Communication method and apparatus, and computer program product

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications. Disclosed in the present application are a communication method and apparatus, and a computer program product. Specifically disclosed is a method for adaptively updating and switching a synchronization signal transmission period of a communication device. By means of the method, the communication device transmits synchronization signals with a longer period when the amount of user request information is relatively small, and transmits synchronization signals with a shorter period when the amount of user request information is relatively large, thereby achieving the aim of conserving resources while ensuring the quality of service to the greatest extent possible. The present application solves the technical problem of a poor network energy-saving gain effect of a base station caused by the poor flexibility of a synchronization signal transmission period of a secondary cell in existing carrier aggregation scenarios.

Description

Communication methods, devices and computer program products

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510180843.2, filed on February 18, 2025, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus, Communication Equipment, Medium and Product", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, specifically to a communication method, apparatus, and computer program product. Background Technology

[0004] In existing 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology), downlink transmission energy consumption is the main aspect of network energy consumption. When there is no downlink control information or data transmission requirement, the transmission cycle of synchronization signals can be increased to reduce the energy consumption overhead caused by broadcasting synchronization signals. In carrier aggregation scenarios, primary and secondary cells need to periodically synchronize their time. Specifically, to save energy, secondary cells may not transmit SSB (Synchronization Signal / PBCH Block). When terminal devices need to synchronize with secondary cells, they can directly obtain the synchronization information from the primary cell. This multi-carrier downlink energy-saving enhancement technology can effectively reduce the transmission energy consumption caused by the periodic broadcasting of SSBs by secondary cells.

[0005] However, current multi-carrier downlink power-saving enhancement technology (SSB-less SCell) cannot be applied to all carrier aggregation scenarios. For intra-band carrier aggregation (ICA) scenarios, 3GPP Rel-15 (3GPP's first 5G communication standard release) supports the technology of SCell (Secondary Cell) not transmitting SSBs (SSB-without SCell). As long as the UE (User Equipment) supports this function, it can synchronize time and frequency with the SCell through PCell (Primary Cell). However, in inter-band carrier aggregation (ICA) scenarios, due to potentially large TA (Time Alignment) errors between primary and secondary cells (especially in non-cooperative communication scenarios), the above method will face greater difficulties. Therefore, the application of SSB-less SCell technology in these scenarios also faces greater challenges. While 3GPP Rel-18 (3GPP's first 5G-A communication standard release) supports the use of SSB-less SCell technology in some inter-band CA scenarios, it is currently limited to FR1 (Frequency Range 1) (a 5G frequency band) and cooperative communication scenarios. There are currently no applicable technical specifications for other carrier aggregation scenarios. Furthermore, the SSB broadcast signal period setting in current carrier aggregation scenarios is relatively fixed, and existing network energy-saving solutions do not support flexible broadcast signal period design, which is detrimental to network energy efficiency. Specifically, SSB-less SCell solutions applied in carrier aggregation scenarios typically use a relatively fixed SSB signal period setting, without considering flexible adjustments to the SSB signal period during the solution process (such as increasing or decreasing the period based on actual load conditions). This may result in the base station not achieving higher network energy-saving gains. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main purpose of this application is to provide a communication method, device, and computer program product, which aims to solve the technical problem that the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of secondary cells in current carrier aggregation scenarios leads to poor network energy-saving gain of base stations.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to a first communication device, the method comprising: sending information on the number of requests from a third communication device corresponding to a second communication device and / or information on the transmission cycle of a first synchronization signal to the second communication device.

[0008] Secondly, this application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving a third communication device request quantity information sent by a first communication device; and / or receiving a first synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the first communication device.

[0009] Thirdly, this application also provides a communication method applied to a third communication device, the method comprising: measuring at least one cell and obtaining a corresponding measurement result report; and sending the measurement result report and / or service request information to a first communication device.

[0010] Fourthly, this application also provides a communication method applied to a first communication device, the method comprising: sending a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to a fourth communication device; receiving acceptance information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or rejection information sent by the fourth communication device.

[0011] Fifthly, this application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by a first communication device; and sending second information to the first communication device, the second information comprising at least one of acceptance information, synchronization signal transmission period information, and rejection information.

[0012] Sixthly, this application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving a deactivation instruction sent by a first communication device; and setting a current synchronization signal transmission period based on information about the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period.

[0013] Seventhly, this application also provides a communication device for use in a first communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0014] The data transmission module is used to send the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device or the transmission cycle information of the first synchronization signal to the second communication device.

[0015] Eighthly, this application also provides a communication device for use in a second communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0016] The information receiving module is used to receive the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device; and / or, to receive the transmission period information of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device.

[0017] Ninthly, this application also provides a communication device for use in a third communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0018] The signal measurement module is used to measure at least one cell and obtain a corresponding measurement result report.

[0019] The report sending module is used to send the measurement result report and / or service request information to the first communication device.

[0020] In a tenth aspect, this application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method described above.

[0021] This application provides a communication method applied to a communication method of a first communication device. First, it receives first information sent by a third communication device, the first information being used to identify a second communication device. Then, it sends the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device. It is understood that in the technical solution of this application, the first communication device can be a primary cell, the second communication device can be a secondary cell, and the third communication device can be a terminal device. In this way, the first communication device (i.e., the primary cell) sends the terminal device request quantity information or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information of the second communication device (i.e., the secondary cell) to the secondary cell, so that the secondary cell can adaptively update its own synchronization signal transmission cycle. This allows it to adapt to various inter-band carrier aggregation scenarios and has a wide range of applications. It also enables the secondary cell to transmit synchronization signals at different cycles depending on the load of the third communication device (terminal device). For example, when there are many terminal device requests, the terminal device load is high, and the synchronization signal is transmitted at a relatively shorter cycle. When there are few terminal device requests, the terminal device load is low, and the synchronization signal is transmitted at a relatively longer cycle. This achieves energy saving and improves the flexibility of the system, enabling it to meet user needs in different scenarios and avoid unnecessary energy consumption. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method applied to a first communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the inter-band carrier aggregation scenario in which the communication method in the embodiments of this application is located;

[0026] Figure 3 is a timing diagram of a communication method in an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 is a timing diagram of another communication method in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the number thresholds in the case where there are three selectable periods in the secondary cell in the embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 6 is a timing diagram of a communication method focusing on secondary cells and terminal devices in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method applied to a third communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method based on an activation command applied to a first communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 9 is a timing diagram of a communication method based on activation instructions in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method based on an activation command applied to a second communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 11 is a timing diagram of a communication method based on deactivation instructions in an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method based on deactivation instructions applied to a second communication device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0036] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device applied to a first communication device in an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device applied to a second communication device in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device applied to a third communication device in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the base station equipment structure of the hardware operating environment involved in the communication method in the embodiments of this application;

[0040] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the terminal device structure of the hardware operating environment involved in the communication method in the embodiments of this application.

[0041] The purpose, features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0042] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] In 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. "And / or" in this application merely 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 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, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be one or multiple. Additionally, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish network elements and similar items with essentially the same function. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or the order of execution, and that the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply that they are different.

[0044] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in the embodiments described in this application mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0045] The following detailed embodiments further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this application. It should be understood that the following are merely specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made based on the technical solutions of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

[0046] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified and / or there is a logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0047] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to long-term evolution (LTE) architecture, 5th generation mobile networks (5G), wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, V2X communication systems, etc. The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems. In future communication systems, the functions may remain the same, but the names may change.

[0048] To improve the network energy efficiency of base stations and overcome the technical defects of traditional solutions, this application provides a communication method applied to a first communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with S. Referring to Figure 1, the communication method applied to the first communication device includes:

[0049] Operation S10 involves receiving first information sent by a third communication device, the first information being used to identify the second communication device. The first communication device, the second communication device, and / or the third communication device are all devices with communication functions, but their forms or functions may differ, and they can communicate with each other by sending information.

[0050] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell (SCell), and the third communication device includes a terminal device (UE). The terminal device is a user-side entity used to receive signals, or transmit signals, or both. The terminal device is used to provide users with one or more of voice services and data connectivity services. The terminal device can be a device that includes wireless transceiver capabilities and can cooperate with network devices to provide communication services to users. In some embodiments, the terminal device can refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, user device, or roadside unit (RSU). Terminal devices can also include drones, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, WLAN stations (STs), cellular phones, smartphones, cordless phones, wireless data cards, tablets, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices, laptop computers, Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminals, handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices (also known as wearable smart devices), virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (AR) terminals, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, and smart city applications. Wireless terminals in a city, wireless terminals in a smart home, etc. Terminal devices can also be device-to-device (D2D) devices, such as electricity meters, water meters, etc.The terminal device can also be a terminal in a 5G system or a terminal in a next-generation communication system; this application does not limit this.

[0051] The first communication device can be the base station corresponding to the primary cell, and the primary cell is connected to at least one second communication device (which can be the base station corresponding to the secondary cell) and / or at least one third communication device (which can be a terminal device).

[0052] In addition, the first communication device and the second communication device may also refer to other network devices with data processing, network communication and program execution functions corresponding to the main cell and the auxiliary cell.

[0053] The third communication device can send relevant information about the second communication device to determine the number of third communication devices carried by the second communication device. Additionally, the first communication device can determine the corresponding second communication device based on the first information sent by the third communication device.

[0054] In one feasible embodiment, the first information may include a measurement result report sent by a third communication device, and / or, the first information may include service request information sent by a third communication device.

[0055] It should be noted that the communication method of this application embodiment can be applied to 5G communication system scenarios. As shown in Figure 2, in this scenario, a PCell supporting inter-band carrier aggregation belongs to a gNB (base station) within the system. A SCell (i.e., a second communication device, secondary cell) of this PCell may save energy through technologies including but not limited to SSB-less, DRX (Discontinuous Reception) / DTX (Discontinuous Transmission). The operating frequency band of this SCell is different from that of the PCell, and it may belong to the gNB to which the PCell belongs. In this case, the PCell and SCell can communicate through interfaces including but not limited to the internal interface of the gNB. The SCell may also belong to another gNB (base station) within the system. In this case, the PCell and SCell can communicate through interfaces including but not limited to the Xn interface (interface between base stations). The PCell broadcasts system information within the coverage area. Multiple UEs in the scenario demodulate the system information and establish RRC (Radio Resource Control Connection) connections with the PCell through the initial access procedure.

[0056] It should be noted that the technical solutions provided in this application are applicable to various system architectures. The business scenarios described in this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0057] In a 5G communication system, each cell can be either a primary cell or a secondary cell, capable of performing the functions of both. The implementing entity in this application's embodiments can be either the primary cell or the base station to which the primary cell belongs (when the primary cell and secondary cell belong to different base stations).

[0058] In one feasible embodiment, before receiving the first information sent by the third communication device, the method further includes: sending the synchronization signal configuration information of the second communication device to the third communication device.

[0059] Before operating S10, the secondary cell SCell first sends its SSB configuration information (i.e., synchronization signal configuration information, including the current SSB transmission period) to the base station of the primary cell PCell through its own base station. Then, it sends this SSB configuration information to the UE device (i.e., the third communication device, terminal device), which can be done through RRC signaling. The information sent by the PCell to the UE device may include one or more of the following: measurement configuration information of each SCell, SSB configuration of each SCell, including SSB time-frequency resource information, different transmission periods that each SCell can select when transmitting SSB, and the number of selectable SSB periods can be configured by the network, measurement configuration information of the PCell, and indication information instructing the UE to perform measurements on the PCell and / or each SCell.

[0060] After receiving the synchronization signal configuration information sent by the PCell, the UE device performs measurements on each SCell and PCell based on the configuration information and obtains the corresponding measurement result report. The measurement result report includes measurement parameters (such as the received power, received quality, signal-to-noise ratio, signal strength, or energy to noise density ratio of the reference signal) used by the UE to represent the reference signal for each SCell and PCell. The UE will also send the obtained measurement result report and / or its own service requirement information to the main cell. The service requirement information represents the UE's service requirements for SCells and PCells in order to select SCells that meet the requirements to provide communication services.

