WO2024114380A2

WO2024114380A2 - Frequency band switching method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2024114380A2
Application number: PCT/CN2023/131767
Authority: WO
Inventors: 党军涛; 易雄书
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2022-11-30
Filing date: 2023-11-15
Publication date: 2024-06-06
Also published as: CN118119009A; WO2024114380A3

Abstract

A frequency band switching method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device reporting capability information, and correspondingly, a network device receiving the capability information, wherein the capability information comprises at least two frequency band combinations, the at least two frequency band combinations comprise a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, and each of the at least two frequency band combinations comprises receiving channels of at least two frequency bands; and the network device sending switching information to the terminal device, and the terminal device receiving the switching information and switching from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination on the basis of the switching information. In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device can switch between different frequency band combinations, such that resources shared in a frequency band combination can be effectively used, and the communication quality of the terminal device can also be effectively ensured.

Description

Frequency band switching method and device

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 30, 2022, with application number 202211520257.0, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “Frequency Band Switching Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a frequency band switching method and device.

Background technique

The main components of the transceiver channel of the communication device may include a baseband integrated circuit, a radio frequency integrated circuit, a radio frequency front end and an antenna. Through these components, the communication device can receive and send signals.

At present, when the communication device supports working in different frequency bands, the antenna, RF front end, RF integrated circuit, etc. are designed separately and work independently. Exemplarily, the terminal device supports three frequency bands, such as f3 band, f2 band and f1 band. For example, for the f3 band, the terminal device can support 2T2R capability, and the RF channel can be switched between the three packaged antennas, thereby realizing 2T2R on a single panel. For the f1 band and the f2 band, the above-mentioned components are designed separately to achieve independent 4T4R capabilities. As a result, the terminal device can receive signals on each of the above-mentioned frequency bands respectively. For example, the terminal device can receive signals through the f3 band, and then when the terminal device is in the coverage edge area of the f3 band and the coverage deteriorates, it switches to the f2 band or the f1 band, etc.

However, when the terminal device receives signals through the above method, the resource utilization rate of each frequency band needs to be improved.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a frequency band switching method and device, which can improve resource utilization.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a frequency band switching method, the method comprising: reporting capability information, the capability information comprising at least two frequency band combinations, the at least two frequency band combinations comprising a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, the at least two frequency band combinations respectively comprising the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands; receiving switching information, and switching from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device reports capability information so that it can switch between different frequency band combinations based on the switching information sent by the network device, thereby sharing the resources of the frequency bands in the frequency band combinations that can be switched to each other. This not only effectively realizes the flexible integration and sharing of resources and effectively improves the utilization rate of resources, but also because the terminal devices can switch frequency band combinations to each other, the reliability of terminal device communication can be effectively guaranteed.

In one possible implementation, when signal quality weakens, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can flexibly switch the frequency band combination, such as switching from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination when the signal quality is weakened, and the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination, thereby effectively ensuring that the terminal device can effectively access the low frequency band when the signal quality is weakened. Not only can the frequency band resources in the frequency band combination be effectively utilized, but also the signal coverage of the terminal device is improved, and the communication reliability of the terminal device is ensured.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: releasing one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device releases the radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) resources of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination for use in the low frequency band. Therefore, when the terminal device switches to the second frequency band combination, the RFIC resources of the high frequency band can be effectively utilized, thereby improving the utilization rate of the RFIC resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: converting one or more receiving channels in the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the receiving channels between the frequency bands in the frequency band combination can be converted to each other, thereby effectively improving the utilization rate of the frequency band resources in the frequency band combination. Exemplarily, the frequency band combination consisting of the frequency band less than 6GHz (sub6G) and the frequency band less than 3GHz (sub3G) can share resources, such as adding RFFE to the two frequency bands, and sharing antennas (such as common antenna design), RFIC resources, and baseband integrated circuit (BBIC) resources between the two frequency bands, thereby achieving 8R enhanced reception of the two frequency bands.

In a possible implementation, the situation where the signal quality is weakened includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to the first signal threshold; the load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to the first load threshold.

In one possible implementation, when signal quality is enhanced, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can flexibly switch the frequency band combination, such as switching from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination when the signal quality is enhanced, and the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination, thereby effectively ensuring that when the signal quality is enhanced, the terminal device can preferentially access the high frequency band and unload part of the load of the low frequency band. Not only can the frequency band resources in the frequency band combination be effectively utilized, but also the signal coverage of the terminal device is improved, and the communication reliability of the terminal device is ensured.

In a possible implementation, the signal quality enhancement situation includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to a second signal threshold; the load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to a second load threshold.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: releasing one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device releases the RFIC resources of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination for use in the high frequency band. Therefore, when the terminal device switches to the second frequency band combination, the RFIC resources of the low frequency band can be effectively utilized, thereby improving the utilization rate of the RFIC resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: converting one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

In the embodiment of the present application, the receiving channels between the frequency bands in the frequency band combination can be converted to each other, thereby effectively improving the utilization rate of the frequency band resources in the frequency band combination.

In one possible implementation, the switching information is carried in downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a frequency band switching method, the method comprising:

Receive capability information, the capability information includes at least two frequency band combinations, the at least two frequency band combinations include a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, and the at least two frequency band combinations respectively include the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands; send switching information, the switching information is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination.

In a possible implementation, the network device may determine the switching information based on at least one of a load condition of a frequency band in a frequency band combination, a coverage range of a frequency band in a frequency band combination, and a time slot ratio of a frequency band in a frequency band combination.

In a possible implementation manner, the switching information is carried in downlink control information DCI, or in radio resource control RRC signaling.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is used to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device includes a unit having the function of executing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

Exemplarily, the communication device may include a terminal device or a chip, and the chip may be applied to the terminal device.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is used to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device includes a unit having the function of executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

Exemplarily, the communication device may include a network device or a chip, and the chip may be applied to a network device.

In the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. For a detailed description of the transceiver unit and the processing unit, reference may also be made to the device embodiment shown below.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising a processor, configured to execute the first aspect or the first Alternatively, the processor is used to execute a program stored in the memory, and when the program is executed, the method shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In a possible implementation manner, the memory is located outside the above communication device.

In a possible implementation manner, the memory is located within the above-mentioned communication device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive a signal or send a signal. Exemplarily, the transceiver can be used to send capability information. Exemplarily, the transceiver can be used to receive switching information, etc.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising a processor, configured to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. Alternatively, the processor is configured to execute a program stored in a memory, and when the program is executed, the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is executed.

In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive a signal or send a signal. Exemplarily, the transceiver can be used to receive capability information. Exemplarily, the transceiver can also be used to send switching information, etc.

In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to output capability information; and input switching information; the logic circuit is used to switch from a first frequency band combination to a second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

It will be appreciated that logic circuitry may be used to determine capability information.

In a possible implementation manner, the logic circuit is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In a possible implementation manner, the logic circuit is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels in a high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in a low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

In a possible implementation manner, the logic circuit is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

In a possible implementation manner, the logic circuit is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels of a low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of a high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

It can be understood that the specific description of the seventh aspect can also refer to the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to input capability information and output switching information.

Exemplarily, the logic circuit can be used to parse the input capability information to obtain the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device. Exemplarily, the logic circuit can be used to determine the switching information.

It can be understood that the specific description of the eighth aspect can also refer to the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is executed.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or a computer code. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or a computer code. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is executed.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program. When the computer program runs on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is executed.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program. When the computer program runs on a computer, the method shown in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is executed.

In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, which includes the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the method shown in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

In the sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the network device is used to execute the method shown in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

For the advantageous effects of the second to sixteenth aspects, reference is made to the first aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2a is a schematic diagram of a transceiver channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2b is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2c is a schematic diagram of a scenario of multi-band collaborative networking provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4a is a schematic flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4b is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5a is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6a is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7a is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7c is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8a is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8c is a schematic flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a schematic flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of time slot ratios provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are only used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

The "embodiment" mentioned in this article means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It can be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

In the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three and more than three, and "and/or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and/or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. "A or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist when A and B do not conflict. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c".

The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, it can be an Internet of Things (IoT) system, a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, or a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, a new radio (NR) system, and future communication systems. New communication systems emerging in the development.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication (also known as non-terrestrial network communication), machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network, industrial Internet or other networks. Among them, IoT network can include Internet of Vehicles, for example. Among them, the communication methods in the Internet of Vehicles system are collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X, X can represent anything). For example, the V2X can include: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc. Exemplarily, in FIG1 shown below, terminal devices can communicate with each other through D2D technology, M2M technology or V2X technology, etc.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, such as Wi-Fi, etc. For example, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series protocols, such as 802.11a/b/g protocols, 802.11n protocols, 802.11ac protocols, 802.11ax protocols, 802.11be protocols or next-generation protocols, etc., which are not listed here one by one. For example, it can also be applied to wireless personal area networks (WPANs) based on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, such as 802.15.4a protocols, 802.15.4z protocols or 802.15.4ab protocols in the IEEE802.15 series protocols, or future generation UWB WPAN protocols, etc., which are not listed here one by one. It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the various aspects involved in the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols. For example, Bluetooth, high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard, mainly used in Europe) and wide area network (WAN) or other networks now known or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

As a possible implementation, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system may include at least one network device, and at least one terminal device, such as terminal device 1 to terminal device 4 in FIG. 1. Exemplarily, terminal device 3 and terminal device 4 as shown in FIG. 1 can communicate directly, such as direct communication between terminal devices can be achieved through D2D technology. Exemplarily, terminal devices 1 to 4 can communicate with network devices respectively, such as terminal devices 3 and terminal devices 4 can communicate directly with network devices, or can communicate with network devices indirectly, such as communicating with network devices via other terminal devices (not shown in FIG. 1). It should be understood that FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a network device and four terminal devices, as well as communication links between communication devices. Optionally, the communication system may include multiple network devices, and the coverage range of each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices, such as more or fewer terminal devices, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The following describes terminal devices and network devices in detail.

