Multi-carrier communication method, and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a multi-carrier communication method, and a communication apparatus. In the communication method provided in the present application, a network device configures an aggregated cell for a terminal device, wherein the aggregated cell comprises a plurality of carriers, and the plurality of carriers share synchronization measurement information. On the basis of service requirements, the network device can indicate, by means of physical layer signaling, that switching transmission is performed on a frequency domain resource in the aggregated cell, and thus a cell activation process is omitted, thereby improving load balancing efficiency and reducing energy consumption of the network device.

Description

Multi-carrier communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411103691.8 filed on August 9, 2024, and entitled "Multi-carrier communication method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, in particular to a multi-carrier communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] Carrier aggregation (CA) can aggregate two or more carrier units together to support a larger transmission bandwidth. In order to meet real-time network load and service demand, it is necessary to adjust the load distribution between different carrier units. In the CA scenario, the carrier unit included in the primary cell is called the primary carrier, and the carrier unit included in the secondary cell is called the secondary carrier. When there is service transmission, the secondary cell can be activated to utilize the secondary carrier to provide additional wireless resources, achieving the effect of load balancing. However, the current load balancing efficiency is low. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a multi-carrier communication method and a communication apparatus to improve the efficiency of load balancing and reduce the communication energy consumption of network devices.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a multi-carrier communication method applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal device or a communication module in a terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in a terminal device. Taking the case of applying the method to a terminal device, the method includes: receiving system information, the system information being used to configure a fusion cell and a first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, the fusion cell including multiple carriers, the multiple carriers sharing synchronization measurement information, and the first frequency domain resource being used for initial access of the terminal device; performing data transmission on the first frequency domain resource; and receiving first physical layer signaling, the first physical layer signaling being used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a second frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, the second frequency domain resource being different from the first frequency domain resource.

[0006] Considering that the multiple carriers in the fusion cell share synchronization measurement information, after receiving the first physical layer signaling, the terminal device can quickly switch from the first frequency domain resource to the second frequency domain resource and perform data transmission through the second frequency domain resource, avoiding the latency problem caused by activating the secondary cell, thereby improving the efficiency of load balancing.

[0007] In some implementations, the first frequency domain resource includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in a first carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in a second carrier in the fusion cell.

[0008] In some implementations, the second frequency domain resource is cross-carrier frequency domain resource including part or all of frequency domain resources in the third carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of frequency domain resources in the fourth carrier in the fusion cell.

[0009] The first frequency domain resource and / or the second frequency domain resource are cross-carrier frequency domain resources, and when switching data transmission on the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource, the efficiency of the switching can be improved.

[0010] In some implementations, the second frequency domain resource includes frequency domain resources for carrying first synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs), and the first SSBs are used for synchronization measurement on the fusion cell.

[0011] The second frequency domain resource is a target frequency domain resource for service requirement switching, and the target frequency domain resource includes frequency domain resources for carrying first SSBs for synchronization measurement on the fusion cell, so that the terminal device can perform synchronization measurement on the second frequency domain resource and maintain synchronization with the network device to maintain the accuracy and reliability of communication.

[0012] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a first period, and the first period is an interval length of adjacent two times of switching of the terminal device to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement. Wherein, the method further includes: when the second frequency domain resource does not include frequency domain resources for carrying the first SSBs, switching to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement according to the first period.

[0013] The terminal device periodically switches to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement according to the first period configured by the system information, so as to maintain synchronization with the network device.

[0014] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a window length of the terminal device searching for SSBs on the first frequency domain resource, and the window length is not less than a period of the first SSBs.

[0015] In some implementations, the method further includes: sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device; receiving a second SSB on a target carrier and performing synchronization measurement based on the second SSB.

[0016] The indication information is trigger information of the second SSB, and after the terminal device sends the indication information, the network device sends the second SSB according to the indication information, so that the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on the second SSB on the target carrier, thereby re-establishing synchronization with the network device.

[0017] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a second periodicity, the second periodicity being a periodicity of the second SSB.

[0018] In some implementations, the indication information is further used to indicate the target carrier.

[0019] In some implementations, any two carriers of the plurality of carriers satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequency points is not greater than a first threshold, a time delay difference of signals received by the terminal device on the any two carriers is not greater than a second threshold, or a power difference of signals received by the terminal device on the any two carriers is not greater than a third threshold.

[0020] In a case where a preset condition is met, the plurality of carriers included in the fusion cell are beneficial to sharing the synchronization measurement information.

[0021] In some implementations, the method further includes: sending capability information, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports configuring the fusion cell.

[0022] In some implementations, the capability information is further used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination of the at least one frequency band combination supporting being configured as one fusion cell.

[0023] The terminal device reports the capability information to the network device, and the network device can configure a fusion cell for the terminal device according to the capability information, the fusion cell having a frequency domain resource more suitable for the capability of the terminal device.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application provides a multi-carrier communication method, applied to a network side, for example, a network device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.) in the network device, or can also be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. Taking the case where the method is applied to the network device, the method includes: sending system information, the system information being used to configure a fusion cell and a first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, the fusion cell including a plurality of carriers, the plurality of carriers sharing synchronization measurement information, and the first frequency domain resource being used for initial access of a terminal device; performing data transmission on the first frequency domain resource; and sending first physical layer signaling, the first physical layer signaling being used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a second frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, the second frequency domain resource being different from the first frequency domain resource.

[0025] In some implementations, the first frequency domain resource includes part or all of frequency domain resources in a first carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of frequency domain resources in a second carrier in the fusion cell.

[0026] In some implementations, the second frequency domain resource is a cross-carrier frequency domain resource including part or all of frequency domain resources in a third carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of frequency domain resources in a fourth carrier in the fusion cell.

[0027] In some implementations, the second frequency domain resource includes a frequency domain resource used to carry a first SSB, and the first SSB is used for synchronization measurement on the fusion cell.

[0028] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a first period, and the first period is an interval length of adjacent two times of switching of the terminal device to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement.

[0029] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a window length of searching for an SSB by the terminal device on the first frequency domain resource, and the window length is not less than a period of the first SSB.

[0030] In some implementations, the method further includes: receiving indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device; and periodically transmitting a second SSB on a target carrier based on the indication information.

[0031] The indication information is trigger information of the second SSB, and the network device transmits the second SSB according to the indication information, so that the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on the second SSB on the target carrier, and thereby re-establishes synchronization with the network device.

[0032] In some implementations, the system information is further used to configure a second period, and the second period is a period of the second SSB.

[0033] In some implementations, the indication information is further used to indicate the target carrier.

[0034] In some implementations, any two carriers in the plurality of carriers satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequency points is not greater than a first threshold value, a time delay difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two carriers is not greater than a second threshold value, or a power difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two carriers is not greater than a third threshold value.

[0035] In some implementations, the method further includes: receiving capability information, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports configuring a fusion cell.

[0036] In some implementations, the capability information is further used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, and frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination in the at least one frequency band combination support being configured as one fusion cell.

[0037] The network device receives the capability information reported by the terminal device, and the network device can configure a fusion cell with a frequency domain resource that is more suitable for the terminal device according to the capability information.

[0038] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a terminal side, for example, a terminal device or a communication module in the terminal device, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions in the terminal device. Taking the method applied to the terminal device as an example, the method comprises: establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection on a first cell; receiving configuration information, the configuration information being used to configure a cell set and a third frequency domain resource in the cell set, the cell set comprising a plurality of cells including the first cell, the plurality of cells sharing synchronization measurement information, the third frequency domain resource comprising part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in a second cell in the cell set; performing data transmission on the third frequency domain resource; and receiving second physical layer signaling, the second physical layer signaling being used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a fourth frequency domain resource in the cell set, the fourth frequency domain resource being different from the third frequency domain resource.