[0061] Operation S20: Send the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device.

[0062] The first communication device sends the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device, so that the second communication device can set and update its own synchronization signal transmission cycle.

[0063] The request quantity information or synchronization signal transmission cycle information can be the request quantity information or synchronization signal transmission cycle information itself, or it can be other forms of representation corresponding to the request quantity information or synchronization signal transmission cycle information.

[0064] In one feasible embodiment, the first synchronization signal transmission period information is obtained based on the number of requests from the third communication device.

[0065] Further, regarding operation S10, in one feasible embodiment, before sending the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device, the method includes:

[0066] Operation S11: Obtain the request quantity information of the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device and / or the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device.

[0067] In this embodiment of the application, the information of the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device can be obtained, or the information of the number of requests of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device can be obtained, or both can be obtained, and no limitation is made here.

[0068] Understandably, the PCell can determine the optimal SCell for each UE as its target SCell based on the measurement result report and / or UE service request information sent by the UE. Then, it can count how many UEs have identified each SCell that has established communication with it as the corresponding target SCell, thereby obtaining the UE request quantity information (i.e., the third communication device request quantity information) corresponding to each SCell. This UE request quantity information indicates the number of UEs that the SCell needs to serve when it is a secondary cell.

[0069] In one feasible embodiment, the third communication device requests quantity information and / or first synchronization signal transmission cycle information for the second communication device to determine the second synchronization signal transmission cycle information, and / or the third communication device requests quantity information and / or first synchronization signal transmission cycle information for the second communication device to set the current synchronization signal transmission cycle as the second synchronization signal transmission cycle.

[0070] In some embodiments, the PCell can send the UE request count information corresponding to each secondary cell SCell to the corresponding SCell, so that each SCell can adaptively adjust its synchronization signal transmission period (SSB transmission period) based on its accumulated UE request count information. It should be noted that each SCell has established connections with one or more PCells. For an SCell, it is necessary not only to calculate the UE request count from one primary cell, but also to combine it with the UE request counts from other primary cells to calculate the corresponding total UE request count. On the other hand, besides acting as a secondary cell, an SCell can also act as a primary cell or a serving cell in non-CA scenarios to provide services to UEs. Therefore, when calculating the UE request count, it is also necessary to combine the UE count information served when acting as a PCell and a serving cell.

[0071] In addition, besides sending the UE request quantity information of SCell to SCell, PCell can also convert the UE request quantity into the corresponding first synchronization signal transmission period through PCell, so that SCell can initially complete the process of determining the SSB transmission period based on the UE request quantity information, and then send the first SSB transmission period to SCell.

[0072] That is, the UE request quantity information or the first SSB transmission period sent by the PCell is used by the SCell to combine the first SSB transmission periods from other PCells to determine the final second synchronization signal transmission period (i.e., the second SSB transmission period).

[0073] Whether the SCell determines the second SSB transmission period based on the total number of UE requests calculated, or the PCell determines the first SSB transmission period based on the number of UE requests corresponding to the SCell, the principle of inverse proportionality between the number of UE requests and the period length applies. This is because a higher number of UE requests indicates a higher SCell load, requiring more frequent SSB transmissions and thus a shorter SSB transmission period. Conversely, with fewer UE requests, the SCell load is lower, the demand for SSB transmission is less, and the SSB transmission period can be appropriately increased, thereby reducing energy consumption and improving the network energy-saving gain of the base station.

[0074] It should be noted that when PCell and SCell belong to different base stations, the aforementioned execution entities "PCell" and "SCell" can be replaced with "the base station to which PCell belongs" and "the base station to which SCell belongs," respectively.

[0075] In one feasible embodiment, after operation S20, the method may further include: operation S30, receiving synchronization signal configuration information sent by the second communication device, and / or operation S40, sending the synchronization signal configuration information to at least one third communication device.

[0076] After the second communication device sets the current synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period, in order to achieve synchronization of the synchronization signal transmission period, the second communication device adds the current synchronization signal transmission period to the synchronization signal configuration information to achieve signal synchronization.

[0077] In addition, the first communication device can also send the received synchronization signal configuration information to the third communication device so that information synchronization can also be achieved at the third communication device end, which can serve as the data basis for the third communication device to select the corresponding second communication device.

[0078] In one feasible embodiment, the operation S20 of sending the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device may include: operation S21, if the request quantity of the third communication device is less than a preset request quantity threshold, then sending the request quantity information of the third communication device to the second communication device; and / or, operation S22, if the request quantity of the third communication device is greater than or equal to the preset request quantity threshold, then sending the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device.

[0079] This application provides a method for a primary cell PCell to determine the number of UE requests to be sent or the first SSB transmission period based on the UE request number information of the secondary cell SCell. Specifically, the determination can be based on a preset request number threshold.

[0080] For example, when the PCell determines that the number of UE requests to the SCell is less than a preset request number threshold, it indicates that the number of UE requests is small, and the information overhead sent by the PCell to the SCell is small, so the UE request number information can be sent directly to the SCell. However, when the number of UE requests to the SCell is greater than or equal to the preset request number threshold, it indicates that the number of UE requests is large, and the information overhead is large. Since the number of bits for sending an SSB transmission cycle is less than the number of bits required to send the number of UE requests, in order to save information overhead and reduce the bit error rate, the number of UE requests is converted into the corresponding first SSB transmission cycle before being sent to the SCell.

[0081] In one feasible embodiment, before sending the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device, the method may further include: obtaining the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information corresponding to the second communication device based on the relationship between the third communication device request quantity information and at least one threshold. The relationship between the third communication device request quantity information and the at least one threshold includes a magnitude relationship.

[0082] Furthermore, when determining the relationship between the number of requests from the third communication device and the threshold, the corresponding threshold can be determined based on the current synchronization signal transmission cycle, that is, different thresholds can be determined based on different synchronization signal transmission cycles.

[0083] The current synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is one of several preset periods. Different preset periods correspond to different quantity thresholds. The relationship between the quantity information requested by the communication device and the quantity threshold can be a magnitude relationship. For example, when the quantity information requested by the third communication device is greater than the quantity threshold, it corresponds to a first synchronization signal transmission period; when the quantity information requested by the third communication device is less than the quantity threshold, it corresponds to another synchronization signal transmission period.

[0084] If the PCell needs to send the first SSB transmission period corresponding to its UE request quantity information to the SCell, it needs to first convert the UE request quantity information into the corresponding period duration. In some embodiments, the first SSB transmission period can be determined by using one or more pre-set quantity thresholds and determining the value range of the UE request quantity information based on the relationship between the third device request quantity information and the quantity thresholds.

[0085] In this case, SCell can send SSB based on one of a variety of selectable SSB transmission periods. The aforementioned quantity thresholds form a range of values ​​for multiple UE request quantity information. The larger the corresponding value range, the shorter the corresponding SSB period. This yields the first SSB transmission period for SCell, enabling adaptive and flexible adjustment of the SSB transmission period.

[0086] It should be noted that the PCell sending the first SSB transmission cycle to the SCell can include not only directly sending the SSB transmission cycle, but also implicit indication methods, such as predefining several SCell operating states corresponding to different SSB transmission cycles and indicating the SCell operating state, or adjusting the SSB transmission cycle and associating it with other SCell configuration processes by default.

[0087] In one feasible embodiment, the operation of obtaining the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device may include: determining the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device based on the measurement result report and / or service request information sent by the third communication device.

[0088] Optionally, the matching degree between each second communication device and the third communication device can be evaluated based on the measurement result report and / or service demand information of the third communication device, and then the second communication device with the highest matching degree can be selected as the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device.

[0089] The measurement result report includes at least the received power, received quality, and / or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) corresponding to the secondary cell reference signal and the primary cell reference signal, respectively. This application provides a method for the PCell to select a corresponding target SCell based on the measurement result report sent by the UE device. In some embodiments, the measurement result report includes parameters such as received power, received quality, and / or SNR of the PCell and SCell measured by the UE device, which can be used to select the SCell with optimal parameters. During the SCell evaluation process, the weight of each parameter can be set according to actual needs and is not limited here.

[0090] The service requirement information of the UE device reflects the UE device's needs for PCell and SCell. Based on this, the PCell can select the SCell that best meets the UE device's requirements, i.e., the SCell with the highest matching degree.

[0091] For example, in the application of the communication method of this application embodiment, a feasible communication process and / or data processing process between devices is shown in Figure 3. Specific operations may include: Operation 1: SCell sends SSB configuration information to PCell; Operation 2: PCell sends SSB configurations (e.g., SSB transmission cycle configuration), measurement configurations, etc., of each SCell to the UE; Operation 3: The UE performs measurements on the SCell and / or PCell based on the configuration information; Operation 4: The UE sends a measurement result report and / or UE service request information to the PCell; Operation 5: PCell determines the target SCell based on measurement results and / or UE service demand information, and counts the "UE request count" for each target SCell; Operation 6: PCell sends the "UE request count" to the SCell; Operation 7: SCell determines the updated SSB transmission period (i.e., the second SSB transmission period) based on the "UE request count" of all associated PCells and the number of user requests served by a non-SCell serving cell; Operation 8: SCell informs PCell of the SSB transmission period; Operation 9: PCell informs UE of the SSB transmission period.

[0092] For example, in the process of applying the communication method of the embodiments of this application, another feasible communication process and / or data processing process between devices is shown in Figure 4. The specific operations include: Operation 1, SCell sends SSB configuration information to PCell; Operation 2, PCell sends the SSB configuration (e.g., SSB transmission period configuration), measurement configuration, etc. of each SCell to UE; Operation 3, UE performs measurements on SCell and / or PCell based on the configuration information; Operation 4, UE sends measurement result report and / or UE service request information to PCell; Operation 5, PCell performs measurements based on the measurement result and / or UE service request information. The process involves: 1) Identifying the target SCell, counting the number of UE requests for each target SCell, and determining the target SCell's SSB transmission period (i.e., the first SSB transmission period); 2) The PCell sends the target SSB transmission period to the target SCell; 3) The SCell determines the updated SSB transmission period (i.e., the second SSB transmission period) based on the target SSB transmission periods of all associated PCells and the number of user requests served by a non-SCell serving cell; 4) The SCell informs the PCell of the SSB transmission period; 5) The PCell informs the UE of the SSB transmission period.

[0093] This application provides a strategy for setting the SSB transmission period based on the number of user requests. This strategy allows the SCell to transmit SSBs with a longer period when the number of user requests is low, and with a shorter period when the number of user requests is high, thereby conserving resources while maximizing service quality. Furthermore, this strategy allows the number of SSB transmission periods for the SCell to be determined by network configuration, enabling the network to more flexibly meet the needs of different scenarios.

[0094] This application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, the second communication device being communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with C. The communication method includes: operation C10, receiving information on the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device; and / or operation C20, receiving information on the first synchronization signal transmission cycle corresponding to the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device.

[0095] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell (i.e., SCell), and the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE).

[0096] This application provides a communication method using a secondary cell (SCell) as the execution subject, corresponding to the aforementioned communication method using a primary cell (PCell) as the execution subject. In some embodiments, the secondary cell (SCell) first sends its SSB configuration information (i.e., synchronization signal configuration information, including the current SSB transmission period) to the primary cell (PCell)'s base station via its own base station. Then, it sends this SSB configuration information to the UE device, which can be sent via RRC signaling. The information sent by the PCell to the UE device may include one or more of the following: measurement configuration information for each SCell, SSB configuration information for each SCell (including SSB time-frequency resource information, different transmission periods selectable by each SCell when transmitting SSB, and the number of selectable SSB periods can be configured by the network), measurement configuration information for the PCell, and indication information instructing the UE to perform measurements on the PCell and / or each SCell, etc.

[0097] After receiving the synchronization signal configuration information sent by the PCell, the UE performs measurements on each SCell and PCell based on the configuration information and obtains the corresponding measurement result report. The measurement result report includes measurement parameters (such as the received power, received quality, signal-to-noise ratio, signal strength, or energy to noise density ratio of the reference signal) used by the UE to represent the reference signal for each SCell and PCell. The UE will also send the obtained measurement result report and / or its own service requirement information to the main cell. The service requirement information is used to represent the UE's requirements for the corresponding SCell and PCell in order to select the SCell that meets the requirements to provide communication services.

