CN111988120B

CN111988120B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111988120B
Application number: CN201910436715.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 柳帅; 高全中; 徐斌
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-23
Filing date: 2019-05-23
Publication date: 2022-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-23
Also published as: WO2020233692A1; CN111988120A

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device. In the method, when the terminal supports multiple carriers, the network device can configure PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of the multiple carriers, send an index list of the carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal to the terminal, and subsequently dynamically instruct the terminal to send the carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources, so that the terminal can flexibly use the PUCCH resources on different carriers, and service requirements of the terminal are met. The present application relates to the field of communications.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

A C-Band (C-Band) Time Division Duplex (TDD) system has a large bandwidth, and is a gold frequency Band for constructing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services of the fifth generation (5G). However, in the TDD system, an uplink timeslot is scheduled at a corresponding time according to a time schedule (the time schedule refers to the sequence and ratio configuration of timeslots), and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource is carried in the uplink timeslot, so that the occurrence of the PUCCH resource is limited by the occurrence timing of the uplink timeslot. Illustratively, referring to fig. 1, 20 slots are included in one radio frame (frame), and PUCCH resources may only occur in the 8 th to 10 th slots and the 18 th to 20 th slots, that is, the terminal may transmit PUCCH only on PUCCH resources in the 8 th to 10 th slots and the 18 th to 20 th slots.

Currently, in a multi-carrier scenario, for a situation that a terminal supports PUCCH resources of 2 carriers, PUCCH resources of 2 carriers may be configured at most for the terminal. These two carriers are a primary carrier and one secondary carrier among a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the terminal can select which carrier's PUCCH resource is used to transmit the PUCCH on the secondary carrier for the secondary carrier. For the condition that the terminal does not support the PUCCH resources of 2 carriers, only the main carrier can configure the PUCCH resources, and the auxiliary carrier cannot configure the PUCCH resources, at this time, the terminal can only transmit the PUCCH on the auxiliary carrier by using the PUCCH resources on the main carrier. In the two cases, the occurrence of the PUCCH resource is limited by the occurrence time of the uplink timeslot, and in some scenarios, the time delay for the terminal to transmit the PUCCH is large, and the PUCCH is not transmitted timely.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, which are used for reducing the time delay of a terminal for sending a PUCCH.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the terminal receives first information and second information from the network device, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal, and exemplarily, the carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal belong to the at least two carriers; the terminal also receives indication information used for indicating the first carrier from the network equipment, and sends the PUCCH to the network equipment by adopting the PUCCH resource on the first carrier, wherein the index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists. In the method provided by the first aspect, the network device configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of multiple carriers supported by the terminal, and the network device can enable the terminal to send PUCCH on PUCCH resources on any one of the at least two carriers according to a terminal requirement, so that a service requirement of the terminal is met.

In one possible implementation, the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback results for the PDSCH. The possible implementation mode can improve the HARQ feedback time delay and improve the resource utilization rate of the uplink time slot. If the terminal service is a high-delay service, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time, so that the high-delay requirement of the service is met.

In one possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resources on the first carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources on at least two carriers; the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the first carrier to send the PUCCH to the network equipment, and the method comprises the following steps: and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource which is closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier to transmit the PUCCH to the network equipment. By the possible implementation mode, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time and improve the HARQ feedback delay, so that the high delay requirement of the service is met.

In one possible implementation, the PUCCH includes one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI. According to the possible implementation mode, one carrier can send the PUCCH by means of the PUCCH resource of the carrier or other carriers, uplink resources are enriched, and the terminal can feed back one or more of CQI, RI and PMI in time according to requirements.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resource supported by the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the indication information is carried in DCI.

In one possible implementation, the first information or the second information is carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling; alternatively, the first information and the second information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the network equipment sends first information and second information to the terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal, and exemplarily, the carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal belong to the at least two carriers; the network equipment sends indication information used for indicating the first carrier to the terminal, and receives a PUCCH from the terminal on PUCCH resources on the first carrier, wherein the index of the first carrier is any one of index lists. In the method provided by the second aspect, the network device configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of the multiple carriers supported by the terminal, and the network device can enable the terminal to send PUCCH on PUCCH resources on any one of the at least two carriers according to the terminal requirement, thereby meeting the service requirement of the terminal.

In one possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resources on the first carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources on at least two carriers; the network equipment receives a PUCCH from a terminal on a PUCCH resource on a first carrier, and comprises the following steps: the network device receives a PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource on the first carrier that is closest to the PDSCH. By the possible implementation mode, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time and improve the HARQ feedback delay, so that the high delay requirement of the service is met.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network equipment receives the capability information of the terminal from the terminal, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resource supported by the terminal; the network equipment sends the first information and the second information to the terminal, and the method comprises the following steps: and the network equipment sends the first information and the second information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the indication information is carried in DCI.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a terminal receives first information from a network device, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal; the terminal receives indication information from the network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a second carrier wave, and the second carrier wave is any one FDD carrier wave in the at least two carrier waves; and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the second carrier to send the PUCCH to the network equipment. In the method provided in the third aspect, the network device configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of multiple carriers supported by the terminal, and the network device may instruct the terminal to transmit the PUCCH using any FDD carrier of the at least two carriers.

In one possible implementation, the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback results of the PDSCH. The possible implementation mode can improve the HARQ feedback time delay and improve the resource utilization rate of the uplink time slot. If the terminal service is a high-delay service, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time, so that the high-delay requirement of the service is met.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending, by the terminal, a PUCCH to the network device by using a PUCCH resource on the second carrier includes: and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the second carrier closest to the PDSCH to send the PUCCH to the network equipment. By the possible implementation mode, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time and improve the HARQ feedback delay, so that the high delay requirement of the service is met.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resources supported by the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the first information or the indication information is carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling; or, the first information and the indication information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that network equipment sends first information to a terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal; the network equipment sends indication information to the terminal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a second carrier wave, and the second carrier wave is any one FDD carrier wave in the at least two carrier waves; the network device receives a PUCCH from the terminal on PUCCH resources on the second carrier. In the method provided in the fourth aspect, the network device configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of multiple carriers supported by the terminal, and the network device may instruct the terminal to transmit the PUCCH using any FDD carrier of the at least two carriers.

