CN117812738A

CN117812738A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117812738A
Application number: CN202211364627.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李晨琬; 李娇娇; 史玉龙; 陈磊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2022-11-02
Publication date: 2024-04-02

Abstract

The embodiment of the application relates to a communication method and device, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the network equipment sends a first message to the terminal equipment, wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink bandwidth part BWP special for the terminal equipment; the network equipment receives a second message from the terminal equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment; after receiving the second message, the network device sends a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP. In the method, the network device and the terminal device use the first initial downlink BWP transmission message special for the terminal device after the second message, and the network device and the terminal device can align the BWP of the terminal device at the same time so that the network device adopts the first initial downlink BWP transmission message special for the terminal device to reduce resource waste.

Description

Communication method and device

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from the chinese patent application filed at 2022, 09, 30, with the chinese national intellectual property agency, application number 202211216568.8, application name "a communication method and apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

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

Background

With the rapid development of wireless communication, a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) system has been developed to meet and enrich the increasing demands of people. The method can effectively cope with the increase of the mobile data flow with future explosiveness, and support the connection of massive devices and various new services continuously emerging.

A simple terminal equipment reduction capability (reduced capability, redCap) User Equipment (UE) was introduced on the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) standard. The RedCap UE supports narrower bandwidth and lower capability than a normal New Radio (NR) UE.

Both the RedCap UE and the NR UE may access on a secondary uplink (supplementary uplink, SUL) carrier. However, when the RedCap UE and the NR UE access together on the SUL carrier, the network device cannot distinguish the type of the access UE, so as to ensure that the UE receives the response message correctly, the network device may send the response message in both an initial downlink partial Bandwidth (BWP) and an initial downlink BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE, which leads to resource waste.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device for reducing resource waste.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including the following steps: the network equipment sends a first message to the terminal equipment, wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink bandwidth part BWP special for the terminal equipment; the network equipment receives a second message from the terminal equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment; after receiving the second message, the network device sends a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP.

In the method, the network device and the terminal device use the first initial downlink BWP transmission message special for the terminal device after the second message, and the network device and the terminal device can align the BWP operated by the terminal device so that the network device adopts the first initial downlink BWP transmission message special for the terminal device to reduce resource waste.

In one possible implementation, after receiving the second message, the network device may also send a fourth message to the terminal device using the second initial downstream BWP before sending the third message to the terminal device using the first downstream BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by the legacy terminal device and/or the control resource set CORESET #0.

In one possible implementation, the second message is message msg3 and the third message is msg4; or the second message is msg3 or msg1, and the fourth message is msg4.

In one possible implementation, the third message or the fourth message includes one of the following: a radio resource control, RRC, setup message, RRC resume message, or RRC reestablishment message.

In one possible implementation, the network device may also determine that no dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device are configured for the terminal device before the network device receives the second message from the terminal device. In the random access procedure, if the network device does not configure a dedicated random access resource for the reduced capability terminal device, when the reduced capability terminal device uses the dedicated random access resource to transmit msg1, the network device cannot achieve the identification of msg1, and thus cannot guarantee the alignment of the BWP working with the terminal device between the network device and the terminal device, and therefore, alignment needs to be performed through subsequent message interaction.

In one possible implementation, the network device sends the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP if the network device determines that dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device are configured for the terminal device. If the network device is configured with the msg1 identification, the terminal device can be directly used to reduce the initial downlink BWP special for the capability terminal device, and the BWP for aligning the terminal device work with the terminal device can be ensured, thereby reducing the network waste.

In one possible implementation, the fifth message includes one of: msg2 or msg4.

In one possible implementation, the network device may further send a feature combination preamble to the terminal device, where the feature combination preamble is used to indicate to configure dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device; or the network device may also send additional random access configuration information to the terminal device, the additional random access configuration information being used to indicate to configure dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, when the network device receives the second message from the terminal device, the network device may receive the second message using the initial uplink BWP of the normal uplink carrier; or the network device may receive the second message using the secondary uplink carrier.

In one possible implementation, when the first initial downlink BWP is used to send the third message to the terminal device, the first initial downlink BWP may be used to send the third message to the terminal device if the network device receives the second message using the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device. In this implementation, if the terminal device sends the second message to the network device using the dedicated random access resource, the network device may identify that the terminal device is a reduced capability terminal device, and the network device and the terminal device may align the BWP in which the terminal device operates to be the first initial downlink BWP.

In one possible implementation, if the network device receives the second message using a random access resource other than the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device, the second initial downlink BWP may also be used to send a sixth message to the terminal device; or the sixth message may also be transmitted to the terminal device using the first and second initial downlink BWP. In this implementation, if the terminal device does not use the dedicated random access resource to send the second message to the network device, the network device cannot identify that the type of the terminal device is a reduced capability terminal device, and the network device and the terminal device may not align with the BWP where the terminal device is operating, so that the network device sends the sixth message through the second initial downlink BWP, or the second initial downlink BWP and the first initial downlink BWP, and normal operation of the terminal device may be ensured.

In one possible implementation, the second message is msg1 and the sixth message is msg2 or msg4.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including the following steps: the terminal equipment receives a first message from the network equipment, wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink bandwidth part BWP special for the terminal equipment; the terminal equipment sends a second message to the network equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment; after sending the second message, the terminal device receives a third message using the first initial downlink BWP.

In one possible implementation, after sending the second message, the terminal device may also receive a fourth message from the network device using the second initial downlink BWP before receiving the third message using the first initial downlink BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by the legacy terminal device and/or the control resource set CORESET #0.

In one possible implementation, the terminal device may also determine that the network device has not configured dedicated random access resources for the reduced capability terminal device before the terminal device sends the second message to the network device.

