Method and apparatus for switching downlink carriers

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and provides a method and apparatus for switching downlink carriers. The method for switching downlink carriers comprises: a terminal receives periodic switching configuration information of two downlink carriers; and, on the basis of the periodic switching configuration information, determines to perform communication by means of a first downlink carrier over a first time unit, the first downlink carrier being one of the two downlink carriers, so that the terminal can switch between the two downlink carriers to perform communication, thereby improving the utilization rate of frequency domain resources.

Description

Downlink carrier switching method and apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510392061.5, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 28, 2025, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Switching Downlink Carriers", and Chinese Patent Application No. 202510452829.3, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on April 10, 2025, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Switching Downlink Carriers", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a method and apparatus for switching downlink carriers. Background Technology

[0003] With the widespread adoption of 5G, carrier aggregation (CA) technology has become a core solution for improving user transmission bandwidth and network capacity. CA technology significantly improves user experience by aggregating multiple component carriers (CCs) to integrate frequency domain resources from the same or different frequency bands for terminal use.

[0004] However, in low-frequency bands (such as those below 1 GHz), while their wide coverage supports basic communication services, the surge in data traffic leads to a shortage of frequency domain resources. Taking the n12 band as an example, its frequency division duplex (FDD) band (downlink 729-746 MHz, uplink 669-716 MHz) may already be severely congested, while the adjacent supplementary downlink (SDL) n29 band (downlink 717-728 MHz, no uplink resources) may not be fully utilized, resulting in resource waste. Although integrating the n12 and n29 bands through CA technology can theoretically alleviate congestion, this technology places high demands on the hardware capabilities of the terminal, especially relying on multi-radio frequency reception (Rx) units to achieve concurrent transmission across multiple frequency bands.

[0005] Currently, some terminals have low frequency domain resource utilization. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a downlink carrier switching method and apparatus to solve the problem of low utilization of terminal frequency domain resources.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] Firstly, a method for switching downlink carriers is provided. This method is applied to a terminal, and the executing entity of the method can be the terminal itself, a component or device applied to the terminal (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal's functions. The downlink carrier switching method includes: receiving periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers; and determining, based on the periodic switching configuration information, to communicate via a first downlink carrier in a first time unit, wherein the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0009] In the first aspect, the terminal communicates via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit according to the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers indicated by the network device, so that the terminal can switch between the two downlink carriers to communicate, thereby improving the utilization of frequency domain resources.

[0010] In one possible design, the method further includes transmitting capability information that indicates the switching interval between the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the switching between the two downlink carriers.

[0011] In this design, the terminal sends capability information to the network device, which can then adaptively determine periodic switching configuration information that matches the capability information sent by the terminal.

[0012] Secondly, a downlink carrier switching method is provided. This method is applied to a network device. The executing entity of this method can be the network device, a component or device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. The downlink carrier switching method includes: acquiring periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers; and sending the periodic switching configuration information for the two downlink carriers. The periodic switching configuration information indicates that communication is performed via a first downlink carrier in a first time unit, and the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0013] In one possible design, the method further includes: receive capability information, which indicates the switching interval between the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the switching between the two downlink carriers.

[0014] In one possible design, obtaining the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers includes: determining the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers based on the capability information.

[0015] In this design, after the terminal reports its capability information, the network device can adaptively determine the periodic switching configuration information that matches the capability information based on the capability information sent by the terminal, thus ensuring the effectiveness of the terminal when performing carrier switching based on the periodic switching configuration information.

[0016] In conjunction with either the first or second aspect, this application may further include the following design:

[0017] In one possible design, the periodic switching configuration information includes a bit map, where each bit in the bit map is used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit.

[0018] In this design, a bitmap is used as the periodic switching configuration information. The bitmap can represent complex periodic switching configuration information in a concise way. By assigning each bit to a different carrier or configuration option, a large amount of configuration details can be accurately conveyed within a limited space, reducing the overhead of information transmission and storage.

[0019] In one possible design, the bit map includes a first bit map and a second bit map corresponding to two downlink carriers, respectively. Bit combinations at the same positions in the first bit map and the second bit map are used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the handover interval.

[0020] In this design, the downlink carrier corresponding to the switching interval is indicated by the combination of bits at the same position in the first bit map and the second bit map. This allows network devices and terminals to align the carrier switching time, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0021] In one possible design, the time-domain length of the handover interval indicated by the bit combination is greater than or equal to the time-domain length of the handover interval supported by the terminal.

[0022] In this design, the time-domain length of the handover interval corresponding to the above bit combination is defined to be greater than or equal to the time-domain length of the handover interval supported by the terminal device. Thus, the terminal can complete carrier switching within the handover interval duration corresponding to the bit combination, aligning the terminal and network device in the time domain and improving the communication quality between the terminal and network device.

[0023] In one possible design, each bit corresponds to a time granularity of: frame, half-frame, time slot, millisecond, or symbol.

[0024] In this design, bitmaps at various time-domain granularities are designed to instruct the terminal to perform carrier switching. This division of configuration information according to different levels of granularity can flexibly adapt to diverse service requirements and network scenarios.

[0025] When using symbols as the granularity, extremely fine-grained time-domain control (such as symbol-level resource allocation and switching) can meet ultra-high precision time synchronization requirements, significantly improving spectrum utilization. This is particularly suitable for interference coordination in dynamic symbol scheduling or dense deployment scenarios of time-division duplex systems. When using milliseconds / time slots as the granularity, medium-precision fast resource scheduling (such as time slot-level switching configuration) can support the dynamic needs of ultra-low latency services such as URLLC, and achieve efficient resource adaptation in dynamic spectrum sharing scenarios. When using frames / half-frames as the granularity, macro-level periodic switching configuration information can reduce signaling interaction frequency in wide-area coverage or static scenarios, avoiding frequent switching, reducing terminal switching overhead, improving data transmission efficiency, and enhancing system stability and deployment efficiency.

[0026] This multi-level granularity partitioning strategy, through time resource management with different levels of precision, takes into account the combined goals of high flexibility, low latency response, high resource utilization, and low signaling overhead, providing a scalable configuration framework for differentiated services in complex network environments.

[0027] In one possible design, the cycle switching configuration information includes information indicating the time granularity.

[0028] In one possible design, the periodic switching configuration information includes the time point at which the switching occurs.

[0029] In this design, the periodic switching configuration information includes the time point when the switching occurs, allowing the terminal to clearly determine when to perform downlink carrier switching.

[0030] In one possible design, the periodic switching configuration information also includes time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier.

[0031] In this design, the periodic switching configuration information also includes time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier. Based on the time-domain start position information, the terminal can uniquely determine the position of the switching mode in the time domain so as to align with the network device in the time domain and improve communication quality.

[0032] In one possible design, the periodic handover configuration information also includes downlink carrier information corresponding to the handover interval during handover.

[0033] In this design, the network device explicitly indicates the downlink carrier information corresponding to the handover interval when the terminal is switching through periodic handover configuration information. This allows the network device and the terminal to align the carrier handover time, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0034] Thirdly, a method for switching downlink carriers is provided. This method is applied to a terminal, and the executing entity of the method can be the terminal, a component or device applied to the terminal (such as a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal's functions. The downlink carrier switching method includes: receiving periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers, wherein the periodic switching configuration information includes M bitmaps, each bit in the M bitmaps indicating the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit, and M being a positive integer greater than 1; receiving first information, wherein the first information indicates the bitmap in the M bitmaps that is active in the first time unit; and determining, based on the active bitmap, to communicate via a first downlink carrier in the first time unit, wherein the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0035] In the third aspect, the terminal uses the M-item bitmap indicated by the network device as alternative periodic handover configuration information. Then, based on the first information sent by the network device, it determines the effective bitmap within the M-item bitmap and determines whether to communicate via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit based on the effective bitmap. In this way, the bitmap can represent complex periodic handover configuration information in a concise manner, and the M-item bitmap can be reused, reducing the configuration overhead of the periodic handover configuration information.

