CN112399645B

CN112399645B - SCG release method, user equipment and network equipment

Info

Publication number: CN112399645B
Application number: CN201910755221.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王志明; 杨海泉; 邝奕如; 何彦召
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-15
Filing date: 2019-08-15
Publication date: 2023-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-15
Also published as: CN112399645A

Abstract

The application provides an SCG release method, user equipment and network equipment, wherein UE actively sends auxiliary information carrying a first cell to the network equipment, a first field and a second field in the first cell are set to be a first preset value, the first field is used for indicating SCG downlink frequency width which is configured for the UE by expecting the auxiliary network equipment when the SCG is in a first frequency range, and the second field is used for indicating SCG uplink frequency width which is configured for the UE by expecting the auxiliary network equipment when the SCG is in the first frequency range. After the auxiliary information reaches the network equipment, the network equipment identifies that the field values of the first field and the second field are the first preset value, the main network equipment sends indication information to the UE, and the UE receives the indication information and releases the SCG. According to the SCG release method, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, so that the problem of overlarge UE power consumption caused by the fact that the UE cannot actively initiate the SCG release is effectively solved.

Description

SCG release method, user equipment and network equipment

Technical Field

The embodiment of the present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) release method, a user equipment, and a network device.

Background

The third Generation Partnership project (3 rd Generation Partnership project,3 gpp) has proposed a 5th-Generation,5G communication system, in which a New Radio (NR) access technology is introduced to achieve high throughput and low delay transmission. Three main applications of the 5G communication system include: enhanced mobile bandwidth (eMBB), mass-machine-type communication (MTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). To enhance the mobility performance of the network and increase the user throughput, a new enhancement scheme called Dual Connectivity (DC) is introduced. In this scheme, a User Equipment (UE) may simultaneously maintain a connection with two base stations, where one base station is referred to as a primary base station and the other base station is referred to as a secondary base station.

In the dual connectivity architecture, the master base station configures a Master Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) for the ue. When the UE has no traffic and the like, the SCG needs to be released. Generally, the release of the SCG is initiated by the primary base station actively, for example, the secondary base station maintains an inactivity timer of the UE, and after the inactivity timer expires, the primary base station issues a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, an RRC connection release (con REL), and the like to the UE, so as to instruct the UE to release the SCG. For another example, the UE reports a failure (failure) of the SCG to the primary base station; or, the UE reports the auxiliary information carrying the reduced number of subcarriers (reduced maxccs) cell to the main base station, and the like, and since the protocol does not specify the behavior of the main base station after receiving the report of the UE, the main base station may not trigger the UE to release the SCG after receiving the message reported by the UE. If the main base station determines to trigger the UE to release the SCG, the main base station issues an RRC reconfiguration message, an RRC CONN REL and the like to the UE to indicate the UE to release the SCG.

The SCG is released by the master base station. However, when the UE has a no-traffic situation or the like, the UE desires to immediately release the SCG. If the SCG release method is adopted, the UE needs to maintain the SCG for a long time, or even does not release the SCG, so that the UE always monitors the SCG, and the power consumption of the UE is too large.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an SCG release method, user equipment and network equipment, and the SCG release is actively initiated by UE to solve the problem that the UE power consumption is too large due to the fact that the UE cannot actively initiate the SCG release.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a user equipment UE, including: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the UE establishing dual connectivity with a primary network device and a secondary network device, the processor executing the program to perform the steps of:

the UE sends auxiliary information to network equipment, the network equipment is the main network equipment or the auxiliary network equipment, the auxiliary information carries a first cell, the first cell comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the downlink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in a first frequency range, the second field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the uplink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and the field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values; the UE receiving indication information from the primary network device; and the UE releases the Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the first frequency range according to the indication information. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, thereby avoiding that the UE keeps the SCG for a long time or even does not release the SCG and monitors the SCG all the time, and further avoiding that the power consumption of the UE is overlarge. In addition, in the scheme, after the UE actively initiates the SCG release, the auxiliary network equipment is not required to immediately configure a new SCG for the UE, the UE is prevented from entering a double-connection state after releasing the SCG, the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG all the time, and the UE is prevented from being overlarge in power consumption.

In one possible design, the UE is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate a downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate an uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values; after the UE transmits the auxiliary information, the method further includes: the UE releases the SCG in the second frequency range. By adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE simultaneously releases the SCGs in different frequency ranges is achieved.

In one possible design, the auxiliary information is long term evolution LTE radio resource control RRC auxiliary information, the first cell is a newly added cell in the LTE RRC auxiliary information, the first field is reduced dbw-FR1-DL, the second field is reduced dbw-FR1-UL, the third field is reduced dbw-FR2-DL, and the fourth field is reduced dbw-FR2-UL. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including: the UE sends the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the auxiliary information is new radio NR RRC auxiliary information, the first cell is a v1540 cell in the NR RRC auxiliary information, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-DL, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-UL, the third field is rededbw-FR 2-DL, and the fourth field is rededbw-FR 2-UL. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including: and the UE sends a multi-network fusion dual-connection MRDC message to the main network equipment, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the auxiliary network equipment.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including: the UE transmits the NR RRC assistance information to the secondary network device. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the auxiliary network equipment.

In one possible design, the field values of the first field and the second field are a second preset value, and the second preset value is different from the first preset value. By adopting the scheme, the aim that the UE re-enters the DC state after releasing the SCG is fulfilled.

In one possible design, the primary network device is an LTE network device, and the secondary network device is an NR network device. By adopting the scheme, the aim that the UE actively initiates the SCG release in the EN-DC framework is fulfilled.

In one possible design, the first preset value is 0MHz. By adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE actively initiates the SCG release is realized.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a master network device, including: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the user equipment UE establishing dual connectivity with the primary and secondary network devices, the processor when executing the program performing the steps of: the main network equipment receives auxiliary information, the auxiliary information carries a first information element, the first information element comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that when an SCG is in a first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to configure a downlink frequency width for the UE, when the SCG is in the first frequency range, the second field is used for indicating that when the SCG is in the first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to configure an uplink frequency width for the UE, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values; and the main network equipment sends indication information to the UE, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the UE to release the secondary cell group SCG in the first frequency range. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, so that the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG for a long time even without releasing the SCG, and further, the UE is prevented from overlarge power consumption. In addition, in the scheme, after the UE actively initiates the SCG release, the UE is immediately configured with a new SCG without auxiliary network equipment, the UE is prevented from entering a double-connection state after releasing the SCG, the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG all the time, and the UE is prevented from being overlarge in power consumption.

