Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: receiving a configuration message, wherein the configuration message comprises configuration parameters of one or more cells, the cells comprise a first cell, and the first cell is a cell only having an uplink receiving capability; sending a first signal at a first moment by means of the first cell, wherein the first moment is related to first downlink timing, the first downlink timing is downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, and the second cell is a cell having an uplink receiving capability and a downlink receiving capability; and receiving a first response message from the first cell by means of the second cell, wherein the first response message comprises a first timing advance (TA) value of the first cell. By means of downlink timing based on a second cell, a first TA value of a first cell can be obtained, such that a terminal device can communicate with a network device by means of the first cell on the basis of the first TA value, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202311447622.4 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 31, 2023, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] In wireless communication systems, to ensure that data sent by a terminal device arrives at the network device at the same time as the network device's uplink time slot, the network device typically calculates a timing advance (TA) value and sends it to the terminal device. The terminal device then uses the TA value to send signals or messages. Because uplink and downlink coverage of network devices can be unbalanced (generally, downlink coverage is better than uplink coverage), some network devices with uplink receiving capabilities but not downlink transmitting capabilities can be deployed to compensate for uplink coverage.

[0004] For network devices that have uplink receiving capabilities but no downlink transmitting capabilities, terminal devices also need to determine the corresponding TA value for the network device when performing uplink transmissions to them. However, since these network devices lack downlink transmitting capabilities, they cannot transmit the TA value to the terminal device. This causes the arrival time of the data sent by the terminal device at the network device to not coincide with the network device's uplink timeslot, resulting in low data transmission efficiency. Therefore, how to improve data transmission efficiency is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus to enable a terminal device to obtain a timing advance TA value, thereby facilitating uplink and downlink communication between the terminal device and a network device based on the TA value, thereby improving the efficiency of data transmission.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0008] Exemplarily, the method includes: receiving a configuration message, the configuration message including configuration parameters of one or more cells, the cells including a first cell, the first cell being a cell having only uplink reception capability; sending a first signal at a first moment through the first cell, the first moment being related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing being the downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, the second cell being a cell having both uplink reception capability and downlink reception capability; receiving a first response message through the second cell, the first response message including a first timing advance TA value of the first cell.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the terminal device can determine one or more cells (first cells) that only have uplink receiving capabilities configured by the network device for the terminal device through the received configuration message. In order to obtain the first TA value of the first cell, the terminal device can send a first signal to the network device based on the first moment related to the first downlink timing. The first TA value is determined based on the second moment, thereby affecting the time when the network device receives the second moment of the first signal. In other words, the first TA value is indirectly determined based on the first moment and the first downlink timing. After the terminal device receives the first TA value of the first cell sent by the network device, it can determine the time when the terminal device sends data based on the first TA value. For example, in subsequent uplink transmissions, based on the start time of the uplink time slot of the terminal device, the uplink signal can be sent in advance of the first TA value, so as to ensure that the time when the uplink signal arrives at the first cell coincides with the start time of the uplink time slot of the first cell, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following: the cell is not configured with a downlink bandwidth part; the cell is not configured with a physical downlink shared channel parameter; the cell is not configured with a physical downlink control channel parameter; the cell is not configured with a channel state information measurement parameter; the cell is not configured with an uplink and downlink frame structure parameter; the cell is configured with an associated second cell.

[0011] In the above technical solution, by determining whether the above parameters are configured in the configuration parameters of the first cell, it is possible to implicitly determine whether the cell is the first cell without using specific parameters to indicate whether the cell is the first cell, thereby reducing the amount of transmitted data and reducing the waste of transmission resources.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, for any cell in one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of any cell include a first parameter, then the any cell is a first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, then the any cell is a first cell.

[0013] In the above technical solution, the first parameter explicitly indicates whether the cell is the first cell. Therefore, whether the cell is the first cell can be directly determined by the first parameter, thereby eliminating the need to judge whether the cell is the first cell and improving data processing speed.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the cell further includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined based on the association relationship.

[0015] In the above technical solution, the cell includes the second cell, and the configuration message includes the association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, so that the association relationship between the first cell and the second cell can be directly obtained, thereby improving data processing speed.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

[0017] In the above technical solution, the cell includes the second cell, but does not include the association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, which can reduce the amount of transmitted data and reduce the waste of transmission resources.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the second cell associated with the first cell is the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / last second cell / second cell with the smallest identifier / second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0019] In the above technical solution, the second cell associated with the first cell is obtained through some specific rules: for example, the second cell associated with the first cell is the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs; for example, the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first response message further includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method also includes: receiving a timing update message, the timing update message including a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell; and updating the first TA value of the first cell based on the TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0022] Since the communication delay between the terminal device and the network device may change (for example, due to the terminal device moving), the TA value of the cell may also change. In the above technical solution, the first TA value of the first cell can be updated by receiving a timing update message including a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

[0024] On the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device, or by a component configured in the network device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the network device functions. The present application does not limit this.