In one possible implementation, the terminal device may also receive the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP if the terminal device determines that the network device has configured dedicated random access resources for the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the terminal device may further receive a feature combination preamble, where the feature combination preamble is used to indicate to configure dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device; or the terminal device may also receive additional random access configuration information indicating to configure the terminal device with dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device.

In one possible implementation, when the terminal device sends the second message to the network device, the terminal device may send the second message using the initial uplink BWP of the normal uplink carrier; or the terminal device may send the second message using the secondary uplink carrier.

In one possible implementation, when the terminal device sends the second message to the network device, the terminal may select a dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message.

In one possible implementation, when the terminal device sends the second message to the network device, the terminal device may select other random access resources than the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message.

In one possible implementation, the terminal device receives a sixth message from the network device at the second initial downlink BWP; or the terminal device receives the sixth message from the network device at the first and second initial downlink BWP.

In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be the above-mentioned network device or terminal device, or a chip provided in the network device or terminal device. The communication device may implement the method in the first or second aspect.

The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the above method, where the modules, units or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a processing unit. The communication device may implement the method in the first or second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a processor. The processor may be adapted to perform the method of the first or second aspect described above.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory, the processor being operable to execute instructions in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of the first or second aspect described above.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises an interface circuit, the processor being coupled to the interface circuit.

The interface circuit may be a code/data read/write interface circuit for receiving computer-executable instructions (stored in memory, possibly read directly from memory, or possibly via other means) and transmitting to the processor for causing the processor to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

In some possible designs, the communication device may be a chip or a system-on-chip.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and to receive signals via the receiver and to transmit signals via the transmitter to perform the method of the first or second aspect described above.

Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor or the memory may be separate from the processor.

In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transient (non-transitory) memory, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or may be separately disposed on different chips.

The communication device may be a chip, and the processor may be implemented by hardware or software, and when implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated in the processor, or may reside outside the processor, and exist separately.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a processor comprising: input circuit, output circuit and processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal via the input circuit and transmit a signal via the output circuit, such that the processor performs the method of the first or second aspect.

In a specific implementation process, the processor may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, various logic circuits, and the like. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example and without limitation, a receiver, the output signal may be output by, for example and without limitation, a transmitter and transmitted by a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as the input circuit and the output circuit, respectively, at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manner of the processor and the various circuits.

An eighth aspect provides a communication apparatus, comprising: logic circuitry and an input-output interface for communicating with a module external to the communication device; the logic circuitry is configured to run a computer program to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The communication means may be or comprise a network device or a terminal device of the above first or second aspect, or comprise a device such as a chip.

Alternatively, the input/output interface may be a code/data read/write interface circuit, for receiving a computer program (the computer program being stored in a memory, possibly read directly from the memory, or possibly via other means) and transmitting to the input/output interface, for causing the input/output interface to run the computer program to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

Alternatively, the communication device may be a chip.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which, when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of the first or second aspect described above.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first or second aspects described above.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a chip system comprising a processor and an interface for supporting a communication device to implement the functions referred to in the first or second aspects above. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for holding necessary information and data for the aforementioned communication device. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

A twelfth aspect provides a functional entity for implementing the method of the first to second aspects above.

A thirteenth aspect provides a communication system comprising the network device and the terminal device of the first or second aspect.

The technical effects of any one of the design manners of the second aspect to the thirteenth aspect may be referred to the technical effects of the first aspect, and are not repeated herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a BWP schematic diagram of an uplink carrier and downlink carrier configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a process schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a random access procedure according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a BWP schematic diagram of an uplink carrier and downlink carrier configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6a is a BWP schematic diagram of an uplink carrier and downlink carrier configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6b is a BWP schematic diagram of an uplink carrier and downlink carrier configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to a mobile communication system. For example, the wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN), the mobile communication system may be a universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS) system, a code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, a fourth generation (4th Generation,4G) communication system (e.g., long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system), a fifth generation mobile communication (5th generation,5G) communication system (e.g., new Radio (NR) system), a sixth generation mobile communication (6th generation,6G) system, and other future communication systems, etc., and further support a plurality of wireless technology converged communication systems, for example, a system that may also be applied to a non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial network, NTN) converged terrestrial mobile communication network such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, satellite communication system, high altitude platform (high altitude platform station, HAPS) communication, etc.

Referring to fig. 1, a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application includes a network device and a terminal device. The network device is used for sending downlink signals to the terminal device or receiving uplink signals from the terminal device. The terminal device is used for receiving the downlink signal from the network device or transmitting the uplink signal to the terminal device. Fig. 1 is merely an example, and is not limited to the type of communication system and the number, type, etc. of devices included in the communication system.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc., which is a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user, or may also be an internet of things device. For example, the terminal device includes a handheld device having a wireless connection function, an in-vehicle device, and the like. The terminal device may be: a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, a palmtop, a mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, a smartband, a pedometer, etc.), a vehicle-mounted device (e.g., an automobile, a bicycle, an electric car, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed rail, etc.), a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in an industrial control (industrial control), a smart home device (e.g., a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), a smart robot, a workshop device, a wireless terminal in a drone (self driving), a wireless terminal in a teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in a smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in a transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in a smart city (smart city), or a wireless terminal in a smart home (smart home), a flying device (e.g., a smart robot, a hot balloon, an airplane, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the devices for implementing the above functions are collectively described by taking a terminal device as an example.

The network device in the embodiment of the present application is a device in a network for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network. The network device may be a node in a radio access network, also referred to as a base station, and also referred to as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) node (or device). The network device may be operable to inter-convert the received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved Node B (NodeB) or an eNB or an e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a), or may also include a next generation Node B (next generation Node B, gNB) in a New Radio (NR) system of a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th generation,5G), or may also include a transmission receiving point (transmission reception point, TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), or a WiFi Access Point (AP), etc., and may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a cloud access network (cloud radio access network, cloudRAN) system, which embodiments of the present application are not limited.

