Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receives first configuration information and a first reference signal from a network device, the first configuration information being used for configuring first quasi co-location (QCL) source information corresponding to the first reference signal, and the first reference signal being used for activating a first secondary cell; furthermore, the terminal device performs measurement on the basis of the first reference signal and the first configuration information, to obtain a first measurement result. The method reduces the reference signal processing complexity of the terminal device by means of a QCL relationship.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 17, 2023, with application number 202311739710.1 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] Currently, for high-frequency secondary cell (SCell) activation, the QCL source for all reference signals during the activation process is the SCell's synchronization signal block (SSB) signal. If no SSB signal is transmitted, a UE-specific temporary reference signal (T-RS) is introduced to replace the SCell's SSB signal to complete the cell activation process. Subsequent reference signals will lack QCL source information, meaning the QCL chain will be incomplete. This requires the terminal device to estimate information such as Doppler shift on the antenna port corresponding to each reference signal, increasing terminal processing complexity. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which are applied in a scenario where a cell activation process is completed according to a T-RS, and can reduce the complexity of terminal equipment processing.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a terminal device. The method includes: receiving first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information being used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal; the first reference signal being used to activate a first secondary cell; receiving the first reference signal from the network device; and performing measurement based on the first reference signal and the first configuration information to obtain a first measurement result.

[0007] The first reference signal in the above design can be a T-RS. By configuring the QCL source information for the first reference signal, subsequent reference signals use the first reference signal as the QCL source signal, which can ensure the integrity of the QCL chain, thereby reducing the signal measurement workload of the terminal device and reducing the complexity of the terminal device processing.

[0008] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

[0009] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block (SSB) signal corresponding to a primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is within a first frequency band, the frequency of the first secondary cell is within a second frequency band, and the channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are within the second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than a first threshold. In such a design, using the primary cell as the QCL source for the secondary cell can quickly determine the relevant signal measurement results of the secondary cell, reducing the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0010] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold. In such a design, the activated secondary cell is used as the QCL source of the cell to be activated, which can quickly determine the relevant signal measurement results of the secondary cell to be activated, reducing the complexity of terminal device processing. Optionally, the third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, or a tracking reference signal TRS periodically sent by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal DRMS ​​sent by the second secondary cell.

[0011] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; receiving the fourth reference signal from the network device; and performing measurement based on the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result. In another possible design, the method further includes: receiving second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal, the fifth reference signal, and the first reference signal; receiving the fourth reference signal from the network device; and performing measurement based on the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result. The fourth reference signal is a signal received by the terminal device after the first reference signal, which can also be understood as the fourth reference signal being a subsequent signal of the first reference signal. In such a design, the QCL relationship is utilized and the parameters of the first reference signal are combined during the measurement of the fourth reference signal, which can reduce the measurement workload and the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0012] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving third configuration information from the network device, the third configuration information being used to configure a type of QCL relationship between a signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; or, the third configuration information being used to configure a type of QCL relationship between a signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and a fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell. In the signal measurement process after activation of the secondary cell, using the QCL relationship to refer to the parameters of the first reference signal can reduce the measurement workload and lower the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0013] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, applied to a network device. The method includes: determining first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal; using the first reference signal to activate a first secondary cell; and sending the first configuration information and the first reference signal to a terminal device, where the first configuration information and the first reference signal are used for measurement.

[0014] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

[0015] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is located in a first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is located in a second frequency band range, and the channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are located in the second frequency band range, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than the first threshold.

[0016] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold. Optionally, the third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block (SSB) signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, a tracking reference signal (TRS) periodically transmitted by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal (DRMS) transmitted by the second secondary cell.

[0017] In one possible design, the above method also includes: sending second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; and sending the fourth reference signal to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for measurement.

[0018] In one possible design, the above method also includes: sending second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal, the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal; sending the fourth reference signal to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for measurement.

[0019] In one possible design, the above method also includes: sending third configuration information to the terminal device, the third configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; and / or, the third configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell.

[0020] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, or a device, module, or chip in a terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal device. In one design, the communication device may include a module that executes the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module, and the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. Optionally, the processing module may also be replaced by the description of the processing unit.

[0021] a receiving unit, configured to receive first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information being used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal; and receiving the first reference signal from the network device, wherein the first reference signal is used to activate a first secondary cell;

[0022] A processing unit is configured to perform measurement according to the first reference signal and the first configuration information to obtain a first measurement result.