A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver functions. The terminal device can communicate with an access network device (or also referred to as an access device) in a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a user agent or a user device, etc. In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it may also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship, etc.). In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be a handheld device with wireless communication functions, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a sensor, a terminal in the Internet of Things, a terminal in the Internet of Vehicles, a drone, a terminal device in any form in a 5G network or a future network, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It is understandable that the terminal device shown in the embodiments of the present application may include not only vehicles (such as cars) in the Internet of Vehicles, but also vehicle-mounted devices or vehicle-mounted terminals in the Internet of Vehicles, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the terminal device when it is applied to the Internet of Vehicles. It can be understood that the terminal devices shown in the embodiments of the present application can also communicate with each other through technologies such as D2D, V2X or M2M, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the communication method between the terminal devices.

A network device may be a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication services for a terminal device. The network device may also be referred to as an access network device, an access device, or a RAN device. Exemplarily, the network device may be a next generation node B (gNB), a next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB), or a network device in 6G communication. The network device may be any device with a wireless transceiver function, including but not limited to the base station shown above (including a base station deployed on a satellite). The network device may also be a device with a base station function in 6G. Optionally, the network device may be an access node, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. in a Wi-Fi system. Optionally, the network device may be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, the network device may be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device. Optionally, the network device may also be a small station, a transmission reception point (TRP) (or may also be referred to as a transmission point), etc.

It is understandable that the network device may also be a base station, satellite, etc. in a public land mobile network (PLMN) that will evolve in the future. The network device may also be a communication device that carries the base station function in a non-terrestrial communication system, D2D, V2X or M2M, etc. The specific type of the network device is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In systems with different wireless access technologies, the names of the communication devices with network device functions may be different, and the embodiments of the present application will not list them one by one. Optionally, in some deployments of network devices, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), etc. In other deployments of network devices, the CU may also be divided into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP), etc. In some other deployments of network devices, the network device may also be an antenna unit (RU), etc. In some other deployments of network devices, the network device may also be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific deployment method of the network device. Exemplarily, when the network device is an ORAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiment of the present application may be an access network device in the ORAN, or a module in the access network device, etc. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as an open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. The deployment methods of the network devices listed here are only examples. With the evolution of standard technologies, network devices may have other deployment forms. However, any method that can implement the frequency band switching method shown in the embodiment of the present application belongs to the protection scope of the embodiment of the present application.

The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

The terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below.

Baseband integrated circuit (BBIC): Responsible for completing signal processing related to the communication standard, and is used to perform digital signal compression/decompression, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation and other functions.

Radio frequency integrated circuit: Its main function is to perform up-mixing and down-mixing, which is equivalent to converting the baseband/intermediate frequency signal that can be processed in binary into a radio frequency (RF) signal that can be sent/received on the air interface. This operation can be regarded as sending/receiving, and its main body can be understood as a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) chip. An RF integrated circuit can include multiple transceiver channels, one receiving channel corresponds to one analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and one transmitting channel corresponds to one digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

RF front end: mainly used to realize the transmission and reception of signals at different frequencies, including RF power amplifier (PA), RF low noise amplifier (LNA), RF switch, filter, duplexer, etc.

Currently, there is a transceiver channel of a terminal device, as shown in Figure 2a. The main components of the transceiver channel may include: BBIC, RFIC, radio frequency front-end (RFFE) and antenna. Generally speaking, the antenna, RFIC, and BBIC can be designed in a shared or separate manner, but the RFFE cannot be shared. Currently, terminal devices can support different frequency bands. For different frequency bands, the antenna, RFFE, RFIC, etc. are designed separately and work independently.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG2b, the terminal device supports three frequency bands, such as the f3 frequency band, the f2 frequency band, and the f1 frequency band. For example, the f3 frequency band may include millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands such as n258. For ease of description, the millimeter wave frequency band described in the embodiment of the present application will be described below using 26 GHz as an example. For the millimeter wave frequency band, the terminal device may support 2 transmit and 2 receive (2T2R) capabilities, corresponding to 3 packaged antennas (antenna in package, AIP) (AIP). The AIP may include RFFE and antennas, etc. As shown in FIG2b, the RFIC radio frequency channel may be switched between the three AIPs, thereby realizing AIP selection and realizing 2T2R. It is understandable that an antenna panel packaged by an AIP may constitute a panel (pannel), or multiple antenna panels packaged by AIPs may constitute a panel, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Generally speaking, the antenna used in the millimeter wave frequency band is AIP, that is, the antenna used in the millimeter wave frequency band is different from the antenna used in the frequency band lower than the millimeter wave. For example, the f1 band may include the n41 band, and the f2 band may include the n79 band. Both bands are designed separately and can support 4T4R capabilities. It is understandable that, for ease of description, the n41 band described in the embodiment of the present application will be described below using 2.6 GHz as an example, and the n79 band described in the embodiment of the present application will be described using 4.9 GHz as an example. 2.6 GHz and 4.9 GHz are only examples and should not be understood as limitations on the embodiments of the present application. That is, those skilled in the art can adaptively learn the relationship between 26 GHz, less than 6 GHz, less than 3 GHz, etc. and the band number shown below based on the relationship between the band number and the band. The n258, n41, and n79 shown here are only examples. In a specific implementation, the terminal device can also support more bands, such as n78, n77, n1, and n3, which are no longer listed one by one.

However, the f3 band shown in Figure 2b is designed to be completely separated from the f2 band and the f1 band. If the f3 band wants to achieve the downlink 4R receiving capability, it is necessary to add a millimeter-wave RFIC radio frequency channel. And if the f2 band and f1 band downlink 8R receiving capability is to be achieved to improve the downlink coverage capability and user experience, it is necessary to add additional antennas, RFFE, RFIC, etc. of the corresponding frequency bands, which is costly and difficult to implement. In multi-band collaborative networking, different frequency bands have different coverage ranges. Generally speaking, the higher the frequency, the greater the path loss and the smaller the corresponding coverage range. For example As shown in Figure 2c, under the separate design of antennas, RFFE, and RFIC for each frequency band, for terminal devices within the midpoint range and outside the near point range, there is no millimeter wave coverage, and the millimeter wave hardware resources of the terminal device (such as RFIC radio frequency channels) are wasted. For terminal devices within the far point range and outside the midpoint range, there is no coverage of the f2 band, and the f2 band hardware resources of the terminal device (such as RFIC radio frequency channels and antennas) are wasted. It can be understood that the near point, midpoint, and far point shown in Figure 2c are relative. For example, compared with the f1 band and the f2 band, the coverage range of the f3 band is smaller, and the coverage range of the f3 band is closer to the base station; for example, compared with the f1 band and the f3 band, the coverage range of the f2 band is in the middle; for example, compared with the f2 band and the f3 band, the coverage range of the f1 band is the largest and the coverage range of the f1 band is farther from the base station.

In view of this, the embodiment of the present application provides a frequency band switching method and device, which can effectively utilize resources of different frequency bands and improve resource utilization. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can effectively realize the flexible integration and sharing of high and low frequency hardware resources under the coverage of the corresponding network (such as the network shown in Figure 2c), thereby improving downlink coverage and the downlink experience of users.

FIG3 is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG1. For ease of description, the method is described below using a terminal device and a network device as examples. However, the terminal device and the network device shown below should not be understood as limiting the embodiments of the present application. The steps performed by the terminal device as shown below can also be implemented by a chip. The steps performed by the network device as shown below can also be implemented by a chip, etc., which are not listed here one by one.

As shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

301. The terminal device reports capability information, and correspondingly, the network device receives the capability information reported by the terminal device. The capability information includes at least two frequency band combinations, the at least two frequency band combinations include a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, and the at least two frequency band combinations respectively include the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands.

Any of the at least two frequency band combinations included in the capability information may include at least two frequency bands and the number of receiving channels of the at least two frequency bands. The number of receiving channels may be understood as the number of channels used when receiving signals. For example, the number of receiving channels may include 0R, 2R, 4R, 8R, etc. The number of receiving channels shown in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as receiving capability or the capability of receiving channels, etc.

Optionally, the capability information reported by the terminal device may not include the correspondence between the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination, but the communicating parties may autonomously determine to use the corresponding frequency band combination in the corresponding scenario, or the terminal device may autonomously determine the frequency band combination to be switched based on the switching information sent by the network device. This method can effectively reduce the signaling overhead of the capability information. Optionally, the capability information reported by the terminal device may include the correspondence between the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination, so that the communicating parties can clearly know the corresponding frequency band combination to which the terminal device switches, thereby improving the communication efficiency when the communicating parties switch the frequency band combination. Optionally, the capability information may include the correspondence between at least two frequency bands in the frequency band combination (such as the correspondence between the high frequency band and the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination, and the correspondence between the high frequency band and the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination). Based on the correspondence, the communicating parties can clearly know which frequency bands belong to the same frequency band combination. Optionally, the capability information may not include the correspondence between at least two frequency bands in the frequency band combination, but the communicating parties use the corresponding frequency bands based on the communication capability and different scenarios. It is understandable that, when the frequency band combination or at least one of the frequency bands is determined autonomously by both communicating parties, the frequency band combination determined by both communicating parties and the frequency bands in the frequency band combination need to be consistent. For example, if the terminal device supports receiving signals through the millimeter wave frequency band, the frequency band combination determined by the terminal device and the network device may include the millimeter wave frequency band. The embodiment of the present application does not limit how to ensure that the frequency band combination determined by the communicating parties is consistent. The frequency band combination will be exemplarily described below.

As an example, the frequency band combination may include the number of receiving channels of two frequency bands. Exemplarily, the low frequency band and the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination are respectively the same, but the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination is different from the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination, and the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is different from the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination. It can be understood that the low frequency band and the high frequency band shown in the embodiment of the present application are relative, that is, the two frequency bands in a frequency band combination are high and low. Exemplarily, the frequency band combination may include at least one of the following: a combination of a low frequency band 0R and a high frequency band 4R; a combination of a low frequency band 4R and a high frequency band 2R; a combination of a low frequency band 0R and a high frequency band 8R; a combination of a low frequency band 4R and a high frequency band 4R; a combination of a low frequency band 8R and a high frequency band 0R, etc., which are not listed one by one here.

