WO2019136684A1

WO2019136684A1 - Method for communication over multiple bandwidth parts, device, and computer readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2019136684A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/072366
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徐夏刚; 杨涛
Original assignee: 上海诺基亚贝尔股份有限公司
Priority date: 2018-01-12
Filing date: 2018-01-12
Publication date: 2019-07-18
Also published as: CN111587600B; CN111587600A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for communication over multiple bandwidth parts (BWP), a device, and a computer readable storage medium. According to the embodiments of the present invention, in the case of receiving a switching instruction, a terminal device is switched from at least one default BWP to at least one conventional BWP from a plurality of conventional BWPs; the at least one default BWP and the at least one conventional BWP can be used for wireless communication of the terminal device; the terminal device starts at least one timer associated with the at least one conventional BWP; the at least one timer associated with the at least one conventional BWP expires, the terminal device is switched from the at least one conventional BWP back to the at least one default BWP. By means of the method in the embodiments of the present invention, the terminal device may provide the plurality of timers for the plurality of conventional BWPs simultaneously in an activated state. Therefore, more flexible configuration for activation and deactivation operations of the plurality of conventional BWPs may be implemented, so that better performance concerning data transmission and power consumption is obtained.

Description

Method, device and computer readable storage medium for communicating over a multi-bandwidth portion

Technical field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication technologies and, more particularly, to methods, apparatuses, and computer readable storage media for wireless communication over a frequency band including a default bandwidth portion (BWP) and a conventional BWP.

Background technique

In next generation wireless communications such as 5G New Radio (NR), the system operates on very large frequency bands, for example up to 1 GHz. For terminal equipment, its radio frequency (RF) device may be required to monitor and receive radio frequency signals from network equipment in a very large frequency band, which poses a challenge to the implementation complexity and radio frequency power consumption of the radio equipment of the terminal equipment. In response to the above-mentioned problem of radio frequency power consumption, BWP is proposed by a standardization organization such as 3GPP to implement a more flexible working band configuration for the terminal device. In particular, the activation bandwidth for one BWP can be configured to be small compared to the entire system bandwidth, so on an activated BWP, the radio device of the terminal device can monitor the radio signal only on a relatively small frequency band, It is advantageous to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

For example, according to 3GPP TS 38.211, a bandwidth portion may be a contiguous set of physical resource blocks, which may, for example, be selected from one of the common resource blocks for a given numerology on a given carrier. Subset. In one system, the terminal device may be configured to support up to 4 BWPs, and only one BWP is active at a given time. For the downlink, the terminal device does not expect to receive a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), or a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) outside of the activated BWP. For the uplink, the terminal device does not transmit signals of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) outside the currently activated BWP.

Summary of the invention

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method implemented at a terminal device is provided. The method includes, in response to receiving a handover indication, switching from at least one default BWP associated with the handover indication to at least one regular BWP from a plurality of regular BWPs, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP being available for the Communicating with the terminal device; initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP, a timer associated with the time at which the terminal device uses the regular BWP associated therewith; and responsive to being associated with the at least one regular BWP The at least one timer expires, switching back from the at least one regular BWP to the at least one default BWP.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes: a processor, and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform an action of: at least one associated with the handover indication in response to receiving the handover indication The default BWP switches to at least one regular BWP from a plurality of regular BWPs, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP being available for communication by the terminal device; initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP, one The timer is associated with a time at which the terminal device uses a regular BWP associated therewith; and in response to expiration of the at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP, switching back from the at least one regular BWP to the at least one The default BWP.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium includes program code stored thereon that, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform the method according to the first aspect.

It is to be understood that the content of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily understood by the following description.

DRAWINGS

The objects, advantages and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the aspects of the appended claims. A non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment is given herein for the purpose of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system supporting BWP;

2 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method implemented at a terminal device, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

4 illustrates yet another schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates yet another schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a terminal device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the various figures, the same or corresponding reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is understood that the invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. A more complete and complete understanding of the present disclosure. The drawings and the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

The term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) as used herein refers to any entity or device capable of wireless communication with or between network devices. As an example, the terminal device may include a mobile terminal (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station (PSS), a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT), the above-described device onboard, and a machine having a communication function. Or electrical appliances, etc.