In one possible design, the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate a downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate an uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values; the indication information is also for instructing the UE to release a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the second frequency range. By adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE simultaneously releases the SCGs in different frequency ranges is achieved.

In one possible design, the receiving the assistance information includes: the master network device receives the LTE RRC auxiliary information sent by the UE. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the receiving the auxiliary information includes: and receiving a multi-network fusion dual-connection MRDC message sent by the UE, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the auxiliary network equipment.

In one possible design, the primary network device sends an indication to the UE, including: the main network device judges whether the SCG can be released, and if the main network device judges that the SCG can be released, the main network device sends indication information to the UE; or, the primary network device sends the auxiliary information to the secondary network device, and sends the indication information to the UE after receiving a trigger message sent by the secondary network device, where the trigger message is sent after the secondary network device determines that the SCG can be released.

In a feasible design, the first preset value is 0MHz, and by adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE actively initiates SCG release is achieved.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a secondary network device, including: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the user equipment UE establishing dual connectivity with a primary network device and a secondary network device, the processor executing the program to perform the steps of: the method includes the steps that the auxiliary network equipment receives auxiliary information, the auxiliary information carries a first information element, the first information element comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that when the SCG is located in a first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be configured for the UE in a downlink frequency width, when the SCG is located in the first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be configured for the UE in an uplink frequency width, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, so that the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG for a long time even without releasing the SCG, and further, the UE is prevented from overlarge power consumption. In addition, in the scheme, after the UE actively initiates the SCG release, the UE is immediately configured with a new SCG without auxiliary network equipment, the UE is prevented from entering a double-connection state after releasing the SCG, the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG all the time, and the UE is prevented from being overlarge in power consumption.

In one possible design, the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate a downlink frequency width that the UE expects the auxiliary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate an uplink frequency width that the UE expects the auxiliary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values. By adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE simultaneously releases the SCGs in different frequency ranges is achieved.

In one possible design, the secondary network device receives secondary information, including: and the auxiliary network equipment receives a multi-network fusion double-connection MRDC message sent by the main network equipment, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively triggers the main network equipment to release the SCG by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the auxiliary network equipment.

In one possible design, the auxiliary information is new radio NR RRC auxiliary information, the first cell is a v1540 cell in the NR RRC auxiliary information, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-DL, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-UL, the third field is rededbw-FR 2-DL, and the fourth field is rededbw-FR 2-UL. By adopting the scheme, the UE can actively initiate the SCG release by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the secondary network device receives secondary information, including: and the auxiliary network equipment receives the NR RRC auxiliary network equipment sent by the UE. By adopting the scheme, the UE sends the NR RRC auxiliary information to the auxiliary network equipment to realize the purpose that the UE actively initiates the SCG release.

In one possible design, after the receiving the assistance information, the secondary network device further includes: the auxiliary network equipment judges whether the SCG can be released, and if the auxiliary network equipment judges that the SCG can be released, the main network equipment is triggered to send the indication information to the UE; or, the auxiliary network device sends the auxiliary information to the main network device, so that the main network device determines whether the SCG can be released and sends the indication information to the UE.

In one possible design, the first preset value is 0MHz. By adopting the scheme, the purpose that the UE actively initiates the SCG release is achieved.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an SCG release method, including:

the UE sends auxiliary information to network equipment, the network equipment is the main network equipment or the auxiliary network equipment, the auxiliary information carries a first cell, the first cell comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the downlink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in a first frequency range, the second field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the uplink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and the field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values;

the UE receiving indication information from the primary network device;

and the UE releases the Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the first frequency range according to the indication information.

In one possible design, the UE is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate a downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate an uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values;

after the UE sends the assistance information, the method further includes:

the UE releases the SCG in the second frequency range.

In one possible design, the auxiliary information is long term evolution LTE radio resource control RRC auxiliary information, the first cell is a newly added cell in the LTE RRC auxiliary information, the first field is reduced dbw-FR1-DL, the second field is reduced dbw-FR1-UL, the third field is reduced dbw-FR2-DL, and the fourth field is reduced dbw-FR2-UL.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including:

the UE sends the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

In one possible design, the auxiliary information is new radio NR RRC auxiliary information, the first cell is a v1540 cell in the NR RRC auxiliary information, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-DL, the first field is rededbw-FR 1-UL, the third field is rededbw-FR 2-DL, and the fourth field is rededbw-FR 2-UL.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including:

and the UE sends a multi-network fusion dual-connection MRDC message to the main network equipment, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information.

In one possible design, the UE may send assistance information, including:

the UE transmits the NR RRC assistance information to the secondary network device.

In one possible design, the method further includes:

the field values of the first field and the second field are a second preset value, and the second preset value is different from the first preset value.

In one possible design, the primary network device is an LTE network device, and the secondary network device is an NR network device.

In one possible design, the first preset value is 0MHz.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an SCG release method, including:

the main network equipment receives auxiliary information, the auxiliary information carries a first information element, the first information element comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that when an SCG is in a first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to configure a downlink frequency width for the UE, when the SCG is in the first frequency range, the second field is used for indicating that when the SCG is in the first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to configure an uplink frequency width for the UE, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values;

and the main network equipment sends indication information to the UE, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the UE to release the secondary cell group SCG in the first frequency range.

In a possible design, the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure a downlink frequency width for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure an uplink frequency width for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values;

the indication information is also used to instruct the UE to release a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the second frequency range.

In one possible design, the receiving the auxiliary information includes:

the master network device receives the LTE RRC auxiliary information sent by the UE.

In one possible design, the receiving the auxiliary information includes:

and receiving a multi-network fusion dual-connection MRDC message sent by the UE, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information.

In one possible design, the primary network device sends an indication to the UE, including:

the main network device judges whether the SCG can be released, and if the main network device judges that the SCG can be released, the main network device sends indication information to the UE;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the main network device sends the auxiliary information to the auxiliary network device, and sends the indication information to the UE after receiving a trigger message sent by the auxiliary network device, wherein the trigger message is sent after the auxiliary network device judges that the SCG can be released.

