters correspond to different transmission modes. The transmission mode may also be defined as a combination of multiple transmission capability parameters. The capability parameter combination corresponding to each transmission mode may be the same, but the values ​​are different.

[0117] Based on the protocol, terminal devices can report the supported carrier aggregation (CA) aggregation capability and component carrier (CC) level signal processing capability. The CA aggregation capability includes the maximum number of CCs that can be activated simultaneously in the downlink, the combination of CCs for simultaneous data transmission, the maximum number of CCs that can be activated simultaneously in the uplink, and the combination of CCs for simultaneous data transmission. The CC-level signal processing capability includes the maximum downlink transmission capability of a single CC: downlink transmission bandwidth, the maximum number of spatial streams supported by downlink data transmission ("maxNumberMIMO-LayersPDSCH"), and the number of downlink receive antenna ports; the maximum uplink transmission capability of a single CC: the maximum uplink transmission bandwidth of a single CC, the maximum number of spatial streams supported by uplink data transmission ("maxNumberMIMO-LayersPDSCH"), and the number of uplink transmit antenna ports.

[0118] These reported parameter combinations represent the maximum mid-band radio frequency transceiver and baseband processing capabilities of the terminal device. For example, downlink support for four CCs, a maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz per CC, and a maximum of four multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) streams indicates that the terminal device can process a maximum of 400 MHz bandwidth and receive and demodulate four parallel streams.

[0119] However, for the maximum capability combination reported by the terminal device (for example, the carrier aggregation capability is a single CC, the maximum bandwidth per CC is 100MHz, and there are 4 parallel streams), when the network load is low, the main path of the user channel is dominant, and the system available spectrum is 400MHz, then the terminal device side adopts 100MHz+1 stream transmission. Since the actual number of user transmission streams is less than the maximum number of supported streams, there is a surplus in the baseband processing capability on the terminal device side, but due to the limitation of the reported maximum bandwidth, the transmission rate on the terminal device side or the user perceived rate is not maximized.

[0120] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a data transmission solution for sharing bandwidth capability and port capability on the terminal device side. Through this solution, based on actual business scheduling requirements, the baseband processing capability of the terminal device side for different combinations of bandwidth and ports is dynamically adjusted, thereby maximizing the user transmission capacity or user perceived rate under the premise that the baseband processing capability of the terminal device is fixed.

[0121] FIG1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied. Exemplarily, the communication system 100 is a mobile communication system including a single network device 110-1 and multiple terminal devices 120-1 and 120-2. The single network device may transmit data or control signaling to one or more terminal devices.

[0122] FIG1B shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 150 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied. Exemplarily, the communication system 150 is a mobile communication system including multiple network devices 110-2, 110-3, and 110-4 and a single terminal device 120-3. The multiple network devices may simultaneously transmit data or control signaling for the single terminal device.

[0123] It should be understood that the scenarios, number of devices, and connections therebetween shown in Figures 1A and 1B are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other possible scenarios. In some embodiments, network devices 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, and 110-4 may be collectively referred to as network devices 110 or base stations 110, and terminal devices 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 may be collectively referred to as terminal devices 120 or UEs 120.

[0124] The communication between each network device and each terminal device in the communication system shown in Figures 1A and 1B can also be represented in another form. As shown in Figure 1C, terminal device 120 includes a processor 121, a memory 122, and a transceiver 123. Transceiver 123 includes a transmitter 1231, a receiver 1232, and an antenna 1233. Network device 110 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, and a transceiver 113. Transceiver 113 includes a transmitter 1131, a receiver 1132, and an antenna 1133. Receiver 1232 can be configured to receive transmission control information via antenna 1233, and transmitter 1231 can be configured to send transmission feedback information to network device 110 via antenna 1233. Transmitter 1131 can be configured to send transmission control information to terminal device 120 via antenna 1133, and receiver 1132 can be configured to receive transmission feedback information sent by terminal device 120 via antenna 1133.

[0125] FIG2 shows a schematic signaling diagram of a communication process 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of understanding, FIG2 will be described with reference to FIG1A to FIG1C . For example, the process 200 may involve the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 .

[0126] 2 , at 201, network device 110 and terminal device 120 may transmit and receive data based on a first transmission mode, where the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability. For example, terminal device 120 may receive data from or transmit data to network device 110 based on the first transmission mode, and correspondingly, network device 110 may transmit data to or receive data from terminal device 120 based on the first transmission mode of terminal device 120.

[0127] The terminal device 120 performs a transmission mode switch 202 from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, where the second transmission mode corresponds to the second port capability and / or the second bandwidth capability. Then, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can send and receive data based on the second transmission mode. For example, the terminal device 120 can receive data from the network device 110 or send data to the network device 110 based on the second transmission mode. Correspondingly, the network device 110 can send data to the terminal device 120 or receive data from the terminal device 120 based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device 120.

[0128] In some embodiments, the port capability may be the number of ports supported by the terminal device, including one or more of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmit antenna ports, the number of receive antenna ports, the number of transmit ports, the number of receive ports, and the relationship between the RF chain and the antenna. The first port capability and the second port capability are one or more of the above port capabilities, and the parameters used by the first port capability and the second port capability are the same. For example, if the first port capability includes the number of transmit antenna ports, the second port capability also includes the number of transmit antenna ports.

[0129] In some embodiments, bandwidth capability may be the bandwidth supported by the terminal device, including one or more of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth. The first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability are one or more of the above bandwidth capabilities, and the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability use the same parameters. For example, if the first bandwidth capability includes pilot signal bandwidth, the second bandwidth capability also includes pilot signal bandwidth.

[0130] In some embodiments, the baseband processing capabilities of a terminal device can support switching between different bandwidths and different numbers of ports. For example, in one implementation, the terminal device can reduce the number of transceiver ports and, based on the saved processing power, support transmission with a wider bandwidth; in another implementation, the terminal device can reduce the transmission bandwidth and, based on the saved processing power, support transmission with a greater number of ports.

[0131] In this case, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability may be less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability may be less than or equal to the second port capability.

[0132] In some embodiments, before performing transmission mode switching, the terminal device 120 may send capability information indicating capability supported by the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 , where the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability.

[0133] Optionally, the capability information may also indicate whether the terminal device supports bandwidth capability and port capability sharing, that is, whether the baseband processing capability of the terminal device can support switching between different bandwidths and different numbers of ports. Optionally, the capability information may also indicate the processing delay of switching between different capabilities. This parameter can be used to characterize the processing time required for the terminal device to switch the working bandwidth, or the processing time required for the terminal device to switch the RF Chain (radio frequency chain) and the physical antenna connection relationship, or the processing time required for the terminal device to switch the number of ports, or the processing time required for the terminal device to reconstruct the baseband processing capability. Optionally, the processing delay of switching between different capabilities can also be reported separately. Optionally, the capability information may also indicate a capability conversion factor "a" between bandwidth and port. This capability parameter may be used to characterize that when the terminal device adjusts the bandwidth from A1 to A2, the number of supported ports may be adjusted from B1 to B2, and the value of B2 is related to "a", A1, A2, and B1; or when the terminal device adjusts the number of ports from A1 to A2, the supportable bandwidth may be adjusted from B1 to B2, and the value of B2 is related to "a", A1, A2, and B1.

[0134] In some embodiments, network device 110 may send a transmission mode indication to terminal device 120, and terminal device 120 may perform transmission mode switching based on the transmission mode indication. For example, the transmission mode indication includes the second transmission mode to which terminal device 120 is to switch, and optionally, the effective time of the second transmission mode. Then, terminal device 120 may switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode.

[0135] In one implementation, the network device may determine the transmission modes that the terminal device can support based on the capability information reported by the terminal device, and decide the transmission mode to which the terminal device should switch based on real-time scheduling requirements.

[0136] The triggering events for the network device to send a transmission mode indication may be one or more of the following: after the terminal device successfully accesses the initial access, the network device configures a default transmission mode for it; the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on real-time service scheduling requirements, that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode; the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on the reported information of the terminal device (for example, the terminal device reports that the power is insufficient and the energy-saving mode needs to be turned on), that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode; the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on the channel environment of the terminal device (for example, rich multipath, using the most ports to achieve higher flow number transmission; main path dominates, using fewer ports and low flow number transmission), that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode.

