Patent Description:
Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology enables the terminal devices to use a plurality of component carriers to send and receive data at the same time, thereby improving data transmission rates, and improving system work efficiency. A Dual Connection (DC) scenario can be supported in a New Radio (NR) communication system.

However, the configuration of the CA and DC does not consider the relevant configuration of the Secondary Cell Group (SCG). For example, the related art only involves how to configure the SCG, and in the case of less downlink data or uplink data, the configured SCG may not be needed, which wastes radio resources and reduces the utilization efficiency of resources. <CIT> form part of the related prior art.

There are provided a wireless communication methods and devices, which can improve the resource utilization efficiency.

Based on the above technical solutions, by instructing the terminal device to deactivate the SCG through the first indication information, under the condition that the rate requirement of the terminal device is reduced, it can not only meet the needs of the user, but also save the radio resources of the terminal device and improve the efficiency of resource utilization.

In the following, <FIG> and <FIG> and their description is according to the claimed invention. The remaining description does not or does not fully correspond to the claimed invention but is useful for understanding the invention. <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in <FIG>, a terminal device <NUM> is connected to a first network device <NUM> in a first communication system and a second network device <NUM> in a second communication system. For example, the first network device <NUM> is a network device in the Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the second network device <NUM> is a network device in the New Radio (NR).

The first network device <NUM> and the second network device <NUM> may include a plurality of cells.

It should be understood that <FIG> is an example of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to that shown in <FIG>.

As an example, the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are adapted may at least include a plurality of network devices in the first communication system and/or a plurality of network devices in the second communication system.

For example, the system <NUM> shown in <FIG> may include one primary network device in the first communication system and at least one secondary network device in the second communication system. At least one secondary network device is respectively connected to the one primary network device to form a multi-connection, and is respectively connected to the terminal device <NUM> to provide services for it. Specifically, the terminal device <NUM> may simultaneously establish a connection through the primary network device and the secondary network device.

Optionally, the connection established between the terminal device <NUM> and the primary network device is a primary connection, and the connection established between the terminal device <NUM> and the secondary network device is a secondary connection. The control signaling of the terminal device <NUM> may be transmitted through the primary connection, and the data of the terminal device <NUM> may be transmitted through the primary connection and the secondary connection at the same time, or only through the secondary connection.

As another example, the first communication system and the second communication system in the embodiments of the present application are different, but the specific categories of the first communication system and the second communication system are not limited.

For example, the first communication system and the second communication system may be various communication systems, such as: a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CCDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), etc..

In the system <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the first network device <NUM> is used as the primary network device, and the second network device <NUM> is used as the secondary network device as an example.

The first network device <NUM> may be an LTE network device, and the second network device <NUM> may be an NR network device. Alternatively, the first network device <NUM> may be an NR network device, and the second network device <NUM> may be an LTE network device. Alternatively, both the first network device <NUM> and the second network device <NUM> may be NR network devices. Alternatively, the first network device <NUM> may be a GSM network device, a CDMA network device, or the like, and the second network device <NUM> may also be a GSM network device, a CDMA network device, or the like. Alternatively, the first network device <NUM> may be a Macrocell, and the second network device <NUM> may be a Microcell, a Picocell, or a Femtocell, etc..

Optionally, the first network device <NUM> and the second network device <NUM> may be any access network device.

Optionally, the access network device may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or may be a NodeB (NB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, or may be an Evolutional Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

Optionally, the access network device may also be a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN), or a base station (gNB) in an NR system, or a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), or the access network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a network device in a future evolution of the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc..

Taking the first network device <NUM> as an LTE network device and the second network device <NUM> as an NR network device as an example, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to wide-area Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage and NR island coverage patterns. Optionally, a working mode between LTE and NR is tight interworking. The main application scenarios of <NUM> include: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC), and massive machine type of communication (mMTC). Among them, eMBB aims at obtaining multimedia content, services and data by users, and its demand is growing rapidly. As eMBB may be deployed in different scenarios, for example, indoor, urban, rural, etc., its capabilities and requirements are also quite different, thus it is improper to generalize them, and detail analysis may be performed in combination with specific deployment scenarios. Typical applications of URLLC include: industrial automation, power automation, telemedicine operations (surgery), traffic safety assurance, etc. Typical features of mMTC include: high connection density, small data volume, latency-insensitive services, low cost and long service life of the module.

Optionally, the terminal device <NUM> may be any terminal device. The terminal device may communicate with one or more Core Networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and may also be called an access terminal, a User Equipment (UE), a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user apparatus. For example, it may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device and a terminal device in <NUM> networks.

It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and/or" in the present disclosure is only an association relationship to describe the associated objects, indicating that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B may mean the following three relationships: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in present disclosure generally indicates that the related objects have an "or" relationship.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of an EN-DC network architecture <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, the network architecture <NUM> may be LTE-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). That is, LTE acts as a Master Node (MN), and NR acts as a Secondary Node (SN), in other alternative embodiments, MN is also called MeNB, and SN is also called SeNB.

In the embodiments of the present application, an NR network architecture is added to the LTE architecture, thereby forming a network architecture <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the network architecture <NUM> may include an MME/S-GW <NUM>, an MME/S-GW <NUM>, a <NUM> base station (gNB) <NUM>, a gNB <NUM>, an Evolved Node B (eNB) <NUM>, and an eNB <NUM>. MME/S-GW <NUM> is connected to gNB <NUM> and gNB <NUM> through S1-U interface, and MME/S-GW <NUM> is connected to eNB <NUM> and eNB <NUM> through S1 interface. The MME/S-GW <NUM> is connected to the gNB <NUM> and the gNB <NUM> through the S1-U interface, and the MME/S-GW <NUM> is connected to the eNB <NUM> and the eNB <NUM> through the S1 interface. The connection between gNB <NUM> and gNB <NUM> is through X2-U. The eNB <NUM> and the eNB <NUM> are connected through X2. Similarly, the eNB <NUM> and the gNB <NUM> are connected through X2. The gNB <NUM> and the eNB <NUM> are connected through X2. In other words, the eNB and the eNB are directly interconnected through the X2 interface, and the eNB is connected to the EPC through the S1 interface. The S1 interface supports multi-to-multi connection between MME/S-GW and eNB, that is, one eNB may be connected to a plurality of MME/S-GWs, and a plurality of eNBs may also be connected to the same MME/S-GW at the same time. Similarly, the gNB and the gNB are directly interconnected through the X2-U interface, and the gNB is connected to the EPC through the S1-U interface. The S1-U interface supports multi-to-multi connection between MME/S-GW and gNB, that is, one gNB may be connected to a plurality of MME/S-GWs, and a plurality of gNBs may also be connected to the same MME/S-GW at the same time.

