WO2025218565A1 - Communication method and communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving a first signal by using modules in a first module group, wherein the first signal meets the capability of the first module group that is indicated by first information, the first information comprising capability information of M modules in a terminal device, and the first module group comprises one or more modules among the M modules. On the basis of the method, the terminal device can use one or more modules with the capability of successfully receiving the first signal in the first module group, so that energy-saving benefits are improved.

Description

Communication method and communication device

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on April 18, 2024, with application number 202410471773.1 and invention name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device.

Background Art

High speed and low latency have always been the goals pursued in the field of communications, which requires terminal equipment to support high capabilities and large bandwidth capabilities. If the user equipment (UE) receives services with a lower communication rate based on its maximum capabilities for a long time, it will cause a lot of unnecessary waste in the UE's power consumption. Currently, the system with a larger processing capacity in the UE is usually split to achieve energy-saving operation in low-functionality demand scenarios. However, the energy-saving benefits brought about by this operation of reducing the capacity from a large-capacity system to a small-capacity system are usually low. On the one hand, in the process of splitting from a large-capacity system to a small-capacity system, some components are difficult to split. On the other hand, since the maximum processing capacity of the terminal device is fixed, and the static power consumption of the baseband processing module is related to the maximum computing power of the system, it is difficult to reduce the static power consumption of the terminal device.

Summary of the Invention

The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can improve the energy saving benefits of terminal equipment.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first apparatus, which may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit for a terminal device, although this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following description uses execution by a terminal device as an example.

The method includes: using a module in a first module group to receive a first signal, the first signal meeting the capability of the first module group indicated by first information, the first information including capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group including one or more modules among the M modules.

It should be understood that the M modules in the terminal device support independent operation or combined operation, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of combined operation of multiple modules. As an example and not a limitation, an example of M modules operating in combination can be expressed as follows: after one or more modules are combined into a first module group, the newly combined module group can be regarded as a new whole, the data scheduled for the first module group at one time is regarded as a transport block (TB), and the channel control information for scheduling or controlling the first module group at one time is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI).

It should be understood that using the modules in the first module group to receive the first signal can be understood as using all or part of the modules in the first module group to receive the first signal.

It should be understood that the first signal satisfies the capability of the first module group, which can be understood as the terminal device using the modules in the first module group to meet the transmission requirements for receiving the first signal, or in other words, the first signal can be successfully received by the modules in the first module group, and the capability of the first module group can be understood as the capability corresponding to the module in the first module group for receiving the first signal.

It should be understood that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to uplink transmission scenarios and downlink transmission scenarios. The above description only uses downlink transmission as an example and does not constitute a limitation.

Based on the above solution, the terminal device can use one or more modules in the first module group that are capable of successfully receiving the first signal, that is, the terminal device can use some modules to transmit signals, thereby improving energy saving benefits.

In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the M modules correspond to different components in the terminal device. Alternatively, the M modules are baseband modules and/or radio frequency modules.

It should be understood that the M modules in the terminal device correspond to different electronic devices in the terminal device. For example, the M modules may correspond to different circuits in the terminal device, or the M modules may correspond to different chips in the terminal device, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

As an example and not a limitation, the M modules may be modules in a specific component in the terminal device. For example, the M modules may be modules in a baseband processing system in the terminal device.

By way of example and not limitation, the M modules may be modules in multiple specific components in the terminal device. For example, M1 of the M modules may be modules in a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), and M2 of the M modules may be modules in a baseband processing system.

Based on the above solution, different modules of the terminal device correspond to different devices, so when some modules in the first module group are used to receive the first signal, the remaining modules in the first module group can be in a closed state, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability.

In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the capability information of the module includes at least one of the following: supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types.

It should be understood that the M modules in the terminal device are divided based on the capability of each module, and the capability of the first module group can be understood as the sum of the capabilities of one or more modules in the first module group.

As an example and not a limitation, the maximum bandwidth supported by a module can be indicated by the supported frequency range. For example, if the frequency range supported by module #1 is [100 MHz - 300 MHz], the maximum bandwidth supported by module #1 is expressed as 300 - 100 = 200 MHz.

As an example and not a limitation, the channel types supported by the above modules may include Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Measurement Reference Signal (Channel State Information-Reference Signal, CSI-RS), or Synchronization Signaling/PBCH (SSB), etc.

As an example and not a limitation, the signal types supported by the above modules may include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulated signals, or On-Off Keying (OOK) modulated signals, etc.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific capabilities of each module in the M modules.

As an example and not a limitation, the capabilities of each module in the terminal device are the same. As an example and not a limitation, the maximum downlink transmission rate supported by each module in the terminal device is 20 Mbps.

By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device includes at least two modules with different capabilities. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. Module #1 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 20 Mbps, module #2 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 50 Mbps, and module #3 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 100 Mbps.

Based on the above solution, modules in the terminal device can be designed and scheduled based on one or more capabilities, which is highly flexible.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the number of candidate values for the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

As an example and not a limitation, for module #1 among M modules, when the value of X is 2, the number of candidate values for the frequency range is 2, that is, the maximum bandwidth supported by module #1 can be [frequency range #1, frequency domain position #1] or [frequency range #2, frequency domain position #2].

Based on the above solution, the bandwidth or frequency range supported by a single module in the terminal device may include one or more candidate values, which is highly flexible.

In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, where the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. In other words, the first information is further used to indicate at least one combination of the one or more modules, where each combination corresponds to a module group.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of modules included in each module group.

As an example but not a limitation, the terminal device includes module group #1 and module group #2, wherein module group #1 includes 1 module and module group #2 includes 3 modules.

As an example and not a limitation, the terminal device includes module group #1, module group #2 and module group #3, wherein module group #1 includes 2 modules, module group #2 includes 2 modules, and module group #3 includes 3 modules.

Based on the above solution, the first information can also be used to indicate at least one module group, so that the network device can reasonably schedule the first module group in the terminal device according to the first information, thereby improving the energy saving benefits of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module group includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities.

It should be understood that different scenarios have different requirements for the capabilities of terminal devices. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific division of different scenarios. As an example and not a limitation, the above-mentioned different scenarios may be that the terminal device operates in different frequency bands, or the above-mentioned different scenarios may be that the terminal device uses different data rate processing capabilities, or the above-mentioned different scenarios may be that the terminal device uses different multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers for transmission, etc.

It should be understood that each module group in the at least one module group has different capabilities. In particular, compared to the module group with stronger capabilities, the module group with weaker capabilities in the same terminal device has fewer modules or the modules in the module group with weaker capabilities in the same terminal device support weaker capabilities.

Based on the above solution, the terminal device can use the corresponding module group to work in different scenarios, thereby further improving the energy saving benefits of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending the first information.

Based on the above solution, the terminal device can report the first information by itself, so that the network device can reasonably schedule the M modules in the terminal device according to the first information and current communication needs, effectively improving the energy saving benefits of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before sending the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information.

Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can report the first information based on the request of the network device, so that the network device can obtain the capability information of the M modules in the terminal device in a timely manner, and then reasonably schedule the M modules in the terminal device according to the first information and current communication needs, thereby effectively improving the energy-saving benefits of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information including configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group.

It should be understood that the configuration information of each module in the first module group is determined based on the above-mentioned first information, or in other words, the configuration of each module in the first module group by the network device is within the capability range of the corresponding module.

As an example and not limitation, the third information may be Radio Resource Control Reconfiguration (RRC_Reconfiguration) signaling.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form in which the network device configures the first module group through the third information.

As an example and not limitation, the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group. It is understandable that when the configuration information of any two modules in the first module group are different, the network device needs to carry complete configuration information of each module in the third information.

Furthermore, when the configuration information of two or more modules in the first module group includes partially identical configuration information (or configuration parameters), the network device may carry the aforementioned identical configuration information and module-specific configuration information in the third information. The complete configuration information of a module consists of the identical configuration information and module-specific configuration information. As a special case, when the modules are not associated with the same configuration information, the complete configuration information of the module consists only of module-specific configuration information.

As an example and not a limitation, the third information includes configuration information of the first module group and configuration information of each module in the first module group. It is understood that when the combination of the configuration information of the first module group and the configuration information of each module in the first module group is different, the network device needs to carry the configuration information of the first module group in the third information.

In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group.

In other words, when the parameters of the first module group are default, the terminal device may refer to the configuration information of each module in the first module group to determine some of its default parameters.

Specifically, when the configuration information of the first module group includes the same portion as the combination of configuration information of the modules within the module group, the network device may carry in the third information the portion of the configuration information of the first module group that is different from the combination of configuration information of the modules within the module group. In other words, for the first module group, the third information may only carry part of the configuration information.

Based on the above solution, the network device can use different configuration methods based on the parameters that need to be configured for each module in the first module group and the parameters that need to be configured for the first module group, which can take into account both configuration flexibility and low signaling overhead.

In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. A terminal device currently uses module #1 for data transmission. The network device may instruct the terminal device to activate module #2 through fourth information. Upon receiving the fourth information, the terminal device may simultaneously use module #1 and module #2 for data transmission.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. The terminal device currently uses module #1 and module #2 for data transmission. The network device may instruct the terminal device to deactivate module #1 through fourth information. After receiving the fourth information, the terminal device may then use only module #1 for data transmission.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. The terminal device currently uses module #1 for data transmission. The network device may instruct module #2 via fourth information. Upon receiving the fourth information, the terminal device deactivates module #1 and activates module #2. In other words, the terminal device uses only module #2 for data transmission.

It should be understood that the fourth information can be carried in any one of the downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI), media access control control signaling (Media Access Control Control Element, MAC CE), and RRC signaling, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

Based on the above solution, the network device can send fourth information to the terminal device according to the actual transmission situation to instruct the terminal device to adjust the activation/deactivation status of the modules in the first module group, thereby further improving the energy saving benefits of the terminal device.

In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits correspond one-to-one to the N modules; or, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, and the different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers.

As an example and not a limitation, if the first module group includes N modules, the network device can associate the N bits in the fourth information with the N modules one by one, and indicate the activation and/or deactivation of each module through the value of each bit.

As an example but not a limitation, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, thereby indicating activation and/or deactivation of the module set.

As an example but not a limitation, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, thereby indicating activation and/or deactivation of the module set.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the terminal device determines the modules included in each module set.

Exemplarily, the network device may send fifth information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information. The fifth information is used to indicate the modules included in each module set. The fifth information may be carried in any one of DCI, MAC CE, and RRC signaling, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Exemplarily, the modules included in each module set are specified by the protocol.

Based on the above solution, the network device can instruct the terminal device to activate/deactivate the modules in the first module group in different ways, which is highly flexible.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a second device, which may be a network device, or a chip or circuit used in a network device, or a component that performs some of the network device's functions, though this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following description uses execution by a network device as an example.

The method includes: sending a first signal, which is received by a terminal device using a module in a first module group, and the first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information, the first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules.

It should be understood that the first signal satisfies the capability of the first module group, which can be understood as the terminal device using the modules in the first module group to meet the transmission requirements for receiving the first signal, or in other words, the first signal can be successfully received by the modules in the first module group, and the capability of the first module group can be understood as the capability corresponding to the module in the first module group for receiving the first signal.

It should be understood that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to uplink transmission scenarios and downlink transmission scenarios. The above description only uses downlink transmission as an example and does not constitute a limitation.

Based on the above scheme, the network device can send a first signal, and the terminal device can use one or more modules in the first module group that have the ability to successfully receive the first signal from the network device, that is, the terminal device can use some modules to transmit signals, thereby improving energy saving benefits.

In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the M modules correspond to different components in the terminal device. Alternatively, the M modules are baseband modules and/or radio frequency modules.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability.

In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the capability information of the module includes at least one of the following: supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the number of candidate values for the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, where the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. In other words, the first information is further used to indicate at least one combination of the one or more modules, where each combination corresponds to a module group.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving the first information.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information.

In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information including configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group.

In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group.

In other words, when the parameters of the first module group are default, the terminal device may refer to the configuration information of each module in the first module group to determine some of its default parameters.

In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group.

In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with the N modules; or, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, and the different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a first apparatus, which may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit for a terminal device, although this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following description uses execution by a terminal device as an example.

The method includes: using a module in a first module group to send a first signal, the first signal meeting the capability of the first module group indicated by first information, the first information including capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group including one or more modules among the M modules.

Based on the above solution, the terminal device can use one or more modules in the first module group that have the ability to successfully send the first signal, that is, the terminal device can use some modules to transmit signals, thereby improving energy saving benefits.

In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the M modules correspond to different components in the terminal device. Alternatively, the M modules are baseband modules and/or radio frequency modules.

In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the capability information of the module includes at least one of the following: supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the number of candidate values for the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, where the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. In other words, the first information is further used to indicate at least one combination of the one or more modules, where each combination corresponds to a module group.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module group includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities.

In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending the first information.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, before sending the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information including configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group.

In other words, when the parameters of the first module group are default, the terminal device may refer to the configuration information of each module in the first module group to determine some of its default parameters.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group.

In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits correspond one-to-one to the N modules; or, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, and the different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a second device, which may be a network device, or a chip or circuit used in a network device, or a component that performs some of the functions of the network device, although this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the following description uses execution by a network device as an example.

The method includes: receiving a first signal, which is sent by a terminal device using a module in a first module group, and the first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information, the first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules.

Based on the above scheme, the network device can receive the first signal, and the terminal device can use one or more modules in the first module group that have the ability to successfully send the first signal from the network device, that is, the terminal device can use some modules to transmit signals, thereby improving energy saving benefits.

In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the M modules correspond to different components in the terminal device. Alternatively, the M modules are baseband modules and/or radio frequency modules.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the capability information of the module includes at least one of the following: supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the number of candidate values for the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, where the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. In other words, the first information is further used to indicate at least one combination of the one or more modules, where each combination corresponds to a module group.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: receiving the first information.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information including configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group.