[0023] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

[0024] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is located in a first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is located in a second frequency band range, and the channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are located in the second frequency band range, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than the first threshold.

[0025] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold. Optionally, the third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block (SSB) signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, a tracking reference signal (TRS) periodically transmitted by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal (DRMS) transmitted by the second secondary cell.

[0026] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to receive second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information being used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; and receive the fourth reference signal from the network device. The processing unit is further configured to perform measurement based on the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result.

[0027] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to receive second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal, a fifth reference signal, and the first reference signal; and to receive the fourth reference signal from the network device. The processing unit is further configured to perform measurement based on the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result. The fourth reference signal is a signal received by the terminal device after the first reference signal, which can also be understood as the fourth reference signal being a subsequent signal to the first reference signal.

[0028] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further used to receive third configuration information from the network device, and the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; or, the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, or a device, module, or chip in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. In one design, the communication device may include a module that corresponds one-to-one to the execution of the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module; wherein the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. Optionally, the processing module may also be replaced by the description of the processing unit.

[0030] a processing unit, configured to determine first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal, where the first reference signal is used to activate a first secondary cell;

[0031] The sending unit sends the first configuration information and the first reference signal to the terminal device, where the first configuration information and the first reference signal are used for measurement.

[0032] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

[0033] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is located in a first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is located in a second frequency band range, and the channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are located in the second frequency band range, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than the first threshold.

[0034] In one possible design, the second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold. Optionally, the third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block (SSB) signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, a tracking reference signal (TRS) periodically transmitted by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal (DRMS) transmitted by the second secondary cell.

[0035] In one possible design, the above method also includes: sending second configuration information to the terminal device, the second configuration information being used to configure the type of QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; and sending the fourth reference signal to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for measurement.

[0036] In one possible design, the sending unit is also used to send second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal, the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal; and send the fourth reference signal to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for measurement.

[0037] In one possible design, the sending unit is also used to send third configuration information to the terminal device, and the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; and / or, the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the first aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the second aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device as described in the third aspect or the fifth aspect; and a communication device as described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0043] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0044] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory and execute the method provided in the first or second aspect above, or the chip includes a circuit for executing the method provided in the first or second aspect above.

[0045] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device to implement the method provided in the first or second aspect above. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing programs and data necessary for the device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0046] For the effects of the solutions provided in any of the second to twelfth aspects above, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG3A is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in one embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG3B is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG5A is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in one embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG5B is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of a QCL relationship in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG9 is one of the structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] The at least one (item) involved in the embodiments of the present application as follows indicates one (item) or more (items). More (items) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe each object in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0061] The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally includes other steps or units that are not listed, or optionally includes other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any method or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way.

[0062] As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and may also include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (not shown in Figure 1 ). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. RAN node 110 is wirelessly connected to core network 200. Core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device integrating the logical functions of a core network device and a RAN node. Communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300.

[0063] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0064] A RAN node, also known as a network device, access network device, wireless access network device, RAN entity, or access node, helps terminals access a communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can 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), or a relay node or donor node. In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing parts of the base station's functionality. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part or all of the physical layer. For detailed descriptions of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception functions of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as integrated into the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency equipment, such as the remote radio unit (RRU) or the active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, the CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), the DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and the RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description uses a network device as an example of a RAN node.

[0065] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from network devices. A terminal can 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. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0066] Network devices and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminals.

[0067] The roles of network devices and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. For terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a network device. However, for network device 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, network devices and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0068] Communication between network devices and terminals, between network devices, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0070] In this application, a network device sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. The terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection to the cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the serving cell, it will also be subject to interference from signals in neighboring cells.

[0071] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) are merely examples of downlink data channels, downlink control channels, and broadcast channels, respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0072] The following first explains the relevant technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

[0073] (1) Frequency band and carrier

[0074] A frequency band refers to a frequency range or a frequency range. The 5G communication system may include multiple frequency bands, such as n1, n2, n41, n78, etc. n1, n2, n41, n78, etc. can be understood as frequency band numbers. Each frequency band number is used to identify a preset frequency range. For example, the frequency range identified by n41 includes 2496MHz-2690MHz. The frequency range described here takes the uplink frequency range as an example. A frequency band may include one or more carriers. Carriers can be divided into uplink carriers and downlink carriers. Uplink carriers are used for uplink communication between terminals and network devices, and downlink carriers are used for downlink communication between terminals and network devices.

