CN120825762A

CN120825762A - Communication method and device, computer program product and readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN120825762A
Application number: CN202410408463.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周化雨; 赵思聪; 潘振岗
Original assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-04-03
Filing date: 2024-04-03
Publication date: 2025-10-21
Also published as: WO2025209547A1

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, a computer program product, and a readable storage medium. The communication method includes receiving a first signal/channel within a first activation time. The first signal/channel includes at least one of the following: a paging signal, a paging advance indicator, a synchronization signal block, and system information. Using this solution can reduce energy consumption of network devices.

Description

Communication method and device, computer program product and readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus, a computer program product, and a readable storage medium.

Background

Network ENERGY SAVINGS/network power saving is a concern for mobile carriers and mobile communication devices. Typically, when the network load (load) is small, the transmission of the common downlink signal/channel takes up a large power consumption of the network device.

In the prior art, a common downlink signal/channel is combined with cell discontinuous transmission (Cell Discontinuous Transmission, cell DTX) and periodically not transmitted.

In the prior art, in an idle state and/or an inactive state, the energy consumption required by the network device to transmit the common downlink signal/channel is relatively large.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention at least aims to provide a communication method which can reduce the energy consumption required by network equipment for transmitting a public downlink signal/channel.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a communication method comprising receiving a first signal/channel during a first activation time, the first signal/channel comprising at least one of a page, a page advance indication, a synchronization signal block, and system information.

The network device may transmit the first signal/channel during a first activation time, which may be the activation time of the first period. The terminal device may receive the first signal/channel within a first activation time, which may be an activation time of the first period. The duration corresponding to the first activation time is smaller than the duration of the first period, so that the network device only transmits the first signal/channel in a part of the time period of the first period, and the energy consumption of the network device can be reduced. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first signal/channel only in a part of the period of the first period, so that the energy consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Optionally, the first activation time is within a first period.

The first period may include one or more first activation times. The network device may transmit the first signal/channel during one or more first activation times and, accordingly, the terminal device may receive the first signal/channel during one or more first activation times.

Optionally, the start point of the first activation time is the start point of a paging frame group.

Optionally, the duration of the first activation time is one or more paging frame groups.

The network device configures a starting point of the first activation time and a duration of the first activation time for the terminal device. The terminal device may determine a specific position of the first activation time within the first period based on the start point of the first activation time and the duration of the first activation time, and further receive the first signal/channel within the determined first activation time.

Optionally, the initial paging frame of the paging frame group i is the ith Q+O paging frames, wherein Q is the number of paging frames between adjacent paging frame groups, and the starting point of the paging frame group 0 is offset by O paging frames relative to the starting point of the first period.

The network device can define the specific position of each paging frame group by defining the number O of paging frames of which the starting point of the paging frame group i is offset from the starting point of the first period and the number of paging frames between adjacent paging frame groups, so that the signaling overhead required by the network device for configuring the specific position of each paging frame can be reduced.

Optionally, the paging frame group includes P paging frames.

Optionally, Q has a value of 0. When the value of Q is 0, different paging frame groups are consecutive. The value of O may also be 0, and the first paging frame group starts from the first paging frame in the first period. By default setting, the signaling overhead of the network device configuring the specific location of the paging frame can be further reduced.

Optionally, the number of paging frames whose start point of the paging frame group i is offset from the start point of the first period is O _i.

The network device may configure an offset of the start of each paging frame group relative to the start of the first period. The terminal device may determine a specific location of each paging frame group within the first period based on the network device configured O _i.

Optionally, the initial system frame number of the paging frame group i is SFN_i=SFN+offset [ i ], wherein SFN is the initial system frame number of the first period, SFN_i is the initial system frame number of the paging frame group i, and offset [ i ] is the offset of the initial system frame number of the paging frame group i and SFN.

The network device may configure an offset of the starting system frame number of each paging frame group from the starting system frame number of the first period. The terminal device determines the initial system frame number of each paging frame group based on the offset i, and further determines a specific position in the first period of each paging frame group.

Optionally, the initial system frame number of the first activation time i is sfn_i=sfn+offset [ i ], wherein SFN is the initial system frame number of the first period, and offset [ i ] is the offset of the initial system frame number of the first activation time i and SFN.

The network device may configure an offset of the start system frame number of each first activation time with the start system frame number of the first period. The terminal device determines a start system frame number of each first activation time based on the offset [ i ], and further determines a specific position of each first activation time in the first period.

Optionally, the duration of the first activation time is one or more frames.

Optionally, the start point of the first activation time is the start point of a paging cycle group.

Optionally, the duration of the first activation time is one or more paging cycle groups.

