Method and apparatus for transmitting wake-up signal

Abstract

The application provides a method and device for transmitting a wake-up signal. The method can include: receiving a first category to which a terminal device belongs from a core network device, wherein different categories correspond to different service characteristics; receiving a configuration of multiple wake-up signals from a network device; determining a wake-up signal to be monitored from the multiple wake-up signals according to the first category; and monitoring the wake-up signal to be monitored, thereby reducing the probability of false alarm of paging and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device that is not paged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for transmitting a wake-up signal. Background Technology

[0002] To cope with the explosive growth of mobile data traffic, massive device connections, and the continuous emergence of various new services and application scenarios in the future, the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication technology has emerged. 5G wireless communication technology is an extension of the fourth generation (4G) wireless communication technology.

[0003] In wireless communication technology, to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices listening to the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for paging, a Wake-Up Signal (WUS) is introduced before each paging occupancy (PO). Only when a terminal device detects the WUS before the PO does it need to listen to the PDCCH for paging in the traditional way. However, since multiple terminal devices share a single PO and the WUS preceding it, if any terminal device belonging to that PO is to be paged, other unpaged terminal devices will also hear the WUS preceding that PO. To prevent unpaging terminal devices from also listening to the WUS before the PO, the base station configures multiple wake-up signals. These configurations include a mapping relationship between packet information and wake-up signals; different packet information corresponds to different wake-up signals. The base station sends these configurations to the terminal devices, allowing them to calculate their packet based on their identifier. Then, based on the packet and the mapping relationship, the base station determines which wake-up signal the terminal device needs to listen to, and listens to that specific signal without needing to listen to wake-up signals from other packets. Thus, when a terminal in a packet is paging, only terminal devices within that packet will listen to the WUS before the PO, while terminal devices in other packets will not, and therefore will not be woken up. Theoretically, this reduces the number of woken-up terminal devices, thereby lowering the probability of false paging alarms.

[0004] However, the above grouping method only theoretically reduces the number of terminal devices that are woken up and lowers the probability of paging false alarms, without taking into account other factors that may affect the wake-up of terminal devices. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the probability of paging false alarms is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a method and apparatus for sending a wake-up signal to reduce the probability of false alarms during paging, thereby reducing the power consumption of unpaging terminal devices.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a method for sending a wake-up signal, which may include:

[0007] The core network equipment receives the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs, where different categories correspond to different service characteristics;

[0008] Configuration for receiving multiple wake-up signals from network devices;

[0009] Based on the first category, determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals;

[0010] Listen for the wake-up signal to be listened to.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the service characteristics include the probability of the terminal device being paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service triggering types. The probability of the terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time. If the number of communications is less than a preset threshold, the terminal device can be determined to be an uplink service triggering type; conversely, if the number of communications is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the terminal device can be determined to be a downlink service triggering type. The preset threshold can be set according to actual needs; however, this application embodiment does not impose specific limitations on the size of the preset threshold. Alternatively, the probability of the terminal device being paged can also reflect the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

[0012] In this embodiment, different categories correspond to different service characteristics. Terminal devices belonging to the first category have the same service characteristics, meaning they share the same features. This can be understood as all terminal devices belonging to the first category having the same service characteristics. However, "same service characteristics" here does not necessarily mean completely identical service characteristics; it can also mean similar service characteristics. For example, when the terminal device is a mobile phone or computer, both have corresponding downlink service triggers, so they can be considered to have the same service characteristics. When the terminal device is a water meter or smoke detector, these devices rarely involve downlink service triggers and have a low probability of being paged, so they can be considered to have similar service characteristics. It should be noted that when determining whether two terminal devices have the same service characteristics based on the probability of being paged, if the probability values ​​of two terminal devices being paged are equal, they can be considered to have the same service characteristics; or, if the probability values ​​of two terminal devices being paged are not equal, but the difference in probability values ​​is less than a preset threshold, they can also be considered to have the same service characteristics. The preset threshold can be set according to actual needs. However, this application embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on the size of the preset threshold.

[0013] Therefore, the wake-up signal transmission method provided in this application embodiment, compared with the prior art, does not simply determine the group to which the terminal device belongs based on the terminal device's identifier. Instead, it takes into account the service characteristics of the terminal device, such as the uplink / downlink service triggering type of the terminal device or the probability that the terminal device will be paged. Based on the service characteristics of the terminal device, it determines the first category to which the terminal device belongs. Then, based on the first category corresponding to the service characteristics, it determines the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals. In this way, when any terminal device in the first category is paged, only terminal devices with the same uplink / downlink service triggering type or with equal or similar paged probabilities will be woken up, while other unpaged terminal devices will not be woken up, reducing the probability of false alarms and thus reducing the power consumption of unpaged terminal devices.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the configuration of multiple wake-up signals may include a mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. Based on a first category, determining the wake-up signal to be listened to among the multiple wake-up signals may include:

[0015] Based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined among multiple wake-up signals. This allows the wake-up signal corresponding to the first category to be found based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. The wake-up signal corresponding to the first category is the wake-up signal to be listened to by the terminal device, thereby determining the wake-up signal to be listened to.

[0016] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals according to the first category may include:

[0017] Based on the first category and the grouping factor, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals, so that the wake-up signal to be listened to can be determined jointly based on the first category and the grouping factor.

[0018] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on a first category and a grouping factor may include:

[0019] Based on the first category, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among the multiple wake-up signals;

[0020] Based on the grouping factor, determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0021] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on a first category and a grouping factor may include:

[0022] Based on the grouping factor, multiple wake-up signals to be determined are identified from multiple wake-up signals;

[0023] Based on the first category, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from among multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0024] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first category to which the terminal device belongs from the core network equipment, the following may also be included:

[0025] The service characteristics of the terminal device are sent to the core network equipment so that the core network equipment can determine the category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics after receiving the service characteristics sent by the terminal device.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the method for sending the wake-up signal may further include:

[0027] If the wake-up signal to be listened to indicates that the terminal device will be paged, then listen to the physical downlink control channel on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal to be listened to;

[0028] If the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device is not being paged, then the physical downlink control channel will not be monitored on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal. In other words, the terminal device can continue to maintain its current sleep or power-saving state.

[0029] In one possible implementation, terminal devices with different service characteristics have different probabilities of being paged.