In other words, when the parameters of the first module group are default, the terminal device may refer to the configuration information of each module in the first module group to determine some of its default parameters.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method also includes: receiving fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information being used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with the N modules; or, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, and the different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the first device described above. The communication device includes a unit for performing any of the methods described in the first aspect.

In one example, the communication device includes a transceiver unit, which is used to receive a first signal using a module in a first module group, and the first signal satisfies the capability of the first module group indicated by first information, and the first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules of the M modules.

It should be understood that the fifth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the first aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the first aspect are also applicable to the fifth aspect and will not be repeated here.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the second device described above. The communication device includes a unit for performing any of the methods described in the second aspect.

In one example, the communication device includes a transceiver unit, which is used to send a first signal. The first signal is received by a terminal device using a module in a first module group. The first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information. The first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules.

It should be understood that the sixth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the second aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the second aspect are also applicable to the sixth aspect and will not be repeated here.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the first device described above, and includes a unit for performing any of the methods described in the third aspect.

In one example, the communication device includes a transceiver unit, which is used to send a first signal using a module in a first module group. The first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information. The first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules.

It should be understood that the seventh aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the third aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the third aspect are also applicable to the seventh aspect and will not be repeated here.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be the second device described above, and includes a unit for performing any of the methods described in the fourth aspect.

In one example, the communication device includes a transceiver unit, which is used to receive a first signal. The first signal is sent by a terminal device using a module in a first module group. The first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information. The first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules.

It should be understood that the eighth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the fourth aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the fourth aspect are also applicable to the eighth aspect and will not be repeated here.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the first device or the second device described above. The communication device includes a processor, the processor being configured to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect. Optionally, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, or any implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, may be implemented.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, hardware circuit, bus, module, pin or other type of communication interface.

In one example, the communication device may be a network device, such as an access network device, or may be a device, module, or chip disposed in the network device, or may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

In another example, the communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the first device or the second device described above. The communication device includes a processor, the processor being configured to implement the method described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect or the fourth aspect. Optionally, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, may be implemented.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, hardware circuit, bus, module, pin or other type of communication interface.

In one example, the communication device may be a network device, such as an access network device, or may be a device, module, or chip disposed in the network device, or may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

In another example, the communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device.

In the eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a device having a method for implementing the above-mentioned first aspect, or any possible manner in the first aspect, or all possible manners in the first aspect, and various possible designed functions, and a device having a method for implementing the above-mentioned second aspect, or any possible manner in the second aspect, or all possible manners in the second aspect, and various possible designed functions; or, a device having a method for implementing the above-mentioned third aspect, or any possible manner in the third aspect, or all possible manners in the third aspect, and various possible designed functions, and a device having a method for implementing the above-mentioned fourth aspect, or any possible manner in the fourth aspect, or all possible manners in the fourth aspect, and various possible designed functions.

In the twelfth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or execute the method provided in any implementation of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

In the thirteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the methods provided in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or execute the methods provided in any implementation of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

In the fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects, or executes the method provided in any implementation of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

In a fifteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device to implement the methods provided in the first to fourth aspects above, or to execute the methods provided in any implementation of the first to fourth aspects above. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store the necessary programs and data for the device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

The technical effects of the solutions provided in the third to fifteenth aspects above can be referred to the corresponding description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a candidate BWP;

FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of modules in a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is another flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is another flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is another flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 3000 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The radio access network 100 may include at least one radio access network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ) and at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1 ). The terminal is wirelessly connected to the radio access network device, and the radio access network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the radio access network device may be independent, distinct physical devices, or the core network device's functions and the radio access network device's logical functions may be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the core network device's functions and some of the radio access network device's functions. Terminals and radio access network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1 .

The network device may be a wireless access network device, such as a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation base station (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system; it may also be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, for example, the wireless access network device may include at least one of a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU), wherein the centralized unit may also be referred to as a central unit (CU) or a control unit (CU). The CU performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers, and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. The DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers, and can also perform some or all physical layer functions (e.g., upper layers of the physical layer). The RU performs radio frequency functions and can also perform some physical layer functions (e.g., lower layers of the physical layer). For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A wireless access network device can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in Figure 1 ), a micro base station, an indoor station (e.g., 110b in Figure 1 ), a relay node, a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the wireless access network device. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of a network device.

Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home appliance, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal.

Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to wireless communications between communication devices. Wireless communications between communication devices may include: wireless communications between network devices and terminals, wireless communications between network devices, and wireless communications between terminals. In the embodiments of this application, the term "wireless communications" may also be referred to as "communication," which may also be described as "data transmission," "information transmission," or "transmission."

It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) are merely examples of downlink data channels, downlink control channels and uplink data channels, respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application are first explained.

1. Carrier aggregation:

With the ever-increasing demand for network capacity, frequency division duplex (FDD) spectrum resources are being widely used. Specifically, to meet the needs of increasing peak rates for individual users and system capacity, the most direct approach is to increase the system's transmission bandwidth. Therefore, carrier aggregation (CA) technology is introduced to increase the transmission bandwidth for individual users, thereby enabling FDD carrier aggregation and increasing spectrum usage by terminal devices. Specifically, CA aggregates two or more component carriers (CCs) to support a larger transmission bandwidth. For example, in the low-frequency FR1 band, NR specifies that the bandwidth of a single CC for a terminal device is 100MHz. CA can aggregate the bandwidths of multiple CCs into a virtual, large-bandwidth communication system.

2. Bandwidth part (BWP):

The bandwidth of a single base station carrier in NR is wider than that of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier. For example, the NR carrier bandwidth can be 100 MHz. However, different terminal devices have different RF capabilities and can support different maximum bandwidths. To reduce terminal power consumption, the concept of a BWP is introduced. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a BWP. As shown in Figure 2, a BWP is a set of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) on a carrier. Different BWPs can occupy partially overlapping frequency resources with different bandwidths, or they can occupy bandwidth resources with different numerologies and no overlap in the frequency domain. To meet different communication rate requirements, the network can configure different BWPs as the operating bandwidth for terminal devices. The introduction of the BWP concept eliminates the need for UEs to always operate within a 100 MHz bandwidth. Specifically, when the communication rate requirement is lower, the BWP can be switched to enable the terminal device to operate within a smaller bandwidth, thereby reducing terminal power consumption.

High speed and low latency have always been the goals pursued in the communications field. 4G can achieve a downlink communication rate of 150Mbps, 5G can achieve a communication rate of 1.2Gbps, and 6G is expected to achieve a communication rate more than 10 times that of 5G. This requires UEs to support high capabilities and large bandwidth capabilities. However, the communication rates required by commonly used applications (apps) do not require communication rates of several Gbps. Table 1 shows the communication rates required for commonly used apps to achieve a good user experience. Referring to Table 1, a communication rate of 50Mbps can meet the needs of most services. Therefore, if the UE receives services with a lower communication rate based on its maximum capacity for a long time, this will cause a lot of unnecessary waste in the UE's power consumption.