As shown in <FIG>, in the embodiments of the present application, the MME/S-GW <NUM> and the MME/S-GW <NUM> belong to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of the LTE network, gNB <NUM>, gNB <NUM>, eNB <NUM> and eNB <NUM> constitutes the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). However, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, for example, the MME/S-GW <NUM> and the MME/S-GW <NUM> may be replaced by any core network device that communicates with the access network device.

Optionally, the core network device may be a <NUM> core network device, for example, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), and for another example, a Session Management Function (SMF). Optionally, the core network device may also be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) device of the LTE network, for example, a Session Management Function + Core Packet Gateway (SMF+PGW-C) device.

It should be understood that the SMF+PGW-C may simultaneously implement the functions that the SMF and the PGW-C can implement.

Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the AMF may perform information exchange with the SMF, for example, the SMF acquires some information on the radio access network side from the AMF.

<FIG> and <FIG> are respectively examples of specific scenarios of the EN-DC shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, in one scenario, MN and SN have S1-U connections with Evolved Packet Core network (EPC) respectively, or SN and MN are connected to EPC through S1-U interfaces respectively. For example, the MN may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved Node B (eNB), and the SN is a <NUM> base station (gNB). On the control plane, S1-C terminates at the LTE eNB. The data flow is divided in the core network, and then is independently transmitted through the MN and the SN, and the SN plays the role of load sharing. This architecture may also be called a 3a mode or a scenario 3A. In this way, there is no special requirement for backhaul between the base stations, no special configuration is required for the Layer <NUM> protocol layer, there is no load sharing function between the base stations, and its peak rate depends entirely on the wireless capabilities of the MN and SN. In addition, during handover, the participation of the core network is required, and there is a problem that the data may be interrupted.

As shown in <FIG>, in another scenario, there is an S1-U connection between the MN and the Evolved Packet Core network (EPC), or the MN is connected to the EPC through the S1-U interface. For example, the MN may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved Node B (eNB), and the SN is a <NUM> base station (gNB). On the control plane, S1-C terminates at the LTE eNB. All downlink data streams are first transmitted to the MN, and then divided by the MN according to a certain algorithm and ratio, and then part of the data is sent to the SN by the X2 interface, and finally the data is sent to the UE on the MN and SN at the same time. This architecture may also be called for <NUM> mode or scenario <NUM>. In this way, the user obtains downlink data from the two systems, which facilitates the realization of load sharing and resource coordination functions, and also helps to improve the user rate. In addition, the handover process has little impact on the core network, and because there are a plurality of wireless links, the handover delay is low. The disadvantage is that the backhaul between the base stations has a high requirement, the complexity of the Layer <NUM> protocol is high, and the backhaul between the base stations needs to implement functions such as flow control. In addition, the split bearer mode is only applicable to the downlink direction. In the uplink direction, the data flow is not divided and may be transmitted via the MN or SN.

In addition, in a dual connectivity network architecture (e.g., network architecture <NUM>), the data plane radio bearer may be served independently by the MN or the SN, or may be served simultaneously by the MN and the SN. When it is only served by MN, it is called MCG bearer, that is, the serving cell group controlled by MN. When it is only served by SN, it is called SCG bearer, that is, the serving cell group controlled by SN. When it is served by the MN and the SN simultaneously, it is called a split bearer, also known as a branching bearer. Specifically, it can be divided into MCG split bearer and SCG split bearer. The differences between MCG split bearer and SCG split bearer mainly lie in the different functions of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and the different keys of the PDCP layer.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a bearer under the EN-DC system shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the bearer of the terminal device under the DC may include: an MCG bearer with a termination point at the MN (MN terminated MCG bearer), a split bearer with a termination point at the MN (MN terminated split bearer), an SCG bearer with a termination point at the MN (MN terminated SCG bearer), an MCG bearer with a termination point at the SN (SN terminated MCG bearer), a split bearer with a termination point at the SN (SN terminated split bearer), and an SCG bearer with a termination point at the SN (SN terminated SCG bearer).

In other words, based on whether the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) that the bearer passes through is located in the MN or the SN, the bearer may be divided into MN or SN terminated bearer, and based on the Radio Link Control (RLC) through which the bearer passes, the bearer may also be divided into MCG bearer or SCG bearer.

Among them, the MCG bearer, SCG bearer and split bearer served by the MN and/or SN pass through the corresponding Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Radio Link Control (RLC) or New Radio (NR) RLC layer, and reach the Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the corresponding E-UTRA or NR. Optionally, the MN terminated split bearer and the SN terminated split bearer may be collectively referred to as a Split bearer. Optionally, the split bearer may also be referred to as a separated bearer.

It should be understood that each sublayer may send data to a designated layer of the receiving end according to different data of the protocol data unit. The unprocessed data that enters each sublayer is called a service data unit (SDU), and the data that is processed by the sublayer to form a specific format is called a Protocol Data Unit (PDU). SDU is an information unit that is conveyed from a higher layer protocol to a lower layer protocol. The original data of the SDU is the PDU of the upper layer of the protocol. That is to say, the PDU formed by this layer is the SDU of the next layer.

For example, each logical channel of each terminal device has one RLC entity, and the data received by the RLC entity from the PDCP layer, or the data sent to the PDCP layer may be called RLC SDU (or PDCP PDU). The data received by the RLC entity from the MAC layer, or the data sent to the MAC layer may be called RLC PDU (or MAC SDU).

Exemplarily, in the embodiments of the present application, the RLC layer is located between the PDCP layer and the MAC layer, and the RLC layer may communicate with the PDCP layer through a Service Access Point (SAP), and communicate with the MAC layer through a logical channel. However, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

It should be noted that <FIG> are only examples of the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation of the present application.

For example, the network architecture <NUM> shown in <FIG> is only an exemplary description of a dual connectivity (DC) network architecture, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, in other alternative embodiments, the network architecture <NUM> may also be simply modified. For example, as an example, the MN and SN may not be connected to the EPC core network, but may be connected to the 5GC core network, that is, the DC network framework under the 5GC core network. Exemplarily, the DC network architecture includes, but is not limited to: NE-DC, 5GC-EN-DC and NR DC. In the NE-DC, NR acts as the MN node, eLTE acts as the SN node, and the MN and SN are respectively connected to the 5GC core network. In 5GC-EN-DC, eLTE is used as MN node, NR is used as SN node, MN and SN are respectively connected to 5GC core network. In NR DC, NR is used as MN node, NR is used as SN node, MN and SN are respectively connected to 5GC core network.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of a DC bearer under a 5GC core network provided by an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in <FIG>, as shown in <FIG>, the bearer of the terminal device under the DC may also include: MN terminated MCG bearer, MN terminated split bearer, MN terminated SCG bearer, SN terminated MCG bearer, SN terminated split bearer and SN terminated SCG bearer.