In one possible implementation, the network device receiving a PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource on the second carrier includes: the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource on the second carrier that is closest to the PDSCH. By the possible implementation mode, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time and improve the HARQ feedback delay, so that the high delay requirement of the service is met.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network equipment receives capability information of the terminal from the terminal, wherein the capability information comprises information of frequency band combinations supported by the terminal and/or information of flexible PUCCH resources supported by the terminal; the network equipment sends first information to a terminal, and the first information comprises the following steps: and the network equipment sends the first information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including: a processing unit and a communication unit; a processing unit, configured to receive, from a network device through a communication unit, first information and second information, where the first information includes configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers among a plurality of carriers supported by a communication apparatus, and the second information includes an index list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the communication apparatus, and for example, carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by a terminal belong to the at least two carriers; the processing unit is further used for receiving indication information from the network equipment through the communication unit, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a first carrier, and the index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; and the processing unit is further used for transmitting the PUCCH to the network equipment through the communication unit by adopting the PUCCH resource on the first carrier.

In one possible implementation, the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback results for the PDSCH.

In one possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resources on the first carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources on at least two carriers; and the processing unit is specifically configured to transmit the PUCCH to the network device through the communication unit by using a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier.

In one possible implementation, the PUCCH includes one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to send, to the network device through the communication unit, capability information of the communication apparatus, where the capability information includes information of a frequency band combination supported by the communication apparatus and/or information that the communication apparatus supports a flexible PUCCH resource.

In one possible implementation, the indication information is carried in DCI.

In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including: a processing unit and a communication unit; the processing unit is used for sending first information and second information to the terminal through the communication unit, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal, and exemplarily, the carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal belong to the at least two carriers; the processing unit is further used for sending indication information to the terminal through the communication unit, the indication information is used for indicating the first carrier, and the index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; and the processing unit is further used for receiving the PUCCH from the terminal through the communication unit on the PUCCH resource on the first carrier.

In one possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resources on the first carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources on at least two carriers; and a processing unit, specifically configured to receive, by the communication unit, a PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to receive capability information of the terminal from the terminal through the communication unit, where the capability information includes information of a frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or information that the terminal supports a flexible PUCCH resource; and the processing unit is specifically used for sending the first information and the second information to the terminal through the communication unit according to the capability information of the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the indication information is carried in DCI.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which has a function of implementing any one of the methods provided in the fifth aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions. For example, the apparatus may comprise a communication unit for performing the actions of the processing in the fifth aspect (e.g. actions other than transmitting and/or receiving) and a processing unit for performing the actions of the transmitting and/or receiving in the fifth aspect. Optionally, the actions performed by the communication unit are performed under the control of the processing unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, in this case, the transmitting unit is configured to perform the transmitting action in the fifth aspect, and the receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving action in the fifth aspect. The device may be in the form of a chip product.

In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus having a function of implementing any one of the methods provided in the sixth aspect is provided. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions. For example, the apparatus may include a communication unit to perform the actions of the processing in the sixth aspect (e.g., actions other than transmitting and/or receiving), and a processing unit to perform the actions of the transmitting and/or receiving in the sixth aspect. Optionally, the actions performed by the communication unit are performed under the control of the processing unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, in this case, the transmitting unit is configured to perform the transmitting operation in the sixth aspect, and the receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving operation in the sixth aspect. The device may be in the form of a chip product.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a processor. The processor is connected to the memory, and the memory is used for storing computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, thereby implementing any one of the methods provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect or the fourth aspect. The memory and the processor may be integrated together or may be separate devices. If the latter, the memory may be located within the communication device or may be located outside the communication device.

In one possible implementation, a processor includes logic circuitry and an input interface and/or an output interface. Wherein the output interface is used for executing the sent action in the corresponding method, and the input interface is used for executing the received action in the corresponding method.

In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface and a communication bus, and the processor, the memory, and the communication interface are connected by the communication bus. The communication interface is used for executing the actions of transceiving in the corresponding method. The communication interface may also be referred to as a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface comprises a transmitter and a receiver, in which case the transmitter is configured to perform the act of transmitting in the respective method and the receiver is configured to perform the act of receiving in the respective method.

In one possible implementation, the communication device is in the form of a product of chips.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a communication system comprising: the communication device provided in the fifth and sixth aspects; alternatively, the communications apparatus provided in the seventh and eighth aspects; alternatively, the ninth aspect provides an apparatus for performing the method provided by the first aspect and the ninth aspect provides an apparatus for performing the method provided by the second aspect; alternatively, the ninth aspect provides an apparatus for performing the method provided by the third aspect and the ninth aspect provides an apparatus for performing the method provided by the fourth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any one of the methods provided in the first, second, third or fourth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any one of the methods provided in the first, second, third or fourth aspects.

For technical effects brought by any implementation manner of the fifth aspect to the twelfth aspect, reference may be made to technical effects brought by corresponding implementation manners of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect and the fourth aspect, and details are not repeated here.

It should be noted that, all possible implementation manners of any one of the above aspects may be combined without departing from the scope of the claims.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a radio frame timing scheme;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an SUL scene provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 to fig. 5 are schematic diagrams of network architectures according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 to fig. 9 are schematic diagrams of a PUCCH transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 and fig. 11 are flowcharts of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, respectively;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a PUCCH transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 to fig. 16 are flowcharts of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, respectively;

fig. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 and fig. 19 are respectively a schematic hardware structure diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 21 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Where in the description of the present application, "/" indicates an OR meaning, for example, A/B may indicate A or B, unless otherwise indicated. "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Also, in the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more than two unless otherwise specified. In addition, in order to facilitate clear description of technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items having substantially the same functions and actions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance.

For the purpose of understanding the embodiments of the present application, the related terms referred to herein will be briefly described below.

1. Time slot (slot)

One slot includes at least one symbol as a minimum scheduling unit of a time domain resource. The symbols include uplink symbols (i.e., symbols for uplink transmission), downlink symbols (i.e., symbols for downlink transmission), and flexible symbols (which may be used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission or as a guard interval depending on network configuration). A slot including all uplink symbols may be referred to as an uplink slot, and is denoted by U in this embodiment of the present application. A time slot including all downlink symbols may be referred to as a downlink time slot, and is denoted by D in this embodiment of the present application. A slot including symbols of various types of symbols, i.e., an uplink symbol, a downlink symbol, and a flexible symbol, may be referred to as a flexible slot, and is denoted by S in this embodiment of the present application.

In a New Radio (NR), a different number of slots may be included in 1 millisecond (ms) according to different subcarrier intervals, for example, when the subcarrier interval is 15 kilohertz (kHz), 1ms includes 1 slot, and the slot occupies 1 ms. When the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, 1ms includes 2 slots, each of which occupies 0.5 ms. In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is exemplarily described by taking 0.5ms occupied by 1 timeslot.

The uplink symbol may be referred to as a single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbol or an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) symbol, for example. The downlink symbols may be referred to as OFDM symbols, for example.

