WO2025189629A1 - Waveform switching methods, devices, medium, chip system and product - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications. Provided are waveform switching methods, devices, a medium, a chip system and a product. A waveform switching method comprises: a terminal device sending a waveform switching request to a network device, the waveform switching request being used for instructing the network device to update waveform configuration information of an uplink (UL) waveform of a cell or cell group of the terminal device; and the network device sending updated waveform configuration information, such that the terminal device receives the updated waveform configuration information, and then on the basis of the updated waveform configuration information, updating the UL waveform of the cell or cell group. In this way, a terminal device actively initiates UL waveform switching to cause a network device to perform switching to an appropriate waveform for an UL in a timely manner, so that changes in the UL waveform better comply with switching requirements of the terminal device, thereby improving the waveform switching efficiency.

Description

Waveform switching method, device, medium, chip system and product

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 12, 2024, with application number 202410277973.3 and application name “Waveform switching method, device, medium, chip system and product”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a waveform switching method, device, medium, chip system and product.

Background Art

In a communications system, the path through which user equipment (UE) transmits data or messages to network devices is called the uplink (UL). The uplink supports two waveforms: cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) and direct fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). When sending data to network devices via the uplink, the UE can switch between the CP-OFDM and DFT-S-OFDM waveforms.

A currently known waveform switching method involves a network device selecting a UL waveform for a UE and notifying the UE of the selected UL waveform through signaling or configuration information. However, this waveform switching method can cause the UL waveform of a terminal device to mismatch actual transmission requirements, thereby reducing communication quality.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a waveform switching method, device, medium, chip system, and product for use in the field of communications technology. A terminal device proactively initiates UL waveform switching, enabling the network device to promptly switch to an appropriate UL waveform. This ensures that the UL waveform change is more compatible with the terminal device's own switching requirements, improves waveform switching efficiency, and avoids degradation of communication quality due to the use of an inappropriate UL waveform.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a waveform switching method. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a component (such as a chip or circuit) configured in the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

For example, the method includes: sending a waveform switching request, the waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device; receiving the updated waveform configuration information; and updating the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

Optionally, the waveform switching request may carry indication information, and the indication information may be used to instruct the network device to perform UL waveform switching of the terminal device.

To clarify the need for waveform switching, the indication information may explicitly instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device. For example, this may be indicated by a predefined field in the waveform switching request. In this case, the indication information may be a predefined field in the waveform switching request.

In order to enable the network device to trigger waveform switching in time, the waveform switching request may include parameters required for selecting the UL waveform for the terminal device. For example, it may include parameters such as RSRP or SRS measurement measured by the terminal device. The device selects an appropriate target UL waveform for the terminal device based on the above parameters.

Optionally, the updated waveform configuration information may be configuration information of an updated UL waveform. The updated UL waveform may be referred to as a target UL waveform. That is, the updated UL waveform may be a CP-OFDM waveform or a DFT-S-OFDM waveform. The waveform configuration information may refer to configuration information of a target UL waveform.

It should be understood that a cell may refer to a cell providing communication services for a terminal device. A cell group may refer to a combination of cells providing communication services for a terminal device. A cell may include one or more cells. A cell group may include one or more cells.

When a terminal device directly sends a waveform switching request to a network device, the network device can trigger the UL waveform switch at the terminal device's request. The terminal device initiates the UL waveform switch, allowing the network device to promptly switch to the appropriate UL waveform, making the UL waveform change more compatible with the terminal device's own switching needs and improving waveform switching efficiency.

The terminal device may trigger the switching of the UL waveform. Therefore, in one possible implementation, sending the waveform switching request may include: sending the waveform switching request in response to satisfying a first preset condition.

Here, the first preset condition may refer to a condition pre-configured in the terminal device for triggering or initiating UL waveform switching. The terminal device may correspond to at least one cell and/or at least one cell group. The terminal device may determine whether the UL waveform of each cell or cell group meets the first preset condition.

The terminal device meeting the first preset condition may include the terminal device's own transmit power not matching the configured UL waveform's transmit power. If the terminal device's own transmit power does not match the configured UL waveform's required transmit power, the terminal device sends a waveform switching request to the network device. This prevents the terminal device from failing to transmit information carried by the UL waveform, which could cause communication interruption.

In one possible design, the transmit power of the terminal device may be determined by at least one of the following parameters: the operating state of the UE's PA, the UE's capabilities, the UL signal processing capability, the UE's actual transmit power, and other parameters. Based on the above parameters, possible implementations of the terminal device satisfying the first preset condition are described in detail below.

That is, satisfying the first preset condition may include at least one of the following:

The operating state of the RF front-end chip power amplifier PA of the terminal device meets the first preset state;

The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meets the first preset capability;

The signal processing capability of the terminal device meets the second preset capability.

The video front-end chip may include one or more PAs. The operating state of the PA of the RF front-end chip of the terminal device meeting the first preset state may mean that the operating state of a PA of the RF chip of the terminal device meets the first preset state. That is, in the case of multiple PAs, the terminal device can distinguish between different PAs and separately manage the UL waveform corresponding to each PA.

The first preset capability may refer to a capability threshold pre-set for the signal transmission capability of the terminal device. For example, if the signal transmission capability is actual transmit power, the first preset capability may be a set power threshold. The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meeting the first preset capability may include: the actual transmit power of the terminal device being greater than the power threshold.

The second preset capability may refer to a signal processing capability preset to meet the normal signal transmission requirement. For example, the second preset capability may be a PARR reduction capability.

Optionally, the waveform switching request may be sent by the terminal device to the network device. However, the transmission of the waveform switching request requires communication resources. Therefore, in a possible implementation, any of the following items is also included:

The waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information;

The waveform switching request is carried in a first radio resource control RRC message;

The waveform switching request is carried in a first media access control-control element MAC-CE message.

That is, the terminal device may transmit uplink control information to the network device, and some fields in the uplink control information may be set as waveform switching requests. The terminal device may transmit a first RRC message to the network device. A predefined field in the first RRC message carries the waveform switching request. The terminal device may transmit a first MAC CE message to the network device. A predefined field in the first MAC CE message carries the waveform switching request.

By using any one of the uplink control information, RRC message and MAC-CE message to transmit the waveform switching request to the network device, the transmission process of the waveform switching request can be locally more reliable, the efficiency of the waveform switching request transmission can be improved, and the transmission delay can be reduced.

It should be understood that the waveform switching request can be transmitted to the network device via a message or signaling. The transmission of the message or signaling requires a channel or communication resources. Therefore, the method further includes:

Resource configuration information is received, where the resource configuration information is used to indicate configuration of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH.

Optionally, the resource configuration information may be used to indicate the PUCCH configured for the terminal device. Specifically, the resource configuration information may be carried in downlink control information (DCI) or a third RRC message or a third MAC CE message.

Optionally, the resource configuration information may include information such as the PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) or the PUCCH resource index, thereby determining the corresponding PUCCH resource through the PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) or the PUCCH resource index.

Optionally, when the waveform switching request is carried in a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message, the updated waveform configuration information is carried in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message.

Optionally, the RRC message or the MAC-CE message may carry the waveform switching request explicitly or implicitly.

Therefore, by configuring PUCCH resources for the terminal device, fast and professional transmission of information with the terminal device can be achieved, thereby improving information transmission efficiency.

In addition, waveform switching requests and waveform configuration information can be transmitted through RRC messages and MAC-CE messages.

In one possible implementation, the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of the first cell or first cell group for which UL waveform switching is to be performed; the first identifier is used to instruct the network device to update waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or first cell group.

Updating the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information includes: updating the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

It should be understood that the first flag can be used to indicate that UL waveform switching occurs in the first cell or cells within the first cell group. The first flag can, for example, indicate that UL waveform switching of the cell or cell group is performed, and the second flag can, for example, indicate that UL waveform switching of the cell or cell group is not performed.

Thus, the network device prompts the first cell or the first cell group to switch the waveform through the first identifier, thereby achieving targeted UL waveform switching and completing UL waveform switching for the first cell or the first cell group in a timely manner, thereby avoiding communication failure caused by the UL waveform used by the first cell or the first cell group not matching its transmit power, and It solves communication problems in a timely manner and improves user experience.

In another possible implementation, the waveform switching request also includes a second identifier of the second cell or second cell group that does not need to perform UL waveform switching; the second identifier is used to instruct the network device not to update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the second cell or second cell group.

It should be understood that the second flag may indicate that the second cell or cells in the second cell group do not perform UL waveform switching. The network device determines whether the corresponding second cell or second cell group performs UL waveform switching by reading the second flag.