[0098] In some embodiments, after receiving the measurement result report and / or UE service request information sent by the UE device, the PCell will select the corresponding SCell for the UE device, and then count the number of UE requests corresponding to each SCell and send it to the SCell. Alternatively, the PCell may first determine the first synchronization signal transmission period (first SSB transmission period) corresponding to each SCell based on the number of UE requests of each SCell and send it to the SCell.

[0099] In one feasible embodiment, after receiving the third communication device request quantity information sent by the first communication device and / or receiving the first synchronization signal transmission period sent by the first communication device, the method further includes: operating C30 to determine the second synchronization signal transmission period, and / or operating C40 to set the synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0100] In this embodiment of the application, after the SCell receives the UE request quantity information or the first SSB transmission period sent by the PCell, it can adaptively adjust the current SSB transmission period according to the UE request quantity information or the first SSB transmission period sent by the PCell, and set it as the second synchronization signal transmission period (second SSB transmission period).

[0101] In some embodiments, the SCell can adaptively adjust the synchronization signal transmission period (SSB transmission period) based on its accumulated UE request count information. It should be noted that the SCell establishes connections with one or more PCells. For the SCell, it needs to calculate not only the UE request count information from one primary cell, but also the UE request count information from other primary cells to calculate the corresponding total UE request count information. On the other hand, besides acting as a secondary cell, the SCell can also act as a primary cell or a serving cell in non-CA scenarios to provide services to UEs. Therefore, when calculating the UE request count information, it is also necessary to consider the UE count information served when acting as a PCell and serving cell.

[0102] On the other hand, the PCell can first convert the number of UE requests into the corresponding first synchronization signal transmission period, so that the SCell can initially complete the process of determining the SSB transmission period based on the number of UE requests. Then, the first SSB transmission period is sent to the SCell, and the SCell can combine the first SSB transmission periods from other PCells to determine the final second synchronization signal transmission period (i.e., the second SSB transmission period).

[0103] Whether the SCell determines the second SSB transmission period based on the total number of UE requests calculated, or the PCell determines the first SSB transmission period based on the number of UE requests corresponding to the SCell, the principle of inverse proportionality between the number of UE requests and the period length applies. This is because a higher number of UE requests indicates a higher SCell load, requiring more frequent SSB transmissions and thus a shorter SSB transmission period. Conversely, with fewer UE requests, the SCell load is lower, the need for SSB transmission is less, and the SSB transmission period can be appropriately increased, thereby reducing energy consumption and improving the network energy-saving gain of the base station.

[0104] Furthermore, in one feasible embodiment, after setting the current synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period, the method further includes: operating C50 to send the set second synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device and / or the third communication device.

[0105] In addition to sending the configured second SSB transmission cycle to the PCell and UE devices, the current SSB transmission cycle can also be sent to the PCell and UE devices for SSB cycle synchronization, provided that there is no need to reset or the reset of the SSB transmission cycle is refused.

[0106] Furthermore, regarding operation C30, in one feasible embodiment, the operation of determining the second synchronization signal transmission period includes: operation C31, obtaining information on the total number of requests from the third communication device. The information on the total number of requests from the third communication device is one of the core parameters for determining the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0107] Optionally, operation C31 may include: obtaining the total number of requests from the third communication devices based on the number of requests from the third communication devices and / or the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication devices when implementing the primary cell function and the serving cell function, respectively.

[0108] Further, operation C31 may also include: operation C311, summing the number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication devices sent by each first communication device to obtain the number of first devices; and / or, operation C312, summing the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the primary cell function to obtain the number of second devices; and / or, operation C313, summing the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the serving cell function to obtain the number of third devices; operation C314, obtaining the total number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device based on at least one of the first device number information, the second device number information, and the third device number information.

[0109] In calculating the total number of UE device requests served by an SCell, the number of UE devices needs to be counted from three aspects. First, in a CA scenario, when the SCell is acting as an SCell, the sum of the number of UE requests counted by all associated PCells is used to obtain the first device count information, which comes from each associated PCell. Second, in a CA scenario, when the SCell is acting as a PCell, the sum of the number of UE requests is used to obtain the second device count information, which can be obtained from the SCell itself. Third, in a non-CA scenario, when the SCell acts as a serving cell, the number of UE requests is counted, which is obtained from the SCell itself.

[0110] Finally, the sum of the UE request counts corresponding to these three scenarios is calculated to obtain the total number of UE requesting devices to be served by the SCell, which is used to characterize the load of the SCell.

[0111] To further explain operation C30, operation C32 obtains the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold.

[0112] Furthermore, different current synchronization signal periods can correspond to different thresholds. The current synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is one of a variety of preset periods, and different preset periods correspond to different quantity thresholds.

[0113] This application provides a process for determining the second SSB transmission period by comparing the total number of UE requests determined by the number of UE requests sent by each PCell associated with the Scell ​​and the number of UE requests made by the PCell itself when it is not an Scell ​​with a number threshold.

[0114] It should be noted that the threshold number used for comparison varies depending on the current synchronization signal transmission period. For example, for an SCell, there are multiple selectable SSB transmission periods. Depending on the SSB transmission period, different settings or updates are needed, such as increasing or decreasing the period. Therefore, different threshold numbers can be set for each period, allowing the SCell's SSB transmission period to be flexibly and adaptively set according to the current period. Furthermore, the larger the total number of UE requests, the shorter the corresponding second SSB transmission period.

[0115] Further, operation C32 is further explained. Based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold, the second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained, including: operation C321, if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a first preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a second preset period; and / or, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a third preset period.

[0116] The second communication device may include at least three different preset cycles, and the second communication device may include at least a first preset cycle. The various preset cycles are optional cycles configured on the communication device and can be adaptively set according to the actual situation.

[0117] With SCell offering three selectable SSB transmission periods, there are three different SSB transmission periods: a first preset period T1, a second preset period T2, and a third preset period T3, with T1, T2, and T3 increasing sequentially.

[0118] In some embodiments, if the total number of UE requests is less than a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, the second SSB transmission period of the SCell is determined as a second preset period T2; if the total number of UE requests is less than the second threshold, the second SSB transmission period of the SCell is determined as a third preset period T3, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are quantity thresholds.

[0119] As shown in Figure 5, if the current SSB transmission period of SCell is the first preset period T1, which is the shortest period, the second SSB transmission period can be determined based on the first threshold ThreshUE1_d and the second threshold ThreshUE2_d.

[0120] To further explain operation C32, if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a second preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a first preset period; and / or,

[0121] If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period, wherein the third threshold is greater than the second threshold.

[0122] The second communication device also includes a second preset period, which is greater than the first preset period.

[0123] As shown in Figure 5, if the current SSB transmission period of SCell is T2, that is, the period with the length in the middle, the second SSB transmission period can be determined according to the third threshold ThreshUE1_u and the second threshold ThreshUE2_d, where the third threshold is the quantity threshold.

[0124] In some embodiments, if the total number of UE requests is greater than a first threshold, the second SSB transmission period of the SCell is determined to be T1; if the total number of UE requests is less than a second threshold, the second SSB transmission period of the SCell is determined to be T3.

[0125] To further explain operation C32, in operation C323, if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a third preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a first preset period; and / or,

[0126] If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold and less than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period.

[0127] The second communication device also includes a third preset period, which is longer than the second preset period.

[0128] As shown in Figure 5, if the current SSB transmission period of SCell is T3, which is the longest period, the second SSB transmission period can be determined based on the third threshold ThreshUE1_u and the fourth threshold ThreshUE2_u. The fourth threshold is the quantity threshold.

[0129] In some embodiments, if the total number of UE requests is greater than or equal to the third threshold, the second SSB transmission period is determined to be T1; if the total number of UE requests is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold and less than the third threshold, the second SSB transmission period is determined to be T2.

[0130] For example, the order of the quantity thresholds can be ThreshUE1_u > ThreshUE1_d > ThreshUE2_u > ThreshUE2_d. In Figure 5, the downward arrow on the left indicates an increase in the transmission period, and the upward arrow on the right indicates a decrease in the transmission period.

[0131] The SCell communication method provided in this application applies the number of UE requests, enabling the SCell to adjust the SSB transmission cycle more flexibly and efficiently while meeting user needs. By comprehensively considering the number of UE requests for all PCell connections associated with the cell when it is an SCell, and the number of UE requests when it is a serving cell that is not an SCell, the demand of all UEs in the same SCell can be assessed more effectively. Therefore, the operating status of the SCell can be determined more reasonably, and the frequency of SCell SSB transmission can be matched with the UE demand in real time, thereby effectively saving energy consumption in the network communication process.

[0132] In another feasible embodiment, the second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold. This may further include: if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a fifth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a first preset period; and / or,

[0133] If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the sixth threshold and less than or equal to the fifth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period; and / or,

[0134] If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the sixth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period.

[0135] Compared to the method for determining the second synchronization signal transmission period in the previous embodiments, this embodiment does not consider the "ping-pong effect," that is, it does not consider the current synchronization signal transmission period, and directly determines the value of the second synchronization signal transmission period based on a fixed threshold. Its advantage is that the method for determining the period is simpler and requires less computation. Both the fifth and sixth thresholds are quantitative thresholds.

[0136] In another feasible embodiment, determining the second synchronization signal transmission period may include: supplementing operation C30, operation C33, if the received first synchronization signal transmission period information includes a first preset period, then setting the second synchronization signal transmission period to the first preset period, wherein the first preset period is less than a first preset period threshold. The first preset period threshold is a pre-set threshold used to filter the first preset period. The first preset period can be understood as one or more of the shortest selectable preset periods in the second communication device, representing the most frequent periodic transmission requirement, and the first preset period is less than the first preset period threshold. When the first preset period is less than the first preset period threshold, the second communication device needs to transmit the periodic synchronization signal at the highest periodic synchronization signal transmission frequency; therefore, directly setting the second synchronization signal transmission period to the first preset period satisfies the communication requirement.

[0137] This application also provides a method for SCell to determine the second SSB transmission period to be set based on the first SSB transmission period when PCell sends a first SSB transmission period to SCell.

[0138] First, if the first SSB transmission period received by the SCell from each PCell includes the first preset period T1 (the shortest period), it means that the SCell has reached the highest requirement for the number of UE requests for that PCell. In this case, there is no need to consider the values ​​of other first SSB transmission periods. The second SSB transmission period is directly determined to be the first preset period T1 to meet the high load requirements and improve service quality.

[0139] And / or, in operation C34, if the received first synchronization signal transmission period information does not include the first preset period, then, based on the number information of the third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the main cell function and the serving cell function respectively and / or the sum of the number information of the third communication device requests, the total number information of the third communication device requests is obtained; based on the relationship between the total number information of the third communication device requests and at least one threshold, the second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained.

[0140] If the first SSB transmission period received by the SCell from each PCell does not include the first preset period, then the SCell converts the period to the number of requests based on the specific value of the first SSB transmission period sent by each PCell. The SCell then determines the second SSB transmission period based on the number of devices requested by the UE. It should be noted that this situation includes cases where the first SSB transmission period from each PCell includes both the second and third preset periods, cases where it only includes the second preset period, and cases where it only includes the third preset period.

[0141] In converting the first SSB transmission period into the number of UE requests, it is necessary to consider various quantity thresholds used in determining the first SSB transmission period. Furthermore, the shorter the first SSB transmission period, the larger the number of UE requests obtained. Additionally, the process by which the PCell determines the first SSB transmission period based on the number of UE requests from each SCell can refer to the aforementioned operations S311 to S313, requiring the application of multiple quantity thresholds.

[0142] Optionally, the total number of requests from third communication devices can be obtained by summing the statistical information on the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when it implements the primary cell function and the serving cell function, respectively.

[0143] The second synchronization signal transmission period is determined by comparing the total number of requests from the third communication device with at least one threshold.