[0030] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a method for sending a wake-up signal, which may include:

[0031] Send the first category to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device, where different categories correspond to different service characteristics;

[0032] Sending a paging message to a network device, wherein the paging message may include the identifier of the terminal device and a first category, the paging message being used to instruct the network device to determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals according to the first category, and to send the wake-up signal to be listened to to the terminal device according to the identifier of the terminal device.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the service characteristics include the probability that the terminal device is paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service trigger types.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the probability of a terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

[0035] In one possible implementation, before sending the first category to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device, the following may also be included:

[0036] The first category to which the terminal device belongs is determined based on the service characteristics of the terminal device.

[0037] In one possible implementation, before determining the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on its service characteristics, the following may also be included:

[0038] The service characteristics of the receiving terminal device are sent by the receiving terminal device.

[0039] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a method for sending a wake-up signal, which may include:

[0040] Configuration for sending multiple wake-up signals to terminal devices;

[0041] Receive paging messages sent by core network equipment, wherein the paging message may include the identifier of the terminal equipment and the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs; wherein, different categories correspond to different service characteristics;

[0042] Based on the first category, determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals;

[0043] Send a wake-up signal to the terminal device based on the terminal device's identifier.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the service characteristics include the probability that the terminal device is paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service trigger types.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the probability of a terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the configuration of multiple wake-up signals may include a mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. Based on a first category, determining the wake-up signal to be listened to among the multiple wake-up signals may include:

[0047] Based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals.

[0048] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals according to the first category may include:

[0049] Based on the first category and grouping factor, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals.

[0050] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on a first category and a grouping factor may include:

[0051] Based on the first category, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among the multiple wake-up signals;

[0052] Based on the grouping factor, determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0053] In one possible implementation, determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on a first category and a grouping factor may include:

[0054] Based on the grouping factor, multiple wake-up signals to be determined are identified from multiple wake-up signals;

[0055] Based on the first category, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from among multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0056] Fourthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device, which may include a processor.

[0057] The processor is used to couple with memory, read and execute instructions in memory to implement the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the first aspects above.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the communication device may further include a memory.

[0059] Fifthly, embodiments of this application also provide a core network device, which may include a processor.

[0060] The processor is used to couple with memory, read and execute instructions in memory to implement the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the second aspects above.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the core network device may also include: a memory.

[0062] Sixthly, embodiments of this application also provide a network device, which may include a processor.

[0063] The processor is used to couple with memory, read and execute instructions in memory to implement the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the third aspects above.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the network device may also include: a memory.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a computer storage medium that may include instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the first aspects above.

[0066] Eighthly, embodiments of this application also provide a computer storage medium that may include instructions that, when executed on a core network device, cause a communication device to perform the wake-up signal sending method described in any of the second aspects above.

[0067] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a computer storage medium that may include instructions, which, when executed on a network device, cause a communication device to perform the wake-up signal sending method described in any of the third aspects above.

[0068] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication system, which may include a core network device and a network device, wherein the core network device is used to perform the wake-up signal transmission method shown in any of the second aspects above;

[0069] The network device is used to perform the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the third aspects above.

[0070] In one possible implementation, the system further includes a communication device for performing the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the first aspects above.

[0071] The wake-up signal transmission method and apparatus provided in this application embodiment involve a terminal device receiving a first category to which it belongs from a core network device, wherein different categories correspond to different service characteristics; and receiving a configuration of multiple wake-up signals from a network device. After receiving the first category and the configuration of multiple wake-up signals respectively, the terminal device can determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals based on the first category, and then monitor the wake-up signal to be monitored. Therefore, compared with the prior art, the wake-up signal transmission method and apparatus provided in this application embodiment do not simply determine the group to which the terminal device belongs based on the terminal device's identifier, but rather consider the service characteristics of the terminal device, such as the uplink / downlink service trigger type of the terminal device or the probability that the terminal device will be paged, and determine the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal device. Then, based on the first category corresponding to the service characteristics, the terminal device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals. Thus, when any terminal device in the first category is paged, only terminal devices with the same uplink / downlink service trigger type or equal or close paged probabilities will be woken up, while other unpaged terminal devices will not be woken up, reducing the probability of false alarms and thus reducing the power consumption of unpaged terminal devices. Attached Figure Description

[0072] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating a method for sending a wake-up signal according to an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating another method for sending a wake-up signal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a core network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0078] This application's embodiments are applied to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, and can also be applied to the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) architecture, or the GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) architecture. In the UTRAN or GERAN architecture, the MME's functions are performed by the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), and the SGW / PGW's functions are performed by the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The technical solutions of this application embodiment can also be applied to other communication systems, such as Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) systems, even 5G communication systems or other systems that may emerge in the future. The following explains some terms used in this application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that when the solutions of this application embodiment are applied to 5G systems or other systems that may emerge in the future, the names of network devices and terminals may change, but this does not affect the implementation of the solutions of this application embodiment.

[0079] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of this application. The communication system may include core network equipment, network equipment, and at least one terminal device. For example, see [link to example]. Figure 1As shown, since multiple terminal devices share a single paging occupancy (PO) and the wake-up call (WUS) preceding the PO, if any terminal device belonging to that PO is to be paged, other unpaged terminal devices will also hear the WUS preceding the PO. To prevent unpaged terminal devices from also hearing the WUS preceding the PO, the network device configures multiple wake-up signals. These configurations include a mapping relationship between packet information and wake-up signals. The configurations are then sent to the terminal devices, allowing them to calculate their packet based on their identifier and determine the wake-up signal to listen to based on the packet and the mapping relationship. The terminal devices can then listen to the wake-up signal without listening to wake-up signals corresponding to other packets. Thus, when a terminal in a packet is to be paged, only the terminal devices within that packet will hear the WUS preceding the PO, while terminal devices in other packets will not hear it and will not be woken up. However, this method only theoretically reduces the number of woken-up terminal devices and lowers the probability of false alarms; it does not consider other factors that might affect terminal device wake-up.

[0080] Among them, 1) terminal equipment, also known as terminal or user equipment, is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Common terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and wearable devices, among which wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.

[0081] 2) Network equipment, also known as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, is a device that connects terminal devices to a wireless network. It includes network equipment in various communication standards, such as but not limited to: base stations, evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), home network equipment (e.g., Home evolved Node B, or Home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), etc.

[0082] Network equipment includes network equipment of various frequency standards, such as but not limited to: low-frequency network equipment and high-frequency network equipment.