[0137] In some embodiments, the network device may send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device via RRC signaling. Optionally, the network device may send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device via BWP configuration information. Optionally, the network device may send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device via serving cell configuration information.

[0138] In one implementation, the network device configures a transmission mode for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, and the BWP switching implicitly informs the terminal device to transmit and receive data or pilot signals based on the transmission mode associated with the BWP.

[0139] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, and dynamically activates one of the transmission modes for each BWP through the media access control control element (MAC-CE). After receiving the activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and subsequently sends and receives data or pilot signals based on the new transmission mode after switching.

[0140] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode. After the switch is successful, it sends an acknowledgment (ACK) message to the network terminal device, so that the terminal device and the network device have a consistent understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode (i.e., the second transmission mode).

[0141] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, dynamically activates multiple transmission modes for each BWP through MAC-CE, and selects one of the transmission modes from the multiple transmission modes activated by MAC-CE through DCI signaling and indicates it to the terminal device.

[0142] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC through RRC signaling, dynamically activates one of the transmission modes for each CC through MAC-CE, and implements data or pilot transmission and reception scheduled by the CC based on the transmission mode.

[0143] Optionally, after receiving the CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends ACK information to the network terminal device after the switch is successful, so that the terminal device and the network device have the same understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode.

[0144] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC through RRC signaling, dynamically activates multiple transmission modes for each CC through MAC-CE, and selects one transmission mode from the multiple transmission modes activated by MAC-CE through DCI signaling and indicates it to the terminal device.

[0145] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level or CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends ACK information to the network terminal device after the switch is successful, so that the terminal device and the network device have a consistent understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode (i.e., the second transmission mode).

[0146] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level or CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode. After the switch is successful, no information is sent to the network terminal device. Instead, the terminal device receives or sends signals based on the new transmission mode at a predetermined time, so that the terminal device and the network device have the same understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode (i.e., the second transmission mode). For example, the activation signaling is received at time n, and signals are received or sent based on the new transmission mode after time n+T; and signals are received or sent based on the old transmission mode between time n and time n+T, or any receiving and sending behavior of the terminal device is stopped between time n and time n+T.

[0147] In some embodiments, the network device may send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device via SCell activation signaling.

[0148] In one implementation, the SCell activation signaling does not explicitly carry a transmission mode indication. The terminal device implicitly obtains the new transmission mode indication information based on the operating bandwidth after SCell activation, switches the transmission mode, and activates the SCell. After successful SCell activation, data is transmitted and received based on the indicated transmission mode. For example, if the terminal device's downlink receive bandwidth is 100 Mbps, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 4; if the terminal device's downlink receive bandwidth is 200 Mbps, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 2. In this case, when the terminal device operates only in a single CC with a system bandwidth of 100 Mbps, the number of ports used by the terminal device is 4. If the network device activates an auxiliary CC for the terminal device with a system bandwidth of 100 Mbps, then upon receiving the SCell activation signaling, the terminal device needs to switch from the "100 Mbps bandwidth + 4 ports" transmission mode to the "200 Mbps bandwidth + 2 ports" transmission mode.

[0149] In another implementation, the transmission mode indication is carried in the SCell activation signaling, the terminal device performs SCell activation based on the indicated transmission mode, and after the SCell activation is successful, transmits and receives data based on the indicated transmission mode.

[0150] Optionally, the SCell activation process includes implementing one or more of the following actions in the transmission mode indicated: transmission mode switching, beam measurement of the Scell ​​to be activated, channel state information measurement of the Scell ​​to be activated, beam measurement of the activated CC based on the new transmission mode, and channel state information measurement of the activated CC based on the new transmission mode.

[0151] Optionally, SCell activation further includes reporting one or more of the following information based on the indicated transmission mode: measurement information of the Scell ​​to be activated, measurement information of an activated CC, and indication information that the transmission mode switching is successful.

[0152] Optionally, at time n, the terminal device receives SCell activation signaling from the network device. If the network device receives valid SCell channel state information between time n and time T1, the SCell activation is considered successful and the transmission mode switch is successful. Otherwise, the SCell activation or transmission mode switch is considered unsuccessful. The specific definition of T1 needs to take into account the processing time required for the terminal device to perform the transmission mode switch.

[0153] Optionally, if the transmission mode indicated by the terminal device is different from the transmission mode adopted before receiving the SCell activation signaling, and the terminal device fails to switch the transmission mode, the SCell activation fails.

[0154] In some embodiments, the network device may send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device via SCell deactivation signaling.

[0155] In one implementation, the SCell deactivation signaling does not explicitly carry a transmission mode indication. The terminal device implicitly obtains the new transmission mode indication information based on the operating bandwidth after the SCell is deactivated, switches the transmission mode, and performs SCell deactivation. After the SCell deactivation is successful, data is transmitted and received based on the indicated transmission mode. For example, if the downlink receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is 100M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 4 streams; if the downlink receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is 200M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 2 streams; at this time, when the terminal device only operates in two CCs and the system bandwidth of each CC is 100M, the number of ports used by the terminal device is 2; when the network device deactivates an auxiliary CC for the terminal device, the terminal device needs to switch from the "bandwidth 200M + port number 2" transmission mode to the "bandwidth 100M + port number 4" transmission mode after receiving the SCell deactivation signaling.

[0156] In another implementation, the transmission mode indication is carried in the SCell deactivation signaling, the terminal device performs SCell deactivation based on the indicated transmission mode, and after the SCell deactivation is successful, it sends and receives data based on the indicated transmission mode.

[0157] Optionally, if the transmission mode indicated by the terminal device is different from the transmission mode adopted before receiving the SCell activation signaling, and the terminal device transmission mode switch is unsuccessful, the SCell deactivation is considered successful, and the terminal device reports the information that the transmission mode switch was unsuccessful to the network device.

[0158] In some embodiments, the terminal device's behavior of switching the transmission mode may include one or more of the following: changing the terminal device's operating port; changing the terminal device's operating bandwidth; or changing the terminal device's baseband processing capability. For example, changing the terminal device's operating port includes switching from one port capability to another, and changing the terminal device's operating bandwidth includes switching from one bandwidth capability to another.

[0159] In some embodiments, before performing a transmission mode switch, the terminal device 120 may send a transmission mode switch request to the network device 110. Alternatively, before performing a transmission mode switch, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switch request to the network device, and after obtaining permission from the network device, the transmission mode switch may be performed. Alternatively, before performing a transmission mode switch, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switch request to the network device, and if the network device does not allow the terminal device to perform a transmission mode switch, the terminal device does not perform the transmission mode switch.

[0160] In some embodiments, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switching request via PRACH, or send a transmission mode switching request via PUSCH, or send a transmission mode switching request via PUCCH.

[0161] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switch request includes one or more of the following: an uplink resource request for reporting the second transmission mode, a reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switch protection interval. The above-mentioned reason for the transmission mode switch in the transmission mode switch request can be a direct reason or a classified reason, such as a reason on the terminal device side or a reason on the network device side.

[0162] In some embodiments, the triggering conditions for the terminal device to send a transmission mode switching request to the network device include one or more of the following: a change in the energy saving requirements of the terminal device, a change in the channel quality of the terminal device, a change in the service load of the network device, a change in the amount of service to be transmitted by the terminal device, or a change in the channel characteristics of the terminal device.

[0163] In some embodiments, after performing a transmission mode switch, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switched message to the network device. The transmission mode switched message may include one or more of the following: whether the transmission mode switch is complete, the reason why the terminal device switched the transmission mode, and an indication of the second transmission mode after the switch. The reason for the transmission mode switch in the transmission mode switched message may be a direct reason or a classified reason, such as a reason on the terminal device side or a reason on the network device side.

[0164] The above reference process 200 describes a solution according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, through which the network device can dynamically change the transmission bandwidth and number of transmitting and receiving antennas of the terminal device based on real-time business needs; when the business volume is small, energy saving of the terminal device is achieved by shutting down some radio frequency channels or reducing the baseband signal processing requirements; when the main path is dominant and the business volume is large, high-capacity transmission is achieved by shutting down some antennas and increasing bandwidth transmission. The terminal device can save power consumption by dynamically shutting down some transmitting or receiving channels; the terminal device can also achieve higher-speed transmission by dynamically opening more transmitting or receiving channels, thereby improving the user-perceived rate.