[0075] (2) Community

[0076] A cell is a collection of resources managed by network equipment, including frequency domain resources and spatial domain resources. A cell's frequency domain resources include uplink frequency domain resources and / or downlink frequency domain resources. A cell's spatial domain resources can be the spatial domain resources corresponding to a beam or a group of beams. It can also be understood that a cell corresponds to a specific physical coverage area.

[0077] In the embodiments of the present application, different cells can be managed by different network devices. For example, cell #1 and cell #2 can be managed by different network devices. In this case, cell #1 and cell #2 can be said to not be co-located. Cell #1 and cell #2 can also be managed by the same network device and have the same baseband processing unit and / or radio frequency processing unit. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0078] Depending on the frequency band range in which the cell is located (or understood to correspond to), the cell in the range of 450MHz-6000MHz can be referred to as a cell in the frequency range (FR) 1 or a low-frequency cell, and the cell in the range of 24250MHz-52600MHz can be referred to as a cell in FR2 or a high-frequency cell. The frequency range can also be replaced by a frequency band range, a frequency domain range or other names, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, it should be noted that the cell and the carrier are in a one-to-one correspondence. In the absence of logical conflict, the cell and the carrier can be used interchangeably. In other words, the frequency band range in which the cell is located can be understood as the frequency band range in which the frequency of the cell's corresponding carrier is located, and can also be referred to as the working frequency band of the cell or the frequency band in which the cell is located.

[0079] (3) Carrier Aggregation

[0080] Carrier aggregation combines two or more carriers to provide service to a single device. To efficiently utilize fragmented spectrum, carrier aggregation supports aggregation of different carriers. These carriers can be of the same or different bandwidths, contiguous or non-contiguous within the same frequency band, or within different frequency bands. Carrier aggregation can be categorized as intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation, intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, and inter-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation.

[0081] With the introduction of carrier aggregation, the cells serving a terminal can include a primary cell and one or more secondary cells. In other words, the primary cell and all secondary cells of a terminal serve as the terminal's serving cells. Carrier aggregation supports simultaneous data transmission on both the primary and secondary cells. For example, when both the primary and secondary cells include uplink carriers, the terminal can send uplink data to network devices in parallel on both the primary and secondary cells. Another example is when both the primary and secondary cells include downlink carriers, the terminal can receive downlink data from network devices in parallel on both the primary and secondary cells.

[0082] In this application, when receiving downlink data from a network device, the terminal can perform carrier aggregation on N cells, that is, the terminal can perform carrier aggregation on one primary cell and N-1 secondary cells, or in other words, the maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal for parallel reception of downlink data is N, the maximum number of cells supported by the terminal for parallel reception of downlink data is N, the processing capacity supported by the terminal for parallel reception of downlink data is N, etc., where N is an integer greater than 1. In this application, the above expressions can be used interchangeably. The maximum number of carriers supported by the terminal for parallel reception of downlink data can be expressed as max number of carrier receiving PDSCH.

[0083] The primary cell (PCell) can be the cell where a terminal establishes an initial connection, or it can be the cell where a terminal reestablishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection. The PCell can be used for RRC communication between network equipment and the terminal. The carrier corresponding to the PCell is called the primary component carrier (PCC).

[0084] A secondary cell (SCell) can be used to provide additional radio resources, for example, when there is no RRC communication between the SCell and the terminal. SCells can be added, modified, or released via RRC reconfiguration messages after the initial security activation procedure. The carrier corresponding to a SCell is called a secondary component carrier (SCC).

[0085] (4) Status of the secondary cell

[0086] The status of the secondary cell may include an activated state and an inactive state.

[0087] When a secondary cell is activated, the terminal can perform at least one of the following operations within the carrier corresponding to the secondary cell: send semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); report channel state information (CSI); or detect the PDCCH transmitted on the secondary cell. When carrier aggregation is configured with cross-carrier scheduling, if the secondary cell is scheduled by another cell, the scheduling cell will have a PDCCH for the scheduled secondary cell. This PDCCH is called the PDCCH used to schedule the secondary cell.

[0088] When the secondary cell is deactivated, the terminal does not send a sounding reference signal (SRS), report CSI, transmit uplink data, monitor the PDCCH, or send the PUCCH on the carrier corresponding to the secondary cell. Uplink data here includes the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) and the random access channel (RACH).

[0089] The state of the secondary cell can be switched between an activated state and a deactivated state.

