Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. In the communication method, a terminal can receive first information from a network device, so as to learn about, by means of the first information, an SSB being received on a first secondary cell (that is, the network device is a secondary cell configured for the terminal), such that the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell on the basis of the first information. That is, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell only after learning about, by means of the first information, the SSB being received on the first secondary cell, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal. On the basis of the same reasoning, it is also not necessary for the network device to send the SSB on the first secondary cell all the time, for example, the network device can send the SSB on the first secondary cell when or after same sends the first information to the terminal. In this way, the power consumption of the network device can be reduced.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202410263203.3 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 7, 2024, 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 communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] To increase the data transmission rate, a terminal can communicate on multiple cells simultaneously, where the multiple cells may include a primary cell (PCell) and at least one secondary cell (SCell).

[0004] Generally, the secondary cell can send a synchronization signal block (SSB) to facilitate terminal synchronization and cell measurement, etc. However, continuously sending SSB on the secondary cell will increase the energy consumption of network equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can reduce the power consumption of network equipment.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal side, for example, by a terminal device, or by a module applied to the terminal (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.). It can also be implemented by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. Taking the application of this method to a terminal as an example, in this method, the terminal can receive first information from a network device, so that the terminal can receive an SSB on a first secondary cell based on the first information. The first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive an SSB on the first secondary cell, and the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0007] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the terminal can receive the first information from the network device to learn through the first information that the SSB is received on the first secondary cell (i.e., the secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal). Therefore, the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information. That is, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell only when it learns through the first information that the SSB is received on the first secondary cell, which reduces the power consumption of the terminal. Similarly, for the network device, there is no need to always send the SSB on the first secondary cell. For example, the SSB can be sent on the first secondary cell when or after sending the first information to the terminal. This can reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first information includes information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration. That is, the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or the first transmission duration in the first information. In other words, the terminal does not need to always receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby saving terminal power consumption. Similarly, the network device can also send the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the information about the first number of transmissions or the first transmission duration. This is equivalent to the network device not needing to always send the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby reducing power consumption of the network device.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal sending second information to the network device, where the second information is used to request the transmission of the SSB on the first secondary cell. The second information includes information about a second number of transmissions of the SSB or a second transmission duration; or the second information includes a reason value for the terminal requesting the transmission of the SSB on the first secondary cell, where the reason value is used to determine information about the second number of transmissions or the second transmission duration.

[0010] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the terminal can send a request to the network device for sending the second information of the SSB on the first secondary cell, so that the network device can know the number of SSB transmissions (such as the second number of SSB transmission information) or the transmission duration (such as the second transmission duration information of the SSB) expected by the terminal, or, the network device can know the number of SSB transmissions (such as the second number of SSB transmission information) or the transmission duration (such as the second transmission duration information of the SSB) expected by the terminal through the reason value of the terminal's request to send the SSB on the first secondary cell. This helps the network device to know the needs of the terminal (such as energy-saving needs), and then better determine the number of transmissions or transmission duration corresponding to the first secondary cell, so as to help the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the second information also includes the second period of the SSB or the index of the second period; or, the second information is associated with the second period or the index of the second period; or, the cause value is also used to determine the second period.

[0012] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can also be informed of the SSB period expected by the terminal (such as the second period of SSB), which helps the network device to understand the needs of the terminal (such as energy saving needs), and then better determine the period corresponding to the first secondary cell to help the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the cause value indicates one or more of synchronization, layer 1 measurement, layer 3 measurement, activation of the first secondary cell, execution of radio link monitoring, or execution of beam failure monitoring.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes a first period of the SSB, and the first period is associated with a second period of the SSB. That is, the first period can be determined in conjunction with an SSB period expected by the terminal (e.g., the second period of the SSB), which can better meet the needs of the terminal (e.g., energy saving needs), thereby helping the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receiving third information from the network device, so that the terminal can stop receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information. The third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell.

[0016] As can be seen, in the above embodiment, the terminal can obtain third information indicating that the SSB is not to be broadcast on the first secondary cell. Based on the third information, the terminal can stop receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell. This avoids the situation of continuously receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell, thus saving terminal power consumption. Similarly, the network device does not need to continuously broadcast the SSB on the first secondary cell, thus reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receiving fourth information from the network device, so that the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell according to the third period. The fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB, where the length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB.

[0018] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the terminal can obtain fourth information indicating that the SSB is to be received on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB, and thus can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period. The length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB, that is, the terminal can use a longer period to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell and saving terminal power consumption. Similarly, for a network device, using a longer period to send the SSB on the first secondary cell can also reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0019] In a second aspect, a method for transmitting an SSB on a secondary cell is provided. The method can be executed by the network side, for example, by a network device, or by a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.) applied to the network device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. Taking the application of this method to a network device as an example, in this method, the network device can send first information to the terminal, so that the network device can send the SSB on the first secondary cell. The first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the synchronization signal block SSB on the first secondary cell, and the first secondary cell is the secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0020] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can send the first information to the terminal, so that the terminal can learn through the first information that the SSB is received on the first secondary cell (that is, the secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal), so the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information. That is, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell only when it learns through the first information that the SSB is received on the first secondary cell, which reduces the complexity of obtaining the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal. Similarly, for the network device, there is no need to send the SSB on the first secondary cell all the time, for example, the SSB is sent on the first secondary cell when or after sending the first information to the terminal. This can reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the first information includes information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration. That is, the network device can indicate the information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration to the terminal through the first information, so that the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration. In other words, the terminal does not need to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell all the time, saving power consumption of the terminal. Similarly, the network device can also send the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the information about the first number of transmissions or information about the first transmission duration, which is equivalent to the network device not having to send the SSB on the first secondary cell all the time, thereby reducing power consumption of the network device.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device receiving second information from the terminal, the second information being used to request the transmission of the SSB on the first secondary cell. The second information includes information about a second number of SSB transmissions or a second transmission duration; or the second information includes a reason value for the terminal requesting the transmission of the SSB on the first secondary cell, the reason value being used to determine information about the second number of SSB transmissions or the second transmission duration.

[0023] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can obtain the second information of the request to send the SSB on the first secondary cell from the terminal, so that the network device can know the number of SSB transmissions (such as the information of the second number of SSB transmissions) or the transmission duration (such as the information of the second transmission duration of the SSB) expected by the terminal, or, the network device can know the number of SSB transmissions (such as the information of the second number of SSB transmissions) or the transmission duration (such as the information of the second transmission duration of the SSB) expected by the terminal through the reason value of the terminal's request to send the SSB on the first secondary cell. This helps the network device to know the needs of the terminal (such as energy-saving needs), and then better determine the number of transmissions or transmission duration corresponding to the first secondary cell, so as to help the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the second information also includes the second period of the SSB or the index of the second period; or, the second information is associated with the second period or the index of the second period; or, the cause value is also used to determine the second period.

[0025] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can also be informed of the SSB period expected by the terminal (such as the second period of SSB), which helps the network device to understand the needs of the terminal (such as energy saving needs), and then better determine the period corresponding to the first secondary cell to help the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the cause value indicates one or more of synchronization, layer 1 measurement, layer 3 measurement, activation of the first secondary cell, execution of radio link monitoring, or execution of beam failure monitoring.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes a first period of the SSB, and the first period is associated with a second period of the SSB. That is, the first period can be determined in conjunction with an SSB period expected by the terminal (e.g., the second period of the SSB), which can better meet the needs of the terminal (e.g., energy saving needs), thereby helping the terminal and the network device save power consumption.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the network device sending the first information to the terminal includes: the network device sending the first information to the terminal before a first moment arrives, wherein the first moment is a start moment of sending the SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0029] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can send the first information to the terminal before the start time (i.e., the first moment) of sending the SSB on the first secondary cell arrives, so that the terminal device can receive the first information at the corresponding time point, avoiding the terminal device receiving the first information too late and missing the reception of SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell.