[0036] Fourthly, a method for switching downlink carriers is provided. This method is applied to a network device, and the executing entity of the method can be the network device itself, a component or device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. The downlink carrier switching method includes: transmitting periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers, wherein the periodic switching configuration information includes an M-bit map, where each bit in the M-bit map indicates the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit, and M is a positive integer greater than 1; and transmitting first information, wherein the first information indicates the bit map in the M-bit map that is active in the first time unit, and the active bit map is used to determine the first downlink carrier communicating in the first time unit, the first downlink carrier being one of the two downlink carriers. In this fourth aspect, the network device indicates the M-bit map as alternative periodic switching configuration information to the terminal, and then indicates the active bit map in the M-bit map to the terminal based on the first information. Thus, the bit map can represent complex periodic switching configuration information in a concise way, and the M-bit map can be reused, reducing the configuration overhead of the periodic switching configuration information.

[0037] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in one possible design, the first information includes a second sequence, which includes at least one element. Each element in the sequence corresponds to a bitmap entry, and the order of the elements in the second sequence corresponds to the effective order of the bitmaps. Optionally, the protocol can define a maximum number of elements in the second sequence.

[0038] Fifthly, a communication device is provided for implementing the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, and corresponding possible designs. For example, the communication device can be a terminal as described in the first aspect; or, the communication device can be a network device as described in the second aspect. When the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components.

[0039] The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation method. These modules, units, or means can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0040] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations. The transceiver module, also called a transceiver unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations. The transceiver module may consist of transceiver circuitry, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a communication interface.

[0041] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and / or a receiving module, which are used to implement the sending or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations.

[0042] A sixth aspect provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute computer programs or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the methods described in any aspect. For example, the communication device may be a terminal as described in the first aspect; or, the communication device may be a network device as described in the second aspect. When the device is a chip system, it may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0043] A seventh aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor; the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any aspect. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or the memory may exist independently of the processor; for example, the memory and the processor may be two separate modules. The memory may be located outside or within the communication device.

[0044] The communication device is used to implement the method described in any of the first to fourth aspects. For example, the communication device can be a terminal as described in the first aspect; or, the communication device can be a network device as described in the second aspect. When the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components.

[0045] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0046] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided that, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0047] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, configured to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one aspect.

[0048] It is understandable that when the communication device provided in any of the fifth to seventh aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as inputting information.

[0049] Eleventhly, a communication system is provided, which includes the terminal and network equipment described in the preceding aspects.

[0050] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects five through eleven can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one through four, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0051] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a carrier aggregation scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication frequency band provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the time-domain structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figures 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of the communication system provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0055] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a downlink carrier switching method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of the switching modes provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a message content provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating another downlink carrier switching method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figures 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0060] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of 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 the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0061] Before introducing the embodiments of this application, some terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained.

[0062] 1. Carrier aggregation technology:

[0063] Carrier aggregation (CA) technology in New Radio (NR) is used to increase the transmission bandwidth of individual users. Specifically, CA technology improves the overall network resource utilization and enhances the user experience by integrating frequency domain resources of the same or different frequency bands for terminal use. CA technology supports greater transmission bandwidth and higher data transmission rates by aggregating two or more carriers (CCs), as shown in Figure 1. In carrier aggregation, the primary cell (PCell) (e.g., cell 1) is the primary serving cell designated by the terminal when performing initial connection establishment, radio resource control (RRC) connection reconstruction, or handover, and is responsible for RRC signaling interaction with the terminal. The carrier element corresponding to the PCell is called the primary component carrier (PCC). The downlink primary component carrier (DL PCC) refers to the downlink transmission frequency band of the PCell; the uplink primary component carrier (UL PCC) refers to the uplink transmission frequency band of the PCell.

[0064] A secondary cell (SCell) (e.g., cell 2) is added to the terminal via the RRC reconfiguration process to provide additional radio resources. The carrier element corresponding to the SCell is called a secondary component carrier (SCC). The downlink secondary component carrier (DL SCC) is the downlink transmission frequency band of the SCell; the uplink secondary component carrier (UL SCC) is the uplink transmission frequency band of the SCell.

[0065] A serving cell may contain one downlink carrier, one downlink carrier and one uplink carrier, or one downlink carrier and two uplink carriers. Therefore, a serving cell can correspond one-to-one with one downlink carrier. In other words, the concepts of carrier (unless otherwise specified, all carriers refer to downlink carriers) and cell are interchangeable in this application.

[0066] 2. Low-frequency band dynamic carrier aggregation:

[0067] Thanks to the propagation characteristics of low-frequency electromagnetic waves, operators can provide wide-coverage services. However, surges in data traffic can cause congestion in low-frequency bands, impacting user experience. Aggregating multiple low-frequency carriers using CA (Carrier Aggregator) technology can alleviate this problem.

[0068] For example, taking the background technology introduction of the n12 and n29 frequency bands as an example, as shown in Figure 2, the n12 frequency band is currently severely congested, while the n29 frequency band is not fully utilized. At this time, the two frequency bands can be combined through CA technology.

[0069] When combining the n12 and n29 frequency bands via CA technology, the configuration of PCell and PCC can include: the UE's PCell corresponds to the n12 frequency band, the DL PCC is 729MHz-746MHz, and the UL PCC is 669MHz-716MHz. The configuration of SCell and SCC can include: the UE's SCell corresponds to the n29 frequency band, and the DL SCC is 717MHz-728MHz.

[0070] 3. Time-domain structure

[0071] In 5G NR, the frame structure (also known as a radio frame, system frame, etc.) has a clearly defined structure. As shown in Figure 3, the frame length is fixed at 10ms, and the frame number ranges from 0 to 1023; the subframe length is fixed at 1ms, and the subframe number ranges from 0 to 9. Under the normal cyclic prefix (Normal CP), the slot length consists of 14 symbols, and the slot number ranges from 0 to 13. The symbol length is related to the subcarrier spacing (SCS). 5G NR data domain scheduling is based on slots. Although the number of symbols in a slot is fixed at 14, the actual slot duration is not fixed because the symbol length depends on the SCS. For example, when SCS = 15kHz, each 1ms subframe contains one slot; when SCS = 120kHz, each 1ms subframe contains eight slots.

[0072] The following provides an exemplary description of a communication system to which the embodiments of this application can be applied.

[0073] The downlink carrier switching method provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5G mobile communication systems, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) systems, future communication systems, or systems integrating multiple communication systems. This application does not limit the application to these systems. 5G can also be referred to as NR.

[0074] The downlink carrier switching method provided in this application can be applied to various communication scenarios, such as one or more of the following communication scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, machine-type communication, massive machine-type communication, device-to-device, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and Internet of Things (IoT).

[0075] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the application scenario used in this application is described using the communication system architecture shown in Figure 4 as an example. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system. As shown in Figure 4, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 4, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 4, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 4). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wired connected to core network 200. The core network device in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0076] RAN 100 can be used for cellular systems related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as the communication systems described above. RAN 100 can also be used for communication systems such as cloud radio access networks (CRAN).

[0077] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and is used to help terminals achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 4 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j accessing RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal 120 are sometimes both referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 4 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0078] In one possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 4, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 4, 110b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node can also be equipped with communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform corresponding communication functions. The RAN node can also be configured with program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions, as well as corresponding program instructions. The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the RAN node's functions.

[0079] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with each RAN node performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0080] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0081] In this embodiment, the form of the RAN node is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the RAN node can be the RAN node itself; or it can be a device that supports the RAN node in implementing this function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the RAN node or used in conjunction with the RAN node.

[0082] A terminal can be a device or module that accesses the aforementioned communication system and has corresponding communication functions. A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, transportation vehicles with wireless communication capabilities, communication modules, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal. A terminal typically contains a communication module, circuit, or chip that performs the corresponding communication function. The terminal can also be configured with program instructions for performing the corresponding communication function.