The MN and SN are respectively connected to the 5GC core network, the MN is connected to the SN through the Xn interface, and the MN and SN may respectively receive the Quality of Service (QoS) flow sent by the 5GC core network, and after the QoS flow passes through the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), it may be carried on the corresponding bearer. The MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and split bearer served by the MN and/or SN pass through the corresponding MN RLC layer or SN RLC layer to reach the corresponding MN MAC layer or NR MAC layer.

In the <NUM> communication system, the maximum channel bandwidth may be <NUM> (wideband carrier), which is very large compared to the maximum <NUM> bandwidth of LTE. If the UE keeps operating on the wideband carrier, the power consumption of the UE is increased. The power consumption of the UE can be optimized through the BandWidth Part (BWP). That is, the RF bandwidth of the UE can be adjusted according to the actual throughput of the UE. Another purpose of BWP is to trigger the coexistence of a plurality of Numerologies in one cell.

<FIG> are schematic block diagrams of a BWP of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, if the rate of the UE is low, a part of the carrier bandwidth, such as BWP1, may be configured for the UE. For another example, as shown in <FIG>, if the UE has a high rate requirement, a relatively large BWP may be configured for the UE, such as BWP2 larger than BWP1. For another example, as shown in <FIG>, if the UE supports a high rate or works in the CA mode, a plurality of BWPs, such as BWP1 and BWP2, may be configured. Optionally, BWP1 and BWP2 may correspond to numerology <NUM> and numerology <NUM>, respectively.

One UE may be configured with up to <NUM> UL BWPs and up to <NUM> DL BWPs through RRC dedicated signaling, but only one DL BWP and UL BWP can be activated at the same time. In the RRC dedicated signaling, the first activated BWP among the configured BWPs may be indicated. At the same time, when the UE is in the connected state, it can also switch between different BWPs through DCI. When the carrier in the inactive state enters the active state, the first activated BWP is the first activated BWP configured in the RRC. The configuration parameter of each BWP includes at least one of the following:.

In the process of monitoring the Radio Link Monitor (RLM), the UE only executes it on the activated BWP, and the inactivated BWP does not need to operate, and when switching between different BWPs, it does not need to reset the timer and counter associated with the RLM. For Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement, no matter on which activated BWP the UE sends and receives data, it does not affect the RRM measurement. For the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) measurement, the UE may only perform on the activated BWP.

When one carrier is deactivated and then activated through the MAC CE, the initial first activated BWP may be the BWP corresponding to the first activated BWP id in the RRC signaling.

Exemplarily, the value of the BWP id in the RRC signaling may be <NUM> to <NUM>, and <NUM> is the initial BWP by default.

In DCI, the BWP indicator is 2bit. If the number of configured BWPs is less than or equal to <NUM>, the BWP indicator may be <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, and the BWP indicators <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> correspond to BWP id <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> respectively. If the number of BWPs is <NUM>, the BWP indicators may be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>. Optionally, the BWP indicators <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> correspond to the BWPs configured according to a sequential index. Optionally, consecutive BWP ids are used when configuring BWP.

The corresponding relationship between the value of the BWP indicator field and the BWP is exemplarily described below with reference to Table <NUM>.

As shown in Table <NUM>, the value of the BWP indicator field may be <NUM> bits, where <NUM> may be used for indicating the first BWP. In other alternative embodiments, <NUM> may also transform the corresponding relationship in Table <NUM>, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method <NUM> provided by the invention. The method <NUM> may be executed interactively by a first node and a terminal device. The first node is in the invention a master node (MN) Not being part of the invention is the alternative where the secondary node (SN) is the first node. For example, the first node may be any one of the <NUM> base station (gNB) <NUM>, gNB <NUM>, Evolved Node B (eNB) <NUM>, eNB <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The terminal device may be the terminal device shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the method <NUM> includes some or all of the following contents.

In S311, the first node sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used for instructing to deactivate a secondary cell group (SCG).

In S312, the terminal device deactivates the SCG based on the first indication information.

In other words, the terminal device receives the first indication information, and then the terminal device may deactivate the SCG based on the first indication information. Optionally, deactivating the SCG may also be referred to as suspending the SCG, and may also be referred to as dormancy SCG. Optionally, the dormancy SCG may cause all cells in the SCG to be in a dormancy state. Optionally, the terminal device may not monitor the PDCCH in the dormancy cell, or may not perform data sending and reception. Optionally, the terminal device may perform RRM, CSI measurement, beam management, etc. in the dormancy cell.

By instructing the terminal device to deactivate the SCG through the first indication information, in the case that the rate requirement of the terminal device is reduced, it can not only meet the needs of the user, but also save the radio resources of the terminal device and improve the utilization efficiency of the resources.

In the invention, the method <NUM> further includes:
the first node acquiring a state of data of the secondary node (SN).

After acquiring the state of the data of the SN, the first node determines whether the SCG needs to be deactivated based on the state of the data of the SN, and then, when it is determined that the SCG needs to be deactivated, the first node sends the first indication information to the terminal device.

In the invention, the state of the data of the SN includes an active state and an inactive state. Optionally, the information used to determine the state of the data of the SN may be indication information used for indicating that the state of the data of the SN is an active state or an inactive state, or may not be indication information, which is not specifically limited by the present application.

The active state may be understood as the SN having data to be sent to the terminal device. Accordingly, states other than the active state may become the active state.

For example, the inactive state may refer to at least one of the following: no downlink data arrives at the secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; no downlink data arrives at the SN from the user plane function (UPF); for the master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, no downlink data is transmitted from the MN to the SN through the Xn interface and/or the X2 interface; the bearer with service data arriving does not need to use the radio resource of the SCG. Correspondingly, the active state refers to at least one of the following: downlink data arrives at the secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; there is downlink data arrives at the SN from the user plane function (UPF); for the master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, there is downlink data transmitted from the MN to the SN through the Xn interface and/or the X2 interface; the bearer with service data arriving needs to use the radio resource of the SCG. Optionally, the radio resource of the SCG includes at least one of the following: a physical layer resource; an RLC layer resource, an MAC layer resource and a physical layer resource; a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer resource, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer resource, an RLC layer resource, an MAC layer resource and a physical layer resource.

For another example, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following: the SN terminated SCG bearer has no service to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer has no service data to be sent; the MN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent; the SN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent. Correspondingly, the active state may refer to at least one of the following: the SN terminated SCG has a service to be sent; the MN terminated SCG has service data to be sent; the MN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent; the SN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent.

For another example, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following: none of the MN terminated split bearer, the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; none of the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; neither the MN terminated SCG bearer nor the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent. Correspondingly, the active state refers to at least one of the following: the MN terminated split bearer, the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; both the MN terminated SCG bearer and the SN terminated SCG bearer have service data to be sent.

The above-mentioned true inactive state and active state are only examples of the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation on the present application.

The bearer of the terminal device or the state of the cell in the SCG after the SCG is deactivated is exemplarily described below.