In one possible design, the first preset value is 0MHz.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an SCG release method, including:

the method includes the steps that the auxiliary network equipment receives auxiliary information, the auxiliary information carries a first information element, the first information element comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that when the SCG is located in a first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be configured for the UE in a downlink frequency width, when the SCG is located in the first frequency range, the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be configured for the UE in an uplink frequency width, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values.

In a possible design, the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure a downlink frequency width for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure an uplink frequency width for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values.

In one possible design, the secondary network device receives secondary information, including:

and the auxiliary network equipment receives a multi-network fusion double-connection MRDC message sent by the main network equipment, wherein the MRDC message carries the NR RRC auxiliary information.

and the auxiliary network equipment receives the NR RRC auxiliary network equipment sent by the UE.

In one possible design, after the receiving the assistance information, the secondary network device further includes:

the auxiliary network equipment judges whether the SCG can be released, and if the auxiliary network equipment judges that the SCG can be released, the main network equipment is triggered to send the indication information to the UE;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the auxiliary network device sends the auxiliary information to the main network device, so that the main network device determines whether the SCG can be released and sends the indication information to the UE.

In one possible design, the first preset value is 0MHz.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus has a behavior function of the user equipment in the foregoing method embodiment. The functions can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above. The modules may be software and/or hardware.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which is configured to implement the function of behavior of the main network device in the method actually described above. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which is configured to implement the function of behavior of a secondary network device in the method. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a user equipment, cause the user equipment computer to perform the method of the fourth aspect or the various possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a primary network device, cause the primary network device to perform the method of the above fifth aspect or its various possible implementations.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a secondary network device, cause the secondary network device to perform the method of the above-described sixth aspect or various possible implementations of the sixth aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a user equipment, cause the user equipment to perform the method in the fourth aspect or the various possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a master network device, cause the master network device to perform the method of the above-mentioned fifth aspect or various possible implementations of the fifth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which, when run on a secondary network device, cause the secondary network device to perform the method in the various possible implementations of the sixth aspect or the sixth aspect described above.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement the functions of the user equipment in the foregoing method. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement a function of a main network device in the foregoing method. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement the function of the secondary network device in the foregoing method. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

The embodiment of the application provides an SCG release method, user equipment and network equipment, wherein UE actively sends auxiliary information carrying a first cell to the network equipment, a first field and a second field in the first cell are set to be a first preset value, the first field is used for indicating SCG downlink frequency width which is configured for the UE by expecting an auxiliary network equipment when the SCG is in a first frequency range, and the second field is used for indicating SCG uplink frequency width which is configured for the UE by expecting the auxiliary network equipment when the SCG is in the first frequency range. After the auxiliary information reaches the network equipment, the network equipment identifies that the field values of the first field and the second field are the first preset value, the main network equipment sends indication information to the UE, and the UE receives the indication information and releases the SCG. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, thereby avoiding that the UE keeps the SCG for a long time or even does not release the SCG and monitors the SCG all the time, and further avoiding that the power consumption of the UE is overlarge. In addition, in the scheme, after the UE actively initiates the SCG release, the UE is immediately configured with a new SCG without auxiliary network equipment, the UE is prevented from entering a double-connection state after releasing the SCG, the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG all the time, and the UE is prevented from being overlarge in power consumption.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a dual connectivity architecture suitable for use with an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of an SCG release method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a user equipment provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

To enhance the mobility performance of the network and increase the user throughput, the 5G communication system also introduces a Dual Connectivity (DC) architecture. In this architecture, a user equipment maintains a connection with two network devices at the same time, one of which is called a primary network device or primary network node (MN) and the other is called a secondary network device or secondary network node (secondary node). Under the dual connectivity architecture, the user equipment is configured with one MCG and one SCG. According to the permutation and combination of different air interfaces and core network devices and the radio access technology applied to a Control Plane (CP) in dual connection, dual connection architectures are divided into an EN-DC architecture, an NGEN-DC architecture, an NE-DC architecture, an NR-DC architecture and the like. Wherein, DC represents dual connectivity, i.e. dual connectivity, E represents Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) network, i.e. 4G wireless Access network; n represents New Radio (NR), i.e., 5G new radio; NGE stands for Next Generation E-UTRA (NGE), i.e., NGEN-DC architecture where MN is the Next Generation eNB, which can be connected to the 5G core network. The 5G network deployment architecture is divided into a Stand alone architecture (SA) and a Non-Stand alone architecture (NSA) according to whether the NR network device and the NR core network are separately deployed. In the process of smooth evolution from 4G to 5G, most operators select an NSA architecture for networking at the initial stage of 5G networking in order to protect the existing 4G investment, and EN-DC is the main form of the NSA networking architecture.

Taking the DC architecture as an EN-DC architecture as an example, in the DC architecture, the primary network device is an LTE base station (also referred to as eNB), and the secondary network device is an NR base station (also referred to as gNB). In the framework, the establishment, release and the like of the SCG are controlled by the LTE base station. In the control process, when an inactivity timer maintained by the gNB is overtime; or the eNB receives SCG failure reported by the UE; or, when the eNB receives the auxiliary information carrying the rededmaxccs field reported by the UE, and the rededcsdl field and the rededdccsul field in the rededmaxccs field are equal to 0, the eNB determines whether to instruct the UE to release the SCG. Since the protocol does not specify the behavior of the eNB after receiving the report from the UE, the eNB may not trigger the UE to release the SCG after receiving the message reported from the UE. If the eNB decides to trigger the UE to release the SCG, the eNB issues an RRC reconfiguration message, an RRC CONN REL and the like to the UE so as to instruct the UE to release the SCG.

For example, the eNB issues a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection Reconfiguration (RRC connection Reconfiguration) message to the UE, where the message carries a cell nr-configuration-r 15, where the cell includes a field release: null, which instructs the UE to release SCG in the EN-DC architecture.

For another example, the eNB sends an RRC connection Reconfiguration message to the UE, where the message carries an RRC connection Reconfiguration-v920-Ies cell, and the cell includes a field fullconfiguration-r 9, indicating the UE to release the SCG.

In another example, the eNB issues RRC connection release to the UE, instructing the UE to release the link, i.e. release the SCG and the MCG.

