CN110740513B

CN110740513B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN110740513B
Application number: CN201810806440.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李晓翠; 薛祎凡; 王键
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-20
Filing date: 2018-07-20
Publication date: 2022-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2038-07-20
Also published as: WO2020015708A1; CN110740513A; WO2020015708A9

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and a communication device, which are used for improving the sending data rate in the uplink transmission process. The scheme is applied to the terminal and comprises the following steps: a terminal acquires a first message, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources; and the terminal communicates with the first cell according to communication capabilities which the terminal has when communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and a communication device.

Background

When a terminal sends a signal, after a baseband generates a baseband signal, the baseband signal passes through a radio frequency transmission link (hereinafter, referred to as a transmission link) to generate a radio frequency signal, and then the radio frequency signal is sent out through an antenna, as shown in fig. 1. When receiving signals, the terminal also has a corresponding radio frequency receiving link (hereinafter, referred to as a receiving link for short) (not shown in fig. 1). In Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR), a terminal may support multiple transmit chains. For example, a terminal supports one transmit chain and two receive chains, which can be expressed as: the terminal supports 1T (transmit)2R (receive).

A Double Connection (DC) is introduced in NR. That is, a scenario in which one terminal is simultaneously connected to two base stations, one of which is a primary base station and the other of which is a secondary base station. In a DC scenario, the terminal may have at least two transmit links, with the terminal communicating with the primary and secondary base stations using different transmit links, respectively (e.g., Tx1 and Tx2, where Tx1 is used for communicating with the primary base station and Tx2 is used for communicating with the secondary base station). The terminal does not perform uplink transmission with the main base station or the auxiliary base station at all times. Therefore, when the terminal does not perform uplink transmission with the main base station (or the secondary base station), Tx1 between the terminal and the main base station is normally in an idle state. When the terminal does not perform uplink transmission with the primary base station (or the secondary base station), the transmission data rate with the secondary base station (or the primary base station) may be increased if the terminal communicates with the secondary base station (or the primary base station) using Tx1 and Tx 2. Therefore, how to configure the terminal to communicate with the base station using the idle transmission link is an urgent technical problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for improving the sending data rate in the uplink transmission process.

In order to solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present application provides the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps that a terminal acquires a first message which is used for indicating that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources; the terminal communicates with the first cell according to communication capabilities that the terminal has when communicating with the first cell within the at least two time resources, respectively.

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, wherein a terminal determines communication capabilities of the terminal and a first cell in different time resources according to a first message, and communicates with the first cell according to the corresponding communication capabilities on each of at least two time resources. Because the terminal has different communication capabilities when communicating with the first cell at different time resources, and the uplink transmission efficiency generally achieved by the different communication capabilities is different, compared with the case that the terminal only uses the communication capability of the terminal itself and the uplink transmission is performed by the first cell, the uplink transmission data rate can be improved, and the communication performance is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, and the first message is an uplink and downlink subframe configuration adopted when the terminal communicates with the second cell, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: a terminal communicates with a first cell by using a first communication capability in a first time resource, and communicates with the first cell by using a second communication capability in a second time resource, wherein the first time resource corresponds to part or all of time resources in a downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration; the second time resource corresponds to part or all of the time resources in the uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration, wherein the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability. The terminal obtains the switching of the communication capability when the terminal communicates with the first cell in different time resources through the configuration of the uplink subframe and the downlink subframe, so that when the terminal and the second cell perform downlink transmission, the transmission link during the communication between the terminal and the second cell can be used to realize the sharing of the transmission link, thereby improving the utilization rate of the transmission link and improving the uplink transmission rate.

In a possible implementation manner, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: and when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration comprises a special subframe, the terminal determines that the communication capability is a first communication capability or a second communication capability in a time resource corresponding to the special subframe.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, and the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the communication capacity is a first communication capacity in a time resource corresponding to a DWPTS domain of a downlink pilot time slot included in a special subframe or a time resource corresponding to a GP domain of a guard interval; and in the time resource corresponding to the guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or the time resource corresponding to the UpPTS domain of the uplink pilot time slot, the communication capability is the second communication capability. By determining whether the communication capacity in the time resources corresponding to different domains in the special subframe is the first communication capacity or the second communication capacity, because the first communication capacity is greater than the second communication capacity, compared with the prior art in which the terminal only uses the second communication capacity to communicate with the first cell, the uplink transmission rate can be increased.

In one possible implementation, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises N bit sequences formed by first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the first communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the first information according to the first indication information; and the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the second communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the second information according to the first indication information. The first indication information terminal can acquire the time resource for switching the first communication capacity and the second communication capacity in at least two time resources, so that the sharing of the radio frequency link can be realized, the utilization rate of the radio frequency link is improved, and the uplink transmission rate is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used to indicate a length of a time resource in the second period, where the communication capability is the first communication capability; the method provided by the embodiment of the application further comprises the following steps: the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the first communication capacity in a third time resource in the second period; and the terminal determines that the communication capability is the second communication capability in the time resources except the third time resource in the second period. Or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is the transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the second communication capability. The method provided by the embodiment of the application further comprises the following steps: the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the second communication capacity in the fourth time resource in the second period; and the terminal determines that the communication capability is the first communication capability in the time resources except the fourth time resource in the second period. By determining the length of the time resource respectively occupied by the first communication capability and the second communication capability in one transmission period, the terminal can conveniently switch the communication capabilities on different time resources.

In one possible implementation, the fourth time resource or the third time resource includes one or more time slots and M symbols, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

One possible implementation, the communication capability includes one or more of the following parameters: the maximum transmission link quantity, the maximum transmission layer number, the maximum transmission Rank number and the maximum port number.

In one possible implementation, the first message is carried in a radio resource control, RRC, message.

A possible implementation manner for a terminal to communicate with a first cell according to communication capabilities that the terminal has when communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources respectively, includes:

the terminal determines that the communication capability corresponding to the first time resource in the at least two time resources is the first communication capability, and then the terminal uses the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell on the first time resource. And the terminal determines that the communication capability corresponding to the second time resource in the at least two time resources is the second communication capability, and then the terminal uses the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell on the second time resource.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining communication capability, where the method includes: and the network equipment to which the first cell belongs sends a first message to the terminal, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the terminal and the first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources. And the network equipment to which the first cell belongs receives uplink transmission sent by the terminal according to the fact that the terminal has different communication capabilities in at least two time resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message is an uplink and downlink subframe configuration adopted when the terminal communicates with the second cell. The uplink and downlink subframe configuration comprises: the terminal comprises at least one uplink subframe and at least one downlink subframe, wherein the uplink subframe is used for indicating the terminal to determine part or all of time resources corresponding to the uplink subframe, and the communication capability is the second communication capability. The downlink subframe is used for indicating the terminal to determine that the communication capacity is a first communication capacity in a part of or all time resources corresponding to the downlink subframe, wherein the first communication capacity is larger than the second communication capacity.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, where the special subframe includes a downlink pilot timeslot DWPTS field or a guard interval GP field, and the DWPTS field or the GP field is used to indicate the terminal to determine that the communication capability in the respective corresponding time resource is the first communication capability. And the special subframe comprises a guard interval GP domain or an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS domain, wherein the GP domain or the UpPTS domain is used for indicating the terminal to determine that the communication capability used in the corresponding time resource is the second communication capability.

In one possible implementation, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used to indicate a length of the time resource in the second period, where the communication capability is the first communication capability. Or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource length in the second period that the communication capability is the second communication capability.

In one possible implementation, the third time resource or the fourth time resource includes one or more time slots and M symbols, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

In one possible implementation, the communication capability includes one or more of the following parameters: the maximum transmission link quantity, the maximum transmission layer number, the maximum transmission Rank number and the maximum port number.

A possible implementation manner is that a network device to which a first cell belongs receives uplink transmission sent by a terminal according to that the terminal has different communication capabilities in at least two time resources, including: the network device to which the first cell belongs receives uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the first communication capability on a first time resource in the at least two time resources, and the network device to which the first cell belongs receives uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the second communication capability on a second time resource in the at least two time resources.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may implement the method described in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and therefore may also implement the beneficial effects in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect. The communication device may be a terminal, or may be a device that can support the terminal to implement the method in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, for example, a chip applied in the terminal. The communication device may implement the above method by software, hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware.