[0025] Exemplarily, the method includes: sending a configuration message, the configuration message including configuration parameters of one or more cells, the cells including a first cell, the first cell being a cell that only has uplink receiving capability; receiving a first signal sent by a terminal device at a first moment, the first moment being related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing being the downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, the second cell being a cell that has uplink receiving capability and downlink sending capability; determining a first timing advance TA value of the first cell based on the uplink timing of the first cell and the second moment; and sending a first response message through the second cell, the first response message including the first TA value of the first cell.

[0026] In the above technical solution, the network device can configure the terminal device by sending a configuration message. For example, the terminal device is configured with a cell (first cell) that only has uplink receiving capability. In order to obtain the first TA value of the first cell, the network device can receive the first signal sent by the terminal device based on the first moment related to the first downlink timing at the second moment. The first TA value is determined based on the second moment. After receiving the first signal, the network device can determine the first TA value of the first cell based on the second moment and the uplink timing corresponding to the first cell, and send the first TA to the terminal device through the second cell that has downlink sending capability. The terminal device thus obtains the first TA value of the first cell that only has uplink receiving capability, so that the terminal device can determine the time when the terminal device sends data based on the first TA value so that the time when the data sent by the terminal device arrives at the first cell coincides with the start time of the uplink time slot of the first cell, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first cell is a cell that meets one or more of the following conditions: the cell is not configured with a downlink bandwidth part; the cell is not configured with a physical downlink shared channel parameter; the cell is not configured with a physical downlink control channel parameter; the cell is not configured with a channel state information measurement parameter; the cell is not configured with an uplink and downlink frame structure parameter; the cell is configured with an associated second cell.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, for any cell in one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of any cell include a first parameter, then the any cell is a first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, then the any cell is a first cell.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the cell also includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined based on the association relationship.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the second cell associated with the first cell is the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / last second cell / second cell with the smallest identifier / second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the first response message further includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending a timing update message, where the timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

[0035] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communications device that can implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. The device includes corresponding units for executing the above methods. The units included in the device can be implemented in software and / or hardware.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be configured to execute a computer program in the memory to implement the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to implement the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0037] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive signals from a communication device other than the apparatus and transmit the signals to the processor, or to transmit signals from the processor to the communication device other than the apparatus. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0038] Optionally, the device further comprises a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory, wherein the memory is used to store program instructions and data.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, it implements the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implements the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed, implement the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0041] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation method of the first aspect, or for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation method of the second aspect, for example, receiving or processing the data involved in the above-mentioned method, etc.

[0042] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located inside or outside the processor.

[0043] The chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a terminal device for implementing the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and a network device for implementing the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0045] It should be understood that the third to eighth aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of the first and second aspects of the present application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] FIG1 is a possible, non-limiting schematic diagram of a system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG2a is a schematic diagram of a downlink time slot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG2b is a schematic diagram of an uplink time slot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a timing advance value provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication device performing communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG7 is a timing diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 80 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG9 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] The technical solution provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems.

[0059] Figure 1 is a possible, non-limiting system diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 via a wireless connection. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 via a wireless or wired connection. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates the core network logical functions and the radio access network logical functions.

[0060] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0061] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as network equipment, access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminals. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0062] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node may be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0063] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be 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 can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0064] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0065] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0066] In a wireless communication system, uplink and downlink transmissions use time slots as the basic time unit, that is, data is transmitted once in each time slot. The starting time of the time slot of the network device is fixed, and the uplink time slot and the downlink time slot are aligned. The time slot of the terminal device is not aligned with the time slot of the network device. As shown in Figure 2a, Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of a downlink time slot provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 2a, the downlink time slot of the terminal device is later than the downlink time slot of the network device. This is mainly because the data sent by the network device in the downlink transmission requires a certain propagation delay to reach the terminal device. Similarly, as shown in Figure 2b, Figure 2b is a schematic diagram of an uplink time slot provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 2b, the uplink time slot of the network device is later than the uplink time slot of the terminal device because the data sent by the terminal device in the uplink transmission requires a certain propagation delay to reach the network device.