In some implementation scenarios, the network device further comprises a core network device for managing users, data transmissions, etc., including, for example, access and mobility management functions (access and mobility management function, AMF), user plane functions (user plane function, UPF), session management functions (session management function, SMF), etc.

In the communication system, the terminal device further includes a RedCap UE, where a maximum bandwidth of the RedCap UE is 20 Megahertz (MHZ) at a maximum in a frequency range1 (frequency range1, FR 1), and is 100MHZ at a maximum bandwidth in a frequency range2 (frequency range2, FR 2). Compared with the common NR UE, the maximum bandwidth supported by the RedCAP UE is narrower and the capability is lower.

Uplink and downlink BWP Specific (Specific) to the RedCap UE are supported in the present discussion, including dedicated initial Uplink (UL) BWP and/or dedicated initial Downlink (DL) BWP. As shown in fig. 2, the UL carriers include a Normal Uplink (NUL) carrier and a secondary uplink (supplementary uplink, SUL) carrier. In NUL carrier, if the original UL BWP specific to the RedCap UE (e.g., redCap Specific initial UL BWP) and/or the original DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE (e.g., redCap Specific DL BWP) are configured, the RedCap UE uses the original UL BWP specific to the RedCap UE and/or the original DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE. If the original UL BWP specific to the RedCap UE and/or the original DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE are not configured, and the legacy (legacy) original UL BWP and/or legacy initial DL BWP meets the bandwidth requirement of the RedCap UE, i.e., legacy initial UL BWP and/or legacy initial DL BWP does not exceed the maximum bandwidth of the RedCap UE, the RedCap UE may also select legacy initial UL BWP and/or legacy initial DL BWP. The RedCap UE also supports a SUL feature for transmitting data when uplink coverage is poor, and no initial UL BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE is currently configured on the SUL carrier, that is, only the initial UL BWP is included on the SUL carrier, and both the RedCap UE and the NR UE can be accessed on the SUL carrier. The conditions for selecting SUL carrier by the RedCAP UE and the NR UE include: when the network device configures the SUL carrier in the broadcast, the RedCAP UE and the NR UE select a random access (random access channel, RACH) resource access contained in BWP on the SUL carrier if the reference signal received power (reference signal receiving power, RSRP) of the network signal measured by the RedCAP UE and the NR UE is below a threshold (such as an RSRP threshold (RSRP-Threshold-SUL) for SUL carrier selection).

For NR UE, if NR UE selects SUL carrier access, the corresponding downlink BWP is initial DL BWP of NUL. For the RedCap UE, the RedCap UE selects SUL carrier access, and if the network device configures an initial DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE for the RedCap UE, the corresponding downlink BWP is the initial DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE.

However, when the RedCap UE and the NR UE access together on the SUL carrier, the network cannot distinguish the type of the access UE, so that in order to ensure that the UE receives the response message correctly, the base station may send the response message in both the initial DL BWP and the initial DL BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE, which causes resource waste.

Based on this, the embodiment of the application provides a communication method, and fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the communication method, including the following steps:

s301: the network device sends a first message to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the first message correspondingly.

Wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink BWP specific to the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be a reduced capability terminal, such as a RedCap UE, and the terminal device-specific first initial downlink BWP may be a RedCap UE-specific initial DL BWP.

S302: the terminal device sends a second message to the network device, and the network device receives the second message correspondingly.

The second message is used to indicate that the terminal device is a reduced capability terminal device, such as a RedCap UE.

S303: the network device sends a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP after receiving the second message, and the terminal device receives the third message using the first initial downlink BWP after receiving the second message.

In S303 above, the timing at which the network device transmits the third message using the first initial downlink BWP may be as follows:

first time: the network device directly uses the first initial downlink BWP to send the third message to the terminal device after receiving the second message, i.e. the network device uses the first initial downlink BWP to send the third message after receiving the second message, and the terminal device uses the first initial downlink BWP to receive the third message after sending the second message.

Illustratively, the second message is message (msg) 3 and the third message is msg4, i.e., the network device schedules msg4 transmissions on the initial DL BWP specific to the RedCap UE after receiving msg3. In this example, the RedCap UE may be identified by the network device during random access, and the RedCap UE may identify the RedCap UE by reporting msg3 indicating the type of the RedCap UE. It will be appreciated that since the network device and the RedCap UE are aligned with the RedCap UE-specific initial DL BWP after msg3, the network device may send other messages or data to the RedCap UE on the RedCap UE-specific initial DL BWP after msg4 in addition to scheduling the msg4 transmission.

Referring to fig. 4, a random access procedure for a terminal device includes the following steps:

s401: the terminal device sends a random access preamble (preamble), also called msg1, to the network device.

S402: the network device returns a random access response to the terminal device.

S403: the terminal device sends msg3 to the network device. In this example, msg3 may indicate that the terminal device is a RedCap UE if the terminal device is a RedCap UE.

S404: the network device sends msg4 to the terminal device.

Alternatively, in the random access procedure, the terminal device may send msg1 using the dedicated random access resource of the RedCap UE, so that the network device recognizes the RedCap UE through msg1, and the relevant content will be described later.

As yet another example, the third message includes, but is not limited to, one of: radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) setup (RRCSetup) message, RRC resume (rrcreseume) message, or RRC reestablishment (rrcreestablischent) message. Optionally, msg4 includes, but is not limited to, one of the following: RRCSetup message, rrcreseume message, or rrcreestiblastment message.

And a second time: the network device sends the fourth message using the second initial downlink BWP after receiving the second message, and sends the third message using the first initial downlink BWP after sending the fourth message, i.e. the timing of sending the third message using the first initial downlink BWP is after sending the fourth message for the network device, and correspondingly, the timing of receiving the third message using the first initial downlink BWP is after receiving the fourth message for the terminal device.