Therefore, the network device prompts the second cell or the second cell group not to perform waveform switching through the second identifier, thereby achieving targeted non-UL waveform switching prompts and avoiding UL waveform switching for the second cell or the second cell group that does not need to perform UL waveform switching, resulting in waste of communication resources.

After the terminal device sends the waveform switching request, it needs to wait for receiving the waveform configuration information. In order to ensure that the use of the terminal device is not affected, the reception time of the waveform configuration information can be restricted. Therefore, in one possible implementation, the method further includes:

Start the timer; if the updated waveform configuration information is not received within the valid time of the timer, send a waveform switching request to the network device again.

A timer is used to perform timeout detection on the reception of waveform configuration information, so that the terminal device limits the reception time of waveform configuration information, avoiding the failure of UL waveform switching due to long waiting time for receiving waveform configuration information, and improving the success rate of UL waveform switching.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, which can be executed by a network device, or by a component (such as a chip or circuit) configured in the network device. This application does not limit this.

For example, the method includes: receiving a waveform switching request, the waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device; updating the configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request; and sending the updated waveform configuration information, the waveform configuration information is used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

Resource configuration information is sent, where the resource configuration information is used to indicate configuration of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH.

In a possible implementation, when the waveform switching request is carried in a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message, the updated waveform configuration information is carried in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message.

In one possible implementation, the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of a first cell or a first cell group for which UL waveform switching is to be performed; and the method further includes:

According to the waveform switching request, the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group is updated, and the updated waveform configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to update the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group.

Optionally, the waveform switching request further includes a second identifier of a second cell or a second cell group for which UL waveform switching does not need to be performed; and the method further includes:

According to the waveform switching request, it is determined that a UL waveform of the second cell or the second cell group does not perform a configuration update.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising modules or units for executing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising modules or units for executing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device. When the device for processing the candidate cell configuration information is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input/output interface.

In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the device for processing the candidate cell configuration information is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface.

Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

In one implementation, the communication device is a network device. When the communication device is a network device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input/output interface.

In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a network device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a network device, the communication interface may be an input/output interface.

Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal via the input circuit and transmit a signal via the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method of the first aspect or the second aspect, and any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a specific implementation, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

In an eighth aspect, a processing device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and receive signals via a receiver and transmit signals via a transmitter to perform the method of the first aspect or the second aspect, and any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or may be separately arranged on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor.

It should be understood that the relevant data interaction process, such as sending the instruction information, can be a process of outputting the instruction information from the processor. The process of receiving capability information can be the process of the processor receiving input capability information. Specifically, the data output by the processor can be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

The processing device in the eighth aspect may be one or more chips. The processor in the processing device may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated into the processor or located independently of the processor.

In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, including a processor, a memory and a transceiver, the transceiver is used to send and receive data, the memory is used to store code instructions, and the processor is used to run the code instructions. When executing the code instructions stored in the memory, the processor is used to instruct the terminal device to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation method of the first aspect.

In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, including a processor, a memory and a transceiver, the transceiver is used to send and receive data, the memory is used to store code instructions, and the processor is used to run the code instructions. When executing the code instructions stored in the memory, the processor is used to instruct the terminal device to execute the method described in the above second aspect and any possible implementation method of the second aspect.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip or chip system, comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a line, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction to perform the method of the first aspect or the second aspect, and any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect. The communication interface in the chip may be an input/output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc.

In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when the computer program runs on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In one possible implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further includes at least one memory, in which instructions are stored. The memory may be a storage unit within the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or a storage unit of the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

It should be understood that the third, fifth and ninth aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solution of the first aspect of the present application, the fourth, sixth and tenth aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solution of the second aspect of the present application, and the seventh, eighth and eleventh to thirteenth aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solution of the first or second aspect of the present application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG2 is a diagram showing the signaling exchange of a waveform switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application from the perspective of device interaction. mutual images;

FIG3 is a signaling interaction diagram of another waveform switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application, shown from the perspective of device interaction;

FIG4 is a signaling interaction diagram of another waveform switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application, shown from the perspective of device interaction;

FIG5 is a signaling interaction diagram of another waveform switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application, shown from the perspective of device interaction;

FIG6 is a flow chart of a waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a possible structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application, for example, a schematic diagram of the structure of a base station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms and technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced below:

1. Uplink (UL) waveform: This refers to the signal waveform formed when data is transmitted from a user equipment (UE) to a base station or server in a wireless or wired communication system. The UL waveform used by the UE is generally configurable by the network device. Specifically, the network device may send an RRC message to the UE, which may contain UL waveform configuration information. The UE may then configure the UL waveform configuration information in the RRC message.

2. The Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) waveform is a type of UL waveform, specifically a special Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform. The CP-OFDM waveform adds a cyclic prefix (Cyclic Prefix) to each OFDM symbol. The cyclic prefix is a copy of a portion of the data at the end of the OFDM symbol, which is inserted at the beginning of the symbol to form a cyclic structure. CP-OFDM technology rationally arranges subcarriers so that the subcarriers overlap with each other, and does not require the use of guard bands to strictly separate the subcarriers.

CP-OFDM supports single-user multiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO) transmission. SU-MIMO transmission allows communication with only one terminal at a time on the same channel, while multiple terminals still transmit serially. In SU-MIMO, both the base station and the user can have multiple antennas, but can only serve one user at a time.

3. Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) is a modulation and multiplexing technology used in wireless communication systems or wired communication systems. It combines the characteristics of discrete Fourier transform spread (DFT-S) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).

DFT-S-OFDM supports Rank 1 transmission and offers enhanced coverage. Rank 1 transmission is a transmission mode in LTE (Long Term Evolution), primarily used at the cell edge. In this mode, the system uses only one transport layer for data transmission, simplifying signal processing and improving transmission reliability.

4. Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is mainly used to transmit uplink L1/L2 control information to support uplink and downlink data transmission (UCI) and ensure the normal operation of the system.

5. Cell: A cell is described at a high level from the perspective of resource management, mobility management, or service unit. The coverage area of each network device can be divided into one or more cells. Each cell can correspond to one or more frequencies, or in other words, each cell can be considered an area formed by the coverage area of one or more frequencies.

It should be noted that a cell may be an area where the wireless network of a network device is covered. In an embodiment of the present application, different cells may correspond to the same or different network devices. For example, the network device to which cell #1 belongs and the network device to which cell #2 belongs may be different network devices, such as a base station. That is, cell 1# and cell #2 may be managed by different base stations. Alternatively, for another example, the network device that manages cell #1 and the network device that manages cell #2 may also be different radio frequency processing units 1101 of the same base station, such as a radio remote unit (RRU). That is, cell #1 and cell #2 may be managed by the same base station, specifically the same baseband processing unit 1101 and intermediate frequency processing unit 1101, but with different video processing units 1101. Alternatively, for another example, the network device to which cell 1# belongs and the network device to which cell 2# belongs may be the same network device, such as a base station. That is, cell 1# and cell 2# may be managed by the same base station. In this case, it can be said that cell 1# and cell 2# are co-located, and this application does not specifically limit this.

As mentioned above, a gNB (next generation Node B) can include both a CU and a DU in some possible deployments. In this deployment, Cell 1# and Cell 2# can be managed by the same CU and the same DU, i.e., they share both the CU and the DU. Cell 1# and Cell 2# can be managed by the same CU and different DUs, i.e., they share the CU but not the DU. Cell #1 and Cell #2 can also be managed by different CUs and different DUs, i.e., they share neither the CU nor the DU.

6. Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages are signaling messages used to configure, manage, and control radio resources. RRC messages are used in wireless communication systems, particularly in cellular networks such as LTE and 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5G) New Radio (NR).

RRC messages are transmitted between the UE and the base station to establish, maintain, and release wireless connections. RRC messages can contain various information elements (IEs), which contain various parameters and instructions for configuring and managing wireless resources. For example, an RRC Connection Setup Request message may contain UE capability information, security algorithm configuration, and wireless resource configuration.

7. Other terms

In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. For example, the terms "first chip" and "second chip" are used solely to distinguish between different chips and do not define their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not define the quantity or execution order, and do not necessarily define differences.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a--c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

The technical solution of this application will be described below in conjunction with the scene drawings.

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, future fifth generation (5G) communication system or new radio access technology (NR), vehicle to other devices (vehicle -to-XV2X), where V2X can include vehicle to network (V2N), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I), vehicle to pedestrian (V2P), Long Term Evolution-Vehicle (LTE-V), Internet of Vehicles, machine type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), Long Term Evolution-Machine (LTE-M), machine to machine (M2M), etc.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail in conjunction with Figure 1. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the waveform switching method and communication device of the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a network device 110; the communication system 100 may also include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device 120 shown in Figure 1. The terminal device 120 may be mobile or fixed. The network device 110 is a device that can communicate with the terminal device 120 via a wireless link, such as a base station or a base station controller. Each network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminal devices located in the coverage area (cell).