[0039] Considering that the plurality of cells in the cell set share the synchronization measurement information, after receiving the second physical layer signaling, the terminal device can quickly switch from the third frequency domain resource to the fourth frequency domain resource to perform data transmission through the fourth frequency domain resource, thereby avoiding the latency problem caused by activating the secondary cell and improving the efficiency of load balancing.

[0040] In some implementations, the fourth frequency domain resource comprises a frequency domain resource used to carry a first SSB, the first SSB being used to perform synchronization measurement on the first cell.

[0041] The fourth frequency domain resource is a target frequency domain resource for load balancing switching, and the target frequency domain resource comprises a frequency domain resource used to carry a first SSB for performing synchronization measurement on the cell set. The terminal device can perform synchronization measurement on the fourth frequency domain resource and maintain synchronization with the network device to maintain the accuracy and reliability of communication.

[0042] In some implementations, the configuration information is also used to configure a first period, the first period being an interval length of adjacent two times of switching of the terminal device to the third frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement. The method further comprises: when the fourth frequency domain resource does not comprise the frequency domain resource carrying the first SSB, switching to the third frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement according to the first period.

[0043] The terminal device periodically switches to the third frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement according to the first period configured by the configuration information, so as to maintain synchronization with the network device.

[0044] In some implementations, the configuration information is further used to configure a window duration for the terminal device to search for the SSB on the third frequency domain resource, and the window duration is not less than the period of the first SSB.

[0045] In some implementations, the method further includes: sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device; and receiving a second SSB on the target cell and performing synchronization measurement based on the second SSB.

[0046] The indication information is trigger information of the second SSB, and after the terminal device sends the indication information, the network device sends the second SSB according to the indication information, so that the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on the second SSB on the target cell, and reestablishes synchronization with the network device.

[0047] In some implementations, the configuration information is further used to configure a second period, and the second period is a period of the second SSB.

[0048] In some implementations, the indication information is further used to indicate the target cell.

[0049] In some implementations, any two cells in the plurality of cells satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequencies of any two carriers included in the any two cells is not greater than a first threshold, a time delay difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a second threshold, or a power difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a third threshold.

[0050] In a case where a preset condition is met, the plurality of cells included in the cell set facilitate sharing of the synchronization measurement information.

[0051] In some implementations, the method further includes: sending capability information, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports configuring the cell set.

[0052] In some implementations, the capability information is further used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, and frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination in the at least one frequency band combination support being configured as a cell set.

[0053] The terminal device reports the capability information to the network device, and the network device can configure a cell set for the terminal device with a frequency domain resource that is more suitable for the capability of the terminal device.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a network side, for example, a network device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.) in the network device, or can also be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the network device functions, taking the case of the method being applied to the network device, the method includes:

[0055] The method comprises the following steps: determining that a terminal device establishes an RRC connection on a first cell; sending configuration information, the configuration information being used for configuring a cell set and third frequency domain resources in the cell set, the cell set comprising a plurality of cells including the first cell, the plurality of cells sharing synchronization measurement information, the third frequency domain resources comprising part or all of frequency domain resources in the first cell and part or all of frequency domain resources in a second cell in the cell set; performing data transmission on the third frequency domain resources; and sending second physical layer signaling, the second physical layer signaling being used for instructing the terminal device to perform data transmission through fourth frequency domain resources in the cell set, the fourth frequency domain resources being different from the third frequency domain resources.

[0056] In some implementations, the fourth frequency domain resources comprise frequency domain resources used for carrying a first SSB, the first SSB being used for synchronization measurement on the first cell.

[0057] In some implementations, the configuration information is further used for configuring a first period, the first period being an interval length of adjacent two times of switching of the terminal device to the third frequency domain resources for synchronization measurement.

[0058] In some implementations, the configuration information is further used for configuring a window length of searching for an SSB by the terminal device on the third frequency domain resources, the window length being not less than a period of the first SSB.

[0059] In some implementations, the method further comprises: receiving indication information, the indication information being used for indicating that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and a network device; and periodically sending a second SSB on a target cell based on the indication information.

[0060] In some implementations, the configuration information is further used for configuring a second period, the second period being a period of the second SSB.

[0061] In some implementations, the indication information is further used for indicating the target cell.

[0062] In some implementations, any two cells in the plurality of cells satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequencies of any two carriers included in the any two cells is not greater than a first threshold value, a time delay difference of signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a second threshold value, or a power difference of signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a third threshold value.

[0063] In some implementations, the method further comprises: receiving capability information, the capability information being used for indicating that the terminal device supports configuring a cell set.

[0064] In some implementations, the capability information is further used for indicating at least one frequency band combination, frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination in the at least one frequency band combination supporting being configured as one cell set.

[0065] The network device receives the capability information reported by the terminal device, and the network device can configure a cell set with a frequency domain resource more suitable for the terminal device capability for the terminal device according to the capability information.

[0066] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a module or unit for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a module for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, or a module for implementing the method in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect, or a module for implementing the method in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. Each module or unit can realize the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0067] Illustratively, the communication apparatus in the fifth aspect is a terminal device, or a component, such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc., configured in the terminal device, or the communication apparatus in the fifth aspect is a network device, or a component, such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc., configured in the network device.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor, the processor being configured to execute the communication method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the communication method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, or the communication method in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect, or the communication method in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0069] Optionally, the communication apparatus includes a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor, when executing the instructions stored in the memory, can implement the method described in each aspect.

[0070] Optionally, the communication apparatus includes a communication interface for the apparatus to communicate with other communication apparatuses. Illustratively, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0071] Illustratively, the communication apparatus provided in the sixth aspect is a chip or a chip system, and can also correspond to a terminal device or a network device.

[0072] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which includes a computer program, when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method in the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in the first and fourth aspects and any possible implementation manner of the first and fourth aspects.

[0074] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which comprises the terminal device in the foregoing and the network device, the terminal device is configured to implement the method in the first or third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first or third aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the method in the second or fourth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second or fourth aspect.

[0075] The fifth aspect to the ninth aspect of the present application correspond to the technical solution of the first aspect of the present application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding possible implementation manner are similar, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0076] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0077] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

[0078] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device establishing a communication connection with multiple cells in a carrier aggregation scenario;

[0079] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a process in which a network device performs secondary cell activation;

[0080] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a process of a multi-carrier communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of switching from a first frequency domain resource to a second frequency domain resource for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a process of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of switching from a third frequency domain resource to a fourth frequency domain resource for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0086] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting architecture of a system. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1, collectively referred to as 120). Other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1), etc., can also be included in the RAN 100. The terminal devices 120 are connected to the RAN nodes 110 in a wireless manner. The RAN nodes 110 are connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network and the logical functions of the radio access network.

[0087] The RAN 100 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolved system (e.g., a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (CRAN). The RAN 100 can also be a communication system that combines two or more of the above systems.

[0088] The RAN nodes 110, which can also be referred to as access network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes, etc., are part of the communication system and help terminal devices to access wirelessly. The RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 1000 can be the same type of nodes or different types of nodes. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN nodes 110 and the terminal devices 120 are relative, e.g., the network element 120i in FIG. 1 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For a terminal device 120j that accesses the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal device. The RAN nodes 110 and the terminal devices 120 are sometimes collectively referred to as communication apparatuses, e.g., the network elements 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 can be understood as communication apparatuses with base station functions, and the network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication apparatuses with terminal functions.