The second initial downlink BWP may include an initial downlink BWP used by a legacy terminal device, and/or a control resource set (control resource set, CORESET) #0. The bandwidths and/or starting locations of the first and second initial downstream BWP may be different or the same, alternatively the bandwidth of the first initial downstream BWP is less than or equal to the bandwidth of the second initial downstream BWP. In one possible scenario, the second initial downlink BWP (e.g., called initial DL BWP) includes all CORESET #0 within the serving cell, and the terminal device (including legacy UE and RedCap UE) remains on CORESET #0 until RRCSetup/rrcrepsume/rrcreestibluent is received;

One possible scenario is that if the first initial downlink BWP (e.g. called initial DL BWP-RedCap or RedCap Specific initial DL BWP) comprises all CORESET #0 within the serving cell, the terminal device (including the RedCap UE) remains on CORESET #0 until the RRCSetup/rrcresseme/rrcreestiblescent is received, if the first initial downlink BWP does not comprise all CORESET #0 within the serving cell, the terminal device receives a downlink message using the first initial downlink BWP during and/or after the initial access, in other words, whether or not there is an identification of msg1 (or whether there is an identification of msg1 may not be considered), as long as the first initial downlink BWP comprises CORESET #0, the initial downlink BWP used by the terminal device during and/or after the initial access is the first initial downlink BWP. In this scenario, the terminal does not need to determine whether there is a message 1 identification, as well as other factors. For example, the first initial downlink BWP, i.e., the original DL BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE, may be RedCap Specific initial DL BWP in the current 3GPP protocol, and the second initial downlink BWP may be the original DL BWP in the current 3GPP protocol.

Illustratively, the second message is msg3 or msg1 and the fourth message is msg4, i.e., the network device sends msg4 using the second initial downstream BWP after receiving msg3 or msg1, and then schedules other messages or data at the first initial downstream BWP. That is, since the network device and the RedCap UE align the RedCap UE-specific initial DL BWP after msg4, the network device may send other messages or data to the RedCap UE on the RedCap UE-specific initial DL BWP after msg 4. Also taking the above random access procedure as an example, the terminal device may indicate that the terminal device is a RedCap UE through msg3 (msg 3 may use a dedicated logical channel identifier to indicate that the terminal device is a RedCap UE), or may use a dedicated random access resource of the RedCap UE to send msg1.

As yet another example, the fourth message includes, but is not limited to, one of: RRCSetup message, rrcreseume message, or rrcreestiblastment message. Optionally, msg4 includes, but is not limited to, one of the following: RRCSetup message, rrcreseume message, or rrcreestiblastment message.

In a possible implementation, before S302, the network device determines that no dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device. In the random access procedure, if the network device does not configure a dedicated random access resource for the reduced capability terminal device, when the reduced capability terminal device does not transmit msg1 using the dedicated random access resource, the network device cannot achieve the identification of msg1, and thus cannot guarantee the BWP working with the alignment terminal device between the network device and the terminal device, and therefore alignment by interaction of subsequent messages is required (such as the procedure shown in fig. 3 above).

Optionally, if the network device configures the terminal device with dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device, the network device sends the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP, and the terminal device receives the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP, accordingly. By way of example, the fifth message includes, but is not limited to: msg2, msg4, or other messages or data.

When the network device configures the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device, the network device may be configured as follows:

configuration mode one: the network device sends a feature combination preamble to the terminal device, where the feature combination preamble is used to instruct the terminal device to configure a dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device. For example, the network device sends RACH configuration information to the terminal device, where the RACH configuration information includes a feature combination preamble list (featurecom preambilist), where feature combination preambles (featurecom preambiles) indicate RACH resources configured for the RedCap UE, that is, the RedCap indication in featurecom preambiles is set to TRUE (TRUE). The configured resource may be indicated here as a dedicated preamble configured for the RedCap UE.

Configuration mode II: the network device sends additional random access configuration information to the terminal device, the additional random access configuration information being used for indicating to configure dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device. For example, the network device sends a general uplink BWP parameter (BWP-uplink command) to the terminal device, where the BWP-uplink command includes random access configuration information (additionrach-configuration), and the additionrach-configuration indicates that RACH resources are configured for the repacp UE, that is, the repacp indication in the feature combination (FeatureCombination) in the additionrach-configuration is set to TRUE. The configured resources may be indicated herein as being dedicated preambles and/or dedicated random access time-frequency Resources (ROs) configured for the RedCap UE.

In S302 above, when the network device receives the second message from the terminal device, the network device may receive the second message using the initial uplink BWP of the normal uplink carrier or may receive the second message using the auxiliary uplink carrier. The normal uplink carrier may be a NUL carrier and the auxiliary uplink carrier may be a SUL carrier.

Two possible scenarios are described below.

Scene one: a reduced capability terminal device (hereinafter referred to as a RedCap UE) selects SUL carrier access. As shown in fig. 5, the UL carriers include a SUL carrier on which an initial UL BWP is configured and a NUL carrier on which a (legacy) initial UL BWP is configured, and a DL carrier on which an (legacy) initial DL BWP and a Specific initial DL BWP are configured, i.e., redCap Specific initial DL BWP in fig. 5.

The network device configures SUL carrier for the random access procedure, and when RSRP of the RedCAP UE is lower than a threshold (such as RSRP-Threshold SSB-SUL), the RedCAP UE selects the SUL carrier for the random access procedure.