The communication device is a terminal or a chip applied in the terminal, and comprises:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a first message used for indicating that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources; a communication unit, configured to communicate with the first cell according to communication capabilities that the terminal has when communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources, respectively.

In a possible implementation manner, the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, and the determining unit is specifically configured to determine that the first time resource corresponding to part or all of the time resources in the downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a first communication capability, and the second time resource corresponding to part or all of the time resources in the uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a second communication capability, where the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, the determining unit is configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, and the determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a downlink pilot timeslot DWPTS field included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP field. And a determining unit, configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to an uplink pilot timeslot UpPTS domain.

In one possible implementation, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability. A determining unit, configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the first communication capability within a time resource corresponding to the first information; and the determining unit is further configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the second communication capability within the time resource corresponding to the second information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the first communication capability; a determining unit, further configured to determine that the communication capability is a first communication capability within the third time resource in the second period; a determination unit, further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability in a time resource other than the third time resource in the second period; or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is the transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the second communication capability. The determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability within the fourth time resource in the second period; a determining unit, further configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource other than the fourth time resource in the second period.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is specifically configured to, when the determining unit determines that the communication capability corresponding to the first time resource is the first communication capability, use the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell on the first time resource. The communication unit is further specifically configured to, when the determining unit determines that the communication capability corresponding to the second time resource is the second communication capability, use the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell on the second time resource.

In one possible implementation manner, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a terminal or a chip applied in the terminal, and the communication apparatus includes: a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to support the communication device to perform the steps of receiving and transmitting messages/data on the communication device side as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the first aspect. The processor is configured to enable the communication device to perform the steps of message/data processing on the communication device side as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the first aspect. For specific corresponding steps, reference may be made to descriptions in any one of possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the first aspect, which are not described herein again.

In one possible implementation, the interface circuit is configured to obtain a first message indicating that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources; interface circuitry for communicating with the first cell in dependence on respective communication capabilities of the terminal in communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, the first message is an uplink and downlink subframe configuration adopted when the terminal communicates with a second cell, and the at least one processor is configured to determine that the first time resource corresponding to part or all of the time resources in the downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a first communication capability, and the second time resource corresponding to part or all of the time resources in the uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a second communication capability; and an interface circuit, configured to use the first communication capability to communicate with a first cell in a first time resource, and use a second communication capability to communicate with the first cell in a second time resource, where the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, and when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes the special subframe, the at least one processor is further configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, at least one processor is configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a downlink pilot timeslot DWPTS field included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP field. And the at least one processor is further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS domain.

In one possible implementation, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises N bit sequences formed by first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability. The at least one processor is further configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the first communication capability within a time resource corresponding to the first information; the at least one processor is further configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the second communication capability within a time resource corresponding to the second information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used to indicate a length of the time resource in which the communication capability is the first communication capability in the second period; at least one processor further configured to determine that the communication capability is a first communication capability within the first time resource in the second period; at least one processor further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability within a time resource other than the first time resource in the second period. Or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is the transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the second communication capability. At least one processor configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability within the fourth time resource in the second period; and means for determining that the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource other than the fourth time resource in the second period.

In one possible implementation, the communication capability includes one or more of the following parameters:

the maximum transmission link quantity, the maximum transmission layer number, the maximum transmission Rank number and the maximum port number.

In a possible implementation manner, the interface circuit is specifically configured to, when the at least one processor determines that the communication capability corresponding to the first time resource is the first communication capability, use the first communication capability on the first time resource to communicate with the first cell. The interface circuit is further specifically configured to, when the at least one processor determines that the communication capability corresponding to the second time resource is the second communication capability, use the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell on the second time resource.

Optionally, the interface circuit and the processor of the communication device are coupled to each other.

Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory for storing code and data, the processor, the interface circuit and the memory being coupled to each other.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus for determining a communication capability, where the apparatus for determining a communication capability may implement the method in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect, and therefore may also achieve the beneficial effects in any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect or the second aspect. The device for determining communication capability may be a network device, or may also be a device that can support the network device to implement the method in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, for example, a chip applied in the network device. The device for determining communication capability may implement the method through software, hardware, or corresponding software executed by hardware. The network device may be a network device to which the first cell belongs, or may be a network device to which the second cell belongs.

The apparatus for determining communication capability includes: a sending unit, configured to send, to the terminal, a first message indicating that the terminal and the first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources. And the receiving unit is used for receiving the uplink transmission sent by the terminal according to the fact that the terminal has different communication capabilities in at least two time resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, and the special subframe is used to indicate that the communication capability in all time resources or part of time resources corresponding to the special subframe is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, where the special subframe includes a DWPTS field or a guard interval GP field, and the DWPTS field or the GP field is used to indicate the terminal to determine that the communication capability in the respective corresponding time resource is the first communication capability. And the special subframe comprises a guard interval GP domain or an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS domain, wherein the GP domain or the UpPTS domain is used for indicating the terminal to determine that the communication capability used in the corresponding time resource is the second communication capability.

In one possible implementation, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises N bit sequences formed by first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capacity is a first communication capacity in a time resource corresponding to the first information, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capacity is a second communication capacity in a time resource corresponding to the second information.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive, on a first time resource of the at least two time resources, uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the first communication capability, and receive, on a second time resource of the at least two time resources, uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, an embodiment of the present application further provides a device for determining a communication capability, where the device for determining a communication capability may be a base station or a chip applied in the base station, and the device for determining a communication capability includes: a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to perform the steps of receiving and transmitting messages/data at the apparatus for determining communication capability described in any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect to the second aspect. The processor is configured to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to perform the steps of message/data processing on the apparatus for determining communication capability described in any one of possible implementations of the second aspect to the second aspect. For specific corresponding steps, reference may be made to descriptions in any one of possible implementation manners of the second aspect to the second aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In a possible implementation, the interface circuit is configured to send, to the terminal, a first message indicating that the terminal and the first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating within at least two time resources. And the interface circuit is used for receiving the uplink transmission sent by the terminal according to the condition that the terminal has different communication capacities in at least two time resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes a second period and a first time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the first time resource is used to indicate a length of a time resource in the second period, where the communication capability is the first communication capability. Or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource length in the second period that the communication capability is the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the interface circuit is specifically configured to receive, on a first time resource of the at least two time resources, uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the first communication capability, and receive, on a second time resource of the at least two time resources, uplink transmission performed by the terminal according to the second communication capability.

Optionally, the interface circuit and the processor of the apparatus for determining communication capability are coupled to each other.

Optionally, the apparatus for determining communication capability may further comprise a memory for storing code and data, the processor, the interface circuit and the memory being coupled to each other.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of communication as described in the first aspect or in various possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of determining communication capabilities as described in the second aspect or in various possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the first aspect or one of the communication methods described in the various possible implementations of the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of determining communication capabilities as described in the second aspect or in various possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip, where the chip includes a processor and an interface circuit, and the interface circuit is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement the first aspect or one of the communication methods described in the various possible implementations of the first aspect. The interface circuit is used for communicating with other modules outside the chip.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement one of the methods for determining communication capability described in the second aspect or in various possible implementations of the second aspect. The interface circuit is used for communicating with other modules outside the chip.

In particular, the chip provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes a memory for storing a computer program or instructions.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes a communication apparatus provided in the third aspect or in various possible implementations of the third aspect, and an apparatus for determining a communication capability provided in the fourth aspect or in various possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency transmission link according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a first schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of transmission links provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a single transmission link according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a transmission link number switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a second schematic diagram of transmission link number switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a third schematic diagram illustrating transmission link number switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a first schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is a second schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a third schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a first schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for determining communication capability according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for determining communication capability according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for determining communication capability according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning 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, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. 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.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various data processing communication systems, such as: code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The term "system" may be used interchangeably with "network". CDMA systems may implement wireless technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, and the like. UTRA may include Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) technology and other CDMA variant technologies. CDMA2000 may cover the Interim Standard (IS) 2000(IS-2000), IS-95 and IS-856 standards. TDMA systems may implement wireless technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM). The OFDMA system may implement wireless technologies such as evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are UMTS as well as UMTS evolved versions. Various versions of 3GPP in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-based evolution are new versions of UMTS using E-UTRA. The 5G communication system, New Radio (NR), is the next generation communication system under study. In addition, the communication system can also be applied to future-oriented communication technologies, and the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are all applied.