[0089] In one possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), or a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0090] In another possible scenario, a terminal is assisted by multiple RAN nodes to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU control plane (CU-CP), a CU user plane (CU-UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0091] The CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an open-CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open-DU (O-DU), the CU-CP can also be referred to as an open-CU-CP (O-CU-CP), the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open-CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and the RU can also be referred to as an open-RU (O-RU). For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0092] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, mechanical arm, smart home device, etc.

[0093] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water surface; can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and artificial satellites. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0094] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 1 can be configured as a mobile base station, and for the terminal 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through the 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the 120i is a terminal, that is, the 110a and the 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the 110a and the 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, and in this case, the 120i is also a base station relative to the 110a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal can be collectively referred to as a communication device, and the 110a and the 110b in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication device with a base station function, and the 120a-120j in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication device with a terminal function.

[0095] The base station and the terminal, the base station and the base station, and the terminal and the terminal can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, can communicate through an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or can communicate through both the licensed frequency spectrum and the unlicensed frequency spectrum; can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can communicate through a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or can communicate through both the frequency spectrum below 6 GHz and the frequency spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or can be performed by a control subsystem including a base station function. The control subsystem including a base station function herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or can be performed by a device including a terminal function.

[0097] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the technologies and terms involved in the present application are briefly described below.

[0098] I. Cell and carrier

[0099] A cell is a coverage area of a wireless signal identified by a base station identity code (BSIC) or a cell global identification (CGI). From the perspective of resource management, a cell is a unit for managing wireless communication resources. A cell can be understood as a logical concept, which is a piece of area provided with wireless coverage by a base station.

[0100] A carrier is a radio signal (or understood as an electromagnetic wave) with a specific frequency, bandwidth and standard transmitted by a base station master device. The carrier can also be referred to as a carrier frequency, which is the main body used to carry information. The carrier used for uplink communication can be referred to as an uplink carrier, and the carrier used for downlink communication can be referred to as a downlink carrier. Generally, one cell can include one or more downlink carriers.

[0101] II. Carrier aggregation

[0102] In the CA scenario, the terminal device can establish a communication connection with multiple cells, which provide communication services for the terminal device as service cells of the terminal device. The carrier frequencies of the multiple cells are different, and the carrier frequency bands do not overlap, which increases the communication bandwidth of the network device and the terminal device, and can improve the data transmission rate.

[0103] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device establishing a communication connection with multiple cells in a carrier aggregation scenario. As shown in FIG. 2, when the CA technology is applied, the terminal device can establish a communication connection with three cells. Among them, cell 1 is a primary cell (PCell), and the terminal device and the PCell communicate through a primary carrier component (PCC). The PCell and the terminal device establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection, and the PCell is a cell established when the terminal device performs initial connection, or a cell for which RRC connection is reestablished, or a PCell specified in a handover process.

[0104] The network can configure a secondary cell (SCell) for the terminal device according to the transmission requirement of the terminal device, so as to provide more uplink transmission resources and / or downlink transmission resources for the terminal device. Cell 2 and cell 3 are two different SCells, which are used to provide additional radio resources. The SCell is added / modified / released through an RRC connection reconfiguration message after an initial security activation process. Among them, the terminal device and cell 2 communicate through a secondary carrier component (SCC) 1, and the terminal device and cell 3 communicate through an SCC 2.

[0105] In practical applications, after the bandwidth is expanded by the CA technology, it can be necessary to dynamically adjust the resource allocation between different carriers according to the network load condition to achieve load balancing. It should be noted that the SCell has two states of activation and deactivation, and the SCell configured by the network through RRC signaling is in the default state of deactivation. The SCell in the deactivation state does not perform any uplink and downlink signal monitoring and transmission, that is, the SCC corresponding to the SCell in the deactivation state no longer provides transmission resources. Therefore, when adjusting the load distribution between the PCC and the SCC, the SCell corresponding to the SCC needs to be activated first.

[0106] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a network device performing activation of a secondary cell. As shown in step S301 in FIG. 3, the network device first sends a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling to a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the MAC CE signaling from the network device. The network device instructs the terminal device to start activating the SCell through the MAC CE signaling.

[0107] In step S302, the network device periodically sends an SSB or a tracking reference signal (TRS) on the SCell to be activated to perform a downlink synchronization process. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the SSB / TRS on the SCell to be activated.

[0108] In step S303, the network device sends a channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS) to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS from the network device. The network device performs downlink channel status information measurement on the SCell to be activated through the CSI-RS signal.

[0109] In step S304, the terminal device sends a channel status information (CSI) report to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives the CSI report from the terminal device.

[0110] If the parameters in the CSI report meet the preset threshold requirement, the network device determines that the SCell activation is completed, and the SCell is in the activation state. In the data transmission process, when the PCell corresponding to the PCC is overloaded, data transmission can be performed through the SCC corresponding to the SCell in the activation state to achieve data offloading.

[0111] However, the time delay required by the above process of activating the SCell is usually between tens of milliseconds and hundreds of milliseconds, and the time delay consumed by the activation of the SCell is long, which leads to a decrease in the efficiency of load balancing. In addition, in the case of activating multiple SCells, the network device needs to send SSB / TRS signals on multiple SCells to be activated to complete synchronization, and the communication energy consumption is high.

[0112] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a multi-carrier communication method and a communication device to improve the efficiency of load balancing and reduce the communication energy consumption of the network device.

[0113] The technical concept of the present application is that the network device configures a fusion cell and a first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell for the terminal device, the fusion cell includes multiple carriers and the multiple carriers share synchronization measurement information, and the terminal device implements initial access on the first frequency domain resource. When the network device indicates switching from the first frequency domain resource to other frequency domain resources in the fusion cell through physical layer signaling, the cell activation process can be omitted, thereby improving the efficiency of load balancing and reducing the energy consumption of the network device.

[0114] In the following embodiments, the interaction between the terminal device and the network device is taken as an example for illustration. It should be understood that the above terminal device can be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the terminal device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal device; the above network device can also be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0115] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a multi-carrier communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication method can include S401-S403.

[0116] S401, the network device sends system information to the terminal device, the system information is used to configure a fusion cell and a first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, the fusion cell includes multiple carriers, the multiple carriers share synchronization measurement information, and the first frequency domain resource is used for the terminal device to perform initial access. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the system information from the network device.

[0117] As an example, the network device periodically broadcasts an SSB in a frequency domain range corresponding to the first carrier, and the SSB can include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Among them, the PBCH carries a main information block (MIB), and the terminal device can receive a system information block (SIB) 1 on the first carrier based on the MIB. The MIB and the SIB1 can both be understood as system information on the first carrier.

[0118] In this step, the system information is used to configure the fusion cell and the first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell, and the network device can indicate a plurality of carriers in the fusion cell including the first carrier through the SIB1, and the synchronization measurement information is shared between the plurality of carriers.

[0119] Among them, the synchronization measurement information is shared between the plurality of carriers in the fusion cell, and in this application, the meaning can be that the plurality of carriers share SSB information, or the plurality of carriers share CSI measurement information. For example, the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on the SSB on the first carrier and obtains first synchronization measurement information, and each carrier in the plurality of carriers can use the first synchronization measurement information as the result of the terminal device performing synchronization measurement on the carrier. In other words, if the terminal device needs to communicate on the second carrier, the third carrier, or any carrier in the plurality of carriers in the fusion cell, it can save synchronization measurement and directly use the first synchronization measurement information as the synchronization measurement result. It can be understood that the fusion cell can have other names and can also be referred to as a cell.

[0120] It should be noted that the plurality of carriers included in the fusion cell needs to meet certain restrictions to facilitate sharing of synchronization measurement information between the plurality of carriers.