[0083] 3) Core network equipment is a device responsible for terminal mobility management. It includes core network equipment in various communication standards, such as, but not limited to, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) in 4G networks and the Access Management Function (AMF) in 5G networks. Core network equipment can be a physical entity, a logical functional entity, or a chip located within a physical entity.

[0084] 4) "Multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects have an "or" relationship.

[0085] To address the problem of high power consumption in unpaged terminal devices due to a high false alarm probability in existing technologies, this application provides a method for sending a wake-up signal. The terminal device receives a first category to which it belongs from the core network device, wherein different categories correspond to different service characteristics; and receives a configuration of multiple wake-up signals from the network device. After receiving the first category and the configuration of multiple wake-up signals respectively, the terminal device can determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from the multiple wake-up signals according to the first category, and then monitor the wake-up signal to be monitored. Therefore, the wake-up signal transmission method provided in this application embodiment, compared with the prior art, does not simply determine the group to which the terminal device belongs based on the terminal device's identifier. Instead, it takes into account the service characteristics of the terminal device, such as the uplink / downlink service triggering type of the terminal device or the probability that the terminal device will be paged. Based on the service characteristics of the terminal device, it determines the first category to which the terminal device belongs. Then, based on the first category corresponding to the service characteristics, it determines the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals. In this way, when any terminal device in the first category is paged, only terminal devices with the same uplink / downlink service triggering type or with equal or similar paged probabilities will be woken up, while other unpaged terminal devices will not be woken up, reducing the probability of false alarms and thus reducing the power consumption of unpaged terminal devices.

[0086] In this embodiment, different categories correspond to different service characteristics. Terminal devices belonging to the first category have the same service characteristics, meaning they share the same features. This can be understood as all terminal devices belonging to the first category having the same service characteristics. However, "same service characteristics" here does not necessarily mean completely identical service characteristics; it can also mean similar service characteristics. For example, when the terminal device is a mobile phone or computer, both have corresponding downlink service triggers, so they can be considered to have the same service characteristics. When the terminal device is a water meter or smoke detector, these devices rarely involve downlink service triggers and have a low probability of being paged, so they can be considered to have similar service characteristics. It should be noted that when determining whether two terminal devices have the same service characteristics based on the probability of being paged, if the probability values ​​of two terminal devices being paged are equal, they can be considered to have the same service characteristics; or, if the probability values ​​of two terminal devices being paged are not equal, but the difference in probability values ​​is less than a preset threshold, they can also be considered to have the same service characteristics. The preset threshold can be set according to actual needs. However, this application embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on the size of the preset threshold.

[0087] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, when determining the wake-up signal to be listened to by the terminal device based on service characteristics, it can be determined through at least two possible implementations. In one possible implementation, the first category to which the terminal device belongs can be determined first based on service characteristics, and then the wake-up signal to be listened to can be determined based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signal. In a second possible implementation, the wake-up signal to be listened to can be determined by combining service characteristics and a grouping factor (e.g., the identifier of the terminal device). That is, the first category to which the terminal device belongs can be determined first based on service characteristics, and then the wake-up signal to be listened to can be determined based on the first category and the grouping factor. The following detailed embodiments will describe in detail the wake-up signal transmission methods including these two possible implementations.

[0088] In one possible implementation, see the example below. Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a wake-up signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of this application. The wake-up signal transmission method may include:

[0089] S201. The core network equipment determines the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal equipment.

[0090] In this system, terminal devices belonging to the first category share the same service characteristics, enabling the classification of terminal devices based on these characteristics to determine the category to which each terminal device belongs. Optionally, the service characteristics include the probability of a terminal device being paged, or at least one of uplink or downlink service triggering types. The probability of a terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time. If the number of communications is less than a preset threshold, the terminal device can be determined to be an uplink service triggering type; conversely, if the number of communications is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the terminal device can be determined to be a downlink service triggering type. For example, when determining the category to which a terminal device belongs based on its service characteristics, these service characteristics can be used to indicate the probability of the terminal being paged. Terminal devices with different service characteristics have different probabilities of being paged. Thus, based on the service characteristics, terminal devices with a higher probability of being paged can be grouped into the same category, and terminal devices with a lower probability of being paged can be grouped into the same group.

[0091] For example, when the terminal device is a water meter, its main function is to monitor and report water consumption data. This means the water meter's functions are almost entirely triggered by uplinks, making it less likely to be paged by downlinks. Similarly, when the terminal device is a smoke detector, its main function is to report smoke data after detecting it. This means the smoke detector's functions are almost entirely triggered by uplinks, making it less likely to be paged by downlinks. It can be seen that the water meter and the smoke detector share similar functions. Therefore, based on these functions, the water meter and the smoke detector can be classified into the same category, and terminal devices in this category are less likely to be paged. Conversely, when the terminal device is a mobile phone or a computer, its service characteristics include uplink triggering and downlink paging, meaning it has a higher probability of being paged. It can be seen that the mobile phone and computer have the same service characteristics. Therefore, the mobile phone and computer can be classified into the same category based on their service characteristics, and terminal devices in this category have a higher probability of being paged. Thus, mobile phones and laptops with a higher probability of being paged are classified into the same category, while water meters and smoke detectors with a lower probability of being paged are classified into the same group.

[0092] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the application, before executing S201 to determine the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal device, the service characteristics sent by the terminal device can be received first, and then the first category to which the terminal device belongs can be determined based on the received service characteristics of the terminal device. Of course, since the registration information of the terminal device stored on the core network side includes the service characteristics of the terminal device, it is also possible to determine the first category to which the terminal device belongs directly based on the service characteristics of the terminal device included in the registration information of the terminal device, without first receiving the service characteristics sent by the terminal device. Wherein, when the core network device receives the service characteristics sent by the terminal device, the terminal device can first send the service characteristics of the terminal device to the network device, and then the network device sends the service characteristics of the terminal device to the core network device, so that the core network device receives the service characteristics of the terminal device. During the transmission of the service characteristics, the service characteristics can be transmitted through Non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, and the network device only plays a role in transparent transmission.

[0093] After determining the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on its service characteristics in S201, the following S202 can be executed:

[0094] S202. The core network equipment sends the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs to to the terminal equipment.

[0095] The first category can include several different representation methods. Method 1: The first category can be a specific probability value. Method 2: The first category can be qualitative information representing the probability value, such as high probability, medium probability, or low probability. Method 3: The first category can also be a service uplink trigger or a service downlink trigger. Although the service uplink trigger and service downlink trigger do not explicitly reflect the probability that the terminal device will be paged, they can indirectly reflect the probability that the terminal device will be paged. Generally, the service uplink trigger can be understood as having a low probability of being paged, and the service downlink trigger can be understood as having a medium or high probability of being paged. Method 4: The first category can also be a category identifier of the first category. Of course, the embodiments of this application are only illustrated by these four representation methods, but do not mean that the embodiments of this application are limited to these.