FIG1 exemplarily shows two network devices and one terminal device. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include at least one network device and each network device may include other number of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Each of the above communication devices, such as the network device 110 or the terminal device 120 in Figure 1, can be configured with multiple antennas. The multiple antennas may include at least one transmitting antenna for sending signals and at least one receiving antenna for receiving signals. In addition, each communication device also includes a transmitter chain and a receiver chain. Those skilled in the art will understand that they can all include multiple components related to signal transmission and reception (such as processors, modulators, multiplexers, modems, demultiplexers, or antennas, etc.). Therefore, the network device and the terminal device can communicate using antenna technology.

Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a network controller, a mobility management entity or a core network element, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can be any device with wireless transceiver function. The term "network element" includes, but is not limited to, an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., Home evolved NodeB, or Home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), and may also be a gNB (next generation Node B) or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G system, such as a NR system, one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DPU). unit, DU) etc.

In some deployments, a gNB may consist of a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU handles non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions. The DU handles physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can be considered to be sent by the DU, or by a combination of the DU and the AAU. It is understood that a network device may include one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. Furthermore, a CU may be classified as a network device in an access network (RAN) or a network device in a core network (CN), and this application does not limit this.

Network equipment provides services for cells, and terminal devices communicate with cells through transmission resources allocated by the network equipment (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can belong to a macro base station (for example, macro eNB or macro gNB, etc.) or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here can include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

In addition, the terminal device may include a handheld device with communication functions, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, some terminal devices are: mobile phones, tablet computers, PDAs, laptop computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. Wireless terminals, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc., are not limited to these in the embodiments of the present application.

As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as: terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device, etc.

In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device or each network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as the Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

Referring to the communication system shown in FIG1 , assume that terminal device 120 resides on network device 110. Terminal device 120 may report a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) or Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) measurement to network device 110. Network device 110 may determine a target UL waveform to be used by terminal device 120 based on the RSRP or SRS measurement. Thereafter, network device 110 may send indication information of the target UL waveform to terminal device 120. Terminal device 120 may receive the indication information, which may indicate waveform configuration information for configuring the target UL waveform for the terminal device.

As can be seen from the above description, the network device 120 can switch the UL waveform according to the RSRP or SRS measurement reported by the terminal device. However, since the network device cannot obtain the working status, signal transmission capability, signal processing capability and other parameters of the terminal device, the network device cannot timely obtain the actual transmit power of the UE. The mismatch between the actual transmit power of the UE and the UL waveform is the condition for triggering the UL waveform switching. Therefore, the network device cannot determine when to switch the UE's UL waveform, resulting in the UL waveform of the terminal device not matching the actual transmission power. If there is a mismatch, the communication quality will be reduced.

Based on this, the present application provides a waveform switching method, whereby a terminal device proactively initiates a UL waveform switching request and sends the waveform switching request to a network device. The waveform switching request can instruct the network device to promptly update the waveform configuration information of the terminal device's UL waveform. The terminal device, upon receiving the updated waveform configuration information, can promptly update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group. This allows the UL waveform switching to be initiated by the terminal device, providing the terminal device with more efficient UL waveform updates in a timely manner, reducing communication barriers caused by UL waveform mismatches, and improving the user experience.

In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

First, in the embodiment of the present application, "used for indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein the other information and the information to be indicated have an association relationship. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, it is also possible to implement the indication of the information to be indicated by means of a pre-agreement (such as a protocol provision) on whether a certain information element exists, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

Second, "predefinition" or "preconfiguration" can be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a terminal device and a network device). This application does not limit its specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. One or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. One or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited by this application.

Third, in the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, and does not require the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

Fourth, the following describes multiple embodiments in detail with reference to multiple flowcharts. However, it should be understood that these flowcharts and the descriptions of their corresponding embodiments are provided for ease of understanding only and should not constitute any limitation on this application. Not every step in each flowchart is necessarily required; for example, some steps can be skipped. Furthermore, the order in which the steps are executed is not fixed and is not limited to that shown in the figures. The order in which the steps are executed should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

The method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that the following description is only for ease of understanding and explanation, and the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail using the interaction between a terminal device and a network device as an example. However, this does not constitute any limitation on the execution subject of the method provided in the present application. For example, the terminal device shown in the embodiment below can be replaced by a component (such as a chip or circuit) configured in the terminal device. The network device shown in the embodiment below can also be replaced by a component (such as a chip or circuit) configured in the network device.

The embodiments shown below do not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or the network device that can call and execute the program.

FIG2 is a signaling interaction diagram of a waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the waveform switching method provided in this embodiment may include:

S201: The terminal device sends a waveform switching request. Accordingly, the network device may receive the waveform switching request sent by the terminal device.

The waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

It should be understood that sending a waveform switching request may also be described as indicating a waveform switching request or transmitting a waveform switching request. A waveform switching request may also be described as waveform switching information, switching indication information, waveform indication information, waveform switching message, waveform change request, waveform change request, waveform change information, waveform change information, waveform change message, or waveform change message.

It should be noted that the above text only lists different ways of describing waveform switching requests and does not constitute a specific limitation. Any information or message that has the meaning of triggering waveform switching can fall within the scope of protection of this case.

Optionally, the terminal device sending the waveform switching request may include: the terminal device sending the waveform switching request to the network device, or the terminal device sending the waveform switching request to the original cell. The original cell may also be referred to as the source cell. The original cell may refer to an area covered by a sector antenna of a network device in a communication system, within which mobile devices can communicate with the network device.

As mentioned above, the waveform switching request may essentially carry indication information, and the indication information may be used to instruct the network device to perform UL waveform switching of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the indication information may explicitly instruct the network device to update waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device. For example, the indication is performed using a predefined field in the waveform switching request. In this case, the indication information may be a predefined field in the waveform switching request.

Exemplarily, the predefined field may be defined as a first identifier. The network device reads or parses the first identifier from the waveform switching request, and determines whether to instruct to perform UL waveform switching of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

Furthermore, assuming that the first identifier is a first identifier, it can indicate that the UL waveform switching of the cell or cell group of the terminal device is updated. If the first identifier is a second identifier, it can indicate that the UL waveform switching of the cell or cell group of the terminal device is not updated. The first identifier can be, for example, 1, and the second identifier can be, for example, 0. Or the first identifier can be, for example, 0, and the second identifier can be, for example, 1. Of course, the first identifiers listed above are merely exemplary and should not constitute any limitation.

In another possible design, the indication information may also implicitly instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the terminal device's cell or cell group. For example, the waveform switching request may include the configuration information of the configured UL waveform. When the network device receives the waveform switching request, it may determine to initiate an UL waveform update based on the UL waveform configuration information included therein.

It should be understood that the specific manners listed above for instructing the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device are only examples and should not constitute any limitation. This application does not specify the specific manner in which the terminal device instructs the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the cell or cell group. Make a limitation.

The waveform switching request may include parameters required for selecting an UL waveform for the terminal device, such as RSRP or SRS measurement parameters measured by the terminal device. Based on these parameters, the network device selects an appropriate target UL waveform for the terminal device.

For example, the network device may determine a target UL waveform based on parameters such as RSRP or SRS measurement. Specifically, the target UL waveform that matches the parameters such as RSRP or SRS measurement may be determined from a CP-OFDM waveform and a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

It should be understood that the UL waveform used by the terminal device before sending the waveform switching request can be referred to as the initial UL waveform. The UL waveform used by the network device after updating for the terminal device can be referred to as the target UL waveform. Of course, the names of the UL waveforms before and after the update are merely exemplary and do not constitute specific limitations.

S202. The network device updates the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request.

Optionally, the UL waveform may refer to a normal UL waveform and/or a supplementary uplink (SUL) waveform. In a 5G communication system, the uplink waveform may be configured as a CP-OFDM waveform or a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

As before, the network device may read indication information from the waveform switching request, where the indication information may be waveform configuration information for instructing the network device to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

Furthermore, the network device may explicitly or implicitly determine that the UL waveform of the terminal device needs to be updated through a waveform switching request, thereby determining waveform configuration information of the updated UL waveform.

It should be understood that the waveform configuration information can be used to indicate the UL waveform used by the terminal device. Therefore, the result obtained by the terminal device updating the configuration information of the UL waveform is the terminal device updating the UL waveform.

S203: The network device sends the updated waveform configuration information, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the updated waveform configuration information.