The system architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

The communication method in the present application may be applied to various system architectures, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present invention, where the communication system includes: one or more terminals (one terminal, i.e., terminal 101, is taken as an example in fig. 2), and a first network device 102 and a second network device 103 that communicate with the one or more terminals. Wherein, the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 communicate with each other through the first interface. The first network device 102 and the second network device 103 communicate with one or more terminals through a second interface, respectively. The cell covered by the network device may be one or more cells, which is not specifically limited in this application.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 2, a cell covered by the first network device 102 is a first cell 1, and a cell covered by the second network device 103 is a second cell 2. It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application are described by taking a network device covering a cell as an example.

The first network device 102 and the second network device 103 are used to provide radio resources for one or more terminals 101. One of the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 serves as a primary network device and the other serves as a secondary network device. For example, the first network device 102 is a primary network device and the second network device 103 is a secondary network device.

The master network device refers to a first network device accessed by the terminal 101 in a random access process. The primary network device is responsible for establishing a control plane connection with the core network control plane entity, transmitting signaling messages, and determining whether to create a secondary base station for the terminal 101, and selecting a secondary network device for the terminal 101.

The secondary network device, the second network device except the primary network device, and the node for providing additional radio resources for the terminal 101 may not have a direct control plane connection with the core network control plane entity.

For example, in this embodiment, the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 may be network devices of the same network standard. For example, taking a network device as a base station as an example, the network systems respectively corresponding to the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 are evolved Node bs (enbs) or enodebs in a 4G scenario. In this case, the first interface is an X2 interface.

For another example, the network systems respectively corresponding to the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 may be base stations (e.g., gnbs) in an NR scenario.

For another example, in this embodiment, the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 may be network devices of different network standards. For example, the network standard corresponding to the first network device 102 is eNB in a 4G scenario, and the network standard corresponding to the second network device 103 is gNB in an NR scenario.

For another example, the network standard corresponding to the first network device 102 is a gNB in an NR scenario, and the network standard corresponding to the second network device 103 is an eNB in a 4G scenario.

For yet another example, the first network device 102 is a 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) protocol base station and the second network device 103 is a non-3 GPP protocol base station.

Since the network systems of the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 are different, and the names of the first interfaces are also different, the following description will be separately given:

when the network types corresponding to the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 are both gnbs under NR, the first interface is an Xn interface, and supports signaling interaction between the first network device 102 and the second network device 103.

When the network standard corresponding to the first network device 102 is eNB in a 4G scenario, and the network standard corresponding to the second network device 103 is gNB in an NR scenario, the first interface is an X2 interface. When the network formats corresponding to the first network device 102 and the second network device 103 are enbs, respectively, the first interface is an X2 interface. When the network standard corresponding to the first network device 102 is a gNB under NR and the network standard corresponding to the second network device 103 is an eNB under LTE, the first interface is an X2 interface.

It should be understood that the name of the first interface is merely an example, and the name of the interface between the first base station and the second base station is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

No matter which network standard is adopted by the first network device 102 and the second network device 103, a wireless Uu port is established between the main network device and the terminal, and when the first network device 102 is used as the main network device, the first network device 102 can transmit user plane data and control plane signaling with the terminal. The second network device 103 is used as an auxiliary network device, and a wireless Uu port is also established between the second network device 103 and the terminal, and can transmit user plane data with the terminal. That is, the terminal is in Dual Connectivity (DC) mode. Wherein, the user plane of the Uu interface mainly transmits user data; the control plane transmits related signaling, and establishes, reconfigures and releases various mobile communication radio bearer services.

Wherein any of the one or more terminals has at least two transmit chains (i.e., the transmission chain in the following embodiments, that is, the transmission chain described in the following of this application refers to the transmit chain used when the terminal and the first cell/second cell perform uplink communication) and at least two receive chains. The terminal sends uplink data or uplink signaling to the first cell/the second cell by using at least one of the at least two transmission links. The terminal may receive downlink data or downlink signaling sent by the network device to which the first cell/the second cell belongs through at least one of the at least two receiving links.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 2, the terminal 101 communicates with a first cell 1 covered by the first network device 102 using a first transmission link 104, and the terminal 101 communicates with a second cell 2 covered by the second network device 103 using a second transmission link 105.

As shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 illustrates another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the communication system includes: one or more terminals (one terminal, i.e., terminal 101, is taken as an example in fig. 3), and a network device 106 that communicates with the one or more terminals. The number of cells covered by the network device 106 is two or more, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Exemplarily, in fig. 3, the cells covered by the network device 106 are taken as the first cell 1 and the second cell 2 as an example. A terminal may communicate with a first cell 1 and a second cell 2.

Illustratively, the terminal communicates with the first cell 1 using a first transmission link 104 and the terminal communicates with the second cell 2 using a second transmission link 105.

It is to be understood that, when the network device in the communication system shown in fig. 2 covers two or more cells, the manner in which the terminal communicates with multiple cells included in any network device may refer to the architecture shown in fig. 3, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The first network device 102, the network device 106, or the second network device 103 in this application may be a base station capable of communicating with a terminal. For example, the Access Point (AP) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), the Base Station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), the Base Station (NodeB, NB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), the Evolved Node B (eNB, eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay Station or Access point, or the Network device in a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and the Base Station (gNB) in a future 5G Network or a future Evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Network, and the like may be used.

It is understood that, when the network device is a base station, the primary network device may be referred to as a primary base station, and the secondary network device may be referred to as a secondary base station.

A terminal (terminal) is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. Such as a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc., having a wireless connection function. A Terminal may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), an Access Terminal (Access Terminal), a subscriber unit (User ninit), a subscriber Station (User Station), a Mobile Station (Mobile Station), a Remote Station (Remote Station), a Remote Terminal (Remote Terminal), a Mobile device (Mobile Station), a User Terminal (User Terminal), a wireless communication device (wireless Terminal), a User Agent (User Agent), User Equipment (User Equipment), or a User device. The terminal may be a Station (STA) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with Wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a Wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a terminal in a next generation communication system (e.g., a fifth-generation (5G) communication network) or a terminal in a future-evolution Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, and the like. Among them, 5G may also be referred to as New Radio (NR).

As an example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment, is the general term of applying wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart jewelry and the like.

Since the future Access Network may be implemented by using a Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) architecture, a possible way is to divide the protocol stack architecture and functions of the conventional base station into two parts, one part is called a Central Unit (CU) and the other part is called a Distributed Unit (DU), and the actual deployment ways of the CUs and the DU are flexible, for example, CU parts of a plurality of base stations are integrated together to form a functional entity with a large scale. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the Network architecture includes a Core Network (CN) device and an Access Network (RAN) device. The RAN device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device, where the baseband device may be implemented by one node or by multiple nodes, and the radio frequency device may be implemented independently by being pulled away from the baseband device, may also be integrated in the baseband device, or may be partially pulled away and partially integrated in the baseband device. For example, in an LTE communication system, a RAN device (eNB) includes a baseband apparatus and a Radio frequency apparatus, where the Radio frequency apparatus may be arranged in a Remote manner with respect to the baseband apparatus (e.g., a Radio Remote Unit (RRU) is arranged with respect to a baseband processing Unit (BBU)), and the RAN device is implemented by a node, and the node is configured to implement functions of Protocol layers such as Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Medium Access Control (MAC). As another example, in an evolved structure, a baseband device may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), and a plurality of DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU. As shown in fig. 4, the CU and the DU may be divided according to protocol layers of the wireless network, for example, functions of a packet data convergence layer protocol layer and protocol layers above the packet data convergence layer are disposed in the CU, and functions of protocol layers below the PDCP, for example, functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer and a medium access Control (mac) layer, are disposed in the DU.

This division of the protocol layers is only an example, and it is also possible to divide the protocol layers at other protocol layers, for example, at the RLC layer, and the functions of the RLC layer and the protocol layers above are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU; alternatively, the functions are divided into some protocol layers, for example, a part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are provided in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are provided in the DU. In addition, the processing time may be divided in other manners, for example, by time delay, a function that needs to satisfy the time delay requirement for processing is provided in the DU, and a function that does not need to satisfy the time delay requirement is provided in the CU.