[0031] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can notify the terminal through the third information not to broadcast the SSB on the first secondary cell, so that the terminal can stop receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information. This avoids the situation of constantly receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell, saving terminal power consumption. Similarly, for the network device, there is no need to constantly broadcast the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sends fourth information to the terminal, where the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive SSB on the first secondary cell based on a third period of SSB, and the length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of SSB.

[0033] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the network device can notify the terminal through the third information to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB, so that the terminal can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period. The length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB, that is, the terminal can use a longer period to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell and saving terminal power consumption. Similarly, for the network device, using a longer period to send the SSB on the first secondary cell can also reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0034] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit or module for implementing the method described in any one of aspects 1 to 2. The communication device may be a terminal, a module of a terminal (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logical node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal's functions.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute any of the methods described in any one of the first to second aspects. The communication device may be a terminal, or a module of a terminal (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logical node, a logical module, or software that implements all or part of the terminal functions. The at least one processor may execute a computer program or instruction in a memory to enable the above method to be executed. The memory may be included in the communication device or may be located outside the communication device. In addition, the communication device may further include an interface.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes any one of the methods described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0037] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, the computer executes any one of the methods described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0038] In the seventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes at least one processor and an interface, the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes any method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0039] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal for executing the method as described in any one of the first aspects and a network device for executing the method as described in any one of the second aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG1 is a basic architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a network device in an ORAN system;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of carrier aggregation;

[0043] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a co-site deployment and non-co-site deployment of a primary cell and a secondary cell;

[0044] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a DL MAC CE;

[0046] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a terminal receiving an SSB on a first secondary cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in this application is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be one or more. In addition, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between network elements and identical or similar items with substantially the same functions. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences.

[0050] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in the embodiments of the present application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0051] The following specific implementation methods further describe in detail the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the following are only specific implementation methods of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

[0052] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0053] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) architecture, fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G), wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, LTE-vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle networking, machine type communications (MTC), etc. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems, etc. In future communication systems, the functions may remain the same, but the names may change.

[0054] The following describes the infrastructure of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication system provided by the present application may include one or more network devices and one or more terminals.

[0055] The following is an exemplary explanation using the system architecture shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a network device 10 and one or more terminals (such as the terminal 20 in Figure 1) communicating with the network device 10.

[0056] It should be noted that the number of network devices and terminals in Figure 1 is for illustration only and should not be considered as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0057] 1. Terminal

[0058] A terminal is an entity on the user side that is used to receive signals, send signals, or both receive and send signals. The terminal is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to users. A terminal can be a device that includes wireless transceiver functions and can cooperate with network equipment to provide communication services to users. Specifically, a terminal can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, user device or road side unit (RSU). The terminal may also be a drone, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a transportation security system, or a similar device. The terminal may be a wireless terminal in a 5G system or a terminal in a next-generation communication system, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0059] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal. The device used to implement the terminal's function can be a terminal; it can also be a device that supports the terminal in implementing the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal or used in conjunction with the terminal. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components.

[0060] 2. Network Equipment

[0061] A network device is an entity on the network side that is used to send signals, receive signals, or both send and receive signals. A network device can be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions for terminals.

[0062] In one possible scenario, a network device may be a device with base station functionality, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a non-terrestrial network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), i.e., a device that can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or a satellite. A network device may be a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station, or various forms of control nodes, such as a network controller or a wireless controller. Specifically, network devices can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells) in heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenarios, relay stations, access points (APs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved node Bs, or home node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs) in distributed base station scenarios, transmission points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and the like. They can also be antenna panels for base stations. A control node can connect to multiple base stations and configure resources for multiple terminals covered by these base stations. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with base station functionality may vary.For example, it can be a gNB in ​​5G, or a network-side device in a network after 5G, or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, or a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, or vehicle network communication. This application does not limit the specific name of the network device. The network device can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU under a cloud radio access network (CRAN), etc.

[0063] All or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

[0064] In another possible scenario, multiple network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU may be set separately, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It is understandable that the network device may be a CU node, a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU may be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, or the CU may be divided into a network device in the core network (CN), without limitation here.

[0065] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will 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 ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples for description.

[0066] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network device may further include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC), including a near-real-time RIC (near-real-time RIC, near-RT RIC) and / or a non-real-time RIC (non-real-time RIC, non-RT RIC), etc. In this case, the network device in the ORAN system may be as shown in FIG2 . The near-real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC may be used for model training and reasoning. For example, it may be used to train an artificial intelligence (AI) model and perform reasoning using the AI ​​model. The near-real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC may obtain corresponding information from a network device (e.g., at least one of a CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, RU, etc.) and / or a terminal as training data or reasoning data. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC may submit the reasoning results to the network device and / or the terminal. Optionally, the reasoning results may be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC delivers the inference results to the DU, which then sends them to the RU, enabling near-real-time intelligent management of network devices. Furthermore, any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, RU, and RIC in this application may be implemented via a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

[0068] In order to facilitate understanding of the contents of this solution, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of this application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

[0069] 1. Reference Signal

[0070] The reference signal can be used for one or more of synchronization (including time synchronization and / or frequency synchronization), performing layer 1 (layer 1, L1) measurements, performing layer 3 (layer 3, L3) measurements, activating a secondary cell, performing radio link monitoring (RLM) or performing beam failure detection (BFD). Layer 1 may be a protocol layer with a similar function of providing physical resources for data transmission, such as a physical (PHY) layer, etc., which is not limited in this application. Layer 3 may be a protocol layer with a similar wireless resource management function, such as a radio resource control (RRC) layer, etc., which is not limited in this application. Optionally, the process of activating the secondary cell may include synchronization. In other words, the secondary cell is activated after the network device and the terminal are successfully synchronized.

[0071] Among them, the reference signal can be SSB, sounding reference signal (SRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or positioning reference signal (PRS), etc., and this application does not limit this. The following example uses the reference signal SSB as an example for illustration, which should not be regarded as a limitation of this application.

[0072] Generally speaking, a network device may configure SSB resources so that a terminal can receive SSB on the SSB resources. The SSB resources may include, for example, one or more of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, code domain resources, spatial domain resources, and power domain resources.

[0073] The time domain resources include at least one of the period of SSB, the time slot level offset within the period, the symbol index within the time slot, the time domain position of SSB in the half frame, etc.

[0074] In this application, a period of SSB can be indicated by the ssb-periodicityServingCell information element. For details, please refer to the following:

[0075] ssb-periodicityServingCell ENUMERATED{ms5,ms10,ms20,ms40,ms80,ms160,spare2,spare1}OPTIONAL,--Need S

[0076] "ms5" means 5 milliseconds (ms), "ms10" means 10ms, and so on, which are not explained here.

[0077] The temporal position of the SSB in a half-frame is configured through a bitmap, which can be called the SSB burst position (ssb-PositionsInBurst). For details, please refer to the following:

[0078] The bitmap can be 4 bits, 8 bits, or 64 bits. The first bit in the bitmap (i.e., the leftmost bit or the most significant bit (MSB)) corresponds to SSB index 0, the second bit corresponds to SSB index 1, and so on. When a bit in the bitmap is set to 0, it means that the corresponding SSB is not transmitted, that is, the SSB is not sent. When the bit is set to 1, it means that the corresponding SSB is transmitted, that is, the SSB is sent. The opposite is also true.