Among them, the waveform configuration information can be used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

As before, the updated waveform configuration information may be configuration information of an updated UL waveform. The updated UL waveform may be referred to as a target UL waveform, that is, the updated UL waveform may be a CP-OFDM waveform or a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

It should be understood that the network device updating the configuration information of the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device may specifically refer to the network device determining to update/change the UL waveform of the terminal device to a target UL waveform and determining waveform configuration information for the target UL waveform. The target UL waveform may be a CP-OFDM waveform or a DFT-S-OFDM waveform.

Furthermore, the network device may update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform, specifically including: the network device may determine the target UL waveform used by the cell or cell group of the terminal device from the CP-OFDM waveform and the DFT-S-OFDM waveform. After the network device determines the target UL waveform, the network device may determine the waveform configuration information of the cell or cell group of the terminal device in the target UL waveform.

That is, the waveform configuration information can be used to indicate the target UL waveform used in the uplink between the terminal device and the network device. The waveform configuration information can be used to determine which waveform to use for uplink data transmission.

For example, the waveform configuration information may include parameters related to the user configuration of the target UL waveform. For example, the waveform configuration information may include at least one of the following information: a waveform identifier of the target UL waveform, a target UL waveform, The waveform index of the target UL waveform, the usage time of the target UL waveform, the period information of the target UL waveform, the signal level information of the target UL waveform, etc.

Of course, the parameters listed in the above waveform configuration information are merely exemplary and are not intended to be a specific limitation.

S204. The terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

As mentioned above, the waveform configuration information may refer to the configuration information of the target UL waveform. In step 204, the terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information. Specifically, the terminal device changes the UL waveform of the cell or cell group to the target UL waveform according to the updated waveform configuration information.

Of course, if the UL waveform indicated by the updated waveform configuration information is the same as the initial UL waveform originally configured by the terminal device, the terminal device can ignore the waveform configuration information sent by the network device this time, so as to save device operating resources.

It should be understood that the cells in the waveform switching request may include cells serving the terminal device's communications and/or cells in which the terminal device resides or is adjacent to the terminal device. A cell group may refer to a combination of cells serving the terminal device's communications. A cell may include one or more cells. A cell group may include one or more cells.

Furthermore, the terminal device updating the UL waveform of a cell or cell group may mean that the terminal device sets the UL waveform of the cell or cell group it serves to the configuration information of the target UL waveform, so that the uplink communication between the terminal device and the cell or cell group uses the target UL waveform corresponding to the configuration information to carry data.

It should be understood that waveform configuration and cell switching are two independent processes for a terminal device. That is, a terminal device can perform a cell switch while performing an UL waveform switch. However, both the original cell before the cell switch and the target cell after the cell switch can use the terminal device's most recently configured UL waveform.

As described above, a terminal device directly sends a waveform switching request to a network device, allowing the network device to trigger a UL waveform switch at the terminal device's request. The terminal device initiates the UL waveform switch, allowing the network device to promptly switch to the appropriate UL waveform, making the UL waveform change more compatible with the terminal device's switching needs and improving waveform switching efficiency.

As described above, the terminal device can trigger the switching of the UL waveform. The terminal device can trigger the switching of the UL waveform according to a pre-set trigger frequency. The terminal device can also trigger the UL waveform switching when it determines that the first preset condition is met. As shown in Figure 3, a signaling interaction diagram of a waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Figure 3, the waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include:

S301: In response to a first preset condition being met, the terminal device sends a waveform switching request.

The waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update the configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

Here, the first preset condition may refer to a condition pre-configured in the terminal device for triggering or initiating UL waveform switching. The terminal device may correspond to at least one cell and/or at least one cell group. The terminal device may determine whether the UL waveform of each cell or cell group meets the first preset condition.

That is, the terminal device detects that the UL waveform of a cell or cell group meets the first preset condition and can send a waveform switching request.

It should be understood that in step 301, the terminal device responding to the first preset condition being satisfied may specifically include: the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device satisfying the first preset condition. In other words, if the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device determines that the first preset condition is satisfied, the terminal device sends a waveform switching request to the network device.

Furthermore, the terminal device meeting the first preset condition may include the terminal device's own transmission power being equal to the configured The transmit power of the configured UL waveform does not match.

As an embodiment, if the terminal device's own transmit power does not match the required transmit power of the configured UL waveform, the terminal device sends a waveform switching request to the network device to avoid the terminal device failing to transmit information carried by the UL waveform, causing communication interruption.

The required transmission power may refer to the power required for normal transmission of the configured UL waveform.

Exemplarily, the fact that the transmit power of the terminal device itself is incompatible with the required transmit power of the configured UL waveform may include at least one of the following:

The terminal device's own transmit power is less than the required transmit power of the configured UL waveform.

The terminal device's own transmit power is greater than the required transmit power of the configured UL waveform.

The absolute value of the difference between the terminal device's own transmission power and the required transmission power of the configured UL waveform is greater than the first threshold.

As another embodiment, if the terminal device's own transmit power matches the configured UL waveform's transmit power, no waveform switching request is made, thereby avoiding frequent switching of UL waveforms and waste of communication resources.

Exemplarily, the transmission power of the terminal device itself is adapted to the transmission power of the configured UL waveform, which may include at least one of the following:

The terminal device's own transmit power is equal to the required transmit power of the configured UL waveform.

The absolute value of the difference between the terminal device's own transmission power and the required transmission power of the configured UL waveform is less than or equal to the second threshold.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first threshold and the second threshold may be pre-set thresholds, and the first threshold and the second threshold may be equal or unequal. When the first threshold and the second threshold are unequal, the first threshold is greater than the second threshold. When the first threshold is greater than the second threshold, the implementation conditions for the terminal device to initiate UL waveform switching can be made more difficult than the conditions for not initiating UL waveform switching, thereby avoiding frequent triggering of UL waveform switching and resulting in a waste of communication resources.

In addition, when the first threshold is greater than the second threshold, if the absolute value of the difference between the terminal device's own transmit power and the configured UL waveform's transmit power requirement is between the first threshold and the second threshold, then UL waveform switching may or may not be triggered, and this can be set according to usage requirements. For example, if the UE's communication capability is weak, then UL waveform switching may not be triggered. If the UL's communication capability is strong, then UL waveform switching may be triggered. This is not excessively limited in this embodiment.

S302. The network device updates the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request.

It should be noted that some steps in this embodiment are the same as some steps in the aforementioned embodiments, and are not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

S303: The network device sends updated waveform configuration information, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the updated waveform configuration information.

Among them, the waveform configuration information can be used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

S304. The terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

As can be seen from the above description, the terminal device can promptly initiate a UL waveform switching request to the network device when the first preset condition is met, thereby improving the efficiency of waveform switching and avoiding the terminal device from always using an inappropriate waveform. In addition, through the constraint of the first preset condition, the terminal device can not initiate the switching of the UL waveform at will, thus saving the communication resources between the terminal device and the network device.

As described above, the terminal device can determine whether the first preset condition is met based on whether its own transmission power is compatible with the transmission requirement power of the configured UL waveform.

In one possible design, the transmit power of the terminal device may be determined by at least one of the following parameters: the operating state of the UE's PA, the UE's capabilities, the UL signal processing capability, the UE's actual transmit power, and other parameters. Based on the above parameters, possible implementations of the terminal device satisfying the first preset condition are described in detail below.

1) The operating state of the power amplifier (PA) of the RF front-end chip of the terminal device meets the first preset state.

It should be understood that the RF front-end chip is a core component of wireless communications. It refers to the functional module between the antenna and the transceiver, generally including the power amplifier (PA), filter/duplexer, switch, and low-noise amplifier. Its performance directly determines factors such as signal strength, stability, and power consumption. The power amplifier (PA) is a key factor affecting the RF front-end chip.

It should be understood that the video front-end chip may include one or more PAs. The operating state of the PA of the terminal device's RF front-end chip meeting the first preset state may mean that the operating state of a PA in the terminal device's RF chip meets the first preset state. That is, in the case of multiple PAs, the terminal device can distinguish between different PAs and manage the UL waveform corresponding to each PA separately.

For example, assuming the video front-end chip has two PAs, a first PA and a second PA. If the operating state of the first PA satisfies a first preset state, UL waveform switching can be performed for the cell or cell group of the first PA. If the operating state of the second PA does not satisfy the first preset state, UL waveform switching may not be performed for the cell or cell group of the second PA.

It should be understood that when the working state of the PA satisfies the first preset state, the first preset condition is satisfied. When the first preset condition is satisfied, the terminal device may initiate a waveform switching request to update the UL waveform.

That is, when the working state of the PA is insufficient to support the current UL waveform transmission, the working state of the PA is the first preset state. The first preset state can be described as the working state of the PA when the UL waveform configured or currently configured by the terminal device is abnormally transmitted.