[0121] As a possible implementation, any two carriers in the plurality of carriers satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the difference between the center frequency points is not greater than a first threshold value, the time delay difference between the signals received by the terminal device on any two carriers is not greater than a second threshold value, or the power difference between the signals received by the terminal device on any two carriers is not greater than a third threshold value.

[0122] The plurality of carriers included in the fusion cell each correspond to a different frequency band, and in a case where a difference between center frequency points of any two carriers is not greater than a preset first threshold value, it indicates that the frequency bands corresponding to the two carriers are similar. When the terminal device and the network device communicate on the two carriers with similar frequency bands, the channel interference and noise they receive are similar, and thus they can share the synchronization measurement information.

[0123] Similarly, in a case where a time delay difference between signals received by the terminal device on any two carriers is not greater than a preset second threshold value, or a power difference between signals received by the terminal device on any two carriers is not greater than a preset third threshold value, it indicates that the channel interference and noise received by the terminal device and the network device when they communicate based on any two carriers of the plurality of carriers have a certain degree of similarity, and thus the terminal device and the network device can dispense with synchronization measurement on each carrier of the plurality of carriers, and share the same synchronization measurement information between the plurality of carriers.

[0124] In this step, the first frequency domain resource is a frequency domain resource used by the terminal device for initial access, and after the terminal device receives system information broadcast by the network device to achieve synchronization, the terminal device can complete access on the first frequency domain resource and establish an RRC connection with the fusion cell configured by the system information.

[0125] It can be understood that, in the initial access process, the network device broadcasts SSBs in a frequency domain range corresponding to one of the carriers of the fusion cell, and the terminal device searches for the SSBs broadcast by the network device in the fusion cell in a supported frequency range with a synchronization raster. The terminal device searches for the SSBs at synchronization raster points, that is, the synchronization raster defines a minimum frequency interval for the terminal device to search for the SSBs, and a frequency corresponding to the synchronization raster determines the efficiency of the terminal device searching for the SSBs.

[0126] In some implementations, the terminal device can search for the SSBs in the fusion cell according to a first synchronization raster, and a frequency interval corresponding to the first synchronization raster is greater than a frequency interval corresponding to a second synchronization raster used to search for SSBs on a carrier. The fusion cell in the embodiments of the present application includes a plurality of carriers, and the frequency domain range corresponding to the fusion cell is wider than that of a single carrier. Therefore, when the network device broadcasts SSBs in a frequency domain range corresponding to a carrier in the fusion cell, the terminal device uses the first synchronization raster as the synchronization raster, and compared with the second synchronization raster used to search for SSBs on a carrier in the prior art, the first synchronization raster can improve the efficiency of the terminal device searching for the SSBs, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device implementing initial access.

[0127] It should be noted that, in this step, when the network device broadcasts the fusion cell and the first frequency domain resource in the fusion cell through system information, the network device defaults that the terminal device supports configuring the fusion cell.

[0128] In some implementations, the terminal device sends capability information to the network device, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports configuring a fused cell. Accordingly, the network device receives the capability information from the terminal device.

[0129] In the process of completing initial access on the first frequency domain resource, the terminal device can indicate to the network device that it supports configuring a fused cell through the capability information, so as to establish an RRC connection with the fused cell configured by the system information.

[0130] In some implementations, the capability information can also be used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, and the frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination in the at least one frequency band combination support being configured as one fused cell.

[0131] It can be understood that different terminal devices support different frequency domain ranges, and the terminal device can also indicate at least one frequency band combination through the capability information, wherein the frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination support being configured as one fused cell. When the network device configures a fused cell through system information, the frequency domain range included in the fused cell is not fully indicated, and the network device can configure the frequency domain resources corresponding to the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device as the frequency domain range included in the fused cell according to the capability information reported by the terminal device.

[0132] S402, the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the first frequency domain resource.

[0133] According to step S401, the terminal device performs initial access through the first frequency domain resource in the fused cell, so as to establish an RRC connection with the fused cell configured by the network device. When the terminal device and the network device need to communicate and interact, the terminal device and the network device can preferentially perform data transmission on the first frequency domain resource.

[0134] S403, the network device sends first physical layer signaling to the terminal device, the first physical layer signaling being used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a second frequency domain resource in the fused cell, the second frequency domain resource being different from the first frequency domain resource. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first physical layer signaling from the network device.

[0135] According to step S402, the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the first frequency domain resource. In the case that the first frequency domain resource is difficult to meet real-time network load and service demand, the network device and the terminal device can further perform data transmission through a second frequency domain resource different from the first frequency domain resource in the fused cell, so as to realize load balancing.

[0136] Exemplarily, the network device sends a first downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device in this step, the first DCI is a first physical layer signaling carried in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and is used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a second frequency domain resource in the fusion cell.

[0137] In a case where the first frequency domain resource is difficult to meet real-time network load and service requirements, the terminal device receives the first physical layer signaling from the network device, and the terminal device and the network device can switch to the second frequency domain resource to perform data transmission on the second frequency domain resource.

[0138] In some implementations, the first frequency domain resource includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the second carrier in the fusion cell.

[0139] In some implementations, the second frequency domain resource includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the third carrier in the fusion cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the fourth carrier in the fusion cell.

[0140] As an example, the first frequency domain resource can be a first bandwidth part (BWP), the first BWP includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first carrier, and the first BWP can also include part or all of the frequency domain resources of the second carrier in the fusion cell. In a case where the first BWP includes the frequency domain resources of the second carrier, the first BWP is equivalent to a cross-carrier partial bandwidth group.

[0141] Similarly, the second frequency domain resource can be a second BWP, the second BWP includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the third carrier in the fusion cell, and the first BWP can also include part or all of the frequency domain resources of the fourth carrier in the fusion cell. In a case where the second BWP includes the frequency domain resources of the fourth carrier, the second BWP is equivalent to a cross-carrier partial bandwidth group.

[0142] In a case where the first BWP and the second BWP are equivalent to partial bandwidth groups, according to service requirements, the terminal device and the network device can quickly switch on the cross-carrier frequency domain resources based on the physical layer signaling to meet real-time network load and service requirements.

[0143] In this embodiment, the terminal device and the network device can perform fast switching between different frequency domain resources in the fusion cell according to service requirements, so as to realize data transmission. Since the synchronization measurement information is shared between the multiple carriers in the fusion cell, when switching to another frequency domain resource for data transmission, there is no need to perform secondary cell activation, that is, there is no time delay problem caused by secondary cell activation in the traditional CA scenario, thereby improving the efficiency of load balancing. In addition, the network device does not need to send downlink synchronization signals on multiple secondary cells, and the communication method provided in this embodiment can also save the communication energy consumption of the network device.

[0144] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of switching from a first frequency domain resource to a second frequency domain resource for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the fusion cell includes a first carrier, a second carrier, a third carrier, and a fourth carrier.

[0145] The first BWP includes part of the resources in the first carrier and part of the resources in the second carrier, that is, the first BWP is a part of the bandwidth group spanning the first carrier and the second carrier. The second BWP includes part of the resources in the third carrier and part of the resources in the fourth carrier, that is, the second BWP is a part of the bandwidth group spanning the third carrier and the fourth carrier. The terminal device and the network device perform data transmission in the first BWP, and according to service requirements, the terminal device and the network device can switch to the second BWP for data transmission.

[0146] It should be noted that maintaining synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is a prerequisite for data transmission. Only when the two are synchronized in time and frequency, can the data be correctly received and sent. If the synchronization is problematic, it may cause data transmission errors, packet loss, or even communication interruption.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 5, when the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission in the first BWP, the first BWP includes frequency domain resources for carrying SSB 0 on the first carrier, so the terminal device can perform synchronization measurement based on SSB 0 on the first carrier, thereby maintaining synchronization with the network device in time and frequency. However, when the terminal device and the network device switch to the second BWP for data transmission, according to FIG. 5, the second BWP includes no SSB in the frequency domain resources, so the terminal device and the network device can not continue to implement data transmission in the second BWP.