The term "network device" as used herein refers to any suitable entity or device capable of providing a cell or coverage such that a terminal device can access or receive services from or through the network. Examples of network devices include, for example, base stations. The term "base station" (BS) as used herein may refer to a Node B (NodeB or NB), a 5G new radio node (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH). ), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, or a low power node such as a pico base station, a femto base station, or the like.

The term "comprising" and variations thereof as used herein are open-ended, ie, "including but not limited to". The term "based on" is "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment." The terms "first", "first", etc. are used only to distinguish one element from another. In fact, the first element can also be called the second element, and vice versa. Relevant definitions of other terms will be given in the description below.

For ease of explanation, some embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein in the context of wireless communication, such as cellular communication, and employs terms such as LTE/LTE-Advanced (LTE/LTE-A) or 5G as defined by 3GPP. However, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present disclosure are in no way limited to a wireless communication system that complies with the wireless communication protocol established by 3GPP, but can be applied to any communication system having similar problems, such as WLAN, wired. Communication systems, or other communication systems developed in the future.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system 100 that supports BWP communication. In this example, BWP communication system 100 can include network device 110 and terminal device 120. In the BWP communication system 100, the network device 110 provides a wireless connection through the uplink including the plurality of BWPs and the downlink for the terminal devices 120 within its coverage. It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. The BWP communication system 100 can include any suitable number of network devices as well as terminal devices.

Without loss of generality, communications in the BWP communication system 100 can follow any suitable wireless communication technology and corresponding communication standards. Examples of communication technologies include, but are not limited to, 5G NR, LTE-A, LTE, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, Zigbee Technology, Machine Type Communication (MTC), D2D, or M2M, and the like. Moreover, communications may be performed in accordance with any suitable communication protocol including, but not limited to, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / Internet Protocol (IP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Sessions A protocol such as a description protocol (SDP).

In general, a BWP refers to a part of the spectrum on a carrier bandwidth of a cell. Further, in the process in which the terminal device 120 communicates with the network device 110 through the BWP, the terminal device 120 only needs to detect that the BWP is received. Radio signal. As an example, in communication supporting BWP, the frequency band of the communication system 100 can be divided into two types, a default BWP and a regular BWP. The default BWP and the number of regular BWPs can be configured according to the actual needs of the system. In the default BWP, the terminal device 120 may receive only a small amount of system signaling such as a synchronization signal as necessary, and thus the terminal device 120 may silence part of the radio unit, so that the power consumption of the terminal device 120 may be reduced. Compared to the default BWP, the terminal device 120 may be listening to a larger system bandwidth in a conventional BWP, thereby consuming more RF power.

In the case where the terminal device 120 intends to perform normal service data transmission, the terminal device 120 will switch from the default BWP to the regular BWP according to the indication or signaling of the network device 110, so that the terminal device 120 can receive the information from the network device 110. The configuration and scheduling information of the service data, and the normal service data transmission is performed according to the above configuration and scheduling information. In the case that the terminal device 120 has no data transmission for a certain period of time, if some system configured timer expires, the terminal device 120 will return from the regular BWP to the default BWP to save the terminal device 120, particularly the radio frequency device. Power consumption.

In a conventional BWP communication system, the terminal device has only one active regular BWP, and the network device can configure a timer for an activated regular BWP. When the timer expires, the terminal device will return from the activated regular BWP to the default BWP in order to save terminal device power consumption. However, in such an arrangement, the flexibility of the terminal device in terms of data transmission and power consumption reduction is limited, thereby failing to meet the needs of certain application scenarios such as high-rate communication.