[0067] Based on the above time relationship, in order to ensure that the time when the data sent by the terminal device arrives at the network device coincides with the uplink time slot of the network device to improve communication efficiency, the network device can usually calculate the timing advance (TA) value and send the TA value to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can send signals or messages based on the TA value. As shown in Figure 3, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a timing advance value provided by an embodiment of the present application. The signal propagation delay between the network device and the terminal device is T. The signal sent by the network device at time t has to wait until t+T to be received on the terminal device side. Therefore, the downlink time slot start time of the terminal device is later than the downlink time slot start time of the network device by time T. On the other hand, since the signal propagation delay between the network device and the terminal device is T, the signal sent by the terminal device at time tT has to wait until t to be received on the network device side. Therefore, the uplink time slot start time of the terminal device is earlier than the uplink time slot start time of the network device by time T. Therefore, the uplink time slot start time of the terminal device must be 2T earlier than the downlink time slot start time of the terminal device to ensure that the arrival time of the data sent by the terminal device coincides with the uplink time slot start time of the network device. The time difference between the start of the uplink time slot and the start of the downlink time slot (i.e., 2T) is also called the timing advance (TA) value. For downlink transmission, the terminal device determines the start time of its downlink time slot by measuring the downlink pilot signal and receives the downlink signal based on this downlink time slot start time. For uplink transmission, the terminal device needs to determine the TA value. Based on this TA value and the downlink time slot start time, the terminal device determines the start time of the uplink time slot (i.e., the downlink time slot start time - the TA value) and then transmits the uplink signal.

[0068] Since the uplink and downlink coverage of network devices may be unbalanced (generally speaking, downlink coverage is better than uplink coverage), some network devices with uplink receiving functions but not downlink sending functions can be deployed to make up for the uplink coverage.

[0069] For network devices that have uplink receiving capabilities but no downlink transmitting capabilities, terminal devices also need to determine the corresponding TA value for the network device when performing uplink transmissions to them. However, since these network devices lack downlink transmitting capabilities, they cannot transmit the TA value to the terminal device. This causes the arrival time of the data sent by the terminal device at the network device to not coincide with the network device's uplink timeslot, resulting in low data transmission efficiency. Therefore, how to improve data transmission efficiency is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0070] To facilitate understanding of the beam measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the beam measurement method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described below. It is understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0071] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of the communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0072] As shown in a) in Figure 4, the communication system includes one or more network devices (one network device is taken as an example in the figure) and one or more terminal devices (two terminal devices are taken as an example in the figure). It can be seen that a network device can transmit data or control signaling to one or more terminal devices.

[0073] As shown in b) in Figure 4, the communication system includes one or more network devices (three network devices are taken as an example in the figure) and one or more terminal devices (one terminal device is taken as an example in the figure). It can be seen that multiple network devices can transmit data or control signaling to one terminal device.

[0074] In the communication system shown in FIG4 a) and FIG4 b), the terminal device can be mobile or fixed. The network device can be a micro base station, or a TRP or other type of network device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with the terminal device located in the coverage area (cell) through a wireless link.

[0075] Optionally, the communication system shown in the communication system may include more network devices, and the coverage area of ​​each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0076] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of communication performed by a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0077] As shown in Figure 5, terminal device 10 logically includes multiple components, such as a processor 101, a memory 102, and a transceiver 103. Transceiver 103 includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, and an antenna 1033. Network device 20 logically includes multiple components, such as a processor 201, a memory 202, and a transceiver 203. Transceiver 203 includes a transmitter 2031, a receiver 2032, and an antenna 2033. Receiver 1032 can be used to receive information sent by network device 20 via antenna 1033, and transmitter 1031 can be used to send information to network device 20 via antenna 1033. Transmitter 2031 can be used to send information to terminal device 10 via antenna 2033, and receiver 2032 can be used to receive information sent by terminal device 10 via antenna 2033.

[0078] The communication method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG6 .

[0079] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 6 may include steps S610 to S640.

[0080] Step S610: The network device sends a configuration message to the terminal device. For example, the network device may be a second network device. The second network device may be a network device with uplink receiving capability and downlink transmitting capability. In other words, the cell corresponding to the second network device is a cell with uplink receiving capability and downlink transmitting capability.

[0081] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the configuration message.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the configuration message may be a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0083] The configuration message includes configuration parameters of one or more cells. The one or more cells include a first cell. The first cell is a cell that only has uplink reception capability. That is to say, the first cell can receive messages sent by the terminal device, but cannot send messages to the terminal device. It can be stipulated that the first cell can only be used as a secondary cell and cannot be used as a main cell. The network device configures at most M first cells for the terminal device, and M may be specified by the protocol, or may be reported by the terminal device to the network device. If the terminal device reports M=0, it means that the terminal device does not support the first cell.

[0084] The terminal device needs to determine whether a cell is the first cell, and can use any of the following methods.

[0085] In a possible implementation, the first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0086] There is no downlink bandwidth part (BWP) in the cell configuration parameters;

[0087] There are no physical downlink sharing channel (PDSCH) parameters in the cell configuration parameters;

[0088] There are no physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters in the cell configuration parameters;

[0089] There is no channel state information (CSI) measurement parameter in the cell configuration parameters;

[0090] There are no uplink and downlink frame structure parameters in the cell configuration parameters;

[0091] The configuration parameters of a cell include a second cell associated with the cell. The second cell is a cell with downlink transmission capability. A terminal device can use the downlink timing of the second cell to determine the uplink timing of the first cell associated with the second cell. Alternatively, the terminal device can use the downlink timing of the second cell to perform uplink transmission in the first cell associated with the second cell.