[0148] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is beneficial to further solve the above technical problems.

[0149] As a possible implementation manner, the second frequency domain resource includes frequency domain resources for carrying a first SSB, and the first SSB is used for synchronization measurement of the fusion cell.

[0150] In the implementation, the second frequency domain resource is a target frequency domain resource switched by the terminal device and the network device according to service requirements, and the network device configures the first SSB for performing the synchronization measurement on the target frequency domain resource, which means that the target frequency domain resource must include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB. In a case where the terminal device and the network device switch to the second frequency domain resource for data transmission, the terminal device can continue to maintain synchronization with the network device according to the first SSB carried on the second frequency domain resource.

[0151] As another possible implementation, in step S401 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, when the network device sends the system information to the terminal device, the system information can also be used to configure a first period, which is an interval duration of adjacent two times of synchronization measurement performed by the terminal device.

[0152] It should be noted that the first period as the interval duration of adjacent two times of synchronization measurement performed by the terminal device has two possible explanations. The first possibility is that, in a case where the second frequency domain resource includes the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, when the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the second frequency domain resource, the terminal device performs periodic synchronization measurement according to the first SSB carried on the second frequency domain resource, and the interval duration of adjacent two times of synchronization measurement is the first period configured by the network device.

[0153] The second possibility is that, in a case where the second frequency domain resource does not include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, the terminal device stops data transmission on the second frequency domain resource and switches back to the first frequency domain resource. The terminal device receives the SSB 0 broadcast by the network device on the first carrier included in the first frequency domain resource, and performs synchronization measurement based on the SSB 0 on the first carrier. After the synchronization measurement is completed, the terminal device switches back to the second frequency domain resource and continues data transmission with the network device on the second frequency domain resource. The interval duration of adjacent two times of switching of the terminal device to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement is the first period configured by the network device. In the second possible explanation, the interval duration indicated by the first period also includes an interruption delay of switching of the terminal device to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement.

[0154] In some implementations, the system information can also be used to configure a window duration of searching for the SSB on the first frequency domain resource by the terminal device, and the window duration is not less than a period of the SSB broadcast on the first carrier. According to the second possible explanation, the terminal device switches to the first frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement with the first period, and the network device periodically broadcasts the SSB 0 on the first carrier. When the window duration of searching for the SSB on the first frequency domain resource by the terminal device is not less than the period of the SSB 0 on the first carrier, the terminal device can receive the SSB 0 on the first carrier within the window duration, so as to perform synchronization measurement.

[0155] It can be understood that the network device can configure the first period through SIB1 in system information, and the network device can also configure the above first period through separate RRC signaling. The window duration of the terminal device searching for the SSB on the first frequency domain resource is the same, and the network device can configure the window duration through SIB1 or RRC signaling, and the present application does not limit this.

[0156] As another possible implementation, in the multi-carrier communication method proposed in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also send indication information to the network device in the case that the second frequency domain resource does not include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, and the terminal device and the network device are out of synchronization or beam failure. The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device and the network device are out of synchronization or beam failure. Correspondingly, the network device receives the indication information from the terminal device.

[0157] According to the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the second frequency domain resource. In the case that the second frequency domain resource does not include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, the terminal device and the network device cannot maintain synchronization, which may eventually lead to out-of-synchronization or beam failure, etc.

[0158] In the above case, as an example, the terminal device can send a wake-up signal (WUS) to the network device, and trigger the network device to send the SSB through the WUS. The WUS can be carried on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and the WUS can be an uplink signal such as a sounding reference signal (SRS), etc., and the present application does not limit the WUS.

[0159] In this implementation, after the network device receives the indication information from the terminal device, the network device sends a second SSB on the target carrier, and the second SSB is used for synchronization measurement of the integrated cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second SSB sent by the network device on the target carrier, and performs synchronization measurement based on the second SSB.

[0160] It can be understood that when the terminal device and the network device are out of synchronization or beam failure in data transmission on the second frequency domain resource, the terminal device needs to perform synchronization measurement based on the second SSB and reestablish synchronization with the network device. The second frequency domain resource includes part or all of the resources of the target carrier, and the second SSB is transmitted on the target carrier. Therefore, the terminal device can reestablish synchronization with the network device based on the second SSB.

[0161] It should be noted that when the terminal device reestablishes synchronization with the network device based on the second SSB, the network device can stop transmitting the second SSB on the target carrier, thereby saving communication overhead.

[0162] In some implementations, the network device can pre-configure a second period, which is the period of transmitting the second SSB by the network device. For example, the network device can configure the second period through SIB1 in system information, or through RRC signaling. The network device transmits the second SSB on the target carrier periodically according to the configured second period, and the interval between two adjacent transmissions of the second SSB is the second period.

[0163] It can be understood that the second frequency domain resource can be a frequency domain resource including multiple carrier resources. As an example, the network device can determine the target carrier from multiple carriers included in the second frequency domain resource according to a predefined rule, and transmit the second SSB on the target carrier. For example, the predefined rule can be to determine the target carrier from the multiple carriers based on the size order of the carrier indexes. The second frequency domain resource includes a third carrier, a fourth carrier, a fifth carrier, and a sixth carrier, and the size order of the carrier indexes corresponding to the above carriers is third carrier> fourth carrier> fifth carrier> sixth carrier. If the predefined rule is to select the carrier with the smallest carrier index as the target carrier, the sixth carrier included in the second frequency domain resource can be determined as the target carrier.

[0164] In another example, the indication information can also indicate the target carrier, wherein the target carrier indicated by the indication information is the carrier expected by the terminal device. Accordingly, after receiving the indication information, the network device can transmit the second SSB on the target carrier indicated by the indication information.

[0165] In the embodiments of the present application, when the terminal device and the network device switch from the first frequency domain resource to the second frequency domain resource for data transmission, the terminal device can maintain synchronization with the network device in time and frequency, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of communication on the second frequency domain resource.

[0166] In the above embodiments, the fusion cell includes multiple carriers, and the multiple carriers share the synchronization measurement information. In a traditional CA scenario, only one downlink carrier is included in a cell, that is, the cell can be considered equivalent to the carrier. In the case of equivalence between the cell and the carrier, with reference to the fusion cell, the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application proposes a cell set, the cell set includes multiple cells, and the multiple cells share the synchronization measurement information. In the following, the cell set is used instead of the fusion cell to further introduce the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0167] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication method can include S601-S604.

[0168] S601, the terminal device establishes an RRC connection on the first cell.

[0169] As an example, the network device periodically broadcasts SSBs in the frequency domain range corresponding to the first cell in the cell set, and the terminal device searches for the SSBs broadcast by the network device in the cell set in a synchronization raster in a frequency range supported by the terminal device.

[0170] In some implementations, the terminal device can search for SSBs in the cell set according to a third synchronization raster, the frequency interval corresponding to the third synchronization raster is greater than the frequency interval corresponding to a fourth synchronization raster, and the fourth synchronization raster is used to search for SSBs in a cell. The cell set in the embodiments of the present application includes multiple cells including the first cell, and compared with a single cell, the frequency domain range corresponding to the cell set is wider. Therefore, when the network device broadcasts SSBs in the frequency domain range corresponding to the first cell, the terminal device uses the third synchronization raster as the synchronization raster, and compared with the fourth synchronization raster used to search for SSBs in the cell in the traditional way, the efficiency of searching for SSBs by the terminal device can be improved by using the third synchronization raster, so that the efficiency of implementing initial access by the terminal device can be improved.