In some embodiments of the present application, the bearer of the terminal device is in at least one of the following:
a replication function of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) based on dual connectivity (DC) is deactivated, and the main branch is the MN branch; for the SN terminated split bearer or the MN terminated split bearer, the branch of the SCG is deactivated and the branch of the MN is the main branch; the SN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the MN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated MCG bearer is kept activated; the MN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated.

For example, if the SCG is deactivated, the bearer of the terminal device may be in at least one of the following:
the replication function of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) based on dual connectivity (DC) is deactivated, and the main branch is the MN branch; for the SN terminated split bearer or the MN terminated split bearer, the branch of the SCG is deactivated and the branch of the MN is the main branch; the SN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the MN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated MCG bearer is kept activated; the MN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated.

In other words, the terminal device may deactivate the SCG by deactivating the bearer of the terminal device.

By improving the service states of all bearers when deactivating the SCG, the operation of deactivating the SCG by the terminal device can be realized.

In some embodiments of the present application, the state of the serving cell in the SCG is in at least one of the following:
a deactivated state; an activated state or a deactivated state, and the activated BWPs of all active serving cells in the SCG are dormant BWPs; the RRC connection between the terminal device and the secondary node is in a deactivated state, and the RRC connection between the terminal device and the master node is in the connected state.

For example, if the SCG is deactivated, the state of the serving cell in the SCG is in at least one of the following:
a deactivated state; an activated state or a deactivated state, and the activated BWPs of all active serving cells in the SCG are dormant BWPs; the RRC connection between the terminal device and the secondary node is in a deactivated state, and the RRC connection between the terminal device and the master node is in the connected state.

In other words, the terminal device may deactivate the SCG by performing at least one of: deactivating the serving cell in the SCG, selecting a serving cell in an active state, and deactivating the RRC connection between the terminal device and the secondary node.

In some embodiments of the present application, the method <NUM> may further include:
the first node sending a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration to the terminal device, where the RRM measurement configuration is used for the terminal device to perform RRM measurement.

In other words, the terminal device receives the RRM measurement configuration sent by the first node.

Exemplarily, the RRM measurement configuration includes at least one of the following: an inter-frequency measurement configuration; an intra-frequency measurement configuration; a measurement configuration for idle state; a measurement configuration for quickly establishing the SCG and serving cell; and a measurement configuration used when the SCG is deactivated. Optionally, the RRM measurement configuration is carried in a system information block (SIB) and/or dedicated signaling.

For example, the terminal device performs RRM measurement; the terminal device sends a measurement result of the RRM measurement to the master node.

In other words, the terminal device may perform measurement based on the RRM measurement configuration configured by the MN; the terminal device may also perform measurement based on the RRM measurement configuration configured by the MN and the SN; the terminal device may also perform measurement based on the RRM measurement configuration configured by the MN, for example, the measurement is performed based on the inter-frequency and intra-frequency configurations in the MN-SIB, such as the configuration in SIB2/<NUM>; the terminal device may also perform measurement based on the measurement configuration for idle measurement in MN-SIB, for example, the measurement configuration for quickly establishing the SCG and the SCell; the terminal may also perform the measurement based on the measurement configuration configured by the MN-specific signaling for suspending the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first indication information is carried in at least one of the following: PDCCH, medium access control control element (MAC CE), signaling radio bearer SRB1 and signaling radio bearer SRB3. For example, the first indication information may be carried on MN SRB1 or SN SRB3, or may be carried on MN/SN PDCCH/MAC CE.

In some embodiments of the present application, the S311 may include:
if the state of the data of the secondary node (SN) is the inactive state, the first node sending the first indication information to the terminal device.

For example, after receiving the information sent by the SN for determining the state of the data of the SN, the MN determines whether to send the first indication information to the terminal device based on the state of the data of the SN. For example, if the state of the data of the SN is the inactive state mentioned above, the first indication information is sent to the terminal device.

For another example, the SN may directly determine the state of the data of the SN, and then, when it is determined that the state of the data of the SN is the inactive state, the first indication information is sent to the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the method <NUM> may further include:
the first node sending configuration information for deactivating the SCG to the terminal device.

For example, the MN or SN sends configuration information for deactivating the SCG to the terminal device. Optionally, the configuration information may include configuration information of the bearer and/or configuration information of the serving cell in the SCG. For example, the configuration information of the bearer may include information for indicating at least one of the following configurations: the replication function of the dual connectivity (DC)-based Packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) is deactivated, and the main branch is the MN branch; for the SN terminated split bearer or the MN terminated split bearer, the branch of the SCG is deactivated and the branch of the MN is the main branch; the SN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the MN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated MCG bearer remains activated; and the MN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated. For another example, the configuration information of the serving cell in the SCG may include information for indicating at least one of the following configurations: deactivating the serving cell in the SCG; activating or deactivating the serving cell in the SCG, and the activated BWPs of all serving cells with active state in the SCG are dormant BWPs; and the RRC connection between the terminal device and the secondary node is in a deactivated state, and the RRC connection between the terminal device and the master node is in a connected state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first node is a master node (MN).

<FIG> is a flowchart of a wireless communication in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, the MN and the SN are respectively connected to a <NUM> core network (5GC), and the MN sends the first indication information to the terminal device. Optionally, the MN may send first notification information to the SN, where the first notification information is used to notify that the MN has instructed or is about to instruct the terminal device to deactivate the SCG. In other words, the SN receives the first notification information sent by the MN. Optionally, the MN receives the information sent by the SN for determining the state of the data of the SN. Optionally, the information for determining the state of the data of the SN may be used by the MN to determine whether the state of the data of the SN is an active state or an inactive state, so that the MN sends the first indication information to the terminal device after determining that the state of the data of the SN is inactive.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first node is a secondary node (SN).

<FIG> is an exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in <FIG>, the MN and the SN are respectively connected to a <NUM> core network (5GC), and the SN sends the first indication information to the terminal device. Optionally, the SN may send second notification information to the MN, and the second notification information is used to notify that the SN has instructed or is about to instruct the terminal device to deactivate the SCG. In other words, the MN receives the second notification information sent by the SN. Optionally, the MN receives the information sent by the SN for determining the state of the data of the SN. Optionally, the information for determining the state of the data of the SN may be used by the MN to determine whether the state of the data of the SN is an active state or an inactive state.

The wireless communication method according to the embodiments of the present application is described in detail from the perspective of deactivating the SCG with reference to <FIG>. Hereinafter, the wireless communication method according to the embodiments of the present application will be described below from the perspective of activating the SCG with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method <NUM> provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method <NUM> may be performed interactively by a master node (MN) and a terminal device, or the method <NUM> may be performed interactively by an MN and an SN. For example, the MN may be gNB <NUM> or gNB <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The SN may be the eNB <NUM> or the eNB <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. The terminal device may be the terminal device shown in <FIG>.

