Information transmission method, communication apparatus and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are an information transmission method, a communication apparatus and a storage medium, which enable a terminal to receive on an SCell an SSB in a timely manner, and further enable the terminal to perform synchronization, cell measurement, etc. on the SCell in a timely manner. The method comprises: sending first information to a network device, and receiving on a first secondary cell an SSB, wherein the first information is used for requesting the network device to send on the first secondary cell a synchronization signal block (SSB), and the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for a terminal.

Description

Information transmission methods, communication devices and storage media

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411449763.4, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 16, 2024, entitled "Information Transmission Method, Communication Device and Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, specifically to an information transmission method, communication device, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] To improve data transmission rates, a terminal can communicate simultaneously on multiple cells. These multiple cells can include a primary cell (PCell) and at least one secondary cell (SCell).

[0004] Generally, network devices can send synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs) to terminals on the SCell to facilitate SCell synchronization or cell measurement. To reduce network device power consumption, network devices can choose not to send SSBs on the SCell, thus reducing the number of SSB transmissions and consequently lowering power consumption. However, omitting SSBs on the SCell may prevent terminals from receiving them in a timely manner, potentially hindering timely SCell synchronization or cell measurement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of this application provide an information transmission method, a communication device, and a storage medium, enabling the terminal to receive SSBs on the SCell in a timely manner, thereby enabling the terminal to perform timely synchronization of the SCell or cell measurements, etc.

[0006] Firstly, an information transmission method is provided. This method can be executed by a terminal-side device, or by a component of the terminal-side device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal-side device. The following description uses the execution of this method by a terminal-side device as an example. The information transmission method includes: sending first information to a network device and receiving a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) on a first secondary cell, wherein the first information is used to request the network device to send a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) on the first secondary cell, and the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0007] In the information transmission method described in the embodiments of this application, the SSB transmitted between the terminal and the first secondary cell is triggered by the terminal. That is, the terminal can request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell, so as to trigger the network device to send an SSB to the terminal on the first secondary cell. This allows the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell in a timely manner, and thus the terminal can perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell in a timely manner based on the SSB received on the first secondary cell.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, sending the first information to the network device includes: sending the first information to the network device when the terminal has a demand for SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell.

[0009] In other words, when a terminal has a need for an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell, it can request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell so that the terminal's need for an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell can be met in a timely manner. It can also allow the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell when appropriate, so as to avoid sending redundant information as much as possible and reduce unnecessary communication overhead.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, the terminal's requirement for SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: the bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the terminal's first timer times out, the first timer being used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive SSBs on the first secondary cell; the terminal's moving distance is greater than or equal to a second threshold; or, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0011] In other words, the terminal can determine whether it needs to transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell based on multiple parameters such as the bit error rate when communicating with the first secondary cell, the first timer, the terminal's moving distance, and the amount of uplink data to be transmitted. This can more comprehensively and accurately determine whether the terminal needs to transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell, allowing the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell under more appropriate circumstances, thereby further avoiding the transmission of redundant information and minimizing unnecessary communication overhead.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the method provided in this application embodiment further includes: receiving second information from a network device, the second information being used to instruct a terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on a first secondary cell.

[0013] In other words, the network device can instruct the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell, enabling the terminal to support the active triggering of SSB transmission between the terminal and the first secondary cell. This allows the terminal to subsequently request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell and receive the SSB in a timely manner. Consequently, the terminal can perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell based on the SSB received on the first secondary cell.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect mentioned above, in one possible implementation, the first information is carried on the uplink wake-up resource (WUS) configured by the network device for the terminal; or, the first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, the first information is carried in the user assistance information (UAI); or, the first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element (MAC CE).

[0015] In other words, the information transmission method described in the embodiments of this application provides multiple implementations for transmitting the first information, which ensures that the terminal can transmit the first information normally as much as possible and improves the reliability of the terminal's transmission of the first information.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, the uplink MAC CE is carried on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The method provided in this application embodiment further includes: when the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE including the first information, sending a scheduling request (SR) to the network device and receiving third information from the network device, wherein the third information is used to indicate the PUSCH configured for the terminal, and the PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

[0017] In other words, if the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, the terminal can send an SR to the network device and obtain the PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information through the third information sent by the network device. This provides transmission resources for the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, thus providing resource guarantees for the transmission of the first information and enabling the terminal to transmit the first information normally as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of the terminal's transmission of the first information.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect mentioned above, in one possible implementation, the SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device.

[0019] In other words, the terminal can determine the PUCCH used to transmit the SR based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device, so as to provide transmission resources for the SR, that is, to provide resource guarantee for the SR, so as to enable the terminal to transmit the SR normally and improve the reliability of the terminal's SR transmission.

[0020] Secondly, an information transmission method is provided. This method can be executed by a network device-side device, or by a component of the network device-side device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device-side device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device-side device. The following description uses the execution of this method by a network device-side device as an example. The information transmission method includes: receiving first information from a terminal and transmitting an SSB on a first secondary cell, wherein the first information is used to request the network device to transmit a synchronization signal block SSB on the first secondary cell, and the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0021] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first information is triggered when the terminal has a demand for the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell.

[0022] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the terminal's requirement for SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: the bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the terminal's first timer times out, the first timer being used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive SSBs on the first secondary cell; the terminal's moving distance is greater than or equal to a second threshold; or, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0023] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the method provided in this application embodiment further includes: sending second information to the terminal, the second information being used to instruct the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first information is sent to the network device on the uplink wake-up resource (WUS) configured for the terminal; or, the first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, the first information is carried in the user assistance information (UAI); or, the first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element (MAC CE).

[0025] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the uplink MAC CE is sent to the network device on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The method provided in this application embodiment further includes: receiving a scheduling request (SR) from the terminal and sending third information to the terminal, wherein the third information is used to indicate the PUSCH configured for the terminal, the PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information, and the SR is triggered when the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

[0026] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device.

[0027] Thirdly, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. This communication device can be a terminal-side device as described in the first aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect, or a device including the terminal-side device, or a device included in the terminal-side device, such as a chip; or, the communication device can be a network device-side device as described in the second aspect, or any implementation of the second aspect, or a device including the network device-side device, or a device included in the network device-side device, such as a chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods described above, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

[0028] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the transmission and / or reception functions in any of the above aspects and their possible implementations. The transceiver module may consist of transceiver circuits, transceivers, transceivers, or communication interfaces. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and their possible implementations.

[0029] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0030] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The communication device may be a terminal-side device as described in the first aspect, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the terminal-side device, or a device included in the terminal-side device, such as a chip; or, the communication device may be a network device-side device as described in the second aspect, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the network device-side device, or a device included in the network device-side device, such as a chip.

[0031] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute computer programs or instructions such that the communication device can be a terminal-side device as described in the first aspect above, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the terminal-side device, or a device included in the terminal-side device, such as a chip; or, the communication device can be a network device-side device as described in the second aspect above, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the network device-side device, or a device included in the network device-side device, such as a chip.

[0032] A sixth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: at least one processor; the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the methods of any of the above aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor. The communication device may be a terminal-side device as described in the first aspect, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the terminal-side device, or a device included in the terminal-side device, such as a chip; or, the communication device may be a network device-side device as described in the second aspect, or any implementation thereof, or a device including the network device-side device, or a device included in the network device-side device, such as a chip.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the methods of any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof.

[0034] Eighthly, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method of any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof.

[0035] Ninthly, a communication device (e.g., a chip or chip system) is provided, the communication device including a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof.

[0036] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0037] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or contain chips and other discrete components.

[0038] It is understood that when the communication device provided by any of the third to sixth aspects is a chip, the aforementioned sending action / function can be understood as an output, and the aforementioned receiving action / function can be understood as an input.

[0039] In a tenth aspect, an information transmission method is provided, which includes the method of the first aspect or any implementation thereof, and the method of the second aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0040] Eleventhly, a communication system is provided, which includes the network device-side device and the terminal-side device described above.

[0041] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided that, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method of any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof.

[0042] The technical effects of any of the implementation methods in aspects two through twelfth can be found in the technical effects of the corresponding implementation method in aspect one, and will not be repeated here.