Table 1

Current energy-saving technologies typically involve decomposing functions from a larger system to achieve energy-saving operation in low-demand scenarios. For example, for a single CC, the terminal device must have a 100 MHz bandwidth and the processing capabilities required for that bandwidth (Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), coding, channel estimation, etc.). If the current traffic volume is low, the network can send an indication signaling to instruct the terminal device to switch to a 20 MHz bandwidth for processing. This is equivalent to reducing the processing power of a 100 MHz system to 20 MHz.

However, the energy saving benefit from such a reduction in capacity from a large capacity system to a small capacity system is usually low.

On the one hand, when moving from a high-capacity system to a lower-capacity system, some components are difficult to separate, such as modules within radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) or power amplifiers (PAs). For these modules, modem implementations typically use a set of components based on the device's maximum required capability. This means that systems with different capabilities must share the same components, resulting in no reduction in the power consumption of the terminal device. For example, when a terminal device switches from a 100MHz bandwidth reception capability to a 20MHz bandwidth reception capability, it must use the same set of RFIC or PA modules.

On the other hand, the power consumption of the baseband processing module in the terminal device consists of dynamic power consumption and static power consumption. Dynamic power consumption is related to the computational workload of the task currently being processed by the terminal device, while static power consumption is mainly related to leakage current, that is, the maximum computing power of the system. Therefore, if the system is designed for a maximum processing capacity of 100MHz, even if the device is configured to operate at a bandwidth capacity of 20MHz, the static power consumption of the device will be difficult to reduce. Moreover, with the development of technology, the proportion of static power consumption is increasing, becoming a non-negligible component.

In view of this, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method and a communication device, which can increase the energy-saving benefits of terminal equipment.

The above briefly explains the terms involved in this application, which will not be explained in the following embodiments. In addition, the above explanations of the terms are only for ease of understanding and do not limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained:

1) In this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

2) In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means more than two (including two). "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, 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 and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively.

3) Throughout this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical references are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they are used to distinguish between different messages, rather than to describe a specific order or precedence. It should be understood that these terms are interchangeable, where appropriate, to describe scenarios beyond the embodiments of this application.

4) In this application, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

5) In this application, "used to indicate" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and does not necessarily mean that the indication information carries A.

6) In this application, "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the communications field, such as the 5G protocol, the New Radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols used in future communications systems, and this application does not limit this. "Predefined" may include pre-definition, such as protocol definition. "Preconfiguration" may be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and this application does not limit the specific implementation method.

7) In this application, "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission", "data processing", etc. "Transmission" includes "sending" and "receiving".

8) In this application, configuration may refer to the network device being dynamically configured (configured) through signaling or messages, or it may refer to pre-configuration (pre-configured), that is, it may be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, a terminal device). This application does not limit its specific implementation method.

9) In this application, when comparing A and B, the description of "when A is greater than or equal to B, execute method A, when A is less than or equal to B, execute method B" can be specifically implemented as "when A is greater than or equal to B, execute method A; or, when A is less than B, execute method B", or "when A is greater than B, execute method A; or, when A is less than or equal to B, execute method B". This application does not limit this.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment provided by the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG1 above. The technical solution of the present application will be specifically described in conjunction with FIG3. The execution subject can be a terminal device or a receiving device, or a chip or circuit for a sending device or a receiving device. Among them, the sending device can be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit in a terminal device, or a functional module in a terminal device that can call and execute a program. The receiving device can be a network device, or a chip or circuit in a network device, or a functional module in a network device that can call and execute a program. For the sake of convenience of description, the following is an example of execution by a terminal device and a network device.

FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes the following steps:

S310: The network device sends a first signal to the terminal device.

S320: The terminal device uses a module in the first module group to receive the first signal.

Specifically, the terminal device uses all or part of the modules in the first module group to receive a first signal, and the first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by the first information. The first information includes the capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules of the M modules, where M is a positive integer.

In an embodiment of the present application, the M modules in the terminal device are divided based on the capabilities of each module.

In one possible implementation, the M modules may be modules in a specific component in the terminal device. For example, the M modules may be modules in an RFIC system in the terminal device, or in a baseband processing system in the terminal device, or in a PA in the terminal device, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In another possible implementation, the M modules may be modules in multiple specific components in the terminal device. Exemplarily, M1 of the M modules are modules in the RFIC, M2 of the M modules are modules in the PA, and M3 of the M modules are modules in the baseband processing system.

It should be understood that the M modules in the terminal device correspond to different electronic devices in the terminal device. For example, the M modules may correspond to different circuits in the terminal device, or the M modules may correspond to different chips in the terminal device, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

It should be understood that using the modules in the first module group to receive the first signal can be understood as using all or part of the modules in the first module group to receive the first signal.

It should be understood that the ability of the first signal to meet the first module group can be understood as the terminal device using the modules in the first module group to meet the transmission requirements for receiving the first signal, and the ability of the first module group can be understood as the corresponding ability of the module in the first module group for receiving the first signal.

It should be understood that the capability of each module may be the physical layer capability that the terminal device can implement based on the module, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific capabilities of the M modules in the terminal device.

As an example and not a limitation, the capabilities of the module may include one or more of the following: the maximum bandwidth supported by the module, the frequency range, the maximum uplink transmission rate supported by the module, the maximum downlink transmission rate supported by the module, the maximum number of data streams supported by the module, the number of multi-input and multi-output layers supported by the module, the channel types supported by the module, the signal types supported by the module, etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the maximum bandwidth supported by the module can be indicated by the supported frequency range. For example, assuming the supported frequency range is [100Mhz-300Mhz], the maximum bandwidth supported is expressed as 300-100=200Mhz.

In one possible implementation, the number of candidate values for the frequency range supported by the module or the maximum bandwidth supported by the module is X, where the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. For example, for module #1 among the M modules, when the value of X is 2, the number of candidate values for the frequency range is 2, i.e., the candidate values for the frequency range supported by module #1 can be [frequency range #1, frequency range #2].

As an example and not a limitation, the channel types supported by the above modules may include Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Measurement Reference Signal (Channel State Information-Reference Signal, CSI-RS), or Synchronization Signaling/PBCH (SSB), etc.

As an example and not a limitation, the signal types supported by the above modules may include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulated signals, or On-Off Keying (OOK) modulated signals, etc.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific capabilities of each module in the M modules.

In one possible implementation, the capabilities of each module in the terminal device are the same. As an example and not a limitation, the maximum downlink transmission rate supported by each module in the terminal device is 20 Mbps.

In this implementation, by unifying the capabilities of each module in the terminal device, after the design of one module is completed, the design of other modules can be completed with reference to this module, thereby simplifying the design cost.

In another possible implementation, the terminal device includes at least two modules with different capabilities. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. Module #1 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 20 Mbps, module #2 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 50 Mbps, and module #3 supports a maximum downlink transmission rate of 100 Mbps.