Optionally, the initial paging cycle of the paging cycle group i is the ith q1+o1 paging cycle, wherein Q1 is the number of paging cycles between adjacent paging cycle groups, and the start of the paging cycle group 0 is offset by O paging cycles with respect to the start of the first cycle.

The network device may configure a plurality of paging cycles within a first period, some of which may constitute a paging cycle group. The terminal device may determine a paging cycle group corresponding to the first activation time based on the configuration of the network device, and further receive the first signal/channel within the paging cycle group.

Optionally, the paging cycle group i includes P1 paging cycles.

Optionally, Q1 has a value of 0, and the different paging cycle groups are consecutive. The value of O1 may also be 0, and the initial paging cycle of the first paging cycle group is the first paging cycle of the first period. By default setting, the signaling overhead of the network device configuring the specific location of the paging frame can be further reduced.

In a second aspect, the invention also provides another communication method, which comprises the step of transmitting a first signal/channel in a first activation time, wherein the first signal/channel comprises at least one of paging, paging advance indication, synchronous signal block and system information.

In a third aspect, the invention also provides a communication device, which comprises a processing unit, a first signal/channel, a second signal/channel and a third signal/channel, wherein the processing unit is used for receiving a first signal/channel in a first activation time, and the first signal/channel comprises at least one of paging, paging advance indication, synchronous signal block and system information.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention also provides another communication apparatus, including a transmitting unit configured to transmit a first signal/channel during a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of paging, a paging advance indication, a synchronization signal block, and system information.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention also provides a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium being a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transitory storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of any of the communication methods described above.

In a sixth aspect, the invention also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program/instruction for executing the steps of any of the communication methods described above when executed by a computer.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention also provides another communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon a computer program executable on the processor, the processor executing the steps of any of the communication methods described above when the computer program is executed.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a communication method in an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a first period and a first activation time according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first cycle and paging cycle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Typically, when the network load (load) is small, the transmission of the common downlink signal/channel takes up a large power consumption of the network device. The common downlink signals/channels may include synchronization signal blocks (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB), system information block1 (System Information Block, SIB 1), system information block x (System Information Blockx, SIBx), paging (paging), random access response (Random Access Response, RAR), and the like. SIB1 may also be referred to as the remaining main system message (REMAINING MAIN SYSTEM Information, RMSI), and SIBx may also be referred to as other system messages (Other System Information, OSI).

The common downlink signal/channel may be combined with cell DTX, i.e. the common downlink signal/channel may be periodically not transmitted.

The cell DTX is mainly used for the connected terminal equipment. cell DTX may also be referred to as cell DTX for a connected terminal device. The Cell DTX may consist of repeated Cell DTX periods (also referred to as cycles), one Cell DTX period including an active period (active period) and a non-active period (non-active period). The active periods and the inactive periods alternate. Notably, the active period is a period of time, which may be referred to as an active time (ACTIVE TIME), and the inactive period is a period of time, which may be referred to as an inactive time (non-ACTIVE TIME). In general, the network device transmits downlink signals/channels during the active period is unaffected, i.e., the network device may transmit some downlink signals/channels during the active period. The network device transmitting some downstream signals/channels during the inactive period may be affected, i.e. the network device may not transmit some downstream signals/channels during the inactive period.

As communication technology continues to evolve, during the inactivity period of cell DTX, the network device may not send or send little synchronization signal blocks. At this time, the cell DTX has a small influence on cell search, measurement, etc. performed by the terminal device, and a large influence on downlink synchronization performed by the terminal device.

Further, to achieve power saving of the terminal device, the terminal device may be configured as UE Connected state-Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX). UE C-DRX consists of repeated UE C-DRX cycles (cycles). One UE C-DRX cycle includes an active time (ACTIVE TIME) and an inactive time (non-ACTIVE TIME). During the inactive time, the terminal device does not receive some downlink signals/channels, such as a part of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), a part of the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.

With the development of communication technology, the cell DTX described above can be extended to general discontinuous transmission. Specifically, discontinuous transmission may include any one or more of connected cell DTX, unconnected cell DTX, paging discontinuous transmission (Discontinuous Transmission, DTX), SSB DTX, system information DTX. Wherein some discontinuous transmissions are for connected state (connected state) terminal devices and some discontinuous transmissions are for non-connected state (non-connected state) terminal devices. The unconnected state here includes an idle state (IDLE STATE) and/or an inactive state (INACTIVE STATE).

In the present invention, discontinuous transmission may be composed of repeated periods (cycles) of discontinuous transmission, one period of discontinuous transmission including an active period (active period) and a non-active period (non-active period). The active periods and the inactive periods alternate. It is noted that the active period is a period of time, which may be referred to as an active time, and the inactive period is a period of time, which may be referred to as an inactive time. In general, the network device transmits no downlink signal/channel during the active period, i.e., the network device may normally transmit downlink signals/channels, and transmits some signals/channels during the inactive period, i.e., the network device may not transmit or transmit little signal/channel. The above description is from the network device point of view, DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive signals/channels during the active period and to not receive or to receive less of them during the inactive period.