[0171] In this step, after the terminal device searches for SSBs in the frequency domain range corresponding to the first cell, the terminal device can obtain the MIB and the SIB1 on the first cell according to the SSBs. After synchronization is implemented based on the system information on the first cell, the terminal device can complete initial access, establish an RRC connection on the first cell, and the process of establishing an RRC connection by the terminal device and the cell can refer to the existing 3GPP standard, which will not be described herein.

[0172] S602, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information being used for configuring a cell set and a third frequency domain resource in the cell set, the cell set including a plurality of cells including the first cell, the plurality of cells sharing synchronization measurement information, the third frequency domain resource including part or all of frequency domain resources in the first cell and part or all of frequency domain resources in a second cell in the cell set.

[0173] Exemplarily, the network device sends RRC signaling to the terminal device, through which the plurality of cells including the first cell can be configured as the cell set, the plurality of cells sharing the synchronization measurement information.

[0174] It should be noted that, similarly to sharing the synchronization measurement information between a plurality of carriers, the plurality of cells in the cell set share the synchronization measurement information, which in the present application can specifically mean that the plurality of cells share SSB information, or the plurality of cells share CSI measurement information, for example, the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on SSB on the first cell and obtains first synchronization measurement information, and each cell in the plurality of cells can take the first synchronization measurement information as the result of synchronization measurement of the terminal device on the cell. If the terminal device needs to communicate on the second cell, the third cell, or any cell in the plurality of cells in the cell set, synchronization measurement can be omitted, and the first synchronization measurement information can be directly taken as the synchronization measurement result.

[0175] It should be noted that, similarly to sharing the synchronization measurement information between a plurality of carriers, the plurality of cells in the cell set share the synchronization measurement information, which in the present application can specifically mean that the plurality of cells share SSB information, or the plurality of cells share CSI measurement information, for example, the terminal device performs synchronization measurement based on SSB on the first cell and obtains first synchronization measurement information, and each cell in the plurality of cells can take the first synchronization measurement information as the result of synchronization measurement of the terminal device on the cell. If the terminal device needs to communicate on the second cell, the third cell, or any cell in the plurality of cells in the cell set, synchronization measurement can be omitted, and the first synchronization measurement information can be directly taken as the synchronization measurement result.

[0176] In some implementations, any two cells in the plurality of cells satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequencies of any two carriers included by the any two cells is not greater than a first threshold, a time delay difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a second threshold, or a power difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a third threshold.

[0177] In some implementations, any two cells in the plurality of cells satisfy at least one of the following conditions: a difference between center frequencies of any two carriers included by the any two cells is not greater than a first threshold, a time delay difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a second threshold, or a power difference between signals received by the terminal device on the any two cells is not greater than a third threshold.

[0178] Similarly, in a case that a time delay difference of signals received by the terminal device on any two cells is not greater than a preset second threshold, or a power difference of signals received by the terminal device on any two cells is not greater than a preset third threshold, it indicates that the channel interference and noise suffered by the terminal device when communicating with the network device based on any two cells in the cell set have a certain degree of similarity, and therefore, the synchronization measurement on each cell of the multiple cells can be omitted, and the same synchronization measurement information is shared between the multiple cells.

[0179] In this step, the RRC signaling also configures a third frequency domain resource in the cell set, and the third frequency domain resource can include part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the second cell in the cell set, that is, the third frequency domain resource is a cross-cell frequency domain resource.

[0180] As an example, the third frequency domain resource can be a third BWP, and the third BWP is a part-bandwidth group across cells, including part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first cell and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the second cell in the cell set.

[0181] It should be noted that when the network device configures the cell set and the third frequency domain resource in the cell set through the RRC signaling in this step, the network device defaults that the terminal device supports the configuration of the cell set.

[0182] In some implementations, as shown in optional step S602-0, after the terminal device establishes the RRC connection on the first cell, the terminal device sends capability information to the network device, and the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the configuration of the cell set. Correspondingly, the network device receives the capability information from the terminal device.

[0183] After the terminal device establishes the RRC connection on the first cell, the terminal device also needs to report its capability of supporting the configuration of the cell set to the network device, and after the network device confirms that the terminal device supports the configuration of the cell set according to the received capability information, the network device can add the RRC signaling to configure the cell set.

[0184] In some implementations, the capability information is also used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, and the frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination in the at least one frequency band combination support being configured as a cell set.

[0185] It can be understood that the cell set includes multiple cells including the first cell, and when the network device configures the cell set for the terminal device according to the capability information reported by the terminal device after the terminal device establishes the RRC connection on the first cell, a frequency band combination including a frequency domain range corresponding to the first cell needs to be selected according to the at least one frequency band combination supported by the terminal device, and the frequency band combination is configured as a cell combination.

[0186] S603, the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the third frequency domain resource.

[0187] The terminal device establishes an RRC connection on the first cell, and the third frequency domain resource includes part or all of the resources of the first cell. When the terminal device and the network device perform communication interaction, the terminal device and the network device can preferentially perform data transmission on the third frequency domain resource.

[0188] S604, the network device sends second physical layer signaling to the terminal device, and the second physical layer signaling is used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through a fourth frequency domain resource in the cell set, the fourth frequency domain resource being different from the third frequency domain resource. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second physical layer signaling from the network device.

[0189] According to step S603, the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the third frequency domain resource. In the case that the third frequency domain resource is difficult to meet the real-time network load and service demand, the network device and the terminal device further perform data transmission through a fourth frequency domain resource in the cell set, which is different from the third frequency domain resource, to realize load balancing.

[0190] Exemplarily, in this step, the network device sends a second DCI to the terminal device, and the second DCI is used as the second physical layer signaling carried in the PDCCH, and is used to instruct the terminal device to perform data transmission through the fourth frequency domain resource in the cell set.

[0191] In the case that the third frequency domain resource is difficult to meet the real-time network load and service demand, the terminal device receives the second physical layer signaling from the network device, and the terminal device and the network device can switch to the fourth frequency domain resource to perform data transmission on the fourth frequency domain resource.

[0192] In some implementations, the fourth frequency domain resource includes part or all of the resources of a third cell in the cell set and part or all of the resources of a fourth cell in the cell set, that is, the fourth frequency domain resource can also be a cross-cell frequency domain resource in the cell set.

[0193] In this embodiment, the terminal device and the network device can quickly switch between different frequency domain resources in the cell set according to service demand to realize data transmission. Since the multiple cells in the cell set share the synchronization measurement information, when switching transmission between different frequency domain resources, auxiliary cell activation is not needed, and the efficiency of load balancing can be improved. In addition, the network device does not need to send a downlink synchronization signal on multiple auxiliary cells, thereby saving the communication energy consumption of the network device.

[0194] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of switching from the third frequency domain resource to the fourth frequency domain resource for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the cell set includes a first cell, a second cell, a third cell, and a fourth cell.

[0195] The third BWP, i.e., the third frequency domain resource, includes part of the resources in the first cell and part of the resources in the second cell, and the third BWP is a partial bandwidth group spanning the first cell and the second cell. The fourth BWP, i.e., the fourth frequency domain resource, includes part of the resources in the third cell and part of the resources in the fourth cell, i.e., the fourth BWP is a partial bandwidth group spanning the third cell and the fourth cell.

[0196] The terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the third BWP. According to the service requirement, the network device can send physical layer signaling to the terminal device to indicate that data transmission is performed on the fourth BWP. Accordingly, the terminal device and the network device switch to the fourth BWP for data transmission.

[0197] As can be seen from the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, maintaining synchronization between the terminal device and the network device is a prerequisite for data transmission. If the fourth BWP in FIG. 7 does not include SSBs, the terminal device and the network device can not continue to perform data transmission on the fourth BWP.