[0079] In one possible implementation, different SSBs may correspond to different transmission directions. That is, the bitmap may also indicate whether an SSB in a particular transmission direction is transmitted. For example, when a bit in the bitmap is set to 0, it indicates that an SSB is not transmitted in the corresponding transmission direction. When a bit in the bitmap is set to 1, it indicates that an SSB is transmitted in the corresponding transmission direction.

[0080] Frequency domain resources include at least one of the frequency position of SSB, subcarrier spacing of SSB, bandwidth, starting resource block (RB), frequency hopping configuration, frequency domain comb configuration, etc.

[0081] The code domain resources include at least one of an SSB sequence, a cyclic shift of an SSB, and the like.

[0082] The power domain resources include at least one of the power, power range, power offset, and power threshold of the SSB. The power of the SSB can be understood as the transmit power of the SSB, and more specifically, the transmit power of the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) in the SSB. The power range can include an interval determined by a maximum power value and a minimum power value, and the power range may include or exclude boundary points, such as a maximum power value and / or a minimum power value.

[0083] 2. Component Carrier (CC)

[0084] The carrier is a continuous frequency range that complies with the system regulations. This frequency range can be determined by the center frequency of the carrier (denoted as the carrier frequency) and the bandwidth of the carrier.

[0085] In order to increase data transmission rate and reduce latency, carrier aggregation (CA) technology has been proposed. Carrier aggregation refers to the aggregation of multiple continuous or non-contiguous carriers into a larger bandwidth. Generally, based on the frequency band in which the aggregated carriers are located, carrier aggregation can be divided into intra-band carrier aggregation (intra-band CA) and inter-band carrier aggregation (inter-band CA). Intra-band carrier aggregation can be divided into intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation and intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation. As shown in 3-1 of Figure 3, aggregating continuous carrier 1 and carrier 2 on frequency band 1 can be called intra-band contiguous carrier aggregation. As shown in 3-2 of Figure 3, aggregating non-contiguous carrier 1 and carrier 2 on frequency band 1 can be called intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation. As shown in 3-3 of Figure 3, aggregating carrier 1 on frequency band 1 and carrier 2 on frequency band 2 can be called inter-band carrier aggregation.

[0086] In Carrier Access Control (CA), a terminal can communicate simultaneously on multiple cells, thereby supporting high-speed data transmission. The multiple cells may include a primary carrier cell (PCell) and at least one secondary carrier cell (SCell). The primary carrier cell may be referred to as the primary cell, and the secondary carrier cell may be referred to as the secondary cell. For ease of description, the following description uses the primary cell and the secondary cell as examples, which should not be considered a limitation of this application.

[0087] The primary cell is the cell where the terminal and network equipment establish an initial connection, or where the terminal reestablishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection, or is the primary cell executed during a handover. The primary cell is responsible for RRC communication with the terminal. Generally, in Carrier Access Control (CA) technology, the primary cell can operate on the primary component carrier (PCC).

[0088] Compared to the primary cell, the secondary cell can provide additional radio resources. Generally, in the Carrier Availability (CA) technology, the secondary cell can operate on a secondary component carrier (PCC).

[0089] Optionally, the primary cell and the secondary cell can be co-site deployed or non-co-site deployed, and reference can be made to 4-1 of Figure 4 and 4-2 of Figure 4 respectively. Among them, co-site deployment can be understood as having two carriers at the same site, such as the same network device, and these two carriers are co-site deployed carriers. These two carriers may belong to the primary cell and the secondary cell respectively. Non-co-site deployment can be understood as being at different sites, for example, the carrier of a network device (called the primary network device) belongs to the primary cell, and the carrier of another network device (called the secondary network device) belongs to the secondary cell, and the two network devices are at different sites.

[0090] 3. Dual Connectivity (DC)

[0091] In order to improve the rate and reliability of data transmission, the terminal can be connected to multiple network devices at the same time. The multiple network devices include a primary network device and at least one secondary network device. For example, in a dual-connection scenario, the terminal can be connected to a primary network device and a secondary network device. The primary network device can also be called a master node (MN), and the secondary network device can also be called a secondary node (SN). This application does not limit their names. For ease of description, the following description uses the primary network device and the secondary network device as an example, which should not be regarded as a limitation of this application.

[0092] In a possible implementation, DC may include Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access and New Radio Dual Connectivity (E-UTRA-new radio dual connectivity, EN-DC), Next Generation Radio Access Network Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access and New Radio Dual Connectivity (NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity, NGEN-DC), New Radio and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Dual Connectivity (NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity, NE-DC), or New Radio and New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-NR dual connectivity, NR-DC), etc. EN-DC, i.e., LTE-NR DC, the primary network device is an LTE base station connected to the 4G core network, and the secondary network device is an NR base station. NGEN-DC, the primary network device is an LTE base station connected to the 5G core network, and the secondary network device is an NR base station. NE-DC, i.e., NR-LTE DC, the primary network device is an NR base station connected to the 5G core network, and the secondary network device is an LTE base station. NR-DC, i.e., NR-NR DC, both the primary network device and the secondary network device are NR base stations connected to the 5G core network. These are just some possible examples, and this application does not limit the standards of the primary network device and the secondary network device. For example, at least one of the primary network device and the secondary network device can be a base station of other future communication systems, such as a 6G base station.

[0093] Optionally, the primary network device and the secondary network device may be co-located, i.e., the primary network device and the secondary network device are the same network device. Alternatively, the primary network device and the secondary network device may be non-co-located, i.e., the primary network device and the secondary network device are different network devices. This application does not limit the deployment method of the primary network device and the secondary network device.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the primary network device may provide one or more cells for the terminal to form a master cell group (MCG). For example, the master cell group includes a primary cell and zero or at least one secondary cell.

[0095] In one possible implementation, the secondary network device may provide one or more cells for the terminal to form a secondary cell group (SCG). For example, the secondary cell group includes a primary secondary cell (PSCell) and zero or at least one secondary cell. The primary secondary cell refers to the cell in which the terminal initiates a random access procedure on the secondary network device, or the cell in which the terminal skips the random access procedure to initiate data transmission during the secondary network device change process, or the cell of the network device that initiates random access during the synchronization reconfiguration process.

[0096] Generally, secondary cells can send SSBs to facilitate terminal synchronization and cell measurement. However, continuously sending SSBs on secondary cells increases energy consumption of network devices. Based on this, the present application provides an embodiment shown in FIG5 to solve this problem.

[0097] The following is a detailed description of the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , a communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0098] 501. A network device sends first information to a terminal, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive an SSB on a first secondary cell. The first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0099] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first information from the network device.

[0100] In a possible implementation, the first information may be carried in a downlink media access control-control element (DL MAC CE), downlink control information (DCI) or an RRC message, etc. Among them, the DCI may be carried in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), that is, it may be described as the first information being carried in the PDCCH. The message carrying the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may be an RRC message, that is, it may be described as the first information being carried in the PDSCH. It should be understood that, in the following text, a certain information being carried in the DCI may be interchangeably described as the information being carried in the PDCCH, and it shall not be regarded as a limitation on the present application. Similarly, in the following text, a certain information being carried in the PDSCH may be interchangeably described as the information being carried in the RRC message, and it shall not be regarded as a limitation on the present application.

[0101] It should be pointed out that in this application, PDCCH and PDSCH are only used as examples of downlink control channels and downlink data channels respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, downlink data channels and downlink control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0102] 502. The terminal receives an SSB on a first secondary cell based on the first information.

[0103] Accordingly, the network device sends the SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0104] The specific implementation of steps 501 to 502 is described below.