[0090] Specifically, after the network device configures the secondary cell for the terminal, the secondary cell is in a deactivated state. The network device can determine whether to activate the secondary cell for the terminal according to actual needs. When the network device determines that the secondary cell of the terminal needs to be activated, it can send an activation command to the terminal, and then the terminal can activate the secondary cell according to the activation command, so that the state of the secondary cell is converted from a deactivated state to an activated state. Furthermore, for the secondary cell in the activated state, the network device can send a deactivation command to the terminal, and then the terminal can deactivate the secondary cell according to the deactivation command. Among them, the activation command and the deactivation command can both be a control unit (MAC control element, MAC CE) of the medium access control (MAC). In addition, the network device can also configure a deactivation timer for the terminal device. When the deactivation timer times out, the terminal device can consider that the state of the secondary cell SCell is changed from an activated state to a deactivated state.

[0091] (5) Quasi co-location (QCL)

[0092] Two signals transmitted from the same antenna port theoretically experience the same wireless channel, while two signals transmitted from two different antenna ports theoretically experience different wireless channels. According to the protocol definition, in some cases, signals transmitted from two different antenna ports experience wireless channels with common characteristics. Such antenna ports are called quasi-co-located (QCL); alternatively, the signals transmitted from such antenna ports have a QCL relationship.

[0093] The embodiments of the present application involve the transmission of some reference signals. The reference signal may also be called a "pilot" signal, which is a known signal sent by the transmitting end to the receiving end for channel estimation or channel detection. According to the functional division, the reference signal may include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), etc. Reference signals are generally used for measurement (such as channel state measurement or signal quality measurement, etc.), channel estimation, auxiliary signal demodulation, detection, etc. For example, DMRS and CSI-RS can be used to obtain channel information, and PTRS can be used to obtain phase change information.

[0094] For example, reference signals with a QCL relationship correspond to the same parameter, or a parameter corresponding to a reference signal (also referred to as a QCL parameter) can be used as a QCL source to determine a parameter corresponding to another reference signal with a QCL relationship with the reference signal, or two reference signals correspond to the same parameter, or the difference between the parameters corresponding to the two reference signals is less than a certain threshold. The parameter may include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift

[0095] (doppler shift), average delay, average gain, and spatial Rx parameters. The spatial Rx parameters may include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average AOD, AOD spread, receive antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0096] In the NR protocol, the QCL relationship can be divided into four types based on different parameters as shown in Table 1:

[0097] Table 1

[0098] Among them, QCL type A, QCL type B and QCL type C are applicable to all frequency bands, while QCL type D is only used in high frequency bands (such as above 6 GHz).

[0099] Currently, for high-frequency SCell activation, the QCL source for all reference signals during the activation process is the SCell's SSB signal. If no SSB signal is transmitted, a UE-specific temporary reference signal (T-RS) is introduced to replace the SCell's SSB signal to complete the cell activation process. However, the subsequent CSI-RS / PDCCH DMRS / PDSCH DMRS will lack QCL source information, and the QCL chain will be incomplete. This will require the terminal device to estimate information such as Doppler shift on the antenna port corresponding to each signal, increasing the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0100] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide some solutions to configure the QCL source information of T-RS, and use T-RS as the QCL source of subsequent CSI-RS / PDCCH DMRS / PDSCH DMRS to ensure the integrity of the QCL chain when no SSB signal is sent, and reduce the complexity of terminal equipment in processing reference signals.

[0101] FIG2 illustrates a communication method, which involves configuring QCL source information for a T-RS. Specifically, the method includes the following steps.

[0102] S201: A network device sends first configuration information to a terminal device.

[0103] The first configuration information is used to configure the first quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to the first reference signal; the first reference signal is used to activate the first secondary cell. The first reference signal represents the aforementioned T-RS, and the first reference signal (or T-RS) can specifically be a CSI-RS or a simplified SSB signal. It can be understood that the simplified SSB refers to an SSB signal that only includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), but does not include the PBCH.

[0104] Specifically, the first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of a QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal. It is understood that the second reference signal is a QCL source signal of the first reference signal.

[0105] In one possible design, as shown in FIG3A , the T-RS on the SCell to be activated can be co-located with the SSB signal on the primary cell PCell through QCL type C, that is, with reference to the information of the SSB signal port on the primary cell PCell, the Doppler frequency shift and average delay information of the received T-RS signal are obtained on the port of the secondary cell. Based on this, the second reference signal can be the synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the primary cell, and the first configuration information includes indication information of the SSB signal, the identifier (index) of the primary cell corresponding to the SSB, and indication information of QCL type C. For example, the reference signal here is SSB information, the cell index is the cell index of PCell, and the QCL type is QCL type C.