[0043] Among these, any possible implementation methods of any one of the above aspects can be combined, provided that the solutions do not contradict each other. Attached Figure Description

[0044] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of in-band continuous carrier aggregation, in-band non-continuous carrier aggregation, and inter-band carrier aggregation provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0045] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the management operation of SCell provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the deployment of the primary and secondary cells provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 4 is an example diagram of the primary cell group and secondary cell group provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0048] Figure 5 is an example diagram of transmitting SSB provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of some related operations performed by the terminal on SCell according to an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 7 is a flowchart of uplink scheduling provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of CU and DU provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0053] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a network device protocol stack and network element module provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an open wireless access network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figures 13-18 are schematic flowcharts of the information transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0058] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is given first. The brief introduction is as follows:

[0059] 1. Carrier (component carrier, CC)

[0060] A carrier is a continuous frequency range that conforms to the system's specifications. This frequency range can be determined by the center frequency (denoted as the carrier frequency) and the bandwidth of the carrier.

[0061] To improve data transmission rates and reduce latency, carrier aggregation (CA) technology has been proposed. Carrier aggregation refers to combining multiple continuous or non-contiguous carriers into a larger bandwidth. Generally, carrier aggregation based on the frequency band of the aggregated carriers can be divided into intra-band carrier aggregation (intra-band CA) and inter-band carrier aggregation (inter-band CA). Intra-band carrier aggregation can be further divided into intra-band continuous carrier aggregation and intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation.

[0062] For example, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of intra-band continuous carrier aggregation, intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation, and inter-band carrier aggregation provided in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1(a), aggregating continuous carriers 1 and 2 in frequency band 1 can be called intra-band continuous carrier aggregation. As shown in Figure 1(b), aggregating non-contiguous carriers 1 and 2 in frequency band 1 can be called intra-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation. As shown in Figure 1(c), aggregating carrier 1 in frequency band 1 and carrier 2 in frequency band 2 can be called inter-band carrier aggregation.

[0063] In CA technology, a terminal can communicate simultaneously on multiple cells, thereby supporting high-speed data transmission. These multiple cells may include a primary carrier cell (PCell) and at least one secondary carrier cell (SCell). The primary carrier cell can be simply referred to as the primary cell, and the secondary carrier cell as the secondary cell. For ease of description, the following description uses primary and secondary cells as examples and should not be considered a limitation of this application.

[0064] In this context, the primary cell is the cell where the terminal and network equipment establish an initial connection, or the cell where the terminal re-establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection, or the primary cell that performs handover operations. The primary cell is responsible for RRC communication with the terminal. Generally, in CA technology, the primary cell can operate on the primary component carrier (PCC).

[0065] Compared to the primary cell, a secondary cell can provide additional radio resources. Generally, in CA technology, a secondary cell can operate on a secondary component carrier (PCC). However, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of SCell management operations provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, if a normal cell can serve as a secondary cell for a terminal, the terminal can perform at least one of the following operations on that cell: SCell configuration, SCell activation, SCell deactivation, SCell modification, and SCell deletion.

[0066] SCell configuration refers to the network device configuring (or adding) a new SCell for a terminal. In other words, the terminal can configure a cell that is not configured as an SCell based on the SCell configuration instruction information, so that the cell can be added to the terminal's SCell list.

[0067] SCell activation refers to activating an inactive SCell in the SCell list, thus enabling subsequent activated SCells to send and receive data. Furthermore, if an inactive SCell in the SCell list meets certain activation conditions, the terminal can activate that SCell.

[0068] SCell deactivation refers to deactivating an active SCell in the SCell list, making it inactive, so that subsequent inactive SCells cannot send or receive data.

[0069] Understandably, when a SCell is active, the terminal and network device need to exchange control messages related to that SCell. This consumes not only the terminal's power but also the network device's radio resources. When the amount of data to be transmitted by the terminal is low, one cell (e.g., PCell) may be sufficient to meet the terminal's data transmission needs. This means that no other cell (e.g., SCell) needs to provide additional radio resources for the terminal. Therefore, the terminal can deactivate the currently active SCell to avoid continuous monitoring of data scheduling on that SCell, thereby reducing the power consumption of both the terminal and network device and improving their energy efficiency.

[0070] SCell change refers to replacing the SCell in the SCell list with one that has better signal quality.

[0071] SCell deletion refers to deleting SCells in the SCell list whose signal quality is below the signal quality threshold. In other words, SCells with signal quality below the signal quality threshold can be deleted from the SCell list of the terminal.

[0072] Optionally, the primary and secondary cells can be co-located or non-co-located, as shown in Figure 3(a) and Figure 3(b), respectively. Co-location can be understood as having two carriers at the same site, such as the same network device; these two carriers are the co-located carriers. These two carriers can belong to the primary cell and the secondary cell, respectively. Non-co-location can be understood as being at different sites; for example, one network device (called the primary network device) has its carriers belonging to the primary cell, while another network device (called the secondary network device) has its carriers belonging to the secondary cell. These two network devices are at different sites. Furthermore, the primary and secondary cells performing CA can support the same radio access technology. Typically, the primary and secondary cells performing CA are cells under the same network device that support the same radio access technology (e.g., E-UTRA).

[0073] 2. Dual connectivity (DC)

[0074] To improve data transmission rate and reliability, a terminal can connect to multiple network devices simultaneously. These multiple network devices include one master network device and at least one secondary network device. For example, in a dual-connectivity scenario, the terminal can connect to one master network device and one secondary network device. The master network device can also be referred to as the master node (MN), and the secondary network device can also be referred to as the secondary node (SN); this application does not limit the names used. For ease of description, the following description uses the master network device and secondary network device as examples and should not be considered a limitation of this application.

[0075] In one possible implementation, the DC (Distributed Network Control) may include Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access and New Radio Dual Connectivity (E-UTRA-new radio dual connectivity, EN-DC), Next Generation Radio Access Network Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access and New Radio Dual Connectivity (NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity, NGEN-DC), New Radio and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Dual Connectivity (NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity, NE-DC), or New Radio and New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-NR dual connectivity, NR-DC), etc. Specifically, EN-DC, or LTE-NR DC, refers to a primary network device being an LTE base station connected to the 4G core network, and a secondary network device being an NR base station. NGEN-DC refers to a primary network device being an LTE base station connected to the 5G core network, and a secondary network device being an NR base station. NE-DC, or NR-LTE DC, refers to a primary network device being an NR base station connected to the 5G core network, and a secondary network device being an LTE base station. NR-DC, or NR-NR DC, refers to a primary network device and a secondary network device both being NR base stations connected to the 5G core network. In other words, the main network device and the auxiliary network device can support the same wireless access technology or different wireless access technologies to provide users with smooth compatibility and continuous coverage of networks of different standards. These are just some possible examples, and this application does not limit the standard of the main network device and the auxiliary network device. For example, at least one of the main network device and the auxiliary network device can be a base station for other communication systems in the future.

[0076] Optionally, the primary network device and the secondary network device can be deployed at the same site, meaning they are the same network device. Alternatively, they can be deployed separately, meaning they are different network devices. This application does not limit the deployment method of the primary and secondary network devices.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the primary network device can provide one or more cells to the terminal, forming a master cell group (MCG). An MCG includes a primary cell and zero or at least one secondary cell. Figure 4 is an example diagram of a master cell group and secondary cell group provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, as shown in Figure 4(a), MCG1 may include one primary cell (e.g., primary cell 1) and two secondary cells (e.g., secondary cell 2 and secondary cell 3). Furthermore, primary cell 1 and secondary cell 2 and / or secondary cell 3 can also perform CA (Compute Access).

[0078] In one possible implementation, the secondary network device can provide one or more cells to the terminal, forming a secondary cell group (SCG). For example, an SCG includes a primary secondary cell (PSCell) and zero or at least one secondary cell. A primary or secondary cell refers to the cell in which the terminal initiates a random access procedure at the secondary network device, or the cell in which the terminal skips the random access procedure and initiates data transmission during a change of the secondary network device, or the cell of the network device that initiates random access during a synchronization reconfiguration process. For example, as shown in Figure 4(b), SCG1 may include one primary secondary cell (e.g., primary secondary cell 1) and two secondary cells (e.g., secondary cell 4 and secondary cell 5). Furthermore, primary secondary cell 1 and secondary cell 4 and / or secondary cell 5 can also perform CA (Compute Access).

[0079] 3. SSB

[0080] SSB, a key signal block in current communication networks, is mainly used in cell search, synchronization, and cell measurement processes. Specifically, terminals can perform cell search, synchronization, and cell measurement based on SSB to select the appropriate SSB beam for communication with the network, thereby achieving initial access and mobility management. Typically, network devices periodically transmit multiple SSBs on a cell, and each SSB transmitted within a period corresponds to a unique number (e.g., an SSB index).