Based on whether to configure the original downlink BWP specific to the RedCap UE, the network device and the RedCap UE may determine the original downlink BWP in which the RedCap UE operates:

case 1.1:

if the network device configures an initial downlink BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE, the network device and the RedCap UE may determine the initial downlink BWP in which the RedCap UE operates in the following manner:

Mode 1: the RedCap UE receives the downlink message before and/or during receipt of msg4 (e.g., RRCSetup/rrcreseume/rrcreestablistant message), and the network device determines that the RedCap UE receives the downlink message using legacy initial DL BWP (e.g., initial DL BWP) or CORESET #0 before and/or during transmission of msg4, respectively.

Optionally, the RedCap UE after receiving msg4, and correspondingly, the network device after transmitting msg4, determines RedCap Specific DL BWP (e.g., initial DL BWP-RedCap or RedCap Specific initial DL BWP) for use by the RedCap UE. Or the RedCap UE determines RedCap Specific initial DL BWP that the RedCap UE uses after sending msg3 and correspondingly, the network device receives msg 3. Wherein, when the RedCap UE transmits msg3, the RedCap UE type may be indicated to the network device through the logical channel identifier.

In this mode 1, the bandwidth of coreset#0 does not normally exceed the bandwidth requirement of the RedCap UE, so the RedCap UE can receive the downstream message using coreset#0 before and/or when msg4 is received. The legacy UE may also receive the downlink message using CORESET #0 before receiving msg4, where the behaviour of both legacy UE and RedCap UE is the same. CORESET #0 may be located within the (legacy) initial DL BWP, and the bandwidth of CORESET #0 is less than or equal to the bandwidth of legacy initial DL BWP.

Mode 2: the initial downstream BWP on which the RedCap UE operates is related to the identification of whether the network device configures msg 1.

If the network device has configured the identification of msg1, such as the FeatureCompactionPreambles RedCap indication in FeatureCompactionPreambles in the RACH configuration information is set to TRUE, or the FeatureCompactionRedCap indication in AdaptionRACH-Config included in BWP-UpLinkCommon is set to TRUE, then it is determined that the RedCap UE is in use RedCap Specific initial DL BWP.

If the network device is not configured with the identification of msg1, the determination of RedCap UE usage RedCap Specific DL BWP may be performed in manner 1 described above, and the similarities are not repeated.

In this manner, the terminal device and the network device determine an initial downlink BWP for the operation of the RedCap UE according to the identification of whether the network device configures msg1 and the timing at which the terminal device may operate in the downlink BWP, so that the network device and the terminal device can align the BWP for the operation of the terminal device.

Case 1.2:

if the network device does not configure the original downlink BWP specific to the RedCap UE, the network device and the RedCap UE determine legacy initial DL BWP for the RedCap UE.

Scene II: the RedCap UE may receive the second message using the initial upstream BWP of the NUL carrier. As shown in fig. 6a, the UL carrier includes legacy initial UL BWP and DL carriers are configured with legacy initial DL BWP and RedCap Specific initial DL BWP.

The network device does not configure uplink BWP specific to the RedCap UE, but only configures legacy initial UL BWP, and if legacy initial UL BWP meets the bandwidth requirement of the RedCap UE, the RedCap UE may choose to perform the random access procedure on the RACH resource of legacy initial UL BWP.

case 2.1:

if the network device configures an initial downlink BWP dedicated to the RedCap UE, the network device and the RedCap UE may determine the initial downlink BWP in which the RedCap UE operates in the first and/or second modes as described above, and the similarities are not repeated.

Case 2.2:

In some scenarios, for example, in RACH segmentation (part) scenarios, the network device may configure dedicated access resources (called a RedCap RA resource or RedCap Specific RA resource or RA resource configured with RedCap indication) of the RedCap UE for the terminal device, but the priority of configuring the dedicated access resources is lower, and the dedicated random access resources configured for other characteristics are higher, such as slice random access (slice RA) resources or coverage enhanced random access resources, as shown in fig. 6b, NUL carriers include legacy initial UL BWP, slice RA resources and RedCap RA resources. In this scenario, the RA resource that the RedCap UE may select is not a RedCap RA resource configured for the RedCap UE, so the network device still cannot identify whether the terminal device is the RedCap UE, and the network device and the terminal device may not be aligned with the BWP in which the terminal device works. For other scenarios, there may be situations where the network device and the terminal device may not be aligned, for example, the terminal device sends a system information (system information, SI) request on the SUL carrier or the NUL carrier, and the RA resource used by the terminal device to send the SI request is not a RedCap RA resource; or the RedCap UE selects the SUL carrier access, but the SUL carrier also does not configure the resources of message 1 requesting SI, so it needs to request using message 3, etc. In these scenarios, the network device cannot identify whether the terminal device is a RedCap UE, and cannot align BWP with the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, in S302, the terminal selects the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message, and correspondingly, if the network device receives the second message using the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device, in S303, the network device may send a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP. In this implementation, the network device configures a RedCap RA resource for the RedCap UE, and if the RedCap UE selects the dedicated random access resource for transmitting the second message to be the RedCap RA resource, since the network device previously configured an initial downlink BWP dedicated for the RedCap UE for the terminal device (i.e., the first initial downlink BWP described above), the network device may send a message on the initial downlink BWP dedicated for the RedCap UE (e.g., initial DL BWP-RedCap or RedCap Specific initial DL BWP), and the RedCap UE receives the third message on the dedicated initial downlink BWP or listens to the physical downlink control channel (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH).

In another possible implementation, in S302, the terminal selects other random access resources than the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message, and correspondingly, if the network device receives the second message using the other random access resources.

When the network device sends a message to the terminal device, in one example, the network device sends a sixth message to the terminal device using the second initial downstream BWP. In this implementation, when the network device configures the RedCap RA resource for the RedCap UE, if the RedCap UE selects the dedicated random access resource for transmitting the second message to be a non-RedCap RA resource, the terminal device may receive the sixth message at initial DL BWP or coreset#0 or monitor the PDCCH.