In S321, the master node (MN) sends second indication information to the terminal device and the secondary node (SN) respectively, where the second indication information is used for instructing to activate a secondary cell group (SCG).

In other words, the terminal device and the SN activate the SCG through the second indication information. Optionally, deactivating the SCG may also be referred to as hanging the SCG or suspending the SCG.

For example, the SN receives the second indication information sent by the MN through an Xn interface or an X2 interface. Optionally, the second indication information includes identification information of a target primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell) and information used for indicating an activation state of the secondary cell. Optionally, the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating that the activation state of the secondary cell is an activated state or a deactivated state, and/or the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating an identifier of the activated BWP of the secondary cell. Optionally, the second indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine an activation state of a secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell group cell (primary secondary cell, PSCell). The second indication information received by the SN may simultaneously include identification information of the target primary secondary cell (PSCell), information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell, and the measurement result. Optionally, the SN may also send information for indicating the target primary secondary cell (PSCell) to the MN. For example, the SN determines the target PSCell based on the measurement result, and may send the information for indicating the target PSCell to the MN.

By instructing the terminal device to activate the SCG through the second indication information, in the case that the terminal device has an increased rate requirement, it can meet the needs of the user, which is equivalent to being able to dynamically use the resources of the SCG, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the resources of the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the S321 may include:
the MN receiving information sent by the secondary node (SN) for determining the state of the data of the SN; if the state of the data of the SN is in an active state, the MN sending the second indication information to the terminal device.

In other words, the SN sends the information for determining the state of the data of the SN to the MN; if the state of the data of the SN is in an active state, the SN receives the second indication information sent by the MN.

In some embodiments of the present application, the state of the data of the SN includes an active state and an inactive state. Optionally, the information used for determining the state of the data of the SN may be indication information used for indicating that the state of the data of the SN is an active state or an inactive state, or may not be indication information, which is not specifically limited by the present application.

For example, the inactive state may refer to at least one of the following: no downlink data arrives at the secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; no downlink data arrives at the SN from the user plane function (UPF); for the master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, no downlink data is transmitted from the MN to the SN through the Xn interface and/or the X2 interface; the bearer with service data arriving does not need to use the radio resource of the SCG. Correspondingly, the active state refers to at least one of the following: downlink data arrives at the secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; downlink data arrives at the SN from the user plane function (UPF); for the master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, the downlink data is transmitted from the MN to the SN through the Xn interface and/or the X2 interface; the bearer with service data arriving needs to use the radio resource of the SCG. Optionally, the radio resource of the SCG includes at least one of the following: a physical layer resource; an RLC layer resource, an MAC layer resource and a physical layer resource; a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer resource, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer resource, an RLC layer resource, an MAC layer resource and a physical layer resource.

For another example, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following: the SN terminated SCG bearer has no service to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer has no service data to be sent; the MN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent; the SN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent. Correspondingly, the active state may refer to at least one of the following: the SN terminated SCG bearer has a service to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; the MN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent; the SN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent.

For another example, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following: none of the MN terminated split bearer, the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; none of the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; neither the MN terminated SCG bearer nor the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent. Correspondingly, the active state refers to at least one of the following: the MN terminated split bearer, the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; both the MN terminated SCG bearer and the SN terminated SCG bearer have service data to be sent.

In some embodiments of the present application, the method <NUM> may further include:
the MN receiving third indication information sent by the terminal device, where the third indication information is used for indicating that the SCG needs to be activated.

In other words, the terminal device sends third indication information to the MN, and the third indication information is used for indicating that the SCG needs to be activated.

For example, if a bearer on which uplink data arrives at the SN and/or a bearer at which the uplink data arrives needs to use the radio resource of the SCG, the MN receives the third indication information sent by the terminal device. In other words, if the bearer on which uplink data arrives at the SN and/or the bearer at which uplink data arrives needs to use the radio resource of the SCG, the MN receives the third indication information sent by the terminal device. Optionally, the third indication information includes a bearer identifier and/or information used for indicating that the uplink data arrives at the SN. Optionally, the third indication information is carried on the radio resource control (RRC) signaling or the medium access control control element (MAC CE). Optionally, the third indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine the activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

The measurement result may not be carried in the third indication information, but may be carried in other information and reported to the MN or SN, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

In some embodiments of the present application, the MN sends the second indication information to the SN through an Xn interface or an X2 interface. Optionally, the second indication information includes identification information of the target primary secondary cell (PSCell) and information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell. Optionally, the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating that the activation state of the secondary cell is an activated state or a deactivated state, and/or the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating an identifier of the activated BWP of the secondary cell. Optionally, the second indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine the activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or the target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

Exemplarily, the method <NUM> may further include:
the MN receiving information sent by the SN and used for indicating a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

The second indication information sent by the MN to the terminal device will be described below.

In some embodiments of the present application, the master node (MN) sends the second indication information to the terminal device, and the second indication information is carried on at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a Physical downlink control (PDCCH) and a medium access control control element (MAC CE). In other words, activating the SCG through the PDCCH or the MAC CE is equivalent to triggering the random access procedure of other cells through the PDCCH or the MAC CE. Optionally, the second indication information includes at least one of the following information: a key used to calculate the SCG; a random access channel (RACH) resource used by the terminal device to initiate a random access procedure to the SCG; a cell index of PSCell or a serving cell where the RACH resource is located; information used for indicating an initial state of the serving cell in the SCG; information used for indicating an initial state cell of the dormant bandwidth part (BWP) in the serving cell in the SCG. For example, the information for indicating the activation state of the serving cell in the SCG includes at least one first bit, and the at least one first bit is respectively used for indicating that the initial state of at least one serving cell in the SCG is the active state or deactivated state. For example, the information for indicating the active state cell of the dormant bandwidth part (BWP) in the serving cell in the SCG includes at least one second bit, and the at least one second bit is respectively used for indicating that the initial state of the dormant BWP of at least one serving cell in the SCG is an activated state or a deactivated state. Optionally, the terminal device may perform the RACH procedure on the target PSCell indicated by the second indication information. For example, the terminal device may calculate the key of the SCG and restore the SCG based on the calculated key.

For example, the second indication information may also be used for indicating that the SCG of the terminal device is not to be changed, or the second indication information may also be used for indicating that the source SN of the terminal device is not to be changed.

<FIG> is an example of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in <FIG>, the SN sends information for determining the state of the data of the SN to the MN, so that the MN determines when to send the second indication information to the SN and the terminal device. When the terminal device has uplink data that needs to reach the SN, the terminal device may also send the third indication information to the MN to indicate that the terminal device needs to activate the SCG.