In addition, the radio frequency device may be pulled away, not placed in the DU, or integrated in the DU, or partially pulled away and partially integrated in the DU, which is not limited herein.

In addition, please refer to fig. 5, as opposed to the architecture shown in fig. 4, the Control Plane (CP) and the User Plane (UP) of the CU can be separated and implemented by being divided into different entities, i.e., a Control Plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and a User Plane CU entity (CU-UP entity), respectively.

The transmission flow of the downlink data is as follows: after receiving the downlink data sent by the core network, the CU distributes the downlink data to the DU, and the DU sends the received downlink data to the terminal. The transmission flow of the uplink data is as follows: the terminal sends the uplink data to the DU, the DU sends the received uplink data to the CU, and the CU sends the received uplink data to the core network after receiving the uplink data sent by the DU.

In the above network architecture, data generated by a CU may be transmitted to a terminal through a DU, or data generated by a terminal may be transmitted to a CU through a DU. The DU may not parse the data and directly encapsulate the data through a protocol layer and transmit the encapsulated data to the terminal or CU. For example, data of the RRC or PDCP Layer is finally processed into data of a Physical Layer (PHY) and transmitted to the terminal, or converted from received data of the PHY Layer. Under this architecture, the data of the RRC or PDCP layer can also be considered to be transmitted by the DU.

In the above embodiment, the CU is divided into network devices in the RAN, and furthermore, the CU may also be divided into network devices in the CN, which is not limited herein.

The apparatus in the following embodiments of the present application may be located in a terminal or a network device according to the functions implemented by the apparatus. When the above structure of CU-DU is adopted, the network device may be a CU node, or a DU node, or a RAN device including the functions of the CU node and the DU node.

The execution subject of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal, and may also be a device, such as a chip, applied to the terminal. The execution subject of the method for determining the communication capability can be network equipment, and can also be a device applied to the network equipment, such as a chip. The following embodiments take as an example only the execution subject of the communication method as a terminal, and the execution subject of the method of determining the communication capability as a network.

As shown in fig. 6, fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method and a method for determining communication capability according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes:

s101, the network equipment sends a first message to the terminal, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the terminal and the first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources.

The first cell is any one of a plurality of cells communicating with the terminal.

On one hand, when the first cell and the second cell are cells covered by different network devices: the network device may be a network device to which the first cell belongs, for example, in the system architecture shown in fig. 2, the network device may be the first network device 102. The network device here may also be a network device to which the second cell belongs, for example, the second network device 103 shown in fig. 2, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

On the other hand, when the first cell and the second cell are cells covered by the same network device: the network device here may be a network device to which the first cell and the second cell belong in common. The network device here is, for example, the network device 106 shown in fig. 3.

The first message may be configured by the network device to the terminal in a semi-static configuration. For example, the network device configures to the terminal through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

Wherein the communication capability comprises one or more of the following parameters: the maximum transmission link quantity, the maximum transmission layer number, the maximum transmission Rank number and the maximum port number.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal has at least two communication capabilities, for example, a first communication capability and a second communication capability. The terminal may use different communication capabilities for uplink transmission with the first cell on different time resources.

Wherein the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability.

In the embodiment of the present application, the fact that the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability means that: the effect that the terminal can achieve when using the first communication capability to carry out uplink transmission to the first cell is larger than the effect that the terminal can achieve when using the second communication capability to carry out uplink transmission to the first cell. For example, the data rate is greater when the first communication capability is used than when the second communication capability is used for communication.

In connection with the description of the prior art, a terminal may communicate with a cell by using a transmission link (which may be regarded as a kind of communication capability used for communication between the terminal and the cell), but uplink transmission is not always available on the transmission link at all times. Thus, when there is no uplink transmission on the transmission link, the network device may instruct the terminal to communicate with other cells using the transmission link. Based on this, it can be understood that the first communication capability: not only the communication capability that the terminal has with the first cell itself but also: the terminal has the communication capability in an idle state with other cells.

The first communication capability specifically means that the maximum transmission link number/the maximum transmission layer number/the maximum transmission Rank number/the maximum antenna port number is multiple or 2T.

Wherein, the communication capability in the idle state refers to: the cell covered by the terminal and the network device does not use the communication capability for uplink transmission in a certain time resource, or the communication capability does not have uplink transmission in a certain time resource.

The communication capability in the non-idle state refers to: and the terminal and the cell covered by the network equipment use the communication capability for uplink transmission in a certain time resource or have uplink transmission on the communication capability. For all the following cases, it is referred to the description herein that the transmission link/antenna port/transmission Rank/transmission layer is in the idle state or in the non-idle state, and the details will not be described later.

Specifically, taking the communication capability as the maximum number of transmission links as an example, when the terminal does not use the transmission link 1 between the terminal and another cell for uplink transmission on a certain time resource 1 or does not use the transmission link 1 for uplink transmission, the terminal can use the transmission link 1 and the transmission link 2 between the terminal and the first cell on the time resource 1 to communicate with the first cell.

In an actual process, the network device may indicate the maximum number of transmission layers used by the terminal to communicate with each cell, for example, the terminal itself has 4 transmission layers, and the network device may indicate that the terminal may use two of the transmission layers to communicate with the first cell, or may use the other two transmission layers to communicate with the second cell. When the terminal does not use two transmission layers between the terminal and other cells for uplink transmission on a certain time resource 1 or does not use the two transmission layers for uplink transmission, the terminal may use 4 transmission layers to communicate with the first cell.

The second communication capability is the communication capability of the terminal itself when the terminal communicates with the first cell, and does not include the communication capability between the terminal and other cells.

The second communication capability specifically means: the maximum transmission link number/maximum transmission layer number/maximum transmission Rank number/maximum antenna port number is a single or 1T.

For example, taking the communication capability as the maximum number of transmission links as an example, if the terminal itself has one transmission link 1 with the first cell, when the communication capability of the terminal for communicating with the first cell on a certain time resource is the second communication capability, the terminal communicates with the first cell on the time resource by using the transmission link 1.

Under the same condition, the communication effect which can be achieved when the terminal uses the communication capability of "2T" for uplink transmission in the embodiment of the application is greater than the communication effect which can be achieved when the terminal uses the communication capability of "1T" for uplink transmission.

The following but all references to communication capabilities include: the description that the maximum number of transmission layers, the maximum transmission Rank, or the maximum number of antenna ports is 2T or 1T may refer to the description herein, and will not be described in detail later.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication between the terminal and the cell may be understood as the communication between the terminal and the network device to which the cell belongs, and the following embodiments may refer to the description herein whenever the description relates to the embodiment, and no further description is given in the following.

Illustratively, taking the communication capability as the maximum number of transmission links as an example, the transmission link between the terminal and the first cell includes: transmission link 11, transmission link 12 and transmission link 13, the terminal communicating with the first cell using the second communication capability includes: the terminal communicates with the first cell using at least one of the transmission links 11 to 13.

The transmission link between the terminal and the second cell includes: transmission link 21, transmission link 22, and transmission link 23. The terminal communicating with the first cell using the first communication capability includes: the terminal communicates with the first cell using at least one of transmission link 21, transmission link 22 and transmission link 23 and at least one of transmission links 11 to 13.

The transmission link in this embodiment of the present application refers to a link used when the terminal and the base station perform uplink transmission, and may refer to an actual radio frequency link, which may be a wired (electrical) link, a wireless (electrical) link, a broadband link, and the like, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The following embodiments take as an example that the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, which are any two of a plurality of time resources included in the at least two time resources and do not have any indicative meaning:

the first time resource corresponds to all time resources or part of time resources corresponding to the downlink subframe. The second time resource corresponds to all or part of the time resource corresponding to the uplink subframe.

Example 1, the first message includes an uplink-downlink subframe configuration (uplink-downlink subframe configuration) adopted when the terminal communicates with the second cell. The uplink and downlink subframe configuration includes one or more subframes, and the uplink and downlink configuration corresponding to each subframe in the one or more subframes is used to indicate a communication capability of the terminal when communicating with the first cell (for example, performing uplink transmission) in the time resource corresponding to the subframe. The first cell and the second cell are cells covered by the same network equipment or cells covered by different network equipment.