[0105] The network device may configure (also understood as add) one or more secondary cells (including the first secondary cell) for the terminal. Therefore, the network device may instruct the terminal to receive SSB on one or more secondary cells (including the first secondary cell). In this case, the first information may be implemented in the following manner:

[0106] 1. The first information is a single message, and different values ​​of the first information, or different values ​​of some bits in the first information, are used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on one or more secondary cells.

[0107] Exemplarily, one bit in the first information may be used to indicate that the terminal receives the SSB on one or more secondary cells. Specifically:

[0108] As an example, a bit state of '1' indicates that the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell. A bit state of '0' indicates that the terminal receives the SSB on the second secondary cell. The reverse is also possible.

[0109] As another example, a bit state of '1' indicates that the terminal receives SSB on the first secondary cell. A bit state of '0' indicates that the terminal does not receive SSB on the first secondary cell. The opposite is also possible.

[0110] 2. The first information is one of multiple first information. Here, it should be understood that the terminal may receive multiple first information, that is, it can also be described as: the terminal receives multiple first information. In this case, it can be understood that: one of the multiple first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive SSB on the first secondary cell, another first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive SSB on the second secondary cell, and so on.

[0111] It should be noted that the above-mentioned method 1 or method 2 uses two secondary cells (such as the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell) as an example to introduce the process of the network device instructing the terminal on which secondary cells to receive the SSB, and should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application. For ease of description, the following description is based on the example of the first information being used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, which should not be regarded as a limitation of the present application.

[0112] In a possible implementation, in order to facilitate the terminal to know on which secondary cells the SSB is received, the first information in the above-mentioned method 1 or method 2 may include identification information of the first secondary cell.

[0113] It should be noted that the identification information of a secondary cell mentioned in this application can be used to identify the secondary cell. Optionally, the identification information of the secondary cell can be a physical cell identifier (PCI) or a cell global identity (CGI). The identification information of the secondary cell can also have other names, such as secondary cell identifier, secondary cell number, secondary cell index, etc., which are not limited in this application.

[0114] In a possible implementation, the network device may further indicate to the terminal at least one of the period, number of transmissions, transmission duration, or transmission direction of the SSB. For example, the first information further includes at least one of the following: the first period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell (or the index of the first period), information on the first number of transmissions of the SSB, information on the first transmission duration of the SSB, and the first transmission direction of the SSB.

[0115] The first period may be indicated by an ssb-periodicityServingCell information element corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information. Optionally, the number of first periods may be one or more. The lengths of the multiple first periods may be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different.

[0116] Among them, the information of a certain number of transmissions of SSB mentioned in this application (such as the first number of transmissions, etc.) can be understood as the number of transmissions of SSB in the corresponding period. For example, the information of the first number of transmissions of SSB can be the number of the above-mentioned first period. For example, the information of the first number of transmissions of SSB indicates that the number of transmissions is 2, indicating that the number of the first period is 2.

[0117] The information of a certain transmission duration of SSB mentioned in this application (such as the first transmission duration, etc.) can be understood as the transmission duration of SSB in the corresponding period. For example, the information of the first transmission duration of SSB can be the transmission duration of SSB in the first period, that is, the duration from the start of sending SSB on the first secondary cell to the stop of sending SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0118] Optionally, a certain transmission duration of the SSB mentioned in this application (such as the first transmission duration, etc.) can be understood as the duration of the transmission timer of the SSB. When the information of the transmission duration (such as the first transmission duration, etc.) can be the transmission duration of the SSB in each cycle (such as the first cycle, etc.), the number of transmission timers can be multiple. For example, the number of the first cycle is three, and the number of transmission timers is three.

[0119] Optionally, the first sending direction includes the sending direction of the SSB corresponding to the bit value 1 in ssb-PositionsInBurst corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information. In one possible implementation, the first sending direction can be determined based on the coverage area where the terminal is located. The coverage area is the area covered by the beam of the network device.

[0120] Several implementations of step 501 are described below, specifically:

[0121] ①. The network device sends first information to the terminal based on the second information from the terminal (the second information is used to request to send SSB on the first secondary cell).

[0122] Exemplarily, upon receiving the second information, the network device sends the first information to the terminal.

[0123] Illustratively, after receiving the second information, the network device sends the first information to the terminal based on the time unit in which the second information is located. For example, the network device sends the first information to the terminal in the time unit, the time unit next to the time unit, or the system frame in which the time unit is located. The time unit mentioned in this application may be a subframe, a time slot, a mini-time slot, a symbol, or other time domain unit, which is not limited here.

[0124] It should be understood that the network device can configure one or more secondary cells (including the first secondary cell) for the terminal, so that the terminal can request to receive SSB on one or more secondary cells (including the first secondary cell). In this case, the second information can be implemented in the following manner:

[0125] A. The second information is a single message, and different values ​​of the second information, or different values ​​of some bits in the second information, are used to request that the SSB be sent on one or more secondary cells.

[0126] Exemplarily, one bit in the second information may be used to request that an SSB be sent on one or more secondary cells. Specifically:

[0127] As an example, if the bit state is '1', it requests to send SSB on the first secondary cell. If the bit state is '0', it requests to send SSB on the second secondary cell. The vice versa is also possible.

[0128] As another example, if the bit state is '1', it requests to send SSB on the first secondary cell. If the bit state is '0', it requests not to send SSB on the first secondary cell. The opposite is also possible.

[0129] B. The second information is one of multiple second information. Here, it should be understood that the terminal may receive multiple second information. This can also be described as: the terminal receives multiple second information. In this case, it can be understood that: one of the multiple second information is used to request the transmission of SSB on the first secondary cell. Another of the multiple second information is used to request the transmission of SSB on the second secondary cell, and so on.

[0130] It should be noted that the above-mentioned method A or method B uses two secondary cells (such as the first secondary cell and the second secondary cell) as an example to introduce how the terminal requests which secondary cells to send SSB on, and should not be regarded as a limitation of this application. For ease of description, the following description uses the second information for requesting the sending of SSB on the first secondary cell as an example, which should not be regarded as a limitation of this application.

[0131] In a possible implementation, the second information in the above-mentioned method A or method B can be carried in a wake-up signal (WUS), uplink control information (UCI), uplink media access control-control element (UL MAC CE) or RRC message, etc. Among them, UCI can be carried in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), that is, it can be described as the second information being carried in the PUCCH. The message carrying the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) can be an RRC message, that is, it can be described as the second information being carried in the PUSCH. It should be understood that, in the following, a certain information being carried in the UCI can be interchangeably described as the information being carried in the PUCCH, and it should not be regarded as a limitation to the present application. Similarly, in the following, a certain information being carried in the PUSCH can be interchangeably described as the information being carried in the RRC message, and it should not be regarded as a limitation to the present application.

[0132] It should be pointed out that in this application, PUCCH and PUSCH are used as examples of uplink control channels and uplink data channels respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, uplink data channels and uplink control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0133] In a possible implementation, in order to facilitate the network device to know on which secondary cells the terminal specifically requests to send SSB, the second information in the above-mentioned method A or method B may include identification information of the first secondary cell.

[0134] In a possible implementation, the terminal may also indicate to the network device at least one of its desired SSB period, transmission direction, number of transmissions, or transmission duration.

[0135] Exemplarily, the second information includes at least one of the following: the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell (or the index of the second period), information on the second number of transmissions of the SSB, information on the second transmission duration of the SSB, and the second transmission direction of the SSB. The second period may be indicated by the ssb-periodicityServingCell information element corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. Optionally, the number of second periods may be one or more. The lengths of multiple second periods may be partially the same, completely the same, or completely different. The second transmission direction includes the transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the bit value of 1 in the ssb-PositionsInBurst corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information.