[0165] Typically, a user's maximum operating bandwidth and number of uplink and downlink antenna ports are reported to the base station during the initial access phase. After initial access, these values ​​remain fixed. However, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device can dynamically switch operating bandwidth and change the number of uplink and downlink antenna ports within a fixed capability resource pool, thereby meeting the power consumption and capacity performance requirements of the terminal device in different channel environments.

[0166] FIG3 shows a schematic signaling diagram of another communication process 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and process 300 may be an example implementation of process 200 shown in FIG2. Similar to process 200, process 300 also involves network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0167] 3 , in 301 , the terminal device 120 reports capability information of the transmission mode, that is, the terminal device 120 reports supported capability information to the network device 110 .

[0168] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 1: whether the terminal device supports bandwidth capability and port capability sharing. This capability parameter indicates whether the terminal device's baseband processing capability can support switching between different bandwidths and different numbers of ports. For example, in one implementation, the terminal device reduces the number of transceiver ports and, based on the saved processing power, supports transmission with a wider bandwidth; in another implementation, the terminal device reduces the transmission bandwidth and, based on the saved processing power, supports transmission with a greater number of ports.

[0169] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 2: the number of ports supported by the terminal device. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the number of SRS transmission ports, the maximum number of MIMO streams for downlink PDSCH transmission, the number of transmission ports for downlink channel state information-reference signal (CSIRS) transmission, or the maximum number of MIMO streams for PUSCH transmission.

[0170] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 3: bandwidth supported by the terminal device. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the maximum uplink transmission bandwidth of a single carrier, or the maximum downlink transmission bandwidth of a single carrier, or the uplink multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, or the downlink multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, or the number of downlink multi-carrier aggregations, or the number of uplink multi-carrier aggregations, or the maximum transmission bandwidth of the pilot signal, or the maximum transmission bandwidth of the data channel, etc.

[0171] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 4: processing delay for switching between different transmission capabilities. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the processing time required for a terminal device to switch its operating bandwidth, the processing time required for a terminal device to switch the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna, the processing time required for a terminal device to switch the number of ports, or the processing time required for a terminal device to reconfigure its baseband processing capability.

[0172] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 5: a capability conversion factor "a" between bandwidth and ports. This capability parameter can be used to indicate that when a terminal device adjusts its bandwidth from A1 to A2, the number of supported ports can be adjusted from B1 to B2, with the value of B2 being related to "a", A1, A2, and B1; or that when a terminal device adjusts its number of ports from A1 to A2, the supported bandwidth can be adjusted from B1 to B2, with the value of B2 being related to "a", A1, A2, and B1.

[0173] In some embodiments, the bandwidth may be the bandwidth of a single carrier, the bandwidth of multi-carrier aggregation, the downlink bandwidth, or the uplink bandwidth. The port may be a pilot port, a data port, the number of downlink MIMO streams, the number of uplink MIMO streams, an antenna port, a transmit port, a receive port, a transmit antenna port, or a receive antenna port. The connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna of the terminal device may be an antenna structure using DBF, HBF, or analog beamforming (ABF). The data channel may be one or more of the following signals: PUCCH, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), PUSCH, or PDSCH. The pilot signal may be one or more of the following signals: CSIRS, synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), SRS, cell reference signal (CRS), etc.

[0174] In some embodiments, the transmission capability parameter reported by a terminal device may be a combination of multiple parameters, or multiple values ​​of a single parameter. Multiple parameter combinations represent a transmission capability, and different transmission capabilities correspond to different values ​​of the same parameter combination. A terminal device may report multiple values ​​of multiple parameter combinations to represent the various transmission capabilities supported by the terminal device.

[0175] In some embodiments, the capability information of the transmission mode may be reported via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, uplink control information (UCI), PUCCH, and / or PUSCH.

[0176] Continuing with Figure 3, at 302, network device 110 issues a transmission mode indication to terminal device 120. Specifically, the transmission mode is associated with the transmission capability parameter reported by the terminal device. For example, based on the transmission capability parameter value reported by the terminal device, the network device determines the transmission modes supported by the terminal device and, based on real-time scheduling requirements, decides the transmission mode to which the terminal device should switch.

[0177] In one implementation, a transmission mode is defined as different values ​​of a transmission capability parameter. In this case, different values ​​of the same transmission capability parameter correspond to different transmission modes, and different transmission capability parameters correspond to different transmission modes. Table 2 shows an exemplary transmission mode table, where different transmission modes correspond to different values ​​of the number of ports.

[0178] Table 2

[0179] The terminal device reports the supported port capabilities and dynamically switches the number of downlink receiving or uplink sending ports of the terminal device based on factors such as real-time business needs, channel environment characteristics, and terminal energy-saving needs.

[0180] Optionally, when the terminal device has sufficient power, transmission mode #1 is used to receive downlink data. At this time, the terminal device uses 4 antenna ports, based on digital beamforming, or hybrid beamforming, or analog beamforming to receive downlink signals, and the baseband needs to process the received signals of the 4 antenna ports; when the terminal device turns on the energy-saving mode, transmission mode #2 is used to receive downlink data. At this time, the terminal device uses 2 antenna ports, based on digital beamforming, or hybrid beamforming, or analog beamforming to receive downlink signals. The baseband needs to process the received signals of the 2 antenna ports, so some additional processing units can be turned off to achieve the purpose of saving power consumption.

[0181] Optionally, transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2 use the same set of receiving or transmitting antennas, but the corresponding RF chains and antenna connections are different. For example, a terminal device has four antennas and four RF chains; transmission mode #1 uses four RF chains to receive or transmit signals based on digital beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with one antenna; transmission mode #2 uses two RF chains to receive or transmit signals based on hybrid beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with two antennas.

[0182] Optionally, the receiving or transmitting antenna sets used in transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2 are different, and the receiving or transmitting antenna set used in transmission mode #2 is a subset of the receiving or transmitting antenna set used in transmission mode #1. For example, a terminal device has four antennas and four RF chains, each connected to one antenna. Transmission mode #1 uses the four RF chains to receive or transmit signals based on digital beamforming; transmission mode #2 uses two of the four RF chains and the two antennas corresponding to the RF chains to receive or transmit signals based on digital beamforming.

[0183] Optionally, the protocol text may not explicitly define the relationship between the RF chain and the antenna connection, but may implicitly indicate the relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna connection through the number of antenna ports. For example, when the maximum number of pilot resources for beam management reported by the terminal device (capability reporting parameter "maxNumberSRS-ResourcePerSet-BM") is greater than 1, the terminal device's RF chain and antenna connection relationship is considered to be one RF chain associated with multiple physical antennas, and hybrid beamforming or analog beamforming can be used to receive or transmit signals.

[0184] In one implementation, a transmission mode is defined as different values ​​of a transmission capability parameter. In this case, different values ​​of the same transmission capability parameter correspond to different transmission modes, and different transmission capability parameters correspond to different transmission modes. Table 3 shows another exemplary transmission mode table, in which different transmission modes correspond to different values ​​of bandwidth.

[0185] Table 3

[0186] The terminal device reports the supported bandwidth capability and dynamically switches the downlink reception or uplink transmission bandwidth of the terminal device based on factors such as real-time business needs, channel environment characteristics, and terminal energy-saving needs.

[0187] Optionally, when the terminal device has sufficient power, transmission mode #2 in Table 2 is used to receive downlink data. At this time, the antenna port's ability to receive or send signal bandwidth needs to be adjusted to be greater than or equal to 200MHz, and the baseband signal processing capability needs to be adjusted to support data reception, channel estimation, data demodulation, decoding and other operations corresponding to the 200MHz bandwidth; when the terminal device turns on energy-saving mode, transmission mode #1 in Table 2 is used. At this time, the antenna port only needs to have a 100MHz signal receiving capability, and the baseband only needs to process data reception, channel estimation, data demodulation, decoding and other operations corresponding to the 100MHz bandwidth. Therefore, some additional processing units can be turned off to achieve the purpose of saving power consumption.