[0144] In addition to summing the number of UE requests sent by each PCell associated with the SCell, it is also necessary to sum the number of UE requests when the cell acts as a PCell in a CA scenario, and / or the number of user requests when the cell acts as a serving cell in a non-CA scenario, and then obtain the total number of UE requests corresponding to the SCell.

[0145] Similarly, after obtaining the total number of UE requests, the second SSB transmission period corresponding to the total number of UE requests is determined by using the same method as operations C321 to C323 in the aforementioned embodiment, and is used as the final SSB transmission period to be set. This will not be elaborated here.

[0146] For example, to further explain operation C34, before obtaining the total number of requests from the third communication devices based on the number of third communication devices and / or the number of third communication devices respectively when the second communication device implements the primary cell function and the serving cell function, the operation may further include:

[0147] Operation C341: When the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a third preset period, the quantity information requested by the third communication device is less than the second threshold; and / or, operation C342: When the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a second preset period, the quantity information requested by the third communication device is greater than the second threshold, wherein the second preset period is greater than the first preset period, and the third preset period is greater than the second preset period.

[0148] For example, when the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a third preset period, the number of requests from the third communication device is determined to be less than the second threshold.

[0149] When the first SSB transmission period sent by PCell is the third preset period T3 (i.e. the longest period), it is converted into a number of UE requests that is less than the second threshold ThreshUE2_d.

[0150] For example, the converted UE request quantity information can be (ThreshUE2_d-1) / 2, or it can be any integer value between 0 and ThreshUE2_d.

[0151] When the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is the second preset period, the number of requests from the third communication device is determined to be greater than the second threshold.

[0152] When the first SSB transmission period sent by PCell is the second preset period T2, it is converted into UE request quantity information that is greater than the second threshold ThreshUE2_d.

[0153] For example, the converted UE request quantity information can be ThreshUE2_d+1.

[0154] The communication method provided in this application utilizes information such as the "target SSB transmission period" or "UE request count" sent by all PCells, and the number of UE requests collected when the SCell is a non-SCell serving cell, to determine the SSB period. This allows the SCell to adjust the SSB transmission period more efficiently. In the scheme where the PCell sends UE request count information to the SCell, the accuracy of the SCell's operation status determination is high because the SCell directly determines the updated operating status based on the "UE request count." In the scheme where the PCell sends the first SSB transmission period to the SCell, the information overhead sent by the PCell to the SCell is less because the number of bits required to send the SSB transmission period is less than the number of bits required to directly send the number of UE requests.

[0155] In another feasible embodiment, operation C32 is further described. The second communication device includes at least two different preset periods. The operation of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one quantity threshold corresponding to the current synchronization transmission period may include: operation C324, if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fourth preset period, and / or, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to a seventh threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a fifth preset period; and / or,

[0156] Operation C325: If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is the fifth preset period, and / or if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the eighth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the fourth preset period. The fifth preset period is greater than the fourth preset period.

[0157] Optionally, the above operation can be understood as follows: when the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fourth preset period, the total number of requests from the third communication device is compared with a seventh threshold; and / or, when the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fifth preset period, the total number of requests from the third communication device is compared with an eighth threshold. Further, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than the seventh threshold, the second synchronization signal transmission period is set to the fifth preset period; if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the eighth threshold, the second synchronization signal transmission period is set to the fourth preset period. Wherein, both the seventh and eighth thresholds are quantity thresholds.

[0158] For example, the seventh threshold can be equal to the eighth threshold, both being ThreshUE1_d. When the total number of UE requests is less than ThreshUE1_d, the second SSB transmission period should be the fifth preset period T5 (the longest period). Therefore, when the current SSB transmission period is T4, the second SSB transmission period is determined to be T5. If the current SSB transmission period is already T5, it remains unchanged. When the total number of UE requests is greater than or equal to ThreshUE1_d, the second SSB transmission period should be the first preset period T4 (the shortest period). Therefore, when the current SSB transmission period is T5, the second SSB transmission period is determined to be T4. If the current SSB transmission period is already T4, it remains unchanged.

[0159] This application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, which is communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with D. The method includes: operation D10, obtaining information on the number of requests from the third communication device. The method for obtaining the information on the number of requests from the third communication device can be determined based on service request information received from the third communication device. Operation D20, determining a second synchronization signal transmission period based on the information on the number of requests from the third communication device, and / or setting the current synchronization signal transmission period as the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0160] Optionally, prior to operating D10, the operation may include sending the current synchronization signal configuration information to the first communication device.

[0161] This application provides a communication method focusing on a secondary cell (SCell) and a terminal device (UE). Unlike the communication methods mentioned in the previous embodiments, the operation of selecting a target SCell based on the UE's measurement results and / or UE service request information is performed by the UE itself, rather than by the PCell. After the UE determines the target SCell, it directly sends its service request information to the SCell. The SCell then counts the number of UE requests under SCell functionality and / or without SCell functionality (including CA and non-CA scenarios) to determine the total number of UE requests. Based on the total number of UE requests and a preset threshold, it determines and sets the final second SSB transmission period, and finally informs the PCell and the UE of the latest SSB transmission period.

[0162] The operation of determining the final second SSB transmission period based on the total number of UE requests and the preset number threshold can be referred to the aforementioned operations C321 to C323, and will not be repeated here.

[0163] For example, the communication process and / or processing process between the devices in this application embodiment are shown in Figure 6. The specific operations include: Operation 1, SCell sends SSB configuration information to PCell; Operation 2, PCell sends the SSB configuration (e.g., SSB transmission period configuration), measurement configuration, etc. of each SCell to UE; Operation 3, UE measures SCell and / or PCell based on the configuration information to determine the target SCell; Operation 4, UE sends UE service request information to the target SCell; Operation 5, determines the updated SSB transmission period based on all "UE request counts"; Operation 6, SCell informs PCell of the SSB transmission period; Operation 7, PCell informs UE of the SSB transmission period.

[0164] This application also provides a method for setting the synchronization signal period for a third communication device, which is communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one second communication device. For ease of description, the related operation descriptions of this method will use numbers starting with E. Referring to FIG7, the communication method includes: operation E10, measuring at least one cell and obtaining a corresponding measurement result report; operation E20, sending the measurement result report and / or service request information to the first communication device.

[0165] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell (i.e., SCell), and the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE).

[0166] In one feasible embodiment, before measuring at least one cell and obtaining the corresponding measurement result report, the method may further include: receiving synchronization signal configuration information sent by a first communication device. In addition to receiving the SSB configuration signal sent by the PCell, the UE may also receive one or more of the following information from the PCell: measurement configuration information for each SCell, SSB configuration for each SCell, including SSB time-frequency resource information, different selectable transmission periods for each SCell when transmitting SSB, and the number of selectable SSB periods can be configured by the network, measurement configuration information for the PCell, and indication information instructing the UE to perform measurements on the PCell and / or each SCell.

[0167] Furthermore, this application embodiment also provides a communication method applied to a terminal device. After receiving the synchronization signal configuration information sent by the PCell, the UE performs measurements on each SCell and PCell based on the configuration information to obtain a corresponding measurement result report. The measurement result report includes measurement parameters (such as the received power, received quality, signal-to-noise ratio, signal strength, or energy to noise density ratio of the reference signal) used by the UE to represent the reference signal of each SCell and PCell. The UE also sends the obtained measurement result report and / or its own service requirement information to the PCell. The service requirement information represents the UE's requirements for the corresponding SCell and PCell in order to select a SCell that meets the requirements to provide communication services.

[0168] After the UE sends the measurement result report and / or service request information to the PCell, the PCell can determine the optimal SCell for each UE as the target SCell based on the UE's measurement results and / or UE service request information. Then, it can count how many UEs have identified each SCell that has established communication with it as the corresponding target SCell, thereby obtaining the UE request quantity information corresponding to each SCell. This UE request quantity information indicates the number of UEs that the SCell needs to serve when it is a secondary cell.

[0169] The UE request count information corresponding to each secondary cell SCell is sent to the corresponding SCell, allowing each SCell to adaptively adjust its synchronization signal transmission period (SSB transmission period) based on its accumulated UE request count information. It should be noted that each SCell establishes a connection with one or more PCells. For an SCell, it needs to calculate not only the UE request count information from one primary cell but also the UE request count information from other primary cells to obtain the corresponding total UE request count information. Furthermore, besides acting as a secondary cell, an SCell can also act as a primary cell or a serving cell in non-CA scenarios to provide services to UEs. Therefore, when calculating the UE request count information, it is also necessary to consider the UE count information served when acting as a PCell and a serving cell.

[0170] On the other hand, in addition to sending the UE request quantity information of SCell to SCell, PCell can first convert the UE request quantity information into the corresponding first synchronization signal transmission period information, so that SCell can initially complete the process of determining the SSB transmission period based on the UE request quantity information. Then, the first SSB transmission period information is sent to SCell so that SCell can combine the first SSB transmission period from other PCells to determine the final second synchronization signal transmission period (i.e., the second SSB transmission period).

[0171] Further, regarding operation E10, in one feasible embodiment, the operation of measuring at least one cell and obtaining a corresponding measurement result report may include: operation E11, measuring the reference signal of the second communication device to obtain the measurement result of the second communication device; operation E12, if the measurement result of the second communication device meets the first condition, then including the measurement result of the second communication device in the measurement result report.

[0172] Optionally, after determining whether the measurement result of the second communication device meets the first condition, if it does, the measurement result of the second communication device is recorded in the measurement result report. The UE can perform measurements on each SCell and PCell based on synchronization signal configuration information to obtain measurement results. In some embodiments, the UE can perform measurements based on multiple test events, including but not limited to a first measurement event. The first measurement event may include the UE measuring the reference signal for the SCell.

[0173] Furthermore, to provide supplementary explanation of operation E12, after obtaining the measurement result of the second communication device, the method further includes: operation E121, if the measurement result is greater than the preset ninth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the ninth threshold, then the measurement result of the second communication device satisfies the first condition.

[0174] Optionally, it is first determined whether the measurement result is greater than a preset ninth threshold (a custom threshold for the measurement result), or whether the sum of the measurement result and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the ninth threshold; if the measurement result is greater than the preset ninth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the ninth threshold, then the measurement result of the second communication device is determined to meet the first condition.

[0175] In some embodiments, if Ms+Hys1>Thresh1_meas, or Ms>Thresh1_meas, then the first condition is determined to be met, and the measurement-related information is recorded in the test report. Here, Ms represents the measurement result of the SCell (such as RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power, representing the average signal power received on all resource particles carrying the reference signal within a symbol), RSRQ (Reference Signal Receiving Quality, representing the LTE reference signal reception quality), RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator, representing the received signal strength indicator), SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, signal-to-interference plus noise ratio), and RSCPEcN0 (Received Signal Code Power, representing the received power on a codeword; EcN0 refers to the ratio of energy on the frequency channel to total interference), Hys1 is the first hysteresis parameter, and Thresh_meas1 is the first threshold (i.e., the ninth threshold) for the measurement result.

[0176] Further, operation E10 is further explained. The operation of measuring at least one cell and obtaining the corresponding measurement result report may include: operation E13, measuring the reference signal of the first communication device to obtain the measurement result of the first communication device; operation E14, if the measurement result of the first communication device meets the second condition, then the measurement result of the first communication device is included in the measurement result report.

[0177] Optionally, after determining whether the measurement result of the first communication device meets the second condition, if it does, the measurement result of the first communication device is recorded in the measurement result report.

[0178] To further explain operation E14, after obtaining the measurement result of the first communication device, the method may include: operation E141, if the measurement result is greater than a preset tenth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the tenth threshold, then the measurement result of the first communication device satisfies the second condition.

[0179] Optionally, first determine whether the measurement result is greater than a preset tenth threshold (a custom threshold for the measurement result); or, determine whether the sum of the measurement result and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the tenth threshold; if the measurement result is greater than the preset tenth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the tenth threshold, then determine that the measurement result of the first communication device meets the second condition.