The cell or cell group corresponding to the PA in the first preset state can be used to generate a waveform switching request. That is, the waveform switching request can be used to instruct the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the cell or cell group corresponding to the PA in the first preset state to update.

In one possible design, the operating state of the power amplifier PA may mean that the PA supports sending a single carrier or supports sending multiple carriers.

For example, if the UL waveform configured for the terminal device is a CP-OFDM waveform, the CP-OFDM waveform can normally transmit using multiple carriers. Conversely, if the CP-OFDM waveform is operating in a single-carrier PA mode, transmission will be abnormal. In this case, the first preset state may indicate that the PA supports transmission of a single carrier.

It is understandable that when the UL waveform is a CP-OFDM waveform, if the PA is operating in a single carrier mode, the PA's operating state satisfies the first preset state, and if the PA is operating in a multi-carrier mode, the PA's operating state does not satisfy the first preset state.

Taking the UL waveform configured by the terminal device as DFT-S-OFDM waveform as an example, the DFT-S-OFDM waveform can use a single or multiple carriers for normal transmission. However, the transmission power of multiple carriers is large and the power consumption is high. The DFT-S-OFDM waveform is transmitted abnormally when the working state of the PA is multiple carriers, and the first preset state may mean that the PA supports sending multiple carriers.

It is understandable that when the UL waveform is a DFT-S-OFDM waveform, if the PA operating state is multiple carriers, the PA operating state satisfies the first preset state. If the PA operating state is a single carrier, the PA operating state does not satisfy the first preset state.

Of course, the number of carriers supported by the CP-OFDM waveform and DFT-S-OFDM waveform listed above is only exemplary. The number of carriers that can be sent by the above two waveforms is not fixed. The number of carriers required for the above waveform transmission is only to illustrate several examples in which the working state of the PA meets the first preset state, and does not constitute a specific limitation.

In another possible design, multiple operating states can be pre-set for the PA, and a determination can be made as to whether each operating state satisfies a first preset state. For example, a first state, a second state, a third state, and a fourth state can be pre-set for the PA. The first and second states can be configured to not satisfy the first preset state, while the third and fourth states can satisfy the first preset state. Thus, when the PA's operating state is the third or fourth state, it is determined that the PA's operating state satisfies the first preset state.

It should be noted that the number of PA working states listed above and whether the implementation method of the first preset state is met are merely exemplary and do not constitute specific limitations. The embodiments of this application do not impose excessive restrictions on the number and types of PA working states.

In this embodiment, the working status of the power amplifier (PA) of the RF front-end chip of the terminal device is directly used as the judgment object of the first preset condition, thereby improving the judgment efficiency and accuracy of the first preset condition.

2) The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meets the first preset capability.

Optionally, the signal transmission capability of the terminal may include at least one of the following: the signal transmission capability of the terminal and actual transmission power. The signal transmission capability of the terminal may be, for example, maximum transmission power and/or average transmission power.

The first preset capability may refer to a capability threshold preset for the signal transmission capability of the terminal device.

Taking the signal transmission capability as the actual transmit power as an example, the first preset capability may be a set power threshold. The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meeting the first preset capability may include: the actual transmit power of the terminal device is greater than the power threshold.

Taking the signal transmission capability as the signal transmission capability of the terminal as an example, the first preset capability may be a set capability threshold. The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meeting the first preset capability may include: the signal transmission capability of the terminal device is greater than the capability threshold.

Of course, if the signal transmission capability is composed of two items: actual transmission power and signal transmission capability, then the signal transmission capability of the terminal device meeting the first preset capability may mean that the actual transmission power of the terminal device is greater than the power threshold, and the signal transmission capability is greater than the capability threshold.

It should be understood that when the signal transmission capability is the maximum transmit power, the signal transmission capability being greater than the capability threshold may mean that the maximum transmit power is greater than the first threshold. When the signal transmission capability is the average transmit power, the signal transmission capability being greater than the capability threshold may mean that the average transmit power is greater than the second threshold. When the signal transmission capability is the maximum transmit power and the average transmit power, the signal transmission capability being greater than the capability threshold may mean that the maximum transmit power is greater than the third threshold and the average transmit power is greater than the fourth threshold.

It should be noted that the specific values of the various thresholds involved above can be set according to usage requirements. This is not particularly limited in the examples.

In this embodiment, the detection of the first preset condition is related to the signal transmission capability of the terminal device. Furthermore, based on the first preset condition, the detection of the condition for performing UL waveform switching is more directly associated with the signal transmission capability, thereby improving the detection efficiency and reliability of the first preset condition.

3) The signal processing capability of the terminal device meets the second preset capability.

Optionally, the signal processing capability of a terminal device may refer to the capability corresponding to a processing function set for the terminal device. For example, the capability to reduce the peak-to-average power ratio (PARR) of digital modulation may be considered as a signal processing capability of the terminal device. Therefore, the signal processing capability of the terminal device may include at least one of the following: PARR reduction capability, signal filtering capability, signal encoding capability, etc.

The second preset capability may refer to a signal processing capability preset to meet the normal signal transmission requirement. For example, the second preset capability may be a capability of reducing PARR.

In this embodiment, the signal processing capability of the terminal device meeting the second preset capability may mean that the second preset capability exists in the signal processing capability of the terminal device.

Taking the second preset capability as the PARR reduction capability as an example, if the signal processing capability of the terminal device includes the PARR reduction capability, it is determined that the signal processing capability of the terminal device meets the second preset capability. If the signal processing capability of the terminal device does not include the PARR reduction capability, it is determined that the signal processing capability of the terminal device does not meet the second preset capability.

In this embodiment, the signal processing capability of the terminal device is involved in the detection of the first preset condition, so that the waveform switching of the terminal device can be associated with the signal processing capability, and whether the UL waveform switching needs to be executed can be confirmed in time according to the signal processing capability, thereby avoiding the loss of signal transmission performance due to the use of inappropriate UL waveform.

As mentioned above, the waveform switching request can be sent by the terminal device to the network device. The transmission of the waveform switching request requires communication resources. In one possible design, the waveform switching request can be transmitted through signaling or messaging. The following will describe the transmission method of the waveform switching request in this application:

1) The waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information (UCI).

It should be understood that the terminal device can transmit uplink control information to the network device, and some fields in the uplink control information can be set as waveform switching requests. The waveform switching request is transmitted to the network device via UCI.

It should be understood that a certain predefined field in the uplink control information carries the waveform switching request. The waveform switching request can be set in the predefined field in the uplink control information.

In this embodiment, the waveform switching request is transmitted to the network device through the uplink control information, so that the transmission process of the waveform switching request has a higher reliability, improves the efficiency of the uplink control information transmission, and reduces the transmission delay.

2) The waveform switching request is carried in the first radio resource control (RRC) message.

It should be understood that the terminal device can transmit a first RRC message to the network device. A predefined field in the first RRC message carries the waveform switching request. The waveform switching request can be set in a predefined field in the first RRC message.

In this embodiment, the waveform switching request is sent to the terminal device via an RRC message. Using existing signaling transmission can avoid unnecessary channel overhead, save communication resources, and achieve flexible and efficient information transmission while improving service performance.

3) The waveform switching request is carried in the first medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) message.

It should be understood that the terminal device can transmit the first MAC CE message to the network device. The waveform switching request may be set in a predefined field in the first MAC-CE message.

In this embodiment, the waveform switching request is sent to the terminal device through MAC CE signaling, which can reduce the number of signaling transmissions. Transmitting the waveform switching request to the terminal device can improve transmission efficiency and achieve more flexible UL waveform switching.

In addition to transmitting waveform switching requests via the aforementioned messages or signaling, dedicated signaling can also be used to carry waveform switching requests. Dedicated signaling refers to signaling set up between terminal devices and network equipment to carry data, which is different from the common signaling bearer shared by all UEs. The configuration of dedicated signaling can implement UE-specific transmission and improve UE data transmission efficiency.

Since proprietary signaling has higher transmission efficiency and greater flexibility, transmitting configuration information to terminal devices through proprietary signaling can improve the transmission efficiency and security of the configuration information.

As mentioned above, the waveform switching request can be transmitted to the network device via a message or signaling. The transmission of the message or signaling requires a channel or communication resources. The following describes in detail the corresponding embodiments of the waveform switching request carrying method and transmission method.

In Example 1, a waveform switching request is carried in uplink control information. In this case, the network device is further configured to send resource configuration information, and correspondingly, the terminal device is further configured to receive resource configuration information. The resource configuration information is used to indicate the configuration of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried in uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH.

The above embodiment 1 is described in detail below with reference to FIG4. As shown in FIG4, the waveform switching method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include:

S401. A network device sends resource configuration information, and correspondingly, a terminal device may receive the resource configuration information.