[0188] Optionally, the terminal device uses the same set of receiving or transmitting antenna ports in different transmission modes, except that the number of receiving or transmitting antenna ports corresponding to the same bandwidth in different transmission modes is different, and the network device does not need to perceive that the number of receiving or transmitting antenna ports corresponding to the same bandwidth in different transmission modes is different. For example, the terminal device has 4 antenna ports, and the signal receiving bandwidth capability of each antenna port is 100MHz in transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2; transmission mode #1 uses 4 antenna ports to receive or transmit signals with a bandwidth of 100MHz, wherein all antenna ports receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth; transmission mode #1 uses 4 antenna ports to receive or transmit signals with a bandwidth of 100MHz, wherein antenna port #1 and antenna port #2 receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth, antenna port #3 and antenna port #4 receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth, and antenna port #1 and antenna port #3 receive or transmit different 100MHz bandwidths.

[0189] Optionally, the number of receiving or transmitting antenna ports used by transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2 is different, and the receiving or transmitting antenna ports used by transmission mode #2 is a subset of the receiving or transmitting antenna ports used by transmission mode #1. For example, a terminal device has four antenna ports, and the signal receiving or transmitting bandwidth capability of each antenna port is 200MHz; transmission mode #1 uses the four antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth; transmission mode #2 uses two of the four antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 200MHz bandwidth;

[0190] Optionally, transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2 use the same set of receiving or transmitting antennas, but the corresponding RF chains and antenna connections are different. For example, a terminal device has four physical antennas and four RF chains; transmission mode #1 uses four RF chains, each of which receives or transmits the same 100MHz bandwidth signal based on digital beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with one antenna; transmission mode #2 uses two RF chains, each of which receives or transmits the same 200MHz bandwidth signal based on hybrid beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with two physical antennas.

[0191] Optionally, the receiving or transmitting antenna sets used in transmission mode #1 and transmission mode #2 are different, and the receiving or transmitting antenna set of transmission mode #2 is a subset of the receiving or transmitting antenna set of transmission mode #1. For example, the terminal device has 4 antennas and 4 RF chains, each RF chain is connected to an antenna, and the signal receiving or transmitting bandwidth capability of each RF chain is 200MHz; transmission mode #1 uses 4 RF chains to receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth signal based on digital beamforming; transmission mode #2 uses 2 of the 4 RF chains and the 2 antennas corresponding to the RF chains to receive or transmit the same 200MHz bandwidth signal based on digital beamforming;

[0192] Optionally, the protocol text may not explicitly define the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna, but may implicitly indicate the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna through the number of antenna ports. For example, when the maximum number of pilot resources for beam management reported by the terminal device (capability reporting parameter "maxNumberSRS-ResourcePerSet-BM") is greater than 1, the terminal device's RF chain and physical antenna connection relationship is considered to be one RF chain associated with multiple physical antennas, and hybrid beamforming or analog beamforming can be used to receive or transmit signals.

[0193] In one implementation, a transmission mode is defined as a combination of different values ​​for multiple transmission capability parameters. Each transmission mode corresponds to the same capability parameter combination, but with at least one parameter value differing. Table 4 shows another exemplary transmission mode table, where different transmission modes correspond to different values ​​for the number of ports and bandwidth combination.

[0194] Table 4

[0195] Optionally, when the terminal device channel environment is multipath-rich and the network service load is heavy, the transmission bandwidth allocable to each user is limited. In this case, the user's perceived rate can be improved by increasing the number of user air interface transmission flows by adopting more port services. For example, transmission mode #3 in Table 3 can be used for downlink data reception. When the terminal device channel environment is dominated by the primary path and the network service load is light, the transmission bandwidth allocable to each user is not limited. In this case, a larger bandwidth can be used to transmit data to the user by reducing the number of service ports. For example, transmission mode #4 in Table 3 can be used for downlink data reception.

[0196] Optionally, different transmission modes use different sets of receiving or transmitting antenna ports, and the receiving or transmitting bandwidth of a certain transmission mode is only a subset of the receiving or transmitting bandwidth of another transmission mode, or the receiving or transmitting antenna port of a certain transmission mode is only a subset of the receiving or transmitting antenna port of another transmission mode. For example, the terminal device has 8 antenna ports, and the signal receiving or transmitting bandwidth capability of each antenna port is 400MHz; transmission mode #1 uses 4 of the 8 antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth signal; transmission mode #2 uses 4 of the 8 antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 200MHz bandwidth signal; transmission mode #3 uses 8 antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 50MHz bandwidth signal; transmission mode #4 uses 2 of the 8 antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 50MHz bandwidth signal;

[0197] Optionally, the receiving or transmitting antenna port sets used in different transmission modes are the same. For example, the terminal device has 8 antenna ports, and the signal receiving or transmitting bandwidth capability of each antenna port is 100MHz; transmission mode #1 uses antenna port #1, antenna port #2, antenna port #3 and antenna port #4 to receive or transmit the first 50MHz bandwidth signal, and uses antenna port #5, antenna port #6, antenna port #7 and antenna port #8 to receive or transmit the second 50MHz bandwidth signal; transmission mode #2 uses antenna port #1, antenna port #2, antenna port #3 and antenna port #4 to receive or transmit the first 100MHz bandwidth signal, and uses antenna port #5, antenna port # 6. Antenna port #7 and antenna port #8 receive or transmit the second 100 MHz bandwidth signal. Transmission mode #3 uses 8 antenna ports to receive or transmit the same 50 MHz bandwidth signal. Transmission mode #4 uses antenna port #1 and antenna port #2 to receive or transmit the first 100 MHz bandwidth signal, antenna port #3 and antenna port #4 to receive or transmit the second 100 MHz bandwidth signal, antenna port #4 and antenna port #5 to receive or transmit the third 100 MHz bandwidth signal, and antenna port #6 and antenna port #7 to receive or transmit the fourth 100 MHz bandwidth signal.

[0198] Optionally, the receiving or transmitting antenna sets used in different transmission modes are the same, but the corresponding RF chains and antenna connection relationships are different. For example, the terminal device has 8 antennas and 8 RF chains; transmission mode #1 uses 4 RF chains, each RF chain receives or sends the same 100MHz bandwidth signal based on analog beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with 2 antennas; transmission mode #2 uses 4 RF chains, each RF chain receives or sends the same 200MHz bandwidth signal based on hybrid beamforming, where each RF chain is associated with 2 antennas. Transmission mode #3 uses 8 RF chains to receive or send the same 200MHz bandwidth signal, where each RF chain is associated with 1 antenna. Transmission mode #4 uses 2 RF chains to receive or send the same 400MHz bandwidth signal, where each RF chain is associated with 4 antennas.

[0199] Optionally, different transmission modes use different sets of receiving or transmitting antennas, and the receiving or transmitting antennas of a certain transmission mode are only a subset of the receiving or transmitting antennas of another transmission mode. For example, a terminal device has 8 antennas and 8 RF chains, each RF chain is connected to an antenna, and the signal receiving or transmitting bandwidth capability of each RF chain is 400MHz; transmission mode #1 uses 4 of the 8 RF chains and the associated antennas to receive or transmit the same 100MHz bandwidth signal; transmission mode #3 uses 8 RF chains and the associated antennas to receive or transmit the same 50MHz bandwidth signal;

[0200] Optionally, the protocol text may not explicitly define the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna, but may implicitly indicate the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna through the number of antenna ports. For example, when the maximum number of pilot resources for beam management reported by the terminal device (capability reporting parameter "maxNumberSRS-ResourcePerSet-BM") is greater than 1, the terminal device's RF chain and physical antenna connection relationship is considered to be one RF chain associated with multiple physical antennas, and hybrid beamforming or analog beamforming can be used to receive or transmit signals.

[0201] Optionally, the receiving or transmitting physical antenna sets used in transmission modes #1, #2, #3, and #4 are the same, except for the corresponding RF chains and physical antenna connection relationships. For example, if a terminal device has eight physical antennas, transmission modes #1 and #2 use hybrid beamforming, with each RF chain associated with two physical antennas; transmission mode #3 uses digital beamforming, with each RF chain associated with one physical antenna; and transmission mode #4 uses hybrid beamforming, with each RF chain associated with four physical antennas.

[0202] Optionally, the correspondence between the antenna port and the RF chain can be that one antenna port corresponds to multiple RF chains, or one antenna port corresponds to one RF chain, or multiple antenna ports correspond to the same one or more RF chains, or different antenna ports correspond to the same RF chain, or the RF chain parts corresponding to different antenna ports are the same; the correspondence between the antenna port and the antenna can be that one antenna port corresponds to multiple antennas, or one antenna port corresponds to one antenna, or different antenna ports correspond to the same antenna set, or the antenna parts corresponding to different antenna ports are the same; the correspondence between the RF chain and the antenna can be that one RF chain corresponds to one antenna, or one RF chain corresponds to multiple antennas, or different RF chains correspond to the same antenna set, or the antenna parts corresponding to different RF chains are the same.