[0106] Specifically, such a design can be applied to the following two communication scenarios.

[0107] Scenario 1: The frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the main cell are located in the second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the main cell is less than the first threshold. For example, the frequency of the main cell PCell and the frequency of the first secondary cell SCell are both located in the FR2 frequency band, that is, the PCell and the first SCell are both FR2 cells, and the frequency difference between the PCell and the first SCell is less than the first threshold, then the second reference signal can be the synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the main cell. Optionally, the reception timing difference or reception power difference between the PCell and the first SCell can also be constrained to be less than a specified threshold. The aforementioned threshold can be predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0108] Scenario 2: The frequency of the main cell is located in the first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is located in the second frequency band range, and the channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the main cell is greater than the second threshold. For example, the frequency of the main cell PCell is located in the FR1 frequency band range, which is a FR1 cell; the frequency of the first secondary cell SCell is located in the FR2 frequency band range, which is a FR2 cell; in this case, if the channel correlation between the PCell and the first SCell is greater than the second threshold, the second reference signal can be the synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the main cell. Optionally, in this scenario, the PCell of FR1 and the first SCell of FR2 correspond to the same network device, or it can also be understood that the PCell of FR1 and the first SCell of FR2 are deployed at the same site. The aforementioned thresholds may be predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0109] In another possible design, as shown in FIG3B , the T-RS signal on the SCell to be activated can be co-located with the reference signals of other activated SCells through QCL type A. Based on this, the second reference signal is the third reference signal corresponding to the activated second secondary cell. Optionally, the third reference signal may be one of the following signals: the synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, the tracking reference signal TRS periodically sent by the second secondary cell, or the demodulation reference signal DRMS ​​sent by the second secondary cell, or the replacement description is: the third reference signal may be the synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, or the tracking reference signal TRS periodically sent by the second secondary cell, or the demodulation reference signal DRMS ​​sent by the second secondary cell.

[0110] Specifically, such a design can be applied to the following communication scenarios: the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in the second frequency band range, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than the third threshold. For example, the frequency of the first SCell and the frequency of the second secondary cell SCell are both located in the FR2 frequency band range, that is, the first SCell and the second SCell are both FR2 cells, and the frequency difference between the first SCell and the second SCell is less than the third threshold, then the second reference signal can be the SSB signal, TRS or DMRS corresponding to the activated second SCell. Optionally, the receiving timing difference or receiving power difference between the main PCell and the first SCell can also be constrained to be less than a specified threshold. The aforementioned threshold can be predefined by the protocol or pre-configured by the network device.

[0111] In a possible implementation, the network device may send the first configuration information to the terminal device through RRC signaling.

[0112] S202: The network device sends a first reference signal to the terminal device.

[0113] The definition of the first reference signal can be understood with reference to the description in S201 and will not be elaborated on in the embodiments of the present application. In one possible implementation, the network device may send the first reference signal to the terminal device via one or more beam directions, i.e., the number of first reference signals that the terminal device can receive is one or more, and the beam directions corresponding to the multiple first reference signals are different.

[0114] S203: The terminal device performs measurement according to the first reference signal and the first configuration information to obtain a first measurement result.

[0115] Specifically, as described in S201, the first reference signal is T-RS. When executing the activation process of the first secondary cell, the terminal device can complete the automatic gain control (AGC) settling according to the T-RS to obtain the power value, or complete the coarse synchronization (i.e., cell search) process according to the T-RS to obtain frame synchronization information; or complete the measurement of the layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-reference signal received power, L1-RSRP) according to the T-RS to obtain the RSRP measurement value.

[0116] Optionally, corresponding to the situation in S202 where the network device uses multiple beam directions to send the first reference signal, the terminal device may perform L1-RSRP measurement based on the first reference signal corresponding to each beam direction to obtain RSRP measurement values ​​corresponding to the multiple beam directions, and determine the beam direction corresponding to the highest RSRP measurement value as the optimal beam direction.

[0117] In the above design, in the process of using T-RS instead of SSB signal to activate the secondary cell, QCL source information is defined for T-RS. When the terminal device receives and measures T-RS, it can refer to some known measurement results or channel estimation information on the QCL source information, which is beneficial to reduce the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0118] FIG4 illustrates a communication method, which involves configuring QCL source information for CSI-RS. Specifically, the method includes the following steps.

