IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,581,418
Granted Patent B2
US 12,581,418 · App. 17/778,300 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Terminal device and wireless communications method

Inventors: Kunpeng Zhang (Xi'an, CN); Zhengbin Tan (Xi'an, CN); Weigang Wang (Xi'an, CN); Yanzhao He (Shenzhen, CN); Liwei Cui (Xi'an, CN); Qingfeng Xue (Xi'an, CN); Hongyang Ma (Shenzhen, CN)
Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
H04W52/0251H04W76/15H04W76/34
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,581,418
App. No.
17/778,300
Granted
Mar 17, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

This application provides a terminal device and a wireless communications method. When the terminal device is in a dual connectivity network including an LTE link and an NR link, the terminal device determines, based on a service transmission rate related to an actual transmission rate, whether to disconnect the NR link. If the service transmission rate is relatively low, the terminal device disconnects the NR link. If the service transmission rate is relatively high, the terminal device does not disconnect a first link, and uses both the NR link and the LTE link for communication. In this way, power consumption of the terminal device can be effectively reduced without affecting the user experience on transmission rate, the user experience on power consumption is improved, and the user experiences on transmission rate and power consumption are balanced to some extent.

Claims (61)

1 . A terminal device, wherein the terminal device comprises:

a processor; and

a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device performs:

camping on a dual connectivity network, wherein the dual connectivity network comprises a long term evolution (LTE) link and a new radio (NR) link;

sending, to an LTE network device, a first instruction when detecting that a service transmission rate of the terminal device is less than a first switch threshold, wherein the first instruction is used to release the NR link, and the service transmission rate is related to an actual transmission rate; and

performing communication by using the LTE link after the NR link is disconnected.

2 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device further performs:

running a first application in the foreground before sending the first instruction, wherein the first application is a preset application.

3 . The terminal device according to claim 2 , wherein

the terminal device is not in a priority mode, and the priority mode comprises at least one of the following: a call mode, a charging mode, a performance optimization mode, or a hotspot sharing mode.

4 . The terminal device according to claim 2 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device further performs the following actions:

exiting the first application from the foreground after sending the first instruction;

accessing a cell configured by a first network device for the terminal device, to restore the NR link; and

performing communication by using the LTE link and the NR link after the NR link is restored.

5 . The terminal device according to claim 4 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device further performs the following action:

running a second application in the foreground, wherein the second application is a non-preset application; and

continuing to perform communication by using the LTE link and the NR link.

6 . The terminal device according to claim 2 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device further performs the following actions:

starting a first timer after running the first application in the foreground; and

detecting the service transmission rate of the terminal device after the first timer expires.

7 . The terminal device according to claim 2 , wherein

the first application is any one of the following applications: a navigation application, a reading application, a game application, and an application into which a video is embedded.

8 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the first switch threshold is related to at least one of the following parameters of the terminal device in an LTE network, wherein the LTE network comprises the LTE link:

signal strength of a cell in which the terminal device is located; or

cell bandwidth of the cell in which the terminal device is located; or

a duplex mode used by the terminal device for communication, wherein the duplex mode comprises a time division duplex (TDD) mode or a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode; or

a transmission mode used by the terminal device for communication, wherein the transmission mode comprises uplink transmission or downlink transmission.

9 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device is enabled to further perform the following actions:

after sending the first instruction, when detecting that the service transmission rate of the terminal device is greater than a second switch threshold, accessing a cell configured by a first network device for the terminal device, to restore the NR link; and

performing communication by using the LTE link and the NR link after the NR link is restored.

10 . The terminal device according to claim 9 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device is enabled to further perform the following action:

sending a second instruction before accessing the cell configured by the first network device for the terminal device, wherein the second instruction is used to restore the NR link.

11 . The terminal device according to claim 9 , wherein the second switch threshold is greater than the first switch threshold.

12 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein when the processor executes the instructions, the terminal device further performs the following actions:

before sending the first instruction, determining whether the NR link is disconnected; and

detecting the service transmission rate of the terminal device when the NR link is not disconnected.

13 . A wireless communications method, applied to a terminal device, wherein the method comprises:

camping on a dual connectivity network, wherein the dual connectivity network comprises a long term evolution (LTE) link and a new radio (NR) link;

sending, to an LTE network device, a first instruction when detecting that a service transmission rate of the terminal device is less than a first switch threshold, wherein the first instruction is used to release the NR link, and the service transmission rate is related to an actual transmission rate; and

performing communication by using the LTE link after the NR link is disconnected.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein before the sending the first instruction, the method further comprises:

running a first application in the foreground, wherein the first application is a preset application.

15 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein

the terminal device is not in a priority mode, and the priority mode comprises at least one of the following: a call mode, a charging mode, a performance optimization mode, or a hotspot sharing mode.

16 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein after the sending the first instruction, the method further comprises:

exiting the first application from the foreground;

accessing a cell configured by a first network device for the terminal device, to restore the NR link; and

performing communication by using the LTE link and the NR link after the NR link is restored.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises:

running a second application in the foreground, wherein the second application is a non-preset application; and

continuing to perform communication by using the LTE link and the NR link.

18 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises:

starting a first timer after running the first application in the foreground; and

detecting the service transmission rate of the terminal device after the first timer expires.

19 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein

the first application is any one of the following applications: a navigation application, a reading application, a game application, and an application into which a video can be embedded.

20 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the first switch threshold is related to at least one of the following parameters of the terminal device in an LTE network, wherein the LTE network comprises the LTE link:

signal strength of a cell in which the terminal device is located; or

cell bandwidth of the cell in which the terminal device is located; or

a duplex mode used by the terminal device for communication, wherein the duplex mode comprises a time division duplex (TDD) mode or a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode; or

a transmission mode used by the terminal device for communication, wherein the transmission mode comprises uplink transmission or downlink transmission.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 27, 2025
From: MA, HONGYANG; ZHANG, KUNPENG; TAN, ZHENGBIN; WANG, WEIGANG; HE, YANZHAO; CUI, LIWEI; XUE, QINGFENG
To: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 072587/0433 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 201911141103.9 · Nov 20, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220346019A1 · Oct 27, 2022
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