[0203] Optionally, the transmission mode can be further divided into a downlink transmission mode and an uplink transmission mode. The downlink transmission mode is used to indicate the downlink receiving behavior of the terminal device, and the uplink transmission mode is used to indicate the uplink sending behavior of the terminal device. Optionally, the uplink transmission mode and the downlink transmission mode can be a combined set or defined separately.

[0204] In some embodiments, the triggering event for the network device to send a transmission mode indication may include one or more of the following events: Event 1, after the terminal device successfully accesses the initial access, the network device configures a default transmission mode for it; Event 2, the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on real-time service scheduling requirements, that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode; Event 3, the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on the reported information of the terminal device (for example, the terminal device reports that the power is insufficient and the energy-saving mode needs to be turned on), that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode; Event 4, the network device decides to switch the transmission mode of the terminal device based on the channel environment of the terminal device (for example, rich multipath, using the most ports to achieve higher flow number transmission; main path dominates, using fewer ports and low flow number transmission), that is, switch from one transmission mode to another transmission mode.

[0205] The following describes in detail how the network device sends the transmission mode indication.

[0206] In one implementation, the network device configures a transmission mode for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, and the BWP switching implicitly informs the terminal device to transmit and receive data or pilot signals based on the transmission mode associated with the BWP.

[0207] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, and dynamically activates one of the transmission modes for each BWP through MAC-CE. After receiving the activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and subsequently sends and receives data or pilot signals based on the new transmission mode after switching.

[0208] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends ACK information to the network terminal device after the switch is successful, so that the terminal device and the network device have a consistent understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode.

[0209] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC and each BWP through RRC signaling, dynamically activates multiple transmission modes for each BWP through MAC-CE, and selects one of the transmission modes from the multiple transmission modes activated by MAC-CE through DCI signaling and indicates it to the terminal device.

[0210] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC through RRC signaling, dynamically activates one of the transmission modes for each CC through MAC-CE, and implements data or pilot transmission and reception scheduled by the CC based on the transmission mode.

[0211] Optionally, after receiving the CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends ACK information to the network terminal device after the switch is successful, so that the terminal device and the network device have the same understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode.

[0212] In another implementation, the network device configures multiple transmission modes for each CC through RRC signaling, dynamically activates multiple transmission modes for each CC through MAC-CE, and selects one transmission mode from the multiple transmission modes activated by MAC-CE through DCI signaling and indicates it to the terminal device.

[0213] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level or CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends ACK information to the network terminal device after the switch is successful, so that the terminal device and the network device have a consistent understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode (i.e., the second transmission mode).

[0214] Optionally, after receiving the BWP-level or CC-level transmission mode activation signaling, the terminal device switches the transmission mode. After the switch is successful, no information is sent to the network terminal device. Instead, the terminal device receives or sends signals based on the new transmission mode at a predetermined time, so that the terminal device and the network device have the same understanding of the effective time of the new transmission mode (i.e., the second transmission mode). For example, the activation signaling is received at time n, and signals are received or sent based on the new transmission mode after time n+T; and signals are received or sent based on the old transmission mode between time n and time n+T, or any receiving and sending behavior of the terminal device is stopped between time n and time n+T.

[0215] In another implementation, the transmission mode indication is carried in the SCell activation signaling, the terminal device performs SCell activation based on the indicated transmission mode, and after the SCell activation is successful, transmits and receives data based on the indicated transmission mode.

[0216] In another implementation, the SCell activation signaling does not explicitly carry a transmission mode indication. The terminal device implicitly obtains the new transmission mode indication information based on the operating bandwidth after the SCell is activated, switches the transmission mode, and performs SCell activation. After the SCell is successfully activated, it transmits and receives data based on the indicated transmission mode. For example, if the downlink receive bandwidth of the terminal device is 100M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 4; if the downlink receive bandwidth of the terminal device is 200M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams supported is 2; at this time, when the terminal device only operates in a single CC with a system bandwidth of 100M, the number of ports used by the terminal device is 4; when the network device activates an auxiliary CC for the terminal device with a system bandwidth of 100M, then after receiving the SCell activation signaling, the terminal device needs to switch from the "bandwidth 100M + port number 4" transmission mode to the "bandwidth 200M + port number 2" transmission mode.

[0217] Optionally, the SCell activation process includes implementing one or more of the following actions in the transmission mode indicated: transmission mode switching, beam measurement of the Scell ​​to be activated, channel state information measurement of the Scell ​​to be activated, beam measurement of the activated CC based on the new transmission mode, and channel state information measurement of the activated CC based on the new transmission mode.

[0218] Optionally, SCell activation further includes reporting one or more of the following information based on the indicated transmission mode: measurement information of the Scell ​​to be activated, measurement information of an activated CC, and indication information that the transmission mode switching is successful.

[0219] Optionally, at time n, the terminal device receives SCell activation signaling from the network device. If the network device receives valid SCell channel state information between time n and time T1, the SCell activation is considered successful and the transmission mode switch is successful. Otherwise, the SCell activation or transmission mode switch is considered unsuccessful. The specific definition of T1 needs to take into account the processing time required for the terminal device to perform the transmission mode switch.

[0220] Optionally, if the transmission mode indicated by the terminal device is different from the transmission mode adopted before receiving the SCell activation signaling, and the terminal device fails to switch the transmission mode, the SCell activation fails.

[0221] In another implementation, the SCell deactivation signaling does not explicitly carry a transmission mode indication. The terminal device implicitly obtains the new transmission mode indication information based on the working bandwidth after the SCell is deactivated, switches the transmission mode, and performs SCell deactivation. After the SCell deactivation is successful, data is sent and received based on the indicated transmission mode. For example, if the downlink receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is 100M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams that can be supported is 4 streams; if the downlink receiving bandwidth of the terminal device is 200M, the maximum number of PDSCH transmission streams that can be supported is 2 streams; at this time, when the terminal device only works in two CCs and the system bandwidth of each CC is 100M, the number of ports used by the terminal device is 2; when the network device deactivates an auxiliary CC for the terminal device, the terminal device needs to switch from the "bandwidth 200M + port number 2" transmission mode to the "bandwidth 100M + port number 4" transmission mode after receiving the SCell deactivation signaling.

[0222] In another implementation, the transmission mode indication is carried in the SCell deactivation signaling, the terminal device performs SCell deactivation based on the indicated transmission mode, and after the SCell deactivation is successful, it sends and receives data based on the indicated transmission mode.

[0223] Optionally, if the transmission mode indicated by the terminal device is different from the transmission mode adopted before receiving the SCell activation signaling, and the terminal device transmission mode switch is unsuccessful, the SCell deactivation is considered successful, and the terminal device reports the information that the transmission mode switch was unsuccessful to the network device.

[0224] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3 , in 303 , the terminal device switches the transmission mode.

[0225] In some embodiments, transmission mode switching may include one or more of the following actions: changing the working port of the terminal device; changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device; or changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device. Changing the working port of the terminal device includes switching from one port capability to another port capability, and changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device includes switching from one bandwidth capability to another bandwidth capability. For example, when the transmission mode is as shown in Table 2 or Table 4, the terminal device performing transmission mode switching may include changing the working port of the terminal device, for example, switching from a port capability of 4 ports using digital beamforming to a port capability of 2 ports using hybrid beamforming. When the transmission mode is as shown in Table 3 or Table 4, the terminal device performing transmission mode switching may include changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device, for example, switching from a bandwidth capability of 100 MHz for one carrier to a bandwidth capability of 200 MHz with two carriers aggregated. Before the switching, the terminal operates in single-carrier mode, i.e., it can only receive or transmit data on one carrier. After the switching, the terminal operates in multi-carrier mode, i.e., it can simultaneously receive or transmit data on two carriers; or switching from a bandwidth capability of 100 MHz for one carrier to a bandwidth capability of 50 MHz for one carrier. In some embodiments, changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device includes comprehensively switching the port capability and bandwidth capability of the terminal device.