2、TDD

A duplex communication technique for a communication system is used to separate the channels for reception and transmission, i.e., uplink and downlink. In a communication system using a TDD mode, uplink and downlink use the same frequency domain resources, and uplink and downlink are distinguished by different time domain resources.

3. Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD)

A duplex communication technique for a communication system is used to separate the channels for reception and transmission, i.e., uplink and downlink. In a communication system using FDD mode, the uplink and downlink use the same time domain resources, and the uplink and downlink are distinguished by different frequency domain resources, for example, the uplink frequency range is different from the downlink frequency range.

4. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback result

The HARQ feedback result is information sent by the receiving end to the sending end. The HARQ feedback result is used to indicate whether the data sent by the sending end is correctly received by the receiving end. The HARQ feedback result may be an Acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative-acknowledgement (NACK). ACK means that the receiving end correctly received the data, and NACK means that the receiving end did not correctly receive the data.

5. Carrier Aggregation (CA)

CA is a technology of aggregating 2 or more Component Carriers (CCs) together to support a larger transmission bandwidth. CAs may be divided into upstream and downstream CAs. For uplink CA, a terminal may receive or transmit simultaneously on one or more CCs depending on its capabilities. In the embodiments of the present application, a component carrier is simply referred to as a carrier.

6. Auxiliary uplink (SUL)

The SUL is a supplemental uplink configured for the terminal. The purpose is to improve the uplink coverage of the terminal. For example, referring to fig. 2, the terminal may transmit uplink information through a Normal Uplink (NUL) or may transmit uplink information through a SUL. The coverage of the NUL is less than the coverage of the SUL. The area covered by the SUL may be referred to as a SUL cell, and the uplink in the SUL cell includes the SUL and the NUL.

The embodiment of the application provides a communication system, which comprises at least one network device and at least one terminal, wherein the at least one terminal can communicate with one or more of the at least one network device.

The communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be a communication system supporting a fourth generation (4G) access technology, such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) access technology; alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting a 5G access technology, such as an NR access technology; alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting a third generation (3G) access technology, such as a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) access technology; alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting a plurality of wireless technologies, for example, a communication system supporting an LTE technology and an NR technology. In addition, the communication system may also be adapted for future-oriented communication technologies.

The network device in this embodiment may be a device that is used by an access network side to support a terminal to access a communication system, and may be, for example, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a second generation (2G) access technology communication system, a node b (node b) and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in a 3G access technology communication system, an evolved node b (eNB) in a 4G access technology communication system, a next generation base station (neighbor node b, gNB) in a 5G access technology communication system, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a relay node (relay node), an Access Point (AP), and the like.

The terminal in the embodiment of the present application may be a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user, and may also be referred to as User Equipment (UE), a mobile station (mobile station), a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a station (station), a Terminal Equipment (TE), and the like. For example, the terminal may be a cellular phone (cellular phone), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a wireless modem (modem), a handheld device (hand-held), a laptop computer (laptop computer), a cordless phone (cordless phone), a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a tablet (pad), or the like. With the development of wireless communication technology, all devices that can access a communication system, can communicate with a network side of the communication system, or communicate with other objects through the communication system may be terminals in the embodiments of the present application, such as terminals and automobiles in intelligent transportation, home devices in smart homes, power meter reading instruments in smart grid, voltage monitoring instruments, environment monitoring instruments, video monitoring instruments in smart security networks, cash registers, and so on.

In a multi-carrier scenario, if a terminal can only establish a connection with a network device, the terminal may send uplink information to the network device through multiple carriers. In this case, one of the plurality of carriers is a Primary Component Carrier (PCC), and the other carriers are Secondary Component Carriers (SCCs). For example, referring to fig. 3, a terminal may communicate with a network device through carrier 1 and carrier 2, where carrier 1 is a primary carrier and carrier 2 is a secondary carrier.

In a multi-carrier scenario, if a terminal can establish a connection with multiple network devices, the terminal may communicate with the multiple network devices through multiple carriers. In one case, a terminal can communicate with a network device only through one carrier. In this case, one carrier among the plurality of carriers communicating with the plurality of network devices is a primary carrier, and the other carriers are secondary carriers. For example, referring to fig. 4, a terminal may communicate with a network device 1 through a carrier 1 and communicate with a network device 2 through a carrier 2, where the carrier 1 is a primary carrier and the carrier 2 is a secondary carrier. In another case, a terminal may communicate with a network device via multiple carriers. At this time, one of the plurality of network devices is a primary network device, and the other network devices are secondary network devices. One carrier of the multiple carriers communicating with the main network device is a main carrier, and the other carriers are auxiliary carriers. One carrier of the multiple carriers communicating with other network devices (i.e., secondary network devices) is a primary carrier, and the other carriers are secondary carriers. For example, referring to fig. 5, a terminal may communicate with a network device 1 through a carrier 1 and a carrier 2, where the carrier 1 is a primary carrier and the carrier 2 is a secondary carrier. The terminal can also communicate with the network device 2 through a carrier 3 and a carrier 4, where the carrier 3 is a primary carrier and the carrier 4 is a secondary carrier.

It should be noted that the network devices and the terminals included in the communication systems described in fig. 3 to fig. 5 are merely examples, and in the embodiment of the present application, the types and the numbers of the network elements included in the communication systems, and the connection relationship between the network elements are not limited thereto.

The primary carrier in the following description of the present application may be a primary carrier in any one of the above communication systems, and at this time, the secondary carrier is a secondary carrier in a corresponding communication system. For example, if a terminal can establish a connection with only one network device, the primary carrier may be a primary carrier (e.g., carrier 1 in fig. 3) of multiple carriers used for communication between the terminal and the network device, and the secondary carrier may be a secondary carrier (e.g., carrier 2 in fig. 3) of multiple carriers used for communication between the terminal and the network device. If a terminal can establish a connection with multiple network devices and the terminal can only communicate with one network device through one carrier, the primary carrier may be one carrier (e.g., carrier 1 in fig. 4) of multiple carriers communicating with multiple network devices, and the secondary carrier may be another carrier (e.g., carrier 2 in fig. 4) of multiple carriers communicating with multiple network devices. If a terminal can establish a connection with multiple network devices and the terminal can communicate with one network device through multiple carriers, the primary carrier may be a primary carrier (e.g., carrier 1 in fig. 5) of multiple carriers used for communication between the terminal and the primary network device, and the secondary carrier may be a secondary carrier (e.g., carrier 2 in fig. 5) of multiple carriers used for communication between the terminal and the primary network device; alternatively, the primary carrier may be a primary carrier (e.g., carrier 3 in fig. 5) among a plurality of carriers used in communication between the terminal and the secondary network device, and the secondary carrier may be a secondary carrier (e.g., carrier 4 in fig. 5) among a plurality of carriers used in communication between the terminal and the secondary network device.