In order to at least partially address the above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure describe a communication transmission scheme in which a plurality of default BWPs and a plurality of activatable regular BWPs can be configured for the terminal device 120. In accordance with embodiments described herein, in a BWP-enabled transmission, the terminal device 120 switches from one or more default BWPs to one or more regular BWPs upon receiving a handover indication from the network device 110, ie The one or more regular BWPs will be in an active state. The terminal device 120 can also initiate one or more timers for the one or more activated regular BWPs. In the event that the one or more timers expire, this means that the terminal device 120 may have no need for data communication on the activated BWP for a period of time, so the terminal device 120 may be from the one or more according to the system configuration. The activated regular BWPs are returned to one or more default BWPs to save power consumption of the terminal device 120.

Unlike a conventional communication system in which only one active BWP is configured, according to a communication scheme of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device 120 may be configured with at least one activated regular BWP, and the at least one activated regular BWP may be configured with a corresponding At least one timer. For example, in a case where the at least one timer expires, the terminal device 120 may return from the at least one regular BWP to the default BWP. In some implementations, if a certain timer expires, the regular BWP associated with the timer will be deactivated to further reduce the power consumption of the terminal device 120. Therefore, the BWP communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can implement a more flexible BWP and timer configuration, and can achieve better system performance in terms of data transmission, power saving, and the like according to actual needs.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 200 implemented at a terminal device, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following description, the method 200 illustrated in FIG. 3 is described with the terminal device 120 as an example. It should be understood that method 300 can also be performed, for example, at other suitable terminal devices. Without loss of generality, it is assumed that the BWP communication system corresponding to the terminal device 120 includes at least one default BWP and a plurality of regular BWPs.

At block 210, the terminal device 120 determines if it has received a handover indication from the network device 110. In the present disclosure, the handover indication refers to an indication that triggers the terminal device 120 to perform a handover from a default BWP to a regular BWP. For example, the handover indication may be at least one of: downlink control information (DCI) delivered by the PDCCH of the network device 110, a medium access control (MAC) control unit (CE), and, for example, radio resource control (RRC). High-level signaling such as signaling. In some embodiments, network device 110 may determine that terminal device 120 is to begin performing data transmission services, so network device 110 sends a handover indication to terminal device 120 to cause one or more regular BWPs to activate. Accordingly, the terminal device 120 can listen for downlink control information or uplink grants from the network device 110 on the one or more activated regular BWPs to initiate uplink and downlink data transmission services.

At block 220, the terminal device 120 switches from at least one default BWP associated with the handover indication to at least one regular BWP from the plurality of regular BWPs. For example, the terminal device 120 is in the operating band of the default BWP to reduce the power consumption of the radio frequency device before receiving the handover indication from the network device 110. After the terminal device 120 switches to the regular BWP, it will listen for the bandwidth corresponding to the regular BWP for data transmission service.

At block 230, the terminal device 120 initiates at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP. In one embodiment, each of the at least one regular BWP may correspond to a different timer. In another embodiment, the at least one regular BWP may correspond to the same timer. In still another embodiment, some of the at least one regular BWP may correspond to the same timer. It should be understood that the at least one regular BWP may have a different correspondence with at least one timer, and the correspondence is pre-configured for the network device 110 and the terminal device 120. Alternatively or additionally, the correspondence may be periodically changed by system signaling.

In some embodiments, where the terminal device 120 switches from at least one default BWP to at least one regular BWP, the terminal device 120 can initiate at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP. It can be understood that this case corresponds to the case where the radio frequency device of the terminal device 120 is very sensitive to power consumption. In this case, the terminal device 120 starts the above-mentioned at least one timer regardless of whether or not the data transmission of the uplink and downlink is currently performed, so as to return to the default BWP as soon as the timer expires.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may initiate the at least one regular BWP if the terminal device 120 switches to the at least one regular BWP and it receives a scheduling indication for the at least one regular BWP. Associated at least one timer. In this case, the terminal device 120 will extend its time of communication on the regular BWP. This would be advantageous for the terminal device 120 requiring a large data rate because delaying the initiation of the at least one timer can prevent the terminal device 120 from returning to the default BWP early and can avoid the terminal device 120 between the default BWP and the regular BWP. The ping-pong effect of switching. As an example, the scheduling indication may be at least one of an uplink grant from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 and downlink control information for transmission from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120.