[0119] S401: The network device sends second configuration information to the terminal device.

[0120] The second configuration information is used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a fourth reference signal, where the fourth reference signal is a CSI-RS.

[0121] In one possible design, as shown in FIG5A , the CSI-RS on the SCell to be activated can be co-located with the T-RS through QCL type C and QCL type D, that is, the terminal device can refer to the antenna port information on the previously received T-RS (i.e., the first reference signal) for the CSI-RS. In addition to some large-scale information such as Doppler frequency shift, the CSI-RS is also associated with the receiving beam information of the T-RS, that is, the beam direction of the terminal device receiving the CSI-RS is the same as the beam direction of the T-RS. The parameters of the T-RS can be determined according to the QCL source information of the T-RS described in S201; or, there is no need to define a QCL source for the T-RS. The terminal device receives the T-RS and obtains large-scale information from the T-RS itself, and then uses the T-RS signal as the QCL source of the subsequent signal (such as CSI-RS).

[0122] Based on this, the second configuration information can be specifically used to configure the type of the QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal and the first reference signal. For example, the second configuration information includes indication information of the first reference signal, a cell identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, and indication information for indicating QCL type C and QCL type D.

[0123] In addition, considering the situation where the network device sends the first reference signal in multiple beam directions, the terminal device can determine the optimal beam direction during the L1-RSRP measurement of the first reference signals in multiple beam directions, and the terminal device can report the optimal beam to the network device through the L1-RSRP result. In this case, the fourth reference signal (CSI-RS) can directly establish a QCL type D association with the beam in the optimal beam direction, or it can also be understood that the QCL type between the fourth reference signal and the first reference signal corresponding to the optimal beam direction is QCL type D, that is, the beam direction of the first reference signal indicated in the second configuration information is optimal.

[0124] In another possible design, as shown in FIG5B , the CSI-RS on the SCell to be activated can be co-located with the TRS through QCL type A, the CSI-RS can be co-located with the T-RS through QCL type D, and the TRS and T-RS can be co-located through QCL type C and QCL type D; or, the CSI-RS can be co-located with the TRS through QCL type A and QCL type D, and the TRS can be co-located with the T-RS through QCL type C and QCL type D. The TRS signal can be a P-TRS signal (periodic TRS signal) or an AP-TRS signal (non-periodic TRS signal) associated with the P-TRS, and the T-RS corresponds to the optimal beam direction.

[0125] Based on this, the second configuration information can be specifically used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal, the fifth reference signal, and the first reference signal. For example, the second configuration information includes indication information of the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal, cell identifiers corresponding to the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal, respectively, the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal and the fifth reference signal, the type of QCL relationship between the fourth reference signal and the first reference signal, and the type of QCL relationship between the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal.

[0126] S402: The network device sends a fourth reference signal to the terminal device.

[0127] The definition of the fourth reference signal can be understood with reference to the description in S401, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment of the present application.

[0128] S403: The terminal device performs measurement according to the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result.

[0129] Specifically, as described in S401, the fourth reference signal is CSI-RS. When the terminal device performs the activation process of the first secondary cell, it can complete the measurement of channel information according to the CSI-RS and obtain a channel estimation result such as a CSI report. It can be understood that the CSI-RS used for channel information measurement can also be recorded as CSI-RS for CQI, where the CQI refers to a channel quality indication (CQI).

[0130] In the above design, in the process of using T-RS instead of SSB signal to activate the secondary cell, QCL source information is defined for CSI-RS. When the terminal device receives and measures CSI-RS, it can refer to some known channel estimation information on the QCL source information, which is beneficial to reduce the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0131] Figure 6 illustrates a communication method, which is applied to a scenario where the secondary cell SCell is activated. After the SCell activation is completed, the network device can send PDCCH and PDSCH on the SCell for data scheduling and transmission, as well as send CSI-RS for refined beam management (denoted as CSI-RS for BM), where BM refers to beam management (BM). The communication method provides a method for defining the QCL relationship of signals such as PDCCH DMRS and PDSCH DMRS. Specifically, the method includes the following steps.

[0132] S601: The network device sends third configuration information to the terminal device.

[0133] The third configuration information is used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to the signal transmitted based on the first secondary cell after activation, wherein the signal transmitted based on the first secondary cell after activation includes PDCCH DMRS, PDSCH DMRS, or CSI-RS signal for refined beam management.