In other embodiments of the present application, the MN sends SCG configuration information to the terminal device, where the SCG configuration information includes the second indication information. Optionally, the SCG configuration information is carried on the radio resource control (RRC) signaling. For example, through the RRC dedicated signaling, the SN may be replaced in the process of activating the SCG, and accordingly, the process of replacing the SN can be simplified, the activation efficiency can be improved, and the utilization rate of the resources can be improved. For example, the RRC signaling is an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC recovery message. Optionally, the MN sends adding request information to the target node through an Xn interface or an X2 interface, where the adding request information is used to request to add the target node as a secondary node of the terminal device. For example, if the MN determines that the secondary node of the terminal device needs to be changed from the source node to the target node, the MN sends the adding request information to the target node through the Xn interface or the X2 interface. Exemplarily, the adding request information includes identification information of the target primary secondary cell (PSCell) and information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell. For example, the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating that the activation state of the secondary cell is the activated state or the deactivated state, and/or the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating the identifier of the activated BWP of the secondary cell. Exemplarily, the adding request information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the target node to determine the activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or the target primary secondary cell (PSCell). The adding request information may also include the identification information of the target PSCell, the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell, and the measurement result. Optionally, the MN sends release request information to the source node, where the release request information is used to request the source node to release the resource of the SCG. In other words, the SN receives the release request information sent by the MN.

For example, the second indication information may also be used for instructing to change the SCG of the terminal device, or the second indication information may also be used for instructing to change the source SN of the terminal device.

As shown in <FIG>, the source SN (S-SN) sends the information for determining the state of the data of the S-SN to the MN, so that the MN can determine when to send the second indication information to the S-SN and the terminal device. When the terminal device has uplink data that needs to reach the SN (e.g., S-SN), the terminal device may also send the third indication information to the MN to indicate that the terminal device needs to activate the SCG. In addition, when the SN of the terminal device needs to be changed, the MN may also send adding request information to the target SN (T-SN).

It should be understood that the steps in the method <NUM> may refer to the corresponding steps in the method <NUM>, or may even be combined with the method <NUM> and the method <NUM>, which are not repeated here for brevity.

The preferred embodiments of the present application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the specific details of the above-mentioned embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the present application, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of the present application. These simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present application. For example, the specific technical features described in the above-mentioned specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner unless they are conflict. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application does not describe any possible combination manners. For another example, the various embodiments of the present application can also be combined arbitrarily, as long as they do not violate the idea of the present application, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in the present application.

It should be understood that in the various method embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the sequence of execution, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its functions and internal logic, and should not constitute limitation to the implementation procedure of the embodiments of the present application.

The method embodiments of the present application are described in detail above with reference to <FIG>, and the apparatus embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of a network node <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the network node <NUM> may be the first node mentioned above, the MN mentioned above, or the SN mentioned above.

The network node serving as the first node will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the network node <NUM> may include:
a communication unit <NUM>, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used for instructing to deactivate a secondary cell group (SCG).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to: acquire a state of data of a secondary node (SN).

In some embodiments of the present application, the state of the data of the SN includes an active state and an inactive state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following:
no downlink data arrives at the secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; no downlink data arrives at the SN from a user plane function (UPF); for a master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, no downlink data is transferred from the MN to the SN through an Xn interface and/or an X2 interface; a bearer with service data arriving does not need to use a radio resource of the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the active state refers to at least one of the following:
downlink data arrives at a secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; downlink data arrives at the SN from a user plane function (UPF); for a master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, downlink data is transferred from the MN to the SN through an Xn interface and/or an X2 interface; a bearer with service data arriving needs to use a radio resource of the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the radio resource of the SCG includes at least one of the following:
a physical layer resource; a radio link control (RLC) layer resource, a medium access control (MAC) layer resource and a physical layer resource; a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer resource, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer resource, an RLC layer resource, an MAC layer resource and a physical layer resource.

In some embodiments of the present application, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following:
an SN terminated SCG bearer has no service to be sent; an MN terminated SCG bearer has no service data to be sent; an MN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent; an SN terminated split bearer has no service data to be sent.

In some embodiments of the present application, the active state refers to at least one of the following:
an SN terminated SCG bearer has a service to be sent; an MN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; an MN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent; an SN terminated split bearer has service data to be sent.

In some embodiments of the present application, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following:
none of an MN terminated split bearer, an MN terminated SCG bearer, an SN terminated MCG bearer, an SN terminated split bearer and an SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; none of the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent; neither the MN terminated SCG bearer nor the SN terminated SCG bearer has service data to be sent.

In some embodiments of the present application, the active state refers to at least one of the following:
an MN terminated split bearer, an MN terminated SCG bearer, an SN terminated MCG bearer, an SN terminated split bearer and an SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; the MN terminated SCG bearer, the SN terminated MCG bearer, the SN terminated split bearer, and the SN terminated SCG bearer all have service data to be sent; both the MN terminated SCG bearer and the SN terminated SCG bearer have service data to be sent.

In some embodiments of the present application, the bearer of the terminal device is at least one of the following:
a replication function of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) based on dual connectivity (DC) is deactivated, and a main branch is an MN branch; for an SN terminated split bearer or an MN terminated split bearer, a branch of the SCG is deactivated and a branch of the MN is the main branch; the SN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the MN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated; the SN terminated MCG bearer remains active; the MN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated.

In some embodiments of the present application, the state of the serving cell in the SCG is in at least one of the following:
a deactivated state; an activated state or a deactivated state, and activated BWPs of all serving cells in the activated state in the SCG are dormant BWPs; an RRC connection between the terminal device and the secondary node is in the deactivated state, and an RRC connection between the terminal device and the master node is in a connected state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
sending a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration to the terminal device, where the RRM measurement configuration is used by the terminal device to perform RRM measurement.

In some embodiments of the present application, the RRM measurement configuration includes at least one of the following:
an inter-frequency measurement configuration; an intra-frequency measurement configuration; a measurement configuration for idle state; a measurement configuration for quickly establishing the SCG and the serving cell; a measurement configuration when the SCG is deactivated.

In some embodiments of the present application, the RRM measurement configuration is carried in a system information block (SIB) and/or dedicated signaling.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first indication information is carried in at least one of the following: a physical downlink control (PDCCH), a medium access control control element (MAC CE), a signaling radio bearer SRB1 and a signaling radio bearer SRB3.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
if the state of the data of the secondary node (SN) is the inactive state, send the first indication information to the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send configuration information for deactivating the SCG to the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first node is a master node (MN), and the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send first notification information to the secondary node (SN), where the first notification information is used to notify that the MN has instructed or is about to instruct the terminal device to deactivate the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive information sent by the SN for determining the state of the data of the SN.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first node is a secondary node (SN), and the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send second notification information to the master node (MN), where the second notification information is used to notify that the SN has instructed or is about to instruct the terminal device to deactivate the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send information for determining the state of the data of the SN to the MN.