In the following embodiments of the present invention, the first period may be a period of discontinuous transmission.

For a connection state cell DTX (which may be regarded as a cell DTX of Release 18 (New Radio) or an enhancement thereof), the network device may send connection state signals/channels unaffected during the active period, i.e. the network device may normally send connection state signals/channels, and may send certain connection state signals/channels unaffected during the inactive period (e.g. certain physical downlink control channels (Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH), certain reference signals), i.e. the network device may not send or send few connection state signals/channels. The above description is from the perspective of the network device, the connection state cell DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive connection state signals/channels during the active period, and to not receive or to receive less certain connection state signals/channels during the inactive period.

For non-connected cell DTX, the network device may not be affected to send non-connected signals/channels during the active period, i.e. the network device may normally send non-connected signals/channels, and may be affected to send certain non-connected signals/channels (e.g. SSB and/or system information) during the non-active period, i.e. the network device may not send or send less certain non-connected signals/channels. The above description is from the perspective of the network device, the non-connection state cell DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive non-connection state signals/channels during the active period, and to not receive or to receive less of some non-connection state signals/channels during the inactive period.

For paging DTX, the network device sending the page is unaffected during the active period, i.e. the network device may send the page normally, and during the inactive period the network device sending the page may be affected, i.e. the network device may not send or send less pages. The above description is from the network device perspective, paging DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive pages during the active period and to not receive or to receive less of them during the inactive period. For paging DTX, the activation period may also be referred to as a paging window.

For system information DTX, the transmission of system information by the network device is not affected, i.e. the network device may normally transmit system information, and the transmission of certain system information by the network device may be affected, i.e. the network device may not transmit or transmit less certain system information, during the inactive period. The system information includes system information block one (System Information Block, SIB 1) and/or other system information (Other System Information, OSI). For OSI, the network device transmitting system information Window (System Information Window, SI-Window) is not affected in the active period, i.e. the network device can normally transmit SI-Window, and the network device transmitting some SI-Window is affected in the inactive period, i.e. the network device can not transmit or transmit less some SI-Window. The above description is from the point of view of the network device, the system information DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive the system information during the active period, and to receive no or little system information during the inactive period.

For sync signal block (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB) DTX, the network device sends SSB unaffected during the active period, i.e. the network device may send SSB normally, and the network device sends SSB(s) during the inactive period, i.e. the base station does not send or sends little SSB(s). Here "(some)" may mean that SSBs may be classified into different types. The above description is from the network device perspective, SSB DTX is for the terminal device to normally receive SSB during the active period and not receive or receive little SSB(s) during the inactive period.

In a specific application, for SSBs, the network device may configure some SSBs affected by discontinuous transmission for the terminal device to perform basic downlink synchronization. In the following embodiments, SSBs affected by discontinuous transmission are simply referred to as first-type SSBs. The period of the first type of SSB is typically small, such as 5 milliseconds (ms), 20ms, 40ms, etc. The first type of SSB may be an SSB configured by the cell, or may be an SSB reconfigured by radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC), or may be a newly configured SSB.

The network device may configure some SSBs that are not affected by the discontinuous transmission for cell search and/or cell measurement by the terminal device. In the following embodiments, SSBs that are not affected by discontinuous transmission are simply referred to as second-type SSBs. The period of the second type SSB is typically greater than the period of the first type SSB. For example, the second class SSB has a period of 160ms. The second type of SSB may be an SSB measurement time configuration (SSB measurement time configuration, SMTC) configured by the cell, or an SSB configured by SIB1, or a SSB configured non-newly.

Typically, SSBs need to be scanned by beams, one for each SSB. The network device may send multiple SSBs within 5 ms. Multiple SSBs within 5ms constitute one SSB burst (burst).

In the embodiment of the invention, a plurality of first SSBs in 5ms form a first SSB burst, and a plurality of second SSBs in 5ms form a second SSB burst. The first class of SSB burst may also be referred to as SSB burst that is affected by discontinuous transmission and the second class of SSB burst may also be referred to as SSB burst that is not affected by discontinuous transmission.

In the embodiment of the invention, the wake-up signal is used for the network device to instruct the terminal device to wake up, such as monitoring the PDCCH. The wake-up signal may include a connected state wake-up signal and/or a non-connected state wake-up signal. As the name implies, the connected state wake-up signal may be a wake-up signal used by a connected state terminal device, and the unconnected state wake-up signal may be a wake-up signal used by a non-connected state terminal device.