According to the above, it can be seen that: in the process of controlling the SCG release by the eNB, certain trigger conditions need to be met, such as that the inactive timer is overtime, the eNB receives SCG failure reported by the UE, and the eNB receives auxiliary information carrying redmaxccs fields reported by the UE. If the trigger condition is that the inactive timer is overtime, before the inactive timer is overtime, if the UE wants to release the SCG, the UE cannot release the SCG, so that the UE always monitors the SCG, and further the power consumption of the UE is too large.

If the trigger condition is that the UE reports the SCG failure, the SCG failure carries a cause value, such as random access (random access protocol), timeout of a T310 timer, and the like, even if the eNB instructs the UE to release the SCG, since a related protocol of 3gpp36.311 does not specify a behavior of the eNB after receiving the SCG failure, it is generally realized that the eNB may first instruct the UE to release an existing SCG, and then immediately reconfigure a new SCG for the UE, which cannot achieve the purpose of triggering and releasing the SCG on the UE side, and thus the UE monitors the SCG all the time, and further causes the power consumption of the UE to be too large. Furthermore, if the UE wants to release only the SCG but retain the MCG, it needs to further implement non-standard measurement suppression, SCG suppression addition, and other policies when receiving the instruction message sent by the eNB to configure a new SCG, which causes unpredictable problems. Further, after the SCG is released and re-addition is suppressed for the UE, if the SCG is desired to be added again, the UE may not enter the EN-DC state because the eNB does not configure the SCG any more or the configuration period is long.

If the triggering condition is that the UE reports the auxiliary information carrying the redundedmaxccs cell, similarly, since related protocols such as 3GPP36.311 do not specify the behavior of the eNB after receiving the auxiliary information carrying the redundedmaxccs cell, according to the understanding of the definition of the redundedmaxccs cell in the related section of 3GPP36.331, the eNB receives the auxiliary information carrying the redundedmaxccs cell and instructs the UE to release the LTE auxiliary carrier and the SCG. However, when the UE wants to release the SCG, the eNB may not instruct the UE to release the SCG in time, which causes the UE to monitor the SCG all the time, further causing excessive power consumption of the UE.

In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a UE, where the UE actively reports auxiliary information to a network side, so as to achieve an objective that the UE actively triggers and releases an SCG.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a dual connection architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to fig. 1, a ue maintains a connection with two network devices, one of which is referred to as an MN and the other of which is referred to as an SN. The UE may be a mobile phone, a tablet, an intelligent vehicle, a sensor device, an internet of things (IOT), customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a relay network device, or the like.

Referring to fig. 1, a primary network device interacts with a core network device through a first interface, and a secondary network device interacts with the core network device through a second interface. The third interface between the main network device and the auxiliary network device may be an X2 interface, the main network device and the UE interact with each other through a fourth interface, the fourth interface may be a Uu interface, the auxiliary network device and the UE interact with each other through a fifth interface, and the fifth interface may be a Uu interface. The architecture shown in FIG. 1 may be an EN-DC architecture, an NGEN-DC architecture, an NE-DC architecture, an NR-DC architecture, and the like. Under an EN-DC architecture, a primary network device is an eNB, a secondary network device is a gNB, and a core network device is an evolved core network device (EPC); under the NGEN-DC framework, the main network equipment is eLTE eNB, the auxiliary network equipment is gNB, and the Core network equipment is a new wireless Core (NG Core, NGC) network; under the NE-DC architecture, the primary network device is a gNB, and the secondary network device is an eNB.

Next, a SCG release method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1. Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 3 is a flowchart of an SCG release method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, a UE100 establishes dual connectivity with a primary network device and a secondary network device, the UE100 includes a processor 11 and a memory 12, the memory 12 stores a computer program, the computer program can be executed on the processor 11, and the processor 11 executes the computer program to perform the steps shown in fig. 3, where fig. 3 includes:

101. the UE sends auxiliary information to network equipment, wherein the network equipment is the main network equipment or the auxiliary network equipment, the auxiliary information carries a first cell, and the first cell comprises a first field and a second field.

The first field is used to indicate that the UE expects the SCG downlink frequency width configured by the auxiliary network device for the UE when the SCG is in the first frequency range, the second field is used to indicate that the UE expects the SCG uplink frequency width configured by the auxiliary network device for the UE when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values.

For example, the UE autonomously determines whether the SCG needs to be released, for example, if the UE determines that the remaining amount of power is lower than a preset threshold, it determines to release the SCG; if the temperature is higher than the preset value, the UE determines to release the SCG; if the UE predicts that the current service only needs small flow, the SCG is determined to be released; in another example, if the UE determines that the remaining traffic is lower than the preset threshold, it determines to release the SCG.

In the embodiment of the present application, after determining that the SCG needs to be released, the UE may send the auxiliary information to the primary network device through the fourth interface, or send the auxiliary information to the secondary network device through the fifth interface. Taking an EN-DC architecture as an example, when the UE sends the auxiliary information to the primary network device through the fourth interface, the auxiliary information may be LTE RRC auxiliary information, and after receiving the LTE RRC auxiliary information, the primary network device determines that SCG needs to be released, synchronizes the information to the secondary network device through the third interface, and sends indication information to the UE; when the UE sends the auxiliary information to the secondary network device, the auxiliary information may be NR RRC auxiliary information, and after the secondary network device receives the NR RRC auxiliary information and determines that the SCG needs to be released, the NR RRC auxiliary information is sent to the primary network device through the third interface, so that the primary network device sends the indication information to the UE. In addition, after receiving the LTE RRC auxiliary information, the primary network device may also send the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the secondary network device, and the secondary network device performs the determination; similarly, after receiving the NR RRC auxiliary information, the secondary network device may also send the NR RRC auxiliary information to the primary network device, and the primary network device determines the NR RRC auxiliary information. In addition, the UE may also send a message or the like encapsulating the NR RRC assistance information to the primary network device.