For example, one of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination may include low frequency band 0R and millimeter wave 4R, and the other frequency band combination may include millimeter wave 2R and low frequency band 4R. It is understandable that the low frequency band may include a frequency band less than 26 GHz, such as 4.9 GHz or 2.6 GHz. For another example, one of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 8R and 2.6 GHz 0R, and the other frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 4R and 2.6 GHz 4R. For another example, one of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 4R and 2.6 GHz 4R, and the other frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 0R and 2.6 GHz 8R. For another example, one of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 8R and 2.6 GHz 0R, and the other frequency band combination may include 4.9 GHz 0R and 2.6 GHz 8R. It is understandable that the specific contents of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination may be determined according to different scenarios. For descriptions of the scenarios, reference may be made to the descriptions of signal quality reduction and signal quality enhancement shown below.

Scenario 1: When the signal quality of the terminal device is weakened, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination. The number of receiving channels of the band. Exemplarily, the first frequency band combination may include a combination of low frequency band 0R and millimeter wave 4R, and the second frequency band combination includes a combination of millimeter wave 2R and low frequency band 4R. It is understandable that the low frequency band may include a frequency band less than 26GHz, such as 4.9GHz or 2.6GHz. For example, the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 8R and 2.6GHz 0R, and the second frequency band combination includes a combination of 4.9GHz 4R and 2.6GHz 4R. For example, the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 4R and 2.6GHz 4R, and the second frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 0R and 2.6GHz 8R. For example, the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 8R and 2.6GHz 0R, and the second frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 0R and 2.6GHz 8R. In a specific implementation, the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device may be more, and the embodiments of the present application will not be listed one by one.

The signal quality weakening situation shown above can be understood as the signal quality weakening situation that occurs when the terminal device is within the coverage range of the high frequency band, or the terminal device is at the edge of the high frequency band, resulting in the signal quality weakening and needs to switch to the coverage range of the low frequency band, or the terminal device moves from the coverage range close to the network device to the coverage range far from the network device, resulting in the signal quality weakening. Exemplarily, the signal quality weakening situation includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to the first signal threshold; the load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to the first load threshold; the load of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than or equal to the third load threshold; the distance between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the high frequency band is greater than or equal to the distance threshold. That is, through the above-mentioned situations, all of them may cause the terminal device to experience a weakened signal quality situation. The specific values of each threshold listed above are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

Scenario 2: When the signal quality is enhanced, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination. Exemplarily, the second frequency band combination may include a combination of low frequency band 0R and millimeter wave 4R, and the first frequency band combination may include a combination of millimeter wave 2R and low frequency band 4R. For another example, the second frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 8R and 2.6GHz 0R, and the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHZ 4R and 2.6GHz 4R. For another example, the second frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 4R and 2.6GHz 4R, and the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 0R and 2.6GHz 8R. For another example, the second frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 8R and 2.6GHz 0R, and the first frequency band combination may include a combination of 4.9GHz 0R and 2.6GHz 8R. In a specific implementation, the terminal device may support more frequency band combinations, which are not listed one by one in the embodiments of the present application.

The signal quality enhancement situation shown above can be understood as the situation where the signal quality of the high frequency band is enhanced when the terminal device is within the coverage of the low frequency band, or the situation where the terminal device is still within the coverage of the low frequency band, but the coverage of the high frequency band gradually increases, or the terminal device moves from a coverage range far from the network device to a coverage range close to the network device and the signal quality is enhanced. Exemplarily, the signal quality enhancement situation includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than or equal to the second signal threshold; the load of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than or equal to the second load threshold; the load of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to the fourth load threshold; the distance between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the high frequency band is less than or equal to the distance threshold. That is, through the above-mentioned situations, the terminal device may experience a signal quality enhancement situation. The specific values of each threshold listed above are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

As another example, the number of receiving channels of more than two frequency bands may be included in the frequency band combination. Exemplarily, the frequency bands in the frequency band combination may include millimeter wave frequency bands, 4.9 GHz, and 2.6 GHz. The description of the frequency band combination may be adaptively referred to the above description of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination. It is understandable that when the frequency band combination includes three or more frequency bands, the switching between these frequency bands may refer to the description of the frequency band combination including two frequency bands provided in the embodiment of the present application. The difference is that, if the frequency band combination includes three frequency bands, the three frequency bands may include a high frequency band, a medium frequency band, and a low frequency band, and the switching between the high frequency band and the medium frequency band may be equivalent to the switching between the high frequency band and the low frequency band when the frequency band combination includes two frequency bands, and the switching between the medium frequency band and the low frequency band may be equivalent to the switching between the high frequency band and the low frequency band when the frequency band combination includes two frequency bands. Therefore, no matter how many frequency bands are included in a frequency band combination, the switching between the frequency band combinations is similar, and the embodiments of the present application will not be described in detail one by one.

302. The network device sends switching information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the switching information.

Exemplarily, the network device may send switching information when it detects that the signal quality of the terminal device is weakened, and the terminal device is instructed to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination through the switching information. For instructions on weakening signal quality, please refer to the description of scenario 1 above. Exemplarily, the network device may send switching information when it detects that the signal quality of the terminal device is enhanced, and the terminal device is instructed to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination through the switching information. For instructions on enhancing signal quality, please refer to the description of scenario 2 above.

Exemplarily, the switching information can be carried in the DCI. Thus, the switching of frequency band combinations can be realized dynamically, and the purpose of dynamic receiving channel switching can be achieved, so as to realize the flexible configuration of the downlink receiving channel from millimeter wave 2R to millimeter wave 4R without increasing the cost or at low cost (such as not adding at least one of the millimeter wave antenna, RFFE, RFIC, or sharing RFIC and/or antenna in the low frequency band), and the flexible configuration of the downlink receiving channel from 4R to 8R in the frequency band below 6GHz. The switching of frequency band combinations is realized through DCI, and the timeliness of DCI is higher, so Terminal devices can switch frequency band combinations more efficiently.

Exemplarily, the switching information can be carried in RRC signaling. Thus, the switching of frequency band combinations can be realized semi-statically, and the purpose of semi-static receiving channel switching can be achieved, so as to realize the flexible configuration scheme of the downlink receiving channel from millimeter wave 2R to millimeter wave 4R without increasing cost or at low cost, and the flexible configuration scheme of the downlink receiving channel of the frequency band less than 6GHz can be realized from 4R to 8R. The switching of frequency band combinations is realized through RRC signaling, which is safer and more reliable, so the reliability of terminal equipment switching frequency band combinations can be higher.

It can be understood that, generally speaking, the shared antenna design can be determined based on whether the antennas between different frequency bands can support multi-frequency sharing. For example, the 2.6GHz band and the 4.9GHz band can share the antenna design, but the millimeter wave band and the low frequency band may not be able to share the antenna design.

303. The terminal device switches from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

It is understandable that, whether the signal quality is weakened or enhanced, for the network device and the terminal device, both can (or are understood to be possible to) learn about the change in signal quality. For example, for the terminal device, it can determine the change in signal quality based on at least one of the following: the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) measured by the terminal device, the reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ) measured by the terminal device, and the distance between the terminal device and the network device measured by the terminal device. For another example, for the network device, it can determine the change in signal quality based on at least one of the following: the RSRP received from the terminal device by the network device, the RSRQ received from the terminal device by the network device, the distance between the terminal device and the network device received from the terminal device, and the distance between the terminal device and the terminal device measured by the network device. It is understandable that the above-listed terminal devices and network devices learn about the change in signal quality for examples only, and should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. It is understandable that in addition to the information listed above that may affect the signal quality, the load conditions borne by a certain frequency band can also reflect the change in signal quality. Generally speaking, a network device can learn about the load condition of a certain frequency band, and thus the network device can learn about changes in signal quality based on the load condition.

As an example, since both the terminal device and the network device can be informed of changes in signal quality, the switching information can be understood as information used to activate the terminal device to switch the frequency band combination. Exemplarily, the terminal device is in the first frequency band combination, and after receiving the switching information, it can switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the correspondence between the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination. Specifically, if the terminal device is in the first frequency band combination, the terminal device can also switch the frequency band combination based on the switching information and changes in its signal quality. For example, if the signal quality of the terminal device gradually weakens, the description of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination can refer to the above scenario 1. For another example, if the signal quality of the terminal device gradually increases, the description of the first frequency band combination and the second frequency band combination can refer to the above scenario 2.

As another example, the switching information may include information about the second frequency band combination. Therefore, after receiving the switching information, the terminal device may switch to the second frequency band combination based on the second frequency band combination indicated in the switching information.

In an embodiment of the present application, resources between a high frequency band and a low frequency band in a frequency band combination can be shared, such as sharing RFIC resources, BBIC resources, antenna resources, etc. Figure 4a is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4a, for the scenario 1 shown above, the method shown in Figure 3 also includes step 304. As an example, the frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include step 301, step 302, step 3041, and step 303. As another example, the frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include step 301, step 302, step 3042, and step 303. It can be understood that the numbers of the various steps shown in the embodiment of the present application are used to represent different steps and do not represent the order of precedence.

3041. The terminal device releases one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

Exemplarily, the terminal device can release the RFIC resources of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination for use in the low frequency band. Thus, when the terminal device switches to the second frequency band combination, the RFIC resources of the high frequency band can be effectively utilized to improve the utilization rate of the RFIC resources. Exemplarily, the terminal device can release the antenna resources and RFIC resources of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination for use in the low frequency band. Thus, when the terminal device switches to the second frequency band combination, the antenna resources and RFIC resources of the high frequency band can be effectively utilized to improve the utilization rate of these resources.

3042. The terminal device converts one or more receiving channels in the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For example, the receiving channels between the high frequency band and the low frequency band can be converted to each other, such as the terminal device can convert one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band into receiving channels of the low frequency band. Thus, the purpose of sharing the receiving channels between the high frequency band and the low frequency band is effectively achieved, and resource utilization is improved.

FIG4b is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4b, for the scenario 2 shown above, the method shown in FIG3 also includes step 305. As an example, the frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include step 301, step 302, step 3051, and step 303. As another example, the frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include step 301, step 302, step 3052, and step 303. It is understandable that the numbers of the various steps shown in the embodiment of the present application are used to represent different steps and do not represent the order of precedence.