Specifically, the connection state wake-up signal may include DCP (DCI WITH CRC scramble by PS-RNTI), DCI format 2_6 (DCI format 2_6), and the like. The connected terminal device receives the connected wake-up signal and the corresponding wake-up instruction is wake-up, and then the connected terminal device wakes up, for example, monitors the PDCCH (open duration timer).

Specifically, the non-connection state wake-up signal may include a paging advance Indication (PEI) PDCCH, a DCI format 2_9 (DCI format 2_9), and the like. And the terminal equipment in the non-connection state receives the non-connection state wake-up signal and the corresponding wake-up instruction (PEI) is wake-up, and the terminal equipment in the non-connection state wakes up, for example, monitors PDCCH (monitors paging PDCCH).

For convenience of description, in the following embodiments of the present invention, an activation period of discontinuous transmission may be referred to as a first activation time. For a terminal device in a non-connected state, the first activation time described in the following embodiments of the present invention may include an activation period of discontinuous transmission in the non-connected state.

For a terminal device in a non-connected state, the discontinuous transmission may also be discontinuous reception (UE idle/INACTIVE STATE discontinuous reception, UE I-DRX) in the non-connected state of the terminal device. That is, discontinuous transmission is strictly aligned with UE C-DRX. At this time, the first activation time may further include an activation time of the terminal device.

In addition, for the terminal device in the non-connected state, the discontinuous transmission may also be discontinuous reception (UE idle/INACTIVE STATE discontinuous reception, UE I-DRX) in the non-connected state of the terminal device. That is, discontinuous transmission is strictly aligned with UE I-DRX. At this time, the first activation time may further include a target paging frame/paging occasion of the terminal device.

For terminal devices in idle and/or inactive states, the common downlink signals/channels are almost evenly distributed in the I-DRX. Thus, it is difficult for the network device to go to deeper sleep, resulting in greater power consumption.

In the embodiment of the invention, the terminal equipment can receive the first signal/channel in the first activation time. That is, the terminal device may not receive the first signal/channel outside the first activation time. Accordingly, the network device may transmit the first signal/channel during the first activation time. That is, the network device may not transmit the first signal/channel outside of the first activation time. The duration corresponding to the first activation time is smaller than the duration of the first period, so that the network equipment only transmits the first signal/channel in a part of the time period of the first period, the sleeping time of the network equipment is prolonged, and the energy consumption of the network equipment can be reduced. Likewise, the terminal device receives the first signal/channel only in a part of the period of the first period, so that the sleep time of the terminal device is prolonged, and the energy consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is a device with a wireless communication function, and may also be referred to as a terminal (terminal), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, an industrial control terminal device, a User Equipment (UE) unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE apparatus. The UE may be fixed or mobile. It should be noted that the UE may support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, NR, etc. By way of example, the UE may be a mobile phone, tablet (pad), desktop, notebook, all-in-one, in-vehicle, virtual Reality (VR) UE, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) UE, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in unmanned (SELF DRIVING), a wireless terminal in teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in smart grid (SMART GRID), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (SMART CITY), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (personal DIGITAL ASSISTANT, PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication functionality, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, a UE in a future mobile communication network or a UE in a future evolved public mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), etc. In some embodiments of the present application, the UE may also be a device with transceiving functions, such as a system on a chip. The chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device is a device that provides a wireless communication function for the terminal device, and may also be referred to as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) device, or an access network element, an access network device, or the like. Wherein the network device may support at least one wireless communication technology, e.g., LTE, NR, etc. By way of example, network devices include, but are not limited to, next generation base stations (gNB), evolved node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (radio network controller, RNC), node Bs (node Bs, NB), base station controllers (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver stations (base transceiver station, BTS), home base stations (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), baseband units (BBU), transceiving points (TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING points, TRP), transmitting points (TRANSMITTING POINT, TP), mobile switching centers, and the like in 5G. The network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), and/or a Distributed Unit (DU) in the cloud wireless access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario, or the network device may be a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a terminal device, a wearable device, and a network device in future mobile communications or a network device in a future evolved PLMN, etc. In some embodiments, the network device may also be an apparatus, such as a system-on-a-chip, having functionality for providing wireless communication for the terminal device. By way of example, the chip system may include a chip, and may also include other discrete devices.

In some embodiments, the network device may also communicate with an internet protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) network, such as the internet, a private IP network, or other data network, or the like.

The following describes the related terms provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

In a specific application, the network device may configure SSBs affected by discontinuous transmission for the terminal device to perform basic downlink synchronization.

In the following embodiments, SSBs affected by discontinuous transmission are simply referred to as first-type SSBs. The period of the first type of SSB is typically small, such as 5 milliseconds (ms), 20ms, 40ms, etc. The first type of SSB may be an SSB configured by the cell, or may be an SSB reconfigured by radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC), or may be a newly configured SSB.