[0081] However, to reduce the power consumption of network devices, network devices can choose not to send SSBs on the SCell, or send long-period always-on SSBs (always-on SSBs) or on-demand SSBs (OD-SSBs) to reduce the number of SSBs sent, thereby reducing the power consumption of network devices. In other words, currently, SSB sending methods can be divided into the following two methods: Method 1 is to periodically send multiple always-on SSBs; Method 2 is to send multiple OD-SSBs triggered by the network device itself. Figure 5 is an example diagram of SSB sending provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, as shown in Figure 5(a), the network device can send two always-on SSBs on the SCell, and these two always-on SSBs can be sent within one period. As shown in Figure 5(b), the network device can send two OD-SSBs on the SCell, and these two OD-SSBs can be sent from the start time of the OD-SSB to the stop time of the OD-SSB. As shown in Figure 5(c), during period 1, the network device can send two always on SSBs on the SCell, and during the period from the OD-SSB start time to the OD-SSB stop time, it can send two OD-SSBs on the SCell. During period 2, the network device can send two always on SSBs on the SCell.

[0082] As shown in the SSB transmission example in Figure 5(c), before the network device transmits OD-SSB on this SCell, the network device can periodically transmit always-on SSB on this SCell. However, the network device may also choose not to transmit always-on SSB on this SCell before transmitting OD-SSB; this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. Furthermore, to reduce the power consumption of the network device, the transmission period of always-on SSB can be longer before the network device transmits OD-SSB on this SCell, thereby reducing the number of SSB transmissions and ultimately reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0083] As described above regarding SCell operations, the terminal can perform at least one of the following operations on the cell: SCell configuration, SCell activation, SCell deactivation, SCell modification, and SCell deletion. Further, as shown in Figure 6, taking a single cell as an example, based on the aforementioned related operations performed by the terminal on the SCell (e.g., SCell configuration, SCell activation, and SCell deletion), it can be divided into the following four stages: Stage 1 is before the terminal configures the SCell for the cell; Stage 2 is after the terminal configures the SCell for the cell but before SCell activation; Stage 3 is during the SCell activation process; and Stage 4 is after the terminal activates the SCell for the cell.

[0084] During phase 1, since the terminal has not configured the cell as its SCell, the terminal cannot communicate with the cell, and therefore the terminal does not need to receive SSBs on the cell. In other words, the above-mentioned transmission method 1 and transmission method 2 cannot be used during this phase.

[0085] During Phase 2, the terminal has configured the cell as its SCell, but the SCell is in an inactive state. Furthermore, both the end time of Phase 1 and the start time of Phase 2 are the moments when the terminal has configured the cell as its SCell.

[0086] During phase 3, the terminal has received the SCell activation command from the network device and activates the SCell. Furthermore, the end time of phase 2 and the start time of phase 3 are both the moments when the terminal receives the SCell activation command from the network device.

[0087] During phase 4, the terminal has successfully activated the SCell, meaning the SCell is in an active state. Furthermore, the end time of phase 3 and the start time of phase 4 both mark the moment the terminal has successfully activated the SCell.

[0088] During any of stages 2 to 4, the network device can transmit SSBs on the SCell, and correspondingly, the terminal can receive SSBs on the SCell. Furthermore, the network device can transmit SSBs to the terminal on the SCell using transmission method 1 and / or transmission method 2. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on the transmission method of SSBs.

[0089] Further, optionally, after the terminal receives an SSB from the network device, the terminal can perform synchronization or cell measurement using the received SSB. Taking cell measurement using the received SSB as an example: the terminal can perform cell measurement using the received SSB and obtain the measurement result of the SCell. The measurement result of the SCell is used to indicate the signal quality of the signal transmitted on that SCell, or the measurement result of the SCell is used to indicate the signal quality of the signal transmitted on the SSB beam of that SCell. The terminal can report the measurement result of the SCell to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the measurement result of the SCell reported by the terminal, and if the measurement result of the SCell indicates that the signal quality of the signal transmitted on that SCell is poor, it deletes the SCell from the terminal's SCell list.

[0090] Generally, network devices can be configured with SSB resources to enable terminals to receive SSBs on these resources. SSB resources can include at least one of the following: time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, code-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, and power-domain resources.

[0091] Temporal resources can be determined by at least one of the following: the period of the SSB, the slot-level offset within the period, the symbol index within the slot, or the temporal location of the SSB in a half-frame. Typically, an SSB can occupy four consecutive symbols in the temporal domain.

[0092] Frequency domain resources can be determined by at least one of the following: the frequency location of the SSB, the subcarrier spacing of the SSB, the bandwidth, the starting resource block (RB), the frequency hopping configuration, or the frequency domain comb configuration. Typically, an SSB can occupy 20 RBs in the frequency domain (e.g., 240 subcarriers).

[0093] Code field resources can be determined by at least one of the following: the sequence of SSBs, or the cyclic shift of SSBs.

[0094] Power domain resources can be determined by at least one of the following: the power of the SSB, the power range, the power offset, or the power threshold. The power of the SSB can be understood as its transmission power, or more specifically, the transmission power of the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) within the SSB. The power range can include an interval defined by a maximum power value and a minimum power value; this power range may include boundary points or not, such as the maximum power value and / or the minimum power value.

[0095] Optionally, network devices can dynamically configure SSB resources, meaning the information used to determine SSB resources can change dynamically. For example, in the first time period, the SSB period used to determine time-domain resources can be 20 milliseconds (ms), while in the second time period, the SSB period used to determine time-domain resources can be 40 ms.

[0096] 4. Uplink scheduling

[0097] Uplink scheduling refers to the process by which a terminal, when it has uplink data to be transmitted, interacts with the network device to obtain transmission resources and then sends the uplink data to be transmitted to the network device on those resources. The uplink scheduling process is described in detail below. As shown in Figure 7, the uplink scheduling process can be implemented through the following steps S701 to S705.

[0098] S701. When a terminal has uplink data to be transmitted, the terminal can send a scheduling request (SR) to the network device on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to request uplink authorization. Correspondingly, the network device receives the SR from the terminal on the PUCCH.

[0099] SR is used to indicate the presence of uplink data to be transmitted, but it is not used to indicate the amount of uplink data to be transmitted. Furthermore, SR typically occupies 1 bit.

[0100] S702, The network device sends downlink control information (DCI) 1 to the terminal on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Correspondingly, the terminal receives DCI 1 from the network device on the PDCCH.

[0101] DCI1 may include resource indication information 1, which can be used to indicate the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) allocated to the terminal.

[0102] S703, the terminal sends MAC PDU1 to the network device on the PUSCH allocated to the terminal. Correspondingly, the network device receives MAC PDU1 from the terminal on the PUSCH allocated to the terminal.

[0103] The MAC PDU1 can include uplink data to be transmitted, a buffer status report (BSR), and a power headroom report (PHR). The BSR indicates the amount of remaining uplink data to be transmitted, and the PHR indicates the current power headroom of the terminal.

[0104] S704. If the amount of remaining uplink data to be transmitted as indicated by the BSR is not zero, and the current power margin of the terminal as indicated by the PHR is not zero, the network device sends DCI2 to the terminal on the PDCCH. Correspondingly, the terminal receives DCI2 from the network device on the PDCCH.

[0105] DCI2 may include resource indication information 2, which may also be used to indicate the PUSCH allocated to the terminal.

[0106] S705. The terminal sends MAC PDU2 to the network device on the PUSCH allocated to the terminal. Correspondingly, the network device receives MAC PDU2 from the terminal on the PUSCH allocated to the terminal.

[0107] MAC PDU2 may contain the remaining uplink data to be transmitted.

[0108] As described above regarding CA and DC, the terminal can also communicate on the SCell, allowing the SCell to provide additional radio resources. However, before communicating on the SCell, the terminal needs to receive SSBs on the SCell and perform cell search, synchronization, and cell measurement based on the SSBs to select the appropriate SSB beam for communication with the SCell.

[0109] Generally, network devices can send SSBs to terminals on the SCell so that the terminals can perform SCell synchronization or cell measurements based on the SSBs. To reduce network device power consumption, network devices can choose not to send SSBs on the SCell, thus reducing the number of SSB transmissions and consequently lowering power consumption. However, omitting SSB transmission on the SCell may prevent terminals from receiving SSBs on the SCell in a timely manner, potentially hindering timely SCell synchronization or cell measurements.