3051. The terminal device releases one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.

3052. The terminal device converts one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

It is understandable that the description of step 3051 and step 3052 can be referred to FIG4 a , and will not be described in detail here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device reports capability information so that it can switch between different frequency band combinations based on the switching information sent by the network device, thereby sharing the resources of the frequency bands in the frequency band combinations that can be switched to each other, which not only effectively realizes the flexible integration and sharing of resources, effectively improves the utilization rate of resources, but also because the terminal device can switch the frequency band combination to each other, thereby effectively ensuring the reliability of the communication of the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device can flexibly switch the frequency band combination, so that it can not only effectively utilize the resources of the frequency band in the frequency band combination, but also improve the signal coverage of the terminal device and ensure the communication reliability of the terminal device. Optionally, the frequency band combination composed of the millimeter wave frequency band and the non-millimeter wave frequency band (such as 4.9GHz, 2.6GHz, etc.) can share RFIC resources and BBIC resources, so that the millimeter wave 4R reception or non-millimeter wave 8R reception can be realized without increasing the cost or at a low cost (such as without adding millimeter wave antennas, RFIC, etc.), effectively improving the downlink coverage and user experience (see Example 1 below). Optionally, the frequency band combination consisting of the frequency band less than 6 GHz (sub6G) and the frequency band less than 3 GHz (sub3G) can be shared. For example, some RFFEs can be added to the two frequency bands, and the two frequency bands share antennas (such as common antenna design), RFIC resources, and BBIC resources to achieve 8R reception of the two frequency bands (please refer to Examples 2 to 4 below).

It can be seen from the methods shown in Figures 3, 4a and 4b that after the terminal device reports the capability information, based on the strength of the signal quality, the terminal device can switch between different frequency band combinations based on the switching information sent by the network device. The method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 3, 4a or 4b. Example 1 shown below is a frequency band switching method illustrated by taking the frequency band combination including millimeter waves as an example, and Examples 2 to 4 are frequency band switching methods illustrated by taking the frequency band combination not including millimeter waves as an example.

The following uses millimeter wave, 4.9 GHz, and 2.6 GHz as examples to illustrate the method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

Example 1

In the embodiment of the present application, the high frequency band in the frequency band combination may include a millimeter wave frequency band or a frequency band greater than 6 GHz, and the low frequency band may include a frequency band less than 6 GHz, which may include n79, i.e., a 4.9HGz frequency band, n78, i.e., a 3.5 GHz frequency band, and a frequency band less than 3G. A frequency band less than 3 GHz may include n41, i.e., a 2.6 GHz frequency band. For ease of description, the following will take a frequency band combination including a combination of millimeter wave 4R and low frequency band 0R, and a combination of millimeter wave 2R and low frequency band 4R as an example to illustrate the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Relative to the transceiver channel shown in FIG2b, the embodiment of the present application uses a multi-panel high frequency band in the antenna design for the terminal device. As shown in FIG5a, the high frequency band can share RFIC resources with the low frequency band, that is, the high frequency band and the low frequency band share the RFIC design. Exemplarily, the Sub3GHz band, Sub6GHz band, etc. can release their RFIC channel resources for use by the high frequency band under corresponding conditions to make up for the insufficient RFIC channel resources of the high frequency band, so as not to increase the cost. Not increasing the cost can be understood as not needing to add millimeter wave band antennas, millimeter wave band RFFEs, millimeter wave band RFICs, etc. Because in the receiving channel shown in FIG5a, the millimeter wave already corresponds to 3 AIPs, and the AIP already contains the corresponding antennas, RFFEs, etc., it is possible to achieve millimeter wave downlink 4-channel reception without increasing the cost, thereby improving millimeter wave downlink coverage and user experience.

FIG5b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and FIG5c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5c, the method includes:

501. The terminal device accesses the low frequency band.

Generally speaking, low frequency bands such as the Sub3GHz band or the Sub6GHz band have wider coverage, so when the terminal device is connected to the low frequency band, it can be covered by the network. Alternatively, the low frequency band can be understood as a bottom coverage network. For example, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band can be 4R.

It is understandable that the terminal device accessing the low frequency band shown in step 501 is only an example, and the terminal device can also access the high frequency band, such as the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band can be 2R. Step 501 can be understood as the terminal device needs to access the network in order to report capability information to the network device.

502. The terminal device reports capability information, and correspondingly, the network device receives the capability information.

That is, the terminal device can report its own receiving channel processing capabilities under different downlink frequency band combinations, such as supporting the combination of low frequency band 4R and high frequency band 2R, and the combination of high frequency band 4R and low frequency band 0R.

503. When the low-frequency network device side has a high load (eg, the load is greater than a certain threshold value), the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement.

Generally speaking, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start the inter-frequency measurement, the terminal device needs to access other frequency bands to achieve the inter-frequency measurement. As shown in FIG5b, the terminal device has accessed the low frequency band in the above step 501, so the terminal device can access the high frequency band 2R. The frequency band combination of the previous access: low frequency band 4R + high frequency band 2R. It can be understood that when the terminal device performs inter-frequency measurement, it can measure the signal quality through millimeter waves and perform downlink data transmission through the low frequency band. For the description of inter-frequency measurement, please refer to the relevant standards or protocols, and the embodiments of this application will not be described in detail.

It is understandable that after the network device instructs the terminal device to start heterofrequency measurement, the terminal device can periodically report RSRP. For this description, the following also applies.

504. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the high frequency band.

Exemplarily, the measurement result may include RSRP of a high frequency band, etc., which are not listed one by one. It is understandable that after the network device instructs the terminal device to perform inter-frequency measurement, the terminal device may periodically report the measurement result.

505. When the RSRP measurement result of the high frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

Exemplarily, the network device may determine whether to switch the frequency band combination in the baseband processing unit (building base band unit, BBU). If the frequency band combination needs to be switched, the terminal device may be instructed through DCI to switch the downlink receiving channel and frequency combination of different capabilities. It is understandable that the DCI shown in the embodiment of the present application is only an example, and the DCI may also be replaced by RRC signaling. The DCI may include switching information, and the description of the switching information, DCI and RRC signaling can be referred to above.

506. The terminal device switches to high frequency band 4R + low frequency band 0R based on DCI.

Exemplarily, in an area with millimeter wave coverage at the near point, if the RSRP in the measurement result of the high frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device can instruct the terminal device to switch access to the millimeter wave band to make full use of the large bandwidth capability of the millimeter wave band. For example, the network device can instruct the terminal device through DCI to release the RFIC resources used in the low frequency band for use in the high frequency band, enabling the millimeter wave band of the terminal device to switch from the number of receiving channels of 2R to the number of receiving channels of 4R, so as to further improve the user's downlink coverage and the number of data streams, and improve the user experience. In other words, due to the large bandwidth of millimeter waves and excellent near-point coverage, the terminal device can release the RFIC resources of the low frequency band for use in the millimeter wave band to improve the millimeter wave downlink receiving channel capability and give full play to the large bandwidth capability of millimeter waves. As shown in Figure 5b, the terminal device can switch access to the high frequency band, such as high frequency band 4R + low frequency band 0R.

Since the terminal equipment switches from the low-frequency band to the high-frequency band, it is equivalent to releasing the scheduling users at the near point in the low-frequency band. Therefore, the low-frequency band network equipment can mainly schedule and serve the terminal equipment in the medium and far points without millimeter wave band coverage, thereby effectively alleviating the user scheduling congestion caused by the high load caused by a large number of users at the low-frequency band sites.

It is understandable that in a specific implementation, the following situation may also occur: the load of the low frequency band is large, and the RSRP result of the terminal device performing inter-frequency measurement is less than the RSRP threshold value. In this case, the network can be re-established or adjusted.

507. When the RSRP measurement result of the high frequency band is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement.

Exemplarily, when the terminal device moves from the coverage of the millimeter wave to the coverage of the low frequency band (it can also be understood as the high frequency band coverage deteriorating as shown in Figure 5b), that is, when it moves from the near point to the medium and far point as shown in Figure 5b, the RSRP of the high frequency band may be less than the RSRP threshold value. In this case, the terminal device can start heterofrequency measurement, such as accessing the low frequency band, measuring the signal quality through the low frequency band, and downlink data transmission through the millimeter wave. Exemplarily, the terminal device can release part of the millimeter wave RFIC channel for use in the low frequency band, so as to measure RSRP through the low frequency band. As shown in Figure 5b, the frequency band combination accessed by the terminal device includes: low frequency band 4R + high frequency band 2R. Optionally, when the terminal device receives RRC signaling from the network device instructing it to start heterofrequency measurement, the terminal device can automatically switch to millimeter wave 2R + low frequency band 4R. Optionally, when the terminal device receives RRC signaling from the network device instructing it to start inter-frequency measurement, the network device can also instruct the terminal device through DCI to release part of the RFIC resources of the millimeter wave frequency band for use in the low frequency band, and the downlink of the terminal device is switched to millimeter wave 2R + low frequency band 4R. However, the role of the DCI shown here is to instruct the terminal device to access the low frequency band to facilitate inter-frequency measurement, and the low frequency band is used to measure signal quality. The above steps after the terminal device starts inter-frequency measurement are also applicable below.

It can be understood that step 505 is illustrated by taking the RSRP of the high frequency band equal to the RSRP threshold value and the network device sending DCI as an example. If the RSRP of the high frequency band is equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device may not send DCI. Similarly, step 507 is illustrated by taking the RSRP of the high frequency band less than the RSRP threshold value and the network device instructing the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement as an example. If the RSRP of the high frequency band is equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device may also instruct the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement. In other words, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the relevant steps when the RSRP of a certain frequency band is equal to the RSRP threshold value. For this description, the following also applies.

508. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the low frequency band.

509. When the RSRP measurement result of the low frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

Exemplarily, the DCI includes switching information, which can be used to instruct the terminal device to switch to the low frequency band 4R + high frequency band 0R. For the description of the switching information, please refer to Figure 3, Figure 4a or Figure 4b, which will not be described in detail here. That is to say, when the terminal device moves to a medium or far point, since the millimeter wave frequency band has no coverage, the RFIC resources released to the millimeter wave can be recovered and the low frequency band can be selected for access.