[0096] After determining the first category to which a terminal device belongs based on its service characteristics, the core network equipment can send the first category to the terminal device so that the terminal device can obtain its first category. It should be noted that when the network device sends the first category to the terminal device, it can first send the first category to the network device, and then the network device sends the first category to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can obtain its first category. Similarly, during the transmission of the first category, the first category can be transmitted via NAS signaling; the network device simply plays a transparent transmission role.

[0097] It should be noted that the steps of the S201 core network device determining the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal device, and the S202 core network device sending the first category to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device, can be understood as the process by which the terminal device and the core network device negotiate to classify the terminal device through service characteristics in order to determine the category to which the terminal device belongs. This negotiation process is transparent to the network device, that is, the network device cannot obtain this negotiation process.

[0098] S203. Configuration of network devices sending multiple wake-up signals to terminal devices.

[0099] The configuration of these multiple wake-up signals includes the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. One category information can correspond to one wake-up signal or multiple wake-up signals. Of course, the network device supports the configuration method of classifying by category information.

[0100] When a network device sends multiple wake-up signals to a terminal device, it can broadcast the configuration of these multiple wake-up signals to all terminal devices in the cell, so that the terminal devices in the cell can obtain the configuration of these multiple wake-up signals.

[0101] After the terminal device obtains the configuration of the first category to which it belongs and the multiple wake-up signals through the above-mentioned S202 and S203, it can determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from the multiple wake-up signals according to the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signals included in the configuration of the multiple wake-up signals, that is, execute the following S204:

[0102] S204. The terminal device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signal.

[0103] The number of wake-up signals to be monitored can be one or more, and the number of wake-up signals to be monitored is less than the number of multiple wake-up signals.

[0104] After the terminal device obtains the configuration of the first category to which it belongs and multiple wake-up signals, it can find the wake-up signal corresponding to the first category based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signals. The wake-up signal corresponding to the first category is the wake-up signal to be listened to by the terminal device, thereby determining the wake-up signal to be listened to.

[0105] For example, taking eight wake-up signals as an example, these eight wake-up signals are wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, wake-up signal 4, wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. The configuration of these eight wake-up signals includes the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, as shown in Table 1 below:

[0106] Table 1

[0107]

[0108] As shown in Table 1, the configuration of multiple wake-up signals is categorized into two types based on service characteristics: uplink triggering and downlink triggering. Uplink triggering corresponds to wake-up signals 1, 2, 3, and 4; downlink triggering corresponds to wake-up signals 5, 6, 7, and 8. If the terminal device belongs to the uplink triggering category, it means that the terminal device needs to listen to wake-up signals 1, 2, 3, and 4. These wake-up signals are the wake-up signals that the terminal device needs to listen to, and it does not need to listen to wake-up signals 5, 6, 7, and 8. If the first category to which the terminal device belongs is the category triggered by downlink services, it means that the terminal device needs to listen to wake-up signals 5, 6, 7 and 8. These wake-up signals 5, 6, 7 and 8 are the wake-up signals that the terminal device needs to listen to, and it does not need to listen to wake-up signals 1, 2, 3 and 4. Thus, the wake-up signals that the terminal device needs to listen to are determined according to the category to which the terminal device belongs.

[0109] It should be noted that Table 1 above only uses the two categories of business uplink triggering and business downlink triggering as examples for illustration. Of course, the category information can also include other representation methods, such as high probability, medium probability, or low probability.

[0110] S205. The core network equipment sends a paging message to the network equipment.

[0111] The paging message includes the identifier of the terminal device and a first category. For example, the identifier of the terminal device can be the device number when the terminal device is manufactured, or it can be the device identifier assigned to the terminal device by the core network device, as long as it can uniquely identify the terminal device. Here, this application embodiment does not impose further restrictions on the identifier of the terminal device.

[0112] When a core network device determines that it needs to page a certain terminal device, it can send a paging message to the network device. The paging message may include the identifier of the terminal device and the category to which the terminal device belongs. After receiving the paging message, the network device executes the following step S206:

[0113] S206. The network device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signal.

[0114] Since the network device pre-configures multiple wake-up signals, including a mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, after receiving a paging message that includes the first category to which the terminal device belongs, the network device can search for the wake-up signal corresponding to the first category based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. The wake-up signal corresponding to the first category is the wake-up signal that needs to wake up the terminal device. This wake-up signal is the same wake-up signal that the terminal device determines from the multiple wake-up signals based on the first category in S204 above. The terminal device is then woken up by this wake-up signal, thereby realizing the paging of the terminal device.

[0115] It should be noted that, for network devices, when determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signal, the specific process can be found in the description of the terminal device determining the wake-up signal to be monitored based on the first category in S204 above. Here, the embodiments of this application will not be repeated.

[0116] Furthermore, it should be noted that since the process of classifying terminal devices based on service characteristics is negotiated between the terminal devices and the core network devices, it is transparent to the network devices. When the network devices do not support classifying terminal devices based on service characteristics, both the terminal devices and the network devices can use a fallback approach to determine the signal to be monitored. This can be achieved by performing a modulo-N operation on the terminal device's identifier, grouping the terminal devices based on the remainder after the modulo-N operation, and then determining the wake-up signal (i.e., the signal to be woken up) based on the relationship between the grouping and the wake-up signal. Alternatively, when the network devices support classifying terminal devices based on service characteristics, but the mapping between the configured category information and the wake-up signal does not include this first category (e.g., the terminal device's first category is medium probability, but the network devices only configure wake-up signals for high and low probability categories), the terminal devices need to determine the monitoring signal using a fallback approach based on this first category and the actual category configured by the network devices. At this point, it can either revert to using only the terminal device identifier to determine the wake-up signal as described above, or the terminal device and network device can use an agreed-upon method to revert in a fixed category direction, i.e., according to the configured order. For example, if the network device is configured with high probability and low probability, and the first category information of the terminal device is medium probability, then it can revert to high probability or low probability, and determine the wake-up signal corresponding to high probability or low probability as the wake-up signal that needs to wake up the terminal device, i.e., the wake-up signal to be woken up.