[0092] That is to say, the terminal device can determine whether the cell is the first cell by whether the configuration parameters of the cell meet one or more of the above items.

[0093] In one example, if there is no downlink bandwidth part in the configuration parameters of a cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. Alternatively, if there is no physical downlink control channel parameter in the configuration parameters of a cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. Alternatively, if there is no CSI measurement parameter in the configuration parameters of a cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. Alternatively, if there is no uplink and downlink frame structure parameter in the configuration parameters of a cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. Alternatively, if there is no uplink and downlink frame structure parameter in the configuration parameters of a cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. Alternatively, if the configuration parameters of a cell include a second cell associated with the cell, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell.

[0094] The PDSCH parameter may be a PDSCH-related parameter, the PDCCH parameter may be a PDCCH-related parameter, and the CSI measurement parameter may be a CSI measurement-related parameter.

[0095] Alternatively, it can be said that, in a possible implementation, the first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0096] The cell is not configured with downlink bandwidth;

[0097] The cell is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters;

[0098] The cell is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters;

[0099] The cell is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters;

[0100] The cell is not configured with uplink and downlink frame structure parameters;

[0101] The second cell associated with the cell configuration.

[0102] In one example, if there is a cell that is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters and is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. If there is a cell that is configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters or physical downlink control channel parameters, the terminal device determines that the cell is not the first cell. In another example, when judging whether a cell is the first cell by whether the channel state information measurement parameters are configured, if there is a cell that is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. If there is a cell that is configured with channel state information measurement parameters, the terminal device determines that the cell is not the first cell. In one possible implementation, for any cell in one or more cells, if the configuration parameters corresponding to any cell include the first parameter, then any cell is the first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of any cell is the first value, then any cell is the first cell.

[0103] That is to say, the terminal device can determine whether the cell is the first cell based on whether the configuration parameters of the cell include the first parameter, or whether the included first parameter is the first value.

[0104] In one example, when determining whether a cell is a first cell based on whether the cell configuration parameters include a first parameter, if the cell configuration parameters include the first parameter, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. If the cell configuration parameters do not include the first parameter, the terminal device determines that the cell is not the first cell.

[0105] In another example, when determining whether a cell is a first cell based on whether a first parameter in the configuration parameters of the cell is a first value, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the cell is the first value, the terminal device determines that the cell is the first cell. If the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the cell is not the first value, for example, is the second value, the terminal device determines that the cell is not the first cell.

[0106] In addition to the first cell, the one or more cells mentioned above also include a second cell. A first cell and a second cell can be associated. The second cell associated with the first cell can be configured by the above configuration information. The second cell associated with the first cell can also be determined by the first rule. For example, the second cell associated with a first cell is the main cell corresponding to the first cell, that is, the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs. For another example, the second cell associated with a first cell is the first / last / second cell with the smallest IDentity (ID) / the largest ID among all second cells configured in the terminal device. For another example, the second cell associated with a first cell is the first / last / second cell with the smallest ID / the largest ID in the cell group or timing advance group to which the first cell belongs. A timing advance group refers to a group of cells that use the same timing.

[0107] Step S620: The terminal device sends a first signal to the network device through the first cell at the first moment.

[0108] For example, the network device may be a first network device. Accordingly, the first network device receives a first signal sent by a terminal device via a first cell at a first moment. The first network device may be a network device with only uplink reception capability. Alternatively, the cell corresponding to the first network device is a cell with only uplink reception capability, namely, the first cell.

[0109] Among them, the first moment is related to the first downlink timing, and the first downlink timing is the downlink timing of the second cell associated with the first cell. The downlink timing may refer to the starting moment of the downlink time slot. It may also specifically refer to the starting moment of the downlink time slot corresponding to the terminal device. Alternatively, it may be the starting moment when the terminal device receives the signal in a time slot. The first downlink timing is determined by the downlink reference signal of the first cell. The first downlink timing may also be the time when the terminal device receives the signal on the first channel space path in a time slot of the first cell. The first downlink timing may also be directly configured to the terminal device by the network device.

[0110] In one possible implementation, the uplink and downlink timeslot switching of the terminal device may require time. The time required for the uplink and downlink timeslot switching is assumed to be an uplink timing offset. In this case, the first moment may be the first downlink timing plus the uplink timing offset corresponding to the first cell. The uplink timing offset corresponding to the first cell may be configured for the terminal device by the network device through configuration information.

[0111] The first signal is used by the network device to measure the first TA value of the first cell. The first signal may be a random access request, or may be another channel sounding reference signal (SRS) signal. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0112] The second cell associated with the first cell may be determined in any one of the following four ways.