[0083] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal can be the terminal itself; it can also be a device that supports the terminal in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal or used in conjunction with the terminal. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the terminal in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0084] In another example, Figure 5 illustrates a different possible application framework in a communication system. As shown in Figure 5, the communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). For example, RICs include near-real-time RICs (near-RT RICs) and non-real-time RICs (non-RT RICs). Non-real-time RICs primarily process non-real-time information, such as data that is not sensitive to latency, with latency in the order of seconds. Real-time RICs primarily process near-real-time information, such as data that is relatively sensitive to latency, with latency in the order of tens of milliseconds.

[0085] Near real-time RICs and non-real-time RICs can be used for model training and inference, as well as other possible data processing. Near real-time and non-real-time RICs can also be configured as separate network elements. Furthermore, near real-time and non-real-time RICs can be integrated into other devices; for example, near real-time RICs can be located in RAN nodes (e.g., CU, DU), while non-real-time RICs can be located in OAM, cloud servers, core network devices, or other network devices.

[0086] As described in the background section, some terminals have low frequency domain resource utilization. For example, low-capability terminals (such as feature phones for the elderly and basic smartphones) are equipped with a single Rx unit and cannot receive data from both primary and secondary downlink carriers at the same time. Furthermore, traditional solutions do not design dynamic frequency band switching mechanisms for single Rx terminals, which prevents these terminals from making full use of multi-band aggregation resources, resulting in wasted frequency domain resources and unbalanced network load.

[0087] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a downlink carrier switching method. The method provided in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0088] In conjunction with the above-described communication system, this application provides a downlink carrier switching method. In this downlink carrier switching method, the terminal communicates via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit according to the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers indicated by the network device, so that the terminal can switch between the two downlink carriers to communicate, thereby improving the utilization rate of frequency domain resources.

[0089] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, "sending information" can be understood as the transmission of information between devices or between logical modules within a device. For example, "network device sending information" can refer to a network device sending information to other devices (e.g., a terminal), or it can refer to logical module 1 within the network device sending information to logical module 2. Similarly, "network device receiving information" can be understood as a network device receiving information sent by other devices (e.g., a terminal), or logical module 1 within the network device receiving information from logical module 2.

[0090] "Sending information to a terminal" or related illustrations indicate that the destination of the information is a terminal, including direct or indirect sending; "receiving information from a terminal" or related illustrations indicate that the source of the information is a terminal, including direct or indirect receiving. Information may undergo format conversion and other processing during transmission, but the destination terminal can still understand the valid information from the source terminal. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted in a similar way, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0091] In this embodiment, the names of messages, parameters, or information between network elements are examples and may differ in actual applications. Each network element may execute some or all of the steps, and the order and operation of the steps may be adjusted, and are not limited to all operations in the embodiments.

[0092] This application uses terminal devices and network devices as examples of interaction subjects, but the execution subjects are not limited to these. The methods of terminal devices can be implemented by their modules (such as chips, processors), logical nodes, or software; similarly, the methods of network devices can be implemented by their modules, logical nodes, or software, without any specific limitation.

[0093] Figure 6 shows a flowchart illustrating the downlink carrier switching method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, the method may include the following steps:

[0094] S101, the network device obtains the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers.

[0095] In this embodiment, the terminal alternately communicates with the network device between two downlink carriers. This alternating communication scheme between downlink carriers is referred to as a handover mode. The network device can obtain periodic handover configuration information for implementing the above handover mode based on multiple factors such as network status, terminal capabilities, or service requirements. In one possible interpretation, S101 can also be interpreted as: the network device configuring / determining the periodic handover configuration information for the two downlink carriers.

[0096] For example, during time period 1, if carrier 1 (e.g., the n12 band) experiences downlink resource congestion due to high user density, while carrier 2 (e.g., the n29 band) is idle, the periodic switching configuration information can instruct the terminal to switch to carrier 2 for communication. When carrier 1 is no longer congested, the terminal switches back to carrier 1. In this way, the terminal switches between the two carriers, sometimes communicating on carrier 1 and sometimes on carrier 2, to alleviate congestion and improve resource utilization.

[0097] In another example, periodic switching configuration information can be obtained based on terminal capabilities. For instance, when a terminal performs a switch, due to hardware limitations, a communication interruption of a certain duration occurs, referred to as the switching gap in this embodiment, or equivalently, the switching period. Depending on the terminal capabilities, the periodic switching configuration information may include different switching gaps. Assuming the terminal supports a longer switching gap (e.g., 140 microseconds (µs) or more), the switching gap is also known as the communication interruption duration caused by the switch. In this case, each switch requires more than two symbols. Accordingly, the periodic switching configuration information may include a longer switching period, making the switching gap duration a smaller proportion of the communication duration, thus reducing the switching overhead and improving data transmission efficiency. For the specific implementation of step S101 in this example, please refer to step S1011 below.

[0098] It is understood that the above method of obtaining the cycle switching configuration information is an exemplary illustration. In practical applications, the design can be further tailored to specific scenario requirements, taking into account factors such as network load, terminal capabilities, service type, and environmental dynamics, to achieve more efficient frequency domain resource utilization. Therefore, the specific implementation of this application's embodiments is not limited to the above example and can be extended and adapted according to actual needs.

[0099] S102, the network device sends periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers to the terminal, and the terminal receives the periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers from the network device.

[0100] The periodic switching configuration information indicates that communication will be conducted via a first downlink carrier in the first time unit. The first downlink carrier is one of two downlink carriers. Once the network device obtains the aforementioned periodic switching configuration information, it can send it to the terminal for communication.

[0101] S103, the terminal determines, based on the periodic switching configuration information, to communicate via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit.

[0102] Upon receiving the periodic switching configuration information, the terminal can communicate via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit according to the periodic switching configuration information. In other words, the terminal can perform carrier switching based on the periodic switching configuration information and communicate based on the switched carrier. The specific content of the communication includes various scenarios such as data transmission, signal quality measurement, and channel state feedback. Its specific implementation can be flexibly designed according to actual needs. Relevant technical details can be found in existing standards or protocol specifications, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0103] For example, the two downlink carriers can be carrier 1 corresponding to the n12 frequency band and carrier 2 corresponding to the n29 frequency band. As shown in Figure 7, D represents the downlink time slot and U represents the uplink time slot. According to the periodic switching configuration information, during the first time period (T1-T2), the terminal communicates through carrier 1. At this time, the first time unit is the first time period, and the first downlink carrier is carrier 1. After the first time period ends, a carrier switch (also known as Rx switch) is performed at T2. After the switch, during the second time period (T2-T3), the terminal communicates through carrier 2. At this time, the first time unit is the second time period, and the first downlink carrier is carrier 2. After the second time period ends, a carrier switch is performed at T3. After the switch, during the third time period (T3-T4), the terminal switches back to carrier 1 for communication. At this time, the first time unit is the third time period, and the first downlink carrier is carrier 1.

[0104] It is understood that the above description of carrier switching under the n12 and n29 frequency bands is for illustrative purposes only. The embodiments of this application are also applicable to other frequency band combinations, such as combinations of another FDD frequency band and SDL frequency band, combinations of FDD frequency bands, or combinations of FDD frequency bands and TDD frequency bands, etc., without limitation.

[0105] In this embodiment, the terminal communicates via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit according to the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers indicated by the network device, so that the terminal can switch between the two downlink carriers to communicate, thereby improving the utilization rate of frequency domain resources.

[0106] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes a bitmap.

[0107] In this bitmap, each bit indicates the downlink carrier (also known as the working carrier, etc.) corresponding to the specified time unit. The bitmap can be N bits long, and is also called a bit sequence, where N is a positive integer. For example, a possible value for a 6-bit bitmap is "101011", where each bit corresponds to a time unit and indicates the working carrier at that time unit. The mapping relationship between each bit and the carrier in the bitmap can be flexibly set. For example, the following two mapping relationships can be set.

[0108] Method 1: Absolute value indication: 0 and 1 are mapped to carrier 1 and carrier 2 respectively, or 0 and 1 are mapped to carrier 2 and carrier 1 respectively. This represents the working carrier in this time unit.