[0134] In one possible design, as shown in Figure 7A, PDCCH DMRS (or PDSCH DMRS) can be associated with TRS through QCL type A, and PDCCH DMRS (or PDSCH DMRS) is associated with T-RS through QCL type D; or, PDCCH DMRS (or PDSCH DMRS) is directly associated with TRS through QCL type A and QCL type D.

[0135] The parameters of the T-RS can be determined according to the QCL source information of the T-RS described in S201; alternatively, there is no need to define a QCL source for the T-RS, the terminal device receives the T-RS and obtains large-scale information from the T-RS itself, and then uses the T-RS signal as the QCL source of the subsequent signal (such as CSI-RS). If the network device sends a T-RS in multiple beam directions, the T-RS corresponding to the optimal beam direction is used to establish a QCL relationship with the fifth reference signal.

[0136] Based on this, the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; and / or the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell. The fifth reference signal may be a TRS. For example, the third configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of the first reference signal, indication information of the fifth reference signal, a cell identifier corresponding to the first reference signal, a cell identifier corresponding to the fifth reference signal, the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the fifth reference signal, the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal, and the type of QCL relationship between the fifth reference signal and the first reference signal.

[0137] In another possible design, as shown in Figure 7B, the CSI-RS signal used for refined beam management can be associated with the T-RS signal through QCL type A and QCL type D. The T-RS corresponds to the optimal beam direction and further receives the CSI-RS signal to address a finer optimal beam.

[0138] S602: The network device sends a signal to the terminal device through the first secondary cell.

[0139] The definition of this signal can be understood by referring to the description in S601, and will not be elaborated in this embodiment of the present application.

[0140] In the above design, after T-RS is used instead of SSB signal to activate the secondary cell, QCL source information is defined for PDCCH DMRS, PDSCH DMRS or CSI-RS. When the terminal device receives and measures PDCCH DMRS, PDSCH DMRS or CSI-RS, it can refer to some known channel estimation information on the QCL source information, which is beneficial to reduce the complexity of terminal device processing.

[0141] In addition, the T-RS in the embodiment of the present application is mainly used to activate the secondary cell SCell. In a possible implementation method, after the SCell activation process is completed, the network device stops sending T-RS. At this time, the terminal device can re-receive the SSB signal and switch the QCL source signal from T-RS to the SSB signal. Specifically, the terminal device can re-receive the SSB signal after reporting the measurement results of the CSI-RS used for channel information estimation. Therefore, the terminal can switch the QCL source after reporting the measurement results of the CSI-RS used for channel information estimation. Subsequently, the PDCCH DMRS (or PDSCH DMRS) on the SCell to be activated and the SSB signal received by the terminal device are co-located through QCL type A and QCL type D. It can be understood that the SSB signal referenced by the terminal device is the signal corresponding to the determined optimal beam direction.

[0142] Based on the same concept, referring to FIG8 , an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 800, which includes a processing module 801 and a communication module 802. The communication device 800 can be a terminal device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with a terminal device, capable of implementing a communication method executed on the terminal device side; or the communication device 800 can be a network device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with a network device, capable of implementing a communication method executed on the network device side.

[0143] The communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing module may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device. Optionally, the communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the terminal device side or the network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module that implements the receiving function can be considered a receiving unit, and the device in the communication module that implements the sending function can be considered a sending unit. That is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0144] When the communication device 800 is applied to a terminal device, the processing module 801 can be used to implement the processing functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 4, or 6, and the communication module 802 can be used to implement the transceiver functions of the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 4, or 6. Alternatively, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the third aspect and possible designs of the third aspect in the Summary of the Invention.

[0145] When the communication device 800 is applied to a network device, the processing module 801 can be used to implement the processing functions of the network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 4, or 6, and the communication module 802 can be used to implement the transceiver functions of the network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 2, 4, or 6. Alternatively, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the fourth aspect and possible designs of the fourth aspect in the Summary of the Invention.

[0146] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned communication module and / or processing module can be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing module can be implemented through a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the communication device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface that performs input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0147] The division of modules 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 modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0148] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900. For example, the communication device 900 can be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0149] The communication device 900 can be used to implement the functions of any network element in the communication system described in the aforementioned embodiments. The communication device 900 may include at least one processor 910, which is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the memory may be located within the communication device, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be located outside the communication device. For example, the communication device 900 may also include at least one memory 920. The memory 920 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data for implementing any of the aforementioned embodiments; the processor 910 may execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method in any of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0150] The communication device 900 may also include a communication interface 930, and the communication device 900 can exchange information with other devices through the communication interface 930. Exemplarily, the communication interface 930 can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces. When the communication device 900 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 930 in the communication device 900 can also be an input-output circuit that can input information (or receive information) and output information (or send information). The processor is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit or logic circuit, and the processor can determine output information based on the input information.