In this implementation, the capabilities of different modules can be refined based on the requirements of common services for terminal device capabilities, thereby improving the energy-saving benefits of terminal devices. For example, among the common services of terminal devices, 30% of the services require a communication rate of less than 20Mbps, 30% of the services require a communication rate greater than 20Mbps and less than 50Mbps, and 40% of the services require a communication rate greater than 50Mbps and less than 100Mbps. Based on the design of the requirements of the above services for terminal device capabilities, the terminal device can activate the corresponding modules according to the capabilities of the terminal device required by the above services, and the remaining modules are in a deactivated state, thereby improving the energy-saving benefits of the terminal device.

It should be understood that each module in the terminal device can only operate within its supported capability. For example, if the maximum operating frequency range supported by module #1 in the terminal device is 100 MHz-500 MHz, then module #1 can only operate within this frequency range.

It should be understood that the M modules in the terminal device support independent operation or combined operation, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of combined operation of multiple modules. As an example and not a limitation, one type of combined operation of M modules can be represented as follows: after multiple modules are combined into a first module group, the newly combined module group can be regarded as a new whole, the data scheduled for the first module group at one time is regarded as a transport block (TB), and the channel control information for scheduling or controlling the first module group at one time is indicated by a downlink control information (DCI).

Optionally, the DCI indication field corresponding to the control/scheduling of the first module group corresponding to the module group is appropriately expanded compared to the DCI indication field corresponding to a single module. An example can be represented as the first module group including module #1 and module #2, where module #1 supports a maximum of one antenna reception and module #2 supports a maximum of two antenna receptions. When module #1 is scheduled alone, the DCI indication field indicating antenna port usage includes x1 bits. When module #2 is scheduled alone, the DCI indication field indicating antenna port usage includes x2 bits. When the first module group is scheduled, the DCI indication field indicating antenna port usage includes x3 bits, where x3 ≥ x2 and x3 ≥ x1.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of modules in a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the baseband processing system of the terminal device includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. Module #1, module #2, and module #3 can each operate independently, and module #1 and module #2, module #1 and module #3, and module #2 and module #3 can operate in combination. Module #1, module #2, and module #3 can also operate in combination.

It should be understood that the first information can be understood as a collection of capability information of the M modules in the terminal device, that is, the first information includes capability information of each module in the M modules of the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, where the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. In other words, the first information is further used to indicate a combination of the one or more modules, where each combination corresponds to a module group.

The capability of each module group is the sum of the capabilities of one or more modules within the module group. It is understood that a module group comprising multiple modules has stronger capabilities than a single module.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of modules included in each module group.

As an example but not a limitation, the terminal device includes module group #1 and module group #2, wherein module group #1 includes 1 module and module group #2 includes 3 modules.

As an example and not a limitation, the terminal device includes module group #1, module group #2 and module group #3, wherein module group #1 includes 2 modules, module group #2 includes 2 modules, and module group #3 includes 3 modules.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation method of the at least one module group having different capabilities.

In one possible implementation, compared with a module group with stronger capabilities, a module group with weaker capabilities in the same terminal device has fewer modules.

As an example but not a limitation, module group #1 supports a bandwidth of 800 MHz, and module group #2 supports a bandwidth of 100 MHz, wherein module group #1 includes 4 modules and module group #2 includes 1 module.

In another possible implementation, compared with a module group with stronger capabilities, modules in a module group with weaker capabilities in the same terminal device support weaker capabilities.

As an example and not a limitation, module group #1 supports a bandwidth of 600Mhz, and module group #2 supports a bandwidth of 400Mhz. Module group #1 includes 2 modules and each module supports a bandwidth of 300Mhz, and module group #2 includes 2 modules and each module supports a bandwidth of 200Mhz.

It should be understood that different module groups in the terminal device may include the same modules, and this embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

It should be understood that when a module group includes only one module, the capabilities supported by the module group are the same as the capabilities supported by the module.

Furthermore, at least one module group in the terminal device is applied to different scenarios, and different scenarios have different requirements on the capabilities of the terminal device.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific division method of different scenarios. As an example and not a limitation, the above different scenarios can be that the terminal device operates in different frequency bands, or the above different scenarios can be that the terminal device uses different data rate processing capabilities, or the above different scenarios can be that the terminal device uses different MIMO layers for transmission, etc. The following description uses different operating frequency bands of terminal devices as different scenarios.

The NR protocol specifies that terminal devices must support different maximum bandwidths in different NR frequency bands. In embodiments of the present application, terminal devices can use different module groups in different frequency bands to support the maximum bandwidths corresponding to different frequency bands.

As an example and not a limitation, frequency band #1 requires the terminal device to support a maximum bandwidth greater than 400Mhz, frequency band #2 requires the terminal device to support a maximum bandwidth greater than 200Mhz and less than 400Mhz, and frequency band #3 requires the terminal device to support a maximum bandwidth less than 200Mhz. When the terminal device is working in frequency band #1, it can use module group #1, which includes 4 modules. When the terminal device is working in frequency band #2, it can use module group #2, which includes 2 modules in module group #1. When the terminal device is working in frequency band #3, it can use module group #3, which includes 1 module.

It should be understood that the capabilities of the modules in each module group in the terminal device may be the same or different, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

As an example and not a limitation, frequency band #1 can support a bandwidth of 100Mhz and an operating frequency of 600-700Mhz. The terminal device uses a module group #1 comprising two modules in this frequency band, wherein module #1 can support a maximum bandwidth of 600Mhz-650Mhz, and the other module #2 can support a maximum bandwidth of 650Mhz-700Mhz. Based on this, when the terminal device operates at 600Mhz-650Mhz, only the above-mentioned module #1 can be started, and when the terminal device operates at 650Mhz-700Mhz, only the above-mentioned module #2 can be started, thereby increasing the energy saving gain of the terminal device. In addition, when the terminal device operates at 600Mhz-650Mhz and 650Mhz-700Mhz, the module #1 and module #2 are started at the same time, and the terminal device can meet the transmission requirements.

As an example and not a limitation, frequency band #2 can support a bandwidth of 200Mhz and an operating frequency of 700-900Mhz. The terminal device uses module group #2, which includes two modules, in this frequency band. Module #3 can support a maximum bandwidth of 700Mhz-750Mhz, and another module #4 can support a maximum bandwidth of 750Mhz-900Mhz. Based on this, when the terminal device operates in 700Mhz-750Mhz, only module #3 can be activated. When the terminal device operates in 750Mhz-900Mhz, only module #4 can be activated, thereby increasing the energy saving gain of the terminal device. In addition, when the terminal device operates in 700Mhz-750Mhz and 750Mhz-900Mhz, module #3 and module #4 are activated at the same time, and the terminal device can meet the transmission requirements.

It should be understood that for the same scenario, different terminal devices may use module groups with different numbers of modules, or different terminal devices may use module groups with different capabilities of modules.