[0117] After determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, the network device can send the wake-up signal to be monitored to the terminal device, that is, execute the following S207:

[0118] S207. The network device sends a wake-up signal to the terminal device based on the terminal device's identifier.

[0119] Since the paging message received by the network device includes the identifier of the paged terminal device, after determining the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, the paged terminal device can be identified based on the identifier of the terminal device, and the wake-up signal to be monitored can be sent to the terminal device to wake up the terminal device.

[0120] S208. The terminal device listens for the wake-up signal to be listened to.

[0121] After the terminal device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored through the above-described S204, it will monitor the wake-up signal according to the configuration of the wake-up signal to be monitored. It can be seen that the wake-up signal transmission method provided in this application embodiment, compared with the prior art, does not simply determine the group to which the terminal device belongs based on the identifier of the terminal device, but takes into account the service characteristics of the terminal device, such as the uplink and downlink service triggering type of the terminal device or the probability of the terminal device being paged, and determines the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal device, and then determines the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals based on the first category corresponding to the service characteristics. In this way, when any terminal device in the first category is paged, only terminal devices with the same uplink and downlink service triggering type or equal or close paged probabilities will be woken up, while other unpaged terminal devices will not be woken up, reducing the probability of false alarms and thus reducing the power consumption of unpaged terminal devices.

[0122] It should be noted that after listening to the wake-up signal according to the configuration, if the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device will be paged, the physical downlink control channel will be listened to on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal; if the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device will not be paged, the physical downlink control channel will not be listened to on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal, that is, the terminal device can continue to maintain its current sleep state or power-saving state.

[0123] In this possible implementation, taking terminal devices including water meters, smoke detectors, mobile phones, and computers as an example, the core network equipment can determine the category to which the water meter and smoke detector belong as the service uplink trigger category based on their service characteristics, and determine the category to which the mobile phone and computer belong as the service downlink trigger category based on their service characteristics. After determining the respective categories of the water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer, the core network equipment sends their respective categories to the corresponding water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer. Furthermore, the water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer will all receive a configuration of multiple wake-up signals sent by the network equipment. The configuration of these multiple wake-up signals can be seen in Table 1 above. The wake-up signals corresponding to the service uplink trigger category are wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, and wake-up signal 4, and the wake-up signals corresponding to the service downlink trigger category are wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. This allows the water meter and smoke detector to determine the monitored devices based on their respective service uplink trigger categories. The system listens for wake-up signals 1, 2, 3, and 4, and monitors these signals. Similarly, the mobile phone and computer can determine the wake-up signals 5, 6, 7, and 8 to be monitored based on the downlink trigger category of their respective services, and monitor these signals. When the core network equipment pagees a mobile phone using wake-up signals 5, 6, 7, and 8, only the mobile phone and laptop will hear and be awakened by these signals, while the water meter and smoke detector will not. This reduces the probability of false alarms from paging calls to the watch and smoke detector, thereby reducing the power consumption of unpaged watches and smoke detectors.

[0124] The above Figure 2 The illustrated embodiment details that during the process of sending a wake-up signal, when determining the signal to be monitored, in one possible implementation, the first category to which the terminal device belongs can be determined based on service characteristics, and then the wake-up signal to be monitored by the terminal device can be determined based on the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signal. Below, another possible implementation will be described in detail, where the wake-up signal to be monitored by the terminal device can be determined by combining service characteristics and a grouping factor (e.g., the identifier of the terminal device). That is, the first category to which the terminal device belongs can be determined based on service characteristics, and then the wake-up signal to be monitored by the terminal device can be determined based on the first category and the grouping factor.

[0125] For another possible implementation, see the example. Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another method for sending a wake-up signal provided in an embodiment of this application. The method for sending the wake-up signal may include:

[0126] S301. The core network equipment determines the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal equipment.

[0127] S302. The core network equipment sends the first category to which the terminal equipment belongs to to the terminal equipment.

[0128] S303, Configuration of network devices sending multiple wake-up signals to terminal devices.

[0129] The configuration of these multiple wake-up signals includes the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals.

[0130] It should be noted that, in this Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the descriptions in S301-S303 are the same as those described above. Figure 2 The descriptions in S201-S203 of the illustrated embodiment are similar. Therefore, the descriptions in S301-S303 can be found in the relevant descriptions in S201-S203 above. Here, the embodiments of this application will not be repeated.

[0131] After the terminal device obtains the configuration of the first category to which it belongs and the multiple wake-up signals through the above-mentioned S302 and S303, it can determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from the multiple wake-up signals according to the first category and the mapping relationship between the category information and the wake-up signals included in the configuration of the multiple wake-up signals, that is, execute the following S304:

[0132] S304. The terminal device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and grouping factor.

[0133] The grouping factor can be the identifier of the terminal device. A modulo-N operation can be performed on the identifier to divide the terminal device into different groups based on the remainder. For example, N can be 2, 4, or 8, depending on actual needs. This application does not further limit the value of N. The number of wake-up signals to be monitored can be one or more, and the number of wake-up signals to be monitored is less than the number of multiple wake-up signals.

[0134] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, when determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and grouping factor, the wake-up signal to be monitored can be determined from multiple wake-up signals using the following two methods:

[0135] Method 1: First, based on the first category, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among multiple wake-up signals; then, based on the grouping factor, identify the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0136] Method 2: First, based on the grouping factor, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among multiple wake-up signals; then, based on the first category, identify the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0137] For example, taking eight wake-up signals as an example, and performing a modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier, these eight wake-up signals are wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, wake-up signal 4, wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. The configuration of these eight wake-up signals includes the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. Group 1 is the group with a remainder of 0 after performing a modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier; Group 2 is the group with a remainder of 1 after performing a modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier; Group 3 is the group with a remainder of 2 after performing a modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier; and Group 4 is the group with a remainder of 3 after performing a modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier. When determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and grouping factor, please refer to Table 2 below:

[0138] Table 2

[0139]