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method, and the detailed description is given below through specific steps with reference to fig. 1.

In a specific implementation, the communication method provided in step 101 below may be performed by a chip (such as a baseband chip) with data processing capability in the terminal device, or by a chip module (such as a baseband chip module) with data processing capability in the terminal device, or by the terminal device. The following describes an example of the communication method provided by the terminal device executing step 101.

In step 101, the terminal device receives a first signal/channel in a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of paging, a paging advance indication, a synchronization signal block, and system information.

That is, the terminal device does not receive the first signal/channel outside the first activation time.

Accordingly, the network device transmits the first signal/channel during the first activation time. That is, the network device does not transmit the first signal/channel outside the first activation time.

In an implementation, the first signal/channel may include a synchronization signal block of a first type SSB. Or the first signal/channel comprises a synchronization signal block comprising SSB bursts of the first type.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first period may include one or more first activation times. That is, the first activation time is included in the first period.

In the following embodiment, a case where the first activation time is included in the first period will be described.

Referring to fig. 2, a schematic diagram of a first period and a first activation time in an embodiment of the present invention is provided. In fig. 2, the first period has a length of 1280ms, and the first activation time is a portion of the first period.

Therefore, the network equipment can only send the first signal/channel in the first activation time, and the first signal/channel is not needed to be sent in other time periods in the first period, so that the sleep time of the network equipment is prolonged, the energy consumption of the network equipment can be effectively reduced, and likewise, the terminal equipment can only receive the first signal/channel in the first activation time, and the first signal/channel is not needed to be received in other time periods in the first period, so that the sleep time of the terminal equipment is prolonged, and the energy consumption of the terminal equipment can be effectively reduced.

In the embodiment of the invention, the network device can configure the starting point of the first activation time and the duration of the first activation time. The network device may configure a form of a parameter, and send the start point of the configured first activation time and the duration of the first activation time to the terminal device. The terminal device determines a starting point of the first activation time and a duration of the first activation time based on the received configuration parameters.

In an implementation, the starting point of the first activation time may be the starting point of one paging frame group, and the duration of the first activation time may be one or more paging frame groups. The identification of the paging frame group may start with 0. In the following description, the paging frame group identified as i may be simply referred to as paging frame group i.

For example, the first activation time includes 2 paging frame groups, paging frame group 0 and paging frame group 1, respectively. In some examples, paging frame group 0 may also be referred to as a first paging frame group and paging frame group 1 may also be referred to as a second paging frame group.

If one first activation time includes one paging frame group, the starting point of the first activation time is the starting point of the paging frame group, and if one first activation time includes two or more paging frame groups, the starting point of the first activation time is the starting point of the first paging frame group.

For example, the first activation time 0 includes paging frame group 0, and the start point of the first activation time 0 is the start point of the paging frame group 0. As another example, the first activation time 0 includes paging frame group 0 and paging frame group 1, and the paging frame group 0 is located before the paging frame group 1 in the time domain, and then the start point of the first activation time 0 is the start point of the paging frame group 0.

In a specific implementation, the starting point of the paging frame group may be defined in such a manner that, for the paging frame group i, the corresponding starting paging frame is the ith q+o paging frames in the first period, where Q is the number of paging frames between adjacent paging frame groups, and the starting point of the paging frame group 0 is offset by O paging frames with respect to the starting point of the first period. And i, Q and O are integers. If the first activation time includes N paging frame groups, i is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N-1.

For paging frame group i, P paging frames may be included. The P paging frames may be consecutive P paging frames or may be non-consecutive P paging frames.

In some embodiments, the paging frame group i starts with the ith (p+q) +o paging frames in the N paging frame groups.

The value of Q may be 0, and P paging frames in the paging group i are consecutive. And if the value of O is 0, the initial paging frame of the first paging frame group (i.e., paging frame group 0) is the initial paging frame of the first period.

It is understood that Q, O may take other values, and is not limited to the above examples.

For example, the length of the first period is 1280ms, p=4, q= 0,O =0. The first activation time occupies the first 640ms of the first period. The first activation time includes 1 paging frame group, paging frame group 0. Paging frame group 0 includes 4 consecutive paging frames, and the starting paging frame of paging frame group 0 is the starting paging frame of the first period. The initial paging frame of the first period is frame 0, so four paging frames included in the paging frame group 0 are frames 0 to 3 in sequence.

Thus, the network device may define the paging frame group in the first activation time by the index of the paging frame. And by defining the number P of paging frames in the first paging frame group, the number Q of paging frames between adjacent first paging frame groups and the offset O, the index of the paging frame contained in each paging frame group can be defined, so that the signaling can be simplified, and the signaling overhead required by the network equipment for configuring the specific positions of the paging frames can be reduced.

