Patent Description:
Dual connectivity is a technology introduced into a long term evolution (LTE) system, and is also used in a new radio (NR) system. Dual connectivity refers to that a terminal such as user equipment (UE) may be connected to two base stations at the same time, and the two base stations provide data receiving and sending services for the UE at the same time. In this way, because the UE can use radio resources of the two base stations at the same time, the service data transmission rate of the UE can be multiplied.

Serving base stations of dual-connectivity UE include one master node (MN) and one secondary node (SN). Each of the base stations can support carrier aggregation (CA). A network configures two special cells (special cell) for the dual-connectivity UE, that is, configures a serving cell of the MN to be a primary cell (Pcell) of the UE and configures a serving cell of the SN to be a primary secondary cell (PScell) of the UE. Other cells of the MN and the SN that serve the UE are secondary cells (Scell) of the UE. A set of cells of the MN can be referred to as a master cell group (MCG). The MCG includes the PCell and the SCell that are aggregated through CA. A set of cells of the SN can be referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). The SCG includes the PSCell and the SCell that are aggregated through CA.

Currently, when the UE is dual connected to the MN and the SN, if the UE detects an MCG link failure (MCG link failure) in the MN, a method for fast recovering link is that the UE may perform reporting through an SCG link of the SN and recover the MCG link fast (Fast recovery, FR). The FR may fail (FRF).

However, currently, when the UE detects the FRF, a related network node cannot learn of the FRF.

"<NPL>) discusses the RLF procedure taking considerations of the case of multiple connections, e.g. CA and DC.

"<NPL>) discusses the CG failure handling for MR-DC, including both MCG and SCG side.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information indication method, an information obtaining method, a terminal, and a network node, as defined by the appended independent claims, to resolve a current problem that a related network node cannot learn of an FRF when a terminal detects the FRF.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a related network node can learn of that a terminal detects an FRF, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Clearly, the accompanying drawings in the following descriptions show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other accompanying drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

It should be first noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to not only a dual-connectivity scenario but also a multi-connectivity scenario. Multi-connectivity refers to that a terminal may be connected to a plurality of base stations, that is, more than two base stations that provide a service for the same terminal at the same time. Similar to that in dual connectivity, serving base stations of a multi-connectivity terminal includes one master node MN and other secondary nodes SNs.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the dual-connectivity scenario, serving base stations, that is, one MN and one SN, of a dual-connectivity terminal may belong to a same radio access type (RAT), where for example, the MN and the SN are two LTE eNBs or two NR gNBs; or may belong to different RATs, where for example, one of the MN and the SN is an LTE eNB, and the other is an NR gNB. Similarly, in the multi-connectivity scenario, serving base stations of a multi-connectivity terminal may belong to a same RAT, or may belong to different RATs. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to dual-connectivity base stations or multi-connectivity base stations with any type combination, and a type of a base station is not limited.

In specific implementation, there may be a signaling interface that is between two base stations serving a same terminal and that is used by the two base stations to notify each other of configuration information related to the terminal.

The following describes an information indication method and an information obtaining method in the present disclosure in detail with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG> is a flowchart of an information indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is applied to a terminal. As shown in <FIG>, the method includes the following steps:.

Step <NUM>: Send indication information to a network node.

The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal detects a fast recovery failure (FRF). The FRF is a failure of a fast recovery that is of a first link and that is initiated through a second link after a first link failure, the first link is a link between the terminal and a first node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and a second node.

The first link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node, that is, the FRF is a failure of a fast MCG link recovery (FR) initiated through the SCG link of the secondary node after the terminal detects an MCG link failure (MCG link failure) in the master node; or the first link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node, that is, the FRF is a failure of a fast SCG link recovery (FR) initiated through the MCG link of the master node after the terminal detects an SCG link failure (SCG link failure) in the secondary node.

According to the information indication method in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication information is sent to the network node, so that the related network node can learn of that the terminal detects the FRF, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, optionally, the first link failure of the terminal, that is, the MCG link failure (MCG link failure) in the master node or the SCG link failure (SCG link failure) in the secondary node, may include at least one of the following:.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, apart from being used to indicate that the terminal detects the FRF, the indication information may further be used to indicate information related to the FRF.

Specifically, when the first link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node, the information related to the FRF may include at least one of the following:.