[0226] The following describes in detail the transmission mode switching behaviors that a terminal device can perform. In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the transmission or reception behavior of the radio frequency on the terminal device side, including one or more of the following behaviors: shutting down some radio frequency receive channels, shutting down some radio frequency transmit channels, opening some radio frequency transmit channels, opening some radio frequency receive channels, adjusting the operating bandwidth of one or more radio frequency channels, or adjusting the operating frequency of one or more radio frequency channels.

[0227] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the set of antennas used for receiving or transmitting on the terminal device side, including one or more of the following behaviors: turning off some receiving antennas, turning off some transmitting antennas, turning on some transmitting antennas, or turning on some receiving antennas, etc.

[0228] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the association between the antenna of the terminal device and the medium RF channel, including one or more of the following behaviors: switching the connection between X1 antennas and Y1 RF chains to X1 antennas and Y2 RF chains, switching the connection between X1 antennas and Y1 RF chains to X2 antennas and Y1 RF chains, etc., where X1, X2, Y1, and Y2 are positive integers.

[0229] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the mapping relationship between the antenna port of the terminal device and the physical antenna, including one or more of the following behaviors: switching the mapping relationship of one antenna port to multiple physical antennas to mapping one antenna port to one physical antenna, or switching the mapping of one antenna port to one physical antenna to mapping one antenna port to multiple physical antennas, etc.

[0230] Optionally, the transmission mode switching behavior also includes the terminal device reporting transmission mode switching success indication information to the network device after completing the transmission mode switching.

[0231] Optionally, the transmission mode switching behavior may also include reporting transmission mode switching failure indication information to the network device when the terminal device fails to successfully switch the transmission mode. Optionally, the reason for the transmission mode switching failure may also be reported to the network device.

[0232] Optionally, after receiving the transmission mode switching signaling, the terminal device needs to complete the transmission mode switching within an agreed time, which is related to the switching delay of different transmission capabilities reported by the terminal device and / or the signaling demodulation processing delay.

[0233] Optionally, if the network device does not receive a transmission mode switching success indication within the agreed time, it is considered that the terminal device transmission mode switching is unsuccessful and that the terminal device will transmit in the transmission mode adopted before the switching.

[0234] Optionally, when the terminal device switches the transmission mode, it is necessary to interrupt the uplink and downlink data transmission and reception.

[0235] After the transmission mode is switched, the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 may perform uplink and downlink data transmission based on the new transmission mode after the switch at 304. For example, the terminal device receives downlink signals and / or sends uplink data based on the indicated transmission mode.

[0236] Optionally, uplink data transmission includes the terminal device notifying the network device that the transmission mode switching has been successfully completed.

[0237] Optionally, the uplink data transmission includes channel state information measurement results based on the new transmission mode, including one or more of the following information: channel state information (CSI), precoding matrix indication (PMI), channel rank indicator (RI), channel quality indicator (CQI), and signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0238] The above reference process 300 describes a solution according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, through which the network equipment can dynamically change the transmission bandwidth and the number of transceiver antennas of the terminal equipment based on real-time business needs; when the business volume is small, energy saving of the terminal equipment is achieved by shutting down some antennas or reducing the baseband bandwidth processing requirements; when the main path is dominant and the business volume is large, high-capacity transmission is achieved by shutting down some antennas and increasing bandwidth transmission.

[0239] FIG4 shows a schematic signaling diagram of another communication process 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and process 400 may be an example implementation of process 200 shown in FIG2. Similar to process 200, process 400 also involves network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0240] 4 , at 401 , the terminal device 120 reports capability information of the transmission mode, that is, the terminal device 120 reports supported capability information to the network device 110 .

[0241] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 1: whether the terminal device supports bandwidth capability and port capability sharing. This capability parameter indicates whether the terminal device's baseband processing capability can support switching between different bandwidths and different numbers of ports. For example, in one implementation, the terminal device reduces the number of transceiver ports and, based on the saved processing power, supports transmission with a wider bandwidth; in another implementation, the terminal device reduces the transmission bandwidth and, based on the saved processing power, supports transmission with a greater number of ports.

[0242] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 2: the number of ports supported by the terminal device. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the number of SRS transmission ports, or the maximum number of MIMO streams for downlink PDSCH transmission, or the number of transmission ports for downlink CSIRS transmission, or the maximum number of MIMO streams for PUSCH transmission, etc.

[0243] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 3: bandwidth supported by the terminal device. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the maximum uplink transmission bandwidth of a single carrier, or the maximum downlink transmission bandwidth of a single carrier, or the uplink multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, or the downlink multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, or the number of downlink multi-carrier aggregations, or the number of uplink multi-carrier aggregations, or the maximum transmission bandwidth of the pilot signal, or the maximum transmission bandwidth of the data channel, etc.

[0244] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 4: processing delay for switching between different transmission capabilities. This capability parameter may be used to characterize the processing time required for a terminal device to switch its operating bandwidth, the processing time required for a terminal device to switch the connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna, the processing time required for a terminal device to switch the number of ports, or the processing time required for a terminal device to reconfigure its baseband processing capability.

[0245] Optionally, the capability information may include parameter 5: a capability conversion factor "a" between bandwidth and ports. This capability parameter can be used to indicate that when a terminal device adjusts its bandwidth from A1 to A2, the number of supported ports can be adjusted from B1 to B2, with the value of B2 being related to "a", A1, A2, and B1; or that when a terminal device adjusts its number of ports from A1 to A2, the supported bandwidth can be adjusted from B1 to B2, with the value of B2 being related to "a", A1, A2, and B1.

[0246] In some embodiments, the bandwidth can be the bandwidth of a single carrier, the bandwidth of multi-carrier aggregation, the downlink bandwidth, or the uplink bandwidth. The port can be a pilot port, a data port, the number of downlink MIMO streams, the number of uplink MIMO streams, an antenna port, a transmit port, a receive port, a transmit antenna port, or a receive antenna port. The connection relationship between the RF chain and the physical antenna can be an antenna structure such as DBF, HBF, or ABF. The data channel can be one or more of the following signals: PUCCH, PDCCH, PUSCH, or PDSCH. The pilot signal can be one or more of the following signals: CSIRS, SSB, DMRS, TRS, PTRS, SRS, CRS, etc.

[0247] In some embodiments, the transmission capability parameter reported by a terminal device may be a combination of multiple parameters, or multiple values ​​of a single parameter. Multiple parameter combinations represent a transmission capability, and different transmission capabilities correspond to different values ​​of the same parameter combination. A terminal device may report multiple values ​​of multiple parameter combinations to represent the various transmission capabilities supported by the terminal device.

[0248] In some embodiments, the capability information of the transmission mode may be reported via RRC signaling, MAC-CE, UCI, PUCCH, and / or PUSCH.

[0249] Continuing with Figure 4, at 402, the terminal device switches its transmission mode. Unlike process 300, in process 400, the terminal device can independently decide to switch transmission modes, rather than relying on a transmission mode indication from a network device. For example, the terminal device can decide to switch transmission modes based on service requirements or power consumption requirements.

[0250] In some embodiments, transmission mode switching may include one or more of the following actions: changing the working port of the terminal device; changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device; or changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device. Changing the working port of the terminal device includes switching from one port capability to another port capability, and changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device includes switching from one bandwidth capability to another bandwidth capability. For example, when the transmission mode is as shown in Table 2 or Table 4, the terminal device performing transmission mode switching may include changing the working port of the terminal device, for example, switching from a port capability of 4 ports using digital beamforming to a port capability of 2 ports using hybrid beamforming. When the transmission mode is as shown in Table 3 or Table 4, the terminal device performing transmission mode switching may include changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device, for example, switching from a bandwidth capability of 100 MHz for one carrier to a bandwidth capability of 200 MHz with two carriers aggregated. Before the switching, the terminal operates in single-carrier mode, i.e., it can only receive or transmit data on one carrier. After the switching, the terminal operates in multi-carrier mode, i.e., it can simultaneously receive or transmit data on two carriers; or switching from a bandwidth capability of 100 MHz for one carrier to a bandwidth capability of 50 MHz for one carrier. In some embodiments, changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device includes comprehensively switching the port capability and bandwidth capability of the terminal device.