In implementations, the network device may also configure an offset between each paging frame group and the start of the first period. Specifically, the number of paging frames whose start point of the paging frame group i is offset from the start point of the first period is O _i.

In some embodiments, the paging frame group may include consecutive P paging frames, and the specific value of P may be configured by the network device or predefined in the communication protocol. Thus, in the case where the length of the paging frame group is fixed, the terminal device may determine a specific location of each paging frame group based on O _i.

For example, the length of the first period is 1280ms. The first period includes 2 first activation times, the first activation time corresponding to paging frame group 0 and the second first activation time corresponding to paging frame group 1. The network device configures the number of paging frames whose start point of paging frame group 0 is offset from the start point of the first period to be 0, and the number of paging frames whose start point of paging frame group 1 is offset from the start point of the first period to be 32. The first activation time starts at frame 0 and the second first activation time starts at frame 32. Each paging frame group includes 8 paging frames, and the specific position of the paging frame group 0 is frame 0 to frame 7, and the specific position of the paging frame group 1 is frame 32 to frame 39.

In implementations, the network device may configure an offset between a starting system frame number of each paging frame group and a starting system frame number of the first period.

Specifically, the starting point of the paging frame group may be defined in such a manner that the starting system frame number of the paging frame group i is sfn_i=sfn+offset [ i ], SFN is the starting system frame number of the first period, sfn_i is the starting system frame number of the paging frame group i, and offset [ i ] is the offset of the starting system frame number of the paging frame group i and SFN. The paging frame group may include P consecutive paging frames, and the specific value of P may be configured by the network device. Thus, the terminal device can determine the specific location of each paging frame group based on the corresponding offset of each paging frame group.

For example, the length of the first period is 1280ms. The first period includes 2 first activation times, the first activation time corresponding to paging frame group 0 and the second first activation time corresponding to paging frame group 1. The network device configures offset 0 to be 0 and offset 1 to be 32. The first activation time starts at frame 0 and the second first activation time starts at frame 32. Each paging frame group includes 8 paging frames, and the specific position of the paging frame group 0 is frame 0 to frame 7, and the specific position of the paging frame group 1 is frame 32 to frame 39.

In implementations, the network device may configure an offset between a start of each first activation time and a start of the first period. Since the start point of the first period is known, the terminal device may determine the start point of the first activation time based on the start point of the first period and the offset.

If the first period includes a plurality of first activation times, the network device may configure a corresponding offset for each first activation time. The offset between the start of the different first activation times and the start of the first period is different. The terminal device may determine the start point of the different first activation time based on the start point of the first period, the offset corresponding to the different first activation time.

For example, the first period includes two first activation times. The offset between the start of the first activation time and the start of the first period is 0 and the offset between the start of the second first activation time and the start of the first period is 320ms.

In implementations, the network device may configure an offset between the starting system frame number of each first activation time and the starting system frame number of the first period.

Specifically, the starting point of the first activation time may be defined in such a manner that the starting system frame number of the first activation time i may be determined by sfn_i=sfn+offset [ i ], where SFN is the starting system frame number of the first period, sfn_i is the starting system frame number of the first activation time i, and offset [ i ] is the offset between the starting system frame number of the first activation time i and the SFN.

For example, the first period includes 1 first activation time. The initial system frame number of the first period is 0 and offset 0 is 32, and the initial system frame number of the first activation time 0 is 32.

Alternatively, in an embodiment of the present invention, the first activation time includes one or more paging cycles. At this time, since the first period duration is longer than the first activation time, the first period is likely to include a plurality of paging cycles.

In the following embodiments, a case where the first activation time includes one or more paging cycles will be described.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic diagram of a first period and a paging period in an embodiment of the present invention is provided.

In fig. 3, the first period includes 4 paging periods, and the length of the first period is 1280ms. The 4 paging cycles are paging cycle 0, paging cycle 1, paging cycle 2 and paging cycle 3 in sequence, and each paging cycle has a length of 320ms.

In an implementation, the start of the first activation time may be the start of a paging cycle group. The duration of the first activation time may be one or more paging cycle groups. One paging cycle group may include at least one paging cycle.

In some embodiments, the identification of the paging cycle group may begin with 0. In the following description, the paging cycle group identified as i may be simply referred to as paging cycle group i.

For example, the first activation time includes 2 paging cycle groups, paging cycle group 0 and paging cycle group 1, respectively. In some examples, paging cycle group 0 may also be referred to as a first paging cycle group and paging cycle group 1 may also be referred to as a second paging cycle group.