[0136] Exemplarily, the second information includes a cause value indicating that the terminal requested the transmission of an SSB on the first secondary cell. The cause value is used to determine at least one of the following: a second period (or an index of the second period) of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, information about a second number of transmissions of the SSB, information about a second transmission duration of the SSB, and a second transmission direction of the SSB. Optionally, the cause value indicates one or more of synchronization, layer 1 measurement, layer 3 measurement, activation of the first secondary cell, execution of radio link monitoring, or execution of beam failure monitoring. Different cause values ​​may indicate at least one of different periods, number of transmissions, transmission durations, or transmission directions. For example, the length of the second period determined by synchronization (i.e., the cause value indicates synchronization) differs from the length of the second period determined by layer 1 measurement (i.e., the cause value indicates layer 1 measurement), such as the former being greater than or less than the latter. For example, the information about the second transmission duration determined by synchronization (i.e., the cause value indicates synchronization) differs from the information about the second transmission duration determined by layer 1 measurement (i.e., the cause value indicates layer 1 measurement), such as the former being greater than or less than the latter. The same applies, and is not enumerated here.

[0137] Exemplarily, the second information may be associated with at least one of the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell (or the index of the second period), the information of the second number of transmissions of the SSB, the information of the second transmission duration of the SSB, the second transmission direction of the SSB, etc. For example, the second information is carried in a WUS, and the WUS may be associated with at least one of the second period (or the index of the second period), the information of the second number of transmissions, the information of the second transmission duration, the second transmission direction, etc. That is, after the network device receives the WUS, it can obtain at least one of the second period (or the index of the second period), the information of the second number of transmissions, the information of the second transmission duration, the second transmission direction, etc. through the association. The association may be predefined or preconfigured, or the association may be indicated to the terminal by the network device.

[0138] Optionally, a WUS may be associated with at least one of the period (or the index of the period), the sending direction, the number of sending times, or the sending duration of the SSB corresponding to one or more secondary cells (including the first secondary cell), and this application does not limit this.

[0139] It should be pointed out that the above are only some examples of "the terminal indicating to the network device at least one of the period, number of transmissions, transmission duration or transmission direction of its desired SSB". These examples can also be combined to realize "the terminal indicating to the network device at least one of the period, number of transmissions, transmission duration or transmission direction of its desired SSB". For example, the second information includes the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell (or the index of the second period) and the reason value for the terminal requesting to send the SSB on the first secondary cell, and the reason value is used to determine the information of the second number of transmissions of the SSB, the information of the second transmission duration of the SSB and the second transmission direction of the SSB. They are not listed one by one here.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the network device may further send WUS configuration information to the terminal, including at least one of the time-frequency resources of the WUS and the root sequence index value of the WUS. In this way, the terminal may generate a WUS based on the root sequence index value and send the WUS to the network device on the time-frequency resources of the WUS. For example, when the terminal indicates to the network device at least one of its desired SSB period, number of transmissions, transmission duration, or transmission direction, the terminal may generate a WUS based on the root sequence index value and send the WUS to the network device on the time-frequency resources of the WUS.

[0141] In which, when the terminal indicates to the network device at least one of the expected SSB period, number of transmissions, transmission duration or transmission direction, at least one of the SSB period, number of transmissions, transmission duration or transmission direction, etc. indicated by the network device can meet the terminal's expectations.

[0142] Exemplarily, the first period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information may be associated with the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. For example, the length of the first period is less than or equal to the length of the second period.

[0143] Exemplarily, the information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information may be associated with the information about the second number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. For example, the transmission duration of the SSB in each first period indicated by the information about the first number of transmissions is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the SSB in the corresponding second period indicated by the information about the second number of transmissions. And / or, the total transmission duration of the SSB in multiple first periods indicated by the information about the first number of transmissions is less than or equal to the total transmission duration of the SSB in multiple second periods indicated by the information about the second number of transmissions.

[0144] Exemplarily, the information about the first transmission duration of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information can be associated with the information about the second transmission duration of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. For example, the transmission duration of the SSB in each first period indicated by the information about the first transmission duration is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the SSB in the corresponding second period indicated by the information about the second transmission duration. And / or, the total transmission duration of the SSB in multiple first periods indicated by the information about the first transmission duration is less than or equal to the total transmission duration of the SSB in multiple second periods indicated by the information about the second transmission duration.

[0145] For example, the first transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first information may be associated with the second transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. For example, the first transmission direction and the second transmission direction are the same direction. Alternatively, there is an offset angle between the directional angle of the first transmission direction and the directional angle of the second transmission direction. The offset angle may be greater than or equal to 0 degrees and is not limited here.

[0146] ②. If the network device does not obtain the second information from the terminal, the network device may proactively send the first information to the terminal. For example, the network device may send the first information to the terminal when or after instructing the activation of the first secondary cell. The "network device instructing the activation of the first secondary cell" may be in the following ways, specifically:

[0147] (1) The first information may also be used to indicate activation of the first secondary cell. The following describes the process of the first information being used to indicate activation of the first secondary cell, taking the first information carried in the DL MAC CE as an example. Specifically:

[0148] The frame structure of the DL MAC CE can refer to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a one-byte DL MAC CE, where Ci indicates activation or deactivation of the secondary cell with the secondary cell index (sCellIndex) being i, where i can be, for example, an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 7. For example, Ci is set to 0 to indicate deactivation of the secondary cell with the secondary cell index being i, and Ci is set to 1 to indicate activation of the secondary cell with the secondary cell index being i. The reverse is also possible. That is, assuming that the index of the first secondary cell is 1 (i.e., i is 1), when C1 is set to 1, it indicates activation of the first secondary cell, and when C1 is set to 0, it indicates activation of the first secondary cell. The reverse is also possible.

[0149] Among them, R in Figure 6 is a reserved bit.

[0150] In this method, it can be understood that the configuration sent by the network device to the terminal does not activate the first secondary cell, so the network device can activate the first secondary cell through the first information. In other words, before step 501, the network device sends the first configuration information to the terminal, and the first configuration information is used to indicate that the first secondary cell is in a deactivated state. In this way, the activation of the first secondary cell can be indicated through the first information.

[0151] The first configuration information may be carried in, for example, a DL MAC CE, DCI or RRC message, etc. When the first configuration information in the DL MAC CE indicates that the first secondary cell is in the deactivated state, the frame structure of the DL MAC CE may refer to FIG. 6 and is not described in detail here.

[0152] (2) The network device sends second configuration information to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first secondary cell is in an activated state. Optionally, the process of the network device sending the second configuration information to the terminal can be performed before step 501.

[0153] The second configuration information may be carried in, for example, a DL MAC CE, DCI or RRC message, etc. When the second configuration information in the DL MAC CE indicates that the first secondary cell is activated, the frame structure of the DL MAC CE may refer to FIG. 6 and is not described in detail here.

[0154] In one possible implementation, for the above-mentioned method ①, the process of the network device activating the first secondary cell can refer to the above-mentioned method (1) or method (2), which is not described in detail here. Optionally, the configuration information of the above-mentioned WUS can be carried in the above-mentioned first configuration information or the above-mentioned second configuration information, which is not limited here.

[0155] Optionally, in the above-mentioned method 1 or method 2, the network device may send the first information to the terminal before the first moment arrives. The first moment is the start time of transmitting the SSB on the first secondary cell. Optionally, the network device may determine the first moment based on the data transmission status between the network device and the terminal. For example, if the network device and the terminal transmit high-speed services, the first moment is earlier. Otherwise, the first moment is later.