[0109] Method 2: Differential value indication: 0 indicates that the terminal does not switch in this time unit, and 1 indicates that at the beginning or end of this time unit, the terminal needs to switch from carrier 1 to carrier 2, or from carrier 2 to carrier 1, depending on the initial carrier position. For example, if the terminal is initially located on carrier 1 and the bit map indicates 00100, then the terminal needs to switch to carrier 2 at the beginning or end of the time unit corresponding to the third bit.

[0110] It is important to clarify that the carrier mapping relationship corresponding to "0" and "1" in the above bit diagram is not fixed and can be flexibly adjusted according to actual needs. For example, bit diagram "1101" can indicate that the terminal switches to carrier 2 at the beginning or end of the time unit corresponding to the third bit. The specific rules can be defined by the protocol or network configuration, which will not be elaborated here. In addition, the representation of the bit diagram is not limited to binary "0" and "1" values; other intuitive encoding methods can also be used. For example, the switching sequence at the time slot granularity can be represented by carrier marking symbols (such as "FFFSS"), where "F" represents the FDD carrier and "S" represents the SDL carrier. This bit diagram indicates that the terminal switches to the SDL carrier for 2 time slots after working continuously on the FDD carrier for 3 time slots. Similarly, other symbolic or digital encoding methods can be used to define the bit diagram, and the specific form is not limited.

[0111] In this embodiment, a bitmap is used as periodic switching configuration information. The bitmap can represent complex periodic switching configuration information in a concise way. By having each bit correspond to a different carrier or configuration option, a large amount of configuration details can be accurately conveyed within a limited space, reducing the overhead of information transmission and storage.

[0112] In one embodiment, optionally, the temporal granularity of the time unit corresponding to each bit in the bitmap can be flexibly set. For example, the temporal granularity corresponding to each bit can be: frame, half-frame, time slot, millisecond, or symbol.

[0113] The aforementioned time-domain granularity can be predefined by the protocol or configured by RRC. When predefined by the protocol, each bit in the predefined bitmap represents a time unit of one of several selectable time-domain granularities. When configured by RRC, the network device explicitly indicates this through information in the RRC configuration message; in other words, when configuring periodic switching configuration information via RRC messages, the periodic switching configuration information may include information indicating the time granularity.

[0114] The following sections will introduce the various time-domain granularities:

[0115] (1) Frame or half-frame as granularity: Each bit represents a system frame with a length of 10ms or a half frame with a length of 5ms.

[0116] In this embodiment, considering that frames or half-frames are the basic time units of wireless communication systems, and have a relatively large and stable time scale, the time granularity of a frame is large, and the terminal stays on a carrier for a longer period of time between two consecutive handovers, thus avoiding frequent handovers, reducing terminal handover overhead, and improving data transmission efficiency. Based on this, the system can flexibly adjust the carrier handover configuration information according to service requirements and real-time channel conditions, and efficiently achieve reasonable allocation of carrier resources.

[0117] (2) Using slots as granularity: Consider a typical scenario where two carriers are configured with a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz. In this case, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a time unit of one slot. The length of one slot is 1 millisecond. Therefore, using slots as granularity is also called using milliseconds as granularity.

[0118] In this embodiment, the time slot granularity switching configuration can achieve precise resource allocation and switching control, which is suitable for latency-sensitive scenarios and can quickly adapt to changes in channel conditions.

[0119] (3) Symbol-based granularity: Each bit represents one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

[0120] In this embodiment, the symbol-level switching configuration can achieve extremely precise resource allocation and switching control, which is suitable for latency-sensitive scenarios and can quickly adapt to changes in channel conditions.

[0121] In this embodiment, bitmaps at various time-domain granularities are designed to instruct the terminal to perform carrier switching. This division of configuration information according to different levels of granularity can flexibly adapt to diverse service requirements and network scenarios.

[0122] When using symbols as the granularity, extremely fine-grained time-domain control (such as symbol-level resource allocation and switching) can meet ultra-high precision time synchronization requirements, significantly improving spectrum utilization. This is particularly suitable for interference coordination in dynamic symbol scheduling or dense deployment scenarios of time-division duplex systems. When using milliseconds / time slots as the granularity, medium-precision fast resource scheduling (such as time slot-level switching configuration) can support the dynamic needs of ultra-low latency services such as URLLC, and achieve efficient resource adaptation in dynamic spectrum sharing scenarios. When using frames / half-frames as the granularity, macro-level periodic configuration (such as frame-level switching point definition) can reduce signaling interaction frequency in wide-area coverage or static scenarios, improving system stability and deployment efficiency.

[0123] This multi-level granularity partitioning strategy, through time resource management with different levels of precision, takes into account the combined goals of high flexibility, low latency response, high resource utilization, and low signaling overhead, providing a scalable configuration framework for differentiated services in complex network environments.

[0124] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information may further include time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier.

[0125] This includes the time-domain start position for communication based on the first downlink carrier, also known as the time-domain start position for the handover mode, or the time-domain start position where the periodic handover configuration information takes effect. The aforementioned time-domain start position can be predefined by the protocol or indicated to the terminal by the network device via messages such as RRC messages. In other words, when the network device indicates the aforementioned time-domain start position for the handover mode to the terminal via messages such as RRC messages, the periodic handover configuration information may also include the time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier.

[0126] In another possible interpretation, the starting position of the switching mode in the time domain can also be interpreted as the position of the starting point of the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the bitmap in the time domain.

[0127] The following example illustrates the design of the above-mentioned time-domain start position using bit diagrams at different time-domain granularities:

[0128] (1) When the bitmap is frame-based, for example, the starting position of the switching mode in the time domain can be set as the frame header of the system frame corresponding to the system frame number (SFN) that meets a specific condition. For example, the system frame number can be modulo N, and when the remainder is 0, the frame header of the system frame is one possible case for the starting position of the switching mode in the time domain. When N is 5, the natural numbers that result in 0 after modulo 5 are 0, 5, 10, etc., and the corresponding system frame numbers that meet this condition are #0, #5, #10, etc.

[0129] (2) When the bitmap is granular at half-frames, the time-domain start position of the switching mode can be the start of the first half-frame or the start of the second half-frame within a system frame. In this case, the time-domain start position information (referred to as half-frame indication information in this example) indicating the above-mentioned time-domain start position can be sent to the terminal through protocol predefinition or network device via RRC configuration messages. Specifically, the half-frame indication information indicates whether the start position of the switching mode is located at the start of the first half-frame or the start of the second half-frame within a system frame. For example, the half-frame indication information can be represented by 1 bit, with a value of "0" indicating the frame header of the first half-frame and a value of "1" indicating the frame header of the second half-frame.

[0130] (3) When the bit map is in the form of time slots, the starting position of the time domain for switching modes can be flexibly set at this granularity.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the temporal starting position of the switching mode can be determined based on the system frame number, slot-related parameters, and offset. Specifically, firstly, the system frame number (Nf) is multiplied by the number of slots per frame (numOfSlotPerFrame) to convert it into an absolute number of slots, i.e., Nf × numOfSlotPerFrame. Next, the slot number Ns within the current system frame is added to this, and then the offset is subtracted. After completing the above calculations, the period parameter N is moduloed. When the remainder of the modulo result is 0, the starting position of that slot is the switching point of the switching mode. The formula is expressed as: (Nf × numOfSlotPerFrame + Ns - offset) mod N = 0.

[0132] Taking specific values ​​as an example, let N = 5. In a typical scenario with a 15kHz subcarrier spacing, numOfSlotPerFrame is set to 10, and offset is set to 2. When Nf = 0 and Ns = 2, the calculation (0 × 10 + 2 - 2) mod 5 = 0 indicates that the starting point of the second time slot in frame 0 is the switching point. When Nf = 1 and Ns = 7, (1 × 10 + 7 - 2) mod 5 = 15 mod 5 = 0, that is, the starting point of the seventh time slot in frame 1 is the switching point.

[0133] The parameters are defined as follows:

[0134] Nf: As the system frame number, it serves as the global time reference for the entire communication system, ensuring time consistency across all nodes.

[0135] numOfSlotPerFrame: Represents the number of slots per frame, which is constant at 10 in a 15kHz subcarrier spacing scenario.