[0180] In some embodiments, the UE's measurement process may further include a second measurement event: that is, the UE performs a measurement on the PCell reference signal, such as CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal), DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal), etc.: if Mp+Hys2>Thresh2_meas or Mp>Thresh2_meas, then the second condition is determined to be met, and the measurement-related information is recorded in the test report. Here, Mp is the measurement result of the PCell (such as RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, RSCP, or EcN0 of the reference signal), Hys2 is the second hysteresis parameter, and Thresh2_meas is the second threshold of the measurement result, i.e., the tenth threshold.

[0181] It should be noted that the measured events are not limited to the types mentioned above; only two examples are given here.

[0182] In addition, after obtaining the test report corresponding to the first measurement event and / or the second measurement event, it can be further determined whether the measurement result meets the sending conditions of the measurement report. The sending conditions can be at least one of the first and second conditions.

[0183] The measurement report and / or service request information sent by the UE to the PCell includes at least one of the following: the measurement results of the first measurement event, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSSI of the SCell reference signal; the measurement results of the second measurement event, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSSI of the PCell reference signal; and the UE's own service request information, such as the QoS (Quality of Service) requirements of the service.

[0184] This application also provides a method for setting the synchronization signal period for a third communication device, wherein the third communication device is communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one second communication device. For ease of description, the relevant operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with F. The method includes: operation F10, obtaining the corresponding second communication device based on a measurement result report and / or service request information; operation F20, sending the service request information to the second communication device.

[0185] This application embodiment also provides a communication method mainly based on communication and computation processing between SCell and UE. Unlike the previous embodiments, after the UE receives the measurement result report, it selects the optimal SCell based on its own computing resources and directly sends the corresponding service request information to the selected SCell. This allows the SCell to determine the number of UE requests under its SCell function, and further determines the corresponding second SSB transmission period based on the number of UE requests under SCell function and the number of UE requests under non-SCell function (including CA scenario and non-CA scenario), thus completing the update of the current SSB transmission period.

[0186] This application also provides a communication method based on activation instructions, applied to a first communication device, which is communicatively connected to at least one second communication device and at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with G. Referring to Figure 8, the communication method includes:

[0187] Operation G10 sends a periodic setting command and / or activation command to the fourth communication device. The fourth communication device refers to the communication device that needs to be activated, i.e., the candidate second communication device. Activating the fourth communication device means enabling it to provide communication services to the third communication device.

[0188] Operate G20 to receive acceptance information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or synchronization signal transmission cycle information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or rejection information sent by the fourth communication device.

[0189] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to an inactive secondary cell (i.e., SCell) corresponding to the third communication device, the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE), and the fourth communication device includes a candidate activated secondary cell.

[0190] This application provides a method for updating the SSB transmission period of an SCell based on a period setting command or activation command. Before operation G10, the SCell sends its SSB configuration information to the PCell. The PCell obtains the UE's cache state information, radio connection commands, and / or the SCell's user load, and then further selects an inactive optimal SCell from among the associated SCells as a candidate SCell (i.e., the fourth communication device). The optimal SCell refers to the SCell associated with the UE that can provide the highest quality communication service to the UE. When evaluating the service quality provided by each SCell to the UE, parameters such as the UE's cache state information, radio connection quality, and / or the user load of each SCell can be used, and weighted calculations and evaluations are performed based on the actual situation.

[0191] After the PCell determines the candidate SCell corresponding to the UE, it sends a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the candidate SCell. The period setting instruction is used to instruct the candidate SCell to update the current SSB transmission period to a specified value. The activation instruction is used to instruct the candidate SCell to activate as the SCell corresponding to the UE, provide services to the UE, and set the UE to an activated state, so that it will not be selected as a candidate SCell for other UEs.

[0192] Before operating G10, the method further includes obtaining a fourth communication device from at least one second communication device.

[0193] It should be noted that when determining the fourth communication device, the buffer status information of the third communication device, the wireless connection quality and / or the user load of each second communication device or other information that can characterize the status of the third communication device can be used as a basis to determine a relatively better candidate second communication device.

[0194] In some embodiments, obtaining a fourth communication device from at least one second communication device may include obtaining a fourth communication device from at least one second communication device based on at least one of the cache state information of a third communication device, measurement results, and user load information of at least one second communication device.

[0195] Furthermore, the measurement results may include: the measurement results obtained by the third communication device from the measurement of the second communication device.

[0196] Furthermore, the measurement results may also include at least one of RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, and SINR.

[0197] In one feasible embodiment, after receiving the acceptance information sent by the fourth communication device, the method further includes: operating G30 to send the activation information corresponding to the fourth communication device to the third communication device.

[0198] If the first communication device receives an acceptance message from the fourth communication device, it indicates that the fourth communication device has been confirmed to be activatable and supports the activation operation. Therefore, in this case, the first communication device can send the activation information corresponding to the fourth communication device to the third communication device to synchronize the activation status of its corresponding fourth communication device on the third communication device side.

[0199] In some embodiments, after the SCell receives the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction, it can first determine whether to accept the instruction based on the current SSB transmission period and load information. For example, if the current SSB transmission period is inconsistent with the period indicated in the period setting instruction, the current SSB transmission period can be updated to be consistent with the period indicated in the period setting instruction (e.g., T1), and an acceptance message can be sent to the PCell; or, if the period indicated in the period setting instruction is T1, but the SCell determines based on its own load information that it does not support updating the current SSB transmission period to T1, it determines that it will not accept the period setting instruction and sends a rejection message to the PCell; or, although the SCell updates the current SSB transmission period, if the updated SSB transmission period is not T1, a rejection message can also be sent to the PCell.

[0200] That is, when the PCell receives an accept message from the candidate SCell, it activates the candidate SCell and identifies it as the SCell corresponding to the UE, and provides communication services to the UE through the SCell.

[0201] In one feasible embodiment, after receiving a rejection message sent by a fourth communication device, the method includes: operating G40 to obtain a fifth communication device from at least one second communication device; and / or operating G50 to send a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to the fifth communication device; and / or operating G60 to receive an acceptance message sent by the fifth communication device, and / or synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or rejection message sent by the fifth communication device.

[0202] Understandably, when PCell receives a rejection message from a candidate SCell, it needs to find another fifth communication device and send a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to it in the same way as the previous fifth communication device, and receive the acceptance message, synchronization signal transmission period, or rejection message sent by the fifth communication device.

[0203] That is, after a candidate SCell is rejected for activation, the next candidate SCell is searched from other inactive SCells, and operation G10 is executed, and so on.

[0204] Furthermore, in a feasible embodiment, the operation of sending a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to the fourth communication device includes: operating G11, if the current synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device meets the third condition, sending a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to the fourth communication device.

[0205] Before sending a cycle setting command to the fourth communication device, it is necessary to determine whether the current synchronization signal transmission cycle meets the preset third condition. If it does, the cycle setting command and / or activation command can be sent. If it does not meet the condition, it means that the cycle of the fourth communication device itself meets the requirements for providing communication services to the third communication device, and there is no need to send a cycle setting command and / or activation command.

[0206] In one feasible embodiment, the third condition includes at least: the synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device is greater than or equal to the first preset period threshold, the first preset period threshold is a pre-set period threshold used to determine whether to send a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fourth communication device; if the synchronization signal transmission period is less than the first preset period threshold, it means that there is no need to further shorten the synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device.

[0207] In this embodiment of the application, the PCell can send either a period setting instruction or an activation instruction to the candidate SCell, or it can send both a period setting instruction and an activation instruction to the candidate SCell simultaneously.

[0208] In some embodiments, to ensure that the activated SCell provides better communication services to the UE, when the current synchronization signal transmission period is greater than or equal to a first preset period threshold (e.g., greater than T1), the candidate SCell is activated. This requires instructing the SCell to update its current SSB transmission period to T1 (i.e., a period less than the preset period threshold). T1 can also be the shortest of the SCell's selectable transmission periods. If the candidate SCell's current SSB transmission period is T1, then no period setting instruction is needed; only an activation instruction needs to be sent.

[0209] Additionally, it should be noted that activation instructions may also include fields or identifiers used to instruct candidate SCells to update their SSB sending cycle to the indicated SSB sending cycle.

[0210] In another feasible embodiment, after sending the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fourth communication device, the communication method may further include: when the current synchronization signal transmission period received from the fourth communication device does not meet a first condition, not activating the fourth communication device, the first condition being a condition that must be met to activate the fourth communication device; when the current synchronization signal transmission period received from the fourth communication device meets the first condition, activating the fourth communication device as the secondary cell corresponding to the terminal device (i.e., UE), the first condition being a condition that must be met to activate the fourth communication device.

[0211] In one feasible embodiment, the first condition may include: less than or equal to a second preset period threshold, wherein the second preset period threshold is adaptively set according to the actual situation, and is used to determine whether the second communication device meets the activation condition.

[0212] Understandably, after the candidate SCell determines whether to accept or reject the cycle setting command or activation sent by the PCell, it can not only return acceptance or rejection information to the PCell, but also provide feedback to the PCell on the current SSB transmission cycle.

[0213] The first preset period is the shortest period corresponding to the candidate SCell. When the PCell receives a current SSB transmission period from the candidate SCell that is greater than the first preset period T1, it can be determined that the candidate SCell has rejected the instruction to update the current SSB transmission period to T1 or activate it. At this time, the next candidate SCell can be selected from the inactive SCells.

[0214] When the PCell receives a current SSB period from the candidate SCell that is equal to the first preset period, it can be determined that the candidate SCell has updated the current SSB transmission period to T1 and received the activation command. At this time, the candidate SCell can be activated to associate the SCell with the UE and provide communication services to the UE through the SCell.

[0215] In addition to sending the current SSB cycle to the PCell, the SCell can also send the current operating status to the PCell and UE to complete information synchronization.

[0216] In another feasible embodiment, after the operation of not activating the fourth communication device, the method further includes: operating G40 to obtain the fifth communication device from at least one second communication device; and / or operating G50 to send a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to the fifth communication device; and / or operating G60 to receive acceptance information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or rejection information sent by the fifth communication device.

[0217] Understandably, once the PCell determines that the fourth communication device will not be activated, it needs to find another fifth communication device as a candidate SCell, and send a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to it in the same way as the previous fifth communication device, and receive the acceptance information, synchronization signal transmission period, or rejection information sent by the fifth communication device.

[0218] It should be noted that the processing operation here is the same as the processing operation described above after receiving the rejection message sent by the fourth communication device, and will not be repeated here.

[0219] For example, referring to FIG9, an operation for transmitting and processing data for each device corresponding to the communication method based on an activation instruction may include: Operation 1, SCell sends SSB configuration information to PCell; Operation 2, PCell selects a "candidate SCell for activation"; Operation 3, PCell sends an activation indication to the candidate SCell for activation, or indicates that its SSB transmission period is updated to T1; Operation 4, if the SCell receives an update indication that the SSB transmission period should be T1, or receives an activation indication and the current SSB transmission period is not T1, it can set the SSB transmission period to T1; Operation 5, SCell sends the SSB transmission period to PCell, or a "receive / reject" message; Operation 6, if the SSB transmission period of the "candidate SCell for activation" is greater than a threshold (i.e., greater than a first preset period), or receives a "reject" message, then the SCell is not activated; Operation 7, PCell informs the UE of the SSB transmission period.

[0220] This application also provides a communication method applied to a second communication device, which is communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with "I". Referring to Figure 10, the communication method includes: operation I10, receiving a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by the first communication device; operation I20, sending second information to the first communication device, the second information including at least one of acceptance information, synchronization signal transmission period information, and rejection information.

[0221] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell (i.e., SCell), and the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE).

[0222] When the second communication device receives the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by the first communication device, it can choose to accept or reject the instruction based on its own actual situation. It can also choose to send the current synchronization signal transmission period after acceptance or rejection to the first communication device to synchronize the synchronization signal transmission period.

[0223] Furthermore, the operation of sending the second information to the first communication device may include: operation I30, if the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction are accepted, then sending acceptance information and / or synchronization signal to the first communication device to send period information; operation I40, if the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction are not accepted, then sending rejection information and / or synchronization signal to the first communication device to send period information.