As an example and not a limitation, frequency band #1 requires the terminal device to support a maximum bandwidth greater than 400Mhz. When terminal device #1 operates in this frequency band, module group #1 including 2 modules can be used. When terminal device #2 operates in this frequency band, module group #1' including 4 modules can be used.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of module division and module group composition of each terminal device, and the specific implementation method can be determined by the hardware implementation and division strategy of different terminal devices.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the network device determines the first information.

In a possible implementation, the first information may be reported by the terminal device to the network device. In this implementation, as shown in FIG5 , the communication method further includes the following steps:

S305: The terminal device sends the first information to the network device.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the triggering method for the terminal device to send the first information.

As an example and not a limitation, the first information may be reported by the terminal device itself. Specifically, the first information may be reported by the terminal device itself when establishing a connection with the network device. Alternatively, the first information may be reported by the terminal device itself when a module capability in the terminal device changes (e.g., a hardware failure or hardware upgrade).

As an example and not a limitation, the first information may be reported by the terminal device in response to the instruction information of the network device. Specifically, the communication method may further include the following steps:

S301: A network device sends second information to a terminal device, and the terminal device receives the second information, wherein the second information is used to request the terminal device to report the first information.

In another possible implementation, the first information may be specified by a communication protocol. By way of example and not limitation, the protocol may specify one or more terminal device types and the first information corresponding to each type of terminal device. Based on this, the network device may determine the first information corresponding to the terminal device after determining the type of the terminal device.

It should be understood that before the network device sends the first signal to the terminal device, it needs to send the configuration information of the first module group to the terminal device. As shown in Figure 6, the communication method also includes the following steps:

S306: The network device sends third information to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the third information accordingly, wherein the third information is used to configure the first module group.

It should be understood that the configuration information of each module in the first module group by the network device is determined based on the above-mentioned first information, or in other words, the configuration of each module in the first module group by the network device is within the capability range of the corresponding module.

As an example and not limitation, the third information may be Radio Resource Control Reconfiguration (RRC_Reconfiguration) signaling.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form in which the network device configures the first module group through the third information.

In a possible implementation, the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group.

It should be understood that when the configuration information of any two modules in the first module group is different, the network device needs to carry the complete configuration information of each module in the third information.

As an example but not a limitation, the first module group includes module #1 and module #2, and the configuration structure of the third information can be expressed as:

First module group

{

Module #1 {Configuration Information A}

Module #2 {Configuration Information B}

}

It should be understood that when the configuration information of two or more modules in the first module group includes partially identical configuration information (or configuration parameters), the network device may carry the aforementioned identical configuration information and module-specific configuration information in the third information. The complete configuration information of a module consists of the identical configuration information and module-specific configuration information. As a special case, when the modules are not associated with the same configuration information, the complete configuration information of the module consists only of module-specific configuration information.

As an example and not a limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3, and module #1 and module #2 have the same partial configuration information Common configuration information A, and the configuration information #A2 of module #1 is different from the configuration information B2 of module #2, and module #3 does not have the same partial configuration information as either module #1 or module #2. Then, the configuration structure of the third information can be expressed as:

First module group

{

Common configuration information A

Module #1 {Common configuration information A, configuration information A2}

Module #2 {Common configuration information A, configuration information B2}

Module #3 {Configuration Information C}

}

It should be understood that in this implementation, the configuration information of the first module group is composed of the configuration information of the modules within the module group. By way of example and not limitation, the first module group consists of module #1 and module #2. The network device configures a set of BWP parameters, BWP1-Downlink, for module #1 and a set of BWP parameters, BWP2-Downlink, for module #2. Therefore, the BWP parameters of the first module group are the combination of module #1 and module #2.

In this implementation, the network device does not need to configure additional configuration information for the first module group, which can reduce information interaction and save signaling overhead.

In another possible implementation, the third information includes configuration information of the first module group and configuration information of each module in the first module group.

In this implementation, the configuration information of the first module group is different from the combination of configuration information of each module in the first module group, so the network device needs to carry the configuration information of the first module group in the third information.

As an example and not a limitation, the first module group consists of module #1 and module #2, and the maximum bandwidth supported by module #1 and module #2 is 40 MHz. The network device configures a BWP parameter of 100 MHz to 130 MHz for module #1 and a BWP parameter of 150 MHz to 170 MHz for module #2. Within the capabilities supported by module #1 and module #2, the network device can configure a BWP parameter of 100 MHz to 170 MHz for the first module group. That is, the structure of the third information can be expressed as:

First module group

{

Module #1 {BWP1-Downlink}

Module #2 {BWP2-Downlink}

The first module group {BWP3-Downlink}

}

Among them, the BWP1-Downlink is 100Mhz-130Mhz, the BWP2-Downlink is 150Mhz-170Mhz, and the BWP3-Downlink is 100Mhz-170Mhz.

As an example and not a limitation, the first module group is composed of module group #1 and module #2, and the maximum MIMO number that module #1 and module #2 can support is 1. The network device configures MIMO parameters for module #1 to use antenna #1 alone for transmission, configures MIMO parameters for module #1 to use antenna #2 alone for transmission, and configures parameters for the first module group to use antenna #1 and antenna #2 for joint transmission. The parameters for using antenna #1 and antenna #2 for joint transmission (such as parameters related to joint precoding) in the configuration information of the first module group are not included in the combination of the configuration information of module #1 and module #2.

In this implementation, by carrying the configuration information of the first module group and the configuration information of each module in the first module group in the third information, the scheduling flexibility of the network is increased.

Furthermore, when the configuration information of the first module group includes a portion identical to the combination of configuration information of the modules within the module group, the network device may include in the third information a portion of the configuration information of the first module group that is different from the combination of configuration information of the modules within the module group. In other words, for the first module group, the third information may only include partial configuration information. Correspondingly, when the parameters of the first module group are default, the terminal device may refer to the configuration information of each module within the first module group to determine the default parameters.

As an example and not a limitation, the first module group includes module #3 and module #4. The network device configures a set of downlink BWP parameters BWP1-Downlink and an uplink configuration parameter Uplinkconfig1 for module #3, configures another set of downlink BWP parameters BWP2-Downlink and an uplink configuration parameter Uplinkconfig2 for module #4, and separately configures an uplink configuration parameter Uplinkconfig3 for the first module group. Correspondingly, when the terminal device uses all modules of the first module group for signal transmission, its downlink BWP parameter BWP3-Downlink is the combination of module #3 and module #4, and its uplink configuration parameter is Uplinkconfig3. That is, the structure of the third information can be expressed as:

First module group

{

Module #1 {BWP1-Downlink, Uplinkconfig1}

Module #2 {BWP2-Downlink, Uplinkconfig2}

First module group {Uplinkconfig3}

}

It should be understood that by configuring the first module group in the above manner, the network device can take into account both configuration flexibility and low signaling overhead.

It can be understood that after receiving the above-mentioned third information, the terminal device can transmit signals based on the third information.

In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can change the working mode of the modules in the first module group during the signal transmission process, thereby increasing its own energy-saving benefits while meeting current communication needs.