That is to say, after the terminal device switches to the high frequency band 2R + low frequency band 4R, if the RSRP in the measurement result of the low frequency band reported by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device can instruct the terminal device to switch access to the low frequency band 4R (switch access to the low frequency band, low frequency band 4R as shown in Figure 5b), thereby effectively avoiding the gradual deterioration of millimeter wave frequency band coverage, or even terminal device dropped calls when there is no coverage.

510. The terminal device switches to high frequency band 0R + low frequency band 4R.

It is understandable that the RSRP threshold value for measuring the high frequency band shown in the embodiment of the present application may be different from the RSRP threshold value for measuring the low frequency band. For the specific value of each RSRP threshold value, reference may be made to relevant standards, etc., and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

It can be understood that, as shown in Figures 5b and 5c, when the signal quality is weakened, the terminal device can switch from millimeter wave 4R to a combination of millimeter wave 2R + low frequency band 4R. Correspondingly, when the signal quality is enhanced, the terminal device can switch to millimeter wave 4R. Figures 5b and 5c only exemplarily show the situation where the terminal device moves from a near point to a mid-to-far point. For the situation where the terminal device moves from a mid-to-far point to a near point, Figures 5b and 5c can be adaptively referred to, and will not be described in detail here.

In an embodiment of the present application, through the high- and low-band RFIC radio frequency channel design (or referred to as high- and low-band RFIC design), the high-band (such as mmWave band) downlink 4R enhanced reception of the terminal device can be achieved at a low cost, thereby improving downlink coverage and user experience. In a multi-band joint networking scenario, flexible integration and sharing of resources can be achieved. Exemplarily, in a multi-band joint networking scenario, an embodiment of the present application can achieve semi-static or dynamic switching of the downlink receiving channel capability of the terminal device between different frequency bands based on coverage, load, etc.

The example 1 shown above is illustrated by taking the frequency band combination including millimeter waves as an example, and the examples 2 to 4 shown below will illustrate the method provided by the embodiment of the present application by taking the frequency band combination not including millimeter waves as an example. As shown in the examples 2 to 4 below, the frequency band in the frequency band combination is illustrated by taking the frequency band less than 6 GHz as an example. For the frequency band less than 6 GHz, the antenna design can adopt a single-panel omnidirectional antenna (only as an example). For example, the frequency band combination in the example 2 below includes a combination of 4.9 GHz 8R, 2.6 GHz 0R, and a combination of 4.9 GHz 4R, 2.6 GHz 4R. The frequency band combination in the example 3 below includes a combination of 4.9 GHz 0R, 2.6 GHz 8R, and a combination of 4.9 GHz 4R, 2.6 GHz 4R. The frequency band combination in the example 4 shown below includes a combination of 4.9 GHz 0R, 2.6 GHz 8R, and a combination of 4.9 GHz 8R, 2.6 GHz 0R. Alternatively, the frequency band combination in Example 4 shown below may include a combination of 4.9 GHz 4R and 2.6 GHz 4R, a combination of 4.9 GHz 0R and 2.6 GHz 8R, and a combination of 4.9 GHz 8R and 2.6 GHz 0R. It can be understood that the 4.9 GHz 0R shown in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as 4.9 GHz without load, and the 2.6 GHz 0R can be understood as 2.6 GHz without load.

Example 2

As shown in Figure 6a, to achieve downlink 8R reception in the 4.9GHz band, the terminal device can meet at least one of the following requirements: the 4.9GHz band and the 2.6GHz band share the RFIC design; the 4.9GHz band can have an independent 4R antenna, and the 2.6GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9GHz 4R antenna can share the antenna design (such as a dual-resonance point antenna); and the RFFE corresponding to the 4.9GHz 4R is added. It can be understood that in the frequency band combination, the 2.6GHz band can be understood as a low frequency band relative to the 4.9GHz band; and the 4.9GHz band can be understood as a high frequency band relative to the 2.6GHz band. As shown in Figure 6a, 4.9 GHz and 2.6 GHz can share BBIC resources, RFIC resources, and the 2.6 GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9 GHz 4R antenna share the same antenna design. Therefore, the 2.6 GHz band can release (also understood as switching through the switch as shown in Figure 6a) RFIC channel resources for the 4.9 GHz band under corresponding conditions, and the 4.9 GHz band can achieve downlink 8R receiving capability through the shared antenna (4.9 GHz 4R & 2.6 GHz 4R as shown in Figure 6a) and the 4.9 GHz 4R's own antenna.

FIG6b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and FIG6c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6c, the method includes:

601. The terminal device accesses the 2.6GHz frequency band, such as 2.6GHz 4R reception.

It is understandable that the relevant description about step 601 can be adaptively referred to the above step 501.

602. The terminal device reports capability information, and correspondingly, the network device receives the capability information. The capability information may include: a combination of 2.6GHz 4R and 4.9GHz 4R, and a combination of 4.9GHz 8R and 2.6GHz 0R.

603. When the 2.6 GHz network device side is highly loaded (eg, the load is greater than a certain threshold value), the network device instructs the terminal device to start heterofrequency measurement.

Generally speaking, low-frequency inter-frequency measurement requires a gap, that is, the data transmission of the original frequency band is suspended during the inter-frequency measurement. As shown in Figure 6b, when the terminal device performs inter-frequency measurement, the terminal device can switch to 4.9GHz 4R reception in the downlink. It can be understood that for the sake of simplicity, 4.9GHz in Figure 6b takes 4.9G as an example, and 2.6GHz takes 2.6G as an example.

604. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band.

605. In an area with 4.9 GHz coverage at a near point, if the RSRP measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, a 4.9 GHz frequency band auxiliary carrier is added to the terminal device through RRC signaling.

It is understandable that step 605 can also be understood as: the network device sends an RRC signaling to the terminal device based on the RSRP reported by the terminal device, and the RRC signaling can be used to instruct the terminal device to add the 4.9 GHz frequency band. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC signaling.

It can be understood that the RRC signaling shown here is only an example, and the RRC signaling can also be replaced by DCI.

606. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R.

As shown in Figure 6b, after the terminal device adds the 4.9GHz frequency band, the terminal device uses 2.6GHz 4R + 4.9GHz 4R reception, which increases the downlink receiving bandwidth on the terminal side and alleviates the high load on the terminal side.

607. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 4.9 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

It is understandable that the RSRP threshold value in step 607 may be the same as or different from the RSRP threshold value in step 605 . For example, the RSRP threshold value in step 607 may be greater than the RSRP threshold value in step 605 .

608. The terminal device switches to 4.9G 8R+2.6G 0R based on DCI.

Exemplarily, the DCI may include switching information, which may be used to instruct the terminal device to switch to 4.9GHz 8R+2.6GHz 0R. Exemplarily, the DCI may include the following information: information used to instruct the terminal device to continue to release (relative to step 606) the RFIC resources used in the 2.6GHz low frequency band for use in the 4.9GHz band; information to enable the terminal device to switch from 2.6G 4R+4.9GHz 4R reception to 4.9G 8R reception. As a result, the terminal device can further unload the 2.6GHz load to 4.9GHz, improve the downlink coverage and data flow number of 4.9GHz users, and improve the user experience.

It is understandable that since the 2.6GHz low-frequency band base station releases the scheduled users at nearby points, the low-frequency band 2.6GHz base station can now mainly schedule and serve terminals in the mid- and far-point areas without 4.9GHz coverage, thereby alleviating the user scheduling congestion caused by the high load caused by a large number of users at the 2.6GHz low-frequency site.

609. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 4.9 GHz frequency band is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement.

For example, when a 4.9GHz 8R receiving terminal at a near point moves to a medium or far point, if the 4.9GHz frequency band measurement result RSRP reported by the terminal device is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device can instruct the terminal device to start heterofrequency measurement.

It can be understood that when the terminal device switches from 4.9GHz 8R+2.6GHz 0R to 2.6GHz 4R, 2.6GHz 4R is used to measure the signal quality. Optionally, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement, the terminal device can automatically switch to 2.6GHz 4R, such as releasing part of the 4.9GHz RFIC resources for 2.6GHz use. Optionally, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement, the network device can also instruct the terminal device through DCI to release part of the 4.9GHz RFIC resources for the low-frequency band 2.6GHz use, and the downlink of the terminal device is switched to 2.6GHz 4R.

For the description of inter-frequency measurement, please refer to FIG. 5 c or step 603 .

610. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the 2.6 GHz frequency band.

611. When the measurement result RSRP in the 2.6 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

The DCI may include switching information, such as the DCI may be used to instruct the terminal device to switch the frequency band combination. For another example, the DCI may be used to instruct the terminal device to release the RFIC resources of the 4.9GHz band for use in the 2.6GHz low-frequency band, so that the terminal device can switch to 2.6GHz 4R for downlink reception. When the terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R in step 609, it is used to measure the signal quality, and the 2.6GHz 4R switched as indicated in step 611 is used for downlink signal reception.

612. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R based on DCI.

It can be understood that if the measurement result RSRP of the 2.6GHz frequency band reported by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device can instruct the terminal device to switch access to the 2.6GHz frequency band 4R reception to avoid the gradual deterioration of 4.9GHz coverage or even terminal dropped calls when there is no coverage.

It is understandable that, as shown in Figures 6b and 6c, when the signal quality is weakened, the terminal device can switch from 4.9GHz 8R+2.6GHz 0R to a combination of 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R. Correspondingly, when the signal quality is enhanced, the terminal device can switch to 4.9GHz 8R+2.6GHz 0R. Figures 6b and 6c only exemplarily show the situation where the terminal device moves from a near point to a medium and far point. For the situation where the terminal device moves from a medium and far point to a near point, you can adaptively refer to Figures 6b and 6c, which will not be described in detail here. It is understandable that the places not described in detail in Figure 6c can refer to the above.

Example 3

As shown in Figure 7a, to achieve downlink 8R reception in the 2.6GHz band, the terminal device can meet at least one of the following requirements: 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz bands share the RFIC design; 2.6GHz has an independent 4R antenna, and the 4.9GHz 4R antenna and the 2.6GHz 4R antenna share the same antenna design (such as a dual-resonance point antenna); a new RFFE corresponding to the 2.6GHz 4R is added. As shown in Figure 7a, 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz can share BBIC resources, RFIC resources, and the 2.6GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9GHz 4R antenna share the same antenna design. Therefore, the 4.9GHz band can release (can also be understood as switching through the switch as shown in Figure 7a) RFIC channel resources for the 2.6GHz band under corresponding conditions, and the 2.6GHz The frequency band can achieve the downlink 8R reception capability through a shared antenna (4.9GHz 4R & 2.6GHz 4R as shown in Figure 7a) and the 2.6GHz 4R's own antenna.