[0224] It should be noted that when updating the SSB transmission period of an SCell based on an activation command or a period setting command, the SCell first needs to send its own SSB configuration information to the PCell so that the PCell can select the optimal candidate SCell corresponding to the UE from among the multiple associated SCells.

[0225] In some embodiments, the PCell obtains the UE's cache state information, radio connection commands, and / or SCell user load, and then further selects an inactive optimal SCell from among the associated SCells as a candidate SCell. The optimal SCell refers to the SCell among those associated with the UE that can provide the highest quality communication service to the UE. When evaluating the service quality provided by each SCell to the UE, parameters such as the UE's cache state information, radio connection quality, and / or SCell user load can be used, and weighted calculations and evaluations are performed based on the actual situation.

[0226] After the PCell determines the candidate SCell corresponding to the UE, it sends a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the candidate SCell. The period setting instruction is used to instruct the candidate SCell to update the current SSB transmission period to a specified value. The activation instruction is used to instruct the candidate SCell to activate as the SCell corresponding to the UE, provide services to the UE, and set the UE to an activated state, so that it will not be selected as a candidate SCell for other UEs.

[0227] Furthermore, in a feasible embodiment, if a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction are received, the method further includes: providing supplementary explanation for operation I20, operation I21, activating the second communication device as the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device, and / or setting the synchronization signal transmission period according to the period setting instruction.

[0228] In some embodiments, after the SCell receives the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction, it can first determine whether to accept the instruction based on the current SSB transmission period and load information. For example, if the current SSB transmission period is inconsistent with the period indicated in the period setting instruction, the current SSB transmission period can be updated to be consistent with the period indicated in the period setting instruction (e.g., T1), and an acceptance message can be sent to the PCell; or, if the period indicated in the period setting instruction is T1, but the SCell determines based on its own load information that it does not support updating the current SSB transmission period to T1, it determines that it will not accept the period setting instruction and sends a rejection message to the PCell; or, although the SCell updates the current SSB transmission period, if the updated SSB transmission period is not T1, a rejection message can also be sent to the PCell.

[0229] When the PCell receives a receive message from a candidate SCell, it activates the candidate SCell and designates it as the SCell corresponding to the UE, providing communication services to the UE through this SCell. When the PCell receives a rejection message from a candidate SCell, it searches for the next candidate SCell from other SCells and returns to execute operation G10, and so on.

[0230] Further, regarding operation I10, in one feasible embodiment, after receiving the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by the first communication device, the method further includes: operation I12, if the second communication device cannot set the current synchronization signal transmission period to a period that satisfies the first condition, then sending a rejection message and / or synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device; or operation I13, if the second communication device can set the current synchronization signal transmission period to a period that satisfies the first condition, then sending an acceptance message and / or synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device.

[0231] In one feasible embodiment, before operation I12, the process may further include: operation I11, determining that the current synchronization signal transmission period does not meet a first condition, the first condition being a condition that must be met to activate the second communication device. If I11 is met, then operation I12 is executed.

[0232] The first condition can be less than or equal to the second preset period threshold. When the synchronization signal transmission period sent by the fourth communication device is less than the second preset period threshold, it indicates that the device supports setting the current synchronization signal transmission period to a smaller period (specifically, less than the second preset period threshold) to meet the communication needs of the terminal device. Whether the second communication device can set the current synchronization signal transmission period to meet the first condition depends on its own load.

[0233] It is understood that the embodiments of this application also provide a method for SCell to determine whether it should accept the period setting instruction or activation instruction sent by PCell based on its own load. The period setting instruction or activation instruction can be used to instruct SCell to update the SSB transmission period to a first preset period T1 (or the shortest period among the optional periods). SCell can determine whether to accept the instruction and update the current SSB transmission period to T1 based on the actual load situation.

[0234] The load information can include the number of UEs associated with the SCell that require the SCell to provide services, including the number of UEs in CA scenarios and non-CA scenarios. If there are too many UEs, it will be difficult to provide communication services for new UEs. Therefore, it is not supported to update the current SSB transmission period to T1, nor can the period setting command or activation command sent by the PCell be accepted.

[0235] In this embodiment, the SCell determines whether to be activated and / or update the current SSB transmission cycle based on the actual situation, taking into account the load of the SCell, avoiding overload, and ensuring the normal operation of the SCell and communication quality.

[0236] This application proposes an SCell power-saving strategy related to the SCell activation / deactivation process. The PCell selects a "candidate SCell for activation" and sends it a "target SSB transmission period" or activation indication. The SCell determines the updated SSB transmission period and returns information to the PCell. If the updated SSB transmission period of the SCell is not T1, the PCell does not activate the SCell. This ensures that the SCell activated by the UE has a shorter SSB transmission period, thereby guaranteeing the UE's quality of service.

[0237] This application also provides a communication method based on deactivation instructions, applied to a first communication device, which is communicatively connected to at least one second communication device and / or at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operational descriptions of this method will use numbers beginning with J. The communication method includes:

[0238] Operate J10 to send a deactivation command to the second communication device.

[0239] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to an inactive secondary cell (i.e., SCell) corresponding to the third communication device, the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE), and the fourth communication device includes a candidate activated secondary cell.

[0240] In this embodiment of the application, when the PCell updates the SSB transmission period of the SCell, it can determine the corresponding deactivated cell based on information such as the radio connection quality between the SCell and the UE, inactivity information and / or UE service requirements.

[0241] Understandably, deactivation of an auxiliary cell refers to a SCell that requires an appropriate extension of the SSB transmission cycle to conserve energy. When radio connection quality is poorer, inactive timing information is longer, or UE service demands are lower, the SCell is more likely to be designated as a deactivation SCell. The specific process for determining a deactivation SCell using these three types of information can be set according to actual needs and is not restricted here. For example, each of these three types of information for a SCell can be scored, and when the score reaches a certain threshold, the SCell is designated as a deactivation SCell.

[0242] It should be noted that the deactivation command is used to instruct the deactivation SCell to extend the current SSB transmission period. For the deactivation SCell, the current SSB transmission period can be extended based on the number of deactivation commands received from each PCell within a preset time period. For example, the more deactivation commands received, the longer the SSB transmission period, or different SSB transmission periods can be determined when the number of deactivation commands is at different thresholds.

[0243] In addition, if the SCell updates or does not update the SSB transmission cycle, the SCell can send the current SSB transmission cycle to the PCell, and the PCell will then inform the UE, thereby achieving information synchronization of the SSB transmission cycle.

[0244] Before operating J10, the method may further include: obtaining a fourth communication device from at least one second communication device, the fourth communication device including a candidate deactivated second communication device; and obtaining a fifth communication device from at least one activated second communication device.

[0245] Optionally, obtaining a fifth communication device from at least one activated second communication device includes: obtaining the fifth communication device from at least one activated second communication device based on the wireless connection quality of at least one second communication device, and / or inactive timing information, and / or the service requirements of a third communication device.

[0246] For example, when a communication method based on deactivation instructions is executed through various devices, the communication process and / or processing between the devices is shown in Figure 11. The specific operations include: Operation 1, SCell sends SSB configuration information to PCell; Operation 2, PCell selects the SCell that should be deactivated; Operation 3, PCell sends a deactivation instruction to the SCell; Operation 4, if the number or proportion of deactivation instructions received by the SCell within a certain time T is greater than a certain threshold, the SSB transmission period can be extended; Operation 5, SCell informs PCell of the SSB transmission period; Operation 6, PCell informs UE of the SSB transmission period.

[0247] This application also provides a communication method based on deactivation instructions, applied to a second communication device. The second communication device is communicatively connected to at least one first communication device and / or at least one third communication device. For ease of description, the related operation descriptions of this method will use numbers starting with L. Referring to Figure 12, the communication method includes: operation L10, receiving a deactivation instruction sent by the first communication device; operation L20, setting the current synchronization signal transmission period based on the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period.

[0248] In one feasible embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell (i.e., PCell), the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to an inactive secondary cell (i.e., SCell) corresponding to the third communication device, the third communication device includes a terminal device (i.e., UE), and the fourth communication device includes a candidate activated secondary cell.

[0249] It should be noted that before the PCell selects an SCell, the SCell needs to send SSB configuration information to the PCell. When selecting a SCell to be deactivated, the PCell can determine the corresponding deactivated cell based on information such as the radio connection quality between the SCell and the UE, inactivity information, and / or UE service requirements. Specifically, a deactivation auxiliary cell refers to an SCell that requires an appropriate extension of the SSB transmission cycle to save energy. The worse the radio connection command, the longer the inactivity timer, and the less the UE service requirements, the more likely the SCell will be designated as a deactivated SCell. The specific process for determining the deactivated SCell using these three types of information can be set according to actual needs and is not restricted here. For example, the three types of information of the SCell can be scored respectively, and when the score reaches a certain threshold, the SCell is designated as a deactivated SCell.

[0250] It should be noted that the deactivation command is used to instruct the deactivation SCell to extend the current SSB transmission period. For the deactivation SCell, the extension of the current SSB transmission period can be based on the number of deactivation commands received from each PCell within a preset time period. For example, the more deactivation commands received, the longer the SSB transmission period, or different SSB transmission periods can be determined when the number of deactivation commands is at different thresholds.

[0251] In another feasible embodiment, when the SCell receives deactivation indication instructions from all PCells associated with it, and the number of UE requests for the SCell as a non-SCell serving cell is lower than a threshold (including when there are no UE requests), the SSB transmission frequency can be appropriately reduced, i.e., the SSB transmission cycle can be extended.

[0252] In addition, if the SCell updates or does not update the SSB transmission cycle, the SCell can send the current SSB transmission cycle to the PCell, and the PCell will then inform the UE to achieve information synchronization of the SSB transmission cycle.

[0253] Furthermore, in a feasible embodiment, the operation of setting the current synchronization signal transmission period based on the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period may include: operation L21, if the number of deactivation instructions received within the preset time period satisfies a second condition, the second condition being a condition that must be met to deactivate the second communication device, then the current synchronization signal transmission period is set to be greater than the current period, or the current synchronization signal transmission period is increased.

[0254] In one feasible embodiment, the second condition includes: the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period is greater than a preset threshold or a preset ratio. For example, the preset ratio is the ratio of the number of deactivation instructions to the total number of user requests in the secondary cell when implementing the serving cell function. For example, if an SCell has three selectable SSB transmission periods, and within a time period T, the number of deactivation instructions received by the SCell from each PCell is greater than or equal to Thresh_deactivation, where Thresh_deactivation is the threshold for the number of deactivation instructions (i.e., the preset threshold), if the current SSB transmission period is not T3 (i.e., the longest period), then the current SSB transmission period is updated to T3; if the current SSB transmission period is T3, then the current SSB transmission period remains unchanged. If an SCell has two selectable SSB transmission periods, and within a time period T, the number of deactivation instructions received by the SCell from each PCell is greater than or equal to Thresh_deactivation, where Thresh_deactivation is the threshold for the number of deactivation instructions (i.e., the preset threshold), if the current SSB transmission period is not T2 (i.e., the longest period), then the current SSB transmission period is updated to T2; if the current SSB transmission period is T2, then the current SSB transmission period remains unchanged.

[0255] In addition, the aforementioned threshold for the number of deactivation commands can be replaced by a preset ratio. The preset ratio refers to the ratio of the number of deactivation commands received by the SCell to the total number of UEs served by the SCell as the serving cell. For example, when the preset ratio is 100%, it means that when deactivation commands are sent to all associated PCells, the operation of updating the current SSB transmission period to the longest period among the optional periods is performed.

[0256] If the SSB transmission period of an SCell changes, the updated SSB transmission period will be sent to, but is not limited to, all PCells associated with the cell when it is an SCell in a CA scenario; or, the current SSB transmission period will be sent to, but is not limited to, all PCells associated with the cell when it is an SCell in a CA scenario.