[0140] As shown in Table 2, the configuration of multiple wake-up signals includes two categories based on service characteristic information: uplink triggering and downlink triggering. Uplink triggering corresponds to wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, and wake-up signal 4; downlink triggering corresponds to wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. When determining the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and grouping factor, combined with Method 1 above, if the first type of the terminal device belongs to the uplink triggering category, the wake-up signal to be determined can be first determined from the eight wake-up signals according to the uplink triggering category. These wake-up signals to be determined are wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, and wake-up signal 4. Then, based on the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier, the wake-up signal to be monitored that the terminal device needs to be further determined from these four wake-up signals to be determined. Specifically, if the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 0, then according to Group 1, the wake-up signal to be monitored is identified as Wake-up Signal 1 from the four pending wake-up signals: Wake-up Signal 1, Wake-up Signal 2, Wake-up Signal 3, and Wake-up Signal 4. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor Wake-up Signal 1 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 1, then according to Group 2, the wake-up signal to be monitored is identified as Wake-up Signal 2 from the four pending wake-up signals: Wake-up Signal 1, Wake-up Signal 2, Wake-up Signal 3, and Wake-up Signal 4. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor Wake-up Signal 2 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 2, then according to Group 3, the wake-up signal to be monitored is identified as Wake-up Signal 3 from the four pending wake-up signals: Wake-up Signal 1, Wake-up Signal 2, Wake-up Signal 3, and Wake-up Signal 4. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor Wake-up Signal 3 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 3, then according to group 4, wake-up signal 4 is determined to be the wake-up signal to be monitored from the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, and wake-up signal 4. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor wake-up signal 4 and does not need to monitor the other 7 wake-up signals. Thus, the wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from multiple wake-up signals according to method 1 above. Conversely, if the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service downlink triggered category, the wake-up signal to be determined can be determined from 8 wake-up signals according to the service downlink triggered category. These wake-up signals to be determined are wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. Then, according to the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier, the wake-up signal to be monitored that the terminal device needs to monitor is further determined from the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8.Specifically, if the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 0, then according to Group 1, wake-up signal 5 is determined to be the wake-up signal to be monitored from the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor wake-up signal 5 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 1, then according to Group 2, wake-up signal 6 is determined to be the wake-up signal to be monitored from the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor wake-up signal 6 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 2, then according to Group 3, wake-up signal 7 is determined to be the wake-up signal to be monitored from the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. That is, the terminal device only needs to monitor wake-up signal 7 and does not need to monitor the other seven wake-up signals. If the remainder of the terminal device's identifier after modulo 4 operation is 3, then according to group 4, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 8 among the four wake-up signals to be determined: wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. That is, the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 8 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. Thus, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals according to the above method 1.

[0141] Referring to Table 2 above, in Method 2, the remaining value after modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is used to determine the wake-up signal from the eight wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo-4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 0, then according to Group 1, the wake-up signals to be determined are wake-up signal 1 and wake-up signal 5 from the eight wake-up signals. Further, based on the first type to which the terminal device belongs, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from wake-up signal 1 and wake-up signal 5. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service uplink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 1 from wake-up signal 1 and wake-up signal 5. That is, the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 1 and does not need to listen to the other seven wake-up signals. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service downlink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 5 from wake-up signal 1 and wake-up signal 5. That is, the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 5 and does not need to listen to the other seven wake-up signals. Thus, according to Method 2, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals. If the remainder after modulo 4 operation on the terminal device's identifier is 1, then according to group 2, the wake-up signals to be determined from the 8 wake-up signals are wake-up signal 2 and wake-up signal 6. Further, based on the first type to which the terminal device belongs, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from wake-up signal 2 and wake-up signal 6. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service uplink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 2, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 2 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service downlink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 6, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 6 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. Thus, according to method 2 above, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals.If the remainder of the terminal device's identifier after modulo 4 operation is 2, then according to group 3, the wake-up signals to be determined from the 8 wake-up signals are wake-up signal 3 and wake-up signal 7. Further, based on the first type to which the terminal device belongs, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from wake-up signal 3 and wake-up signal 7. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service uplink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 3, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 3 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service downlink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 7, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 7 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. Thus, according to method 2 above, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals. If the remainder of the terminal device's identifier after modulo 4 is 3, then according to group 4, the wake-up signals to be determined from the 8 wake-up signals are wake-up signal 4 and wake-up signal 8. Further, based on the first type to which the terminal device belongs, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from wake-up signal 4 and wake-up signal 8. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service uplink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 4, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 4 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. If the first type to which the terminal device belongs is a service downlink triggered type, then according to the service uplink triggered type, the wake-up signal to be listened to is wake-up signal 8, meaning the terminal device only needs to listen to wake-up signal 8 and does not need to listen to the other 7 wake-up signals. Thus, according to method 2 above, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from multiple wake-up signals.

[0142] It should be noted that Table 2 above only uses the two categories of business uplink triggering and business downlink triggering as examples for illustration. Of course, the category information can also include other representations, such as high probability, medium probability, or low probability.

[0143] S305, The core network equipment sends a paging message to the network equipment.

[0144] The paging message includes the identifier of the terminal device and a first category. For example, the identifier of the terminal device can be the device number when the terminal device is manufactured, or it can be the device identifier assigned to the terminal device by the core network device, as long as it can uniquely identify the terminal device. Here, this application embodiment does not impose further restrictions on the identifier of the terminal device.

[0145] When a core network device determines that it needs to page a certain terminal device, it can send a paging message to the network device. The paging message may include the identifier of the terminal device and the category to which the terminal device belongs. After receiving the paging message, the network device executes the following S306:

[0146] S306. The network device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the grouping factor.

[0147] Since the network device pre-configures multiple wake-up signals, including a mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals, after receiving a paging message that includes the first category to which the terminal device belongs, the network device can determine the wake-up signal corresponding to the first category and the grouping factor based on the first category, the grouping factor, and the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. The wake-up signal corresponding to the first category and the grouping factor is the wake-up signal that needs to wake up the terminal device. This wake-up signal is the same wake-up signal that the terminal device determines to listen to among multiple wake-up signals in S304 above, so as to wake up the terminal device through this wake-up signal, thereby realizing the paging of the terminal device.

[0148] Optionally, when determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the packet factor, the network device can also determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals using the following two methods:

[0149] Method 1: First, based on the first category, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among multiple wake-up signals; then, based on the grouping factor, identify the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0150] Method 2: First, based on the grouping factor, identify multiple wake-up signals to be determined from among multiple wake-up signals; then, based on the first category, identify the wake-up signal to be monitored from among the multiple wake-up signals to be determined.

[0151] It should be noted that, for network devices, when determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the grouping factor, the specific process can be found in the description of the terminal device determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category and the grouping factor in S304 above. Here, the embodiments of this application will not be repeated.