[0136] Ns: As an intra-frame slot index, its value ranges from 0 to 9, and it is used to accurately locate specific slots within a frame.

[0137] offset: This is a slot-level offset that can be flexibly configured as needed. Its value can be predefined by the communication protocol or transmitted to the terminal device by the network device through RRC configuration messages.

[0138] N: As a periodic parameter, it directly determines how many time slots constitute the switching interval, thus influencing the frequency and rhythm of the switching.

[0139] Based on the RRC messages or protocol configurations sent by the network device, the terminal can clearly understand the principle of determining the start position of the time domain as illustrated in the above example.

[0140] (4) When the bitmap is granular with symbols, the starting position of the time domain for switching modes can also be flexibly set at this granularity.

[0141] Similar to setting the time-domain start position of the switching mode at the time slot granularity, the symbol-granularity of the switching mode can also be determined by the system frame number, time slot number, number of symbols, and offset value. Specifically, in one example, the system frame number Nf can first be converted to the corresponding number of time slots (Nf × numOfSlotPerFrame), then the time slot number Ns within the current frame can be converted to the corresponding number of symbols (Ns × numOfSymPerSlot). These two symbol counts are added together, and then the offset value (in symbols) is subtracted. Finally, the result is modulo N. When the result is 0, the corresponding symbol start position is the time-domain start position of the switching mode. The formula is expressed as: (Nf × numOfSlotPerFrame + Ns × numOfSymPerSlot - offset) mod N = 0.

[0142] For specific numerical examples: Assume N = 7, numOfSlotPerFrame = 10 (15kHz subcarrier spacing scenario), numOfSymPerSlot = 14, and offset = 3. When Nf = 0 and Ns = 1: First, calculate the value within the parentheses: (0 × 10 + 1 × 14 - 3) = 11. Then perform a modulo operation: 11 mod 7 = 4, the result is not 0, so the starting position of this symbol is not a switching point. When Nf = 1 and Ns = 2: Calculate the value within the parentheses: (1 × 10 + 2 × 14 - 3) = 10 + 28 - 3 = 35. Perform a modulo operation: 35 mod 7 = 0, the result is 0, so the starting position of the symbol corresponding to this calculation result in the second time slot of the first frame is the switching point.

[0143] Among them, numOfSymPerSlot: the number of symbols in each time slot, fixed at 14, which specifies how many symbols are contained in a time slot. offset: the offset value in units of symbols. This value can be predefined by the communication protocol or provided to the terminal by the base station through Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration messages to adjust the position of the handover point. For explanations of other parameters, please refer to the previous text, which will not be repeated here.

[0144] In this embodiment of the application, the periodic switching configuration information also includes time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier. Based on the time-domain start position information, the terminal can uniquely determine the position of the switching mode in the time domain so as to align with the network device in the time domain and improve communication quality.

[0145] In one embodiment, by combining bitmaps with different time-domain granularities, corresponding messages (such as RRC messages, main information blocks, or system information blocks 1) carrying the bitmaps can be designed respectively. The following is an example of an RRC message.

[0146] For example, the following is an optional design method for the RRC configuration message when the periodic switching configuration information includes a bit map at the frame granularity: The network device configures an information element that includes: a bit map, optional time-domain granularity information (indicating whether the granularity is a frame or half-frame), and optional time-domain start position information. The name of this information element can be flexibly defined, for example, it can be called the aforementioned "switching pattern".

[0147] Assuming the time-domain granularity corresponding to the bitmap is half-frame granularity, the bitmap value can be exemplarily 10100, with 1 and 0 mapping to carrier 1 and carrier 2 respectively. The system frame where the time-domain start position of the predefined handover mode is located is a system frame that satisfies SFN mod 5 = 0, and the value of the half-frame indicator information (HF index) is "1", corresponding to the frame header of the second half-frame. In this example, the period of this handover mode is 25ms, and the start position is located at the beginning of the second half-frame of all system frames that satisfy SFN mod 5 = 0. As shown in Figure 8, when the terminal communicates based on this bitmap, it is located on carrier 1 in the 1st and 3rd half-frames, and on carrier 2 in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th half-frames.

[0148] Understandably, the bitmap described above can also use differential values ​​to indicate periodic switching configuration information. For example, when it is necessary to indicate the periodic switching configuration information shown in Figure 8, the value of the bitmap can be set to 11101. That is, switching occurs at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th half-frames within the switching mode.

[0149] In another example, the periodic switching configuration information includes a bitmap at the time slot granularity, as shown in Figure 9. The RRC configuration message in this case includes the bitmap, as well as an optional offset and time-domain granularity (indicating the granularity as a time slot). For example, the bitmap value in the RRC configuration message can be 11111000, N=8, and offset=3. 1 and 0 are mapped to carrier 1 and carrier 2 respectively. The working carrier for the first five time slots is carrier 1, and the working carrier for the last three time slots is carrier 2. Carrier switching is required in the fifth time slot. Based on the aforementioned principle for determining the time-domain start position, it can be determined that the starting point of time slots such as SFN#0slot#3, SFN#1slot#1, SFN#1slot#9, etc., is the time-domain start position of the switching mode. Carrier switching begins at each of the above time domain start positions in accordance with "11111000". For example, if SFN#0slot#3 is the start position of the time domain, then the first five time slots starting from SFN#0slot#3 will be on carrier 1 for communication, and the sixth time slot will be switched to carrier 2 for communication, and so on.

[0150] For example, the periodic switching configuration information includes a bitmap at the symbol granularity. The value of the bitmap could be, for instance, 11111111110000000000, N=20, offset=10. 1 and 0 are mapped to carrier 1 and carrier 2 respectively. The working carrier for the first 10 symbols is carrier 1, and the working carrier for the last 10 symbols is carrier 2. Carrier switching is required in the 11th time slot. Based on the aforementioned principle for determining the starting position in the time domain, it can be determined that the starting point of symbols such as SFN#0slot#0symbol#9, SFN#0slot#2symbol#2, etc., is the starting symbol of the switching mode. Carrier switching begins at each of the aforementioned time-domain starting positions in the sequence “11111111110000000000”. For example, if SFN#0slot#0symbol#9 is the starting position in the time domain, then the first 10 symbols starting from SFN#0slot#0symbol#9 communicate on carrier 1, and then switch to carrier 2 on the 11th symbol, and then communicate on carrier 2, and so on.

[0151] In one embodiment, the maximum number of bits in the bitmap can be predefined by the protocol.

[0152] This is because if the protocol does not define a maximum bit depth (Nmax) for the bitmap, network devices may configure abnormal modes with excessively long handover intervals for the purpose of simplifying signaling or static resource allocation. For example, in a frame-granularity scenario, the device might define a bitmap as long as 200 bits, forcing the terminal to remain continuously on carrier 1 for 199 frames before allowing handover to carrier 2. This compresses the time window for performing critical operations such as synchronization, channel measurement, and beam training on carrier 2, which may lead to synchronization inaccuracies or measurement inaccuracies.

[0153] In this embodiment, the maximum value Nmax of the number of bits (also known as the bitmap length) of the bitmap is predefined by the protocol. The bitmap length N is less than or equal to Nmax. For example, when the temporal granularity of the bits in the bitmap is a time slot, the value of Nmax is 320, which is equivalent to the value of maxNrofSlots predefined by existing protocols. That is, a bitmap cannot exceed 320 bits, and the switching mode period cannot exceed 320 time slots.

[0154] In this embodiment of the application, the protocol constrains the upper limit of the number of bits in the bitmap, that is, the maximum number of bits (e.g., setting the maximum value to 50), limits the switching interval duration, and ensures that the time window for cross-carrier operation meets the requirements.

[0155] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes the duration of communication based on a first downlink carrier.

[0156] The duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier defines the length of time the terminal stays on the working carrier; in other words, the duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier can also be interpreted as "the time interval between two consecutive handovers".