[0257] In the technical solution of this application embodiment, after the SCell is deactivated, it is allowed to determine whether to increase the SSB transmission period. When the load of the SCell is small, the SSB transmission period can be appropriately extended to reduce the overhead of broadcast signals and unnecessary energy consumption, thereby achieving the purpose of energy saving and reducing operator costs.

[0258] This application embodiment also provides a communication device applied to a first communication device. Referring to FIG13, the communication device includes:

[0259] The data transmission module 12 is used to send the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the transmission cycle information of the first synchronization signal to the second communication device.

[0260] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes: an information receiving module 11, used to receive first information sent by a third communication device, the first information being used to identify a second communication device.

[0261] In one embodiment, the first information includes a measurement result report sent by a third communication device, and / or service request information sent by the third communication device.

[0262] In one embodiment, the first synchronization signal transmission period information is obtained based on the number of requests from the third communication device.

[0263] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes a quantity information determination module 13, which is used to: obtain the quantity information of the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device and / or the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device.

[0264] In one embodiment, the quantity information determination module 13 is further configured to: determine the second communication device corresponding to the third communication device based on the measurement result report and / or service request information sent by the third communication device.

[0265] In one embodiment, the data sending module 12 is further configured to: send the synchronization signal configuration information of the second communication device to the third communication device.

[0266] In one embodiment, the third communication device requests quantity information and / or first synchronization signal transmission period information for the second communication device to determine the second synchronization signal transmission period, and / or the third communication device requests quantity information and / or first synchronization signal transmission period information for the second communication device to set the current synchronization signal transmission period as the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0267] In one embodiment, the data sending module 12 is further configured to: send the request quantity information of the third communication device to the second communication device if the number of requests from the third communication device is less than a preset request quantity threshold; and / or, send the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device if the number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the preset request quantity threshold.

[0268] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes a period determination module, which is used to: obtain the first synchronization signal transmission period information corresponding to the second communication device based on the relationship between the number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold.

[0269] In one embodiment, the relationship between the number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold includes a magnitude relationship.

[0270] In one embodiment, the information receiving module 11 is further configured to: receive synchronization signal configuration information sent by the second communication device; the data sending module 12 is further configured to:

[0271] The synchronization signal configuration information is sent to at least one third communication device.

[0272] In one embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell, the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell, and the third communication device includes a terminal device.

[0273] The communication device provided in this application, employing the communication method applied to the first communication device in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain effect of the base station due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of the secondary cell in the current carrier aggregation scenario. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the communication device provided in this application are the same as those of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features in this communication device are the same as those disclosed in the method of the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0274] This application embodiment also provides a communication device applied to a second communication device. Referring to FIG14, the communication device includes: an information receiving module 21, used to receive information on the number of requests from a third communication device sent by a first communication device; and / or, used to receive a first synchronization signal transmission cycle sent by the first communication device.

[0275] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes a period setting module 22, which is used to: determine a second synchronization signal transmission period, and / or set the synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0276] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: obtain information on the total number of requests from the third communication device; and obtain a second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the information on the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold.

[0277] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: obtain the total number of requests from the third communication devices based on the number of requests from the third communication devices and / or the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication devices when implementing the primary cell function and the serving cell function, respectively.

[0278] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: sum the number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device sent by at least one first communication device to obtain first device quantity information; sum the number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the primary cell function to obtain second device quantity information; sum the number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the serving cell function to obtain third device quantity information; and obtain the total number of requests for third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device based on at least one of the first device quantity information, second device quantity information, and third device quantity information.

[0279] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a first preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to a first threshold and greater than or equal to a second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a second preset period; and / or, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is a third preset period.

[0280] In one embodiment, the second preset period is greater than the first preset period. The period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is the second preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the first preset period; and / or, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period. Wherein, the third threshold is greater than the second threshold.

[0281] In one embodiment, the third preset period is greater than the second preset period, and the period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is the third preset period, and if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the first preset period; and / or, if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold and less than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period.

[0282] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the received first synchronization signal transmission period information includes a first preset period, then set the second synchronization signal transmission period to the first preset period, wherein the first preset period is less than a preset period threshold; and / or, if the received first synchronization signal transmission period information does not include the first preset period, then, based on the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device in implementing the primary cell function and the serving cell function respectively, and / or the number of requests of the third communication device, obtain the total number of requests of the third communication device; and based on the relationship between the total number of requests of the third communication device and at least one number threshold, obtain the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0283] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a third preset period, the quantity information requested by the third communication device is less than the second threshold; and / or, if the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a second preset period, the quantity information requested by the third communication device is greater than the second threshold, wherein the second preset period is greater than the first preset period, and the third preset period is greater than the second preset period.

[0284] In one embodiment, the period setting module 22 is further configured to: set the second synchronization signal transmission period to a first preset period if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a fifth threshold; and / or, set the second synchronization signal transmission period to a second preset period if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a sixth threshold and less than or equal to a fifth threshold; or, set the second synchronization signal transmission period to a third preset period if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to a sixth threshold.

[0285] In one embodiment, the second communication device includes at least two different preset periods, and the period setting module 22 is further configured to: if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fourth preset period, and / or if the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to a seventh threshold, then set the second synchronization signal transmission period to a fifth preset period; and / or if the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fifth preset period, and / or if the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to an eighth threshold, then set the second synchronization signal transmission period to a fourth preset period.

[0286] The fifth preset cycle is longer than the fourth preset cycle.

[0287] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes a periodic synchronization module, which is used to send the set second synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device and / or the third communication device.

[0288] In one embodiment, the communication device is further configured to: acquire information on the number of requests from the third communication device; obtain a second synchronization signal transmission period based on the information on the number of requests from the third communication device; and set the current synchronization signal transmission period as the second synchronization signal transmission period.

[0289] In one embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell, the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell, and the third communication device includes a terminal device.

[0290] The communication device provided in this application, employing the communication method applied to the second communication device in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain effect of the base station due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of the secondary cell in the current carrier aggregation scenario. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the communication device provided in this application are the same as those of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features in this communication device are the same as those disclosed in the method of the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0291] This application embodiment also provides a communication device applied to a third communication device. Referring to FIG15, the communication device includes: a signal measurement module 31 for measuring at least one cell and obtaining a corresponding measurement result report; and a report sending module 32 for sending the measurement result report and / or service request information to a first communication device.

[0292] In one embodiment, the communication device further includes an information receiving module, which is used to receive synchronization signal configuration information sent by the first communication device.

[0293] In one embodiment, the signal measurement module 31 is further configured to: measure the reference signal of the second communication device to obtain the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device; if the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device satisfies the first condition, then include the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device in the measurement result report.

[0294] In one embodiment, the signal measurement module 31 is further configured to: if the measurement result is greater than a preset ninth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the ninth threshold, then the measurement result of the second communication device satisfies the first condition.

[0295] In one embodiment, the signal measurement module 31 is further configured to: measure the reference signal of the first communication device to obtain the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device; if the measurement result of the first communication device meets the second condition, then include the measurement result of the first communication device in the measurement result report.

[0296] In one embodiment, the signal measurement module 31 is further configured to: if the measurement result is greater than a preset tenth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the tenth threshold, then the measurement result of the first communication device satisfies the second condition.

[0297] In one embodiment, the signal measurement module 31 is further configured to: obtain the corresponding second communication device based on the measurement result report and / or service demand information; and send the service demand information to the second communication device.

[0298] In one embodiment, the first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell, the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell, and the third communication device includes a terminal device.

[0299] The communication device provided in this application, employing the communication method applied to the third communication device in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain effect of the base station due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of the secondary cell in the current carrier aggregation scenario. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the communication device provided in this application are the same as those of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features in this communication device are the same as those disclosed in the previous embodiment method, and will not be repeated here.

[0300] In addition, this application embodiment also provides a communication device, which is a base station. The base station may be a base station belonging to a primary cell or a base station belonging to a secondary cell. The base station is a physical device and may include: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to at least one processor. The memory stores instructions that can be executed by at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by at least one processor to enable at least one processor to execute the communication method in the above embodiment.

[0301] Referring now to FIG16, a schematic diagram of a base station suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The base station shown in FIG16 is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0302] As shown in Figure 16, the base station may include a processing device 1001 (e.g., a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.), which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in ROM (Read Only Memory) 1002 or a program loaded from storage device 1003 into RAM (Random Access Memory) 1004. RAM 1004 also stores various programs and data required for base station operation. The processing device 1001, ROM 1002, and / or RAM 1004 are interconnected via bus 1005. I / O (input / output) interface 1006 is also connected to the bus. Typically, the following systems can be connected to I / O interface 1006: input devices 1007 including, for example, touchscreens, touchpads, keyboards, mice, image sensors, microphones, accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.; output devices 1008 including, for example, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), speakers, vibrators, etc.; storage devices 1003 including, for example, magnetic tapes, hard disks, etc.; and / or communication devices 1009. Communication device 1009 allows the base station to communicate wirelessly or wiredly with other devices to exchange data. Although base stations with various systems are shown in the figure, it should be understood that implementation or possession of all the systems shown is not required. More or fewer systems may be implemented alternatively.

[0303] In particular, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of this disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a non-volatile computer-readable medium, the computer program containing program code for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via a communication device, or installed from storage device 1003, or installed from ROM 1002. When the computer program is executed by processing device 1001, it performs the functions defined in the methods of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0304] The base station provided in this application, employing the communication method described in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of secondary cells in current carrier aggregation scenarios. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the base station provided in this application are the same as those of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features of this base station are the same as those disclosed in the previous embodiment method, and will not be repeated here.

[0305] It should be understood that various parts of this disclosure can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the description of the above embodiments, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0306] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0307] In addition, this application embodiment also provides a communication device, which is a terminal device used by a user. The terminal device may include: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the communication method in the above embodiment.

[0308] Referring now to FIG17, a schematic diagram of a terminal device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The terminal device in embodiments of the present disclosure may include, but is not limited to, mobile terminals such as mobile phones, laptops, digital broadcast receivers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), PADs (Portable Application Description), PMPs (Portable Media Players), in-vehicle terminals (e.g., in-vehicle navigation terminals), and / or fixed terminals such as digital TVs and desktop computers. The terminal device shown in FIG17 is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0309] As shown in Figure 17, the terminal device may include a processing unit 2001 (e.g., a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.), which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in ROM (Read Only Memory) 2002 or a program loaded from storage device 2003 into RAM (Random Access Memory) 2004. RAM 2004 also stores various programs and data required for the operation of the terminal device. The processing unit 2001, ROM 2002, and / or RAM 2004 are interconnected via bus 2005. I / O (input / output) interface 2006 is also connected to the bus. Typically, the following systems can be connected to I / O interface 2006: input devices 2007 including, for example, touch screens, touchpads, keyboards, mice, image sensors, microphones, accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.; output devices 2008 including, for example, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), speakers, vibrators, etc.; storage devices 2003 including, for example, magnetic tapes, hard disks, etc.; and / or communication devices 2009. Communication device 2009 allows terminal devices to communicate wirelessly or wiredly with other devices to exchange data. Although terminal devices with various systems are shown in the figures, it should be understood that implementation or possession of all the systems shown is not required. More or fewer systems may be implemented alternatively.

[0310] In particular, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of this disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a non-volatile computer-readable medium, the computer program containing program code for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via a communication device, or installed from storage device 2003, or installed from ROM 2002. When the computer program is executed by processing device 2001, it performs the functions defined in the methods of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0311] The terminal device provided in this application, employing the communication method described in the above embodiments, can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain effect of the base station due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of secondary cells in current carrier aggregation scenarios. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the terminal device provided in this application are the same as those of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and other technical features of the terminal device are the same as those disclosed in the previous embodiment method, and will not be repeated here.

[0312] It should be understood that various parts of this disclosure can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the description of the above embodiments, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0313] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0314] This application also provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions stored thereon, which are used to execute the communication methods in the above embodiments.