In addition, it should be noted that, if one terminal may establish connection with multiple network devices and one terminal may communicate with one network device through multiple carriers, a primary carrier of the multiple carriers used when the terminal communicates with the primary network device may also be referred to as a primary cell (Pcell), a primary carrier of the multiple carriers used when the terminal communicates with the secondary network device may also be referred to as a primary secondary cell (PScell), and a secondary carrier of the multiple carriers used when the terminal communicates with the primary network device and the secondary network device may also be referred to as a secondary cell (Scell).

At present, in a multi-carrier scenario, for a situation that a terminal does not support PUCCH resources of 2 carriers:

only the primary carrier can be configured with PUCCH resources, and the secondary carrier cannot be configured with PUCCH resources. At this time, the terminal is allowed to use PUCCH resources across carriers. When the main carrier has abundant uplink time slots, the performance can be basically ensured. For example, referring to fig. 6, if carrier 1 is a primary carrier, carrier 1 is a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) carrier, carrier 2 is a secondary carrier, and carrier 2 is a Time Division Duplex (TDD) carrier, the network device may send data on 1 st timeslot of carrier 2, and the terminal may send an HARQ feedback result of the data on 5 th timeslot in the uplink timeslot of carrier 1, so as to perform HARQ feedback in time. For another example, referring to fig. 7, if carrier 1 is a primary carrier, carrier 2 is a secondary carrier, and both carrier 1 and carrier 2 are TDD carriers, the network device may send data at the 1 st timeslot of carrier 2, and the terminal may send an HARQ feedback result of the data at the 5 th timeslot of carrier 1, so as to perform HARQ feedback in time.

When uplink time slots on the primary carrier are sparse, the HARQ feedback delay may be large. For example, referring to fig. 8, carrier 1 is a primary carrier, and carrier 1 is a TDD carrier, and carrier 2 is a secondary carrier, and carrier 2 is an FDD carrier. At this time, the terminal can only use the PUCCH resource on carrier 1 for HARQ feedback. Then, the network device sends data in the 1 st timeslot in the downlink timeslot of carrier 2, and the terminal can only send the HARQ feedback result of the data in the 9 th timeslot of carrier 1, where the delay of the HARQ feedback is about 4 milliseconds (ms), but if the terminal sends the HARQ feedback result of the data in the 5 th timeslot in the uplink timeslot of carrier 2, the delay of the HARQ feedback is about 2 ms. Therefore, in some scenarios, the existing scheme may cause a delay of HARQ feedback of the terminal to be large.

In a multi-carrier scenario, for a case where a terminal supports PUCCH resources of 2 carriers:

the terminal configures the PUCCH resources of 2 carriers at most, and only the terminal supporting the PUCCH resources of 2 carriers can configure the PUCCH resources of 2 carriers, and the terminal can select which PUCCH resource of which carrier is used for HARQ feedback. In some scenarios, the HARQ feedback may be delayed significantly. For example, referring to fig. 9, carrier 1 is a primary carrier, carrier 2 is a secondary carrier, and both carrier 1 and carrier 2 are TDD carriers. Data received by the terminal on carrier 2 is always subjected to HARQ feedback by using the PUCCH resource on carrier 2, and the PUCCH resource cannot be changed. Then, the network device sends data on the 1 st slot of carrier 2, and the terminal can only send the HARQ feedback result of the data on the 9 th slot of carrier 2, at this time, the delay of the HARQ feedback is about 4ms, but if the terminal sends the HARQ feedback result of the data on the 5 th slot of carrier 1, the delay of the HARQ feedback is about 2 ms. Therefore, in such a scenario, the existing scheme may cause a delay of HARQ feedback of the terminal to be large.

In addition, when the terminal supports PUCCH resources of 2 carriers but there are 3 or more carriers, the current technology can only configure PUCCH resources for 2 carriers, and cannot fully utilize uplink slots of other carriers for HARQ feedback, which may also result in a large time delay of HARQ feedback of the terminal. The 2 carriers may be any two carriers of a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal. For example, the 2 carriers may be a primary carrier and one secondary carrier among a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal.

In fig. 6 to fig. 9, the above technical problem is explained by taking the PUCCH resource configured in the uplink slot and the PUCCH resource configured in each uplink slot as an example, in practical implementation, the PUCCH resource may also be configured in the flexible slot, and the PUCCH resource may not be configured in part of the uplink slot.

Note that the HARQ feedback information may be carried in the PUCCH. In the embodiment of the present application, an FDD carrier refers to a carrier whose duplex mode is FDD, and a TDD carrier refers to a carrier whose duplex mode is TDD. In the embodiments of the present application, it is described that an interval between a timeslot where a terminal receives a PDSCH and a timeslot where a terminal sends a PUCCH requires at least 3 timeslots, and in actual implementation, the interval between the timeslot where the terminal receives the PDSCH and the timeslot where the terminal sends the PUCCH may be shorter or longer according to different terminal capabilities or different communication systems, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The present application provides a communication method, which can avoid the problem of a series of untimely PUCCH resource application caused by insufficient uplink time slot of one carrier, and is specifically set forth below.

Example one

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 10, including:

1001. the network equipment sends first information and second information to the terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to the PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first information and the second information from the network device.

The first information and the second information may be carried in the same signaling or may be carried in different signaling. The first information and/or the second information may be carried in higher layer signaling, which may include one or more of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) signaling. For example, if the second information is carried in RRC signaling, the second information may be a pucch-Cell newly added in PDSCH-ServingCellConfig. The ServCellIndex indicated by the PUCCH-Cell is a list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal.

The first information and/or the second information may be semi-statically configured for the terminal by the network device.

The first information may configure PUCCH resources for 2 carriers of the plurality of carriers, or may configure PUCCH resources for 3 or more carriers of the plurality of carriers. For example, if the terminal supports 5 carriers, the network device may configure PUCCH resources of 2 carriers of the 5 carriers for the terminal, may also configure PUCCH resources of 3 carriers of the 5 carriers for the terminal, and may also configure PUCCH resources of all carriers of the 5 carriers for the terminal. The carriers configured with the PUCCH resources may include a main carrier, and the other carriers are auxiliary carriers, and the carriers configured with the PUCCH resources may also be all auxiliary carriers.

For the configuration of the PUCCH resources on one carrier, the network device may configure PUCCH resources on all uplink slots on the carrier, or may configure PUCCH resources on part of the uplink slots. The PUCCH resources may be configured or not configured in the flexible slot, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For convenience of description, in the following description of the present application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily described by taking an example that PUCCH resources are not configured on a flexible slot and PUCCH resources are configured on all uplink slots.