The resource configuration information is used to indicate the configuration of a physical uplink control channel PUCCH for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted through the PUCCH.

It should be understood that the network device may indicate resource configuration information to the terminal device. The network device indicates the PUCCH to the terminal device.

Optionally, the resource configuration information may be used to indicate the PUCCH configured for the terminal device. Specifically, the resource configuration information may be carried in downlink control information (DCI) or a third RRC message or a third MAC CE message.

It should be understood that the network device may send DCI or a third RRC message or a third MAC CE message to the terminal device. The DCI or the third RRC message or the third MAC CE message may carry resource configuration information.

The resource configuration information may be used to determine a PUCCH resource or a PUCCH resource set. The PUCCH resource set determines the PUCCH resource used for PUCCH transmission.

The resource configuration information may include information such as the PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) or the PUCCH resource index, thereby determining the corresponding PUCCH resource through the PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) or the PUCCH resource index. In addition, the resource configuration information may also include information such as the PUCCH format used to determine the PUCCH resource, the symbols used for PUCCH transmission, the number of symbols used for PUCCH transmission, and the physical resource blocks (PRBs) used for PUCCH transmission.

The configuration of the PUCCH can be achieved through resource configuration information.

S402. The terminal device configures a physical uplink control channel PUCCH.

In an optional implementation, configuring the PUCCH of the terminal device may include at least one of the following:

Use the PUCCH index in the resource configuration information to configure the corresponding PUCCH;

Use the resource indicator (PRI) in the resource configuration information to configure the corresponding PUCCH;

The corresponding PUCCH is configured using at least one of a PUCCH format, a symbol used for PUCCH transmission, a number of symbols used for PUCCH transmission, and a physical resource block (PRB) used for PUCCH transmission in the resource configuration information.

S403. The terminal device sends a waveform switching request via the configured PUCCH.

Optionally, sending the waveform switching request through the configured PUCCH may specifically refer to: transmitting uplink control information to the network device through the PUCCH, where the uplink control information carries the waveform switching request, so that the waveform switching request is sent to the network device.

Optionally, sending the waveform switching request through the PUCCH may specifically refer to: sending a PUCCH signal to the network device through the PUCCH, where the PUCCH signal carries the waveform switching request, so that the waveform switching request is sent to the network device.

It should be understood that the waveform switching request may instruct the network device to switch the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device. The waveform switching request instructing the cell or cell group to perform UL waveform switching may include at least one of the following:

Instruct the first cell to perform UL waveform switching; instruct the first cell group to perform UL waveform switching; instruct the second cell not to perform UL waveform switching; instruct the second cell group not to perform UL waveform switching.

The waveform switching request may carry at least one of the following information:

The first cell identifier for performing UL waveform switching; the first cell group identifier for performing UL waveform switching; the second cell identifier for not performing UL waveform switching; the second cell group identifier for not performing UL waveform switching; the cell identifiers corresponding to cells within the same cell group for performing UL waveform switching; the cell identifiers corresponding to cells within the cell group for not performing UL waveform switching.

S404. The network device updates the waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request.

S405: The network device sends the updated waveform configuration information, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the updated waveform configuration information.

Among them, the waveform configuration information can be used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

It should be understood that the waveform configuration information sent by the network device can be transmitted through the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) with the terminal device.

S406. The terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

From the above description, it can be seen that the network device can configure PUCCH resources for the terminal device. By configuring PUCCH resources for the terminal device, it can achieve fast and professional transmission of information with the terminal device, improve the efficiency of information transmission, and enable various information, such as waveform switching requests, to be quickly transmitted to the network device through PUCCH resources, thereby improving the response speed of the network device to UL waveform switching and further improving the switching efficiency of the UL waveform.

In the second embodiment, the waveform switching request is carried in a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message. In this case, the RRC message or MAC-CE message can be used to transmit information between the terminal device and the network device. Accordingly, the waveform configuration information fed back by the network device to the terminal device can be carried in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message.

As mentioned above, the waveform switching request and waveform configuration information can be transmitted through RRC messages and MAC-CE messages. As shown in Figure 5, a signaling interaction diagram of a waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. The waveform switching method provided in the embodiments of the present application may include:

S501. The terminal device sends a first radio resource control RRC message or a first media access control-control element MAC-CE message.

The first RRC message or the first MAC-CE message carries a waveform switching request, which is used to instruct the network device to update the configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

Optionally, the RRC message or the MAC-CE message may carry the waveform switching request explicitly or implicitly.

The RRC message or MAC-CE message may also directly carry information related to the cell or cell group on which UL handover needs to be performed.

Table 1 below shows an example of a MAC-CE message indicating a cell or a cell group.

Table 1

Wherein, celli (cell i) in the first row is used to represent different cells, and Di is used to represent the waveform switching identifier of celli. i is an integer greater than 0, as shown in Table 1, i is an integer from 1 to 8.

For example, if Di = the first identifier, it indicates that celli needs to perform UL waveform switching, and if Di = the second identifier, it indicates that celli does not need to perform UL waveform switching. Of course, the meaning of whether to perform UL waveform switching represented by different identifiers is only exemplary and does not constitute a specific limitation. For another example, if Di = the second identifier, it indicates that celli needs to perform UL waveform switching, and if Di = the first identifier, it indicates that celli does not need to perform UL waveform switching. In addition, Di can also use other values or symbols to represent whether to perform UL waveform switching or not, and this embodiment does not limit this in too much.

For example, the first identifier may be 1, and the second identifier may be 0. Alternatively, the first identifier may be 1, and the second identifier may be 2. Of course, the values of the first identifier and the second identifier are merely exemplary and do not constitute a specific limitation.

S502: The network device reads the waveform switching request carried in the first RRC message or the first MAC-CE message.

S503: The network device determines waveform configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request.

S504. The network device sends a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message, where the second RRC message or the second MAC-CE message carries waveform configuration information, where the waveform configuration information is used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

S505. The terminal device reads the updated waveform configuration information from the second RRC message or the second MAC-CE message.

S506. The terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

As can be seen from the above description, the terminal device sends a first RRC message or a first MAC CE message to the network device to indicate the waveform switching request, so that the network device can respond to the UL waveform switching demand of the terminal device in a timely manner. This can avoid the terminal device always using an incompatible UL waveform for message transmission, resulting in message transmission failure or slow transmission, information loss and other adverse effects, thereby improving the user's communication experience.

As mentioned above, the waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update the configuration information of the uplink UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

Furthermore, the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of a first cell or a first cell group for which UL waveform switching is to be performed.

The first flag is used to instruct the network device to update the configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group;

The steps involved in the above embodiment, updating the UL waveform of a cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information, include:

The UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group is updated according to the updated waveform configuration information.

It should be understood that the first identifier can be used to indicate that UL waveform switching occurs in the first cell or cells within the first cell group.

In one possible design, the first identifier may, for example, indicate that UL waveform switching of a cell or a cell group is to be performed, and the second identifier may, for example, indicate that UL waveform switching of a cell or a cell group is not to be performed.

Furthermore, the network device determines whether the corresponding first cell or first cell group performs UL waveform switching by reading the first identifier. The indication result of the first identifier may include at least one of the following:

The network device reads the first identifier of the first cell from the waveform switching request as the first identifier, and determines that the first cell performs UL waveform switching.

The network device reads the first identifier of the first cell group from the waveform switching request as the first identifier, and determines that the first cell group performs UL waveform switching.

As can be seen from the above description, the network device prompts the first cell or the first cell group to switch the waveform through the first identifier, thereby achieving targeted UL waveform switching and completing the UL waveform switching for the first cell or the first cell group in a timely manner, avoiding communication failure caused by the UL waveform used by the first cell or the first cell group being incompatible with its transmission power, solving communication problems in a timely manner, and improving user experience.

In addition, the waveform switching request further includes a second identifier of a second cell or a second cell group for which UL waveform switching does not need to be performed;

The second flag is used to instruct the network device not to update the configuration information of the UL waveform of the second cell or the second cell group.

It should be understood that the second flag may indicate that the second cell or cells within the second cell group do not perform UL waveform switching.

In one possible design, the network device determines whether the corresponding second cell or second cell group performs UL waveform switching by reading the second identifier. The indication result of the second identifier may include at least one of the following:

The network device reads the first identifier of the second cell from the waveform switching request as the second identifier, and determines that the second cell does not perform UL waveform switching.

The network device reads the first identifier of the second cell group from the waveform switching request as the second identifier, and determines that UL waveform switching is not performed in the second cell group.