For example, the network system corresponding to the network device to which the second cell belongs is a base station in an LTE network, and when the network device to which the second cell belongs uses a Time Division Duplex (TDD) working mode, the network device to which the second cell belongs or the network device to which the first cell belongs may indicate, to the terminal, uplink and downlink subframe configuration of the second cell in the TDD working mode through a TDD-configuration > subframe assignment field in an RRC message. As follows:

TDD-Config … … … … … … … … … … … … TDD configuration information

The IE TDD-configuration used to specific The TDD specific physical channel configuration

TDD-configuration information element TDD configuration information content

- -ASN1START

TDD-Config: : great face of SEQUENCE

subframe assignment subframe configuration ENUMERATED bracket

sa0，sa1，sa2，sa3，sa4，sa5，sa6}，

Special subframe configuration ENUMERATED Pen pocket

ssp0，ssp1，ssp2，ssp3，ssp4，ssp5，ssp6，ssp7，ssp8}。

Among them, sa0, sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5, and sa6 in subframe assignment are used to indicate 7 configuration indexes of TDD uplink and downlink, as shown in table 1. Wherein sa0 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 0, sa1 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 1, and so on, as a special subframe pattern field, which is used to indicate configuration of a special subframe, ssp0, ssp1, ssp2, ssp3, ssp4, ssp5, ssp6, ssp7, and ssp8 are used to indicate 9 different configuration indexes of the special subframe, as shown in table 2. Where ssp0 corresponds to the special subframe configuration index 0 row configuration, ssp1 corresponds to the special subframe configuration index 1 row configuration, and so on.

Specifically, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration includes: and the uplink subframe is used for indicating uplink transmission and downlink subframe and is used for indicating downlink transmission.

The network device and the terminal may predefine the downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration, and are configured to indicate that, in all time resources or a part of time resources (that is, the first time resources) corresponding to the downlink subframe, the communication capability of the terminal when communicating with the first cell is the first communication capability. The uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration is used to indicate that, in all time resources or a part of time resources (i.e., second time resources) corresponding to the uplink subframe, the communication capability when the terminal communicates with the first cell is the second communication capability, where the first communication capability is greater than the second communication capability.

For example, taking the communication capability as the maximum transmission link number as an example, the first communication capability may refer to that the maximum transmission link number when the terminal communicates with the first cell is the first maximum transmission link number, for example, the first maximum transmission link number is multiple (2T). The second communication capability may refer to that the maximum transmission link number when the terminal communicates with the first cell is the second maximum transmission link number, for example, the second maximum transmission link number is a single (1T). When the communication capability is any one of the maximum number of transmission layers, the maximum transmission Rank, and the maximum port number, the description that the communication capability is the maximum transmission link number may be referred to, and details are not described later.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, when the terminal has two transmission links, i.e., a first transmission link 104 and a second transmission link 105, and indicates that the communication capability between the terminal and the first cell is the second communication capability, the maximum number of transmission links used by the terminal and the first cell is single, for example, the terminal and the first cell use the first transmission link 104 provided between the terminal and the first cell for communication. When it is indicated that the communication capability between the terminal and the first cell is the first communication capability, the maximum number of transmission links used by the terminal and the first cell is plural, and the terminal communicates with the first cell using the first transmission link 104 and the second transmission link 105.

For example, the specific TDD uplink and downlink subframe configuration in LTE is shown in table 1 below:

table 1 uplink and downlink subframe configuration

D in table 1 denotes a downlink subframe (downlink subframe), S denotes a special subframe (special subframe), and U denotes an uplink subframe (uplink subframe). The special subframe is used for switching between downlink transmission and uplink transmission. Wherein the special subframe comprises: a Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS) field, a Guard Period (GP) field, and an Uplink Pilot Time Slot (UpPTS) field, and the sum of the durations of these 3 fields is equal to 1 millisecond (ms). Wherein, DwPTS is used for downlink transmission, and UpPTS is used for uplink transmission.

For example, the terminal may be preconfigured with the uplink and downlink subframe configuration, or configured to the terminal by a network device to which the first cell belongs or a network device to which the second cell belongs. In this case, the network device to which the first cell belongs or the network device to which the second cell belongs may also send the uplink and downlink subframe configuration index to the terminal, so that the terminal determines, according to the uplink and downlink subframe configuration index, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration indicated by the network device to which the first cell belongs or the network device to which the second cell belongs.

The special subframe has different configurations corresponding to different DwPTS and UpPTS lengths, as shown in table 2 below:

TABLE 2 configuration of special subframes (DwPTS, GP or UpPTS length)

The special subframe configuration is set by the TDD-Config- > specific subframe patterns field in the RRC message. Accordingly, the speculalsubframepatterns field is used not only to indicate the configuration type of the special subframe, but also to indicate on which symbol or symbols the terminal uses the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell and on which symbol or symbols the terminal uses the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell in the special subframe. As follows:

TDD-Config TDD configuration information

The IE TDD-configuration is used to specific The TDD specific physical channel configuration. Use of IETDD configuration information for specifying TDD-specific physical channel configuration

TDD-configuration information element TDD configuration information content

- -ASN1START

TDD-Config: : great face of SEQUENCE

subframe assignment subframe configuration ENUMERATED bracket

sa0，sa1，sa2，sa3，sa4，sa5，sa6}，

Special subframe configuration ENUMERATED Pen pocket

ssp0，ssp1，ssp2，ssp3，ssp4，ssp5，ssp6，ssp7，

ssp8}

Among them, sa0, sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5, and sa6 in subframe assignment are used to indicate 7 configuration indexes of TDD uplink and downlink, as shown in table 1. Herein, sa0 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 0, sa1 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 1, and so on.

The specialSubframePatterns field is used to indicate configuration indexes of the special subframe, ssp0, ssp1, ssp2, ssp3, ssp4, ssp5, ssp6, ssp7, and ssp8 are used to indicate 9 different configuration indexes of the special subframe, as shown in table 2. Where ssp0 corresponds to the special subframe configuration index 0 row configuration, ssp1 corresponds to the special subframe configuration index 1 row configuration, and so on.

In an example, when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, the terminal is configured to determine that the communication capability in all or part of time resources corresponding to the special subframe is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

For example, the network device may predefine the terminal to use the first communication capability when communicating with the first cell within all or a portion of time resources corresponding to the DWPTS field when the DWPTS field is included in the special subframe.

The network device may predefine that, when the special subframe is a GP domain or a UpPTS domain, the terminal uses the second communication capability when communicating with the first cell in all time resources or in part of time resources corresponding to the GP domain or the UpPTS domain, respectively.

Or, the network device may predefine that, when the special subframe is a DWPTS field, the terminal uses the first communication capability when communicating with the first cell within all or part of the time resources corresponding to the DWPTS field.

When the special subframe includes the GP domain, in all time resources or part of time resources corresponding to the GP domain, if a transmission link between the terminal and the second cell is in an idle state, the terminal uses the first communication capability when communicating with the first cell in all time resources or part of time resources corresponding to the GP domain. And in the time resource corresponding to the GP domain, if a transmission link between the terminal and the second cell is in a non-idle state, the terminal uses the second communication capability when communicating with the first cell in the whole time resource or part of the time resource corresponding to the GP domain.

Specifically, the first time resource corresponds to all or part of the time resource corresponding to the GP domain or the DWPTS domain. The second time resource corresponds to all or part of the time resources corresponding to the GP domain or the UpPTS domain, respectively.

The transmission link being in an idle state may mean that the terminal does not perform uplink transmission with the second cell through the transmission link within a certain time resource. Or may mean that the terminal does not have uplink transmission with any cell or communication node on the transmission link within a certain time resource, etc.

For example, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration may also multiplex uplink and downlink configurations of subframe assignment-r15, and specifically, the manner of multiplexing the uplink and downlink subframe configuration of subframe assignment-r15 to indicate the communication capability used by the terminal when communicating with the first cell may refer to the manner of multiplexing the uplink and downlink subframe configuration in the TDD operating mode in the above embodiment, which is not described herein again.