[0157] Specifically, periodic handover configuration information can indicate N time intervals (N≥2) in a handover mode, indicating that the terminal has performed N handovers within a handover mode. For example, a network device can define the duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier by configuring a list of key-value pairs. Each element in the list has a carrier identifier as its key, such as onFDD or onSDL; the value is the duration of continuous operation of the terminal on the corresponding working carrier. Taking the sequence {onFDD=10ms, onSDL=5ms, onFDD=5ms, onSDL=5ms} in the periodic handover configuration information as an example, it represents a handover mode with a period of 25ms: the terminal first operates on the FDD carrier for 10ms, then switches to the SDL carrier for 5ms, then switches back to the FDD carrier for 5ms, and then switches back to the SDL carrier for 5ms, thus completing one cycle. The next cycle begins again with a switch to the FDD carrier.

[0158] When a network device sends an RRC configuration message to a terminal, it includes a switching mode information element specifying the duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier. For a detailed explanation, please refer to the corresponding description of the RRC configuration message in the bit diagram above; further details will not be repeated here.

[0159] In this embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes the duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier, which allows the terminal to determine when to perform downlink carrier switching.

[0160] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes the time instance at which the switching occurs.

[0161] Similar to the scenario where periodic handover configuration information includes the duration of communication based on the first downlink carrier, periodic handover configuration information can indicate the time points when handover occurs in a handover mode. Specifically, it can explicitly specify N time points (N≥2) in a handover mode, indicating that the terminal will perform N handover actions in a handover mode. For example, a network device can configure a list of key-value pairs, where for each key-value pair element, the key represents the source or destination carrier of the handover, and the value is the actual time point when the terminal performs the handover.

[0162] For example, if the periodic switching configuration information includes the sequence: {fromFDD=slot10,fromSDL=slot12,fromFDD=slot15,fromSDL=slot20}, this means a switching mode with a period of 20 time slots: starting from the initial time point, in the 10th time slot, the terminal switches from the FDD carrier to the SDL carrier; in the 12th time slot, it switches back from the SDL carrier to the FDD carrier; and so on, switching between different carriers according to predetermined time points.

[0163] When a network device sends an RRC configuration message to a terminal, it includes a handover mode information element that specifies the time point at which the handover occurred. For a detailed explanation of this, please refer to the corresponding explanation of the RRC configuration message in the bit diagram above; it will not be repeated here.

[0164] In this embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes the time point at which the switching occurs, which allows the terminal to determine when to perform downlink carrier switching.

[0165] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information may further include downlink carrier information corresponding to the switching interval during switching.

[0166] As mentioned earlier, due to hardware limitations, communication is interrupted for a certain period of time during terminal handover, known as the handover interval. In this embodiment, the network device explicitly indicates the downlink carrier information corresponding to the handover interval to the terminal through periodic handover configuration information, also known as the downlink carrier information where the handover interval is located. For example, the periodic handover configuration information may include a sequence, referred to as the first sequence. The first sequence includes K elements, where the value of K is the number of handovers that occur in this handover mode.

[0167] For example, in the handover mode indicated by bitmap 111001100 (assuming time granularity is time slots), 1 indicates carrier 1 of the primary cell, and 0 indicates carrier 2 of the secondary cell. Four handovers occur: one between time slots 3 and 4, one between time slots 5 and 6, one between time slots 7 and 8, and a switchback to carrier 1 of the primary cell after time slot 9, for a total of four handovers. Correspondingly, the first sequence includes four elements, each of which can be selected from carrier 1 or carrier 2. For example: {carrier 1, carrier 1, carrier 1, carrier 2}. This means that in the handover mode 111001100, the handover interval is configured on carrier 1 for the first handover, on carrier 1 for the second handover, and so on.

[0168] To elaborate, taking the first handover as an example, a switch from carrier 1 to carrier 2 is required, and the handover interval is configured on carrier 1. Therefore, the terminal begins carrier handover before the end of the time unit corresponding to carrier 1, and the handover interval affects carrier 1. For example, if the handover interval is 35µs, the terminal begins carrier handover 35µs before the end of the time unit corresponding to carrier 1 (within the third time slot). By the start of the fourth time slot, the carrier handover has been completed, and data transmission can begin. Carrier 2 is unaffected by the handover interval. Similarly, during the fourth handover, a switch from carrier 2 to carrier 1 is required, and the handover interval is configured on carrier 2. Therefore, the terminal begins carrier handover before the end of the time unit corresponding to carrier 2, and the handover interval affects carrier 2, while carrier 1 is unaffected. This pattern continues, and will not be elaborated further.

[0169] In another example, the elements in the first sequence can be selected from either the source carrier (switched-from carrier) or the target carrier (switched-to carrier). In the scenario with the bitmap 111001100 above, the first sequence includes {source carrier, target carrier, source carrier, source carrier}, because carrier 1 is the source carrier during the first handover, carrier 1 is the target carrier during the second handover, and so on.

[0170] In this embodiment, the network device explicitly indicates the downlink carrier information corresponding to the switching interval when the terminal switches through periodic switching configuration information. This allows the network device and the terminal to align the carrier switching time, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0171] In one embodiment, the periodic switching configuration information includes a bit map comprising a first bit map and a second bit map corresponding to the two downlink carriers, respectively.

[0172] In this system, the combination of bits at the same position in the first and second bitmaps indicates the downlink carrier corresponding to the handover interval. For example, bitmap 1 corresponds to carrier 1 of the primary cell, and bitmap 2 corresponds to carrier 2 of the secondary cell. Both bitmaps are of the same length, N bits. Each bit represents a specific time-domain granularity, such as frame / half-frame / millisecond / slot / symbol. The same bit in both bitmaps corresponds to the same time unit in the time domain. For example, the nth bit (1≤n≤N) in both bitmap 1 and bitmap 2 corresponds to the nth frame / half-frame / slot / symbol after the start of the handover mode. The combination of the nth bits in bitmap 1 and bitmap 2 can be used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the handover interval. For example, the mapping relationship between the above bit combinations and the downlink carrier corresponding to the handover interval can be shown in Table 1. It is understood that the meanings of "11" and "00" below can be interchanged, the meanings of "10" and "01" can be interchanged, or other possible designs can be adopted. The above mapping relationship can be predefined by the protocol or configured by messages such as RRC messages.

[0173] Table 1

[0174] The explanation of the handover interval and corresponding carrier can be found in the previous text and will not be repeated here.

[0175] Below is an example where bitmap 1 and bitmap 2 each consist of 28 bits, with each bit having a time granularity of one symbol. This represents a switching mode with a period of two time slots (28 symbols).

[0176] Bitmap 1 is 1111111111111111000000000000, including: 111111111111111 corresponding to the first time slot and 11000000000000 corresponding to the second time slot.

[0177] Bitmap 2 is 0000000000000011111111111100, including: 000000000000000 corresponding to the first time slot and 11111111111100 corresponding to the second time slot.

[0178] Comparing Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2, carrier switching is performed in symbols 15 and 16. The terminal communicates based on carrier 1 in the first time slot and on carrier 2 starting from the third symbol of the second time slot. The bit combination of Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2 corresponding to the first two symbols of the second time slot (symbols 15 and 16) is "11". According to the mapping relationship in the table example above, the switching interval corresponding to "11" corresponds to carrier 1. That is, when carrier switching is performed in symbols 15 and 16, the terminal starts carrier switching before the time unit corresponding to carrier 1 ends. The switching interval affects carrier 1, and the switching interval is two symbols. Similarly, the terminal performs carrier switching in the last two symbols of the second time slot. The bit combination of Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2 corresponding to the last two symbols of the second time slot is "00". According to the mapping relationship in the table example above, the switching interval corresponding to "00" corresponds to carrier 2. That is, when carrier switching is performed in the last two symbols, the terminal starts carrier switching before the time unit corresponding to carrier 2 ends. The switching interval affects carrier 2, and the switching interval is two symbols.

[0179] It is understandable that the mapping relationship between the above bit combination and the downlink carrier corresponding to the switching interval is an example illustration. Other designs are possible based on implementation needs and are not restricted.