[0152] Furthermore, it should be noted that since the process of classifying terminal devices according to service characteristics is negotiated between the terminal devices and the core network devices, it is transparent to the network devices. When the network devices do not support classifying terminal devices according to service characteristics, both the terminal devices and the network devices can use a fallback method to determine the signal to be monitored. That is, referring to the methods in the prior art, the identifier of the terminal device is subjected to a modulo N operation, and the terminal devices are grouped according to the remainder after the modulo N operation. Then, the wake-up signal that needs to be woken up, i.e. the wake-up signal, is determined according to the relationship between the group and the wake-up signal. Alternatively, when the network device supports fewer category information than the categories negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device—for example, the category information negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device includes high probability, medium probability, and low probability, but the network device only supports medium probability and low probability—the network device will broadcast the configuration of multiple wake-up signals corresponding to the medium probability and low probability types to the terminal devices in the cell. After receiving the configuration of multiple wake-up signals broadcast by the network device, the terminal device can determine the wake-up signal to be listened to from among the multiple wake-up signals based on the configuration of the multiple wake-up signals corresponding to the medium probability and low probability types it has received.

[0153] S307. The network device sends a wake-up signal to the terminal device based on the terminal device's identifier.

[0154] Since the paging message received by the network device includes the identifier of the paged terminal device, after determining the wake-up signal to be monitored among multiple wake-up signals according to the first category and the grouping factor, the paged terminal device can be identified based on the identifier of the terminal device, and the wake-up signal to be monitored can be sent to the terminal device to wake up the terminal device.

[0155] S308, Terminal device listens for wake-up signals to be listened to.

[0156] After the terminal device determines the wake-up signal to be monitored through the above-described S304, it will monitor the wake-up signal according to the configuration of the wake-up signal to be monitored. It can be seen that the wake-up signal transmission method provided in this application embodiment, compared with the prior art, does not simply determine the group to which the terminal device belongs based on the identifier of the terminal device, but takes into account the service characteristics of the terminal device and determines the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on the service characteristics of the terminal device. In this way, the wake-up signal to be monitored can be determined from multiple wake-up signals based on the first category corresponding to the service characteristics and the grouping factor, which reduces the probability of paging false alarms and thus reduces the power consumption of unpaging terminal devices.

[0157] It should be noted that after listening to the wake-up signal according to the configuration, if the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device will be paged, the physical downlink control channel will be listened to on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal; if the wake-up signal indicates that the terminal device will not be paged, the physical downlink control channel will not be listened to on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal, that is, the terminal device can continue to maintain its current sleep state or power-saving state.

[0158] In this possible implementation, taking terminal devices including water meters, smoke detectors, mobile phones, and computers as an example, the core network equipment can determine the category to which the water meter and smoke detector belong as the service uplink trigger category based on their service characteristics, and determine the category to which the mobile phone and computer belong as the service downlink trigger category based on their service characteristics. After determining the respective categories of the water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer, the core network equipment sends their respective categories to the corresponding water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer. In addition, the water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer will all receive configurations of multiple wake-up signals sent by the network equipment. The configurations of these multiple wake-up signals can be seen in Table 2 above. The wake-up signal corresponding to the service uplink trigger category is wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, wake-up signal 4, wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, wake-up signal 8, wake-up signal 9, wake-up signal 10, wake-up signal 11, wake-up signal 12, wake-up signal 13, wake-up signal 14, wake-up signal 15, wake-up signal 16, wake-up signal 17, wake-up signal 18, wake-up signal 19, wake-up signal 10, wake-up signal 11, wake-up signal 12 ... The wake-up signals are 2, 3, and 4. The wake-up signals corresponding to the downlink trigger categories are 5, 6, 7, and 8. For a water meter, the wake-up signal to be determined can be selected from the eight wake-up signals based on the uplink trigger category of its business. These wake-up signals are 1, 2, 3, and 4. Then, based on the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on its identifier, the wake-up signal to be listened to can be further determined from these four wake-up signals. If the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on the identifier of the water meter is 0, then according to group 1, the wake-up signal to be listened to for the water meter is 1, and the wake-up signal 1 should be listened to. For a smoke detector, the wake-up signal to be determined can be selected from eight wake-up signals based on the category triggered by its uplink service. These wake-up signals are wake-up signal 1, wake-up signal 2, wake-up signal 3, and wake-up signal 4. Then, based on the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on the identifier, the wake-up signal to be monitored can be further determined from these four wake-up signals. If the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on the identifier of the smoke detector is 2, then according to group 3, the wake-up signal to be monitored for the water meter is 3, and this wake-up signal 3 should be monitored. For mobile phones, the wake-up signal to be determined can be selected from eight wake-up signals based on the downlink trigger category of the service to which the mobile phone belongs. These wake-up signals are wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. Then, based on the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on the mobile phone identifier, the wake-up signal to be monitored can be further determined from these four wake-up signals. If the remainder after performing a modulo-4 operation on the identifier of the smoke detector is 1, then according to group 2, the wake-up signal to be monitored for the water meter is 6, and the wake-up signal 6 should be monitored.For a computer, the wake-up signal to be determined can be selected from eight wake-up signals based on the category triggered by its downlink service. These wake-up signals are wake-up signal 5, wake-up signal 6, wake-up signal 7, and wake-up signal 8. Then, based on the remainder after modulo-4 operation on the computer's identifier, the wake-up signal to be monitored is further determined from these four signals. If the remainder after modulo-4 operation on the smoke detector's identifier is 3, then according to group 4, the signal to be monitored for the water meter is signal 8, and this wake-up signal 8 should be monitored. Thus, when the core network device pagees a mobile phone via wake-up signal 6, only the mobile phone will hear and be woken up by wake-up signal 6, while the water meter, smoke detector, mobile phone, and computer will not hear or be woken up. This reduces the probability of false alarms from paged water meters, smoke detectors, and computers, thereby reducing the power consumption of unpaged water meters, smoke detectors, and computers.

[0159] Figure 4 For a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 40 provided in an embodiment of this application, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 4 As shown, the communication device 40 may include a processor 401, which is coupled to a memory 402 to read and execute instructions in the memory 402 to implement a wake-up signal transmission method as described in any of the first aspects above.

[0160] Optionally, the communication device 40 may also include a memory 402.

[0161] The communication device 40 shown in this application embodiment can execute the technical solution of the method for sending a wake-up signal on the terminal device side as shown in any of the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0162] Figure 5 Please refer to the structural schematic diagram of a core network device 50 provided in this application embodiment. Figure 5 As shown, the core network device 50 may include a processor 501, which is coupled to a memory 502 to read and execute instructions in the memory 502 to implement a wake-up signal transmission method as described in any of the second aspects above.