When the network device sends a message to the terminal device, in yet another example, the network device sends a sixth message to the terminal device using the first initial downstream BWP and the second initial downstream BWP. In this implementation, when the network device configures a RedCap RA resource for the RedCap UE, if the RedCap UE selects a dedicated random access resource for transmitting the second message to be a non-RedCap RA resource, the terminal device may receive the sixth message or monitor the PDCCH at the initial DL BWP-RedCap and/or the initial DL BWP and/or coreset#0; or the terminal device may listen to the PDCCH only at initial DL BWP-RedCap. In this example, taking the random access procedure as an example, after the base station configures an initial DL BWP-RedCap for the RedCap UE, if the preamble is received in non-RedCap Specific initial UL BWP or msg1 is received on other RA resources, the base station may send a random access response on both the initial DL BWP-RedCap and the initial DL BWP, which may cause a certain waste, but may ensure the normal operation of the RedCap UE.

The RedCap RA resource may be understood as an access resource associated with the RedCap characteristics, i.e. the network device may determine the characteristics of the UE or the type of UE terminal as a RedCap UE by receiving a message from the RedCap RA resource.

Optionally, the second message is msg1 and the sixth message is msg2 or msg4.

Optionally, in the random access procedure, if the RedCap UE listens to the PDCCH or receives the msg2 at the initial DL BWP or coreset#0, the RedCap UE may use the initial DL BWP-RedCap to receive the msg4 or listen to the PDCCH after sending the msg 3; or if the RedCap UE receives msg4 at initial DL BWP or coreset#0, the RedCap UE may use initial DL BWP-RedCap to monitor PDCCH or take the initial DL BWP-RedCap as active BWP.

Optionally, to prevent these problems, another implementation manner of the network device is that the network device does not configure an initial DL BWP-RedCap in the above case; or the network device may make it possible for the RedCap UE to select RA resources to the RedCap such as configuring dedicated uplink BWP, or set the priority of the RedCap UE highest, or configure the RedCap dedicated resources on legacy RA resources, etc.

The above problem may also occur in RRC connected state, where when the connected state random access procedure is triggered, the RedCap UE may still select non-RedCap RA resources, so that the network still cannot recognize that the terminal being accessed is a RedCap terminal. Based on this, one way is: if the base station configures an initial DL BWP-RedCap for the RedCap UE, if the RedCap UE selects a dedicated random access resource for transmitting the second message as a non-RedCap RA resource, the RedCap UE switches the downlink active BWP to the initial DL BWP or switches the active downlink BWP to the initial DL BWP-RedCap if the terminal bandwidth does not support the initial DL BWP bandwidth, or switches the active downlink BWP to the initial DL BWP if the terminal bandwidth does not support the initial DL BWP, otherwise (i.e., switches the active downlink BWP to the initial DL BWP if the terminal bandwidth supports the initial DL BWP bandwidth). For a request SI scenario, such as a request for message 1 (request) where the RedCap UE selects the resources of SI-request for initial UL BWP, the RedCap UE may listen to PDCCH using initial DL BWP.

It can be understood that the schemes provided in the embodiments of the present application may be used independently or in combination.

By means of the schemes provided by the embodiments of the present application, the timing of selecting/using/listening legacy initial DL BWP and RedCap Specific initial DL BWP by the terminal device is limited, so that the network device and the terminal device can align the BWP operated by the terminal device, compared with the case that only RedCap Specific initial DL BWP is configured in the related art, the madcap UE will use RedCap Specific initial DL BWP, the network device can determine the BWP operated by the terminal device, and there is no need to send multiple response messages or schedules in multiple BWP, thereby reducing resource waste.

Based on the same technical concept as the above-mentioned communication method, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, as shown in fig. 7, where the communication device 700 includes a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702, and the communication device 700 may be used to implement the method described in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The apparatus 700 may be applied to or located in a network device or terminal device.

In one possible embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be applied to a network device. Specifically, the processing unit 701 is configured to generate a first message, where the first message is used to configure a first initial downlink BWP specific to the terminal device; a transceiver unit 702, configured to send a first message to a terminal device; receiving a second message from the terminal device, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal device to be a reduced-capability terminal device; after receiving the second message, a third message is sent to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send a fourth message to the terminal device using the second initial downlink BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by the legacy terminal device, and/or CORESET #0.

In one implementation, the second message may be message msg3 and the third message may be msg4; or the second message may be msg3 or msg1 and the fourth message may be msg4.

In one implementation, the third message or the fourth message comprises one of the following: RRC setup message, RRC resume message, or RRC reestablishment message.

In an implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to determine that no dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device.

In one implementation, the transceiving unit 702 is further configured to send the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP if it is determined that the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device.

In one implementation, the fifth message may include one of: msg2 or msg4.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send a feature combination preamble to the terminal device, where the feature combination preamble is used to indicate to configure a dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device; or sending additional random access configuration information to the terminal equipment, wherein the additional random access configuration information is used for indicating to configure the special random access resource of the reduced-capability terminal equipment for the terminal equipment.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is specifically configured to receive the second message using an initial uplink BWP of a normal uplink carrier; or receive the second message using the secondary uplink carrier.

In one implementation, the transceiving unit 702 is specifically configured to send the third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP if the second message is received using the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is specifically configured to send the sixth message to the terminal device using the second initial downlink BWP if the second message is received using a random access resource other than the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device; or transmitting a sixth message to the terminal device using the first and second initial downlink BWP.

In one implementation, the second message is msg1 and the sixth message is msg2 or msg4.

In one possible embodiment, the apparatus 700 may also be applied to a terminal device. Specifically, the transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive a first message from a network device, where the first message is used to configure a first initial downlink BWP specific to a terminal device; a processing unit 701, configured to generate a second message, where the second message is used to instruct the terminal device to be a reduced capability terminal device; the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send a second message to the network device; after the second message is transmitted, a third message is received using the first initial downstream BWP.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive a fourth message from the network device using the second initial downlink BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by the legacy terminal device, and/or CORESET #0.