[0151] The coupling in the embodiments 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 910 may operate in conjunction with the memory 920 and the communication interface 930. The specific connection medium between the processor 910, memory 920, and communication interface 930 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0152] Optionally, referring to FIG9 , the processor 910, the memory 920, and the communication interface 930 are interconnected via a bus 940. The bus 940 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG9 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0153] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0154] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the communication device 900 can be applied to a network device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a network device, or a device that can support a network device and implement the functions of the network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 920 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 910 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method performed by the network device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to a network device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a terminal device, send information to the terminal device, or receive information from the terminal device.

[0156] In another possible implementation, the communication device 900 can be applied to a terminal device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a terminal device, or a device that can support the terminal device and implement the functions of the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The memory 920 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 910 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method executed by the terminal device in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Applied to a terminal device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a network device, send information to the network device, or receive information from the network device.

[0157] Since the communication device 900 provided in this embodiment can be applied to a network device to implement the method executed by the network device, or applied to a terminal device to implement the method executed by the terminal device, the technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the above method examples and will not be repeated here.

[0158] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device and the terminal device can implement the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 or Figure 6.

[0159] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they 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. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a terminal device, a network device, 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 a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. 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 video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium.

[0160] In the embodiments of the present application, under the premise that there is no logical contradiction, the embodiments may reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments may reference each other.

[0161] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving first configuration information from a network device, where the first configuration information is used to configure quasi-co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal; The first reference signal is used to activate the first secondary cell; receiving the first reference signal from the network device; Measurement is performed according to the first reference signal and the first configuration information to obtain a first measurement result.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to a primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is within a first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is within a second frequency band range, and a channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are within the second frequency band range, and a frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than a first threshold.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, or a tracking reference signal TRS periodically sent by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal DRMS ​​sent by the second secondary cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes: receiving second configuration information from the network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; receiving the fourth reference signal from the network device; Measurement is performed according to the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes: receiving second configuration information from the network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal, a fifth reference signal, and the first reference signal; receiving the fourth reference signal from the network device; Measurement is performed according to the fourth reference signal and the second configuration information to obtain a second measurement result.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Also includes: Receive third configuration information from the network device, where the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; or, the third configuration information is used to configure the type of QCL relationship between the signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and a fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure quasi co-site QCL source information corresponding to a first reference signal; The first reference signal is used to activate the first secondary cell; The first configuration information and the first reference signal are sent to a terminal device, where the first configuration information and the first reference signal are used for measurement.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first configuration information includes one or more of the following: indication information of a second reference signal, cell information corresponding to the second reference signal, and a type of QCL relationship between the first reference signal and the second reference signal.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The second reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to a primary cell; wherein the frequency of the primary cell is within a first frequency band range, the frequency of the first secondary cell is within a second frequency band range, and a channel correlation between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is greater than a second threshold; or, the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the primary cell are within the second frequency band range, and a frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the primary cell is less than a first threshold.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The second reference signal is a third reference signal corresponding to an activated second secondary cell; wherein the frequency of the first secondary cell and the frequency of the second secondary cell are located in a second frequency band, and the frequency difference between the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell is less than a third threshold.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The third reference signal is a synchronization broadcast block SSB signal corresponding to the second secondary cell, or a tracking reference signal TRS periodically sent by the second secondary cell, or a demodulation reference signal DRMS ​​sent by the second secondary cell.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that: Also includes: Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal and the first reference signal; Sending the fourth reference signal to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for measurement.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that: Also includes: second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a fourth reference signal, a fifth reference signal, and the first reference signal; The fourth reference signal is sent to the terminal device; wherein the second configuration information and the fourth reference signal are used for channel estimation.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that: Also includes: Sending third configuration information to the terminal device, where the third configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and the first reference signal; And / or, the third configuration information is used to configure a type of a QCL relationship between a signal transmitted by the first secondary cell after activation and a fifth reference signal corresponding to the first secondary cell.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

19. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and a communication device for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to call computer program instructions stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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