In the embodiments of the present application, the SCG may be in one or more frequency ranges at the same time. If the UE wants to release a certain frequency range, for example, when the SCG is in the first frequency range, a first field and a second field included in a first Information Element (IE) in the auxiliary information may be set to a first preset value, where the first field is used to indicate an SCG downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and the second field is used to indicate an SCG uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the first frequency range. The field values of the first and second fields may be 0 megahertz (MHz), 10MHz, 20MHz, 30MHz, 50MHz, 60MHz, 80MHz, 100MHz, 200MHz, 300MHz, 400MHz, etc. The first preset value may be 0MHz, etc. In this embodiment, when the first field and the second field are set to 0MHz at the same time, it is described that the UE desires to release the SCG, however, this embodiment is not limited in this application, and in other possible implementations, either one of the first field and the second field may be set to 0MHz, which indicates that the UE desires to release the SCG in the first frequency range.

102. The UE receives indication information from the primary network device.

Illustratively, the UE receives the indication information for instructing the UE to release the SCG.

103. The UE releases a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the first frequency range.

In the SCG release method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the UE actively sends, to the network device, the auxiliary information carrying the first cell, where a first field and a second field in the first cell are set to a first preset value, the first field is used to indicate an SCG downlink frequency width that the UE expects the auxiliary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and the second field is used to indicate an SCG uplink frequency width that the UE expects the auxiliary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the first frequency range. After the auxiliary information reaches the network equipment, the network equipment identifies that the field values of the first field and the second field are the first preset value, the main network equipment sends indication information to the UE, and the UE receives the indication information and releases the SCG. By adopting the scheme, the UE actively initiates the SCG release, so that the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG for a long time even without releasing the SCG, and further, the UE is prevented from overlarge power consumption. In addition, in the scheme, after the UE actively initiates the SCG release, the auxiliary network equipment is not required to immediately configure a new SCG for the UE, the UE is prevented from entering a double-connection state after releasing the SCG, the UE is prevented from monitoring the SCG all the time, and the UE is prevented from being overlarge in power consumption.

In the above embodiments, the SCG may be in one or more frequency ranges simultaneously. In the following, how the UE triggers the master network device to release the SCG when the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range simultaneously will be described in detail.

In a possible design, the UE is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate that the UE expects the SCG downlink frequency width configured by the secondary network device for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate that the UE expects the SCG uplink frequency width configured by the secondary network device for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value; after the UE sends the assistance information, the method further includes: the UE releases the SCG in the second frequency range.

For example, when the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range at the same time, if the UE decides to release the SCGs in the two frequency ranges, 4 fields, which are the first field, the second field, the third field, and the fourth field, are carried in the first information element of the auxiliary information. Wherein the description of the first field and the second field may be in step 101 of fig. 3. The third field is used to indicate the SCG downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and the fourth field is used to indicate the SCG uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for itself when the SCG is in the second frequency range. In the embodiment of the present application, the first frequency range and the second frequency range are different frequency ranges from each other. For example, see table 1, where table 1 is an exemplary table of the first frequency range and the second frequency range according to the embodiments of the present application.

TABLE 1

The related description of table 1 above can be referred to as 3gpp38.101, which is not described herein. When the third field and the fourth field are set to 0MHz at the same time, it indicates that the UE desires to release the SCG in the second frequency range, however, the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and in other possible implementations, it may also be that when any one of the third field and the fourth field is set to 0MHz, it indicates that the UE desires to release the SCG in the second frequency range.

In this embodiment, the purpose that the UE simultaneously releases SCGs in different frequency ranges is achieved.

The SCG release method described above is described in detail below by taking the EN-DC architecture as an example, and for example, refer to fig. 4, 5 and 6.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided in an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the primary network device is an eNB, the secondary network device is a gNB, and the auxiliary information is LTE RRC auxiliary information, where this embodiment includes:

201. the eNB sends the RRC connection reconfiguration to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the RRC connection reconfiguration (RRC connection reconfiguration).

202. The UE sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete to the eNB.

Accordingly, the eNB receives the RRC connection reconfiguration complete (RRC connection reconfiguration complete).

The modification of the RRC connection between the ue and the eNB is done, via steps 201 and 202.

203. The UE transmits LTE RRC assistance information to the eNB.

Accordingly, the eNB receives the LTE RRC assistance information (association information).

Illustratively, a new cell, i.e. a first cell, is added to the LTE RRC overhead information, and the first cell may be association information-v1560-Ies. If the UE desires to release the SCG in the first frequency range, the first cell includes a first field of reduced dbw-FR1-DL and a second field of reduced dbw-FR1-UL, and the field values of the first and second fields are a first preset value, for example, 0MHz. If the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range at the same time, and the UE desires to release the SCG in the two frequency ranges, the first cell further includes a third field and a fourth field, in addition to the first field and the second field, and the field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value, such as 0MHz.

204. The eNB determines whether the SCG can be released, and if the eNB determines that the SCG can be released, the eNB executes step 205 and step 207; otherwise, if the eNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 209 is executed.

For example, after receiving the LTE RRC assistance information, the eNB finds that the UE desires to release the SCG, and determines whether the SCG can be released. If the eNB determines that the SCG can be released, step 205 and step 207 are executed to instruct the gNB to release resources corresponding to the SCG and instruct the UE to release the SCG; if the eNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 209 is executed.

205. The eNB sends SCG release information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the SCG release information.

Illustratively, the eNB sends a gbb release request to the gbb; and the gNB feeds back a release request acknowledgement to the eNB.

206. And the gNB releases the resources corresponding to the SCG.

207. The eNB sends indication information to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the indication information.

For example, the indication information is RRC connection reconfiguration, the RRC connection reconfiguration carries nr-Config-r15 cells, and the nr-Config-r15 cells include field release: null, which is used to instruct the UE to release the SCG. The UE releases the SCG and sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete (RRC connection reconfiguration complete) to the eNB.

For another example, the indication information is an RRC connection reconfiguration, the RRC connection reconfiguration carries an information element, such as an RRC connection reconfiguration-v920-Ies, and the RRC connection reconfiguration-v920-Ies information element includes a field full configuration-r 9 for indicating the UE SCG. The UE releases the SCG and sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete (RRC connection reconfiguration complete) to the eNB.

In another example, the indication information is LTE RRC connection release, and indicates the UE to release the link, so that the UE releases the SCG and the MCG.

208. The UE releases the SCG.

209. The SCG is retained.

Illustratively, the eNB does not send the UE indication information for releasing the SCG, and does not release the SCG release information to the gNB, but continues to retain the SCG.