The carriers corresponding to the carrier indexes in the second information (i.e., the index list) belong to at least two carriers in the above-described embodiment. For example, if the network device configures PUCCH resources of 3 carriers for the terminal, if the network device allows the terminal to use PUCCH resources of 2 carriers, the index list may include indexes of 2 carriers of the 3 carriers.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, the multiple carriers may be multiple carriers used for CA, or multiple uplinks in an SUL cell, for example, the multiple uplinks may include a SUL and a NUL. Details of the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not described again.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, each carrier may be an FDD carrier or a TDD carrier. Details of the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not described again.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, the timing ratio of the carriers is not limited. The timing ratio may be a combination of various D and U, e.g., DDDSU, DDDDDDDSUU, DDDSUUDDD, DDDSUDDSUU, etc. Wherein, U represents an uplink time slot, D represents a downlink time slot, and S represents a special time slot. Details of the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not described again.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, subcarrier spacing (SCS) of different carriers may be the same or different. Details of the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not described again.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, the frequency Band (Band) of the carrier is not limited, and different carriers may belong to the same frequency Band or different frequency bands. Details of the second embodiment and the third embodiment are not described again.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 11, before step 1001, the method further includes:

1000. and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resource supported by the terminal. Accordingly, the network device receives the capability information of the terminal from the terminal. In this case, the step 1001 includes, in a specific implementation: and the network equipment sends the first information and the second information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

Wherein, a frequency band combination comprises a plurality of frequency bands. When receiving one or more frequency band combinations reported by the terminal, the network device may determine a frequency band combination used by the terminal in the one or more frequency band combinations, determine a carrier allowed to be used by the terminal on each of a plurality of frequency bands in the frequency band combination used by the terminal, and indicate the frequency band combination used by the terminal and the carrier allowed to be used by the terminal on each frequency band in the frequency band combination to the terminal, where the carriers allowed to be used by the terminal on all frequency bands in the frequency band combination, that is, a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal. There may be one or more carriers allowed to be used by the terminal in one frequency band.

The terminal supporting flexible PUCCH resources means that for one carrier, the terminal supports flexible transmission of PUCCH by adopting other carriers or PUCCH resources of the carrier. In particular implementations, adding a "flexible PUCCH" parameter or field in the terminal capability indicates that the terminal supports flexible PUCCH resources. An exemplary "flexible PUCCH" parameter or field may be Smart-PUCCHConfig-NR newly added in BandParameters. When Smart-PUCCHConfig-NR is configured as Smart-PUCCH, it indicates that the terminal supports flexible PUCCH resources.

In step 1001, in a specific implementation, after the terminal accesses the network device, the network device may determine a frequency band combination used by the terminal according to information of supported frequency band combinations reported by the terminal, and further determine a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, select at least two carriers from the plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, send first information to the terminal, and configure PUCCH resources for the carriers through the first information. Or after the terminal accesses the network device, the network device may determine that the terminal supports the flexible PUCCH resource according to the information (e.g., according to a "flexible PUCCH" parameter or field) that is reported by the terminal and supports the flexible PUCCH resource, determine a frequency band combination used by the terminal according to the information of the supported frequency band combination reported by the terminal, further determine a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, select at least two carriers from the plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, send first information to the terminal, configure the PUCCH resource for the carriers through the first information, and all the carriers have an opportunity to be configured with the PUCCH resource. Optionally, the network device may further determine, in the at least two carriers, a carrier corresponding to a PUCCH resource allowed to be used by the terminal, and send the second information to the terminal.

In addition, the network device may configure the terminal with the secondary cell according to the capability information reported by the terminal, and the terminal feeds back a configuration completion message.

1002. The network device sends indication information (marked as first indication information) to the terminal, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating a first carrier, and the index of the first carrier is any one in an index list. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first indication information from the network device.

Optionally, the first indication information is carried in DCI. At this time, the network device may dynamically indicate, to the terminal, a carrier corresponding to the PUCCH resource used by the terminal. For example, the network device may add one or more bits (bits) to the DCI, where the one or more bits dynamically indicate a carrier corresponding to a PUCCH resource for transmitting the PUCCH.

1003. And the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the first carrier to send the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource on the first carrier.

When the network device indicates different carriers to the terminal at two different moments, the terminal needs to switch the physical antenna to transmit the PUCCH to the network device on the PUCCH resources on the different carriers because the carriers and the physical antenna of the terminal have a corresponding relationship. For example, if the network device instructs the terminal to transmit the PUCCH to the network device using the PUCCH resource on carrier 1 at T1 and instructs the terminal to transmit the PUCCH to the network device using the PUCCH resource on carrier 2 at T2, the terminal needs to switch from the physical antenna corresponding to carrier 1 to the physical antenna corresponding to carrier 2, and transmit the PUCCH to the network device using the physical antenna corresponding to carrier 2 on the PUCCH resource on carrier 2.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the network equipment configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the network equipment can enable the terminal to send PUCCH on the PUCCH resource on any one of the at least two carriers according to the requirement of the terminal, so that the service requirement of the terminal is met.

In the method provided in the first embodiment of the present application, even if the terminal only supports 1 PUCCH resource, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of the multiple carriers, that is, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for the carriers without depending on the number of PUCCH resources supported by the terminal.

In the first case, the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback results of the PDSCH. The HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH may indicate whether the terminal successfully received the PDSCH. And if the HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH is ACK, the terminal successfully receives the PDSCH. And if the HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH is NACK, indicating that the terminal does not successfully receive the PDSCH.

In the first case, optionally, the PUCCH resources on the first carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources on at least two carriers. In this case, the step 1003 includes, in a specific implementation: and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource which is closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier to transmit the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier. The optional method can improve the HARQ feedback time delay and improve the resource utilization rate of the uplink time slot. If the terminal service is a high-delay service, the terminal can perform HARQ feedback in time, so that the high-delay requirement of the service is met.

For example, referring to fig. 12, carrier 1 is a primary carrier, carrier 2 is a secondary carrier, and both carrier 1 and carrier 2 are TDD carriers. Data received by the terminal on carrier 2 may use the PUCCH resource on carrier 1 for HARQ feedback, or may use the PUCCH resource on carrier 2 for HARQ feedback. Then, the terminal may perform HARQ feedback on the 5 th timeslot of carrier 1 for the data sent by the network device on the 1 st timeslot of carrier 2, so as to perform HARQ feedback timely. The terminal may perform HARQ feedback on the 9 th timeslot of carrier 2 according to the data sent by the network device on the 5 th timeslot of carrier 2, so as to perform HARQ feedback in time. In the embodiment of the application, one carrier can send the PUCCH by virtue of the PUCCH resource of the carrier or other carriers, thereby enriching the uplink resource and providing a quicker HARQ feedback opportunity for downlink scheduling. The terminal can flexibly change the used PUCCH resources according to the requirements, and is not limited to HARQ feedback only on the PUCCH resources of the main carrier, so that shorter data packet time delay is realized.