[0110] In view of this, this application provides an information transmission method in which the SSB transmitted between the terminal and the first secondary cell is triggered by the terminal. That is, the terminal can request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell, so as to trigger the network device to send an SSB to the terminal on the first secondary cell. This allows the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell in a timely manner, and thus the terminal can perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell in a timely manner based on the SSB received on the first secondary cell.

[0111] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0112] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained before introducing the embodiments of this application.

[0113] 1. In the embodiments of this application, for ease of description, when numbering is involved, it can start from 1 and be numbered consecutively, or it can start from 0 and be numbered from any parameter. It should be understood that the above are settings made for the convenience of describing the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0114] 2. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of this application may refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, the New Radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0115] 3. In the embodiments of this application, the descriptions such as "when," "under the circumstances," "if," and "if" all refer to the fact that the device (e.g., a terminal or network device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They are not time limits, nor do they require the device (e.g., a terminal or network device) to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0116] 4. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. In the embodiments of this application, "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a to b, a to c, b to c, or a to b to c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that "first" and "second" are not necessarily different. Meanwhile, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being used as an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete manner for ease of understanding.

[0117] 5. In this application, "at least one" means one or more. "More" means two or more. "At least two" means two or three or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0118] 6. In this application, "instruction" may include: direct instruction, or, indirect instruction, or, explicit instruction, or, implicit instruction.

[0119] In this application, "including" can include: direct inclusion, indirect inclusion, explicit inclusion, or implicit inclusion.

[0120] Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0121] It should be understood that existing technologies may change as technical solutions evolve, and the technical solutions provided in this application are not limited to the existing technologies provided.

[0122] In this application, different embodiments or parts of steps (e.g., any one or more steps) from different embodiments can be combined with each other to form new embodiments. It is not limited that parts of steps or any one or more steps in different embodiments may include optional steps in a certain embodiment, mandatory steps in a certain embodiment, or both optional and mandatory steps in a certain embodiment; this application does not limit this. Unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced mutually.

[0123] The order of steps in the embodiments of this application is not limited in any way. The order of judgments of different conditions in the embodiments of this application is not limited in any way. The terms "after" and "at" in this application are not strictly limited to specific time points. The nouns and terms used in this application are examples and may be other names; this application does not impose any restrictions on them.

[0124] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 4th generation (4G) mobile communication systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, future evolution systems, or multiple communication convergence systems, as well as existing communication systems. The application scenarios of the technical solutions provided in this application can include various scenarios, such as machine-to-machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). These scenarios may include, but are not limited to, communication scenarios between terminals, communication scenarios between network devices and core network devices, and communication scenarios between network devices and terminals.

[0125] Figure 8 illustrates a possible, non-limiting communication system. As shown in Figure 8, the communication system 8000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 800 and a core network (CN) 900. The communication system 8000 may also include an Internet 1000. The RAN 800 includes at least one RAN node (810a and 810b in Figure 8, collectively referred to as 810) and at least one terminal (820a-820j in Figure 8, collectively referred to as 820), wherein 820h, 820j, and 820d can be tethered devices. The RAN 800 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 8). The terminal 820 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 810. The RAN node 810 is connected to the core network 900 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network equipment in the core network 900 and the RAN node 810 in the RAN 800 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0126] RAN 800 can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, or future communication networks (or future-oriented evolution systems). RAN 800 can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a Wi-Fi system, or a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0127] A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0128] RAN node 810, also known as network equipment, access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and assists terminals in achieving wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 810 in the communication system 8000 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 810 and terminal 820 are relative. For example, network element 820i in Figure 8 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 820j accessing RAN 800 through network element 820i, network element 820i is a base station; however, for base station 810a, network element 820i is a terminal. RAN node 810 and terminal 820 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 810a and 810b in Figure 8 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 820a-820j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0129] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base stations and terminals.

[0130] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 820i in Figure 8 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 820j that access the wireless access network 800 via 820i, terminal 820i is a base station; however, for base station 810a, 820i is a terminal, meaning that 810a and 820i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 810a and 820i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 810a, 820i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 810a and 810b in Figure 8 can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 820a-820j in Figure 8 can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0131] In this embodiment, the base station is also referred to as a network device. The apparatus for implementing the functions of the network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. This apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the network device is described as a network device, and this does not constitute a limitation on the solutions of this embodiment.

[0132] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the UE is also referred to as a terminal. The device for implementing the functions of the terminal can be a terminal itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or hardware circuit plus software module. This device can be installed in the terminal or used in conjunction with the terminal. In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal is described as a terminal, and this does not constitute a limitation on the solutions of this embodiment.

[0133] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a Wi-Fi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 8, 810a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 8, 810b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud-radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0134] In another possible scenario, multiple network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each network device performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, network devices may include a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc.

[0135] The CU and DU can be integrated into a single device, such as a baseband unit (BBU). However, the CU and DU can also be deployed separately. As shown in Figure 9, when the CU and DU are configured separately, they can communicate with each other via the F1 interface. Furthermore, the CU can also communicate with other network devices via the Xn-C interface and with core network equipment (e.g., the 5G core network (5GC)) via the NG interface.

[0136] The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0137] It is understood that network devices can be CU nodes, DU nodes, or devices that include both CU and DU nodes. Furthermore, a CU can be classified as a network device in the access network (RAN) or as a network device in the core network (CN); no restrictions are placed here.

[0138] For example, as shown in Figure 10, taking a network device including CU, DU, and RU as an example: CU can be used to implement the RRC layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. DU can be used to implement the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the Higher Physical Layer (Higher-PHY) (closer to the MAC layer). RU can be used to implement the Lower Physical Layer (Lower-PHY) (closer to the RF) function, the Radio Frequency (RF) layer, and the antenna function. Furthermore, control plane signaling can be processed sequentially through the RRC layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, Higher-PHY, Lower-PHY, and RF layer, and then transmitted to other devices (e.g., terminals) via the antenna. User plane data can be processed sequentially through the PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, Higher-PHY, Lower-PHY, and RF layer, and then transmitted to other devices via the antenna. Network devices can acquire signals from other devices via antennas. These signals can be processed sequentially through the RF layer, Lower-PHY, Higher-PHY, MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer to obtain user plane data; or, these signals can be processed sequentially through the RF layer, Lower-PHY, Higher-PHY, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, and RRC layer to obtain control plane signaling.

[0139] Optionally, in the ORAN system, the network devices may further include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC), which may include a near-real-time RIC (near-RT RIC) and / or a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC). In this case, the network devices in the ORAN system may be as shown in Figure 11. The near-real-time or non-real-time RIC can be used for model training and inference. For example, it can be used to train an artificial intelligence (AI) model and use the AI ​​model for inference. The near-real-time or non-real-time RIC can obtain relevant information from network devices (e.g., at least one of CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, RU, etc.) and / or terminals as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near-real-time or non-real-time RIC can deliver the inference results to the network devices and / or terminals. Optionally, the inference results can be exchanged between CU and DU, and / or between DU and RU. For example, near real-time or non-real-time RICs submit inference results to DUs, which then forward them to RUs for near real-time intelligent management of network devices. Furthermore, the near real-time RIC can also collect data from CUs and / or DUs via the E2 interface and perform related operations on the collected data to achieve near real-time control and optimization of O-RAN modules and resources.

[0140] In this embodiment, near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can be deployed separately as a network element, or near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can be deployed as part of other devices. For example, near real-time RIC can be deployed in RAN nodes (e.g., CU or DU), while non-real-time RIC is set in operations, administration and maintenance (OAM), cloud servers, core network devices, or other network devices. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0141] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open-centralized unit (O-CU), DU can also be called an open-distributed unit (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open-centralized unit-control plane (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open-centralized unit-user plane (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open-radio unit (O-RU).

[0142] O-CU stands for Open RAN Central Unit or Open RAN Control Unit. The O-CU is used to implement the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and other control functions in the 3GPP standard.

[0143] O-CU-CP is short for Open RAN Central Unit Control Plane or Open RAN Control Unit Control Plane. Similar to the CU-CP in NR systems, O-CU-CP implements the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer. Furthermore, O-CU-CP can also be part of the O-CU.

[0144] O-CU-UP is short for Open RAN Central Unit User Plane or Open RAN Control Unit User Plane. Similar to the CU-UP in NR systems, O-CU-UP implements the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. Furthermore, O-CU-UP can also be part of the O-CU.