Illustratively, the uplink and downlink configuration of multiplexing subframe assignment-r15 is as follows:

ASN1START

SubframeAssignment-r15：：＝ENUMERATED{sa0，sa1，sa2，sa3，sa4，sa5，sa6}

among them, sa0, sa1, sa2, sa3, sa4, sa5, and sa6 in subframe assignment-r15 are used to indicate 7 configuration indexes of TDD uplink and downlink, as shown in table 1. Herein, sa0 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 0, sa1 is used to indicate TDD uplink and downlink configuration index 1, and so on.

The terminal in the embodiment of the present application using the communication capability to communicate with the first cell means that the terminal uses the communication capability to perform uplink transmission with the first cell.

It should be noted that, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration used when the terminal communicates with the second cell may be sent to the terminal by the network device to which the second cell belongs, or may be sent to the terminal by the network device to which the first cell belongs. When the network device to which the first cell belongs and the network device to which the second cell belongs are different network devices, the network device to which the first cell belongs may obtain, from the network device to which the second cell belongs, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration used when the terminal communicates with the second cell, and may also obtain, from other devices, the uplink and downlink subframe configuration used when the terminal communicates with the second cell, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Example 2, the first message comprises: first indication information for indicating that the communication capability is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message includes first indication information and a first period, where the first indication information includes first information and second information, the first information is used to indicate that the communication capability is the first communication capability, and the second information is used to indicate that the communication capability is the second communication capability.

For example, the first indication information is bitmap information of a transmission conversion pattern, the bitmap information of the transmission conversion pattern may be preconfigured by the network device to the terminal, and then the terminal stores the bitmap information of the transmission conversion pattern in a memory of the terminal, or may be prestored in the memory of the terminal by a manufacturer, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

Illustratively, the first indication information may be represented in the form of bitmap, the first information may be a "first indicator", and the second information may be a "second indicator". Taking the first indicator as "1" and the second indicator as "0", the first indication information may be represented as any one of {1100011000, 1010110101,1001110011,1000111111, … … }. Where "1" indicates that the communication capability is the first communication capability and "0" indicates that the communication capability is the second communication capability.

For example, when the communication capability is the maximum number of transmission links, "1" indicates that the maximum number of transmission links is plural, and "0" indicates that the maximum number of transmission links is single. For example, when the communication capability is the maximum port number, "1" indicates that the maximum port number is plural, and "0" indicates that the maximum port number is single.

For example, the first period may be any one of {20ms, 40ms, 60ms, 80ms, 120ms, 240ms, … … }. Wherein the first period is used for indicating the period of the used first indication information.

Example 3, the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, wherein the second period is used for determining that the communication capability is the transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used for indicating a time length during the second period that the communication capability is the first communication capability. Or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time length during the second period when the communication capability is the second communication capability.

The unit of time length indicated by the third time resource or the fourth time resource may include at least one of symbols (symbles, which may be abbreviated as sym), slots (slots), and subframes.

For example, the second period may be any one of {20ms, 40ms, 60ms, 80ms, 120ms, 240ms, … … }.

The first time resource may be any one of { sym4, sym7, sym14, sym28, sym56, sym112, sym224 … … }. Wherein the first time resource may also be used to indicate an index of the symbol. The first time resource includes one or more slots and M symbols, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

It should be noted that, when the network device configures the third time resource for the terminal, the terminal may determine that the terminal uses the second communication capability when communicating with the first cell in the time resource other than the third time resource in a certain period.

In a specific implementation process, if the terminal has bitmap information of the transmission and conversion patterns, and each bitmap information of the transmission and conversion patterns in the bitmap information of the transmission and conversion patterns corresponds to one index, the network device may indicate, to the terminal, the index corresponding to the bitmap information of the transmission and conversion patterns, so that the terminal determines the bitmap information of the transmission and conversion patterns according to the index. This may reduce signaling overhead.

It can be understood that the values of the third time resource, the second period, and the first period are only examples, and other values may be set according to needs in the actual process, which is not described herein again.

In an EN-DC scenario, when the LTE carrier and the NR carrier are not time-synchronized (non-ideal Backhaul scenario), a scheme of semi-static configuration in a synchronous scenario may be multiplexed, which is not described herein again.

It is understood that the maximum number of transmission links is a plurality of fingers: the maximum transmission link used for communication between the terminal and the cell includes: a transmission link that a terminal has with one or more cells. Generally, uplink transmission between a terminal and each cell corresponds to one transmission link, that is, N cells, and the terminal usually has N cells. Therefore, when the number of transmission links at the time of indicating the terminal to communicate with the first cell is plural, the terminal can communicate with the first cell using all of the N transmission links in the idle state. That is, the N transmission links include not only the transmission link between the terminal and the first cell but also at least one of one or more transmission links between the terminal and another cell (e.g., the second cell).

Illustratively, taking the communication capability as the maximum number of transmission links as an example, as shown in fig. 7, the transmission links used by the terminal to communicate with the first cell covered by the first network device 102 are transmission link 1 and transmission link 2, and the transmission link used by the terminal to communicate with the second cell covered by the second network device 103 is transmission link 3. The terminal can communicate with the first cell using transmission link 1, transmission link 2 and transmission link 3 when the communication capability of the terminal in communication with the first cell is the first communication capability, that is, the maximum number of transmission links of the terminal in communication with the first cell is plural. Or the terminal communicates with the first cell using transmission link 1 and transmission link 3.

The maximum number of transmission links in the embodiment of the present application may refer to: the transmission link used for communication between the terminal and the first cell comprises: the terminal has at least one of the N transmission links allocated for the first cell. And the at least one transmission link belongs to a transmission link between the terminal and the first cell, and does not include transmission links between the terminal and other cells.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 8, the transmission links that the terminal has with the first cell are transmission link 1 and transmission link 2. The terminal and the second cell have a transmission link 3, and when the maximum number of transmission links for the terminal to communicate with the first cell is single, the terminal can communicate with the first cell by using the transmission link 1 and the transmission link 2. Or the terminal communicates with the first cell using the transmission link 1.

Example 4, the first message in this embodiment may further include at least two time resources and a communication capability corresponding to each of the at least two time resources. For example, time resource 1 is associated with a first communication capability and time resource 2 is associated with a second communication capability. Thus, the terminal can determine different antenna capabilities corresponding to at least two time resources after receiving the first message.

S102, the terminal acquires the first message.

The first message may be one message or multiple messages sent by the network device.

S103, the terminal determines the communication capacity of the terminal and the first cell in different time resources according to the first message.

Illustratively, the communication capability of the terminal when communicating with the first cell is the first communication capability within the time resource in which the communication capability between the second cell and the terminal is in the idle state. And in the time resource of which the communication capacity between the second cell and the terminal is in the non-idle state, the communication capacity when the terminal communicates with the first cell is the second communication capacity.

Since the content of the first message is different and the terminal determines the communication capability of the terminal when communicating with the first cell in different time resources, the following embodiments will be separately described:

in one example, the first message includes an uplink and downlink subframe configuration employed by the terminal in communicating with the second cell. Based on this, in one possible implementation, S103 may be implemented by: the terminal determines that a first communication capacity is used in a first time resource corresponding to part or all of time resources in a downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration, and a second communication capacity is used in a second time resource corresponding to part or all of time resources in an uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration.

For example: referring to table 1, when the index of TDD configuration is 3, as shown in fig. 9, fig. 9 takes the communication capability as an example of the maximum transmission link number, and fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of switching of the maximum transmission link number when the terminal communicates with the first cell. In fig. 9, the terminal and the first cell use the first communication capability to communicate within the time resource corresponding to the D subframe, that is, the maximum transmission link number when the terminal and the first cell communicate is multiple (that is, 2T transmission is used in fig. 9), the terminal and the first cell use the second communication capability to communicate within the time resource corresponding to the U subframe, that is, the maximum transmission link number when the terminal and the first cell communicate is single (that is, 1T transmission is used in fig. 10), and the S subframe is also divided into 2T or 1T transmission time resources according to DwPTS and UpPTS.

For another example, when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, in another possible implementation manner, S103 may be implemented by: and in the time resource corresponding to the DWPTS domain or the GP domain of the downlink pilot time slot included by the special subframe, the communication capability is the first communication capability. And in the time resource corresponding to the guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or the time resource corresponding to the UpPTS domain of the uplink pilot time slot, the communication capability is the second communication capability.