In one possible implementation, the network device may indicate to the terminal device one or more modules in the first module group to receive the first signal. As shown in FIG7 , in this implementation, the communication method may further include the following steps:

S330a, the network device sends fourth information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information.

The fourth information is used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. A terminal device currently uses module #1 for data transmission. The network device may instruct the terminal device to activate module #2 through fourth information. Upon receiving the fourth information, the terminal device may simultaneously use module #1 and module #2 for data transmission.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. The terminal device currently uses module #1 and module #2 for data transmission. The network device may instruct the terminal device to deactivate module #1 through fourth information. After receiving the fourth information, the terminal device may then use only module #1 for data transmission.

By way of example and not limitation, the first module group includes module #1, module #2, and module #3. The terminal device currently uses module #1 for data transmission. The network device may instruct module #2 via fourth information. Upon receiving the fourth information, the terminal device deactivates module #1 and activates module #2. In other words, the terminal device uses only module #2 for data transmission.

It should be understood that the fourth information can be carried in any one of the downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI), media access control control signaling (Media Access Control Control Element, MAC CE), and RRC signaling, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the network device indicates the modules in the first module group.

In one possible implementation, the network device may associate specific bits in the fourth information with modules in the first module group one by one. As an example and not a limitation, if the first module group includes N modules, the network device may associate the N bits in the fourth information with the N modules one by one, and indicate the activation and/or deactivation of each module by the value of each bit. For example, if the first module group includes 3 modules, the activation and/or deactivation of each module may be indicated by 3 bits in the fourth information, wherein bit 1 is used to indicate activation of the module corresponding to the bit, and bit "0" indicates deactivation of the module corresponding to the bit.

In another possible implementation, the network device may indicate the association of the module sets in the first module group through the value of a specific bit in the fourth information, and the different module sets include different modules in the first module group. As an example and not a limitation, the fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets, thereby indicating the activation and/or deactivation of the module sets. For example, the first module group includes 3 module sets, and the activation of the module sets may be indicated by 2 bits in the fourth information, wherein "00" is used to indicate the activation of module set #1, "01" is used to indicate the activation of module set #2, and "10" is used to indicate the activation of module set #3.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the terminal device determines the modules included in each module set.

Exemplarily, the network device may send fifth information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information. The fifth information is used to indicate the modules included in each module set. The fifth information may be carried in any one of DCI, MAC CE, and RRC signaling, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Exemplarily, the modules included in each module set are specified by the protocol.

In another possible implementation, the network device may associate a specific bit in the fourth information with a module set in the first module group. For example, if the first module group includes L module sets, the network device may associate the L bits in the fourth information with the L sets one-to-one, and indicate the activation and/or deactivation of each module set by the value of each bit. Similarly, the specific manner in which the terminal device determines the modules in the L module sets can refer to the above description and will not be repeated here. For example, the first module group includes 2 module sets, and the activation and/or deactivation of each module can be indicated by 2 bits in the fourth information, wherein bit 1 is used to indicate the activation of the module set corresponding to the bit, and bit "0" indicates the deactivation of the module set corresponding to the bit.

In another possible implementation, the network device may carry a module identifier or a module group identifier in the fourth information to indicate activation or deactivation of the module or module group. The module identifier or module group identifier may be reported by the terminal device to the network device, or may be specified by a protocol, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that before the network device sends the above-mentioned first signal to the terminal device, the network device may also indicate to the terminal device one or more specific modules in the first module group for receiving the first signal in the above-mentioned manner.

Based on the above approach, the network device can flexibly schedule the modules in the terminal device according to the current business needs, thereby improving the energy-saving benefits of the terminal device.

In another implementation, the terminal device may determine the modules in the first module group that need to be activated based on the current service requirements. For example, the terminal device may determine the modules in the first module group that need to be activated based on the communication rate requirements of the current service and the third information.

It should be understood that before the network device sends the above-mentioned first signal to the terminal device, the terminal device can also determine one or more specific modules in the first module group for receiving the first signal based on the service requirements corresponding to the first signal in the above-mentioned manner.

Optionally, as shown in FIG7 , in this implementation, the method 300 may further include the following steps:

S320b, the terminal device sends the fifth information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the fifth information.

Specifically, after determining one or more modules in the first module group, the terminal device can report fifth information to the network device, where the fifth information is used to indicate the modules in the first module group that are in an activated state, or the fifth information is used to indicate the modules in the first module group that are in a deactivated state.

Based on the above approach, the terminal device can flexibly adjust the module's operating mode according to current business needs to improve its own energy-saving benefits.

It should be noted that the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to both uplink transmission scenarios and downlink transmission scenarios. The above description only uses downlink transmission as an example and does not constitute a limitation. For example, in uplink transmission, the terminal device uses all or part of the modules in the first module group to receive the first signal, and correspondingly, the network device receives the first signal.

It should be understood that the specific examples shown in Figures 3 to 7 of the embodiments of the present application are intended only to help those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. It should also be understood that the order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily indicate the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, devices in existing network architectures are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes, and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and terminal include hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the respective functions. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and method steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or in a hardware-driven manner by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminals 120a-120j shown in Figure 1, or it can be the base station 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or base station.

Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 2000 includes a transceiver unit 2010 and a processing unit 2020. The transceiver unit 2010 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 2020 is used to process data. The transceiver unit 2010 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

Optionally, the device 2000 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and/or data. The processing unit 2020 may read the instructions and/or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

As a design, the device 2000 can be used to execute the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 2000 can be a component of the terminal device, the transceiver unit 2010 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 2020 is used to execute the processing-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment.

As an example and not a limitation, the transceiver unit 2010 can be used to receive a first signal, second information, third information, fourth information, etc.; the processing unit 2020 is used to use all or part of the modules in the first module group according to the third information, or to activate or deactivate all or part of the modules in the first module group according to the fourth information, etc.

In some possible implementations, the apparatus 2000 includes multiple transceiver units and/or multiple processing units. Each module group in the above method embodiment corresponds to some or all of the multiple transceiver units and/or some or all of the multiple processing units. Furthermore, using a module in a specific module group to send or receive a signal can be understood as using the transceiver unit corresponding to the module group to perform transceiver-related operations, and using the processing unit corresponding to the module group to perform processing-related operations.

As an example and not a limitation, if the transceiver unit 2010 is the transceiver unit corresponding to the first module group, then one or more modules in the first module group are used to receive the first signal, second information, third information, fourth information, etc., which can be understood as using the transceiver unit 2010 to receive the first signal, second information, third information, fourth information, etc. As an example and not a limitation, if the transceiver unit 2010 is the transceiver unit corresponding to the first module group, then one or more modules in the first module group are used to send the first signal, or receive the second information, third information, fourth information, etc., which can be understood as using the transceiver unit 2010 to send the first signal, or receive the second information, third information, fourth information, etc.

As an example but not limitation, the processing unit 2020 is the processing unit corresponding to the first module group. Then, using all or part of the modules in the first module group according to the third information can be understood as using the processing unit 2020 according to the third information.