In the second case, the PUCCH includes one or more of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), a Rank Indication (RI), and a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI). It should be noted that the network device may indicate, to the terminal, a carrier corresponding to a PUCCH resource of a PUCCH including one or more of a CQI, an RI, and a PMI to be transmitted according to a time domain position when the terminal actually measures one or more of the CQI, the RI, and the PMI. The terminal may periodically measure one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI, in which case, for each measurement of one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI, the network device may dynamically instruct the terminal to send a carrier corresponding to a PUCCH resource of the PUCCH. In the embodiment of the application, one carrier can send the PUCCH by virtue of the PUCCH resource of the carrier or other carriers, uplink resources are enriched, and the terminal can feed back one or more of CQI, RI and PMI in time according to requirements.

In the first to third embodiments of the present application, a network device sends a PDSCH, and a terminal sends HARQ feedback including the PDSCH, which are taken as examples to exemplarily describe the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. In the second case, the time domain resource for the network device to transmit the PDSCH may be understood as the time domain position when the terminal measures one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI, and the time domain resource for the terminal to transmit the PDCCH including the HARQ feedback of the PDSCH may be understood as the PUCCH resource for transmitting the PUCCH including one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI.

Example two

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 13, including:

1301. the network equipment sends first information to the terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first information from the network device.

The first information may be carried in higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling may include one or more of RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling. The first information may be semi-statically configured for the terminal by the network device.

For other descriptions of the first information, reference may be made to embodiment one, and further description is omitted here.

Optionally, before step 1301, as shown in fig. 14, the method further includes: 1300. and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resource supported by the terminal. Accordingly, the network device receives the capability information of the terminal from the terminal.

In this case, the step 1301 includes, in specific implementation: and the network equipment sends the first information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

For a description of the optional method, reference may be made to the description related to step 1000 and step 1001 in embodiment one, and details are not described here.

1302. And the network equipment sends indication information (marked as second indication information) to the terminal, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating a second carrier, and the second carrier is any one FDD carrier in at least two carriers. Accordingly, the terminal receives the second indication information from the network device.

Illustratively, based on the example shown in fig. 8, the second indication information may indicate carrier 2.

Optionally, the second indication information may be carried in higher layer signaling, and the higher layer signaling may include one or more of RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling. Illustratively, the network device may add one or more bits (bits) to the RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling, by which the second carrier is indicated.

The second carrier may be semi-statically configured for the terminal by the network device.

1303. And the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the second carrier to send the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource on the second carrier.

For example, referring to fig. 8, the second indication information may indicate carrier 2, and the terminal may transmit the PUCCH using PUCCH resources on carrier 2. In this case, when the terminal transmits the PDSCH in the 1 st downlink slot of carrier 2, the terminal transmits the PUCCH on carrier 2, and the transmission delay of the PUCCH can be reduced from 4ms to 2ms, compared to when the terminal transmits the PUCCH on carrier 1.

Optionally, the PUCCH includes HARQ feedback results of the PDSCH. In this case, optionally, step 1303 includes, in specific implementation: and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource which is closest to the PDSCH on the second carrier to transmit the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the second carrier. For a description of the optional method, reference may be made to embodiment one, and details are not described herein.

Optionally, the PUCCH further includes one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI. For a description of the optional method, reference may be made to embodiment one, and details are not described herein.

In the method provided by the second embodiment of the present application, the network device configures PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of multiple carriers supported by the terminal, and the network device may instruct the terminal to transmit the PUCCH using any FDD carrier of the at least two carriers.

In the method provided in the second embodiment of the present application, even if the terminal only supports 1 PUCCH resource, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of the multiple carriers, that is, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for the carriers without depending on the number of PUCCH resources supported by the terminal.

EXAMPLE III

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 15, including:

1501. the network equipment sends first information to the terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of PUCCH resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first information from the network device.

Optionally, before step 1501, referring to fig. 16, the method further includes: 1500. and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resource supported by the terminal. Accordingly, the network device receives the capability information of the terminal from the terminal.

In this case, step 1501 includes, in a concrete implementation: and the network equipment sends the first information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

1502. The network device sends indication information (marked as third indication information) to the terminal, and the third indication information is used for indicating the third carrier. Accordingly, the terminal receives the third indication information from the network device.

Optionally, the third indication information is carried in MAC CE signaling or DCI. For example, the third indication information may be a pucch-Cell newly added in PDSCH-ServingCellConfig. The ServerCellIndex indicated by pucch-Cell is the index of the third carrier.

1503. And the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource on the third carrier to transmit the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource on the third carrier.

In one possible implementation manner, the PUCCH resources corresponding to the third carrier include a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH among PUCCH resources corresponding to at least two carriers. In this case, the step 1503 includes, in a specific implementation: and the terminal adopts the PUCCH resource which is closest to the PDSCH on the third carrier to transmit the PUCCH to the network equipment. Accordingly, the network device receives the PUCCH from the terminal on the PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the third carrier. In this case, the PUCCH may include a HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH. The beneficial effects of this possible implementation can be seen in embodiment one, and are not described herein again.

In another possible implementation manner, the third carrier is any FDD carrier of the at least two carriers. In this case, the PUCCH may include a HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH, and may also include one or more of CQI, RI, and PMI. The beneficial effects of this possible implementation can be seen in embodiment two, which is not described herein again.

In the method provided in the third embodiment of the present application, even if the terminal only supports 1 PUCCH resource, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for at least two carriers of the multiple carriers, that is, the network device may configure PUCCH resources for the carriers without depending on the number of PUCCH resources supported by the terminal.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

The above-mentioned scheme of the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, the network device and the terminal, includes at least one of a hardware structure and a software module corresponding to each function for implementing the functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device and the terminal may be divided into the functional units according to the above method examples, for example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

In the case of an integrated unit, fig. 17 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of the communication device (referred to as the communication device 170) in the above embodiment, where the communication device 170 includes a processing unit 1701 and a communication unit 1702, and may further include a storage unit 1703. The schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 17 can be used to illustrate the structures of the network device and the terminal involved in the above embodiments.

When the schematic configuration shown in fig. 17 is used to illustrate the configuration of the terminal in the above-described embodiment, the processing unit 1701 is configured to control and manage the operation of the terminal, for example, the processing unit 1701 is configured to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or the operation performed by the terminal in other processes described in this embodiment, through the communication unit 1702. The processing unit 1701 may communicate with other network entities, such as the network devices shown in fig. 10, via the communication unit 1702. A storage unit 1703 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal.