In yet another example, the first message includes: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises N bit sequences formed by first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability, and N is an integer which is greater than or equal to 1. Based on this, S103 may be implemented by: and the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the first communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the first information according to the first indication information. And the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the second communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the second information according to the first indication information.

Illustratively, the first indication information is 1000111111, the first period is 20ms, for example, as shown in fig. 10, fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of resource dynamic switching of the maximum transmission link number over time when the terminal communicates with the first cell. In fig. 10, within the time resource corresponding to "1", the terminal uses the first communication capability when communicating with the first cell, that is, the maximum number of transmission links when the terminal communicates with the first cell is plural. And in the time resource corresponding to 0, the terminal uses the second communication capability when communicating with the first cell, namely the maximum transmission link number used when the terminal communicates with the first cell is single.

For another example, when the first message includes a second period and a first time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is the transmission period of the first communication capability, and the first time resource is used to indicate a time length during which the communication capability is the first communication capability in the second period, another possible implementation manner of step S103 is:

the terminal determines that the communication capability is the first communication capability in the first time resource in the second period. The terminal determines that the communication capability is the second communication capability in the time resources except the first time resource in the second period.

Illustratively, taking the second period as 20ms, the second period includes slot 1 and slot 2, one slot includes 14 symbols (symbol 0 to symbol 13), and the first time resource is 4 sym, as shown in fig. 11, fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of dynamic switching of the maximum transmission link number with time resource when the terminal communicates with the first cell. Wherein the terminal uses a first communication capability with the first cell on symbols 0 to 3 in slot 1 and slot 2, i.e. using a maximum number of transmission links being multiple (i.e. 2T), and uses a second communication capability with the first cell on symbols 4 to 13 in slot 1 and slot 2, i.e. using a maximum number of transmission links being single (i.e. 1T).

And S104, the terminal communicates with the first cell based on the communication capability determined in the different time resources.

Specifically, step S104 may be implemented by: and when the communication capability is the first communication capability, the terminal uses the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell. And when the second communication capability is available, the terminal communicates with the first cell by using the second communication capability.

For example, taking the communication capability as the maximum transmission link number as an example, the terminal uses the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell: the terminal communicates with the first cell by using a maximum number of transmission links. The terminal uses the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell: the terminal communicates with the first cell using a maximum number of transmission links as a single one.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 12, where a denotes that a subframe between the second cell and the terminal 101 is a time resource corresponding to a downlink subframe, the terminal performs uplink transmission with the first cell using the first transmission link 104 and the second transmission link 105. B indicates that the terminal uses the second transmission link 105 to perform uplink transmission with the first cell in the time resource corresponding to the uplink subframe of the subframe between the second cell and the terminal 101.

Optionally, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: s105, the network equipment to which the first cell belongs receives the uplink transmission sent by the communication capability receiving terminal determined by the terminal in different time resources.

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, such as the communication device, the device for determining communication capability, etc., includes a corresponding hardware structure and/or software module for performing each function in order to realize the above 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 communication device and the device for determining communication capability may be exemplified according to the above method to divide the functional units, 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.

The following description will be given by taking the division of each function module corresponding to each function as an example:

in the case of an integrated unit, fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a communication device according to the above embodiment, where the communication device may be a terminal or a chip applied in the terminal. The communication device includes: an acquisition unit 201, a determination unit 202, and a communication unit 203.

Wherein, the obtaining unit 201 is used to support the communication device to execute step S102 in the above embodiment. The determination unit 202 is used to support the communication apparatus to execute step S103 in the above-described embodiment. The communication unit 203 is used to support the communication apparatus to execute step S104 in the above-described embodiment. All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

In the case of an integrated unit, fig. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a possible logical structure of the communication device according to the above embodiment, where the communication device may be a terminal in the above embodiment or a chip applied in the terminal. The communication apparatus includes: a processing module 212 and a communication module 213. The processing module 212 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the communication device, for example, the processing module 212 is used for executing a step of performing message or data processing on the communication device side, and the communication module 213 is used for performing a step of performing message or data processing on the communication device side.

For example, as a possible implementation manner, the processing module 212 is used to support the communication device to execute S103 in the above embodiment. The communication module 213 is used to support the communication device to execute S102 and S104 in the above embodiments. And/or other processes performed by a communication device for the techniques described herein.

Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a storage module 211 for storing program codes and data of the communication device.

The processing module 212 may be a processor or controller, such as a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. A processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, a digital signal processor, a combination of microprocessors, and the like. The communication module 213 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit or an interface circuit, etc. The storage module 211 may be a memory.

When the processing module 212 is the processor 220, the communication module 213 is the interface circuit 230 or the transceiver, and the storage module 211 is the memory 240, the communication device according to the present application may be the apparatus shown in fig. 15.

The interface circuit 230, one or more (including two) processors 220, and the memory 240 are connected to each other via the bus 210. Bus 210 may be a PCI bus or EISA bus, etc. Bus 210 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 15, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus. The memory 240 is used for storing, among other things, program codes and data of the communication device. The interface circuit 230 is used to support the communication apparatus to communicate with other devices (e.g., apparatuses that determine communication capabilities). The processor is used to support the communication device in executing program codes and data stored in the memory 240 to control and manage the actions of the communication device.

For example, in one possible implementation, the interface circuit 230 supports the communication device to perform S102, S104. The processor 220 is used to enable the communication device to execute the program codes and data stored in the memory 240 to implement S103 provided herein.

In the case of using an integrated unit, fig. 16 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication capability determining apparatus referred to in the above embodiment, where the communication capability determining apparatus may be a network device or a chip applied in the network device. The apparatus for determining communication capability includes: a transmitting unit 301 and a receiving unit 302.

Wherein, the sending unit 301 is configured to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to execute step S101 in the above embodiment. The receiving unit 302 is used to support the device for determining communication capability to execute step S105 in the above embodiment.

Fig. 17 shows a schematic diagram of a possible logical structure of the apparatus for determining communication capability involved in the foregoing embodiment, where the apparatus for determining communication capability is an integrated unit, and the apparatus for determining communication capability may be a network device in the foregoing embodiment, or a chip applied to the network device. The apparatus for determining communication capability includes: a processing module 312 and a communication module 313. The processing module 312 is configured to control and manage the operation of the device with the determined communication capability, and the communication module 313 is configured to execute a step of performing message or data processing on the device with the determined communication capability.

For example, in a possible implementation manner, the communication module 313 is configured to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to perform S101 and S105 in the foregoing embodiment. And/or other processes performed by a device that determines communication capabilities for the techniques described herein.

Optionally, the apparatus for determining communication capability may further include a storage module 311 for storing program codes and data of the apparatus for determining communication capability.

The processing module 312 may be a processor or controller, such as a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. A processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, a digital signal processor, a combination of microprocessors, and the like. The communication module 313 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit or an interface circuit, etc. The storage module 311 may be a memory.

When the processing module 312 is the processor 320, the communication module 313 is the interface circuit 330 or the transceiver, and the storage module 311 is the memory 340, the apparatus for determining communication capability according to the present application may be the apparatus shown in fig. 18.

The interface circuit 330, one or more (including two) processors 320, and the memory 340 are connected to each other via the bus 310. The bus 310 may be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus 310 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 18, but this does not mean only one bus or one type of bus. Wherein the memory 340 is used for storing program codes and data of the apparatus for determining communication capability. The interface circuit 330 is used to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to communicate with other devices (e.g., terminals), and the processor 320 is used to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to execute the program codes and data stored in the memory 340 to implement the action of message/data control on the apparatus side for determining communication capability.

As a possible implementation, the interface circuit 330 is configured to support the apparatus for determining communication capability to perform S101, S105 in the above embodiment. And/or other processes performed by a device that determines communication capabilities for the techniques described herein.

Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Chip 150 includes one or more (including two) processors 1510 and interface circuits 1530.

Optionally, the chip 150 further includes a memory 1540, which may include both read-only memory and random access memory, and provides operating instructions and data to the processor 1510. A portion of memory 1540 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

In some embodiments, memory 1540 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an expanded set thereof:

in the embodiment of the present invention, by calling an operation instruction stored in the memory 1540 (the operation instruction may be stored in an operating system), a corresponding operation is performed.

One possible implementation is: the communication device and the device for determining the communication capability use chips with similar structures, and different devices can use different chips to realize respective functions.