[0198] It should be noted that each cell in the cell set is equivalent to a carrier. Referring to the foregoing embodiments related to the fusion cell, the specific method for maintaining synchronization between the terminal device and the network device in time and frequency according to the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described below.

[0199] In some implementations, the fourth frequency domain resource includes frequency domain resources for carrying the first SSB, and the first SSB is used for synchronization measurement on the cell set.

[0200] It can be understood that the fourth frequency domain resource is similar to the second frequency domain resource, and is a target frequency domain resource for the terminal device and the network device to switch according to the service requirement. The network device configures the first SSB for synchronization measurement on the cell set on the target frequency domain resource, which means that the target frequency domain resource must include frequency domain resources for carrying the first SSB. In the case where the terminal device and the network device switch to the fourth frequency domain resource for data transmission, the terminal device can continue to maintain synchronization with the network device according to the first SSB carried on the fourth frequency domain resource.

[0201] In some implementations, in step S602 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, when the network device sends the configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information can also be used to configure a first period, and the first period is the interval length of adjacent two synchronization measurements performed by the terminal device.

[0202] Similar to the case of the merged cell, there are two possible interpretations of the first period in this implementation. One is that when the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the fourth frequency domain resource, the terminal device performs periodic synchronization measurement according to the first SSB carried on the fourth frequency domain resource, and the interval between two adjacent synchronization measurements is the first period configured by the network device, in the case that the fourth frequency domain resource includes the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB.

[0203] The other is that in the case that the fourth frequency domain resource does not include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, the terminal device stops data transmission on the fourth frequency domain resource and switches back to the third frequency domain resource. The terminal device receives SSB 0 broadcast by the network device on the first cell included in the third frequency domain resource, and performs synchronization measurement based on SSB 0 on the first cell. After the synchronization measurement is completed, the terminal device switches back to the fourth frequency domain resource and continues data transmission with the network device on the fourth frequency domain resource. The interval between two adjacent switching of the terminal device to the third frequency domain resource for synchronization measurement is the first period configured by the network device.

[0204] As a possible implementation, the configuration information can also be used to configure the window length of the terminal device searching for SSB on the third frequency domain resource, and the window length is not less than the period of the SSB broadcast on the first cell.

[0205] In some implementations, the terminal device can also send indication information to the network device in the case that the fourth frequency domain resource does not include the frequency domain resource for carrying the first SSB, and out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device. The indication information is used to indicate that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the indication information from the terminal device.

[0206] In this implementation, after the network device receives the indication information from the terminal device, the network device sends a second SSB on a target cell, and the second SSB is used for synchronization measurement of the cell set. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second SSB sent by the network device on the target cell, and performs synchronization measurement based on the second SSB.

[0207] It can be understood that out-of-sync or beam failure occurs between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device and the network device perform data transmission on the fourth frequency domain resource, and the terminal device needs to perform synchronization measurement based on the second SSB and re-establish synchronization with the network device. Wherein, the fourth frequency domain resource includes part or all of the resources of the target cell, and the second SSB is sent on the target cell, which is equivalent to that the fourth frequency domain resource includes the frequency domain resource carrying the second SSB, and the terminal device can re-establish synchronization with the network device based on the second SSB.

[0208] It should be noted that when the terminal device re-establishes synchronization with the network device based on the second SSB, the network device can stop sending the second SSB on the target cell, thereby saving communication overhead.

[0209] In some implementations, the network device can pre-configure the second period through RRC signaling, the second period being a period for the network device to send the second SSB. The network device sends the second SSB on the target cell periodically according to the configured second period, and the interval between two adjacent times of sending the second SSB is the second period.

[0210] It can be understood that the fourth frequency domain resource can be a frequency domain resource spanning multiple cells. As an example, the network device can determine the target cell from the multiple cells included in the fourth frequency domain resource according to a predefined rule, and send the second SSB on the target cell. For example, the predefined rule can be to determine the target cell from the multiple cells based on the size order of the cell indexes. The fourth frequency domain resource includes the third cell, the fourth cell, the fifth cell, and the sixth cell, and the size order of the cell indexes corresponding to the above cells is third cell > fourth cell > fifth cell > sixth cell. If the predefined rule is to select the cell with the smallest corresponding cell index as the target cell, the sixth cell included in the fourth frequency domain resource can be determined as the target cell.

[0211] In another example, the indication information can also indicate the target cell, wherein the target cell indicated by the indication information is the cell expected by the terminal device. Accordingly, after receiving the indication information, the network device can send the second SSB on the target cell indicated by the indication information.

[0212] Similar to the merged cell, through the above implementation, when the terminal device and the network device switch from the third frequency domain resource to the fourth frequency domain resource for data transmission, the terminal device can maintain synchronization with the network device in time and frequency, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of communication on the fourth frequency domain resource.

[0213] FIGS. 8 and 9 are structural schematic diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication apparatuses can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also have the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus can be the terminal device or the network device in the method embodiments as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, or can be a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the terminal device or the network device, or can be a logic module or software capable of implementing part or all of the functions of the terminal device or the network device.

[0214] FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes a processing module 810 and a transceiver module 820.

[0215] The transceiver module 820 can implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver module 820 can also be referred to as an input / output interface or a communication unit. The processing module 810 can be configured to perform processing operations. It should be understood that if the apparatus 800 is a component (for example, a chip) configured in a network device or a terminal device, the transceiver module 820 can be an input / output interface.

[0216] Optionally, the transceiver module 820 can include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module can be configured to perform the sending operations of the network device or the terminal device in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6. The receiving module can be configured to perform the receiving operations of the network device or the terminal device in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6.

[0217] It should be understood that if the apparatus 800 is a component (for example, a chip) configured in a network device or a terminal device, the sending module can be an output interface, and the sending operations in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the output interface. The receiving module can be an input interface, and the receiving operations in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the input interface.

[0218] Optionally, the apparatus 800 can further include a storage module. The storage module can be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 810 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module, so that the apparatus implements the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6.

[0219] In a possible design, the apparatus 800 can be configured to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6. Alternatively, the apparatus 800 can include units for implementing any function or operation of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6. The units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0220] When the apparatus 800 is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, the transceiver module 820 (specifically, the receiving module) can be configured to perform step S401 in FIG. 4, and receive system information from a network device. The transceiver module 820 (specifically, the receiving module) can also be configured to perform step S602 in FIG. 6, and receive configuration information from a network device. The processing module 810 can be configured to perform step S601 in FIG. 6, and establish an RRC connection on a first cell. The transceiver module 820 (specifically, the sending module) can also be configured to perform step S602-0 in FIG. 6, and send capability information to a network device.

[0221] In another possible design, the apparatus 800 can be used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, or the apparatus 800 can include units for implementing any function or operation of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, and the units can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, entirely or partially.

[0222] When the apparatus 800 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, the transceiver module 820 (specifically, a sending module) can be used to perform step S401 in FIG. 4, and send the system information to the terminal device, and can also be used to perform step S602 in FIG. 6, and send the configuration information to the terminal device; the transceiver module 820 (specifically, a receiving module) can be used to perform step S602-0 in FIG. 6, and receive the capability information from the terminal device.

[0223] For more detailed description of the processing module 810 and the transceiver module 820, refer to the related description in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0224] It should be noted that the transceiver module can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, or the like. The processing module can also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing unit, or the like. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform the sending operation and the receiving operation of the terminal device or the network device in the above method, and the devices in the communication module used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as a receiving module, and the devices in the communication module used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a sending module, that is, the transceiver module includes the receiving module and the sending module.