As can be seen from the above description, the network device uses the second identifier to prompt the second cell or the second cell group not to perform waveform switching, thereby achieving targeted non-UL waveform switching prompts and avoiding UL waveform switching for the second cell or the second cell group that does not need to perform UL waveform switching, resulting in waste of communication resources.

After the terminal device sends a waveform switching request, it needs to wait for receiving waveform configuration information. In order to ensure that the use of the terminal device is not affected, the reception time of the waveform configuration information can be restricted.

Furthermore, FIG6 is a flow chart of a waveform switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The waveform switching method provided in this embodiment can be applied to a terminal device. As shown in FIG6 , the method may include:

S601: Start the timer.

Optionally, the timer is started at the same time as the waveform switching request is sent. Or after the waveform switching request is sent Start the timer. The timer can be started simultaneously with the waveform switching request or at a predefined interval between the sending time of the waveform switching request. The predefined interval can be a preset time interval, which can be close to zero and can be in seconds, microseconds, or milliseconds, etc., and is not limited in this embodiment.

S602: Whether the updated waveform configuration information is not received within the effective duration of the timer; if so, execute step 603; if not, execute step 604.

S603: Send a waveform switching request to the network device again.

S604: The terminal device receives updated waveform configuration information.

S605. The terminal device updates the UL waveform of the cell or cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

In this embodiment, the terminal device may start the timer after sending the waveform switching request.

Optionally, the timer may be indicated by the network device or preconfigured by the terminal device. The terminal device may be configured to obtain the first information, and the first information may be configured to indicate the timer. Obtaining the first information may be described as receiving the first information or transmitting the first information.

In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one of the following: relevant information about the timer, configuration information about the timer, and an identifier of the timer. The relevant information may include at least one of the following: information such as the duration, identifier, type, and/or name of the timer. The configuration information may include at least one of the following: startup information, operation information, and/or call information of the timer. The identifier may refer to information that identifies the timer. Several possible examples of timers are listed below:

1. T310 timer

Timer T310 is the time interval before the terminal device waits for downlink scheduling. The effective duration of T310 can be, for example, pre-signaled to the terminal device by the original network device via signaling, or it can be predefined, and this application does not limit this. After sending a waveform switch request, the terminal device starts the T310 timer. If the T310 timer expires but no updated waveform configuration information is received, the terminal device sends a waveform switch request again.

2. Predefined timers

The predefined timer can be a timer predefined in the terminal device, and the time interval of the timer can be adaptively determined. The predefined timer can be pre-issued by the original network device through signaling or predefined in the terminal device, and this application does not limit this. After sending the waveform switching request, the terminal device starts the predefined timer. If the predefined timer times out but no updated waveform configuration information is received, the waveform switching request is sent again.

It should be noted that the timers listed above are only exemplary and should not constitute any limitation.

From the above content, it can be seen that the timer is used to perform timeout detection on the reception of waveform configuration information, so that the terminal device limits the reception time of waveform configuration information, avoids the failure of UL waveform switching due to long waiting time for receiving waveform configuration information, and improves the success rate of UL waveform switching.

The waveform switching method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 2 to 6 , and the device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 7 .

FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the communication device 700 may include a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702 .

In one possible design, the communication device 700 can implement the operations of the corresponding terminal device in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device can be a terminal device, or a component configured in the terminal device, such as a chip or circuit.

The communication device can implement the corresponding operations of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6. For example, the transceiver unit 702 can perform part of step 201 of the method, and the processing unit 701 can perform part of step 204 of the method. Furthermore, the various units in the communication device 700 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2.

In one possible design, the communication device 700 can implement the operations of the corresponding network device in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device can be a network device, or a component configured in the network device, such as a chip or circuit.

The communication device can implement the corresponding operations of the network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6. For example, the transceiver unit 702 can perform some steps in step 203 of the method, and the processing unit 701 can perform some steps in step 202 of the method. Furthermore, the various units in the communication device 700 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2.

Specifically, when the communication device 700 is used to execute the waveform switching method shown in FIG. 2 , the transceiver unit 702 may be configured to: send a waveform switching request, the waveform switching request being used to instruct a network device to update waveform configuration information of an uplink (UL) waveform of a cell or cell group of a terminal device; and receive the updated waveform configuration information. The processing unit 701 may be configured to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group based on the updated waveform configuration information.

Specifically, when the communication device 700 is used to perform the waveform switching method shown in Figure 2, the transceiver unit 702 can be used to: receive a waveform switching request, which is used to instruct the network device to update the waveform configuration information of the uplink (UL) waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device. The processing unit 701 can be used to: update the configuration information of the uplink (UL) waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device based on the waveform switching request. The transceiver unit 702 can also be used to send the updated waveform configuration information, which is used to update the UL waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device.

When the communication apparatus 700 is used in a terminal device, the transceiver unit 702 may further be used to: send a waveform switching request in response to satisfying a first preset condition.

Meeting the first preset condition may specifically include at least one of the following: the working state of the RF front-end chip power amplifier PA of the terminal device meets the first preset state; the signal transmission capability of the terminal device meets the first preset capability; and the signal processing capability of the terminal device meets the second preset capability.

That is, the terminal device determines that the first preset condition is satisfied when it detects that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: the operating state of the RF front-end chip power amplifier PA satisfies the first preset state, the signal transmission capability satisfies the first preset capability, and the signal processing capability satisfies the second preset capability. At this point, the terminal device may send a waveform switching request.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit 702 can also be used to perform at least one of the following: sending uplink control information, sending a first radio resource control RRC message; sending a first media access control-control element MAC-CE message.

The waveform switching request is carried in uplink control information; and/or, the waveform switching request is carried in a first radio resource control (RRC) message; and/or, the waveform switching request is carried in a first media access control (MAC-CE) message, so that the waveform switching request is sent to the network device.

When the communication device 700 is applied to a network device, the transceiver unit 702 can also be used to: send resource configuration information, the resource configuration information is used to indicate the configuration of the physical uplink control channel PUCCH for the terminal device, and when the waveform switching request is carried in the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH.

Accordingly, when the communication device 700 is applied to a terminal device, the transceiver unit 702 can also be used to: receive resource configuration information, the resource configuration information is used to indicate the configuration of a physical uplink control channel PUCCH for the terminal device, and when the waveform switching request is carried on the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH.

The PUCCH resource can be used to transmit information between the terminal device and the network device. The transceiver unit 702 of the terminal device is also used to send uplink control information via the PUCCH. The transceiver unit 702 of the network device is also used to receive uplink control information via the PUCCH. The uplink control information can carry waveform switching requests.

In another possible design, when the communication apparatus 700 is applied to a terminal device, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to send a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message, and the waveform switching request is carried in the first RRC message or the first MAC-CE message.

Accordingly, when the communication apparatus 700 is applied to a network device, the transceiver unit 702 is further configured to receive a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message. The processing unit 701 is configured to read a waveform switching request from the first RRC message or the first MAC-CE message.

After updating the uplink UL waveform configuration information of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request, the processing unit 701 corresponding to the network device may carry the updated waveform configuration information in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message.

The transceiver unit 702 corresponding to the network device is further configured to send a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message. Accordingly, the transceiver unit 702 corresponding to the terminal device is further configured to receive the second RRC message or the second MAC-CE message. The processing unit 701 corresponding to the terminal device is further configured to read the updated waveform configuration information from the second RRC message or the second MAC-CE message.

In yet another possible design, the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of a first cell or a first cell group in which UL waveform switching is to be performed.

When the communication device 700 is applied to a network device, the processing unit 701 is also used to: update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group according to the waveform switching request, and the updated waveform configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to update the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group.

When the communication apparatus 700 is applied to a terminal device, the processing unit 701 is further used to: update the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information.

In another possible design, the waveform switching request includes a second identifier of the second cell or second cell group for which UL waveform switching is not required. The second identifier is used to instruct the network device not to update waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the second cell or second cell group.

When the communication apparatus 700 is applied to a network device, the processing unit 701 is further configured to: determine, according to the waveform switching request, that the UL waveform of the second cell or the second cell group does not perform a configuration update.

In another possible design, when the communication device 700 is applied to a terminal device, the processing unit 701 is also used to: start a timer; if the updated waveform configuration information is not received within the effective duration of the timer, then send a waveform switching request to the network device again.

It should also be understood that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

It should be understood that the communication device 700 may correspond to the terminal device 120 or the network device 110 in the communication system shown in Figure 1. The processing unit 701 in the communication device 700 may correspond to the processor in the terminal device 120 or the network device 110, and the instructions stored in the memory may be called by the processor in the terminal device 120 or the network device 110 to implement the above-mentioned functions, such as network coding and obtaining original packets; the transceiver unit 702 may correspond to the interface in the terminal device 120 or the network device 110, and may respond to the instructions of the processor to implement the above-mentioned functions of receiving and/or sending data.