[0145] O-DU stands for Open Radio Access Network Distributed Unit. Based on lower-layer function partitioning, it is used to implement the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and higher physical layer (Higher-PHY) (closer to the MAC layer) in the 3GPP standard. The higher-layer functions of the PHY layer include one or more of the following: forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, or modulation / demodulation.

[0146] O-RAN is short for Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit. Based on low-layer function segmentation, it is used to implement the lower physical layer (Lower-PHY) (close to radio frequency) functions and radio frequency functions in the 3GPP standard. The lower-layer physical layer functions include one or more of the following: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) / Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (iFFT), digital beamforming, or extraction and filtering of the physical random access channel (PRACH). It is similar to the Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or Remote Radio Head (RRH) in 3GPP, but includes the lower-layer functions of the PHY, such as FFT / iFFT or PRACH extraction.

[0147] For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0148] Core network equipment refers to the equipment in the core network (CN) that provides service support to terminals. Examples of core network equipment include: access and mobility management function (AMF) entities, session management function (SMF) entities, user plane function (UPF) entities, etc., which will not be listed here. The AMF entity is responsible for terminal access management and mobility management; the SMF entity is responsible for session management, such as user session establishment; and the UPF entity can be a user plane functional entity, primarily responsible for connecting to external networks. In this application, entities can also be referred to as network elements or functional entities. For example, an AMF entity can also be called an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and an SMF entity can also be called an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity, etc.

[0149] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 8 are for illustration only, and this application is not limited thereto. In actual applications, the communication system may include more terminals, more network devices, and other network elements, such as core network devices and / or network elements used to implement artificial intelligence functions.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the network device and terminal in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0151] In one possible implementation, the relevant functions of the terminal or network device in this application embodiment can be implemented by one device, multiple devices working together, or one or more functional modules within a single device. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0152] For example, the functions of the terminal or network device in this application embodiment can be implemented by the communication device 1210 in FIG12. FIG12 shows a schematic diagram of a possible communication device. It is understood that the communication device 1210 includes means of the necessary form, such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, to be appropriately configured together to perform this solution. The communication device 1210 may be a RAN node, terminal, core network device, or other network device as shown in FIG8, or it may be a component (e.g., a chip) in these devices to implement the methods described in the following method embodiments. The communication device 1210 includes one or more processors 1211. The processor 1211 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (e.g., RAN node, terminal, or chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

[0153] Optionally, in one design, processor 1211 may include program 1213 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on processor 1211 to cause communication device 1210 to perform the methods described in the embodiments below. In yet another possible design, communication device 1210 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG12) for implementing the communication functions in the embodiments below.

[0154] Optionally, the communication device 1210 may include one or more memories 1212 storing a program 1214 (sometimes referred to as code or instructions), which can be run on the processor 1211 to cause the communication device 1210 to perform the methods described in the following method embodiments.

[0155] Optionally, the processor 1211 and / or memory 1212 may include artificial intelligence (AI) modules 1217 and 1218, which are used to implement AI-related functions. AI modules 1217 or 1218 can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of both. For example, AI modules 1217 or 1218 may include a radio intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, AI modules 1217 or 1218 can be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0156] Optionally, data may also be stored in the processor 1211 and / or the memory 1212. The processor and memory may be configured separately or integrated together.

[0157] Optionally, the communication device 1210 may also include a transceiver 1215 and / or an antenna 1216. The processor 1211, sometimes referred to as a processing unit, controls the communication device (e.g., a RAN node or terminal). The transceiver 1215, sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver, is used to implement the transmission and reception functions of the communication device via the antenna 1216.

[0158] The information transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 13.

[0159] In the following embodiments of this application, the message names, parameter names, or information names between network elements are merely examples, and other names may be used in other embodiments. The methods provided in the embodiments of this application are not specifically limited in this regard. It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, each network element may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are examples, and the embodiments of this application may also execute other operations or variations of various operations. Furthermore, the steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0160] Figure 13 illustrates an example of an information transmission method provided in this application. This method can be executed by a terminal-side device and / or a network device-side device. Of course, the entity executing the actions of the terminal-side device in this method can also be a device / module within the terminal-side device, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit within the terminal-side device. Similarly, the entity executing the actions of the network device-side device in this method can also be a device / module within the network device-side device, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit within the network device-side device. This application does not specifically limit this aspect. The method is illustrated using the interaction between a terminal and a network device as an example. For example, as shown in Figure 13, the information transmission method includes the following steps:

[0161] S1301, The terminal sends the first information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information from the terminal.

[0162] The first information is used to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell, where the first secondary cell is the secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0163] In one alternative implementation, the first secondary cell may include one or more secondary cells in a list of secondary cells configured by the network device for the terminal. That is, the first secondary cell may include cells in an active state in the list of secondary cells configured by the network device for the terminal, or cells in an inactive state in the list of secondary cells configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0164] As described above regarding the stages of SCell management operations, stage 1 is before the terminal configures the SCell for the cell; stage 2 is after the terminal configures the SCell for the cell but before SCell activation; stage 3 is during the SCell activation process; and stage 4 is after the terminal activates the SCell for the cell. Since the first secondary cell can include both activated cells and inactive cells from the list of secondary cells configured for the terminal by the network device, in this implementation, S1301 can be executed in any of stages 2 to 4. In other words, S1301 can be executed after the terminal configures the SCell for the first secondary cell.

[0165] In another alternative implementation, the first secondary cell may also include one or more cells in an active state from a list of secondary cells configured by the network device for the terminal. In this implementation, S1301 can be executed within the aforementioned stage 4.

[0166] S1302. The network device sends an SSB on the first secondary cell. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0167] Optionally, prior to S1302, the network device can determine whether the terminal requires an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell. If it determines that the terminal requires an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell, it transmits the SSB on the first secondary cell, and the terminal receives the SSB accordingly. For example, the network device determines that the terminal requires an SSB if the terminal fails to synchronize with the first secondary cell, and / or the network device does not receive a measurement report reported by the terminal, and / or the amount of uplink and downlink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0168] Optionally, the SSB involved in the information transmission method provided in this application embodiment can be either always-on SSB or OD-SSB, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. Generally, the SSB involved in the information transmission method provided in this application embodiment can be OD-SSB.

[0169] In the information transmission method described in this application embodiment, the SSB transmitted between the terminal and the first secondary cell is triggered by the terminal. That is, the terminal can request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell, thereby triggering the network device to send an SSB to the terminal on the first secondary cell. This allows the terminal to receive the SSB on the first secondary cell in a timely manner, and thus enables the terminal to perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell based on the SSB received on the first secondary cell.

[0170] As described above regarding the SSB transmission method, the network device triggers the transmission of multiple OD-SSBs automatically. Specifically, the network device can send OD-SSB trigger information to the terminal, and the terminal receives the OD-SSB trigger information from the network device, enabling the terminal to know that the network device can receive SSBs on the secondary cell configured for the terminal. Afterward, the network device can send OD-SSBs to the terminal on that secondary cell, and the terminal receives the OD-SSBs from the network device on that secondary cell. However, the SSB transmission method described above relies on the network device actively triggering the transmission. This results in the terminal being unable to receive SSBs on the first secondary cell in a timely manner when it has a need for SSBs transmitted on that secondary cell, leading to the inability to synchronize or perform cell measurements on the secondary cell in a timely manner, and consequently, the inability to communicate with the secondary cell in a timely manner. Therefore, as shown in Figure 14, S1301 described in this embodiment can also be replaced with S1301A.

[0171] S1301A: When the terminal requires SSB transmission on the first secondary cell, the terminal sends first information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information from the terminal.

[0172] Understandably, when a terminal has a need for an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell, it can request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. This allows the terminal's need for an SSB to be transmitted on the first secondary cell to be met in a timely manner. It also allows the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell when appropriate, thus avoiding the transmission of redundant information as much as possible and reducing unnecessary communication overhead.

[0173] In one possible implementation, the terminal's requirement for the presence of SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: the bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the terminal's first timer times out, the first timer being used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive SSBs on the first secondary cell; the terminal's moving distance is greater than or equal to a second threshold; or, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0174] Understandably, a high bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell indicates a high frequency of communication failures or dropped calls. In this case, it is highly likely that synchronization between the terminal and the first secondary cell has failed, or that the signal quality of the first secondary cell has deteriorated. Therefore, the terminal needs to transmit SSBs on the first secondary cell; that is, the terminal requires SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell to resynchronize or perform cell measurements on the first secondary cell, thereby ensuring normal communication between the terminal and the first secondary cell as much as possible.