Additionally, in some embodiments, where the terminal device 120 receives a data scheduling indication for a regular BWP in at least one regular BWP, the terminal device 120 can reset a timer associated with the regular BWP, ie, The duration of a regular BWP that is in a regular BWP before returning to the default BWP will be longer. That is, in this case, the terminal device 120 can be kept on the regular BWP for a longer time in order to reduce the number of times the terminal device 120 switches between the default BWP and the regular BWP.

Additionally, in some embodiments, if the network device 110 determines that there is no data transmission requirement for the terminal device 120 for a period of time, the network device 110 may signal the terminal device in a manner such as DCI, MAC CE, or RRC signaling. 120 may suspend the corresponding timer to avoid the terminal device 120 returning to the default BWP too early. In this case, the terminal device 120 will stop listening to the DCI indication on the PDCCH in order to reduce the complexity of the terminal device 120 performing blind detection on the PDCCH. Thereafter, the terminal device 120 may receive another indication indicating that data transmission is to be performed, and the terminal device 120 may continue to detect the PDCCH.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, at block 240, the terminal device 120 determines if the at least one timer has expired. A timer is associated with the time at which the terminal device uses the regular BWP associated with it. Through the timer, the terminal device 120 can determine when to switch back to the default BWP from the regular BWP so that the terminal device 120 can return to the default BWP as soon as possible without the need for data transmission to reduce the bandwidth to be monitored and reduce power consumption. If each of the at least one timer expires, it means that the terminal device 120 may not have uplink and downlink traffic to be transmitted for a certain period of time, so the terminal device 120 may return to the default BWP.

In some embodiments, when one of the at least one timer expires, the terminal device 120 deactivates the regular BWP associated with the timer to further save power consumption of the radio frequency device, and the terminal device 120 Waiting until the timers for all of the regular BWPs have expired, the terminal device 120 can return from the regular BWP to the default BWP.

At block 250, in a case where the terminal device 120 determines whether the at least one timer expires, the terminal device 120 switches back from the at least one regular BWP to the at least one default BWP to reduce power consumption of the radio frequency.

As described above, at least one of the timers mentioned above may be the same timer, that is, all activated at least one regular BWP may correspond to the same timer. In this case, when this timer expires, the terminal device 120 returns from the regular BWP to the default BWP. Alternatively, the at least one timer described above may be a different timer from each other, that is, a separate timer may be configured for each regular BWP. In this case, the terminal device 120 returns to the default BWP if all of these timers expire. Alternatively, only a part of the timers of the at least one timer may be the same timer. In particular, the invention is not limited in this regard.

It should be understood that the handover indications, at least one regular BWP, and at least one default BWP described above may all be associated with one group or may all be defined for one group. The group indicates a time and frequency configuration of the terminal device 120. As an example, the group can be associated with a digital structure configuration of a physical layer communication frame structure of the BWP communication system. In the NR communication system, a digital structure corresponds to a system configuration of time slots and subcarriers of the frame structure of the communication system. It should be understood that the method of the embodiments described above may be performed for at least one regular BWP and at least one default BWP for a corresponding group. For the case of multiple groups, the methods described above can be performed for each group. As an example, in response to receiving a handover indication for a certain group, the terminal device 120 may switch to a plurality of regular BWPs from a plurality of default BWPs associated with the group. Further, when a plurality of timers associated with a plurality of regular BWPs for the group are expired, the terminal device 120 may return to the plurality of default BWPs from the plurality of regular BWPs for the group. It should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