Specifically, the starting point of the paging cycle group may be defined in such a manner that, for the paging cycle group i, the corresponding initial paging frame is the ith q1+o1 paging frame in the first cycle, where Q1 is the number of paging cycles between adjacent paging cycle groups, and the starting point of the paging cycle group 0 is offset by O1 paging cycles with respect to the starting point of the first cycle. The i, Q1 and O1 are integers. If the first activation time includes N paging cycle groups, i is more than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to N-1.

For paging cycle group i, P1 paging cycles may be included. The P1 paging cycles may be consecutive P paging cycles or may be non-consecutive P1 paging cycles.

In some embodiments, the paging cycle group i starts with the (p1+q1) +o1 paging cycle in the N paging cycle groups.

The value of Q1 may be 0, and P1 paging cycles in the paging cycle group i are consecutive. And if the value of O1 is 0, the initial paging cycle of the first paging cycle group (i.e., paging cycle group 0) is the initial paging cycle of the first cycle.

It is understood that the values of Q1 and O1 may be other values, and are not limited to the above examples.

For example, the length of the first period is 1280ms, p1=2, q1=0, o1=0. The first period includes paging period 0-paging period 3, and the first activation time includes paging period group 0. The initial paging cycle of paging cycle group 0 is paging cycle 0, and paging cycle group 0 includes paging cycle 0 and paging cycle 1.

As can be seen from the above example and fig. 3, the first activation time includes paging cycle 0 and paging cycle 1.

Thus, the network device may define the paging cycle group in the first activation time by the index of the paging cycle. And by defining the number P of paging cycles in the first paging cycle group, the number Q of paging cycles between adjacent first paging cycle groups and the offset O, the index of the paging cycle contained in each paging cycle group can be defined, so that the signaling can be simplified, and the signaling overhead required by the network equipment for configuring the specific position of each paging cycle can be reduced.

In some embodiments, whether the terminal device receives a first type of signal/channel is also related to cell switching (CELL SWITCH) or handover (handover). Accordingly, whether the network device transmits the first type of signal/channel is also related to cell switching or handover.

After the terminal device receives the cell switch or handover command, the terminal device starts to receive the first type signal/channel. Specifically, the terminal device may be configured with the first type signal/channel of the target cell in advance, and after a preset time interval elapses after the terminal device receives the cell switching or handover command (the terminal device needs to complete cell switching or handover after the time interval elapses), the terminal device starts to receive the first type signal/channel of the target cell.

Accordingly, after the network device (network device of the source cell) transmits a cell switch or handover command, the network device (network device of the target cell) starts transmitting the first type signal/channel. Specifically, the network device (network device of the source cell) may configure the first type signal/channel of the target cell for the user equipment in advance, and after a preset time interval elapses after the network device (network device of the source cell) sends a cell switching or handover command (the terminal device needs to complete cell switching or handover after the time interval elapses), the network device (network device of the target cell) starts to send the first type signal/channel. In this way, only after the user equipment is converted or switched to the target cell, the target cell starts to transmit the first type signal/channel, the user equipment starts to receive the first type signal/channel, so that the energy consumption of the network equipment of the target cell is reduced (the sleeping time of the network equipment of the target cell can be prolonged), and the user equipment is ensured to access the target cell.

The embodiment of the invention also provides another communication method, which comprises the step of transmitting a first signal/channel in a first activation time, wherein the first signal/channel comprises at least one of paging, paging advance indication, synchronous signal block and system information. The above-described communication method may correspond to the communication method provided in step 101, except that the above-described communication method is performed by a chip having data processing capability in the network device, or by a chip module having data processing capability in the network device, or by the network device.

In implementations, the network device may not transmit the first signal/channel outside of the first activation time. The duration corresponding to the first activation time is smaller than the duration of the first period, so that the network equipment only transmits the first signal/channel in a part of the time period of the first period, the sleep time of the network equipment is prolonged, the energy consumption of the network equipment can be reduced, and similarly, the terminal equipment only receives the first signal/channel in the part of the time period of the first period, the sleep time of the terminal equipment is prolonged, and the energy consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

In a specific implementation, the network device may configure the starting point of the first activation time and/or the duration of the first activation time for the terminal device. Specifically, the starting point of the first activation time and/or the corresponding description of the duration of the first activation time may correspond to the content provided in the foregoing embodiment, which is not described herein in detail.

Referring to fig. 4, a communication device 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided, which includes a processing unit 401 configured to receive a first signal/channel during a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of paging, a paging advance indication, a synchronization signal block, and system information.

In an implementation, the specific execution process of the processing unit 401 may correspond to the reference step 101, which is not described herein.

In a specific implementation, the communication device 40 may correspond to a chip with a data processing function in the terminal device, or correspond to a chip module with a data processing function in the terminal device, or correspond to the terminal device.