FIG7b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and FIG7c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7c, the method includes:

701. The terminal device accesses the 2.6GHz frequency band, such as 2.6GHz 4R reception.

The description of step 701 may refer to step 501 as appropriate.

702. The terminal device reports capability information, and the network device receives the capability information accordingly. The capability information may include: a combination of 2.6GHz 4R and 4.9GHz 4R, and a combination of 2.6GHz 8R and 4.9GHz 0R.

703. When the 2.6 GHz network device side is highly loaded (eg, the load is greater than a certain threshold value), the network device instructs the terminal device to start heterofrequency measurement.

It is understandable that the description of step 703 can refer to step 603, which will not be described in detail here.

704. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band.

705. In an area with 4.9 GHz coverage at a near point, if the RSRP measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, a 4.9 GHz frequency band auxiliary carrier is added to the terminal device through RRC signaling (such as CA technology).

It is understandable that the description of step 705 can refer to step 605, which will not be described in detail here.

706. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R.

As shown in Figure 7b, after the terminal device adds the 4.9GHz frequency band, the terminal device uses 2.6GHz 4R + 4.9GHz 4R reception, which increases the downlink receiving bandwidth on the terminal side and alleviates the high load on the terminal side.

707. If the RSRP of the measurement result in the 4.9 GHz frequency band is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

For example, when a 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R receiving terminal at a near point moves to a medium or far point, if the 4.9GHz frequency band measurement result RSRP reported by the terminal device is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device can instruct the terminal device to switch the frequency band combination, such as sending DCI to the terminal device.

For example, the network device can instruct the deletion of the 4.9GHz band auxiliary carrier with poor signal quality through DCI. Alternatively, the network device can instruct the terminal device to release the 4.9GHz band RFIC resources for the 2.6GHz low frequency band through DCI, so that the terminal device switches the downlink reception from 2.6GHz4R to 2.6GHz8R, further improving the mid- and long-range coverage and the user downlink experience.

708. The terminal device switches to 4.9GHz 0R+2.6GHz 8R based on DCI.

It is understandable that, as shown in FIG. 7b and FIG. 7c, when the signal quality is weakened, the terminal device can switch to the combination of 2.6GHz 8R + 4.9GHz 0R, that is, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band 4.9GHz is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band 4.9GHz in the combination of 2.6GHz 4R + 4.9GHz 4R, and the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band 2.6GHz is greater than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band 2.6GHz in the combination of 2.6GHz 4R + 4.9GHz 4R. Correspondingly, when the signal quality is enhanced, the terminal device can switch to 4.9GHz 4R + 2.6GHz 4R. FIG. 7b and FIG. 7c only exemplarily show the situation where the terminal device moves from a near point to a medium and far point. For the situation where the terminal device moves from a medium and far point to a near point, FIG. 6b and FIG. 6c can be adaptively referred to, and no further details are given here. It is understandable that the places not described in detail in FIG. 7c can be referred to above.

Example 4

As shown in Figure 8a, to achieve downlink 8R reception in the 2.6 GHz band and downlink 8R reception in the 4.9 GHz band, the terminal device can meet at least one of the following conditions: a common RFIC design for the 4.9 GHz band and the 2.6 GHz band; independent 4R antennas for both 2.6 GHz and 4.9 GHz, and a common antenna design for the 2.6 GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9 GHz 4R antenna (designed as a dual resonance point antenna) (as shown in the dotted line position in Figure 8b); and a new RFFE corresponding to 2.6 GHz and a new RFFE corresponding to 4.9 GHz 4R (as shown in the dotted line position in Figure 8b). As shown in Figure 8a, 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz can share BBIC resources, RFIC resources, and the 2.6GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9GHz 4R antenna share the same antenna design, so that the 4.9GHz band can release (also understood as switching through the switch as shown in Figure 8a) RFIC channel resources for the 2.6GHz band to use under corresponding conditions, and the 2.6GHz band can achieve the downlink 8R receiving capability through the shared antenna (4.9GHz 4R & 2.6GHz 4R as shown in Figure 8a) and the 2.6GHz 4R's own antenna, and the 2.6GHz band can release (also understood as switching through the switch as shown in Figure 8a) RFIC channel resources for the 4.9GHz band to use under corresponding conditions, and the 4.9GHz band can achieve the downlink 8R receiving capability through the shared antenna (4.9GHz 4R & 2.6GHz 4R as shown in Figure 8a) and the 4.9GHz 4R's own antenna.

FIG8b is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and FIG8c is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8c, the method includes:

801. The terminal device accesses the 2.6GHz frequency band, such as 2.6GHz 4R reception.

802. The terminal device reports capability information, and the network device receives the capability information. The capability information may be The receiving channel processing capabilities under different frequency band combinations, such as the combination of 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R, the combination of 2.6GHz 8R+4.9GHz 0R, the combination of 4.9GHz8R+2.6GHz 0R, etc.

803. When the 2.6 GHz network device side is highly loaded (eg, the load is greater than a certain threshold value), the network device instructs the terminal device to start heterofrequency measurement.

For the description of step 803, please refer to step 603 or step 703, which will not be described in detail here.

804. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band.

805. In an area with 4.9 GHz coverage at a near point, if the RSRP measurement result of the 4.9 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, a 4.9 GHz frequency band auxiliary carrier (such as CA technology) is added to the terminal device through RRC signaling.

For the description of step 805, please refer to the description of step 605 or step 705, which will not be described in detail here.

806. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R.

807. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 4.9 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

For the description of step 807, reference may be made to step 607, which will not be described in detail here. For example, the RSRP threshold value in step 807 may be different from the RSRP threshold value in step 805.

808. The terminal device switches to 4.9G 8R+2.6G 0R based on DCI.

For example, after the terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R+4.9GHz 4R, the network device can instruct the terminal device through DCI to continue to release the RFIC resources used in the 2.6GHz low frequency band for use in the 4.9GHz band, enabling the terminal device to switch from 2.6G 4R+4.9GHz 4R reception to 4.9G 8R reception, further unloading the load of the 2.6GHz band to the 4.9GHz band, while improving the downlink coverage and number of data streams of users in the 4.9GHz band, thereby improving the user experience.

It is understandable that since the 2.6GHz low-frequency band base station releases the scheduled users at the nearby points, the low-frequency band base station can now mainly schedule and serve the terminals in the mid- and far-point areas without 4.9GHz coverage, thereby alleviating the user scheduling congestion caused by the high load caused by a large number of users at the 2.6GHz low-frequency site.

809. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 4.9 GHz frequency band is less than the RSRP threshold value, the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement.

For the description of step 809, please refer to step 609, which will not be described in detail here. Exemplarily, the terminal device can switch from 4.9GHz 8R+2.6GHz0R to 2.6GHz 4R, and 2.6GHz 4R is used for signal quality measurement. That is, the terminal device can release part of the RFIC resources of the 4.9GHz band for use in the 2.6GHz band. If the signal quality of 2.6GHz is greater than the RSRP threshold value, an inter-frequency switch to 2.6GHz can be initiated (as shown in step 811 below), and then 2.6GHz 4R is used for downlink data reception. Optionally, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement, the terminal device can automatically switch to 2.6GHz 4R, such as releasing part of the RFIC resources of 4.9GHz for use in 2.6GHz. Optionally, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start inter-frequency measurement, the network device can also instruct the terminal device through DCI to release part of the RFIC resources of 4.9GHz for use in the low-frequency band 2.6GHz, and the downlink of the terminal device is switched to 2.6GHz 4R.

810. The terminal device reports the measurement result of the 2.6 GHz frequency band.

811. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 2.6 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

If the 2.6GHz low frequency band measurement result RSRP reported by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device instructs the terminal device to switch access to the 2.6GHz low frequency band 4R reception (to avoid the gradual deterioration of 4.9GHz coverage or even terminal dropped calls when there is no coverage).

812. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 4R based on DCI.

813. When the RSRP of the measurement result in the 2.6 GHz frequency band is greater than or equal to the RSRP threshold value, the network device sends a DCI to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the DCI.

814. The terminal device switches to 2.6GHz 8R based on DCI.

The network device instructs the terminal device through DCI to continue releasing the RFIC resources used in the 4.9GHz frequency band for use in the 2.6GHz low-frequency band, enabling the 2.6GHz frequency band on the terminal side to switch from 4R reception to 8R reception, further improving the user's downlink coverage and improving the user's downlink experience.

Figure 9 is a structural diagram of a receiving channel provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the terminal device can implement at least one of the following: downlink 8R reception in the 2.6GHz band, downlink 8R reception in the 4.9GHz band, and downlink 4R reception in the millimeter wave band. As shown in Figure 9, the terminal device can meet at least one of the following: RFIC design for the 4.9GHz band and the 2.6GHz band; 2.6GHz and 4.9GHz both have independent 4R antennas, and the 2.6GHz 4R antenna and the 4.9GHz 4R antenna share the antenna design (designed as a dual resonance point antenna) (as shown in the dotted line position in Figure 9); add the RFFE corresponding to 2.6GHz and the RFFE corresponding to 4.9GHz 4R (as shown in the dotted line position in Figure 9); the millimeter wave band corresponds to at least 3 AIPs. It can be understood that the description of Figure 9 can refer to the relevant descriptions of Figures 5a, 6a, 7a and 8a, which will not be described in detail here.

It can be understood that, based on Examples 2 to 4 shown above, the embodiments of the present application also provide a method for dynamically switching the number of downlink receiving channels in different frequency bands and time slot ratio scenarios in a CA or DC scenario.

Generally speaking, based on multi-band downlink carrier aggregation (CA) technology or dual connectivity (DC) technology, terminal devices can simultaneously use more frequency bands and larger bandwidths to send and/or receive data, thereby effectively improving the downlink user experience. Therefore, the embodiments of the present application are based on the above-mentioned examples 2 to 4, combined with the differences in time slot ratios between different frequency bands, to effectively achieve resource sharing of terminal devices in DC or CA scenarios, flexible 8R enhanced reception, and further improve user experience. Figure 10 is a flow chart of a frequency band switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes:

1001. A terminal device reports capability information, and a network device receives the capability information accordingly. The capability information includes at least two frequency band combinations, and the at least two frequency band combinations respectively include the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands.