It should be noted that, in the step 204, the eNB determines whether to release the SCG, however, the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and in another feasible implementation, the eNB may send the LTE RRC assistance information to the gNB through an inter-base station interface, for example, the eNB carries the LTE RRC assistance information in CG-configinfo and sends the LTE RRC assistance information to the gNB. After receiving the LTE RRC assistance information, the gNB determines whether the SCG can be released if finding that the UE desires to release the SCG. And if the gNB judges that the SCG can be released, the gNB releases resources corresponding to the SCG and triggers the eNB to send indication information to the UE through the inter-base station interface so as to indicate the UE to release the SCG.

In this embodiment, the UE actively triggers the primary network device to release the SCG by sending the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the primary network device.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided in an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the primary network device is an eNB, the secondary network device is a gNB, and the auxiliary information is NR RRC auxiliary information, where this embodiment includes:

301. the UE sends an MRDC message to the eNB, which carries NR RRC assistance information.

Accordingly, the eNB receives the Multi-network converged Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) message.

Illustratively, the MRDC message is an uplink Information Transfer MRDC (ul Information Transfer MRDC) message, where the MRDC message includes a cell, such as ul-DCCH-message NR-r15, where the ul-DCCH-message NR-r15 carries NR RRC auxiliary Information, and a first cell included in the NR RRC auxiliary Information is an association Information-v1540-Ies. If the UE desires to release the SCG in the first frequency range, the first cell includes a first field with a value of rededbw-FR 1-DL and a second field with a value of rededbw-FR 1-UL, and the values of the first and second fields are set to a first preset value, for example, 0MHz. If the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range at the same time, and the UE desires to release the SCG in the two frequency ranges, the first cell further includes a third field and a fourth field, in addition to the first field and the second field, and the field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value, such as 0MHz.

302. The eNB sends an MRDC message to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gmnb receives the MRDC message.

In this step, the eNB passes the MRDC message to the gNB.

303. The gNB parses the MRDC message to obtain NR RRC assistance information.

304. The gNB determines whether SCG can be released, and if so, executes steps 305 and 307; otherwise, if the gNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 308 is executed.

Illustratively, after the gNB obtains the NR RRC assistance information, it finds that the UE desires to release the SCG, and the gNB determines whether the SCG can be released. If the gNB determines that the SCG can be released, step 305 and step 307 are executed to release the resource corresponding to the SCG and instruct the UE to release the SCG; if the gNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 308 is executed.

305. And the gNB releases the resources corresponding to the SCG.

306. The gNB sends NR RRC assistance information to the eNB.

Illustratively, the gNB synchronizes the NR RRC assistance information to the eNB over the inter-base station interface. For example, the gNB sends cell group configuration information (CG-config) carrying NR RRC assistance information to the eNB.

307. The eNB sends indication information to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the indication information.

Specifically, refer to the description of step 207 above, which is not repeated herein.

308. The UE releases the SCG.

309. The SCG is retained.

Illustratively, the gNB does not release the resources corresponding to the SCG, and does not send indication information to the UE to indicate the UE to release the SCG, but continues to reserve the SCG.

It should be noted that, in the above step 304, the gNB determines whether to release the SCG, however, the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and in another feasible implementation, the gNB may send the NR RRC assistance information to the eNB through an inter-base station interface, for example, the gNB carries the LTE RRC assistance information in CG-config and sends the LTE RRC assistance information to the eNB. And after receiving the NR RRC auxiliary information, the eNB finds that the UE expects to release the SCG, and then judges whether the SCG can be released. And if the eNB judges that the SCG can be released, the eNB sends indication information to the UE to indicate the UE to release the SCG, and sends SCG release information to the gNB to indicate the gNB to release resources corresponding to the SCG.

In this embodiment, the UE actively initiates SCG release by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the main network device.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another SCG release method provided in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the primary network device is an eNB, the secondary network device is a gNB, and the auxiliary information is NR RRC auxiliary information, where this embodiment includes:

401. the UE sends NR RRC assistance information to the gNB.

Accordingly, the gNB receives the NR RRC assistance information.

Illustratively, the UE sends NR RRC auxiliary information through a Signaling Resource Bearer (SRB) 3 of the SCG, where a first cell included in the NR RRC auxiliary information is association information-v1540-Ies. If the UE desires to release the SCG in the first frequency range, the first cell includes a first field of reduced dbw-FR1-DL and a second field of reduced dbw-FR1-UL, and the field values of the first and second fields are a first preset value, for example, 0MHz. If the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range at the same time, and the UE desires to release the SCG in the two frequency ranges, the first cell further includes a third field and a fourth field, in addition to the first field and the second field, and the field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value, such as 0MHz.

402. Judging whether the SCG can be released by the gNB, and if the SCG can be released by the gNB, executing the step 403 and the step 405; otherwise, if the gNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 407 is executed.

Illustratively, after the gNB obtains the NR RRC assistance information, it finds that the UE desires to release the SCG, and the gNB determines whether the SCG can be released. If the gNB determines that the SCG can be released, step 403 and step 405 are executed to release the resource corresponding to the SCG and instruct the UE to release the SCG; if the gNB determines that the SCG cannot be released, step 407 is performed.

403. And the gNB releases the resources corresponding to the SCG.

404. The gNB sends NR RRC assistance information to the eNB.

405. The eNB sends indication information to the UE.

Accordingly, the UE receives the indication information.

For details, reference may be made to the description of step 207 above, which is not described herein again.

406. The UE releases the SCG.

407. The SCG is retained.

Illustratively, the gNB does not release the SCG corresponding thereto, and does not send indication information to the UE to instruct the UE to release the SCG, but continues to reserve the SCG.

It should be noted that, in the above step 402, the gNB determines whether to release the SCG, however, the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and in other feasible implementation manners, the gNB may send the NR RRC assistance information to the eNB through an inter-base station interface, for example, the gNB carries the LTE RRC assistance information in the CG-config and sends the CG-config to the eNB. And after receiving the NR RRC auxiliary information, the eNB finds that the UE expects to release the SCG, and then judges whether the SCG can be released. And if the eNB judges that the SCG can be released, the eNB sends indication information to the UE to indicate the UE to release the SCG, and sends SCG release information to the gNB to indicate the gNB to release resources corresponding to the SCG.

In this embodiment, the UE actively triggers the primary network device to release the SCG by sending the NR RRC auxiliary information to the secondary network device.