[0175] Furthermore, since the bit error rate (BER) during communication between the terminal and the first secondary cell is an indicator of the communication process, the terminal needs to communicate with the first secondary cell before step S1301. In order for the terminal to be able to communicate with the first secondary cell before step S1301, the terminal needs to receive an SSB (SSB) on the first secondary cell before step S1301. Therefore, the conditions related to the BER during communication between the terminal and the first secondary cell apply only in scenarios where the terminal can receive an SSB on the first secondary cell before step S1301.

[0176] Understandably, if the terminal's first timer times out, it indicates that the terminal has been unable to obtain information related to the first secondary cell (e.g., signal quality, frequency, time, etc.) for an extended period. This information is prone to change. When the time information of the first secondary cell changes, the terminal cannot communicate normally with it. Therefore, the terminal needs to transmit SSBs on the first secondary cell. This requirement allows the terminal to resynchronize or perform cell measurements on the first secondary cell based on the transmitted SSBs, thus ensuring normal communication between the terminal and the first secondary cell as much as possible.

[0177] Optionally, the terminal's first timer can be started at the moment when the terminal most recently received an SSB on the first secondary cell. Since the terminal's first timer can be started at the moment when the terminal most recently received an SSB on the first secondary cell, the terminal needs to receive an SSB on the first secondary cell before S1301. Therefore, the conditions related to the terminal's first timer take effect in the scenario where the terminal can receive an SSB on the first secondary cell before S1301. Furthermore, the terminal's first timer can also be started when the network device instructs the terminal to stop sending SSBs on the first secondary cell; this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0178] Understandably, if the terminal's movement distance is greater than or equal to the second threshold, it can easily move to the edge of the coverage area of ​​the first secondary cell. If the terminal moves to the edge of the coverage area of ​​the first secondary cell, the signal quality of the signal received by the terminal on the first secondary cell is likely to change significantly. Therefore, the terminal needs the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell; that is, the terminal has a requirement for the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell so that it can re-measure the first secondary cell based on the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell to determine the signal quality of the signal currently received by the terminal on the first secondary cell.

[0179] Optionally, the terminal can determine its movement distance based on its current location and its location when it last received an SSB on the first secondary cell. Since the terminal's movement distance is determined based on its location when it last received an SSB on the first secondary cell, the terminal needs to receive an SSB on the first secondary cell before S1301. Therefore, the conditions related to the terminal's movement distance can be effective in scenarios where the terminal can receive an SSB on the first secondary cell before S1301. Furthermore, the terminal's movement distance can also be the distance between its current location and its location at a preset time; this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0180] Understandably, if a terminal has a large amount of uplink data to be transmitted, it reflects a high volume of communication between the terminal and network devices. This can make it difficult for a single primary cell to meet the terminal's data transmission needs, necessitating communication with a secondary cell. Therefore, the terminal requires SSBs transmitted on the primary secondary cell. This means the terminal has a demand for SSBs transmitted on the primary secondary cell, enabling it to perform cell search, synchronization, and cell measurement based on these SSBs. This allows the terminal to select the appropriate SSB beam for communication with the primary secondary cell, thus fulfilling its data transmission requirements.

[0181] Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the terminal's requirement for the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell. The terminal's requirement for the SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell may also include other conditions, such as the terminal's data transmission rate being less than or equal to the fourth threshold. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0182] Understandably, the terminal can determine whether it needs to transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell based on multiple parameters such as the bit error rate when communicating with the first secondary cell, the first timer, the terminal's moving distance, and the amount of uplink data to be transmitted. This allows for a more comprehensive and accurate determination of whether the terminal needs to transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell, enabling the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell under more appropriate circumstances. This further avoids the transmission of redundant information and minimizes unnecessary communication overhead.

[0183] Optionally, the network device can set the first threshold, second threshold, third threshold, fourth threshold, and the duration of the first timer according to the actual network conditions. This embodiment of the application does not impose any restrictions on this. Furthermore, the aforementioned first threshold, second threshold, third threshold, fourth threshold, and the duration of the first timer can all be set by the network device during the process of configuring the first secondary cell for the terminal. For example, the aforementioned first threshold, second threshold, third threshold, fourth threshold, and the duration of the first timer are carried in the configuration information of the first secondary cell. This embodiment of the application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0184] As described above regarding S1301, the terminal can send first information to the network device to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. In this case, the network device supports allowing the terminal to trigger an on-demand SSB. However, whether the network device supports allowing the terminal to trigger an on-demand SSB can be indicated by the network device. Therefore, as shown in FIG15, the information transmission method described in this application embodiment may further include the following S1501.

[0185] S1501, The network device sends the second information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information from the network device.

[0186] The second piece of information is used to indicate whether the terminal is allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0187] Understandably, network devices can instruct terminals to request network devices to send SSBs on the first secondary cell, enabling terminals to actively trigger SSB transmissions between terminals and the first secondary cell. This allows terminals to subsequently request network devices to send SSBs on the first secondary cell and receive SSBs in a timely manner. Consequently, terminals can perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell based on the SSBs received on the first secondary cell.

[0188] Optionally, the second information can also be used to indicate that the terminal is not allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. One example is that, if the second information is true, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell; if the second information is false, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal is not allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. Another example is that, if the second information is 1, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal is allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell; if the second information is 0, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal is not allowed to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0189] Optionally, the second information may be carried in the configuration information of the first secondary cell sent by the network device to the terminal. The configuration information of the first secondary cell may also include other information besides the second information, such as at least one of the following: measurement configuration information, cell status information, initial transmission status of the OD-SSB of the first secondary cell, and SSB configuration information.

[0190] Measurement configuration information may include at least one of the following: configuration information for the cell measurement objective (MO), report configuration information, configuration information for measurement gaps, or measurement identifiers. Measurement gaps are associated with cell MOs; typically, one measurement gap can be associated with different cell measurement objects. Measurement identifiers can be associated with both the cell MO configuration information and the report configuration information.

[0191] The cell status information is also used to indicate that the first secondary cell supports OD-SSB energy saving. Alternatively, the cell status information is also used to indicate that the first secondary cell is in an energy-saving state transmitted by OD-SSB.

[0192] For example, the initial transmission status of the OD-SSB of the first secondary cell can be used to indicate that the initial transmission status of the OD-SSB of the first secondary cell is active; or, for another example, the initial transmission status of the OD-SSB of the first secondary cell can be used to indicate that the initial transmission status of the OD-SSB of the first secondary cell is deactivated.

[0193] The configuration information of the SSB may include at least one of the following: the SSB bitmap, the SSB transmission period, or the SSB frequency. Furthermore, the configuration information of the first secondary cell may include configuration information for one or more SSBs (also referred to as SSB patterns). Different SSB configuration information may correspond to SSBs transmitted in different transmission methods. For example, SSB configuration information 1 corresponds to always-on SSB configuration information, and SSB configuration information 2 corresponds to OD-SSB configuration information.

[0194] Alternatively, the configuration information of each SSB in at least one SSB can correspond to a different index value. For example, the configuration information of an SSB with an index value of 1 includes an SSB bitmap of bitmap1, an SSB transmission period of 20ms, and an SSB frequency of 960 MHz. As another example, the configuration information of an SSB with an index value of 2 includes an SSB bitmap of bitmap2, an SSB transmission period of 40ms, and an SSB frequency of 890MHz. In this case, the network device can use the index value to indicate the SSB configuration information transmitted to the terminal on the first secondary cell, and the terminal can then determine the SSB configuration information transmitted on the first secondary cell using the index value.

[0195] The following provides a detailed explanation of how the first piece of information is carried.

[0196] In some possible implementations, the first information is carried on the uplink wake-up signal (WUS) configured by the network device for the terminal; or, the first information is carried in the uplink control information (UCI); or, the first information is carried in the user assistance information (UAI); or, the first information is carried in the uplink MAC control element (CE).

[0197] It is understood that the information transmission method described in the embodiments of this application provides multiple implementations for transmitting the first information, which ensures that the terminal can transmit the first information normally as much as possible and improves the reliability of the terminal transmitting the first information.

[0198] Furthermore, if the first information is carried on the WUS configured by the network device for the terminal, the network device can send WUS resource indication information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal can receive the WUS resource indication information from the network device. The WUS resource indication information may include at least one of the following: WUS sequence information, WUS preamble identifier, and WUS time-frequency resource information.

[0199] When the first information is carried by a UCI, the network device can send the UCI resource indication information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal can receive the UCI resource indication information from the network device. The UCI resource indication information indicates the resource carrying the UCI. Furthermore, the resource carrying the UCI can be a resource requested through uplink scheduling or a resource requested through a Service Request (SR).