When the schematic configuration diagram shown in fig. 17 is used to illustrate the configuration of the terminal in the above embodiment, the communication device 170 may be a terminal or a chip in the terminal.

When the schematic structure shown in fig. 17 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device in the above embodiments, the processing unit 1701 is used to control and manage the operation of the network device, for example, the processing unit 1701 is used to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or the operation performed by the network device in other processes described in this embodiment, through the communication unit 1702. The processing unit 1701 may communicate with other network entities, for example, the terminal shown in fig. 10, through the communication unit 1702. A storage unit 1703 is used to store program codes and data of the network device.

When the schematic configuration diagram shown in fig. 17 is used to illustrate the configuration of the network device in the above embodiment, the communication device 170 may be a network device or a chip in the network device.

Where the communication device 170 is a terminal or a network device, the processing unit 1701 may be a processor or a controller, and the communication unit 1702 may be a communication interface, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver device, etc. The communication interface is a generic term, and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 1703 may be a memory. When the communication device 170 is a terminal or a chip within a network device, the processing unit 1701 may be a processor or a controller, and the communication unit 1702 may be an input/output interface, pin or circuit, or the like. The storage unit 1703 may be a storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.) in the chip, or may also be a storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), etc.) located outside the chip in the terminal or the network device.

The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. The antenna and the control circuit having a transmitting and receiving function in the communication apparatus 170 may be regarded as the communication unit 1702 of the communication apparatus 170, and the processor having a processing function may be regarded as the processing unit 1701 of the communication apparatus 170. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the communication unit 1702 may be regarded as a receiving unit, where the receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application, and the receiving unit may be a receiver, a receiving circuit, and the like. The device for implementing the transmission function in the communication unit 1702 may be regarded as a transmission unit for performing the steps of transmission in the embodiment of the present application, and the transmission unit may be a transmitter, a transmission circuit, or the like.

The integrated unit in fig. 17 may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if it is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a separate product. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be essentially implemented or make a contribution to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, and including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. A storage medium storing a computer software product comprising: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

The units in fig. 17 may also be referred to as modules, for example, the processing units may be referred to as processing modules.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device (denoted as the communication device 180), referring to fig. 18 or fig. 19, where the communication device 180 includes a processor 1801, and optionally, a memory 1802 connected to the processor 1801.

The processor 1801 may be a general processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs according to the present disclosure. The processor 1801 may also include multiple CPUs, and the processor 1801 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores that process data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 1802 may be a ROM or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, and is not limited in this respect. The memory 1802 may be separate or integrated with the processor 1801. The memory 1802 may have computer program code embodied therein. The processor 1801 is configured to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 1802, thereby implementing the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application.

In a first possible implementation, referring to fig. 18, the communication device 180 further includes a transceiver 1803. The processor 1801, memory 1802, and transceiver 1803 are connected by a bus. The transceiver 1803 is used to communicate with other devices or a communication network. Optionally, the transceiver 1803 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The means for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver 1803 can be regarded as a receiver, and the receiver is used for executing the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application. The means for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver 1803 can be regarded as a transmitter, and the transmitter is used for executing the transmitting step in the embodiment of the present application.

Based on the first possible implementation manner, the schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 18 may be used to illustrate the structure of the network device or the terminal involved in the foregoing embodiments.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 18 is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1801 is configured to control and manage the actions of the terminal, for example, the processor 1801 is configured to support the terminal to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or the actions performed by the terminal in other processes described in this embodiment of the present application. The processor 1801 may communicate with other network entities, such as the network devices shown in fig. 10, via the transceiver 1803. A memory 1802 is used for storing program codes and data of the terminal.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 18 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1801 is configured to control and manage an action of the network device, for example, the processor 1801 is configured to support the network device to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or an action performed by the network device in other processes described in this embodiment. The processor 1801 may communicate with other network entities, such as the terminal shown in fig. 10, via the transceiver 1803. A memory 1802 is used to store program codes and data for the network devices.

In a second possible implementation, the processor 1801 includes logic circuitry and at least one of an input interface and an output interface. Wherein the output interface is used for executing the sent action in the corresponding method, and the input interface is used for executing the received action in the corresponding method.

Based on the second possible implementation manner, referring to fig. 19, the schematic structure diagram shown in fig. 19 may be used to illustrate the structure of the network device or the terminal involved in the foregoing embodiments.

When the schematic structure shown in fig. 19 is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1801 is configured to control and manage the actions of the terminal, for example, the processor 1801 is configured to support the terminal to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or the actions performed by the terminal in other processes described in this embodiment of the present application. The processor 1801 may communicate with other network entities, such as the network devices illustrated in fig. 10, via at least one of the input interface and the output interface. A memory 1802 is used for storing program codes and data of the terminal.

When the schematic structural diagram shown in fig. 19 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device in the foregoing embodiment, the processor 1801 is configured to control and manage the actions of the network device, for example, the processor 1801 is configured to support the network device to execute the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or the actions performed by the network device in other processes described in this embodiment of the present application. The processor 1801 may communicate with other network entities, for example, with the terminal shown in fig. 10, through at least one of the input interface and the output interface. A memory 1802 is used to store program codes and data for the network devices.

Fig. 18 and 19 may also illustrate a system chip in the network device. In this case, the actions executed by the network device may be implemented by the system chip, and the specific actions executed may be referred to above and are not described herein again. Fig. 18 and 19 may also illustrate a system chip in the terminal. In this case, the actions executed by the terminal may be implemented by the system chip, and the specific actions executed may be referred to above and are not described herein again.

In addition, the embodiment of the present application further provides a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal (denoted as terminal 200) and a network device (denoted as network device 210), which may specifically refer to fig. 20 and fig. 21, respectively.

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram of the hardware configuration of the terminal 200. For convenience of explanation, fig. 20 shows only main components of the terminal. As shown in fig. 20, the terminal 200 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device.

The processor is mainly configured to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and control the entire terminal, execute a software program, process data of the software program, for example, to control the terminal to perform the steps in fig. 10, fig. 11, fig. 13, fig. 14, fig. 15, or fig. 16, and/or perform actions by the terminal in other processes described in the embodiments of the present application. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The control circuit (also referred to as a radio frequency circuit) is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together, which may also be called a transceiver, are mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user.

When the terminal is started, the processor can read the software program in the memory, interpret and execute the instruction of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent through the antenna, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and then outputs baseband signals to a control circuit in the control circuit, and the control circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and then sends the radio frequency signals to the outside through the antenna in the form of electromagnetic waves. When data is sent to the terminal, the control circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 20 shows only one memory and processor for ease of illustration. In an actual terminal, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, and the like, which is not limited in this application.