[0225] In addition, in a possible design, the foregoing transceiver module and / or processing module can be implemented by a virtual module, for example, the processing module can be implemented by a software function module or a virtual device, and the transceiver module can be implemented by a software function module or a virtual device. In another possible design, the processing module or the transceiver module can also be implemented by an entity device, for example, if the apparatus is implemented by a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, and performs the input operation (corresponding to the foregoing receiving operation) and the output operation (corresponding to the foregoing sending operation); the processing module is an integrated processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit.

[0226] It should be understood that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. When actually implemented, another division manner can be used. In addition, each function module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processor, or can be physically separated, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function module.

[0227] FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by another embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 900 can be a chip system, or can be an apparatus configured with a chip system for implementing the method embodiments described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0228] As shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus 900 can be implemented by a processing system including one or more processors 901. The processor 901 includes a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a graphics processor, a programmable logic device, a state machine, a gated logic, a discrete hardware circuit, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions. That is, the processor used in the apparatus 900 can be used to implement any one or more of the embodiments described above.

[0229] The processing system in the apparatus 900 can be implemented by a bus architecture, which is generally represented by a bus 902. The bus 902 can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system and overall design constraints. The bus 902 communicatively couples various circuitry, including one or more processors 901 (generally represented by processor), memory 903, and computer-readable media 904 (generally represented by computer-readable media). The bus 902 can also link various other circuitry, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuitry, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be further described. A bus interface 905 provides an interface between the bus 902 and a transceiver and between the bus 902 and an interface. The bus interface 905 can use a transceiver such as a transceiver to implement the communication between the apparatus 900 and other devices or apparatuses.

[0230] The transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other apparatuses over a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver can be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and the antenna array can be used together to communicate with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (for example, a network interface and / or a user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communicating over an internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0231] The processor 901 is responsible for managing the bus 902 and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 904. The software, when executed by the processor 901, causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus.

[0232] The functions that the processor 901 and the memory 903 and the computer-readable medium 904 can implement can be encoding, decoding, rate matching, de-rate matching, scrambling, de-scrambling, modulating, de-modulating, layer mapping, fast Fourier transform, inverse fast Fourier transform, inverse discrete Fourier transform, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, de-RE mapping, digital beam forming (BF), adding a cyclic prefix (CP), removing a CP, and the like.

[0233] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware code processing executed by a coded processor, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the coded processor. The software module can be located in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, or other forms of mature storage medium in the art.

[0234] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the processor executes the computer instructions, each step of the method in the above embodiments is implemented.

[0235] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes computer instructions. When the processor executes the computer instructions, each step of the method in the above embodiments is implemented.

[0236] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system, which includes the terminal device and the network device described above.

[0237] It should be noted that the modules or components shown in the above embodiments can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more application-specific integrated circuits, or one or more microprocessors, or one or more field programmable gate arrays, and the like. For another example, when a certain module above is implemented in the form of a processing element invoking program code, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit or other processor capable of invoking program code, such as a controller. For another example, these modules can be integrated together in the form of a system on a chip.

[0238] When the communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal first, and then being sent to the terminal chip by the modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal first, and then being sent to the base station by the modules.

[0239] When the communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the base station chip by the modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the terminal by the modules.

[0240] In this application, entity A sending information to entity B can be A sending directly to B, or A sending indirectly to B through other entities. Similarly, entity B receiving information from entity A can be entity B receiving the information sent by entity A directly, or entity B receiving the information sent by entity A indirectly through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be the information interaction between RAN nodes and terminals, for example, the information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, the information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between different modules inside one device, for example, the information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules in the terminal, or the information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0241] In various embodiments of this application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0242] In the above embodiments, all or part can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, the above computer programs or instructions perform all or part of the processes or functions shown in the embodiments of the present application. The above computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The above computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the above computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless means. The above computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state disk. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0243] The above description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementation described in the above exemplary embodiments does not represent all implementations consistent with the present application. Instead, they are only examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0244] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The association relationship between the associated objects described by "and / or" indicates that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but does not rule out the case that the associated objects before and after it represent an "and" relationship, and the meaning expressed can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0245] In this application, the use of the prefix words "first", "second" and the like is merely intended to facilitate the description of different objects belonging to the same name category, and does not impose constraints on the order, size or quantity of the objects. For example, "first parameter" and "second parameter" are merely different parameters, and there is no time sequence or size relationship between them.

Claims

1. A multi-carrier communication method, executed by a terminal device or a module applied to the terminal device, characterized in that, The methods include: The system information is received, which is used to configure the converged cell and the first frequency domain resources in the converged cell. The converged cell includes multiple carriers, which share synchronization measurement information. The first frequency domain resources are used by the terminal device for initial access. Data transmission is performed on the first frequency domain resource; The terminal device receives a first physical layer signaling message, which instructs the terminal device to transmit data through a second frequency domain resource in the converged cell, the second frequency domain resource being different from the first frequency domain resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first frequency domain resource includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first carrier of the fused cell, and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the second carrier of the fused cell; and / or, The second frequency domain resources include some or all of the frequency domain resources in the third carrier of the fused cell, and some or all of the frequency domain resources in the fourth carrier of the fused cell.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second frequency domain resources include frequency domain resources for carrying the first synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block (SSB), wherein the first SSB is used to perform synchronization measurements on the fused cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that a loss of synchronization or beam failure has occurred between the terminal device and the network device; The second SSB is received on the target carrier, and synchronization measurements are performed based on the second SSB.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The indication information is also used to indicate the target carrier.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, Among the plurality of carriers, any two carriers satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the difference in center frequency is not greater than a first threshold, the time delay difference of the signals received by the terminal device on the two carriers is not greater than a second threshold, or the power difference of the signals received by the terminal device on the two carriers is not greater than a third threshold.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send capability information, which is used to indicate that the terminal device supports configuring the converged cell.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The capability information is also used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, wherein the frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination support being configured as a converged cell.

9. A multi-carrier communication method, executed by a network device or a module applied to a network device, characterized in that, The methods include: Send system information, which is used to configure the converged cell and the first frequency domain resources in the converged cell. The converged cell includes multiple carriers, which share synchronization measurement information. The first frequency domain resources are used for the terminal device to perform initial access. Data transmission is performed on the first frequency domain resource; Send a first physical layer signaling message, which instructs the terminal device to transmit data through a second frequency domain resource in the converged cell, the second frequency domain resource being different from the first frequency domain resource.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first frequency domain resource includes part or all of the frequency domain resources in the first carrier of the fused cell, and part or all of the frequency domain resources in the second carrier of the fused cell; and / or, The second frequency domain resources include some or all of the frequency domain resources in the third carrier of the fused cell, and some or all of the frequency domain resources in the fourth carrier of the fused cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second frequency domain resources include frequency domain resources used to carry the first SSB, which is used to perform synchronization measurements on the fused cell.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that a loss of synchronization or beam failure has occurred between the terminal device and the network device; Based on the indicated information, a second SSB is periodically transmitted on the target carrier.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The indication information is also used to indicate the target carrier.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that, Among the plurality of carriers, any two carriers satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the difference in center frequency is not greater than a first threshold, the time delay difference of the signals received by the terminal device on the two carriers is not greater than a second threshold, or the power difference of the signals received by the terminal device on the two carriers is not greater than a third threshold.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives capability information, which is used to indicate that it supports configuring the converged cell.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The capability information is also used to indicate at least one frequency band combination, wherein the frequency domain resources in each frequency band combination support being configured as a converged cell.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for implementing the multi-carrier communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Processor, the processor being coupled to memory; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the multicarrier communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, are used to implement the multicarrier communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

20. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the multicarrier communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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