1002. Receive a downlink signal based on a first frequency band in a frequency band combination in a first time unit, and use a second frequency band in the frequency band combination to send an uplink signal in the first time unit, and the number of receiving channels of the first frequency band is greater than 4.

Optionally, the terminal device may perform the above step 1002 based on the switching information. For the description of the switching information, please refer to the above. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be combined with Figure 3, Figure 4a, Figure 4b, and Examples 1 to 4 above, which will not be described in detail here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first frequency band may be any frequency band in the frequency band combination, and the second frequency band may be other frequency bands in the frequency band combination except the first frequency band. Exemplarily, when the frequency band combination includes two frequency bands, the first frequency band may be a high frequency band in the frequency band combination, and the second frequency band may be a low frequency band in the frequency band combination; or, the first frequency band may be a low frequency band in the frequency band combination, and the second frequency band may be a high frequency band in the frequency band combination.

The first time unit may be in units of time slots, or in units of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. If the time slot is used as a unit, the first time unit may be understood as a time slot corresponding to when the first frequency band is in a downlink receiving time slot and the second frequency band is in an uplink transmitting time slot. The number of receiving channels of the first frequency band within the first time unit is greater than 4. Generally speaking, the number of receiving channels of a frequency band less than 6 GHz or less than 3 GHz is a maximum of 4. However, through the embodiments of the present application, the number of receiving channels of a frequency band less than 6 GHz or less than 3 GHz may be greater than 4, such as 8, as shown in Figures 6a, 7a, 8a and 9 above.

The following takes the receiving channel shown in FIG6a, the receiving channel shown in FIG7a, and the receiving channel shown in FIG8a as examples. As shown in FIG11, take 2.6 GHz and 4.9 GHz as DC or CA as an example. FIG11 (a) can be understood as the design of separation of 2.6 GHz band and 4.9 GHz band in the terminal device, as described in FIG2b. FIG11 (b) can be understood as the design of RFIC and antenna sharing between 4.9 GHz band and 2.6 GHz band, and the newly added RFFE corresponding to 4.9 GHz 4R, as described in FIG6a. As shown in FIG11 (b), the network device can instruct the terminal device to release the RFIC resources (or RFIC channel resources, etc.) of the 2.6 GHz band (such as the switching information shown above), so as to achieve 4.9 GHz 8R reception. FIG11 (c) can be understood as the design of RFIC and antenna sharing between 4.9 GHz band and 2.6 GHz band, and the newly added RFFE corresponding to 2.6 GHz 4R, as described in FIG7a. As shown in (c) of Figure 11, the network device can instruct the terminal device to release the RFIC resources of the 4.9GHz band, thereby achieving 2.6GHz 8R reception. Figure 11 (d) can be understood as the design of RFIC and antenna sharing between the 4.9GHz band and the 2.6GHz band, with the addition of RFFE corresponding to 4.9GHz 4R and RFFE corresponding to 2.6GHz 4R, as described in Figure 8a. As shown in (d) of Figure 11, within the coverage of the 4.9GHz band, the network device can instruct the terminal device to release the RFIC resources (or RFIC channel resources, etc.) of the 2.6GHz band (such as the switching information shown above), thereby achieving 4.9GHz 8R reception. Within the coverage of the 4.9GHz band and within the coverage of the 2.6GHz band, the terminal device can instruct the network device to release the RFIC resources of the 4.9GHz band, thereby achieving 2.6GHz 8R reception.

Exemplarily, D in Figure 11 represents a downlink time slot, U represents an uplink time slot, and S represents a flexible time slot. It is understandable that Figure 11 only shows 10 time slots by way of example, and the number of time slots shown in Figure 11 should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. Exemplarily, the time slot ratio of the 4.9GHz frequency band adopts DDSUUUDDDD (downlink and uplink 7:3 ratio), and the time slot ratio of the 2.6GHz frequency band adopts DDDDDDDSUU (downlink and uplink 8:2 ratio). When the 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz time slots are crossed (such as one frequency band is a D time slot and the other frequency band is a U time slot), the hardware resources of the terminal device can be effectively utilized to implement the following solution: the terminal device releases the downlink RFIC channel resources of the frequency band where the U time slot is located for use in the frequency band where the D time slot is located, thereby enabling the downlink reception of the frequency band where the D time slot is located to switch from 4R to 8R enhanced downlink reception.

Taking Example 4 shown above as an example, when the terminal device and the network device are in a DC or CA scenario, the terminal device can perform downlink data reception based on the two frequency bands of 2.6 GHz and 4.9 GHz.

As shown in (d) of Figure 11, in the first three D time slots, 2.6GHz and 4.9GHz terminal devices are each allocated 4R receiving channels. In the 4th to 6th time slots, 4.9GHz is in the U time slot, and the terminal device's downlink RFIC resources in this frequency band are not used at this time. Therefore, the network device can instruct the terminal device through DCI to release the resource for use by 2.6GHz in the D time slot, enabling 2.6GHz 8R enhanced reception on the terminal side. In the 7th time slot, 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz are both D time slots. In the 8th time slot, 4.9GHz is a D time slot and 2.6GHz is an S time slot. In time slots 7 to 8, the network device can instruct the terminal device through DCI to release part of the 2.6GHz downlink RFIC resources for 4.9GHz downlink 4R reception, thus achieving 4R reception of both 4.9GHz and 2.6GHz. In time slots 9 to 10, 2.6GHz is in the U time slot, and the terminal device does not use the downlink RFIC resources in this frequency band at this time. The network device can instruct the terminal device through DCI to release the resources for the 4.9GHz frequency band in the D time slot, thus enabling 8R enhanced reception in the 4.9GHz frequency band.

It can be understood that the description of Example 2 and Example 3 shown above can refer to the relevant description of (d) in Figure 11, and the embodiments of the present application will not be described in detail one by one.

It is understandable that in the scenario of multi-band joint networking, the network device can determine whether the terminal device needs to switch the frequency band combination based on at least one of the coverage of each frequency band, the load of each frequency band, and the ratio of different time slots of multiple frequency bands on the network device side. Therefore, when the frequency band combination needs to be switched, the network device can instruct the terminal device to switch the frequency band combination through DCI or RRC signaling.

In the embodiment of the present application, through the low-frequency band shared RFIC radio frequency channel and shared antenna design, the low-frequency band downlink 8R enhanced reception on the terminal side is achieved at low cost, and the downlink coverage and user experience are improved. In the multi-band joint networking scenario, flexible integration and sharing of resources can be achieved. Through the high- and low-frequency shared RFIC design, low-frequency band shared antenna and RFIC design, the high-frequency band (such as mmWave band) downlink 4R enhanced reception and low-frequency band (such as Sub6G, Sub3G band) downlink 8R reception enhancement on the terminal device side are achieved at low cost. At the same time, in the multi-band joint networking scenario, based on the coverage of the frequency band, the load of the frequency band, and the time slot ratio between different frequency bands, the downlink receiving channel capability of the terminal device is switched between different frequency points and channel combinations; on the premise of realizing flexible integration and sharing of resources at low cost, the downlink user perception rate is improved.

The following is an introduction to the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application.

The present application divides the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The communication device of the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 12 to 14.

FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the communication device includes a processing unit 1201 and a transceiver unit 1202. The transceiver unit 1202 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 1201 is used for data processing. For example, the transceiver unit 1202 can also be called a communication interface or a communication unit.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the communication device can be a terminal device or a component (such as a chip or system, etc.) that can be configured in the terminal device. The transceiver unit 1202 is used to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1201 is used to perform the operations related to the processing of the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The communication device can be used to execute the steps or functions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

The processing unit 1201 is used to report capability information through the transceiver unit 1202;

The transceiver unit 1202 is used to receive the switching information;

The processing unit 1201 is configured to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

It can be understood that the processing unit 1201 is used to report the capability information through the transceiver unit 1202, which can be understood as: the processing unit 1201 can be used to determine the capability information, and the transceiver unit 1202 can send the capability information; or, the processing unit 1201 is used to determine the capability information and then output the capability information through the transceiver unit 1202 (such as outputting it to other devices so that the transceiver can send the capability information).

In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1201 is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1201 is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the processing unit 1201 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on the reduction of signal quality, which will not be described in detail here.

In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1201 is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1201 is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the processing unit 1201 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on signal quality enhancement, which will not be described in detail here.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and/or data, and the processing unit 1201 may read the instructions and/or data in the storage unit so that the communication device implements the aforementioned method embodiment. Exemplarily, the storage unit may be used to store capability information.

In other embodiments of the present application, the communication device may be used to execute the actions executed by the network device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the communication device may be a network device or a component that can be configured in the network device. The transceiver unit 1202 is used to execute the operations related to the transceiver of the network device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1201 is used to execute the operations related to the processing of the network device in the above method embodiment. The communication device can be used to execute the steps or functions performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

The transceiver unit 1202 is configured to receive capability information and send switching information.

Exemplarily, the processing unit 1201 is used to parse the received capability information to obtain the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device. Exemplarily, the processing unit 1201 is also used to determine the switching information based on at least one of the load condition, coverage, and time slot ratio of the frequency band in the frequency band combination.

It can be understood that the specific description of the transceiver unit and the processing unit shown in the embodiments of the present application is only an example. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit and the processing unit, reference can be made to the above-mentioned method embodiments (such as Figures 3 to 11), which will not be described in detail here.

It is understandable that the description of capability information, switching information, first frequency band combination, second frequency band combination, signal quality enhancement, signal quality reduction, etc. can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

The communication device of the embodiment of the present application is introduced above, and the possible product forms of the communication device are introduced below. It should be understood that any product having the functions of the communication device described in FIG. 12 above falls within the protection scope of the embodiment of the present application.