In an implementation, the processing unit 701 is further configured to determine that the network device does not configure dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device.

In one implementation, the transceiving unit 702 is further configured to receive the fifth message using the first initial downlink BWP if it is determined that the network device configures dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device.

In one implementation, the fifth message may include one of: msg2 or msg4.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive a feature combination preamble, where the feature combination preamble is used to indicate that a dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device; or receiving additional random access configuration information, wherein the additional random access configuration information is used for indicating that dedicated random access resources of the reduced capability terminal equipment are configured for the terminal equipment.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is specifically configured to send the second message using an initial uplink BWP of a normal uplink carrier; or send the second message using the secondary uplink carrier.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is specifically configured to select a dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message.

In one implementation, the transceiver unit 702 is specifically configured to select, by the terminal device, another random access resource other than the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device to send the second message.

In one implementation, the terminal device receives a sixth message from the network device at the second initial downlink BWP; or the terminal device receives the sixth message from the network device at the first and second initial downlink BWP.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, the division of the modules is merely schematic, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation, and in addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the integrated unit may be stored as a computer software product in a storage medium, comprising instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a radio access network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application.

As shown in fig. 8, the embodiment of the application further provides a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 800. The apparatus 800 may be used to implement the methods described in the method embodiments described above, see the description of the method embodiments described above.

The apparatus 800 includes one or more processors 801. The processor 801 may be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor, or the like. For example, a baseband processor, or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor may be used to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a terminal, or a chip, etc.), execute a software program, and process the data of the software program. The communication device may comprise a transceiver unit for enabling input (reception) and output (transmission) of signals. For example, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver, a radio frequency chip, or the like.

The apparatus 800 includes one or more processors 801, and the one or more processors 801 may implement the methods of the embodiments shown above. Alternatively, the processor 801 may implement other functions in addition to the methods of the embodiments shown above.

Alternatively, in one design, processor 801 may execute instructions to cause apparatus 800 to perform the methods described in the method embodiments above. The instructions may be stored in whole or in part within a processor, such as instruction 803, or in whole or in part within a memory 802 coupled to the processor, such as instruction 804, or may cause the apparatus 800 to perform the methods described in the method embodiments above by the instructions 803 and 804 together. The instructions 803 are also referred to as a computer program.

In yet another possible design, the communication device 800 may also include circuitry that may perform the functions of the foregoing method embodiments.

In yet another possible design, the apparatus 800 may include one or more memories 802 having instructions 804 stored thereon that are executable on a processor to cause the apparatus 800 to perform the methods described in the method embodiments above. Optionally, the memory may also have data stored therein. The optional processor may also store instructions and/or data. For example, the one or more memories 802 may store the correspondence described in the above embodiments, or related parameters or tables or the like involved in the above embodiments. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated.

In yet another possible design, the apparatus 800 may further include a transceiver 805 and an antenna 806. The processor 801 may be referred to as a processing unit and controls the devices (terminals or base stations). The transceiver 805 may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver unit, or the like, for implementing a transceiver function of the apparatus through the antenna 806.

The processor may be a general purpose central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present application, a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), off-the-shelf programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The disclosed methods, steps, and logic blocks in the embodiments of the present application 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 a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in hardware, in a decoded processor, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoded processor. The software modules may be in a storage medium located in a memory.

The memory may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile Memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash Memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) which acts as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double Data Rate SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory. The memory may be stand alone and be coupled to the processor via a communication line. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

It will be appreciated that the architecture shown in fig. 8 does not constitute a specific limitation on the network device or the terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, a network device or terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine certain components, or may split certain components, or may have a different arrangement of components. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

The present application also provides a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a computer, implements the communication method of any of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a computer, implements the communication method of any of the method embodiments described above.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, 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. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions in accordance with embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be the communication device described above. Computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. The computer readable storage medium may be the storage medium described above or the memory described above.

In one possible design, when the communication device is a chip, such as a chip in a radio access network device, or a chip in a terminal device, the determining unit or processor 801 may be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver unit or transceiver 805 may be an input-output interface, also referred to as a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, or the like. Or the transceiver 805 may be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, the transmitting unit may be an output interface, and the receiving unit may be an input interface, and the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are integrated into one unit, for example, an input-output interface. As shown in fig. 9, the communication apparatus 900 shown in fig. 9 includes a logic circuit 901 and an interface circuit 902. That is, the processing unit or processor 801 may be implemented with logic 901, and the transceiver unit or transceiver 805 may be implemented with interface circuitry 902. The logic circuit 901 may be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit, a system on chip (SoC) chip, or the like, and the interface circuit 902 may be a communication interface, an input/output interface, or the like. In the embodiment of the application, the logic circuit and the interface circuit may also be coupled to each other. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to specific connection modes of the logic circuit and the interface circuit.

In some embodiments of the present application, the logic and interface circuits may be used to perform the functions or operations performed by the radio access network device or the terminal device described above, and so on. Illustratively, the interface circuit 902 is configured to generate a first message. Logic 901 is operable to transmit a first message.

The functions or operations performed by the radio access network device or the terminal device may refer to the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in electronic hardware, in computer software, or in a combination of the two, and that the elements and steps of the examples have been generally described in terms of function in the foregoing description to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software 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.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of elements is merely a logical functional division, and there may be additional divisions of actual implementation, e.g., multiple elements or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not performed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices, or elements, or may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of connection.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purposes of the embodiments of the present application.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

From the above description of embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application may be implemented in hardware, or firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions described above may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer.