The network node for the MN will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the network node <NUM> may include:
a communication unit <NUM>, configured to send second indication information to a terminal device and a secondary node (SN), respectively, where the second indication information is used for instructing to activate a secondary cell group (SCG).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:.

In some embodiments of the present application, the inactive state refers to at least one of the following:
no downlink data arrives at a secondary node (SN) terminated bearer; no downlink data arrives at the SN from a user plane function (UPF); for a master node (MN) terminated SCG bearer, no downlink data is transferred from the MN to the SN through an Xn interface and/or an X2 interface; a bearer with service data arriving does not need to use a radio resource of the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive third indication information sent by the terminal device, where the third indication information is used for indicating that the SCG needs to be activated.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
if a bearer on which uplink data arrives at the SN and/or a bearer at which the uplink data arrives needs to use the radio resource of the SCG, receive the third indication information sent by the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the third indication information includes a bearer identifier and/or information used for indicating that the uplink data arrives at the SN.

In some embodiments of the present application, the third indication information is carried on a radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element MAC CE.

In some embodiments of the present application, the third indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine an activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
send the second indication information to the SN through an Xn interface or an X2 interface.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information includes identification information of a target primary secondary cell (PSCell) and information used for indicating an activation state of the secondary cell.

In some embodiments of the present application, the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating that the activation state of the secondary cell is an activated state or a deactivated state, and/or the information used for indicating the activation state of the secondary cell is used for indicating an identifier of an activated BWP of the secondary cell.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine the activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive information sent by the SN and used for indicating a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In some embodiments of the present application, the master node (MN) sends the second indication information to the terminal device, and the second indication information is carried in at least one of the following items: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a Physical downlink control (PDCCH) and a medium access control control element (MAC CE).

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information includes at least one of the following information:
a key for calculating the SCG; a random access channel (RACH) resource used by the terminal device to initiate a random access procedure to the SCG; a cell index of a serving cell where the PSCell or the RACH resource is located; information used for indicating an initial state of a serving cell in the SCG; information used for indicating an initial state cell of a dormant bandwidth part (BWP) in the serving cell in the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the information for indicating the activation state of the serving cell in the SCG includes at least one first bit, and the at least one first bit is respectively used for indicating an initial state of at least one serving cell in the SCG to be an activated state or a deactivated state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the information for indicating the active state cell of the dormant bandwidth part (BWP) in the serving cell in the SCG includes at least one second bit, and the at least one second bit is respectively used for indicating an initial state of a dormant BWP of at least one serving cell in the SCG to be an activated state or a deactivated state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
send SCG configuration information to the terminal device, where the SCG configuration information includes the second indication information.

In some embodiments of the present application, the SCG configuration information is carried on radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some embodiments of the present application, the RRC signaling is an RRC reconfiguration message or an RRC recovery message.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send adding request information to a target node through an Xn interface or an X2 interface, where the adding request information is used for requesting to add the target node as a secondary node of the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the adding request information includes identification information of a target primary secondary cell (PSCell) and information used for indicating an activation state of the secondary cell.

In some embodiments of the present application, the adding request information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the target node to determine the activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
if the MN determines that the secondary node of the terminal device needs to be changed from a source node to the target node, send the adding request information to the target node through the Xn interface or the X2 interface.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send release request information to the source node, where the release request information is used for requesting the source node to release a resource of the SCG.

The network node used for the SN will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the network node <NUM> may include:
a communication unit <NUM>, configured to receive second indication information sent by a master node (MN), where the second indication information is used for instructing to activate a secondary cell group (SCG).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
send information for determining a state of data of the SN to the MN; if the state of the data of the SN is in an active state, receive the second indication information sent by the MN.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
receive the second indication information sent by the MN through an Xn interface or an X2 interface.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information includes a measurement result reported by the terminal device, and the measurement result is used by the MN or the secondary node (SN) to determine an activation state of the secondary cell (SCell) and/or a target primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send information used for indicating the target primary secondary cell (PSCell) to the MN.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive release request information sent by the MN, where the release request information is used for requesting the source node to release a resource of the SCG.

It should be understood that the apparatus embodiments and the method embodiments may correspond to each other, and similar descriptions may refer to the method embodiments. Specifically, the network node <NUM> shown in <FIG> may correspond to the corresponding subject in executing the method <NUM> or the method <NUM> of the embodiments of the present application, and the aforementioned and other operations and/or functions of the various units in the network node <NUM> are respectively for the purpose of realizing the corresponding processes in each method in <FIG>, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

<FIG> is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the terminal device may be a terminal device that interacts with the above-mentioned first node, or may be a terminal device that interacts with the MN or SN.

The terminal device interacting with the first node will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the terminal device <NUM> may include:.

In some embodiments of the present application, a bearer of the terminal device is in at least one of the following:
a replication function of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) based on a dual connectivity (DC) is deactivated, and a main branch is an MN branch; for an SN terminated split bearer or an MN terminated split bearer, a branch of the SCG is deactivated and a branch of the MN is the main branch; the SN terminated split bearer is deactivated; the MN terminated split bearer is deactivated; an SN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated; an SN terminated MCG bearer remains active; an MN terminated SCG bearer is deactivated.

In some embodiments of the present application, a state of a serving cell in the SCG is in at least one of the following:
a deactivated state; an activated state or a deactivated state, and activated BWPs of all the serving cells with the activated state in the SCG are dormant BWPs; an RRC connection between the terminal device and a secondary node is in a deactivated state, and an RRC connection between the terminal device and a master node is in a connected state.

In some embodiments of the present application, the processing unit <NUM> is further configured to:
perform a radio resource management (RRM) measurement; the communication unit is further configured to:
send a measurement result of the RRM measurement to a master node.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive an RRM measurement configuration sent by the first node.

In some embodiments of the present application, the RRM measurement configuration includes at least one of the following:
an inter-frequency measurement configuration; an intra-frequency measurement configuration; a measurement configuration for idle state; a measurement configuration for quickly establishing the SCG and a serving cell; and a measurement configuration when the SCG is deactivated.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
receive configuration information for deactivating the SCG sent by the first node.

In some embodiments of the present application, the network node <NUM> is a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN).

The terminal device interacting with the MN will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is further configured to:
send third indication information to the MN, where the third indication information is used for indicating that the SCG needs to be activated.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
if a bearer on which uplink data arrives at the SN and/or a bearer at which the uplink data arrives needs to use a radio resource of the SCG, receive the third indication information sent by the terminal device.

In some embodiments of the present application, the third indication information is carried on a radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control control element (MAC CE).

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information is carried on at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a physical downlink control (PDCCH), and a medium access control control element (MAC CE).

In some embodiments of the present application, the second indication information includes at least one of the following information:
a key used for calculating the SCG; a random access channel (RACH) resource for the terminal device to initiate a random access procedure to the SCG; a cell index of a serving cell where the PSCell or an RACH resource is located; information indicating an initial state of a serving cell in the SCG; and information used for indicating an initial state cell of a dormant bandwidth part (BWP) in the serving cell in the SCG.