The FRF type may be understood as a cause for the FRF. In this way, based on the FRF type reported by the terminal, the related network node can learn of the cause of the FRF of the terminal, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

The cell identification information and the cell signal related information may be understood as auxiliary information. Based on the information, the related network node can learn of cell information related to the FRF, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

Further, the FRF type may include at least one of the following:.

In this way, based on the cause of the FRF of the terminal which reports the FRF, the related network node can learn of the cause of the FRF of the terminal, thereby helping optimize configurations for the terminal.

The cell signal related information includes at least one of the following:.

Specifically, when the first link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node, information related to the FRF may include at least one of the following:.

The cell signal related information includes at least one of the following:
an RSRP, an RSRQ, beam information, CSI-RS information, and SS block information.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the foregoing network node may be any one of the following:.

Referring to <FIG> is a flowchart of an information obtaining method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is applied to a network node. As shown in <FIG>, the method includes the following steps:.

Step <NUM>: Receive indication information sent by a terminal.

The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal detects an FRF, the FRF is a failure of a fast recovery that is of a first link and that is initiated through a second link after a first link failure, the first link is a link between the terminal and a first node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and a second node.

According to the information obtaining method in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication information sent by the terminal is received, so that the related network node can learn of that the terminal detects the FRF, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the first link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node;
or
the first link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node.

Optionally, the first link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node.

The indication information is further used to indicate information related to the FRF, where the information related to the FRF includes at least one of the following:.

Optionally, the FRF type includes at least one of the following:.

Optionally, the first link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node.

Optionally, the network node is any one of the following:.

Optionally, after step <NUM>, the method further includes:
forwarding the indication information to a target node.

The target node is at least one of a secondary node cell and a master node cell that are related to the FRF.

Optionally, the first link failure may include at least one of the following:.

The foregoing embodiment describes the information indication method in the present disclosure. A terminal corresponding to the information indication method in the present disclosure is described below with reference to an embodiment and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the terminal <NUM> includes:
a first sending module <NUM>, configured to send indication information to a network node.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal <NUM> sends the indication information to the network node, so that the related network node can learn of that the terminal detects the FRF, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

The first link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node;
or
the first link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node.

Optionally, when the first link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node, the indication information is further used to indicate information related to the FRF, where the information related to the FRF includes at least one of the following:.

Optionally, the cell signal related information includes at least one of the following:
an RSRP, an RSRQ, beam information, CSI-RS information, and SS block information.

Optionally, the first link failure includes at least one of the following:.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the network node <NUM> includes:
a receiving module <NUM>, configured to receive indication information sent by a terminal.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network node <NUM> receives the indication information sent by the terminal, so that the related network node can learn of that the terminal detects the FRF, so as to optimize configurations for the terminal, thereby helping optimize an FR procedure.

Optionally, when the first link is the link between the terminal and the SCG of the secondary node, and the second link is the link between the terminal and the MCG of the master node, the indication information is further used to indicate information related to the FRF, where the information related to the FRF includes at least one of the following:.

Optionally, the network node <NUM> further includes:
a second sending module, configured to forward the indication information to a target node.

In addition, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a terminal. The terminal includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and that can be run on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, processes in the information indication method embodiment applied to the terminal are implemented, and a same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

Specifically, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The terminal <NUM> includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit <NUM>, a network module <NUM>, an audio output unit <NUM>, an input unit <NUM>, a sensor <NUM>, a display unit <NUM>, a user input unit <NUM>, an interface unit <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, a power supply <NUM>, and another component. A person skilled in the art may understand that the structure of the terminal shown in <FIG> does not constitute a limitation on the terminal, and the terminal may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine some components, or have different component arrangements. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal includes but is not limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a wearable device, a pedometer, and the like.

The radio frequency unit <NUM> is configured to send indication information to a network node. The indication information is used to indicate that the terminal detects an FRF, the FRF is a failure of a fast recovery that is of a first link and that is initiated through a second link after a first link failure, the first link is a link between the terminal and a first node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and a second node.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal <NUM> can implement processes implemented in the foregoing method embodiment shown in <FIG>, and a same beneficial effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

It should be understood that in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the radio frequency unit <NUM> may be configured to receive and send signals in a process of receiving and sending information or calling. Specifically, after receiving downlink data from a base station, the radio frequency unit <NUM> sends the downlink data to the processor <NUM> for processing; and sends uplink data to the base station. Generally, the radio frequency unit <NUM> includes but is not limited to an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the radio frequency unit <NUM> may further communicate with a network and another device by using a wireless communications system.