[0156] After the network device sends the first information to the terminal, the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information.

[0157] Exemplarily, upon receiving the first information, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information.

[0158] Illustratively, after receiving the first information, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information. That is, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the starting time unit of the first period of the SSB in the first information. For example, the terminal receives the SSB from the first secondary cell at the starting time unit, the next time unit after the starting time unit, or the system frame in which the starting time unit is located.

[0159] Furthermore, the terminal may also receive an SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information on the SSB resources of the first secondary cell. The SSB resources of the first secondary cell may be carried in the first configuration information or the second configuration information. The SSB resources here can refer to the above-mentioned related description and are not repeated here.

[0160] The following describes in detail how the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information. Specifically:

[0161] 1. When the first information includes the first period (or the index of the first period) of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB, information about the first transmission duration of the SSB, and the first transmission direction of the SSB, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period, information about the first number of transmissions, information about the first transmission duration, and the first transmission direction. Correspondingly, the network device sends the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period, information about the first number of transmissions, information about the first transmission duration, and the first transmission direction.

[0162] 2. When the first information includes information about a first number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, information about a first transmission duration of the SSB, and a first transmission direction of the SSB, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third periodicity of the SSB, the information about the first number of transmissions, the information about the first transmission duration, and the first transmission direction. Correspondingly, the network device transmits the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third periodicity of the SSB, the information about the first number of transmissions, the information about the first transmission duration, and the first transmission direction.

[0163] The length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB. For example, the length of the third period is greater than the length of the first period.

[0164] In one possible implementation, the third period (or the index of the third period) may be carried in the above-mentioned first configuration information or the above-mentioned second configuration information, which is not limited here. For example, the third period may be indicated by the ssb-periodicityServingCell information element corresponding to the first secondary cell in the first configuration information or the second configuration information. Optionally, for the above-mentioned method ② (i.e., the network device may actively send the first information to the terminal), the third period may be associated with the fourth period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, for example, the length of the third period may be less than or equal to the length of the fourth period. The fourth period or the index of the fourth period may be indicated to the network device by the terminal, for example, the terminal sends auxiliary information to the network device, so that the network device determines the third period based on the auxiliary information. The auxiliary information includes the fourth period or the index of the fourth period. The auxiliary information may be carried in, for example, a UCI, a UL MAC CE or an RRC message, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information or the second configuration information may further indicate whether to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0166] For example, when the first configuration information or the second configuration information indicates that an SSB is to be transmitted on the first secondary cell, the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period. That is, the terminal first receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period. After receiving the first information, if the first information includes the first period of the SSB (or the index of the first period), the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period, for example, refer to 7-1 of Figure 7. If the first information does not include the first period of the SSB (or the index of the first period), the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period, for example, refer to 7-2 of Figure 7.

[0167] For example, if the first configuration information or the second configuration information indicates that the SSB is not to be transmitted on the first secondary cell, the terminal may not receive the SSB on the first secondary cell. Furthermore, after receiving the first information, if the first information includes the first period of the SSB (or the index of the first period), the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period, for example, refer to 7-3 of Figure 7. If the first information does not include the first period of the SSB (or the index of the first period), the terminal may receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period, for example, refer to 7-4 of Figure 7.

[0168] 3. When the first information includes the first period (or the index of the first period) of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell and the first transmission direction of the SSB, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period and the first transmission direction. Correspondingly, the network device sends the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first period and the first transmission direction.

[0169] 4. When the first information includes the first transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period and the first transmission direction. Correspondingly, the network device transmits the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period and the first transmission direction.

[0170] 5. The network device does not indicate the period, number of transmissions, transmission duration, and transmission direction of the SSB to the terminal. That is, the first information does not include the first period (or index of the first period) of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell, information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB, information about the first transmission duration of the SSB, and the first transmission direction of the SSB. In this case, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period. Accordingly, the network device sends the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period.

[0171] It should be pointed out that the above are some examples of "how the terminal receives SSB on the first secondary cell and how the network device sends SSB on the first secondary cell". There are other combinations, and this application does not limit this.

[0172] After the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information, the terminal may perform synchronization based on the SSB, perform L1 measurement, perform L3 measurement, activate the first secondary cell, perform RLM, or perform BFD, etc. It should be understood that if the first secondary cell is activated, the terminal may perform L1 measurement, perform L3 measurement, perform RLM, or perform BFD, etc. based on the SSB. If the first secondary cell is not activated, the terminal may perform synchronization based on the SSB and then activate the first secondary cell.

[0173] Optionally, when or after the terminal completes synchronization based on the SSB, it may further send indication information to the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal has completed synchronization. In this way, when the network device receives the indication information, it may send third information to the terminal based on the indication information (the third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell), so that the terminal stops receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information. Alternatively, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal based on the indication information (the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB), so that the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell according to the third period.

[0174] For example, for 7-3 or 7-4 of Figure 7 above, the network device may send third information to the terminal based on the indication information.For 7-1 or 7-2 of Figure 7 above, the network device may send fourth information to the terminal based on the indication information.

[0175] The indication information may be carried in a UL MAC CE, UCI, or RRC message, etc. The third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell, which may be understood as: the third information is used to indicate that at least one of: SSB-based synchronization is stopped, SSB-based L1 measurement is stopped, SSB-based L3 measurement is stopped, SSB-based RLM is stopped, or SSB-based BFD is stopped, etc. is stopped on the first secondary cell. This application does not limit this.

[0176] Optionally, the third information or the fourth information may be carried in a DL MAC CE, DCI, or RRC message. As an example, the third information or the fourth information may also be used to indicate deactivation of the first secondary cell. When the third information or the fourth information in the DL MAC CE indicates deactivation of the first secondary cell, the frame structure of the DL MAC CE may refer to FIG. 6 and is not further described here.

[0177] Optionally, after performing L1 measurement or L3 measurement based on the SSB, the terminal may obtain a corresponding measurement result. The measurement result may be, for example, one or more of reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0178] In a possible implementation, the terminal may further send the measurement result to the network device, so that the network device sends third information to the terminal based on the measurement result (the third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell), so that the terminal stops receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information. Alternatively, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal based on the measurement result (the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB), so that the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell according to the third period.

[0179] For example, for 7-3 or 7-4 of Figure 7 above, the network device may send third information to the terminal based on the measurement result.For 7-1 or 7-2 of Figure 7 above, the network device may send fourth information to the terminal based on the measurement result.

[0180] In another possible implementation, the network device may not send the third information or the fourth information to the terminal based on the measurement result. For example, the network device may send the third information to the terminal based on the information of the first number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell and / or the information of the first transmission duration of the SSB. For example, the information of the first number of transmissions of the SSB is the number of transmissions of the SSB within the first cycle of the SSB, and the information of the first transmission duration of the SSB is the transmission duration of the SSB within the first cycle of the SSB. When the number of transmissions is reached and / or when the transmission duration is reached, the network device sends the third information to the terminal. Alternatively, the network device may send the fourth information to the terminal based on the information of the first number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell and / or the information of the first transmission duration of the SSB. For example, the information of the first number of transmissions of the SSB is the number of transmissions of the SSB within the first cycle of the SSB, and the information of the first transmission duration of the SSB is the transmission duration of the SSB within the first cycle of the SSB. When the number of transmissions is reached and / or when the transmission duration is reached, the network device sends the fourth information to the terminal. It should be understood that in this case, the network device may not indicate the number of transmissions and / or the transmission duration to the terminal, that is, the first information may not include information on the first number of transmissions of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell and / or information on the first transmission duration of the SSB.