In some embodiments of the present application, the communication unit <NUM> is specifically configured to:
receive SCG configuration information sent by the MN, where the SCG configuration information includes the second indication information.

In some embodiments of the present application, the SCG configuration information is carried on a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

It should be understood that the apparatus embodiments and the method embodiments may correspond to each other, and similar descriptions may refer to the method embodiments. Specifically, the terminal device <NUM> shown in <FIG> may correspond to the corresponding subject in executing the method <NUM> or the method <NUM> of the embodiments of the present application, and the aforementioned and other operations and/or functions of the various units in the terminal device <NUM> are for the purpose of realizing the corresponding processes in each method in <FIG>, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity,.

The communication device of the embodiments of the present application is described above from the perspective of functional modules with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the functional modules can be implemented in the form of hardware, can also be implemented by instructions in the form of software, and can also be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules.

Specifically, the steps of the method embodiments in the embodiments of the present application may be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor and/or instructions in the form of software, and the steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed and completed by the hardware decoding processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor.

Optionally, the software modules may be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, and other mature storage media in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and completes the steps in the above method embodiments in combination with its hardware.

For example, the communication units referred to above may be implemented by a processor and a transceiver, respectively.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to <FIG>, the communication device <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may call and run a computer program from the memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the communication device <NUM> may also include a memory <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> may be used to store indication information, and may also be used to store codes, instructions, etc. executed by the processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may call and run a computer program from the memory <NUM> to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the communication device <NUM> may also include a transceiver <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> can control the transceiver <NUM> to communicate with other devices, and specifically, can send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices. The transceiver <NUM> may further include antennas, and the number of the antennas may be one or more.

It should be understood that individual components in the communication device <NUM> are connected through a bus system, where the bus system includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus.

It should also be understood that the communication device <NUM> may be the terminal device of the embodiments of the present application, and the communication device <NUM> may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. The communication device <NUM> may correspond to the terminal device <NUM> in the embodiments of the present application, and may correspond to the corresponding subject in executing the methods <NUM> and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity. Similarly, the communication device <NUM> may be the network node in the embodiments of the present application, and the communication device <NUM> may implement corresponding processes implemented by the network node in each method in the embodiments of the present application. That is to say, the communication device <NUM> in the embodiments of the present application may correspond to the network node <NUM> in the embodiments of the present application, and may correspond to the corresponding subject in executing the methods <NUM> and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In addition, the embodiment of the present application also provides a chip.

For example, the chip may be an integrated circuit chip, which has a signal processing capability, and can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The chip may also be referred to as a system level chip, a system chip, a chip system, a system-on-chip, or the like. Optionally, the chip can be applied to various communication devices, so that the communication device installed with the chip can execute the methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a chip <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present application.

Referring to <FIG>, the chip <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the chip <NUM> may further include a memory <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may call and run a computer program from the memory <NUM> to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application. The memory <NUM> may be used to store instruction information, and may also be used to store codes, instructions and the like executed by the processor <NUM>.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the chip <NUM> may further include an input interface <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may control the input interface <NUM> to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

Continuing to refer to <FIG>, the chip <NUM> may further include an output interface <NUM>.

It should be understood that the chip <NUM> can be applied to the network node in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network node in the various methods in the embodiments of the present application, and can also implement the corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in the various methods in the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

It should also be understood that various components in the chip <NUM> are connected through a bus system, where the bus system includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus.

The processors referred to above may include, but are not limited to:
a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and so on.

The processor may be used to implement or execute the methods, steps, and logical block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed and completed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an erasable programmable memory, a register and other storage media mature in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and completes the steps of the above methods in combination with its hardware.

The memory mentioned above includes but is not limited to:
a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (Programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (Erasable PROM, EPROM), an electrically programmable read-only memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of illustration and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as a Static RAM (SRAM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), a Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a synch link DRAM (SLDRAM) and a Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include these and any other suitable types of memory.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program. The computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs including instructions that, when executed by a portable electronic device including a plurality of application programs, enable the portable electronic device to perform the methods in the embodiments of the method <NUM> and/or the method <NUM>.

Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network node in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network node in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including a computer program.

Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network node in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network node in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal/terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal/terminal device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

A computer program is also provided in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to execute the method of the embodiments shown in method <NUM> and/or method <NUM>.

Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network node in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program is run on the computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the network node in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which is not repeated here for brevity.

In addition, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which may include the above-mentioned terminal device and network node to form the communication system <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, which is not repeated here for brevity. It should be noted that the term "system" and the like in the present disclosure may also be referred to as "network management architecture" or "network system" and the like.

It should also be understood that the terms used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application.

For example, as used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "said", "above", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates other meanings otherwise.

Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example 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. Experts may use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if being implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the essence or a part contributing to the related art of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application or a part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of software products, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

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

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses and methods may be implemented in other manners.

For example, the division of units, modules or components in the apparatus embodiments described above is only a logical function division, and other division methods may be used in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units, modules or components may be combined or integrated to another system, or some units or modules or components may be ignored, or not implemented.

For another example, the above-mentioned units/modules/components described as separate/display components may or may not be physically separated, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units/modules/components may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the present application.

Finally, it should be noted that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed above may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, apparatuses or units, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

Claim 1:
A wireless communication method, comprising:
sending (S311), by a first node, first indication information to a terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for instructing to deactivate a secondary cell group, SCG,
wherein the first node is a master node, MN, and the method further comprises:
sending, by the MN, first notification information to a secondary node, SN, wherein the first notification information is used for notifying that the MN has instructed or is about to instruct the terminal device to deactivate the SCG,
receiving, by the MN, information sent by the SN for determining a state of data of the SN,
wherein the method further comprises:
acquiring, by the MN, the state of data of the SN,
wherein the state of the data of the SN comprises an active state and an inactive state,
wherein the inactive state refers to at least one of the following:
no downlink data arrives at a SN terminated bearer;
no downlink data arrives at the SN from a user plane function, UPF;
for a MN terminated SCG bearer, no downlink data is transferred from the MN to the SN through an Xn interface and/or an X2 interface;
a bearer with service data arriving does not need to use a radio resource of the SCG,
and/or,
wherein the active state refers to at least one of the following:
downlink data arrives at the SN terminated bearer;
downlink data arrives at the SN from a user plane function, UPF;
for the MN terminated SCG bearer, downlink data is transferred from the MN to the SN through an Xn interface and/or an X2 interface;
a bearer with service data arriving needs to use a radio resource of the SCG,
wherein the sending, by the MN, the first indication information to the terminal device, comprises:
in response to that the state of data of the SN is the inactive state, sending, by the MN, the first indication information to the terminal device.