[0200] When the first information is carried in the UAI, the UAI may include other information besides the first information, such as at least one of the following: the SB transmission cycle, the SSB transmission count, and the SSB-positions inBurst. The network device may transmit the SSB to the terminal on the first secondary cell based on at least one of the SB transmission cycle, the SSB transmission count, and the SSB-positions inBurst.

[0201] When the first information is carried on an uplink MAC CE, the uplink MAC CE is carried on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). If the terminal has a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, the terminal can directly send the uplink MAC CE containing the first information to the network device on that PUSCH. However, if the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, the terminal acquires a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information.

[0202] Optionally, the process of the terminal acquiring the PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE including the first information may include: the terminal sending an SR to the network device, and the network device receiving the SR from the terminal. The network device sending third information to the terminal, and the terminal receiving the third information from the network device. The third information indicates the PUSCH configured for the terminal, and the PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

[0203] Understandably, if the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, the terminal can send an SR to the network device and obtain the PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE containing the first information through the third information sent by the network device. This provides transmission resources for the uplink MAC CE containing the first information, thus providing resource guarantees for the transmission of the first information and enabling the terminal to transmit the first information normally as much as possible, thereby improving the reliability of the terminal's transmission of the first information.

[0204] It is understandable that the SR and third information can be understood by referring to the relevant descriptions in the uplink scheduling above, and will not be repeated here.

[0205] Furthermore, optionally, the SR is carried on the PUCCH, which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device.

[0206] Understandably, the terminal can determine the PUCCH used to transmit the SR based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device, so as to provide transmission resources for the SR, that is, to provide resource guarantee for the SR, so as to enable the terminal to transmit the SR normally and improve the reliability of the terminal's SR transmission.

[0207] For example, the resource configuration information configured by the network device for the SR may include at least one of the following: the transmission period of the SR, the maximum number of transmissions of the SR, the priority of the service that triggers the transmission of the SR, the time-frequency domain resource information of the SR, or the prohibition period of the SR. The prohibition period of the SR is the time during which the terminal is restricted from sending the SR to the network device, and the prohibition period of the SR can be started from the time of the most recent SR transmission from the terminal to the network device.

[0208] The prohibited transmission time of SR described in the embodiments of this application can be indicated by the sr-ProhibitTimer cell, as detailed below:

[0209] sr-ProhibitTimer ENUMERATED{ms1,ms2,ms4,ms8,ms16,ms32,ms64,ms128}OPTIONAL,--Need S

[0210] "ms1" represents 5ms, "ms2" ​​represents 2ms, and so on, without further explanation.

[0211] The maximum number of SR transmissions described in the embodiments of this application can be indicated by the sr-TransMax cell, as detailed below:

[0212] sr-TransMax ENUMERATED{n4,n8,n16,n32,n64,spare3,spare2,spare1}

[0213] "n4" represents 4 times, "n8" represents 8 times, and so on, which will not be elaborated here. "spare3, spare2, spare1" all represent blank bits.

[0214] For example, the structure of the uplink MAC CE including the first information is described in detail below. As shown in Figure 16, Ci in the first line of the uplink MAC CE is used to indicate whether the terminal requests the network device to send an SSB on the secondary cell with secondary cell index (sCellIndex) i. i can be, for example, an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 7. For example, Ci set to 0 indicates that the terminal has not requested the network device to send an SSB on the secondary cell with sCellIndex i, and Ci set to 1 indicates that the terminal requests the network device to send an SSB on the secondary cell with sCellIndex i. The reverse is also true.

[0215] In other words, the first line in the uplink MAC CE is related to the first information. Assuming the index of the first secondary cell is 1 (i.e., i is 1), when C1 is set to 1, it means the terminal requests the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. In this case, the first information can be C1. When C1 is set to 0, it means the terminal did not request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. The reverse is also true.

[0216] In this scenario, it can be understood that the terminal sends the first information to the network device via the uplink MAC CE. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information and sends an SSB on the first secondary cell so that the terminal can obtain the SSB in a timely manner. In turn, the terminal can use the received SSB to perform synchronization or cell measurement on the secondary cell in a timely manner.

[0217] As shown in Figure 16, the uplink MAC CE shown in Figure 16 may include configuration information for at least one SSB in addition to the first information. For example, the configuration information for each SSB in the at least one SSB configuration information may correspond to at least one of the following parameters: SSB transmission period, SSB transmission count, or SSB-positionsinBurst. The configuration information of the SSB that the terminal requests to be transmitted on the first secondary cell may be the configuration information of any one of the at least one SSB configuration information mentioned above or the configuration information of a specified SSB.

[0218] Optionally, the configuration information of at least one SSB can correspond to a different index value for each SSB. In this case, the uplink MAC CE can include the configuration information of at least one SSB, where each SSB's configuration information corresponds to a different index value, or the index value corresponding to the SSB configuration information requested by the terminal for transmission on the first secondary cell. Furthermore, the terminal can use the index value to indicate to the network device the SSB configuration information requested by the terminal for transmission on the first secondary cell.

[0219] As described above regarding the information transmission method shown in Figure 13, the network device can receive first information from the terminal requesting the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell. The network device can then send the SSB on the first secondary cell, allowing the terminal to receive the SSB in a timely manner. However, before sending the SSB on the first secondary cell, the network device can inform the terminal in advance that it can receive the SSB on the first secondary cell, allowing the terminal to prepare in advance and ensuring that it can receive the SSB normally on the first secondary cell as much as possible. Therefore, as shown in Figure 17, the information transmission method described in this application embodiment may further include the following S1701.

[0220] S1701, The network device sends the fourth information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the fourth information from the network device.

[0221] The fourth information is used to instruct the network device to transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell, or to instruct the activation of an SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell. Optionally, the fourth information may also indicate relevant information about the SSB, such as the SSB transmission period, the number of SSB transmissions, and time-frequency domain resource information configured for the SSB; however, this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0222] Optionally, the fourth piece of information can also be carried in the downlink MAC CE. For an understanding of the downlink MAC CE including the fourth piece of information, please refer to the uplink MAC CE including the first piece of information; it will not be elaborated upon here.

[0223] S1701 described above is executed when the network device determines that the terminal has an SSB requirement. That is, when the network device determines that the terminal has an SSB requirement, it can send the fourth information to the terminal. However, when the network device determines that the terminal does not have an SSB requirement, the network device does not send an SSB on the first secondary cell. Alternatively, after sending an SSB on the first secondary cell, the network device determines that it will not send any more SSBs on the first secondary cell, meaning the network device determines that the terminal does not have an SSB requirement. In this case, the network device can inform the terminal in advance that it does not need to receive an SSB on the first secondary cell, thus preventing the terminal from preparing to receive an SSB on the first secondary cell in advance and avoiding redundant operations. Therefore, the information transmission method described in this application embodiment may further include the following S1702.

[0224] S1702, The network device sends the fifth information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the fifth information from the network device.

[0225] The fifth piece of information is used to instruct the network device to stop transmitting SSBs on the first secondary cell, or to instruct the SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell to be deactivated. For example, the network device determines that the terminal does not have an SSB requirement if the terminal is normally synchronized with the first secondary cell, and / or the network device receives a measurement report reported by the terminal.

[0226] Figure 18 shows a flowchart of another information transmission method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method is applied to an O-RAN architecture. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0227] S1801, the CU sends a 5G new radio base station (gNB)-CU configuration update message to the DU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the gNB-CU configuration update message from the CU.

[0228] The gNB-CU configuration update message includes RRC reconfiguration information, which in turn includes the configuration information of the first secondary cell. The configuration information of the first secondary cell includes second information. Furthermore, descriptions of other information within the configuration information of the first secondary cell can be found in the corresponding descriptions above and will not be repeated here.

[0229] S1802, DU sends RRC reconfiguration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the RRC reconfiguration information from DU.

[0230] The RRC reconfiguration information includes the second piece of information.

[0231] S1803. If the terminal requires SSB transmission on the first secondary cell, the terminal sends first information to the DU. Correspondingly, the DU receives the first information from the terminal.

[0232] S1804. If the DU determines that it will send an SSB on the first secondary cell, the DU sends the fourth information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the fourth information from the DU.

[0233] S1805, DU sends SSB to the terminal on the first secondary cell. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the SSB from DU on the first secondary cell.