[0181] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to CA technology or DC technology, specifically:

[0182] In the first case, when the primary cell and the secondary cell are deployed at the same site in CA technology, or when the primary network device and the secondary network device are deployed at the same site in DC technology, there is no need to distinguish between the primary network device and the secondary network device. This is equivalent to the network-side actions in this solution being performed by one site, that is, by one network device.

[0183] In the second case, when the primary cell and the secondary cell are not co-located in the CA technology, or when the primary network device and the secondary network device are not co-located in the DC technology, the network-side actions in this solution are performed by two sites, such as the primary network device and the secondary network device. The technical solution of this application is illustrated below using the primary network device and the secondary network device as an example, which may specifically include steps S1 to S3, wherein:

[0184] Step S1: The primary network device sends first information to the terminal, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive SSB on a first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0185] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first information from the master network device.

[0186] Wherein, step S1 is similar to step 501 in FIG. 5 , that is, the network device in step 501 in FIG. 5 can be used as the main network device.

[0187] Step S2: The primary network device sends fifth information to the secondary network device, where the fifth information is used to instruct the secondary network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0188] Accordingly, the secondary network device receives the fifth information from the primary network device. In a possible implementation, the secondary network device may also reply to the primary network device with a confirmation message indicating that the fifth information has been successfully received.

[0189] Optionally, the primary network device may further indicate to the secondary network device at least one of the period, number of transmissions, transmission duration, or transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell. That is, the fifth information also includes at least one of the following: the first period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell (or the index of the first period), information on the first number of transmissions of the SSB, information on the first transmission duration of the SSB, and the first transmission direction of the SSB. The fifth information may be carried in an Xn message or other message, for example, and is not limited here.

[0190] In a possible implementation, step S1 may be performed before or after step S2, or performed simultaneously, which is not limited here.

[0191] Step S3: The secondary network device sends the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the fifth information.

[0192] Accordingly, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the first information.

[0193] It should be pointed out that the actions performed by the main network device in steps S1 to S3 can refer to the process of "the network device sends SSB on the first secondary cell" in the embodiment of Figure 5. The actions performed by the secondary network device in steps S1 to S3 can refer to the process of "the network device sends SSB on the first secondary cell" in the embodiment of Figure 5. The specific content will not be repeated here.

[0194] In addition, the processing performed by a single execution entity (terminal device or network device (primary network device or secondary network device, etc.)) shown in the embodiments of the present application can also be divided into multiple execution entities, and these execution entities can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device (primary network device or secondary network device, etc.) can be divided into at least one of the CU, DU, RU and RIC (such as near real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC).

[0195] In combination with the first case above, the following is explained by taking the case where the processing performed by the network device is divided into at least one of CU, DU, RU and RIC (such as near real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC) as an example.

[0196] For example, in step 501, the network device sending the first information to the terminal can be understood as: the CU or DU in the network device sending the first information to the terminal.

[0197] As an example, the CU may obtain the second information and determine the first information based on the second information so that the CU can send the first information to the terminal. For example, taking the period of the SSB as an example, the CU may determine the first period of the SSB based on the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information (or the index of the second period). In this case, the first information may be carried in the RRC message.

[0198] The CU obtaining the second information may include: the CU receiving the second information from the terminal, for example, the CU receiving an RRC message from the terminal, the RRC message including the second information. Alternatively, the CU receiving the second information from the terminal via a DU. For example, the CU obtaining the second information from the DU, the DU receiving a UL MAC CE or UCI from the terminal, the UL MAC CE or UCI including the second information.

[0199] As another example, the DU may obtain the second information and determine the first information based on the second information so that the DU can send the first information to the terminal. For example, taking the period of the SSB as an example, the DU may determine the first period of the SSB based on the second period of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information (or the index of the second period). In this case, the first information may be carried in the DL MAC CE or DCI.

[0200] The DU obtaining the second information may include: the DU receiving the second information from the terminal, for example, the DU receiving a UL MAC CE or UCI from the terminal, the UL MAC CE or UCI including the second information. Alternatively, the DU receiving the second information from the terminal via the CU. For example, the DU obtaining the second information from the CU, the CU receiving an RRC message from the terminal, the RRC message including the second information.

[0201] Optionally, other contents in the first information can refer to the “determination process of the first period of SSB” in the above example and will not be elaborated here. Among them, when the first transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the above first information is associated with the coverage area where the terminal is located, it can be understood that: the RIC in the network device determines the third transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell based on the coverage area where the terminal is located, and indicates the third transmission direction to the CU. When the CU determines the first transmission direction, the CU can determine the first transmission direction based on the second transmission direction and the third transmission direction of the SSB corresponding to the first secondary cell in the second information. When the DU determines the first transmission direction, the CU can indicate the third transmission direction to the DU, so that the DU can determine the first transmission direction based on the second transmission direction and the third transmission direction. Optionally, the CU can also reply to the RIC with a confirmation message that the third transmission direction has been successfully received.

[0202] It should be noted that the above are only some examples of "determining various contents in the first information." In some possible embodiments, some contents in the first information may be determined by the CU, and other contents may be determined by the DU. This application does not limit which unit determines the specific contents in the first information.

[0203] Optionally, the DU may also obtain information from the CU requesting activation of the first secondary cell. For example, if the first information indicates activation of the first secondary cell or the second configuration information indicates that the first secondary cell is in an activated state, the DU may obtain information from the CU requesting activation of the first secondary cell. Optionally, the DU may also obtain at least one of the following items in the second configuration information: the SSB resource of the first secondary cell, the third SSB period, etc. In this way, the DU can send the second configuration information to the terminal.

[0204] For example, the network device determining the first moment based on the data transmission status between the network device and the terminal can be understood as: the RIC in the network device determining the first moment based on the data transmission status between the network device and the terminal. Optionally, the RIC may also indicate the first moment to the CU in the network device, so that the CU can send the first information to the terminal before the first moment arrives. In one possible implementation, the CU may also reply to the RIC with a confirmation message confirming that it has successfully received the first moment.

[0205] Optionally, the RIC may indicate the first moment and the third sending direction to the CU at the same time. In this case, the CU may reply to the RIC with a confirmation message indicating that the first moment and the third sending direction have been successfully received.

[0206] In combination with the second case above, the processing performed by the primary network device and the secondary network device is divided into at least one of CU, DU, RU and RIC (such as near real-time RIC or non-real-time RIC) for example.

[0207] For example, the primary network device sending the fifth information to the secondary network device can be understood as: the CU in the primary network device sending the fifth information to the CU in the secondary network device.

[0208] It should be pointed out that the message names between the network elements or the names of the parameters in the message in the above embodiment are only examples. Other names may be used in specific implementations, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0209] In addition, the various embodiments of the present application are merely illustrated by taking all the steps included therein as examples, and should not be considered as specific limitations of the present application. In other words, the steps included in the embodiment of the present application (as shown in FIG5 ) may be partially or fully executed if there is no logical conflict.

[0210] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the above-mentioned devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0211] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal or network device (primary network device or auxiliary network device, etc.) can be divided into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0212] Refer to Figure 8, which is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 can be applied to the method shown in the embodiment shown in Figure 5 above. As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes: a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802. The processing module 801 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 802 can be a transceiver or a communication interface. The communication device can be used to implement the terminal or network device (primary network device or auxiliary network device, etc.) involved in any of the above method embodiments, or to implement the functions of the network element involved in any of the above method embodiments. The network element or network function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication device 800 can also include a storage module 803 for storing program code and data of the communication device 800.