As another design, the device 2000 can be used to execute the actions performed by the network device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 2000 can be a component of the network device, the transceiver unit 2010 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 2020 is used to execute the processing-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment.

As an example but not a limitation, the transceiver unit 2010 can be used to send a first signal, a second signal, a third signal, a fourth signal, etc.

It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

As shown in FIG9 , an embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus 3000. The apparatus 3000 includes a processor 3010 and may further include one or more memories 3020. The processor 3010 is coupled to the memories 3020. The memories 3020 are configured to store computer programs, instructions, and/or data. The processor 3010 is configured to execute the computer programs, instructions, and/or data stored in the memories 3020, thereby executing the method in the above method embodiment.

Optionally, the apparatus 3000 includes multiple processors 3010. In the above method embodiment, each module group corresponds to part or all of the multiple processors, and using a module in a specific module group can be understood as using the processor corresponding to the module group.

Optionally, the apparatus 3000 includes multiple memories 3020. Each module group in the above method embodiment corresponds to part or all of the multiple memories, and the memory 3020 is used to store computer programs, instructions, and/or data related to the corresponding module group. Furthermore, using a module in a specific module group can be understood as the processor corresponding to the module group executing the computer program, instructions, and/or data stored in the memory corresponding to the module group.

Optionally, the memory 3020 may be integrated with the processor 3010 or provided separately.

Optionally, as shown in FIG9 , the apparatus 3000 may further include a transceiver 3030, which is used to receive and/or transmit signals. For example, the processor 3010 is used to control the transceiver 3030 to receive and/or transmit signals. There may be multiple transceivers 3030, and some or all of the multiple transceivers may correspond to a module group in the above method embodiment. Furthermore, using a specific module group module to send or receive a signal may be understood as using the transceiver corresponding to the module group to send or receive the signal.

When the communication device 3000 is used to implement the methods shown in Figures 3 to 7, the processor 3010 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 2020, and the transceiver 3030 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 2010.

When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the base station to the terminal device; or the terminal device chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the base station.

When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network device module receives information from other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the network device; or the network device module sends information to other modules in the network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be a baseband chip of the network device, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions for implementing the method executed by a terminal device or a network device in the above method embodiment are stored.

For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method executed by a terminal device or a network device in the above method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and network device in the above embodiment.

The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory can 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 can be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM can include the following forms: static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in 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. Professional and technical personnel may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of protection of this application.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. 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. In addition, 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.

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

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

In the above embodiments, it 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. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The 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, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The 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 integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present 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 (56)

A communication method, comprising: A first signal is received using a module in a first module group, wherein the first signal satisfies the capability of the first module group indicated by first information, wherein the first information includes capability information of M modules in a terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the M modules correspond to different devices in the terminal device. The method according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the module capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types. The method according to claim 4 is characterized in that the number of candidate values of the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, and the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 6 is characterized in that the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module group includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the method further comprises: sending the first information. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that before sending the first information, the method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: Receive third information, where the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group. The method according to claim 10 is characterized in that, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: Receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with N modules, or, The fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets. The different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers. A communication method, comprising: A first signal is sent, where the first signal is received by a terminal device using a module in a first module group, and the first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by the first information, where the first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the M modules correspond to different devices in the terminal device. The method according to claim 14 or 15 is characterized in that the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the module capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types. The method according to claim 17 is characterized in that the number of candidate values of the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, and the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 19 is characterized in that the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that the method further comprises: receiving the first information. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that before receiving the first information, the method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, further comprising: Sending third information, where the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group. The method according to claim 23 is characterized in that, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 24, further comprising: Sending fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with N modules, or, The fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets. The different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers. A communication method, comprising: A first signal is sent using a module in a first module group, wherein the first signal satisfies the capability of the first module group indicated by first information, wherein the first information includes capability information of M modules in a terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 27 is characterized in that the M modules correspond to different devices in the terminal device. The method according to claim 27 or 28 is characterized in that the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the module capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types. The method according to claim 30 is characterized in that the number of candidate values of the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 31 is characterized in that the first information is further used to indicate at least one module group, and the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 32 is characterized in that the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module group includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 33 is characterized in that the method further comprises: sending the first information. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that before sending the first information, the method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 35, further comprising: Receive third information, where the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group. The method according to claim 36 is characterized in that, when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 37, further comprising: Receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that The fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with N modules, or, The fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets. The different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers. A communication method, comprising: Receive a first signal, where the first signal is received by a terminal device using a module in a first module group, and the first signal meets the capabilities of the first module group indicated by first information, the first information includes capability information of M modules in the terminal device, and the first module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 40 is characterized in that the M modules correspond to different devices in the terminal device. The method according to claim 40 or 41 is characterized in that the capability of the module is physical layer processing capability. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein the module capability information includes at least one of the following: Supported bandwidth, supported frequency range, supported uplink transmission rate, supported downlink transmission rate, supported number of data streams, supported number of multiple-input and multiple-output layers, supported transceiver channel types, and supported transceiver signal types. The method according to claim 43 is characterized in that the number of candidate values for the supported bandwidth or the supported frequency range is X, and the value of X is one of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 44 is characterized in that the first information is also used to indicate at least one module group, and the at least one module group includes one or more modules among the M modules. The method according to claim 45 is characterized in that the at least one module group is applied to different scenarios, and/or the at least one module includes different numbers of modules or module capabilities. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 46 is characterized in that the method further includes: receiving the first information. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that before receiving the first information, the method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to request reporting of the first information. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 48, further comprising: Sending third information, where the third information includes configuration information of each module in the first module group and/or configuration information of the first module group. The method according to claim 49 is characterized in that when the configuration information of each module includes a first parameter group and a second parameter group, and the configuration information of the first module group lacks the first parameter group, the first parameter group in the configuration information of the first module group is determined based on the first parameter group of each module in the first module group. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 50, further comprising: Sending fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate activation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of all or part of the modules in the first module group, or the fourth information is used to indicate the activated modules in the first module group. The method according to claim 51, characterized in that The fourth information includes N bits, and the N bits are associated with N modules, or, The fourth information includes K bits, and the values of the K bits correspond to different module sets. The different module sets include different modules among the N modules, where N and K are positive integers. A communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to causing the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13; or, causing the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26; or, causing the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 27 to 39; or, The communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 40 to 52. A communication device, characterized in that it includes a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or includes a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26, or includes a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 27 to 39, or includes a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 40 to 52. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program or instruction is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, causing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13 to be performed; or, causing the method of any one of claims 14 to 26 to be performed; or, causing the method of any one of claims 27 to 39 to be performed; or, Such that the method of any one of claims 40 to 52 is performed. A computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13 to be performed; or, causing the method of any one of claims 14 to 26 to be performed; or, causing the method of any one of claims 27 to 39 to be performed; or, Such that the method of any one of claims 40 to 52 is performed.