As an alternative implementation manner, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit, where the baseband processor is mainly used to process a communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used to control the whole terminal, execute a software program, and process data of the software program. The processor in fig. 20 integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may be independent processors, and are interconnected through a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal may include a plurality of baseband processors to accommodate different network formats, a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing capability, and various components of the terminal may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor may also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to realize the baseband processing function.

Fig. 21 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of the network device 210. The network device 210 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 2101 and one or more baseband units (BBUs) (also referred to as Digital Units (DUs)) 2102.

The RRU2101 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or transceiver, etc., which may include at least one antenna 2111 and a radio frequency unit 2112. The RRU2101 is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals. The RRU2101 and BBU2102 may be physically located together or physically separated, e.g., a distributed base station.

The BBU2102 is a control center of a network device, and may also be referred to as a processing unit, and is mainly used for performing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and the like.

In an embodiment, the BBU2102 may be formed by one or more boards, where the boards may collectively support a radio access network of a single access system (e.g., an LTE network), or may respectively support radio access networks of different access systems (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU2102 further includes a memory 2121 and a processor 2122, the memory 2121 for storing necessary instructions and data. The processor 2122 is used to control the network devices to perform the necessary actions. The memory 2121 and processor 2122 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

It should be appreciated that network device 210 shown in fig. 21 may be capable of performing the acts performed by the network device in the steps of fig. 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, or 16, and/or other processes described in embodiments of the present application. The operations and functions, or the operations and functions, of the modules in the network device 210 are respectively configured to implement the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

In implementation, the steps of the method provided by this embodiment may be implemented by hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The other descriptions of the processor in fig. 20 and 21 can refer to the descriptions related to the processor in fig. 18 and 19, and are not repeated.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the methods described above.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, including: the network equipment and the terminal.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated upon loading and execution of computer program instructions on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). Computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as servers, data centers, and the like, that can be integrated with the media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a terminal receives first information and second information from a network device, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal;

the terminal receives indication information from the network equipment, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a first carrier, and the index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; the PUCCH resources on the first carrier comprise PUCCH resources which are closest to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in the PUCCH resources on the at least two carriers;

and the terminal sends a PUCCH to the network equipment by adopting a PUCCH resource which is closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier, wherein the PUCCH comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback result of the PDSCH.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the PUCCH comprises one or more of a Channel Quality Indication (CQI), a Rank Indication (RI), and a Precoding Matrix Indication (PMI).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and the terminal sends the capability information of the terminal to the network equipment, wherein the capability information comprises the information of the frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or the information of the flexible PUCCH resources supported by the terminal.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indication information is carried in downlink control information, DCI.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first or second information is carried in radio resource control, RRC, signaling or medium intervention control, MAC, CE, signaling; or, the first information and the second information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

6. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that network equipment sends first information and second information to a terminal, wherein the first information comprises configuration information of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources of at least two carriers in a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information comprises an index list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal;

the network equipment sends indication information to the terminal, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a first carrier, and the index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; the PUCCH resources on the first carrier comprise PUCCH resources which are closest to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in the PUCCH resources on the at least two carriers;

the network equipment receives a PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource closest to the PDSCH on the first carrier, wherein the PUCCH comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback result of the PDSCH.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the PUCCH comprises one or more of a Channel Quality Indication (CQI), a Rank Indication (RI), and a Precoding Matrix Indication (PMI).

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the network equipment receives capability information of the terminal from the terminal, wherein the capability information comprises information of frequency band combinations supported by the terminal and/or information of flexible PUCCH resources supported by the terminal;

the network device sends first information and second information to a terminal, and the method comprises the following steps: and the network equipment sends the first information and the second information to the terminal according to the capability information of the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the indication information is carried in downlink control information, DCI.

10. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first or second information is carried in radio resource control, RRC, signaling or media Access control, MAC, CE, signaling; or, the first information and the second information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

11. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit;

the processing unit is configured to receive, from a network device through the communication unit, first information and second information, where the first information includes configuration information of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources of at least two carriers of a plurality of carriers supported by the communication apparatus, and the second information includes an index list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the communication apparatus;

the processing unit is further configured to receive, by the communication unit, indication information from the network device, where the indication information is used to indicate a first carrier, and an index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; the PUCCH resources on the first carrier comprise PUCCH resources which are closest to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in the PUCCH resources on the at least two carriers;

the processing unit is further configured to send a PUCCH to the network device through the communication unit by using a PUCCH resource on the first carrier that is closest to the PDSCH, where the PUCCH includes a HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the PUCCH comprises one or more of a channel quality indication CQI, a rank indication RI, and a precoding matrix indication PMI.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12,

the processing unit is further configured to send, to the network device through the communication unit, capability information of the communication apparatus, where the capability information includes information of a frequency band combination supported by the communication apparatus and/or information that the communication apparatus supports a flexible PUCCH resource.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the indication information is carried in downlink control information, DCI.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the first or second information is carried in radio resource control, RRC, signaling or medium intervention control, MAC, CE, signaling; or, the first information and the second information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

16. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit;

the processing unit is configured to send first information and second information to a terminal through the communication unit, where the first information includes configuration information of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources of at least two carriers among a plurality of carriers supported by the terminal, and the second information includes an index list of carriers corresponding to PUCCH resources allowed to be used by the terminal;

the processing unit is further configured to send, to the terminal through the communication unit, indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate a first carrier, and an index of the first carrier is any one of the index lists; the PUCCH resources on the first carrier comprise PUCCH resources which are closest to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in the PUCCH resources on the at least two carriers;

the processing unit is further configured to receive, by the communication unit, a PUCCH from the terminal on a PUCCH resource on the first carrier that is closest to the PDSCH, where the PUCCH includes a HARQ feedback result of the PDSCH.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the PUCCH comprises one or more of a channel quality indication CQI, a rank indication RI, and a precoding matrix indication PMI.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17,

the processing unit is further configured to receive, from the terminal through the communication unit, capability information of the terminal, where the capability information includes information of a frequency band combination supported by the terminal and/or information that the terminal supports a flexible PUCCH resource;

the processing unit is specifically configured to send the first information and the second information to the terminal through the communication unit according to the capability information of the terminal.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the indication information is carried in downlink control information, DCI.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the first or second information is carried in radio resource control, RRC, signaling or medium intervention control, MAC, CE, signaling; or, the first information and the second information are carried in RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling.

21. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, the processor for executing the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 5 or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 6 to 10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 5 or cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 6 to 10.