[0163] Optionally, the core network device 50 may also include a memory 502.

[0164] The core network device 50 shown in this application embodiment can execute the technical solution of the wake-up signal transmission method on the core network device side shown in any of the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0165] Figure 6 For a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device 60 provided in an embodiment of this application, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 6 As shown, the network device 60 may include a processor 601, which is coupled to a memory 602 to read and execute instructions in the memory 602 to implement a wake-up signal transmission method as described in any of the third aspects above.

[0166] Optionally, the network device 60 may also include a memory 602.

[0167] The network device 60 shown in this application embodiment can execute the technical solution of the wake-up signal sending method on the network device side shown in any of the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0168] This application also provides a computer storage medium including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device performs a method for sending a wake-up signal as described in any of the first aspects above. The implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0169] This application also provides a computer storage medium including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a core network device, the core network device performs a wake-up signal sending method as described in any of the second aspects above. The implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0170] This application also provides a computer storage medium including instructions. When the instructions are executed on a network device, the network device performs a wake-up signal sending method as described in any of the third aspects above. The implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0171] This application also provides a chip with a computer program stored on it. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it executes the wake-up signal sending method shown in any of the above embodiments. The implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0172] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a core network device and a network device as shown in any of the above embodiments. The core network device is used to execute the wake-up signal sending method on the core network device side; the network device is used to execute the wake-up signal sending method on the network device side. The implementation principle and beneficial effects are similar and will not be described again here.

[0173] Optionally, the communication system may also include a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute a method for sending a wake-up signal on the terminal device side.

[0174] In the above embodiments, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory; the processor reads instructions from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above methods.

[0175] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0176] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0177] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software functional units.

Claims

1. A method of receiving a wake-up signal, characterized by, include: The first category to which the terminal device belongs is received from the core network equipment. Different categories correspond to different service characteristics. The first category is the probability value of the terminal device being paged. Configuration for receiving multiple wake-up signals from network devices; Based on the first category, determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals; Listen for the wake-up signal to be listened to.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The service characteristics include the probability that the terminal device is paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service triggering types.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The probability of the terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The configuration of the multiple wake-up signals includes the mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals; The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category includes: Based on the first category and the mapping relationship, the wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category includes: The wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals based on the first category and the grouping factor.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category and grouping factor includes: Based on the first category, a plurality of wake-up signals to be determined are identified from the plurality of wake-up signals; The wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals to be determined based on the grouping factor.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category and grouping factor includes: Based on the grouping factor, a plurality of wake-up signals to be determined are identified from the plurality of wake-up signals; Based on the first category, the wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals to be determined.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 6-7, characterized in that, Also includes: Send the service characteristics of the terminal device to the core network device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 6-7, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the wake-up signal to be listened to indicates that the terminal device will be paged, then listen to the physical downlink control channel on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal to be listened to; If the wake-up signal to be monitored indicates that the terminal device is not being paged, then the physical downlink control channel is not monitored on the paging subframe corresponding to the wake-up signal to be monitored.

10. A method for sending a wake-up signal, characterized in that, include: Send the first category to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device. Different categories correspond to different service characteristics. The first category is the probability value of the terminal device being paged. Sending a paging message to a network device, wherein the paging message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the first category, the paging message being used to instruct the network device to determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from among multiple wake-up signals according to the first category, and to send the wake-up signal to be monitored to the terminal device according to the identifier of the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The service characteristics include the probability that the terminal device is paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service triggering types.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The probability of the terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10-12, characterized in that, Before sending the first category to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device, the method further includes: The first category to which the terminal device belongs is determined based on the service characteristics of the terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, Before determining the first category to which the terminal device belongs based on its service characteristics, the method further includes: Receive the service characteristics of the terminal device sent by the terminal device.

15. A method for sending a wake-up signal, characterized in that, include: Configuration for sending multiple wake-up signals to terminal devices; The terminal receives a paging message sent by a core network device, wherein the paging message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the first category to which the terminal device belongs; wherein different categories correspond to different service characteristics, and the first category is the probability value of the terminal device being paging; Based on the first category, determine the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals; The wake-up signal to be monitored is sent to the terminal device according to the identifier of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The service characteristics include the probability that the terminal device is paged, or at least one of the uplink and downlink service triggering types.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The probability of the terminal device being paged is determined based on the number of communications the terminal device makes per unit time.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, The configuration of the plurality of wake-up signals includes a mapping relationship between category information and wake-up signals. The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category includes: Based on the first category and the mapping relationship, the wake-up signal to be listened to is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category includes: The wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals based on the first category and the grouping factor.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category and grouping factor includes: Based on the first category, a plurality of wake-up signals to be determined are identified from the plurality of wake-up signals; The wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals to be determined based on the grouping factor.

21. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The step of determining the wake-up signal to be monitored from the plurality of wake-up signals according to the first category and grouping factor includes: Based on the grouping factor, a plurality of wake-up signals to be determined are identified from the plurality of wake-up signals; Based on the first category, the wake-up signal to be monitored is determined from the plurality of wake-up signals to be determined.

22. A communication device, comprising a processor, characterized in that, The processor is used to couple with a memory, read and execute instructions in the memory to implement the wake-up signal receiving method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

23. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that, Also includes: The memory.

24. A core network device, comprising a processor, characterized in that, The processor is configured to be coupled to a memory, read and execute instructions in the memory to implement the wake-up signal transmission method as described in any one of claims 10-14.

25. The device according to claim 24, characterized in that, Also includes: The memory.

26. A network device, comprising a processor, characterized in that, The processor is used to couple with a memory, read and execute instructions in the memory to implement the wake-up signal sending method as described in any one of claims 15-21.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that, Also includes: The memory.

28. A computer storage medium comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the wake-up signal receiving method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

29. A computer storage medium comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the core network device, the core network device performs the method for sending a wake-up signal as described in any one of claims 10-14.

30. A computer storage medium comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the network device, the network device performs the method for sending a wake-up signal as described in any one of claims 15-21.

31. A communication system, comprising core network equipment and network equipment, characterized in that, The core network device is used to perform the method of sending a wake-up signal as described in any one of claims 10-14; The network device is used to perform the method of sending a wake-up signal as described in any one of claims 15-21.

32. The system according to claim 31, further comprising a communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is used to perform the wake-up signal receiving method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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