In summary, the foregoing is merely an example of the technical solution of the present application, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the principles of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the network equipment sends a first message to the terminal equipment, wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink bandwidth part BWP special for the terminal equipment;

the network equipment receives a second message from the terminal equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment;

The network device sends a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP after receiving the second message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device, after receiving the second message, before sending a third message to the terminal device using the first downlink BWP, further comprises:

the network device sends a fourth message to the terminal device by using a second initial downlink BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by a legacy terminal device, and/or a control resource set CORESET #0.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second message is message msg3 and the third message is msg4; or alternatively

The second message is msg3 or msg1, and the fourth message is msg4.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the third message or the fourth message comprises one of: a radio resource control, RRC, setup message, RRC resume message, or RRC reestablishment message.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein prior to the network device receiving the second message from the terminal device, further comprising:

The network device determines that the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device is not configured for the terminal device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

and if the network device determines that the dedicated random access resource of the reduced-capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device, the network device sends a fifth message by using the first initial downlink BWP.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fifth message comprises one of: msg2 or msg4.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the method further comprises:

the network device sends a characteristic combination lead code to the terminal device, wherein the characteristic combination lead code is used for indicating that the terminal device is configured with the special random access resource of the reduced-capacity terminal device; or alternatively

The network device sends additional random access configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the additional random access configuration information is used for indicating that the dedicated random access resource of the reduced-capability terminal device is configured for the terminal device.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the network device receiving the second message from the terminal device comprises:

The network device receives the second message by using the initial uplink BWP of the normal uplink carrier; or alternatively

The network device receives the second message using an auxiliary uplink carrier.

10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein said sending a third message to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP comprises:

and if the network equipment receives the second message by using the special random access resource of the reduced-capacity terminal equipment, sending a third message to the terminal equipment by using the first initial downlink BWP.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the method further comprises:

if the network device receives the second message by using other random access resources except the special random access resource of the reduced-capacity terminal device, a sixth message is sent to the terminal device by using a second initial downlink BWP; or alternatively

And sending a sixth message to the terminal equipment by using the first initial downlink BWP and the second initial downlink BWP.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second message is msg1 and the sixth message is msg2 or msg4.

13. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the terminal equipment receives a first message from the network equipment, wherein the first message is used for configuring a first initial downlink bandwidth part BWP special for the terminal equipment;

the terminal equipment sends a second message to the network equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment;

the terminal device receives a third message using the first initial downlink BWP after transmitting the second message.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the terminal device, after transmitting the second message, before receiving a third message using the first initial downstream BWP, further comprises:

the terminal device receives a fourth message from the network device using a second initial downlink BWP; the second initial downlink BWP includes an initial downlink BWP used by a legacy terminal device, and/or a control resource set CORESET #0.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second message is message msg3 and the third message is msg4; or alternatively

The second message is msg3 or msg1, and the fourth message is msg4.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third message or the fourth message comprises one of: a radio resource control, RRC, setup message, RRC resume message, or RRC reestablishment message.

17. The method according to any of claims 13-16, wherein before the terminal device sends the second message to the network device, further comprising:

the terminal device determines that the network device does not configure the dedicated random access resource of the reduced capability terminal device for the terminal device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

and if the terminal equipment determines that the network equipment configures the special random access resource of the reduced-capability terminal equipment for the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment receives a fifth message by using the first initial downlink BWP.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the fifth message comprises one of: msg2 or msg4.

20. The method of any one of claims 13-19, wherein the method further comprises:

the terminal equipment receives a characteristic combination lead code, wherein the characteristic combination lead code is used for indicating that the special random access resource of the reduced-capacity terminal equipment is configured for the terminal equipment; or alternatively

The terminal device receives additional random access configuration information, wherein the additional random access configuration information is used for indicating that dedicated random access resources of the reduced-capability terminal device are configured for the terminal device.

21. The method of any of claims 13-20, wherein the terminal device sending a second message to the network device comprises:

the terminal equipment uses the initial uplink BWP of the normal uplink carrier to send the second message; or alternatively

And the terminal equipment uses an auxiliary uplink carrier to send the second message.

22. The method of any of claims 13-21, wherein the terminal device sending a second message to the network device comprises:

and the terminal equipment selects the special random access resource of the capacity-reducing terminal equipment to send the second message.

23. The method of any of claims 13-22, wherein the terminal device sending a second message to the network device comprises:

the terminal device selects other random access resources except the special random access resource of the reduced-capacity terminal device to send the second message.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises:

The terminal device receives a sixth message from the network device at the second initial downlink BWP; or alternatively

The terminal device receives a sixth message from the network device at the first initial downlink BWP and the second initial downlink BWP.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second message is msg1 and the sixth message is msg2 or msg4.

26. A communication apparatus, for use with a network device, comprising:

a processing unit, configured to generate a first message, where the first message is used to configure a first initial downlink bandwidth portion BWP dedicated to a terminal device;

a transceiver unit, configured to send the first message to the terminal device; receiving a second message from the terminal equipment, wherein the second message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be the reduced-capacity terminal equipment; after receiving the second message, a third message is sent to the terminal device using the first initial downlink BWP.

27. A communication apparatus, characterized by being applied to a terminal device, comprising:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first message from a network device, where the first message is used to configure a first initial downlink bandwidth portion BWP dedicated to the terminal device;

A processing unit, configured to generate a second message, where the second message is used to instruct the terminal device to be a reduced capability terminal device;

the receiving and transmitting unit is further configured to send a second message to the network device; after the second message is transmitted, a third message is received using the first initial downlink BWP.

28. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled to a memory;

the processor for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-25.

29. A chip system, the chip system comprising: a processing circuit; the processing circuit is coupled with a storage medium;

the processing circuitry being adapted to execute part or all of the computer program or instructions in the storage medium, which, when executed, is adapted to carry out the method of any one of claims 1-25.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1-25 to be performed.