The processor 1510 controls the operation of the communication device and the device determining the communication capability, and the processor 1510 may also be referred to as a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Memory 1540 can include both read-only memory and random-access memory, and provides instructions and data to processor 1510. A portion of memory 1540 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). For example, in an application where memory 1540, interface circuit 1530 and memory 1540 are coupled together by bus system 1520, where bus system 1520 may include a power bus, control bus, status signal bus, etc. in addition to a data bus. For clarity of illustration, however, the various buses are labeled in FIG. 19 as bus system 1520.

The method disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the processor 1510 or implemented by the processor 1510. The processor 1510 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by instructions in the form of hardware, integrated logic circuits, or software in the processor 1510. The processor 1510 may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1540, and the processor 1510 reads the information in the memory 1540, and performs the steps of the above method in combination with the hardware thereof.

Optionally, the interface circuit 1530 is configured to perform the steps of receiving and transmitting of the terminal and the network device in the embodiment shown in fig. 6.

The processor 1510 is configured to perform the steps of the terminal and network device processes in the embodiment shown in fig. 6.

In the above embodiments, the instructions stored by the memory for execution by the processor may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may be written in the memory in advance or may be downloaded in the form of software and installed in the memory.

The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated when the computer program instructions are loaded and executed 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 in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, e.g., the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. A computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. 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.

In one aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which instructions are stored, and when executed, the instructions cause a terminal or a chip applied in the terminal to perform S102, S103, S104 in the embodiments. And/or other processes performed by the terminal or chips applied in the terminal for the techniques described herein.

In still another aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which instructions are stored, and when executed, the instructions cause a network device or a chip applied in the network device to perform S101 and S105 in the embodiments. And/or other processes for the techniques described herein that are performed by a network device or chip applied in a network device.

The aforementioned readable storage medium may include: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

In one aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions stored therein, when executed, cause a terminal or a chip applied in the terminal to perform S102, S103, S104 in the embodiments is provided. And/or other processes performed by the terminal or chips applied in the terminal for the techniques described herein.

On the other hand, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions stored therein, and when executed, causes a network device or a chip applied in the network device to execute S101, S105 in the embodiments. And/or other processes for the techniques described herein that are performed by a network device or chip applied in a network device.

In one aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip is applied in a terminal, and the chip includes one or more (including two) processors and an interface circuit, where the interface circuit and the one or more (including two) processors are interconnected by a line, and the processors are configured to execute instructions to perform S102, S103, and S104 in the embodiment. And/or other terminal-performed processes for the techniques described herein.

In another aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip is applied in a network device, and the chip includes one or more (including two) processors and an interface circuit, where the interface circuit and the one or more (including two) processors are interconnected by a line, and the processors are configured to execute instructions to perform S101 and S105 in the embodiments. And/or other processes performed by a network device for the techniques described herein.

In addition, the present application also provides a communication system including the communication apparatus shown in fig. 13 to 15, and the apparatus for determining communication capability shown in fig. 16 to 18.

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 according to the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated when the computer program instructions are loaded and executed 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.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as a server, a data center, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. 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 also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a terminal acquires a first message, wherein the first message is used for indicating that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources;

the terminal communicates with the first cell according to different communication capabilities which the terminal has when communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources;

the communication method is applied to dual connectivity, the communication capabilities comprise a first communication capability and a second communication capability, the first communication capability comprises the communication capability of the terminal and the first cell and the communication capability in an idle state between the terminal and other cells, and the second communication capability is the communication capability of the terminal and the first cell when the terminal communicates with the first cell and does not comprise the communication capability between the terminal and other cells;

the communication capability includes one or more of the following parameters:

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, and the first message is an uplink and downlink subframe configuration adopted when the terminal communicates with a second cell, the method further comprising:

the terminal communicates with the first cell by using a first communication capability in a first time resource, and communicates with the first cell by using a second communication capability in a second time resource, wherein the first time resource corresponds to part or all of time resources in a downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration; the second time resource corresponds to part or all of the time resources in the uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration.

3. A method of communicating according to claim 2, the method further comprising:

when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration comprises a special subframe, the terminal determines that the communication capability is the first communication capability or the second communication capability in a time resource corresponding to the special subframe.

4. A method of communicating according to claim 2, the method further comprising: when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration comprises a special subframe, the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a downlink pilot time slot DWPTS domain or a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe;

and in a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS domain, the communication capability is the second communication capability.

5. A method of communication according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first message comprises: the communication device comprises first indication information and/or a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability;

the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the first communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the first information according to the first indication information;

and the terminal determines that the communication capacity is the second communication capacity in the time resource corresponding to the second information according to the first indication information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, wherein the second period is used for determining that the communication capability is a transmission period of the first communication capability, and the third time resource is used for indicating a time resource in the second period that the communication capability is the first communication capability;

or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is the transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the second communication capability.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the third time resource or the fourth time resource comprises one or more time slots and M symbols, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

8. A method of communication according to claim 1, wherein said first message is carried in a radio resource control, RRC, message.

9. A communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus is a terminal or a chip applied to the terminal, the communication apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a first message, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal and a first cell have different communication capabilities when communicating in at least two time resources;

a communication unit, configured to communicate with the first cell according to different communication capabilities that the terminal has when communicating with the first cell in at least two time resources, respectively;

the communication device is applied to dual connectivity, the communication capability comprises a first communication capability and a second communication capability, the first communication capability comprises the communication capability of the terminal and the first cell and the communication capability in an idle state between the terminal and other cells, and the second communication capability is the communication capability of the terminal and the first cell when the terminal communicates with the first cell and does not comprise the communication capability between the terminal and other cells;

the communication capability includes one or more of the following parameters:

10. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the at least two time resources include a first time resource and a second time resource, the first message is an uplink and downlink subframe configuration adopted when the terminal communicates with a second cell, and the communications apparatus further includes:

a determining unit, configured to determine that a first time resource corresponding to a part or all of time resources in a downlink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a first communication capability, and that a second time resource corresponding to a part or all of time resources in an uplink subframe in the uplink and downlink subframe configuration uses a second communication capability;

a communication unit, configured to use the first communication capability to communicate with the first cell in the first time resource, and use the second communication capability to communicate with the first cell in the second time resource.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when the uplink and downlink subframe configuration further includes a special subframe, the determining unit is configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability or the second communication capability.

12. The communications apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said determining unit is configured to determine that the communications capability is the first communications capability within a time resource corresponding to a DWPTS field of a downlink pilot timeslot included in a special subframe or a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP field;

the determining unit is configured to determine that the communication capability is the second communication capability in a time resource corresponding to a guard interval GP domain included in the special subframe or a time resource corresponding to an uplink pilot time slot UpPTS domain.

13. A communication device according to any of claims 9-12, wherein the first message comprises: the communication device comprises first indication information and a first period, wherein the first indication information comprises first information and second information, the first information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a first communication capability, and the second information is used for indicating that the communication capability is a second communication capability;

a determining unit, configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the first communication capability within a time resource corresponding to the first information;

and the determining unit is further configured to determine, according to the first indication information, that the communication capability is the second communication capability within the time resource corresponding to the second information.

14. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first message includes a second period and a third time resource, wherein the second period is used for determining that the communications capability is a transmission period of the first communications capability, and the third time resource is used for indicating a time resource in which the communications capability is the first communications capability in the second period;

the determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is a first communication capability within the third time resource in the second period;

the determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability in a time resource other than the third time resource in the second period;

or the first message includes a second period and a fourth time resource, where the second period is used to determine that the communication capability is a transmission period of the second communication capability, and the fourth time resource is used to indicate a time resource in the second period in which the communication capability is the second communication capability;

the determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is a second communication capability within the fourth time resource in the second period;

the determining unit is further configured to determine that the communication capability is the first communication capability in a time resource other than the fourth time resource in the second period.

15. A communications device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the third time resource or the fourth time resource comprises one or more time slots and M symbols, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

16. A communications device according to claim 9, wherein said first message is carried in a radio resource control, RRC, message.

17. A communications apparatus, comprising: at least one processor and interface circuitry, the at least one processor being configured to perform a communication method according to any of claims 1-8.

18. A chip comprising a processor and interface circuitry, the interface circuitry being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement a method of communication as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, the interface circuitry being configured to communicate with modules other than the chip.