It should be noted that, although fig. 4, fig. 5, and fig. 6 all use an EN-DC architecture as an example to describe the embodiment of the present application in detail, the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this, and in a DC architecture such as an NGEN-DC architecture, an NE-DC architecture, and an NR-DC architecture, the UE may also actively trigger the master base station to release the SCG.

In addition, it should be further noted that, in the foregoing embodiment, after the UE releases the SCG, if the UE wants to request the secondary network device to configure the SCG at the first frequency for the secondary network device to enter the DC state, at this time, the UE sets the first field and the second field in the first cell in the auxiliary information to the second preset value, and then the UE sends the second preset value to the network device, such as the primary network device or the secondary play device, so that the secondary network device configures the SCG at the first frequency for the secondary network device. In addition, if the UE further wants to request the secondary network device to configure the SCG at the second frequency for the secondary network device, the UE sets a third field and a fourth field included in the first cell in the secondary information to a third preset value and sends the third field and the fourth field to the secondary network device or the primary network device.

Fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a user equipment provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the user equipment 1 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 101, a network module 102, an audio output unit 103, an input unit 104, a sensor 105, a display unit 106, a user input unit 107, an interface unit 108, a memory 109, a processor 110, a power supply 111, and the like. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the user equipment architecture shown in fig. 7 does not constitute a limitation of the user equipment, and that the user equipment 1 may comprise more or less components than those shown, or some components may be combined, or a different arrangement of components. In the embodiment of the present application, the user device includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a palmtop computer, and the like.

A user input unit 107 for receiving user input; a display unit 106 for displaying contents according to an input in response to the input received by the user input unit 107.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the radio frequency unit 101 may be used for receiving and transmitting signals during a message transmission or call process, and specifically, receive downlink data from a primary base station or a secondary base station, and then process the received downlink data to the processor 110; in addition, the uplink data is transmitted to the primary base station or the secondary base station. Typically, radio frequency unit 101 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the radio frequency unit 101 can also communicate with a network and other devices through a wireless communication system.

The user device provides wireless broadband internet access to the user via the network module 102, such as assisting the user in sending and receiving e-mails, browsing web pages, and accessing streaming media.

The audio output unit 103 may convert audio data received by the radio frequency unit 101 or the network module 102 or stored in the memory 109 into an audio signal and output as sound. Also, the audio output unit 103 may also provide audio output related to a specific function performed by the user equipment 100 (e.g., a call signal reception sound, a message reception sound, etc.). The audio output unit 103 includes a speaker, a buzzer, a receiver, and the like.

The input unit 104 is used to receive an audio or video signal. The input Unit 104 may include a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) 1041 and a microphone 1042, the Graphics processor 1041 being configured to process image data of a picture or video captured by a camera or the like. The processed image frames may be displayed on the display unit 106. The image frames processed by the graphic processor 1041 may be stored in the memory 109 (or other storage medium) or transmitted via the radio frequency unit 101 or the network module 102. The microphone 1042 may receive sound and may be capable of processing such sound into audio data. The processed audio data may be converted into a format output transmittable to a mobile communication base station via the radio frequency unit 101 in case of a phone call mode.

The user equipment 1 further comprises at least one sensor 105, such as a light sensor, a motion sensor, and other sensors. Specifically, the light sensor includes an ambient light sensor that can adjust the brightness of the display panel 1061 according to the brightness of ambient light, and a proximity sensor that can turn off the display panel 1061 and/or the backlight when the user device 100 is moved to the ear. As one of the motion sensors, the accelerometer sensor can detect the magnitude of acceleration in each direction (generally three axes), detect the magnitude and direction of gravity when stationary, and can be used to identify the user equipment posture (such as horizontal and vertical screen switching, related games, magnetometer posture calibration), vibration identification related functions (such as pedometer, tapping), and the like; the sensors 105 may also include fingerprint sensors, pressure sensors, iris sensors, molecular sensors, gyroscopes, barometers, hygrometers, thermometers, infrared sensors, etc., which are not described in detail herein.

The display unit 106 is used to display information input by a user or information provided to the user. The Display unit 106 may include a Display panel 1061, and the Display panel 1061 may be configured in the form of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), or the like.

The user input unit 107 may be used to receive input numeric or character information and generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the user device. Specifically, the user input unit 107 includes a touch panel 1071 and other input devices 1072. Touch panel 1071, also referred to as a touch screen, may collect touch operations by a user on or near it (e.g., operations by a user on touch panel 1071 or near touch panel 1071 using a finger, a stylus, or any other suitable object or attachment). The touch panel 1071 may include two parts of a touch detection device and a touch controller. The touch detection device detects the touch direction of a user, detects a signal brought by touch operation and transmits the signal to the touch controller; the touch controller receives touch information from the touch sensing device, converts the touch information into touch point coordinates, sends the touch point coordinates to the processor 110, and receives and executes commands sent by the processor 110. In addition, the touch panel 1071 may be implemented in various types, such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared ray, and a surface acoustic wave. The user input unit 107 may include other input devices 1072 in addition to the touch panel 1071. Specifically, the other input devices 1072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which are not described herein again.

Further, the touch panel 1071 may be overlaid on the display panel 1061, and when the touch panel 1071 detects a touch operation thereon or nearby, the touch panel 1071 transmits the touch operation to the processor 110 to determine the type of the touch event, and then the processor 110 provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel 1061 according to the type of the touch event. Although in fig. 7, the touch panel 1071 and the display panel 1061 are two independent components to implement the input and output functions of the user equipment, in some embodiments, the touch panel 1071 and the display panel 1061 may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the user equipment, which is not limited herein.

The interface unit 108 is an interface for connecting an external device to the user equipment 100. For example, the external device may include a wired or wireless headset port, an external power supply (or battery charger) port, a wired or wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio input/output (I/O) port, a video I/O port, an earphone port, and the like. The interface unit 108 may be used to receive input (e.g., data information, power, etc.) from an external device and transmit the received input to one or more elements within the user equipment 100 or may be used to transmit data between the user equipment 100 and the external device.

The memory 109 may be used to store software programs as well as various data. The memory 109 may mainly include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area may store an operating system, an application program required by at least one function (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.), and the like; the storage data area may store data (such as audio data, a phonebook, etc.) created according to the use of the cellular phone, etc. Further, the memory 109 may include high speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other volatile solid state storage device.