Through the above discussion, the terminal device 120 can configure one or more timers for a plurality of activated regular BWPs, and can return the terminal device 120 to the default BWP if the timers for the regular BWPs of one packet are expired. . In some embodiments, the terminal device 120, upon receipt of the data scheduling indication, may reset the timer associated therewith to extend its time on the regular BWP to better serve the data transmission service. Therefore, through the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can implement more flexible system performance in terms of power saving and data transmission by configuring multiple regular BWPs and multiple timers, thereby satisfying different The requirements of the application scenario.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The example communication process illustrated in FIG. 3 may be performed, for example, at terminal device 120 or other suitable device. Without loss of generality, it is assumed that there is a default BWP in the BWP communication system, namely BWP0 and four regular BWPs, namely BWP1, BWP2, BWP3 and BWP4. Further, it is assumed that the four regular BWPs in the BWP communication system correspond to the same timer, that is, the timer Timer0 as shown in FIG.

It is assumed that the terminal device 120 is on the BWP0 to save radio frequency power consumption. In this case, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is small, that is, RF0 as shown in the figure. In the case where, for example, a handover instruction is received, the terminal device 120 switches 311 from BWP0 to BWP1. The terminal device 120 may initiate the 321 timer Timer0 in response to switching to BWP1 or in response to receiving the DCI. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 2 on the BWP 1, the terminal device 120 may activate 312BWP2 and reset 322 the timer Timer0. In this case, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is RF2. Similarly, when the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 3 on the BWP 2, the terminal device 120 may activate 313 BWP 3 and reset 323 the timer Timer0 again. In this case, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is RF3. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 4 on the BWP 3, the terminal device 120 may activate 314 BWP 4 and reset 324 the timer Timer0 again. In this case, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is RF4.

As shown in the figure, after the terminal device 120 resets 324 the timer Timer0 for the last time, if the DCI is not received again on each of the regular BWPs, the common timer Timer0 expires 325. In response to the expiration of the same timer Timer0, the terminal device 120 returns 315, 316, 317, 318 from the respective regular BWP1-BWP4 to the default BWP0.

4 illustrates yet another schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The example communication process illustrated in FIG. 4 may be performed, for example, at terminal device 120 or other suitable device. Without loss of generality, it is assumed that there is a default BWP in the BWP communication system, namely BWP0 and four regular BWPs, namely BWP1, BWP2, BWP3 and BWP4. Further, it is assumed that BWP1 to BWP3 in the BWP communication system correspond to one group, and BWP4 corresponds to another group. The timer for the group of BWP1 to BWP3 is the first timer Timer1, and the timer for the group of BWP4 is the second timer Timer2.

Assume that the terminal device 120 is on BWP0. Correspondingly, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is indicated by RF0. In the case where, for example, a handover instruction is received, the terminal device 120 switches 411 from BWP0 to BWP1. The terminal device 120 may initiate 421 the first timer Timer1 in response to switching to BWP1 or in response to receiving the DCI. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 2 on the BWP 1, the terminal device 120 may activate 412 BWP2 and reset 422 the first timer Timer1. In this case, the radio frequency bandwidth that the terminal device 120 needs to monitor is RF2. Similarly, when the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 3 on the BWP 2, the terminal device 120 may activate 413 BWP 3 and reset 423 the first timer Timer1 again. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 4 of another group on the BWP 3, the terminal device 120 may activate 414 BWP and initiate 431 a second timer Timer2 associated with the other group.

As shown in the figure, it is assumed that after the terminal device resets 424 the first timer Timer1 for the last time, a new DCI is not received on the regular BWP for the first group, as the first timer Timer1 passes, the first The timer Timer1 then expires at 425. For the second group, the second timer Timer2 for BWP4 then expires 432 after the terminal device 120 does not receive the new DCI. In response to the expiration of both the first timer Timer1 and the second timer Timer2, the terminal device 120 returns 415 to the default BWP0.