[0113] Method 1: In a possible implementation, the cell includes one or more second cells, and the configuration message includes an association relationship between the second cell and the first cell.

[0114] In other words, the cells configured for the terminal device in the configuration message include one or more second cells. Furthermore, the configuration message includes the association between the second cells and the first cell. Thus, based on the association between the first cell and the second cell in the configuration message, the terminal device can determine the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0115] Method 2: In a possible implementation, the cell includes one or more second cells, wherein the second cell associated with the first cell may be the first second cell, the last second cell, the second cell with the smallest identifier, or the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

[0116] That is to say, the cell configured for the terminal device in the configuration message includes one or more second cells. However, the relationship between the first cell and the second cell is not included in the configuration message. Then the second cell associated with the first cell can be determined based on some preset rules. For example, the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells included in the configuration message. Among them, the first second cell may refer to the second cell that is first configured to the terminal device in the configuration message, that is, the second cell that is ranked first among the one or more second cells included in the configuration message. The last second cell may refer to the second cell that is last configured to the terminal device in the configuration message, that is, the second cell that is ranked last among the one or more second cells included in the configuration message.

[0117] Method 3: In one possible implementation, the cell includes one or more second cells. That is, the cell configured for the terminal device in the configuration message includes one or more second cells. The association between the first cell and the second cell may be determined based on the order in which the first cells are arranged and the order in which the second cells are arranged.

[0118] In one example, if the configuration message includes the first cell A, the first cell B, and the first cell C, it also includes the second cell a, the second cell b, and the second cell c. And the order of the first cells in the configuration message is the first cell A, the first cell B, the first cell C, and the order of the second cells is the second cell c, the second cell a, the second cell b, then the terminal device can consider that the first cell A is associated with the second cell c, the first cell B is associated with the second cell a, and the first cell C is associated with the second cell b. In another example, if the configuration message includes the first cell A, the first cell B, and the first cell C, it also includes the second cell a, the second cell b, and the second cell c. And the order of the cells in the configuration message is the first cell A, the second cell c, the first cell B, the second cell a, the first cell C, and the second cell b, then the terminal device can consider that the first cell A is associated with the second cell c, the first cell B is associated with the second cell a, and the first cell C is associated with the second cell b. In another example, the first cell is associated with the second cell that is closest to the first cell. For example, if the configuration message includes the first cell A, the first cell B, and the first cell C, and also includes the second cell a, the second cell b, and the second cell c. And the order of the cells in the configuration message is the first cell A, the first cell B, the second cell c, the second cell a, the first cell C, and the second cell b, then the terminal device considers that the first cell A is associated with the second cell c, the first cell B is associated with the second cell c, and the first cell C is associated with the second cell b. The above are all some distances that can be determined based on the order of arrangement of the first cell and the second cell, and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application.

[0119] Method 4: In one possible implementation method, the second cell associated with the first cell is the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / last second cell / second cell with the smallest identifier / second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0120] In this manner, the second cell may not be included in the configuration message. The second cell associated with the first cell is obtained based on the first cell. In one example, the main cell in the cell group to which the first cell belongs is used as the second cell associated with the first cell. For example, a cell group includes a first cell A, a second cell B, and a second cell C, wherein the second cell B is the main cell in the cell group, and the second cell associated with the first cell A is the second cell B. In one possible implementation, the first cell is not used as the main cell of the cell group. In another example, the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs is used as the second cell associated with the first cell. The timing advance group is a group of cells with the same TA value.

[0121] In a possible implementation, after step S620 , the process may include: the first network device forwarding the first information to the second network device.

[0122] Accordingly, the second network device receives the first information sent by the first network device. The first information may include a first TA value corresponding to the first cell. Alternatively, the first information may include information used to calculate the first TA value corresponding to the first cell, such as the time when the first network device receives the first signal.

[0123] Step S630: The network device determines a first TA value of the first cell.

[0124] The first TA value may be determined by the first network device. The first TA value may also be determined by the second network device. For example, the first network device sends information for calculating the first TA value to the second network device via the first message, and the second network device calculates the first TA.

[0125] For example, the network device determines a first TA value of the first cell based on the uplink timing of the first cell and the second time, wherein the first TA value is a difference between the second time and the uplink timing of the first cell.

[0126] It can be known that the TA value can be expressed as the difference between the starting time of the downlink signal of the terminal device and the starting time of the uplink signal of the terminal device.