[0234] S1806. The terminal can perform synchronization or cell measurement on the first secondary cell based on the SSB received on the first secondary cell, and obtain the synchronization result or measurement result.

[0235] S1807. The terminal sends synchronization results or measurement results to the CU. Correspondingly, the CU receives the synchronization results or measurement results from the terminal.

[0236] S1808. If the DU determines that it will not transmit an SSB on the first secondary cell, the DU sends the fifth information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the fifth information from the DU.

[0237] The above mainly describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiments of this application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. This communication device can be a network device-side device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above network device-side device, or a component usable in a network device-side device; or, this communication device can be a terminal-side device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above terminal-side device, or a component usable in a terminal-side device. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0238] This application embodiment can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be understood that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and represents a logical functional division; in actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0239] Figure 19 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 190. The communication device 190 includes a processing module 1901 and a transceiver module 1902. The transceiver module 1902, also known as a transceiver unit, is used to implement transceiver functions, and may be, for example, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, or a communication interface.

[0240] When the communication device 190 shown in Figure 19 is the terminal-side device in the above embodiments:

[0241] In one possible implementation: the processing module 1901 is used to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to send first information to the network device and receive SSB on the first secondary cell. The first information is used to request the network device to send a synchronization signal block SSB on the first secondary cell, wherein the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0242] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1901 is further configured to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to send first information to the network device when the terminal has a demand for SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell.

[0243] In one possible implementation, the terminal's requirement for the presence of SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: the bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the terminal's first timer times out, the first timer being used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive SSBs on the first secondary cell; the terminal's moving distance is greater than or equal to a second threshold; or, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0244] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1901 is further configured to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to receive second information from the network device, the second information being configured to instruct the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried on the uplink wake-up resource (WUS) configured by the network device for the terminal; or, the first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, the first information is carried in the user assistance information (UAI); or, the first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element (MAC CE).

[0246] In one possible implementation, the uplink MAC CE is carried on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The processing module 1901 is further configured to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to send a scheduling request (SR) to the network device when the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE including the first information, and to receive third information from the network device. The third information is used to indicate the PUSCH configured for the terminal, and the PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

[0247] In one possible implementation, the SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device.

[0248] All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0249] In this embodiment, the terminal device is presented as an integrated unit divided into functional modules. Here, "module" can refer to a specific ASIC, circuitry, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other devices that can provide the aforementioned functions. In a simplified embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the terminal device can take the form of the communication device 1210 shown in FIG12.

[0250] For example, the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in FIG12 can call the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212 to make the communication device 1210 execute the information transmission method in the above method embodiment.

[0251] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1902 and processing module 1901 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1901 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1902 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the transceiver 1215 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12.

[0252] Since the communication device 190 provided in this application embodiment can execute the above information transmission method, the technical effects it can obtain can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0253] When the communication device 190 shown in Figure 19 is the network device-side device in the above embodiments:

[0254] In one possible implementation: the processing module 1901 is used to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to receive first information from the terminal and send an SSB on the first secondary cell, wherein the first information is used to request the network device to send a synchronization signal block SSB on the first secondary cell, and the first secondary cell is a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal.

[0255] In one possible implementation, the first information is triggered when the terminal has a demand for an SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell.

[0256] In one possible implementation, the terminal's requirement for the presence of SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: the bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the terminal's first timer times out, the first timer being used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive SSBs on the first secondary cell; the terminal's moving distance is greater than or equal to a second threshold; or, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1901 is further configured to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to send second information to the terminal, the second information being configured to instruct the terminal to request the network device to send an SSB on the first secondary cell.

[0258] In one possible implementation, the first information is sent to the network device on the uplink wake-up resource (WUS) configured for the terminal; or, the first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, the first information is carried in the user assistance information (UAI); or, the first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element (MAC CE).

[0259] In one possible implementation, the uplink MAC CE is sent to the network device on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The processing module 1901 is also used to instruct the transceiver module 1902 to receive the scheduling request (SR) from the terminal and send third information to the terminal. The third information is used to indicate the PUSCH configured for the terminal. The PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information. The SR is triggered when the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

[0260] In one possible implementation, the SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured for the SR by the network device.

[0261] All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0262] In this embodiment, the network device side device is presented in an integrated manner, divided into various functional modules. Here, "module" can refer to a specific ASIC, circuitry, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other devices that can provide the aforementioned functions. In a simplified embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the network device side device can take the form of the communication device 1210 shown in FIG. 12.

[0263] For example, the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in FIG12 can call the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212 to make the communication device 1210 execute the information transmission method in the above method embodiment.

[0264] Specifically, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1902 and processing module 1901 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1901 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the processor 1211 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1212, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver module 1902 in Figure 19 can be implemented by the transceiver 1215 in the communication device 1210 shown in Figure 12.

[0265] Since the communication device 190 provided in this application embodiment can execute the above information transmission method, the technical effects it can obtain can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0266] In one possible implementation, this application embodiment also provides a communication device (e.g., the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the methods in any of the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the methods in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be included in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, it may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices; this application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0267] In one possible implementation, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when run on a communication device, enable the communication device to execute the methods of any of the above-described method embodiments or any implementation thereof.

[0268] In one possible implementation, this application also provides an information transmission method, which includes the method of any of the above-described method embodiments or any implementation thereof.

[0269] In one possible implementation, this application embodiment also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal-side device of the above method embodiment and the network device-side device of the above method embodiment.

[0270] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the flow or function according to the embodiments of this application is generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs).

[0271] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple instances. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0272] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are exemplary illustrations of this application as defined by the appended claims and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A method of information transmission, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal-side device, the method includes: Send a first message to the network device, the first message being used to request the network device to send a synchronization signal block (SSB) on a first secondary cell, the first secondary cell being a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal; The SSB is received on the first secondary cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Sending the first information to the network device includes: When the terminal has a need for SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell, it sends the first information to the network device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The terminal's requirement for SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: The bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold. The first timer of the terminal times out, and the first timer is used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive the SSB on the first secondary cell; The terminal's movement distance is greater than or equal to the second threshold. Alternatively, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to the third threshold.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal receives second information from the network device, the second information being used to instruct the terminal to request the network device to send the SSB on the first secondary cell.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first information is carried on the Wake-Up Resource (WUS) configured by the network device for the terminal; or... The first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, The first information is contained in the User Assistance Information (UAI); or, The first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element MAC CE.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The uplink MAC CE is carried on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and the method further includes: If the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting an uplink MAC CE including the first information, a scheduling request SR is sent to the network device. The third information received from the network device is used to indicate the PUSCH configured for the terminal, and the PUSCH configured for the terminal is used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured by the network device for the SR.

8. An information transmission method characterized by comprising: Applied to a network device side device, the method includes: Receive first information from the terminal, the first information being used to request the network device to send a synchronization signal block (SSB) on a first secondary cell, the first secondary cell being a secondary cell configured by the network device for the terminal; The SSB is transmitted on the first secondary cell.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The first information is triggered when the terminal has a demand for SSB transmitted on the first secondary cell.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The terminal's requirement for SSBs transmitted on the first secondary cell includes at least one of the following: The bit error rate when the terminal communicates with the first secondary cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold. The first timer of the terminal times out. The first timer is used to limit the duration for which the terminal does not receive the SSB on the first secondary cell. The terminal's movement distance is greater than or equal to the second threshold. Alternatively, the amount of uplink data to be transmitted by the terminal is greater than or equal to the third threshold.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message to the terminal, the second message being used to instruct the terminal to request the network device to send the SSB on the first secondary cell.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that, The first information is sent to the network device on the Wake-Up Resource (WUS) configured for the terminal; or, The first information is carried in the uplink control message (UCI); or, The first information is contained in the User Assistance Information (UAI); or, The first information is carried in the uplink media access control layer control element MAC CE.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The uplink MAC CE is sent to the network device on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and the method further includes: A scheduling request (SR) is received from the terminal, the SR being triggered when the terminal does not have a PUSCH for transmitting an uplink MAC CE including the first information; A third message is sent to the terminal, the third message indicating the PUSCH configured for the terminal, the PUSCH configured for the terminal being used to transmit the uplink MAC CE including the first message.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The SR is carried on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), which is determined based on the resource configuration information configured by the network device for the SR.

15. A communications device, characterized by include: A functional unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-14; wherein the action performed by the functional unit is implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software.

16. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run computer programs or instructions, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-14 via logic circuitry.

17. A computer readable storage medium characterized by: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-14.

18. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that, When it is operated on a communication device, it causes the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-14.

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