[0180] In this embodiment of the application, the downlink carrier corresponding to the switching interval is indicated by the combination of bits at the same position in the first bit map and the second bit map. This allows network devices and terminals to align the switching time of the carrier, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0181] In one embodiment, the mapping relationship between the combination of bits in the first bitmap and the second bitmap and the downlink carrier corresponding to the switching interval can also be as shown in Table 2. It is understood that the meanings of "10" and "01" can be interchanged, or other possible designs can be adopted. The above mapping relationship can be predefined by the protocol or configured by messages such as RRC messages.

[0182] Table 2

[0183] The explanation of the handover interval and corresponding carrier can be found in the previous text and will not be repeated here.

[0184] Below is an example where bitmap 1 and bitmap 2 each consist of 28 bits, with each bit having a time granularity of one symbol. This represents a switching mode with a period of two time slots (28 symbols).

[0185] Bitmap 1 is 1111111111111100000000000000, including: 1111111111111111 corresponding to the first time slot and 00000000000000 corresponding to the second time slot.

[0186] Bitmap 2 is 0000000000000000111111111100, including: 000000000000000 corresponding to the first time slot and 00111111111100 corresponding to the second time slot.

[0187] Comparing Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2, carrier switching is performed in symbols 15 and 16. The terminal communicates based on carrier 1 in the first time slot and on carrier 2 starting from the third symbol of the second time slot. The bit combinations in Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2 corresponding to the first two symbols of the second time slot (symbols 15 and 16) are both "00". According to the mapping relationship in the table example above, "00" indicates that the terminal is in a switching interval at this time, and cannot receive or transmit signals on carrier 1 or carrier 2 during these two symbols. Similarly, the terminal performs carrier switching in the last two symbols of the second time slot, and the bit combinations in Bitmap 1 and Bitmap 2 corresponding to the last two symbols of the second time slot are both "00". During these two symbols, the terminal cannot receive or transmit signals on carrier 1 or carrier 2.

[0188] In this embodiment, the combination of bits at the same position in the first bitmap and the second bitmap indicates the existence of a switching interval during switching, which allows network devices and terminals to align the carrier switching time, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0189] In one embodiment, the time-domain length of the switching interval corresponding to the above bit combination is greater than or equal to the time-domain length of the switching interval supported by the terminal device.

[0190] The duration of the handover interval supported by the terminal (a capability information of the terminal) can be reported by the terminal to the network device, and the reporting process can be referred to the description of step S104 below. Considering that if the time-domain length of the handover interval corresponding to the above bit combination is less than the time-domain length of the handover interval supported by the terminal device, the terminal device cannot complete carrier switching within the handover interval corresponding to the bit combination. This means that during the time period indicated by the handover mode, when the terminal should communicate based on carrier 1 or carrier 2, the terminal may still be in a hardware interruption state, affecting the performance of the communication system. In this embodiment, the time-domain length of the handover interval corresponding to the above bit combination is defined to be greater than or equal to the time-domain length of the handover interval supported by the terminal device. Thus, the terminal can complete carrier switching within the duration of the handover interval corresponding to the bit combination, aligning the terminal and the network device in the time domain and improving the communication quality between the terminal and the network device.

[0191] For example, the capability information reported by the terminal indicates that the handover interval supported by the terminal is 35 microseconds. Since 35 microseconds corresponds to a time length less than one symbol, in this embodiment of the application, the time domain length of the handover interval corresponding to the above bit combination is configured to be no less than one symbol. Based on this, bitmap 1 and bitmap 2 designed in this embodiment can each include 8 bits, with each bit having a time granularity of one symbol. This represents a handover mode with a period of 8 symbols. Bitmap 1 is 11110000, and bitmap 2 is 00111100. In this case, when the terminal performs carrier handover in the 3rd and 4th symbols, the handover interval is located on carrier 1, and the time length of the handover interval is 2 symbols; when the terminal performs carrier handover in the 7th and 8th symbols, the handover interval is located on carrier 2, and the time length of the handover interval is 2 symbols. The two handover intervals corresponding to the configured bit combinations are both greater than one symbol, which can guarantee the communication quality between the terminal and the network device.

[0192] In this embodiment of the application, the downlink carrier corresponding to the switching interval is indicated by the combination of bits at the same position in the first bit map and the second bit map. This allows network devices and terminals to align the switching time of the carrier, reduce unnecessary communication overhead, and improve communication quality.

[0193] In one embodiment, the method may further include:

[0194] S104, the terminal sends capability information to the network device, and the network device receives the capability information from the terminal accordingly.

[0195] Capability information indicates the switching interval between two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the two downlink carrier switching. A certain delay exists when the terminal performs carrier switching due to the inherent time required for RF hardware processing. During this processing time, the terminal's receiving RF unit is actually in a non-operating state, forming an "interruption" state called the switching gap or switching period. Different terminals may require significantly different switching gaps due to objective limitations such as hardware cost and design capabilities.

[0196] Terminals can clarify their radio frequency hardware processing performance by reporting their handover interval capability (i.e., the handover interval between the two downlink carriers mentioned above) to network equipment. For example, the terminal capability can indicate a handover interval of 35 microseconds (indicating strong hardware processing capability) or a handover interval of 140 microseconds (indicating weak hardware processing capability and longer interruption latency). By reporting the handover interval capability, network equipment can more accurately adapt to the terminal's hardware performance and optimize periodic handover configuration information.

[0197] Similarly, the terminal can also report capability information regarding the granularity of the handover mode's time-domain characteristics (i.e., the minimum time granularity of the handover between the two downlink carriers mentioned above). For example, this terminal capability could indicate that the terminal can support handover modes at the symbol granularity, slot granularity, millisecond granularity, frame granularity, or half-frame granularity, or that the terminal can only support frame-granularity handover modes.

[0198] Capability information can be carried in various possible messages, which can be called terminal capability messages. For example, they can be carried in MAC control element (MAC CE) signaling or RRC configuration messages, without restriction.

[0199] At this time, S101 (the network device obtains the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers) may include:

[0200] S1011, the network device determines the periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers based on the capability information.

[0201] In this way, network devices can configure periodic switching configuration information that meets the capabilities of the terminal based on the capability information sent by the terminal, thereby preventing situations where the time interval between two consecutive switching is too short and the terminal cannot successfully switch to a new carrier to receive data.

[0202] For example, if the capability information includes a 35-microsecond handover interval between two downlink carriers, then the handover frequency corresponding to the periodic handover configuration information of the network device can be appropriately higher. If the capability information includes a 140-microsecond handover interval between two downlink carriers, then the handover frequency corresponding to the periodic handover configuration information of the network device should be lower.

[0203] For example, if the capability information includes a time slot as the minimum time granularity for switching between two downlink carriers, then the periodic switching configuration information configured by the network device should be in the time slot as the time domain granularity, or in the frame or half-frame as the time domain granularity, and not in the symbol as the time domain granularity.

[0204] In this embodiment, after the terminal reports capability information, the network device adaptively determines periodic switching configuration information that matches the capability information based on the capability information sent by the terminal, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the terminal when performing carrier switching based on the periodic switching configuration information.

[0205] This application embodiment also provides another downlink carrier switching method, as shown in FIG10, which may include:

[0206] S210, the network device sends periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers, including an M-bit bitmap, to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the periodic switching configuration information for two downlink carriers, including an M-bit bitmap, from the network device.

[0207] In this M-item bitmap, each bit indicates the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit, where M is a positive integer greater than 1. Network devices can flexibly configure the M-item bitmap according to implementation needs. The M-item bitmap is named B1, B2, ..., B... M (Each bitmap may include, for example, a single bitmap as described in the above embodiments, or a first bitmap and a second bitmap corresponding to the two downlink carriers described in the above embodiments, respectively.) The length of each bitmap may be the same or different, and the time-domain granularity of each bitmap is the same. For an explanation of the time-domain granularity, please refer to the above embodiments.

[0208] For example, the following describes a periodic switching configuration information when M=3 and the time-domain granularity is a time slot. This periodic switching configuration information includes the following three bit diagrams:

[0209] B1 = 11111100. This bitmap is 8 bits long and represents a switching mode in which a terminal works on carrier 1 for 6 time slots before switching to carrier 2, and then works on carrier 2 for 2 time slots before switching back to carrier 1.