The embodiment of the invention also provides another communication device, which comprises a sending unit, a receiving unit and a sending unit, wherein the sending unit is used for sending a first signal/channel in a first activation time, and the first signal/channel comprises at least one of paging, paging advance indication, a synchronous signal block and system information. The above-mentioned transmitting unit may correspond to a chip having a data processing function in the network device, or correspond to a chip module having a data processing function included in the network device, or correspond to the network device.

In a specific implementation, regarding each apparatus and each module/unit included in each product described in the above embodiments, it may be a software module/unit, or a hardware module/unit, or may be a software module/unit partially, or a hardware module/unit partially.

For example, for each device, product, or application to or integration on a chip, each module/unit contained therein may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, or at least some of the modules/units may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, for each device, product, or application to or integration on a chip module, each module/unit contained therein may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, or different modules/units may be located in the same component (e.g., a chip, a circuit module, etc.) of the chip module, or in a different component, or at least some of the modules/units may be implemented in software program that runs on a processor that is integrated within the chip module, and the rest of the modules/units (if any) may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, for each device, product, application to or integration on a terminal, each module/unit contained therein may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, and different modules/units may be located in the same component (e.g., a chip, a circuit module, etc.) of the same chip module, or different component, or at least some of the modules/units may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, for each module/integration on a terminal, or at least some of the modules/modules may be implemented in hardware such as a circuit, or at least some of the rest of the modules/modules may be implemented in hardware such as a processor.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a computer readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transient storage medium, and a computer program is stored on the computer readable storage medium, and the computer program is executed by a processor to execute the steps of the communication method provided by any embodiment.

The embodiment of the invention also provides another communication device, which comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program capable of running on the processor, and the processor executes the steps of the communication method provided by any embodiment when running the computer program.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, including a computer program/instruction, characterized in that the computer program/instruction, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the communication method provided in any of the above embodiments.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or a portion of the steps in the various methods of the above embodiments may be implemented by a program indicating the relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, which may include ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disk, etc.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and the scope of the invention should be assessed accordingly to that of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising:

A first signal/channel is received within a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of the following: paging, paging advance indication, synchronization signal block, and system information.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the starting point of the first activation time is the starting point of a paging frame group.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the duration of the first activation time is one or more paging frame groups.

4. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the starting paging frame of paging frame group i is the i*Q+0th paging frame; wherein Q is the number of paging frames between adjacent paging frame groups, and the starting point of paging frame group 0 is offset by O paging frames relative to the starting point of the first cycle.

5 . The communication method according to claim 2 , wherein the paging frame group includes P paging frames.

The communication method according to claim 4 , wherein the value of Q is 0.

7. The communication method as described in claim 4 is characterized in that the value of O is 0.

8. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the number of paging frames by which the starting point of the paging frame group i is offset from the starting point of the first cycle is _Oi .

9. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the starting system frame number of paging frame group i is SFN_i = SFN + offset[i]; wherein SFN is the starting system frame number of the first cycle, SFN_i is the starting system frame number of the paging frame group i, and offset[i] is the offset between the starting system frame number of the paging frame group i and SFN.

10. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the starting system frame number of the first activation time i is SFN_i=SFN+offset[i]; wherein SFN is the starting system frame number of the first cycle, and offset[i] is the offset between the starting system frame number of the first activation time i and SFN.

The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the duration of the first activation time is one or more frames.

12 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the first activation time is within a first period.

13. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the starting point of the first activation time is the starting point of a paging cycle group.

14. The communication method according to claim 13, wherein the duration of the first activation time is one or more paging cycle groups.

15. The communication method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the starting paging cycle of paging cycle group i is the i*Q1+O1th paging cycle; wherein Q1 is the number of paging cycles between adjacent paging cycle groups, and the starting point of paging cycle group 0 is offset by O paging cycles relative to the starting point of the first cycle.

16 . The communication method according to claim 13 , wherein the paging cycle group includes P1 paging cycles.

The communication method according to claim 15 , wherein the value of Q1 is 0.

The communication method according to claim 15 , wherein the value of O1 is 0.

19. The communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein the first activation time includes M paging cycles.

20. A communication method, comprising:

A first signal/channel is sent within a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of the following: paging, paging advance indication, synchronization signal block, and system information.

21. A communication device, comprising:

The processing unit is configured to receive a first signal/channel within a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of the following: paging, paging advance indication, synchronization signal block, and system information.

22. A communication device, comprising:

The sending unit is configured to send a first signal/channel within a first activation time, where the first signal/channel includes at least one of the following: paging, paging advance indication, synchronization signal block, and system information.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile storage medium or a non-transitory storage medium, storing a computer program thereon, characterized in that when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 are executed.

24. A computer program product, comprising a computer program/instruction, wherein the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 are executed when the computer program/instruction is run on a computer.

25. A communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 when executing the computer program.