The terminal provides wireless broadband Internet access for a user by using the network module <NUM>, for example, helps the user to receive and send an e-mail, brow a web page, and access streaming media.

The audio output unit <NUM> may convert audio data received by the radio frequency unit <NUM> or the network module <NUM> or stored in the memory <NUM> into an audio signal and output as voice. In addition, the audio output unit <NUM> may further provide audio output (for example, a call signal received voice or a message received voice) related to a specific function performed by the terminal <NUM>. The audio output unit <NUM> includes a loudspeaker, a buzzer, a receiver, and the like.

The input unit <NUM> is configured to receive an audio signal or a video signal. The input unit <NUM> may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) <NUM> and a microphone <NUM>. The graphics processing unit <NUM> processes image data of a static picture or video obtained by an image capturing apparatus (for example, a camera lens) in a video capturing mode or an image capturing mode. A processed image frame may be displayed on the display unit <NUM>. The image frame processed by the graphics processing unit <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM> (or another storage medium) or sent by using the radio frequency unit <NUM> or the network module <NUM>. The microphone <NUM> may receive sound and can process such sound into audio data. The processed audio data may be converted, in a calling mode, into a format that can be sent to a mobile communication base station by using the radio frequency unit <NUM> for output.

The terminal <NUM> further includes at least one sensor <NUM>, for example, a light sensor, a motion sensor, and another sensor. Specifically, the light sensor includes an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor, where the ambient light sensor can adjust brightness of a display panel <NUM> based on brightness of ambient light, and the proximity sensor can turn off the display panel <NUM> and/or backlight when the terminal <NUM> is moved towards the ear. As a type of motion sensor, an accelerometer sensor may detect acceleration values in directions (that are generally three axes), and detect a value and a direction of gravity when the accelerometer sensor is static, and may be configured to: recognize a terminal posture (for example, screen switching between landscape and portrait modes, a related game, or magnetometer posture calibration), and perform a function related to vibration recognition (for example, a pedometer or a knock), and the like. The sensor <NUM> may further include a fingerprint sensor, a pressure sensor, an iris sensor, a molecular sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, an infrared sensor, and the like.

The display unit <NUM> is configured to display information entered by a user or information provided for the user. The display panel <NUM> may be configured in a form of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), or the like.

The user input unit <NUM> may be configured to: receive input digit or character information, and generate key signal input related to user setting and function control of the terminal. Specifically, the user input unit <NUM> includes a touch panel <NUM> and another input device <NUM>. The touch panel <NUM> is also referred to as a touchscreen, and may collect a touch operation of the user on or near the touch panel <NUM> (for example, an operation performed on or near the touch panel <NUM> by the user by using any appropriate object or accessory such as a finger or a stylus). The touch panel <NUM> may include two parts: a touch detection apparatus and a touch controller. The touch detection apparatus detects a touch position of the user, detects a signal brought by a touch operation, and transmits the signal to the touch controller. The touch controller receives touch information from the touch detection apparatus, converts the touch information into contact coordinates, sends the contact coordinates to the processor <NUM>, and receives and executes a command from the processor <NUM>. In addition, the touch panel <NUM> may be implemented by using a plurality of types such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared ray type, and a surface acoustic wave type. The user input unit <NUM> may further include another input device <NUM> in addition to the touch panel <NUM>. Specifically, the another input device <NUM> may include but is not limited to a physical keyboard, function keys (for example, a volume control key and an on/off key), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick.

Further, the touch panel <NUM> may cover the display panel <NUM>. When detecting the touch operation on or near the touch panel <NUM>, the touch panel <NUM> transmits the touch operation to the processor <NUM> to determine a type of the touch event, and then the processor <NUM> provides corresponding visual output on the display panel <NUM> based on the type of the touch event. In <FIG>, although the touch panel <NUM> and the display panel <NUM> are used as two independent parts to implement input and output functions of the terminal, in some embodiments, the touch panel <NUM> and the display panel <NUM> may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the terminal. This is not specifically limited herein.