[0210] B2 = 10000. This bitmap is 5 bits long and represents a switching mode in which a terminal works on carrier 1 for 1 time slot and then switches to carrier 2, and works on carrier 2 for 4 time slots and then switches back to carrier 1.

[0211] B3 = 11110. This bitmap is 5 bits long and represents a switching mode in which a terminal works on carrier 1 for 4 time slots before switching to carrier 2, and then works on carrier 2 for 1 time slot before switching back to carrier 1.

[0212] S220, the network device sends the first information of the bit map indicating that it is effective to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first information of the bit map indicating that it is effective from the network device.

[0213] The first information is used to indicate the bit map that is active in the first time unit in the M-item bit map.

[0214] Optionally, the first information may include a sequence, referred to as the second sequence, which includes at least one element, each element in the sequence corresponding to a bitmap, and the order of the elements in the second sequence corresponding to the effective order of the bitmaps.

[0215] For example, the values ​​of the elements in the second sequence can be indices of the bitmap. The design of these indices is quite flexible; for example, they can be abbreviated as B1, B2, B3, or as 1, 2, 3, etc.

[0216] For example, referring to the example of M=3 above, when the network device is configured with the second sequence {B1, B2, B1, B2, B3, B1, B1, B1, B1, B3}, this second sequence indicates a handover mode with a period of 68 time slots. In this handover mode, the terminal first performs carrier switching according to the bit map corresponding to B1, then according to the bit map corresponding to B2, then according to the bit map corresponding to B1 again, and so on.

[0217] It is understood that the temporal granularity and the bit map content included in the above M-item bit map are illustrative examples. Depending on the implementation requirements, the M-item bit map may have other designs, which are not limited.

[0218] Optionally, the protocol can define the maximum number of elements in the second sequence.

[0219] S230, the terminal determines, based on the effective bit map, to communicate via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit.

[0220] The first downlink carrier is one of two downlink carriers. For an explanation of step S230, please refer to the explanation of step S103.

[0221] In this embodiment, the terminal uses the M-item bitmap indicated by the network device as alternative periodic switching configuration information. Then, based on the first information sent by the network device, it determines the effective bitmap within the M-item bitmap and determines whether to communicate via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit based on the effective bitmap. In this way, the bitmap can represent complex periodic switching configuration information in a concise manner, and the M-item bitmap can be reused, reducing the configuration overhead of the periodic switching configuration information.

[0222] In summary, this application's embodiments, starting from how to enable more types of terminals (e.g., low-capability terminals) to fully utilize multi-band aggregation resources, designed a downlink carrier switching method in which the terminal communicates via the first downlink carrier in the first time unit according to the periodic switching configuration information of two downlink carriers indicated by the network device. This allows the terminal to switch between two downlink carriers for communication, thereby improving the utilization rate of frequency domain resources.

[0223] The above mainly describes the solution provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of the execution logic of each step. It is understood that each node (e.g., network device and terminal) includes a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module to implement the described function. Those skilled in the art should understand that, based on the disclosed embodiments and their algorithm steps, units, and methods, the solution of this application can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. The specific implementation method (hardware execution or software-driven hardware) depends on the application requirements and design constraints of the technical solution, and different implementation methods all fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0224] This application's embodiments support two forms of functional module division for network devices: both supporting independent module division based on function and allowing the integration of multiple functions into a single processing module. These modules can be implemented as hardware entities or software functional units, and the module division methods are merely exemplary configurations of logical functions; other division schemes may exist in actual deployment. It is important to emphasize that the hardware / software implementation of relevant functional modules in network devices and terminals is ultimately determined by the technical requirements of specific application scenarios.

[0225] Figures 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminals or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be the terminal 120 shown in Figure 4, the network device 110 shown in Figure 4, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or network device.

[0226] As shown in Figure 11, the communication device 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication device 1300 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 6-10 above.

[0227] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement terminal functions, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive period switching configuration information of two downlink carriers; the processing unit 1310 is used to determine, according to the period switching configuration information, to communicate through the first downlink carrier in the first time unit, wherein the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0228] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1320 is also used to transmit capability information, which indicates the switching interval between the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the switching between the two downlink carriers.

[0229] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the network device function, the processing unit 1310 is used to obtain the period switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers, and the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send the period switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers. The period switching configuration information indicates that communication is carried out through the first downlink carrier in the first time unit. The first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0230] In one possible design, transceiver unit 1320 can also be used to receive capability information indicating the handover interval between the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the handover between the two downlink carriers. Processing unit 1310 is used to determine periodic handover configuration information for the two downlink carriers based on the capability information.

[0231] Alternatively, when the communication device 1300 is used to implement terminal functions, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to receive periodic switching configuration information of two downlink carriers, wherein the periodic switching configuration information includes an M-item bitmap, each bit in the M-item bitmap is used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit, and M is a positive integer greater than 1; and to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate the bitmap in the M-item bitmap that is effective in the first time unit; the processing unit 1310 is used to determine, according to the effective bitmap, to communicate through the first downlink carrier in the first time unit, wherein the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0232] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement network device functions, the transceiver unit 1320 is used to send period switching configuration information for two downlink carriers, wherein the period switching configuration information includes an M-item bitmap, each bit in the M-item bitmap is used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit, and M is a positive integer greater than 1; and to send first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate the bitmap in the M-item bitmap that is effective in the first time unit, the effective bitmap is used to determine the first downlink carrier communicating in the first time unit, and the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

[0233] As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also include a memory 1430 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410, or storing input data required by the processor 1410 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 1420 can also be understood as part of the processor 1410, in which case the communication device 1400 includes the processor 1410.

[0234] When the communication device 1400 is used to implement the method shown in Figures 6-9, the processor 1410 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1320.

[0235] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0236] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the terminal, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules in the base station (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal, which can be understood as the information being sent down to other modules in the base station (such as an RF module or antenna), and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0237] In this application, entity A sends information to entity B, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Similarly, entity B receives information from entity A, either directly or indirectly through other entities. Entities A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. Information transmission and reception can be between RAN nodes and terminals, such as between a base station and a terminal; between two RAN nodes, such as between a CU and a DU; or between different modules within a single device, such as between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules of the base station.

[0238] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit, or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0239] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, optical discs, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or terminal.

[0240] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0241] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0242] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates a "division" relationship between the preceding and following related objects. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0243] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A method for switching downlink carriers, characterized in that, include: Receive the period switching configuration information for the two downlink carriers; Based on the period switching configuration information, it is determined that communication will be conducted via a first downlink carrier in the first time unit, where the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Transmit capability information, wherein the capability information is used to indicate the switching interval of the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the switching of the two downlink carriers.

3. A handover method of a downlink carrier, the method comprising: include: Obtain the periodic switching configuration information for the two downlink carriers; The period switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers is sent, wherein the period switching configuration information indicates that communication is performed through the first downlink carrier in the first time unit, and the first downlink carrier is one of the two downlink carriers.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: The capability information is used to indicate the switching interval of the two downlink carriers and / or the minimum time granularity of the switching of the two downlink carriers.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The acquisition of the periodic switching configuration information for the two downlink carriers includes: The periodic switching configuration information of the two downlink carriers is determined based on the capability information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The period switching configuration information includes a bit map, where each bit in the bit map is used to indicate the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The bitmap includes a first bitmap and a second bitmap corresponding to the two downlink carriers respectively. Bit combinations at the same positions in the first bitmap and the second bitmap are used to indicate the switching interval and the downlink carrier corresponding to the corresponding time unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The time-domain length of the handover interval indicated by the bit combination is greater than or equal to the time-domain length of the handover interval supported by the terminal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6-8, characterized in that, The time granularity corresponding to each bit is: frame, half-frame, time slot, or symbol.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The cycle switching configuration information includes information used to indicate the time granularity.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The periodic switching configuration information also includes time-domain start position information for communication based on the first downlink carrier.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The periodic switching configuration information also includes downlink carrier information corresponding to the switching interval during switching.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-12.

15. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions that, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-12.

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