In some implementations of the BWP handover shown in FIG. 4, the BWP corresponding to a specific group can serve services that have strict requirements on delay, such as ultra high reliability and ultra low latency communication (URLLC). . In this case, when the URLLC service arrives, the terminal device 120 will activate the BWP corresponding to the specific group. In order to enable the terminal device 120 to perform data transmission quickly in the case where the URLLC service comes next time, a new flag can be defined for the terminal device 120. The flag indicates whether the terminal device 120 is to shrink the radio frequency if the timer associated with the particular group expires. If the flag indicates "Yes", then when the timer associated with the particular group expires, the terminal device 120 will deactivate the BWP associated with the particular group and further shrink associated with the particular group. The RF device corresponding to the BWP is connected to reduce the power consumption of the monitoring RF signal. If the flag indicates "No", then when the timer associated with the particular group expires, the terminal device 120 will only deactivate the BWP associated with the particular group without shrinking with the particular group. The RF device corresponding to the associated BWP, in this case, if the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 subsequently perform URLLC communication again, the terminal device 120 can provide communication services for the URLLC service with a lower delay. .

FIG. 5 illustrates yet another schematic diagram of an example communication process implemented at a terminal device in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The example communication process illustrated in Figure 5 can be performed, for example, at the terminal device 120 or other suitable device. Without loss of generality, it is assumed that there is a default BWP in the BWP communication system, namely BWP0 and four regular BWPs, namely BWP1, BWP2, BWP3 and BWP4. Further, it is assumed that the four regular BWPs in the BWP communication system correspond to four timers different from each other, namely, the first timer Timer1, the second timer Timer2, the third timer Timer3, and the fourth timer Timer4.

Similarly, assume that the terminal device 120 is on BWP0. In the case where, for example, a handover indication is received, the terminal device 120 switches 511 from BWP0 to BWP1. The terminal device 120 may initiate 521 the first timer Timer1 in response to switching to BWP1 or in response to receiving the DCI. Assume that the first timer Timer1 then expires 522. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 2 on the BWP 1, the terminal device 120 may activate 512BWP2 and initiate 523 the second timer Timer2. Assume that the second timer Timer2 then expires 524. Similarly, when the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 3 on the BWP 2, the terminal device 120 may activate 513 BWP 3 and start 525 the third timer Timer3. Assume that the third timer Timer3 subsequently expires 526. In the event that the terminal device 120 receives an indication to activate the BWP 4 on the BWP 3, the terminal device 120 may activate 514 BWP 4 and initiate 527 the fourth timer Timer 4. Assume that the fourth timer Timer4 then expires 528. As described, in the case where the four timers Timer1-Timer4 of the terminal device 120 are all expired, the terminal device 120 returns 515 to the default BWP0.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a terminal device 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal device 600 can be used to implement the terminal device 120 in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in the example of FIG. 6, the terminal device 600 includes a processor 610. Processor 610 controls the operation and functionality of device 600. For example, in some embodiments, processor 610 can perform various operations with instructions 630 stored in memory 620 coupled thereto. Memory 620 can be of any suitable type suitable for use in a local technology environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including but not limited to semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices, and systems. Although only one memory unit is shown in FIG. 6, there may be a plurality of physically different memory units in the terminal device 600.

Processor 610 can be of any suitable type suitable for use in a local technology environment and can include, but is not limited to, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microcontrollers, digital signal controllers (DSPs), and controller-based multi-core controller architectures. One or more cores. The terminal device 600 can also include a plurality of processors 610. Processor 610 can also be coupled to transceiver 640, which can receive and transmit information by means of one or more antennas 650 and/or other components.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, processor 610 and memory 620 may operate in conjunction to implement method 200 described above with respect to FIG. 2. In particular, when the terminal device 600 acts as the terminal device 120, when the instructions 630 in the memory 620 are executed by the processor 610, the terminal device 600 can be caused to perform the method 200. It will be understood that all of the features described above are applicable to the terminal device 600 and will not be described herein.