The interface unit <NUM> is an interface connecting an external apparatus to the terminal <NUM>. For example, the external apparatus may include a wired or wireless headphone port, an external power supply (or a battery recharger) port, a wired or wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for link with an apparatus having an identification module, an audio input/output(I/O) port, a video I/O port, an earphone port, and the like. The interface unit <NUM> may be configured to: receive input (for example, data information and power) from an external apparatus, and transmit the received input to one or more elements inside the terminal <NUM>; or may be configured to transmit data between the terminal <NUM> and the external apparatus.

The memory <NUM> may be configured to store a software program and various data. The memory <NUM> may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system, an application for at least one function (for example, a sound play function or an image play function), and the like. The data storage area may store data (for example, audio data or an address book) or the like created based on use of the mobile phone. In addition, the memory <NUM> may include a high-speed random access memory, or may include a nonvolatile memory, for example, at least one disk storage device, a flash memory, or another volatile solid-state storage device.

The processor <NUM> is a control center of the terminal, and connects all parts of the entire terminal through various interfaces and lines. By running or executing a software program and/or a module stored in the memory <NUM> and invoking data stored in the memory <NUM>, the processor <NUM> performs various functions of the terminal and data processing, to perform overall monitoring on the terminal. The processor <NUM> may include one or more processing units. Optionally, an application processor and a modem processor may be integrated into the processor <NUM>. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, an application, and the like. The modem processor mainly processes wireless communication. It can be understood that, alternatively, the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor <NUM>.

The terminal <NUM> may further include a power supply <NUM> (for example, a battery) that supplies power to various components. Optionally, the power supply <NUM> may be logically connected to the processor <NUM> through a power supply management system, to perform functions of managing charging, discharging, and power consumption through the power supply management system.

In addition, the terminal <NUM> may further include some functional modules not shown.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a network node. The network node includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and that can be run on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, processes of the information obtaining method embodiment applied to the network node are implemented, and a same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

Specifically, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a network node implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The network node <NUM> includes but is not limited to a bus <NUM>, a transceiver interface <NUM>, an antenna <NUM>, a bus interface <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the network node <NUM> further includes a computer program that is stored in the memory <NUM> and that can be run on the processor <NUM>. When the computer program is executed by the processor <NUM>, processes implemented in the foregoing method embodiment shown in <FIG> can be implemented, and a same beneficial effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

The transceiver interface <NUM> is configured to receive and send data under control of the processor <NUM>.

In <FIG>, for a bus architecture (represented by the bus <NUM>), the bus <NUM> may include any quantity of interconnected buses and bridges, and the bus <NUM> interconnects various circuits of one or more processors represented by the processor <NUM> and of a memory represented by the memory <NUM>. The bus <NUM> may further interconnect various other circuits, for example, a peripheral device, a voltage regulator, and a power management circuit. These are all well known in the art. Therefore, this specification provides no further description. The bus interface <NUM> is an interface provided between the bus <NUM> and the transceiver interface <NUM>. The transceiver interface <NUM> may be one or more elements, for example, a plurality of receivers and transmitters, and provides a unit configured to communicate with various other apparatuses on a transmission medium. Data processed by the processor <NUM> is transmitted on a wireless medium by using the antenna <NUM>. The antenna <NUM> further receives data and transmits the data to the processor <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> is responsible for managing the bus <NUM> and general processing, and may further provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfacing, voltage regulation, power management, and another control function. The memory <NUM> may be configured to store data used by the processor <NUM> when performing an operation.

Optionally, the processor <NUM> may be a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a CPLD.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, not being according to the invention as claimed. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, processes of the information indication method embodiment applied to a terminal or processes of the information obtaining method embodiment applied to a network node are implemented, and a same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

It should be noted that, in this specification, the terms "include", "comprise", or any of their variants are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, a method, an article, or an apparatus that includes a list of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements that are not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. An element limited by "includes a. " does not, without more constraints, preclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

Claim 1:
An information indication method, applied to a terminal, and comprises:
sending indication information to a network node, wherein
the indication information is used to indicate that the terminal detects a fast recovery failure FRF, the FRF is a failure of a fast recovery that is of a first link and that is initiated through a second link after a first link failure, the first link is a link between the terminal and a first node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and a second node,
wherein the first link is a link between the terminal and a master cell group MCG of a master node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and a secondary cell group SCG of a secondary node; or
the first link is a link between the terminal and an SCG of a secondary node, and the second link is a link between the terminal and an MCG of a master node.