The processor 110 is a control center of the user equipment, connects various parts of the entire user equipment using various interfaces and lines, performs various functions of the user equipment and processes data by running or executing software programs and/or modules stored in the memory 109 and calling data stored in the memory 109, thereby performing overall monitoring of the user equipment. Processor 110 may include one or more processing units; alternatively, the processor 110 may integrate an application processor, which mainly handles operating systems, user interfaces, application programs, etc., and a modem processor, which mainly handles wireless communications. It will be appreciated that the modem processor described above may not be integrated into the processor 110.

Claims

1. A user equipment, UE, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the UE establishes dual connectivity with a primary network device and a secondary network device, the processor when executing the program performing the steps of:

the UE sends auxiliary information to network equipment, the network equipment is the main network equipment or the auxiliary network equipment, the auxiliary information carries a first information element, the first information element comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the downlink frequency width configured for the UE when an auxiliary cell group (SCG) is in a first frequency range, the second field is used for indicating that the UE expects the auxiliary network equipment to be the uplink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and the field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values;

the UE receiving indication information from the primary network device;

and the UE releases a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the first frequency range according to the indication information.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is in the first frequency range and a second frequency range, wherein the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, wherein the third field is used to indicate a downlink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, wherein the fourth field is used to indicate an uplink frequency width that the UE expects the secondary network device to configure for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and wherein field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value;

after the UE transmits the auxiliary information, the method further includes:

the UE releases the SCG in the second frequency range.

3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the assistance information is LTE RRC assistance information, wherein the first information element is an added information element in the LTE RRC assistance information, wherein the first field is reduddBW-FR 1-DL, wherein the second field is reduddBW-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is reduddBW-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is reduddBW-FR 2-UL.

4. The UE of claim 3, wherein the UE sends assistance information comprising:

the UE sends the LTE RRC auxiliary information to the main network equipment.

5. The UE of claim 2, wherein the assistance information is new radio NR radio resource control RRC assistance information, wherein the first information element is an element of v1540 in the NR RRC assistance information, wherein the first field is rededbw-FR 1-DL, wherein the first field is rededbw-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is rededbw-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is rededbw-FR 2-UL.

6. The UE of claim 5, wherein the UE sends assistance information comprising:

7. The UE of claim 5, wherein the UE sends assistance information comprising:

8. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

the field values of the first field and the second field are second preset values, and the second preset values are different from the first preset values.

9. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 7,

the main network device is an LTE network device, and the auxiliary network device is an NR network device.

10. The UE of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first preset value is 0MHz.

11. A primary network device comprising: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein a user equipment UE establishes dual connectivity with the primary and secondary network devices, the processor executing the program to perform the steps of:

12. A primary network device as recited in claim 11,

the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate that the UE expects the downlink frequency width configured for the UE by the secondary network device when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate that the UE expects the uplink frequency width configured for the UE by the secondary network device when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are first preset values;

13. The primary network device of claim 12, wherein the assistance information is Long Term Evolution (LTE) Radio Resource Control (RRC) assistance information, wherein the first cell is a newly added cell in the LTE RRC assistance information, wherein the first field is reduddBW-FR 1-DL, wherein the second field is reduddBW-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is reduddBW-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is reduddBW-FR 2-UL.

14. The primary network device of claim 13, wherein the receiving assistance information comprises:

15. The primary network device of claim 12, wherein the assistance information is new radio NR radio resource control RRC assistance information, wherein the first information element is a v1540 information element of the NR RRC assistance information, wherein the first field is reduddbw-FR 1-DL, wherein the first field is reduddbw-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is redudbw-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is reduddbw-FR 2-UL.

16. The primary network device of claim 15, wherein the receiving assistance information comprises:

17. A master network device as claimed in any of claims 11 to 16, wherein the master network device sends an indication to the UE, comprising:

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

18. A master network device according to any of claims 11-16, wherein the first preset value is 0MHz.

19. A secondary network device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein a user equipment UE establishes dual connectivity with a primary network device and a secondary network device, the processor when executing the program performs the steps of:

the auxiliary network device receives auxiliary information from the UE, where the auxiliary information carries a first cell, where the first cell includes a first field and a second field, the first field is used to indicate that the UE expects the downlink frequency width configured for the UE by the auxiliary network device when the SCG is in a first frequency range, the second field is used to indicate that the UE expects the uplink frequency width configured for the UE by the auxiliary network device when the SCG is in the first frequency range, and field values of the first field and the second field are first preset values;

the auxiliary network device sends the auxiliary information to the main network device, the main network device is used for sending indication information to the UE, and the indication information is used for indicating the UE to release an auxiliary cell group SCG in the first frequency range.

20. The secondary network device of claim 19,

the SCG is in the first frequency range and the second frequency range, the first information element further includes a third field and a fourth field, the third field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to be the downlink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, the fourth field is used to indicate that the UE expects the secondary network device to be the uplink frequency width configured for the UE when the SCG is in the second frequency range, and field values of the third field and the fourth field are a first preset value.

21. The secondary network device of claim 20, wherein the auxiliary information is Long Term Evolution (LTE) Radio Resource Control (RRC) auxiliary information, wherein the first cell is a newly added cell in the LTE RRC auxiliary information, wherein the first field is reduddBW-FR 1-DL, wherein the second field is reduddBW-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is reduddBW-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is reduddBW-FR 2-UL.

22. The secondary network device of claim 20, wherein the assistance information is new radio NR radio resource control RRC assistance information, wherein the first information element is a v1540 information element in the NR RRC assistance information, wherein the first field is reduddbw-FR 1-DL, wherein the first field is reduddbw-FR 1-UL, wherein the third field is redudbw-FR 2-DL, and wherein the fourth field is reduddbw-FR 2-UL.

23. The secondary network device of claim 22, wherein the secondary network device receives assistance information, comprising:

24. The secondary network device of claim 22, wherein the secondary network device receives assistance information, comprising:

and the auxiliary network equipment receives the NR RRC auxiliary information sent by the UE.

25. The secondary network device according to any of claims 19 to 24, further comprising, after receiving the assistance information:

alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

26. The secondary network device according to any of claims 19 to 24, wherein the first preset value is 0MHz.