[0315] The computer-readable storage medium provided in this application embodiment may be, for example, a USB flash drive, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of non-volatile computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. In this embodiment, the non-volatile computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, system, or device. The program code contained on the non-volatile computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to: wires, optical cables, RF (Radio Frequency), etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0316] The aforementioned non-volatile computer-readable storage medium may be included in a base station or terminal device; or it may exist independently and not assembled into a base station or terminal device.

[0317] The aforementioned non-volatile computer-readable storage medium carries one or more programs that, when executed by a base station or terminal device, cause the base station to: send the third communication device request quantity information and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle corresponding to the second communication device to the second communication device; or, cause the base station to: receive the third communication device request quantity information sent by the first communication device; and / or, receive the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information sent by the first communication device; or, cause the base station to: send a cycle setting instruction and / or an activation instruction to the fourth communication device; receive an acceptance message sent by the fourth communication device, and / or, the synchronization signal transmission cycle information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or, the rejection message sent by the fourth communication device.

[0318] Alternatively, the base station may perform the following actions: receiving a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by the first communication device; sending second information to the first communication device, the second information including at least one of acceptance information, synchronization signal transmission period information, and rejection information; or, the base station may perform the following actions: sending a deactivation instruction to the second communication device; or, the base station may perform the following actions: receiving a deactivation instruction sent by the first communication device; setting the current synchronization signal transmission period based on the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period; or, the terminal device may perform the following actions: measuring at least one cell and obtaining a corresponding measurement result report; sending the measurement result report and / or service request information to the first communication device.

[0319] Computer program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in one or more programming languages ​​or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, Smalltalk, and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In cases involving remote computers, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer via any type of network—including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)—or can be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0320] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code containing one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may occur in a different order than those indicated in the drawings. For example, two consecutively indicated blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in a block diagram and / or flowchart, and / or combinations of blocks in block diagrams and / or flowcharts, may be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0321] The modules described in the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in software or hardware. The names of the modules do not necessarily limit the functionality of the unit itself.

[0322] The readable storage medium provided in this application is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. This non-volatile computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable program instructions for executing the above-described communication method, which can solve the technical problem of poor flexibility in the synchronization signal transmission cycle of secondary cells in current carrier aggregation scenarios, leading to poor network energy-saving gains for base stations. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the computer-readable storage medium provided in this application are the same as the beneficial effects of the communication method provided in the above-described embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0323] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the communication method described above.

[0324] The computer program product provided in this application can solve the technical problem of poor network energy-saving gain of base stations due to the poor flexibility of the synchronization signal transmission cycle of secondary cells in current carrier aggregation scenarios. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the computer program product provided in this application are the same as the beneficial effects of the communication method provided in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and do not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent scope of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: The third communication device requests quantity information and / or first synchronization signal transmission cycle information corresponding to the second communication device are sent to the second communication device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first synchronization signal transmission period information is obtained based on the number of requests from the third communication device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The third communication device requests quantity information and / or the first synchronization signal transmission period information for the second communication device to determine the second synchronization signal transmission period information, and / or the third communication device requests quantity information and / or the first synchronization signal transmission period information for the second communication device to set the current synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The step of sending the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information to the second communication device includes: If the number of requests from the third communication device is less than a preset request number threshold, then the request number information of the third communication device is sent to the second communication device; and / or, If the number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to a preset request number threshold, then the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information is sent to the second communication device.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, Before sending the first synchronization signal transmission period information to the second communication device, the method further includes: Based on the relationship between the number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold, the first synchronization signal transmission cycle information corresponding to the second communication device is obtained.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The relationship between the number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold includes a magnitude relationship.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The first communication device includes a base station corresponding to the primary cell, the second communication device includes a base station corresponding to the secondary cell, and the third communication device includes a terminal device.

8. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device; And / or, receive the first synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the first communication device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, After receiving the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device and / or receiving the first synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the first communication device, the method further includes: Determine the second synchronization signal transmission period, and / or set the synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, Determining the second synchronization signal transmission period includes: Obtain information on the total number of requests from third-party communication devices; The second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The process of obtaining the total number of requests from the third communication device includes: Based on the number of requests from the third communication device and / or the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the primary cell function and the serving cell function, the total number of requests from the third communication device is obtained.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The step of obtaining the total number of requests from the third communication devices based on the number of requests from the third communication devices and / or the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication devices when implementing the primary cell function and the serving cell function, includes: The number of requests from third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device sent by at least one of the first communication devices is summed to obtain the number of first devices; and / or, By statistically analyzing the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the main cell function, the number of second devices can be obtained; and / or, The number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the serving cell function is counted to obtain the number of third devices; Based on at least one of the first device quantity information, the second device quantity information, and the third device quantity information, the total number of requests for the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device is obtained.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein, The step of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold includes: If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a first preset period, and, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period; and / or, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The step of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold further includes: If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a second preset period, and, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the first preset period; and / or, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the second threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period, wherein the third threshold is greater than the second threshold.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The step of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold further includes: If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a third preset period, and, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the first preset period; and / or, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold and less than or equal to the third threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The step of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold further includes: If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the first preset period; and / or, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the sixth threshold and less than or equal to the fifth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the second preset period; and / or, If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the sixth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the third preset period.

17. The method according to claim 9, wherein, Determining the second synchronization signal transmission period includes: If the received first synchronization signal transmission period information includes a first preset period, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is set to the first preset period, wherein the first preset period is less than a first preset period threshold; and / or, If the received first synchronization signal transmission period information does not include the first preset period, then, Based on the number of third communication devices and / or the number of requests from third communication devices respectively when the second communication device implements the primary cell function and / or the serving cell function, the total number of requests from third communication devices is obtained; The second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, Before obtaining the total number of requests from the third communication devices based on the number of third communication devices corresponding to the second communication device when implementing the primary cell function and / or the serving cell function, the process includes: If the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is a third preset period, and the quantity information requested by the third communication device is less than the second threshold; and / or If the transmission period of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device is the second preset period, and the quantity information requested by the third communication device is a quantity information greater than the second threshold, wherein the second preset period is greater than the first preset period, and the third preset period is greater than the second preset period.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The second communication device includes at least two different preset periods. The step of obtaining the second synchronization signal transmission period based on the relationship between the total number of requests from the third communication device and at least one threshold includes: If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is a fourth preset period, and / or If the total number of requests from the third communication device is less than or equal to the seventh threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the fifth preset period; and / or, If the synchronization signal transmission period of the second communication device is the fifth preset period, and / or If the total number of requests from the third communication device is greater than or equal to the eighth threshold, then the second synchronization signal transmission period is the fourth preset period; The fifth preset cycle is longer than the fourth preset cycle.

20. The method according to claim 9, wherein, After determining the second synchronization signal transmission period and / or setting the synchronization signal transmission period to the second synchronization signal transmission period, the method further includes: The set second synchronization signal transmission cycle information is sent to the first communication device and / or the third communication device.

21. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The method further includes: Obtain the number of requests from the third communication device; The second synchronization signal transmission period is obtained based on the number of requests from the third communication device, and / or the synchronization signal transmission period is set as the second synchronization signal transmission period.

22. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a third communication device, the method includes: Measure at least one cell and obtain the corresponding measurement result report; The measurement result report and / or service request information are sent to the first communication device.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, The measurement of at least one cell yields a corresponding measurement result report, including: The reference signal of the second communication device is measured to obtain the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device. If the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device meets the first condition, then the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device will be included in the measurement result report.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein, After obtaining the measurement results corresponding to the second communication device, the method further includes: If the measurement result is greater than the preset ninth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the ninth threshold, then the measurement result corresponding to the second communication device satisfies the first condition.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein, The measurement of at least one cell yields a corresponding measurement result report, including: The reference signal of the first communication device is measured to obtain the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device. If the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device meets the second condition, then the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device will be included in the measurement result report.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein, After obtaining the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device, the method includes: If the measurement result is greater than the preset tenth threshold or the sum of the measurement result and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the tenth threshold, then the measurement result corresponding to the first communication device satisfies the second condition.

27. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Send a periodic setting command and / or activation command to the fourth communication device; Receive acceptance information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fourth communication device, and / or rejection information sent by the fourth communication device.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein, Before sending the periodic setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fourth communication device, the method further includes: The fourth communication device is obtained from at least one second communication device.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein, Obtaining the fourth communication device from at least one second communication device includes: The fourth communication device is obtained from the at least one of the buffer status information of the third communication device, the measurement results, and the user load information of the at least one second communication device.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein, The measurement results include: the measurement results obtained by the third communication device from the measurement of the second communication device.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein, The measurement results include at least one of RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, and SINR.

32. The method according to claim 29, wherein, After receiving the acceptance information sent by the fourth communication device, the method further includes: Send the activation information corresponding to the fourth communication device to the third communication device.

33. The method according to claim 28, wherein, After receiving the rejection information sent by the fourth communication device, the method includes: A fifth communication device is obtained from at least one second communication device; And / or, send a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fifth communication device; And / or, receiving acceptance information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or, synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or, rejection information sent by the fifth communication device.

34. The method according to any one of claims 28-33, wherein, Sending the periodic setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fourth communication device includes: If the current synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device meets the third condition, a period setting instruction and / or an activation instruction are sent to the fourth communication device.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein, The third condition includes at least the following: the synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device is greater than or equal to the first preset period threshold.

36. The method according to claim 28, wherein, After sending the periodic setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fourth communication device, the method further includes: If the transmission period of the synchronization signal received from the fourth communication device meets the first condition, the fourth communication device is activated as the secondary cell corresponding to the terminal device.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein, The first condition includes: The synchronization signal transmission period of the fourth communication device is less than or equal to the second preset period threshold.

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein, The method further includes: A fifth communication device is obtained from at least one second communication device; And / or, send a period setting instruction and / or activation instruction to the fifth communication device; And / or, receiving acceptance information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or, synchronization signal transmission period information sent by the fifth communication device, and / or, rejection information sent by the fifth communication device.

39. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive periodic setting instructions and / or activation instructions sent by the first communication device; Send a second message to the first communication device, the second message including at least one of acceptance message, synchronization signal transmission period information, and rejection message.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein, Sending the second information to the first communication device includes: If the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction are accepted, the acceptance information and / or synchronization signal are sent to the first communication device to transmit period information; If the period setting instruction and / or activation instruction are not accepted, the rejection information and / or synchronization signal are sent to the first communication device to transmit period information.

41. The method according to claim 39, wherein, After receiving the periodic setting instruction and / or activation instruction sent by the first communication device, the method further includes: If the second communication device cannot set the current synchronization signal transmission period to a period that satisfies the first condition, then it sends the rejection information and / or synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device; and / or, If the second communication device can set the current synchronization signal transmission period to a period that satisfies the first condition, then it sends the receiving information and / or synchronization signal transmission period information to the first communication device.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein, The method further includes: The current synchronization signal transmission period does not meet the first condition.

43. A communication method, wherein, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive the deactivation command sent by the first communication device; The current synchronization signal transmission period is set based on the number of deactivation commands received within a preset time period.

44. The method according to claim 43, wherein, The step of setting the current synchronization signal transmission period based on the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period includes: If the number of deactivation instructions received within the preset time period meets the second condition, then the current synchronization signal transmission period is set to be greater than the current period, or the current synchronization signal transmission period is increased.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein, The second condition includes: the number of deactivation instructions received within a preset time period is greater than a preset threshold or a preset ratio.

46. ​​A communication device, wherein, Applied to a first communication device, the communication device includes: The data transmission module is used to send the request quantity information of the third communication device corresponding to the second communication device and / or the transmission cycle information of the first synchronization signal to the second communication device.

47. A communication device, wherein, Applied to a second communication device, the communication device includes: The information receiving module is used to receive the number of requests from the third communication device sent by the first communication device; and / or, to receive the transmission period information of the first synchronization signal sent by the first communication device.

48. A communication device, wherein, Applied to a third communication device, the communication device includes: The signal measurement module is used to measure at least one cell and obtain a corresponding measurement result report. The report sending module is used to send the measurement result report and / or service request information to the first communication device.

49. A computer program product, wherein, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the operation of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 21, 27 to 45, or 22 to 26.

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