[0251] The following describes in detail the transmission mode switching behaviors that a terminal device can perform. In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the transmission or reception behavior of the radio frequency on the terminal device side, including one or more of the following behaviors: shutting down some radio frequency receive channels, shutting down some radio frequency transmit channels, opening some radio frequency transmit channels, opening some radio frequency receive channels, adjusting the operating bandwidth of one or more radio frequency channels, or adjusting the operating frequency of one or more radio frequency channels.

[0252] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the set of antennas used for receiving or transmitting on the terminal device side, including one or more of the following behaviors: turning off some receiving antennas, turning off some transmitting antennas, turning on some transmitting antennas, or turning on some receiving antennas, etc.

[0253] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the association relationship between the antenna and the medium RF channel of the terminal device, including one or more of the following behaviors: switching the connection between X1 antennas and Y1 medium RF channels to X1 antennas and Y2 medium RF channels, switching the connection between X1 antennas and Y1 medium RF channels to X2 antennas and Y1 medium RF channels, etc., where X1, X2, Y1, and Y2 are positive integers.

[0254] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching behavior may include changing the mapping relationship between the antenna port of the terminal device and the physical antenna, including one or more of the following behaviors: switching the mapping relationship of one antenna port to multiple physical antennas to mapping one antenna port to one physical antenna, or switching the mapping of one antenna port to one physical antenna to mapping one antenna port to multiple physical antennas, etc.

[0255] Optionally, before a terminal device switches its transmission mode, it can perform a pilot measurement to guide the terminal device in selecting a transmission mode for signal transmission and reception. This pilot measurement can reuse existing pilot signals, such as SSB, CSIRS, DMRS, PTRS, TRS, etc.; or it can define a new dedicated pilot specifically for guiding the terminal device in transmission mode selection.

[0256] Optionally, before switching the transmission mode, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switching request to the network device, and then switch the transmission mode after the network device allows it.

[0257] Optionally, before switching the transmission mode, the terminal device may send a transmission mode switching request to the network device. If the network device does not allow the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, the terminal device does not switch the transmission mode.

[0258] Continuing to refer to FIG. 4 , in 403 , the terminal device reports the transmission mode switching to the network device.

[0259] In one implementation, the terminal device reports a transmission mode switching message to the network device, and the reported content includes one or more of the following: informing the network device that the transmission mode of the terminal device has been switched, informing the network device what the new transmission mode is, informing the network device of the channel state information measurement results obtained based on the new transmission mode, and informing the network device of the reason for the transmission mode switching.

[0260] The following describes in detail how the terminal device reports the transmission mode switch. In one implementation, the terminal device sends a PRACH message, which implicitly informs the network device that the terminal device has undergone a transmission mode switch. Specifically, the network device configures a PRACH sequence and / or a PRACH resource set for the terminal device through RRC signaling. The PRACH set is specifically used for sending transmission mode switch messages of the terminal device, that is, after the terminal device undergoes a transmission mode switch, the PRACH sequence and / or PRACH resources pre-allocated by the network device are used to send a PRACH signal. After the network device receives the signal, it considers that the terminal device has undergone a transmission mode switch.

[0261] In another implementation, the terminal device sends a reporting request, the network device allocates uplink resources to the terminal device, and the terminal device reports a transmission mode switch message to the network device based on the allocated uplink resources. Specifically, the terminal device can request uplink resources from the network device through one or more of the following methods: sending a PRACH signal; sending a scheduling request message; defining a new MAC-CE message to carry the transmission mode switch message report; defining a new UCI message to carry the transmission mode switch message report.

[0262] The above reference process 400 describes a solution according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Through this solution, the terminal device can save power consumption of the terminal device by dynamically closing some sending or receiving channels; the terminal device can also achieve higher-speed transmission by dynamically opening more sending or receiving channels, thereby improving the user-perceived rate.

[0263] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, terminal device transmission modes are defined, and dynamic switching between different transmission modes is possible. In some embodiments, transmission mode capability parameters are defined, and multiple capability parameters are combined into one transmission mode, such as: pilot port, working bandwidth; number of MIMO streams, working bandwidth; pilot port, number of MIMO streams, working bandwidth; etc. The terminal device can report capability information of one or more transmission modes. In some embodiments, the scheme of the present disclosure supports dynamic switching between different transmission modes. For example: the network device can decide whether the terminal device switches the transmission mode and sends a transmission mode switching indication; or the terminal device decides whether to switch the transmission mode and reports the network device transmission mode switching indication. In some embodiments, transmission mode switching behaviors are defined, including: changing the sending or receiving behavior of the radio frequency on the terminal device side; changing the set of antennas used for receiving or sending on the terminal device side; changing the association relationship between the antenna of the terminal device and the radio frequency channel, etc.

[0264] In current protocols, terminal devices report their maximum supported operating bandwidth and maximum number of MIMO streams. When a terminal device's current transmission bandwidth or number of MIMO streams is not fully utilized, the terminal device's baseband processing power is retained. Through the solutions of some embodiments of the present disclosure, this retained baseband processing power can be leveraged to support transmission of larger bandwidths or higher numbers of MIMO streams, thereby increasing user capacity.

[0265] FIG5 shows a flowchart of a communication process 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication process 500 may be implemented at the terminal device 120 as shown in FIG1A to FIG4 .

[0266] 5 , at 510 , the terminal device 120 receives or sends a signal based on a first transmission mode, where the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability.

[0267] At 520 , the terminal device 120 performs a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to the second port capability and / or the second bandwidth capability. At 530 , the terminal device 120 receives or transmits a signal based on the second transmission mode.

[0268] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

[0269] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0270] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability.

[0271] In some embodiments, before performing a transmission mode switch, the terminal device sends capability information to the network device indicating the capabilities supported by the terminal device, where the capability information indicates port capabilities and / or bandwidth capabilities, where the port capabilities include at least a first port capability and a second port capability, and the bandwidth capabilities include at least a first bandwidth capability and a second bandwidth capability. In some embodiments, the capability information also indicates the processing delay for switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay for switching between different capabilities can be reported separately.

[0272] In some embodiments, before performing the transmission mode switch, the terminal device receives a transmission mode indication from the network device, wherein the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode, and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode. In some embodiments, receiving the transmission mode indication includes at least one of the following: receiving the transmission mode indication via RRC signaling; receiving the transmission mode indication via BWP configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication via serving cell configuration information; receiving the transmission mode indication via SCell activation signaling; or receiving the transmission mode indication via SCell deactivation signaling.

[0273] In some embodiments, the behavior of the terminal device performing transmission mode switching includes one or more of the following behaviors: changing the working port of the terminal device; changing the working bandwidth of the terminal device; or changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device.

[0274] In some embodiments, before performing the transmission mode switch, the terminal device sends a transmission mode switch request to the network device. In some embodiments, sending the transmission mode switch request includes at least one of the following: sending the transmission mode switch request via PRACH; sending the transmission mode switch request via PUSCH; or sending the transmission mode switch request via PUCCH.

[0275] In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request for reporting the second transmission mode, a reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after the switch, and a transmission mode switching protection interval. In some embodiments, the triggering condition for sending the transmission mode switching request to the network device includes at least one of the following: a change in the energy saving requirement of the terminal device, a change in the channel quality of the terminal device, a change in the service load of the network device, a change in the amount of service to be transmitted by the terminal device, or a change in the channel characteristics of the terminal device.

[0276] FIG6 shows a flow chart of a communication process 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication process 600 may be implemented at the network device 110 as shown in FIG1A to FIG4 .

[0277] 6, at 610, the network device 110 sends a signal to or receives a signal from the terminal device 120 based on the first transmission mode of the terminal device 120, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to the first port capability and / or the first bandwidth capability.

[0278] At 620, after the terminal device 120 performs a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, the network device 110 sends a signal to or receives a signal from the terminal device 120 based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device 120, where the second transmission mode corresponds to the second port capability and / or the second bandwidth capability.

[0279] In some embodiments, the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

[0280] In some embodiments, the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, number of multi-carrier aggregations, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

[0281] In some embodiments, when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability.

[0282] In some embodiments, a network device receives capability information from a terminal device indicating capability supported by the terminal device, wherein the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability including at least a first port capability and a second port capability, and the bandwidth capability including at least a first bandwidth capability and a second bandwidth capability. In some embodiments, the capability information further indicates a processing delay for switching between different capabilities. In some embodiments, the processing delay for switching between different capabilities can be reported separately.