In general, the various example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. When the various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated or described as a block diagram, a flowchart, or some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be non-limiting. Examples are implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

By way of example, embodiments of the present disclosure may also be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as in a program module that is executed in a device on a real or virtual processor of a target. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data structures. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between the described program modules. Machine-executable instructions for program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules can be located in both local and storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in one or more programming languages. The computer program code can be provided to a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer or a processor of other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, causes a flowchart and/or block diagram. The functions/operations specified in are implemented. The program code can execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a separate software package, partly on the computer and partly on the computer or entirely on the computer or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, a machine-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium can be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of machine readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only Memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in a particular order or in a sequential order, or all illustrated operations are performed to obtain the desired results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing can be beneficial. As such, the present invention is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can be implemented in various embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method implemented at a terminal device, comprising:

Switching from at least one default bandwidth portion (BWP) associated with the handover indication to at least one regular BWP from a plurality of regular BWPs, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP in response to receiving the handover indication Providing communication with the terminal device;

Initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP, a timer associated with a time of the terminal device using a regular BWP associated therewith;

Responding to the at least one default BWP from the at least one regular BWP in response to expiration of the at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP.
The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one regular BWP comprises a plurality of regular BWPs and said at least one timer is a plurality of different timers.
The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one timer is a single timer.
The method of claim 1, wherein the handover indication is associated with a group, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP are associated with the group, and the group indicates the A time and frequency configuration of the terminal device BWP.
The method of claim 1 wherein initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP comprises:

The at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP is initiated in response to switching from the at least one default BWP to the at least one regular BWP.
The method of claim 1 wherein initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP comprises:

The at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP is initiated in response to switching to the at least one regular BWP and receiving a scheduling indication for the at least one regular BWP.
The method of claim 6 wherein said scheduling indication is at least one of the following:

Uplink authorization from the network device to the terminal device, and

Downlink control information for transmission from the network device to the terminal device.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

Resetting the first regular BWP associated with the timer to cause the terminal device to stop detecting in response to expiration of one of the at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP A wireless signal on the first conventional BWP.
The method of claim 8 wherein said at least one regular BWP is associated with a group, said group indicating a time and frequency configuration of said terminal device BWP.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

A timer associated with the second regular BWP is reset in response to receiving a scheduling indication for a second regular BWP of the at least one regular BWP.
The method of claim 10 wherein said at least one regular BWP is associated with a group indicating a time and frequency configuration of said terminal device BWP.
A terminal device comprising:

Processor;

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform an action, the action comprising:

In response to receiving the handover indication, switching from at least one default BWP associated with the handover indication to at least one regular BWP from a plurality of regular BWPs, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP being available for the The terminal device communicates;

Initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP, a timer associated with a time of the terminal device using a regular BWP associated therewith;

Responding to the at least one default BWP from the at least one regular BWP in response to expiration of the at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP.
The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein said at least one regular BWP comprises a plurality of regular BWPs, and said at least one timer is a plurality of different timers.
The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one timer is a single timer.
The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the handover indication is associated with a group, the at least one default BWP and the at least one regular BWP are associated with the group, and the group indication is A time and frequency configuration of the terminal device BWP.
The terminal device of claim 12, wherein initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP comprises:

The at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP is initiated in response to switching from the at least one default BWP to the at least one regular BWP.
The terminal device of claim 12, wherein initiating at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP comprises:

The at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP is initiated in response to switching to the at least one regular BWP and receiving a scheduling indication for the at least one regular BWP.
The terminal device according to claim 17, wherein said scheduling indication is at least one of the following:

Uplink authorization from the network device to the terminal device, and

Downlink control information for transmission from the network device to the terminal device.
The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the action comprises:

Resetting the first regular BWP associated with the timer to cause the terminal device to stop detecting in response to expiration of one of the at least one timer associated with the at least one regular BWP A wireless signal on the first conventional BWP.
The terminal device according to claim 19, wherein said at least one regular BWP is associated with a group indicating a time and frequency configuration of said terminal device BWP.
The terminal device according to claim 12, wherein the action further comprises:

A timer associated with the second regular BWP is reset in response to receiving a scheduling indication for a second regular BWP of the at least one regular BWP.
The terminal device according to claim 21, wherein said at least one regular BWP is associated with a group indicating a time and frequency configuration of said terminal device BWP.
A computer readable storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code, when executed by a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-11.