In a possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG. 12, the processing unit 1201 may be one or more processors, the transceiver unit 1202 may be a transceiver, or the transceiver unit 1202 may also be a sending unit and a receiving unit, the sending unit may be a transmitter, the receiving unit may be a receiver, and the sending unit and the receiving unit are integrated into one device, such as a transceiver. In the embodiment of the present application, the processor and the transceiver may be coupled, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the connection mode of the processor and the transceiver. In the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting the above information by the processor. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the transceiver so that it is transmitted by the transceiver. After the above information is output by the processor, it may also need to be processed in other ways before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor receiving the input information. When the processor receives the input information, the transceiver receives the above information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the above information, the above information may need to be processed in other ways before it is input into the processor.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the communication device 130 includes one or more processors 1320 and a transceiver 1310 .

Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions performed by the above-mentioned terminal device, the processor 1320 is used to report capability information through the transceiver 1310; the transceiver 1310 is used to receive switching information; the processor 1320 is used to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

It can be understood that the processor 1320 is used to report the capability information through the transceiver 1310 can be understood as: the processor 1320 can be used to determine the capability information, and the transceiver 1310 can send the capability information.

In a possible implementation, the processor 1320 is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the processor 1320 is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the processor 1320 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on the reduction of signal quality, which will not be described in detail here.

In a possible implementation, the processor 1320 is further configured to release one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the processor 1320 is further configured to convert one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the processor 1320 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on signal quality enhancement, which will not be described in detail here.

Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the steps, methods or functions executed by the above-mentioned network device, the transceiver 1310 is used to receive capability information; and send switching information.

Exemplarily, the processor 1320 is used to parse the received capability information to obtain the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device. Exemplarily, the processor 1320 is also used to determine the switching information based on at least one of the load condition, coverage, and time slot ratio of the frequency band in the frequency band combination.

It is understandable that for the specific description of the processor and the transceiver, reference can also be made to the description of the processing unit and the transceiver unit shown in FIG12, which will not be repeated here. For the description of capability information, switching information, first frequency band combination, second frequency band combination, signal quality enhancement, signal quality reduction, etc., reference can be made to the above method embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

In various implementations of the communication device shown in FIG13 , the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, wherein the receiver is used to perform a receiving function (or operation) and the transmitter is used to perform a transmitting function (or operation). The transceiver is used to communicate with other devices/devices through a transmission medium.

Optionally, the communication device 130 may also include one or more memories 1330 for storing program instructions and/or data, etc. The memory 1330 is coupled to the processor 1320. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 1320 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1330. The processor 1320 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1330. Optionally, at least one of the one or more memories may be included in the processor. Optionally, one or more memories may be used to store at least one of the second base matrix, the first base matrix or the check matrix in the embodiment of the present application.

The specific connection medium between the above-mentioned transceiver 1310, processor 1320 and memory 1330 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 13 , the memory 1330, processor 1320 and transceiver 1310 are connected through a bus 1340, and the bus is represented by a bold line in FIG. 13 . The connection mode between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not limited thereto. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in FIG. 13 , but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc., and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor, etc.

In the embodiments of the present application, the memory may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memories such as hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), read-only memory (ROM) or portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. The memory is any storage medium that can be used to carry or store program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be read and/or written by a computer (such as the communication device shown in the present application), but is not limited to this. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device that can realize a storage function, which is used to store program instructions and/or data.

Exemplarily, the processor 1320 is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and to control the entire communication device, execute the software program, and process the data of the software program. The memory 1330 is mainly used to store the software program and data. The transceiver 1310 may include a control circuit and an antenna. The control circuit is mainly used to convert the baseband signal and the radio frequency signal and to process the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input and output devices, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

When the communication device is turned on, the processor 1320 can read the software program in the memory 1330, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1320 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then sends the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1320. The processor 1320 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be arranged independently of the communication device in a remote manner.

It is understandable that the communication device shown in the embodiment of the present application may also have more components than those in FIG. 13, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The method performed by the processor and transceiver shown above is only an example, and the specific steps performed by the processor and transceiver can refer to the method described above.

Exemplarily, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network device, which may include an active antenna unit (AAU) and a baseband processing unit (BBU). The BBU may be a component of a distributed base station, mainly completing baseband processing of signals (such as channel coding, channel demodulation, modulation and demodulation, etc.), providing transmission management and interfaces, managing wireless resources, and providing clock signals and other functions.

In another possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG12, the processing unit 1201 may be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver unit 1202 may be an input-output interface, or also called a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Or the transceiver unit 1202 may also be a sending unit and a receiving unit, the sending unit may be an output interface, the receiving unit may be an input interface, and the sending unit and the receiving unit are integrated into one unit, such as an input-output interface. As shown in FIG14, the communication device shown in FIG14 includes a logic circuit 1401 and an interface 1402. That is, the above-mentioned processing unit 1201 can be implemented by the logic circuit 1401, and the transceiver unit 1202 can be implemented by the interface 1402. Among them, the logic circuit 1401 can be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit or a system on chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 1402 can be a communication interface, Input and output interfaces, pins, etc. Exemplarily, FIG. 14 takes the above communication device as an example of a chip, and the chip includes a logic circuit 1401 and an interface 1402 .

In the embodiment of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface may also be coupled to each other. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface.

Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the method, function or step performed by the above-mentioned terminal device, the logic circuit 1401 is used to report capability information through the interface 1402; the interface 1402 is used to input switching information; the logic circuit 1401 is used to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.

It can be understood that the logic circuit 1401 is used to report the capability information through the interface 1402, which can be understood as: the logic circuit 1401 is used to determine the capability information and then output the capability information through the interface 1402 (such as outputting it to other devices so that the transceiver can send the capability information).

In a possible implementation, the logic circuit 1401 is further used to release one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the logic circuit 1401 is further used to convert one or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the logic circuit 1401 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on the reduction of signal quality, which will not be described in detail here.

In a possible implementation, the logic circuit 1401 is further used to release one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination. In a possible implementation, the logic circuit 1401 is further used to convert one or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.

For the specific description of the logic circuit 1401 shown here, reference may be made to the above description on signal quality enhancement, which will not be described in detail here.

Exemplarily, when the communication device is used to execute the method, function or step executed by the above network device, the interface 1402 is used to input capability information; and output switching information.

Exemplarily, the logic circuit 1401 is used to parse the input capability information to obtain the frequency band combination supported by the terminal device. Exemplarily, the logic circuit 1401 is also used to determine the switching information based on at least one of the load condition, coverage, and time slot ratio of the frequency band in the frequency band combination.

It can be understood that the communication device shown in the embodiment of the present application can implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the form of hardware, or can implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application in the form of software, etc., and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

For the specific implementation methods of the various embodiments shown in Figure 14, you can also refer to the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a wireless communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device, which can be used to execute the method in any of the above embodiments. Alternatively, the terminal device and the network device can refer to the communication devices shown in Figures 12 to 14.

In addition, the present application also provides a computer program, which is used to implement the operations and/or processing performed by the terminal device in the method provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a computer program, which is used to implement the operations and/or processing performed by the network device in the method provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer code is stored. When the computer code is executed on a computer, the computer executes the operations and/or processing performed by the terminal device in the method provided in the present application.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer codes are stored. When the computer codes are executed on a computer, the computer executes the operations and/or processes performed by the network device in the method provided in the present application.

The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer code or a computer program. When the computer code or the computer program runs on a computer, the operations and/or processing performed by the terminal device in the method provided by the present application are executed.

The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer code or a computer program. When the computer code or the computer program runs on a computer, the operations and/or processing performed by the network device in the method provided by the present application are executed.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, or it can be an electrical, mechanical or other form of connection.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed over multiple network units. Select some or all of the units to achieve the technical effect of the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

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

If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A frequency band switching method, characterized in that the method comprises:

Reporting capability information, where the capability information includes at least two frequency band combinations, where the at least two frequency band combinations include a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, and where the at least two frequency band combinations respectively include the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands;

Receive switching information, and switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination based on the switching information.
The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, when the signal quality is weakened, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.
The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

One or more receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination are released.
The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

One or more receiving channels in the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination are converted into receiving channels in the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the situation where the signal quality is weakened includes at least one of the following:

The signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to the first signal threshold;

The load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to a first load threshold.
The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that, when the signal quality is enhanced, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the signal quality enhancement condition includes at least one of the following:

The signal quality of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than or equal to a second signal threshold;

The load of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than or equal to a second load threshold.
The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

One or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination are released.
The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the method further comprises:

One or more receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination are converted into receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9 is characterized in that the switching information is carried in downlink control information DCI, or in radio resource control RRC signaling.
A frequency band switching method, characterized in that the method comprises:

receiving capability information, the capability information including at least two frequency band combinations, the at least two frequency band combinations including a first frequency band combination and a second frequency band combination, the at least two frequency band combinations respectively including the number of receiving channels of at least two frequency bands;

Send switching information, where the switching information is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first frequency band combination to the second frequency band combination.
The method according to claim 11 is characterized in that, when the signal quality is weakened, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the signal quality reduction condition includes at least one of the following:

The signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to the first signal threshold;

The load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to a first load threshold.
The method according to claim 11 is characterized in that, when the signal quality is enhanced, the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the second frequency band combination is greater than the number of receiving channels of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination; or, the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the second frequency band combination is less than the number of receiving channels of the low frequency band in the first frequency band combination.
The method according to claim 14, wherein the signal quality enhancement condition includes at least one of the following:

The signal quality of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is greater than or equal to a second signal threshold;

The load of the high frequency band in the first frequency band combination is less than or equal to a second load threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 11-15 is characterized in that the switching information is carried in downlink control information DCI, or in radio resource control RRC signaling.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
A communication device, characterized by comprising a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 16.
A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory;

The processor is used to store a computer program;

The processor is used to execute the computer program so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or so that the method according to any one of claims 11 to 16 is executed.
A communication device, characterized in that it comprises a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled;

The interface is used to input data to be processed, the logic circuit processes the data to be processed according to the method described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to obtain processed data, and the interface is used to output the processed data.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium is used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is executed.
A computer program product, characterized in that when the instructions are run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is executed.
A communication system, characterized in that the communication system includes a terminal device and a network device, the terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10, and the network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 11-16.
A frequency band switching method, characterized in that it includes the method according to any one of claims 1-10 and the method according to any one of claims 11-16.