[0127] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a timing diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. The second cell sends a downlink signal to the terminal device at time T. If the propagation delay of the downlink signal sent by the second cell to the terminal device is t1. It can be known that the time when the terminal device receives the downlink signal is T+t1, that is, the start time of the downlink time slot of the terminal device is T+t1. When the terminal device receives the downlink signal, it sends the first signal through the first cell. Therefore, T+t1 is the first moment, that is, the first downlink timing. In other words, the first moment is related to the downlink timing of the second cell. If the propagation delay of the terminal device sending the uplink signal (for example, the first signal) to the first cell is t2, the first cell receives the first signal at T+t1+t2. In other words, the second moment is T+t1+t2. Since the start times of the uplink and downlink time slots of the network device are fixed and aligned, the uplink timing of the first cell (the start time of the uplink time slot) is known. Assuming that the uplink timing of the first cell is T1, the first TA value of the first cell can be expressed as T+t1+t2-T1.

[0128] In Figure 7, when the first moment is the first downlink timing plus the uplink timing offset corresponding to the first cell, if the uplink timing offset corresponding to the first cell is t3, the second cell sends a downlink signal to the terminal device at time T. If the propagation delay of the second cell sending the downlink signal to the terminal device is t1. It can be seen that the time when the terminal device receives the downlink signal is T+t1. In other words, the starting moment of the downlink time slot of the terminal device, that is, the first downlink timing, is T+t1. The first moment is the first downlink timing plus the uplink timing offset corresponding to the first cell. It can be seen that the first moment is T+t1+t3. If the propagation delay of the terminal device sending the uplink signal (for example, the first signal) to the first cell is t2, the first cell receives the first signal at T+t1+t3+t2. In other words, the second moment is T+t1+t3+t2. Since the starting time of the uplink and downlink time slots of the network equipment is fixed and aligned, the uplink timing (start time of the uplink time slot) of the first cell is known. Assuming that the uplink timing of the first cell is T1, the first TA value of the first cell can be expressed as T+t1+t3+t2-T1.

[0129] Step S640: The network device sends a first response message to the terminal device through the second cell.

[0130] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a first response message sent by the network device, wherein the first response message includes a first TA value of the first cell.

[0131] For example, the second network device sends a first response message through the second cell, and the first response message includes the first TA value of the first cell.

[0132] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first TA value of the first cell sent by the second network device through the second cell. After receiving the first TA value, the terminal device can send an uplink signal in a subsequent uplink transmission in advance of the first TA value based on the start time T+t1 of the terminal device's uplink timeslot, thereby ensuring that the time when the uplink signal arrives at the first cell is exactly the start time of the first cell's uplink timeslot.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the first response message may further include an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0134] By including the index of the first cell or the index of the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs in the first response message, the terminal device obtains the index of the first cell or the index of the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs. Therefore, when multiple first cells are included in the configuration message, the terminal device can determine the first cell corresponding to the first TA value based on the index of the first cell or the index of the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0135] In a possible implementation, after step S640, the method may further include steps S650 and S660:

[0136] Step S650: The network device sends a timing update message to the terminal device.

[0137] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the timing update message sent by the network device.

[0138] For example, the network device may be a second network device.

[0139] The timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs. By sending the index of the second cell associated with the first cell to the terminal device, when the configuration message includes multiple first cells, the terminal device can determine the first cell corresponding to the TA update value corresponding to the second cell and requiring an update of the first TA value based on the index of the second cell associated with the first cell or the index of the timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

[0141] In a possible implementation, a second parameter may be included, where the second parameter is used to indicate whether the terminal device uses the TA update value of the second cell to update the first TA value of the first cell associated with the second cell.

[0142] Step S660: The terminal device updates the first TA value of the first cell based on the TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0143] After receiving the TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell, the terminal device uses half of the TA update value corresponding to the second cell as the TA update value of the first cell, and updates the TA value of the first cell based on the TA update value.

[0144] Among them, steps S650 to S660 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG6 .

[0145] In one possible implementation, after step S640, the second network device may send a timing update message. The timing update message includes the TA update value of the first cell. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the TA update value of the first cell sent by the second network device and updates the first TA value of the first cell based on the TA update value of the first cell. After receiving the TA update value of the first cell, the terminal device uses the TA update value of the first cell as the new first TA value of the first cell and performs uplink transmission with the first cell based on the new first TA value.

[0146] In one possible implementation, the timing update message includes an index of the first cell, or an index of the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs. By sending the index of the first cell to the terminal device, when the configuration message includes multiple first cells, the terminal device can determine the first cell corresponding to the TA update value of the first cell and requiring an update of the first TA value based on the index of the first cell or the index of the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

[0147] The following describes possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application.

[0148] 8-10 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application.

[0149] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 80 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0150] As shown in FIG8 , the communication device 80 includes a transceiver unit 801 and a processing unit 802 .

[0151] The communication device 80 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 .

[0152] When the communication device 80 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 6 above, the transceiver unit 801 can be used to perform step S610 in Figure 6 to receive a configuration message, where the configuration message includes configuration parameters for one or more cells. It can also be used to perform step S620 in Figure 6 to send a first signal at a first moment via a first cell. It can also be used to perform step S640 in Figure 6 to receive a first response message sent by a network device via a second cell. The processing unit 802 can be used to perform step S660 in Figure 6 to update the first TA value of the first cell based on the TA update value corresponding to the second cell associated with the first cell.