It should also be understood that the transceiver unit 702 in the communication device 700 can be implemented by a transceiver or a communication interface, for example, it can correspond to the transceiver 2020 in the terminal device 2000 shown in Figure 8 and the transceiver 3100 in the network device 3000 shown in Figure 9. The processing unit 701 in the communication device 700 can be implemented by at least one processor, for example, it can correspond to the processor 2010 in the terminal device 2000 shown in Figure 8 and the processor 3202 in the network device 3000 shown in Figure 9.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 2000 can be applied to the system shown in FIG1 to perform the functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. As shown in FIG8 , the terminal device 2000 includes a processor 2010 and a transceiver 2020. Optionally, the terminal device 2000 also includes a memory 2030. The processor 2010, the transceiver 2020, and the memory 2030 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory 2030 is used to store a computer program, and the processor 2010 is used to call and run the computer program from the memory 2030 to control the transceiver 2020 to transmit and receive signals. Optionally, the terminal device 2000 may also include an antenna 2040 for transmitting the uplink data or uplink control signaling output by the transceiver 2020 via a wireless signal.

The processor 2010 and the memory 2030 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 2010 is configured to execute program codes stored in the memory 2030 to implement the aforementioned functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 2030 may also be integrated into the processor 2010 or independent of the processor 2010. The processor 2010 may correspond to the processing unit 701 in FIG. 7 .

The transceiver 2020 may correspond to the transceiver unit 702 in Figure 7. The transceiver 2020 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

It should be understood that the terminal device 2000 shown in FIG8 is capable of implementing the various processes involved in the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2 through FIG6 . The operations and/or functions of the various modules in the terminal device 2000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the aforementioned method embodiments; to avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are omitted here.

The processor 2010 can be used to execute the actions implemented within the terminal device described in the previous method embodiments, while the transceiver 2020 can be used to execute the actions of the terminal device sending to or receiving from the network device described in the previous method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the previous method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the terminal device 2000 may further include a power supply 2050 for providing power to various devices or circuits in the terminal device.

In addition, in order to make the functions of the terminal device more complete, the terminal device 2000 can also include one or more of an input unit 2060, a display unit 2070, an audio circuit 2080, a camera 2090 and a sensor 2100, and the audio circuit can also include a speaker 2082, a microphone 2084, etc.

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application, for example, a base station/CU structure Schematic diagram. The base station 3000 can be applied to the system shown in Figure 1 to perform the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, the base station 3000 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 3100 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also known as distributed units (DU)) 3200. The RRU 3100 can be called a transceiver unit, corresponding to the transceiver unit 702 in Figure 7. Optionally, the transceiver unit 3100 can also be called a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which may include at least one antenna 3101 and a radio frequency unit 3102. Optionally, the transceiver unit 3100 may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, the receiving unit may correspond to a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit), and the transmitting unit may correspond to a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The RRU 3100 part is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, for example, for sending indication information to a terminal device. The BBU 3200 is mainly used for baseband processing, base station control, etc. The RRU 3100 and BBU 3200 can be physically located together or physically separated, i.e., a distributed base station.

BBU 3200 is the control center of the base station, also known as a processing unit, which corresponds to processing unit 701 in Figure 7 and is primarily responsible for performing baseband processing functions such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, and spread spectrum. For example, the BBU (processing unit) can be used to control the base station to execute the network device operation procedures in the above-mentioned method embodiments, such as generating the above-mentioned indication information.

In one example, the BBU 3200 may be composed of one or more boards. The multiple boards may jointly support a wireless access network of a single access standard (such as an LTE network), or may separately support wireless access networks of different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 3200 also includes a memory 3201 and a processor 3202. The memory 3201 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 3202 is used to control the base station to perform necessary actions, such as controlling the base station to execute the operation process of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The memory 3201 and the processor 3202 can serve one or more boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each board. Alternatively, multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be set on each board.

It should be understood that base station 3000 shown in FIG9 is capable of implementing the various processes involving network devices in the method embodiments shown in FIG2 through FIG6 . The operations and/or functions of the various modules in base station 3000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the aforementioned method embodiments; to avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are omitted here.

The BBU 3200 can be used to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments, which are implemented internally by the network device. The RRU 3100 can be used to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments, which involve the network device sending data to or receiving data from a terminal device. For details, please refer to the previous method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the base station 3000 shown in FIG9 is only one possible architecture of a network device and does not constitute any limitation to this application. The method provided in this application is applicable to network devices with other architectures. For example, network devices including CUs, DUs, and active antenna units (AAUs) are not limited in this application to the specific architecture of the network device.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

It should be understood that the processing device may be one or more chips. For example, the processing device may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a system chip (SoC). It can be a system on chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips.

During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip or chip system with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method of any one of the embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6.

According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a computer-readable medium, which stores a program code. When the program code is run on a computer, the computer executes the steps of FIG. The method of any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 6 .

According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a system, which includes one or more terminal devices and one or more network devices as mentioned above.

The network devices in the above-mentioned various apparatus embodiments completely correspond to the network devices or terminal devices in the terminal devices and method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are performed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiments, and other steps except sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, there can be one or more processors.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and a computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside in a process and/or an execution thread, and a component can be located on a computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate, for example, via local and/or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component on a local system, a distributed system, and/or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this 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 merely schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

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.

In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (program) are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. A computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. A computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. Available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

If the function 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, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program codes.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims (19)

A waveform switching method, comprising: Sending a waveform switching request, where the waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update waveform configuration information of an uplink (UL) waveform of a cell or cell group of the terminal device; receiving updated waveform configuration information; The UL waveform of the cell or the cell group is updated according to the updated waveform configuration information. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending a waveform switching request comprises: In response to satisfying a first preset condition, sending the waveform switching request. The method according to claim 2, wherein satisfying the first preset condition includes at least one of the following: The operating state of the RF front-end chip power amplifier PA of the terminal device meets the first preset state; The signal transmission capability of the terminal device meets the first preset capability; The signal processing capability of the terminal device meets the second preset capability. The method according to claim 1, further comprising any of the following: The waveform switching request is carried in uplink control information; The waveform switching request is carried in a first radio resource control RRC message; The waveform switching request is carried in a first media access control-control element MAC-CE message. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: Resource configuration information is received, where the resource configuration information is used to indicate configuration of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried on the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted via the PUCCH. The method according to claim 4 is characterized in that, when the waveform switching request is carried in a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message, the updated waveform configuration information is carried in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of a first cell or a first cell group for which UL waveform switching is to be performed; The first identifier is used to instruct the network device to update waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group; The updating of the UL waveform of the cell or the cell group according to the updated waveform configuration information includes: The UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group is updated according to the updated waveform configuration information. The method according to claim 7, wherein the waveform switching request further includes a second identifier of a second cell or a second cell group for which UL waveform switching does not need to be performed; The second identifier is used to instruct the network device not to update the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the second cell or the second cell group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: Start the timer; If the updated waveform configuration information is not received within the effective duration of the timer, a waveform switching request is sent to the network device again. A waveform switching method, comprising: receiving a waveform switching request, wherein the waveform switching request is used to instruct the network device to update waveform configuration information of an uplink (UL) waveform of a cell or a cell group of the terminal device; Updating the configuration information of the uplink (UL) waveform of the cell or cell group of the terminal device according to the waveform switching request; Send updated waveform configuration information, where the waveform configuration information is used to update the UL waveform of the cell or the cell group of the terminal device. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Resource configuration information is sent, where the resource configuration information is used to indicate configuration of a physical uplink control channel PUCCH for the terminal device. When the waveform switching request is carried on the uplink control information, the uplink control information is transmitted through the PUCCH. The method according to claim 10 is characterized in that, when the waveform switching request is carried in a first RRC message or a first MAC-CE message, the updated waveform configuration information is carried in a second RRC message or a second MAC-CE message. The method according to claim 10, wherein the waveform switching request includes a first identifier of a first cell or a first cell group for which UL waveform switching is to be performed; the method further comprising: According to the waveform switching request, the waveform configuration information of the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group is updated, and the updated waveform configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to update the UL waveform of the first cell or the first cell group. The method according to claim 13, wherein the waveform switching request further includes a second identifier of a second cell or a second cell group for which UL waveform switching is not required; the method further includes: According to the waveform switching request, it is determined that a UL waveform of the second cell or the second cell group does not perform a configuration update. A terminal device, comprising: a processor and a memory; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the terminal device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A network device, comprising: a processor and a memory; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the network device performs the method according to any one of claims 10 to 14. A computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A chip system, characterized in that it includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-14. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.