[0213] In one embodiment, when the communication device functions as a terminal or a chip used in a terminal, the communication device executes the steps performed by the terminal in the above-described method embodiment. The transceiver module 802 is configured to specifically execute the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the terminal in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , for example, to support the terminal in executing other processes of the technology described herein. The processing module 801 may be configured to support the communication device 800 in executing the processing actions in the above-described method embodiment, for example, to support the terminal in executing other processes of the technology described herein.

[0214] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 802 is configured to: receive first information from a network device; and receive an SSB on a first secondary cell based on the first information. The first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to send second information to the network device, where the second information is used to request the transmission of an SSB on the first secondary cell. The second information includes information about a second number of SSB transmissions or a second transmission duration; or the second information includes a reason value for the terminal requesting the transmission of an SSB on the first secondary cell, where the reason value is used to determine information about the second number of SSB transmissions or the second transmission duration.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to: receive third information from the network device; and stop receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not to be broadcast on the first secondary cell.

[0217] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to: receive fourth information from the network device; and receive the SSB on the first secondary cell according to the third period. The fourth information is configured to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of the SSB, where the length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB.

[0218] In one embodiment, when the communication device serves as a network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) or is a chip used in a network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.), and executes the steps performed by the network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 802 is used to specifically execute the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, for example, to support the network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) to execute other processes of the technology described herein. The processing module 801 can be used to support the communication device 800 to execute the processing actions in the above method embodiment, for example, to support the network device (a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) to execute other processes of the technology described herein.

[0219] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 802 is configured to: send first information to the terminal; and send an SSB on a first secondary cell. The first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive a synchronization signal block (SSB) on the first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0220] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to receive second information from the terminal, where the second information is used to request the transmission of an SSB on the first secondary cell. The second information includes information about a second number of SSB transmissions or a second transmission duration; or the second information includes a reason value for the terminal requesting the transmission of an SSB on the first secondary cell, where the reason value is used to determine information about the second number of SSB transmissions or the second transmission duration.

[0221] In a possible implementation, when sending the first information to the terminal, the transceiver module 802 is configured to send the first information to the terminal before a first moment arrives, where the first moment is a start moment of sending the SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0222] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to send third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate that the SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell.

[0223] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 802 is further used to send fourth information to the terminal, where the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third period of SSB, and the length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of SSB.

[0224] In one possible embodiment, when the terminal or network device (primary network device or auxiliary network device, etc.) is a chip, the transceiver module 802 can be a communication interface, a pin, or a circuit. The communication interface can be used to input data to be processed to the processor and output the processing results of the processor. In a specific implementation, the communication interface can be a general purpose input and output (GPIO) interface that can be connected to multiple peripheral devices (such as a display (LCD), a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna, etc.). The communication interface is connected to the processor via a bus.

[0225] The processing module 801 can be a processor that can execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage module to cause the chip to perform the method involved in the embodiment shown in Figure 5. Furthermore, the processor can include a controller, an arithmetic unit, and registers. For example, the controller is primarily responsible for decoding instructions and issuing control signals for operations corresponding to the instructions. The arithmetic unit is primarily responsible for performing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operations, shift operations, and logical operations, and can also perform address operations and conversions. The registers are primarily responsible for storing register operands and intermediate operation results temporarily stored during instruction execution. In a specific implementation, the processor's hardware architecture can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced reduced instruction set machine (ARM) architecture, or a network processor (NP) architecture, etc. The processor can be single-core or multi-core. The storage module can be a storage module within the chip, such as a register or cache. The storage module may also be a storage module located outside the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0226] It should be noted that the functions corresponding to the processor and the interface can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and there is no limitation here.

[0227] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the communication device 910 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to implement this solution. The communication device 910 can be the above-mentioned terminal or network device (primary network device or auxiliary network device, etc.), or it can be a component (such as a chip) in these devices to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The communication device 910 includes one or more processors 911. The processor 911 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a terminal, a network device (primary network device or auxiliary network device, etc.), or a chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of software programs.

[0228] Optionally, in one design, the processor 911 may include a program 913 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on the processor 911 so that the communication device 910 performs the method described in the above embodiment. In another possible design, the communication device 910 includes a circuit (not shown in FIG9 ), which is used to implement the functions of the terminal, network device, etc. in the above embodiment. Optionally, the communication device 910 may include one or more memories 912 on which a program 914 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions) is stored, which may be executed on the processor 911 so that the communication device 910 performs the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0229] Optionally, data may also be stored in the processor 911 and / or the memory 912. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0230] Optionally, the communication device 910 may further include a transceiver 915 and / or an antenna 916. The processor 911 may also be referred to as a processing unit, and controls the communication device (e.g., a terminal or a network device (primary network device or secondary network device, etc.)). The transceiver 915 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, and is configured to implement the transceiver function of the communication device via the antenna 916.

[0231] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method described in any one of the embodiments shown in Figure 5.

[0232] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes any one of the methods described in the embodiments shown in FIG5 .

[0233] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the methods described in the embodiments shown in FIG5 .

[0234] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes at least one processor and an interface. The processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory. When the instructions are executed, the chip executes any one of the methods described in the embodiments shown in Figure 5.

[0235] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the network element units in the various embodiments 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. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software network element units.

[0236] If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software network element unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, terminal, cloud server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned methods in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first information from a network device, where the first information is used to instruct a terminal to receive a synchronization signal block (SSB) on a first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal; An SSB is received on the first secondary cell based on the first information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information includes information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information to the network device, where the second information is used to request sending an SSB on the first secondary cell; The second information includes information about the second number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the second transmission duration; or The second information includes a reason value for the terminal to request sending the SSB on the first secondary cell, and the reason value is used to determine information about the second number of transmissions or information about the second transmission duration.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second information further includes a second period of the SSB or an index of the second period; or, The second information is associated with the second period or an index of the second period; or, The cause value is also used to determine the second period.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The cause value indicates one or more of synchronization, layer 1 measurement, layer 3 measurement, activation of the first secondary cell, execution of radio link monitoring, or execution of beam failure monitoring.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first information also includes a first period of the SSB, and the first period is associated with a second period of the SSB.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third information from the network device, where the third information is used to indicate that an SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell; Stop receiving the SSB on the first secondary cell based on the third information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on a third period of the SSB, where a length of the third period is different from a length of the first period of the SSB; The SSB is received on the first secondary cell according to the third period.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information to the terminal, where the first information is used to instruct the terminal to receive a synchronization signal block (SSB) on a first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal; Send the SSB on the first secondary cell.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first information includes information about the first number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the first transmission duration.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second information from the terminal, where the second information is used to request sending an SSB on the first secondary cell; The second information includes information about the second number of transmissions of the SSB or information about the second transmission duration; or The second information includes a reason value for the terminal to request sending the SSB on the first secondary cell, and the reason value is used to determine information about the second number of transmissions or information about the second transmission duration.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The second information further includes a second period of the SSB or an index of the second period; or, The second information is associated with the second period or an index of the second period; or, The cause value is also used to determine the second period.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The cause value indicates one or more of synchronization, layer 1 measurement, layer 3 measurement, activation of the first secondary cell, execution of radio link monitoring, or execution of beam failure monitoring.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that The first information also includes a first period of the SSB, and the first period is associated with a second period of the SSB.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that The sending the first information to the terminal includes: Sending the first information to the terminal before a first moment arrives; The first moment is the start moment of sending SSB on the first secondary cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate that SSB is not broadcast on the first secondary cell.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is sent to the terminal, where the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell based on a third period of the SSB, where the length of the third period is different from the length of the first period of the SSB.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or a unit or module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the at least one processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed, enable the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

21. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a terminal and a network device; The terminal is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; The network device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

22. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises: a computer program code, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or enables the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

23. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes at least one processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory. When the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

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