[0153] When the communication device 80 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the transceiver unit 801 can be configured to execute step S610 in FIG. 6 to send a configuration message including configuration parameters for one or more cells, and can be configured to execute step S620 in FIG. 6 to receive a first signal sent by a terminal device via a first cell at a first moment. The processing unit 802 can be configured to execute step S630 in FIG. 6 to determine a first TA value for the first cell. The transceiver unit 801 can also be configured to execute step S640 in FIG. 6 to send a first response message via a second cell. It can also be configured to execute step S650 in FIG. 6 to send a timing update message.

[0154] A more detailed description of the transceiver unit 801 and the processing unit 802 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 , and is not repeated here.

[0155] It should be understood that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0156] Figure 9 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 800 may be a chip system, or may be a device configured with a chip system for implementing the method described in the above method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0157] As shown in Figure 9 , the apparatus 800 may include a processor 810 and a communication interface 820. The communication interface 820 may be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the apparatus 800 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 820 may be, for example, a transceiver, an interface, a bus, a circuit, or a device capable of transmitting and receiving data. The processor 810 may use the communication interface 820 to input and output data and implement the beam measurement method described in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 6 . Specifically, the apparatus 800 may be used to implement the functions of the network device or terminal device in the above-described method embodiment. The apparatus 800 may be a chip. It will be understood that when the apparatus 800 is a chip, the communication interface may refer to an input or output interface. The input interface is used to perform the receiving step in the embodiment, for example, receiving the first indication information and receiving the first report information via the input interface. The output interface is used to perform the sending step in the embodiment, for example, sending the first indication information and sending the first report information via the output interface.

[0158] Optionally, the device 800 also includes at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 830 is coupled to the processor 810. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 810 may operate in conjunction with the memory 830. The processor 810 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. At least one of the at least one memory 830 may be included in the processor 810. At least one of the at least one memory 830 may be built into the communication device 800. At least one of the at least one memory 830 may be external to the communication device 800. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the memory 830 is represented by a dotted line in Figure 9.

[0159] The specific connection medium between the processor 810, communication interface 820, and memory 830 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 9, the processor 810, communication interface 820, and memory 830 are connected via a bus 840. The bus 840 is represented by a bold line in Figure 9, and the connection methods between other components are only for schematic illustration and are not limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 9, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0160] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1000 can be used to implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG6. As shown in FIG10, the terminal device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and a transceiver 1002.

[0161] Optionally, the terminal device 1000 further includes a memory 1003. The processor 1001, the transceiver 1002, and the memory 1003 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. The memory 1003 is used to store a computer program, and the processor 1001 is used to call and run the computer program from the memory 1003 to control the transceiver 1002 to send and receive signals.

[0162] Optionally, the terminal device 1000 may further include an antenna 1004 for transmitting, via wireless signals, uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 1002. Optionally, the terminal device 1000 may further include a Wi-Fi module 1011 for accessing a wireless network.

[0163] The processor 1001 and the memory 1003 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 1001 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1003 to implement the above functions. In specific implementation, the memory 1003 may also be integrated into the processor 1001 or independent of the processor 1001.

[0164] The transceiver 1002 may correspond to the transceiver unit 801 in FIG. 8 or the communication interface 820 in FIG. The transceiver 1002 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

[0165] Optionally, the terminal device 1000 may further include a power supply 1005 for providing power to various devices or circuits in the terminal device 1000 .

[0166] In addition, in order to make the functions of the terminal device more complete, the terminal device 1000 may also include one or more of an input unit 1006, a display unit 1007, an audio circuit 1008, a camera 1009 and a sensor 1010, and the audio circuit may also include a speaker 1008a, a microphone 1008b, etc.

[0167] It should be understood that the operations and / or functions of the various modules in the terminal device 1000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0168] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG6 can be implemented.

[0169] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG6 can be implemented.

[0170] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and the network device as described above.

[0171] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-mentioned method.

[0172] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0173] The terms "unit", "module", etc. used in this specification can be used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. The terms "unit" and "module" in the embodiments of this application have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