[0283] In some embodiments, based on the capability information, the network device determines one or more transmission modes supported by the terminal device, and determines, from the one or more transmission modes, a second transmission mode to which the terminal device is to switch. In some embodiments, the network device sends a transmission mode indication to the terminal device, where the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode, and / or an effective time of the second transmission mode.

[0284] In some embodiments, sending the transmission mode indication includes at least one of the following: sending the transmission mode indication through RRC signaling; sending the transmission mode indication through BWP configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication through serving cell configuration information; sending the transmission mode indication through SCell activation signaling; or sending the transmission mode indication through SCell deactivation signaling.

[0285] In some embodiments, the network device receives a transmission mode switching request from the terminal device. In some embodiments, the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: an uplink resource request for the terminal device to report the second transmission mode, a reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switching protection interval.

[0286] In some embodiments, the network device receives a transmission mode switched message from the terminal device, wherein the transmission mode switched message includes at least one of the following: whether the transmission mode switch is completed, the reason why the terminal device switches the transmission mode, and an indication of the second transmission mode after switching.

[0287] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present disclosure. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the network device or terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication device can be the network device 110 or terminal device 120 as shown in Figures 1A to 1C, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the network device or terminal device.

[0288] As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 includes a transceiver unit 720. The communication device 700 may also include a processing unit 710 for processing data or other data sent or received by the transceiver unit 720. The communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device or terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6 above.

[0289] Optionally, the transceiver unit 720 may include a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is configured to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiment. The receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

[0290] It should be noted that the communication device 700 may include a sending unit but not a receiving unit. Alternatively, the communication device 700 may include a receiving unit but not a sending unit. The specific implementation depends on whether the above solution executed by the communication device 700 includes a sending action and a receiving action.

[0291] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6: the transceiver unit 720 is used to receive or send signals based on the first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to the first port capability and / or the first bandwidth capability; the processing unit 710 is used to perform transmission mode switching from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to the second port capability and / or the second bandwidth capability; the transceiver unit 720 is also used to receive or send signals based on the second transmission mode.

[0292] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6: the transceiver unit 720 is used to send signals to the terminal device or receive signals from the terminal device based on the first transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to the first port capability and / or the first bandwidth capability; the transceiver unit 720 is also used to send signals to the terminal device or receive signals from the terminal device based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device after the terminal device executes a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to the second port capability and / or the second bandwidth capability.

[0293] For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 720 and the processing unit 710 , reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6 , which will not be repeated here.

[0294] The processing unit 710 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver unit 720 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuits. The transceiver module 720 can also be called a communication module or communication interface. The storage module can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0295] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions may be regarded as the transceiver unit of the terminal device, and the processor with processing function may be regarded as the processing unit of the terminal device.

[0296] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a processor 810 and an interface circuit 820. The processor 810 and the interface circuit 820 are coupled to each other. The processor 810 may also be referred to as a processing unit, a processing board, a processing module, or a processing device.

[0297] It is understood that the interface circuit 820 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. A transceiver includes a receiver and a transmitter. A transceiver may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver module, or a transceiver circuit. A receiver may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver, a receiving module, or a receiving circuit. A transmitter may also be sometimes referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting module, or a transmitting circuit.

[0298] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a memory 830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810 or storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 810 executes instructions.

[0299] When the device 800 is a chip, the chip includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processor may be a processing module, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmitting operation of the communication device may be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the communication device may be understood as the input of the chip.

[0300] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the processes shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6 , the interface circuit 820 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 720 .

[0301] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The terminal chip receives information sent by the network device to the terminal device through other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna); or the terminal chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0302] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or, the network device module sends information to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be the baseband chip of the base station, or it can be a CU, DU or other module, or it can be a device under the O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0303] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0304] The method steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can 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, mobile hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0305] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are performed in whole or in part. The computer can 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 instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0306] In the various embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for, the terms and / or descriptions of the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other. The technical features of the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0307] In the present disclosure, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of the present disclosure, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present disclosure, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0308] It should be understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The order of execution of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, comprising: receiving or sending a signal based on a first transmission mode, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; Performing a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability; as well as A signal is received or sent based on the second transmission mode.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Before executing the transmission mode switching, capability information indicating the capability supported by the terminal device is sent to the network device, wherein the capability information indicates the port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least the first port capability and the second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the capability information further indicates a processing delay for switching between different capabilities.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Before executing the transmission mode switching, a transmission mode indication is received from a network device, wherein the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode, and / or an effective time of the second transmission mode.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein performing the transmission mode switching comprises at least one of the following: Change the working port of the terminal device; changing the operating bandwidth of the terminal device; or Changing the baseband processing capability of the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Before executing the transmission mode switching, a transmission mode switching request is sent to the network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the triggering condition for sending the transmission mode switching request comprises at least one of the following: Energy-saving requirements of terminal equipment have changed; The channel quality of the terminal device changes; The business load of the network device changes; The amount of business to be transmitted by the terminal device changes; or The channel characteristics of the terminal device change.

8. A data transmission method, comprising: Based on a first transmission mode of the terminal device, sending a signal to the terminal device or receiving a signal from the terminal device, wherein the first transmission mode corresponds to a first port capability and / or a first bandwidth capability; as well as After the terminal device executes a transmission mode switch from the first transmission mode to the second transmission mode, a signal is sent to or received from the terminal device based on the second transmission mode of the terminal device, wherein the second transmission mode corresponds to a second port capability and / or a second bandwidth capability.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: Capability information indicating support of the terminal device is received from the terminal device, wherein the capability information indicates port capability and / or bandwidth capability, the port capability includes at least the first port capability and the second port capability, and the bandwidth capability includes at least the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the capability information further indicates a processing delay of switching between different capabilities.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising: Based on the capability information, determining one or more transmission modes supported by the terminal device; as well as From the one or more transmission modes, determine the second transmission mode to which the terminal device is to switch.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: Send a transmission mode indication to the terminal device, wherein the transmission mode indication includes: the second transmission mode, and / or the effective time of the second transmission mode.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising: A transmission mode switching request is received from the terminal device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising: A transmission mode switched message is received from the terminal device, wherein the transmission mode switched message includes at least one of the following: whether the transmission mode switching is completed, the reason why the terminal device switches the transmission mode, and an indication of the second transmission mode after switching.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the first port capability and the second port capability include at least one of the following: the number of pilot ports, the number of data ports, the number of pilot streams, the number of data channel streams, the number of transmitting antenna ports, the number of receiving antenna ports, the number of transmitting ports, the number of receiving ports, and the connection relationship between the RF chain and the antenna.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the first bandwidth capability and the second bandwidth capability include at least one of the following: single carrier bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation number, pilot signal bandwidth, data channel bandwidth, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, and RF chain operating bandwidth.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein when the first port capability is greater than or equal to the second port capability, the first bandwidth capability is less than or equal to the second bandwidth capability; or when the first bandwidth capability is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth capability, the first port capability is less than or equal to the second port capability.

18. The method according to claim 4 or 12, wherein the transmission mode indication is carried by at least one of the following: Radio Resource Control RRC signaling; Partial bandwidth BWP configuration information; Serving cell configuration information; SCell activation signaling; or SCell deactivation signaling.

19. The method according to claim 6, 7 or 13, wherein the transmission mode switching request includes at least one of the following: a request for reporting the uplink resources of the second transmission mode, the reason for the terminal device to switch the transmission mode, an indication of the second transmission mode after switching, and a transmission mode switching protection interval.

20. The method according to claim 6, 7, 13 or 19, wherein the transmission mode switching request is carried by at least one of the following: Physical Random Access Channel PRACH; Physical Uplink Shared Channel PUSCH; or Physical Uplink Control Channel PUCCH.

21. A communication device comprising a transceiver module and a processing module; The transceiver module is used to perform the transceiver operation of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and 15 to 20, and the processing module is used to perform the processing operation of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and 15 to 20.

22. A communication device comprising a transceiver module; The transceiver module is used to perform the transceiver operation of the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 20.

23. The communication device of claim 22, wherein the device further comprises a processing module; When the transceiver module is used to perform the transceiver operation of the method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 20, the processing module is used to perform the processing operation of the method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 20.

24. A communication device, comprising: A processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program or computer instructions in a memory to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A communication system, comprising a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and 15 to 20, and the second communication device being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 20.

26. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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