[0174] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices, equipment, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not performed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0175] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0176] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0177] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (program) are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) 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 includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0178] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the technology or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0179] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a configuration message, where the configuration message includes configuration parameters of one or more cells, where the cells include a first cell, where the first cell is a cell having only an uplink receiving capability; Sending a first signal at a first time through the first cell, where the first time is related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing is a downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, and the second cell is a cell having an uplink receiving capability and a downlink sending capability; A first response message is received through the second cell, where the first response message includes a first timing advance TA value of the first cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions: The cell is not configured with downlink bandwidth; The cell is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters; The cell is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters; The cell is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters; The cell is not configured with uplink and downlink frame structure parameters; The second cell associated with the cell configuration.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: For any cell among the one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of the any cell include a first parameter, the any cell is the first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, the any cell is the first cell.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The cell further includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined according to the association relationship.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The second cell associated with the first cell is a primary cell in a cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, The second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first response message also includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a timing update message, wherein the timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell; A first TA value of the first cell is updated based on a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a configuration message, where the configuration message includes configuration parameters of one or more cells, where the cells include a first cell, where the first cell is a cell having only an uplink receiving capability; Receiving, at a second moment, a first signal sent by a terminal device at a first moment, where the first moment is related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing is a downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, and the second cell is a cell having an uplink receiving capability and a downlink sending capability; Determine a first timing advance TA value of the first cell based on the uplink timing of the first cell and the second time; A first response message is sent through the second cell, where the first response message includes a first TA value of the first cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions: The cell is not configured with downlink bandwidth; The cell is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters; The cell is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters; The cell is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters; The cell is not configured with uplink and downlink frame structure parameters; The second cell associated with the cell configuration.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that For any cell among the one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of the any cell include a first parameter, the any cell is the first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, the any cell is the first cell.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The cell further includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined according to the association relationship.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The second cell associated with the first cell is a primary cell in a cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, The second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs, and the TA value of one or more cells in the timing advance group is the same.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that: The first response message also includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Send a timing update message, where the timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a configuration message, where the configuration message includes configuration parameters of one or more cells, where the cells include a first cell, where the first cell is a cell having only an uplink receiving capability; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a first signal at a first time through the first cell, the first time is related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing is a downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, and the second cell is a cell having an uplink receiving capability and a downlink sending capability; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first response message through the second cell, where the first response message includes a first timing advance TA value of the first cell.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions: The cell is not configured with downlink bandwidth; The cell is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters; The cell is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters; The cell is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters; The cell is not configured with uplink and downlink frame structure parameters; The second cell associated with the cell configuration.

21. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that For any cell among the one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of the any cell include a first parameter, the any cell is the first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, the any cell is the first cell.

22. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The cell further includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined according to the association relationship.

23. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

24. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The second cell associated with the first cell is a primary cell in a cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, The second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

25. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that The first response message also includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

26. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 25, characterized in that The device also includes a processing unit, The receiving unit is further configured to receive a timing update message, wherein the timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell; The processing unit is configured to update a first TA value of the first cell based on a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A transceiver unit, configured to send a configuration message, wherein the configuration message includes configuration parameters of one or more cells, wherein the cells include a first cell, and the first cell is a cell having only an uplink receiving capability; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive, at a second moment, a first signal sent by a terminal device at a first moment, the first moment being related to a first downlink timing, the first downlink timing being a downlink timing of a second cell associated with the first cell, and the second cell being a cell having an uplink receiving capability and a downlink sending capability; a processing unit, configured to determine a first timing advance TA value of the first cell based on the uplink timing of the first cell and the second time; The transceiver unit is further used to send a first response message through the second cell, where the first response message includes a first TA value of the first cell.

29. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that The first cell is a cell that satisfies one or more of the following conditions: The cell is not configured with downlink bandwidth; The cell is not configured with physical downlink shared channel parameters; The cell is not configured with physical downlink control channel parameters; The cell is not configured with channel state information measurement parameters; The cell is not configured with uplink and downlink frame structure parameters; The second cell associated with the cell configuration.

30. The device according to claim 28, characterized in that For any cell among the one or more cells, if the configuration parameters of the any cell include a first parameter, the any cell is the first cell; or, if the value of the first parameter in the configuration parameters of the any cell is a first value, the any cell is the first cell.

31. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The cell further includes one or more second cells, the configuration message includes an association relationship between the first cell and the second cell, and the second cell associated with the first cell is determined according to the association relationship.

32. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The cell also includes one or more second cells, and the second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier among the one or more second cells.

33. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that The second cell associated with the first cell is a primary cell in a cell group to which the first cell belongs; or, The second cell associated with the first cell is the first second cell / the last second cell / the second cell with the smallest identifier / the second cell with the largest identifier in the cell group or the timing advance group to which the first cell belongs, and the TA value of one or more cells in the timing advance group is the same.

34. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 33, characterized in that The first response message also includes an index of the first cell, or an index of a timing advance group to which the first cell belongs.

35. The device according to any one of claims 28 to 34, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further used to send a timing update message, where the timing update message includes a TA update value corresponding to a second cell associated with the first cell.

36. The device according to claim 35, characterized in that The timing update message further includes an index of a second cell associated with the first cell or an index of a timing advance group to which the second cell associated with the first cell belongs.

37. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is used to execute a computer program in a memory so that the device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18 is implemented.

39. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-9, and the network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 10-18.

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