Paging Information Sending and Monitoring Method, Communication Device, and System

Abstract

The present application discloses a method for paging information transmission and monitoring, a communication device, and a system. A network device transmits first information, which is used for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle. The first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; the first terminal device receives the first information. The network device transmits a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion; the first terminal device receives the paging PDCCH. By adopting the solution of the present application, the network device can dynamically determine the resources for the terminal device to monitor the paging PDCCH according to the actual situation, improving the resource utilization rate; and with the help of the PEI indication, the resource overhead for the network device to transmit the paging PDCCH and the paging PDSCH can be reduced, indirectly reducing the overhead for the network device to transmit the PEI.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a method for sending and monitoring paging information, a communication device, and a system. Background Art

[0002] A terminal equipment (UE) in the radio resource control (RRC) idle state (RRC_IDLE) / RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) mainly does two things: monitoring paging information and radio resource management (RRM) measurement. The UE generally wakes up from the sleep state to monitor paging information and perform RRM measurement. Before that, since the UE has been sleeping for a long time, the UE generally performs automatic gain control (AGC) tuning and time-frequency synchronization. In a multi-beam scenario, the UE may also perform beam selection.

[0003] The UE realizes AGC tuning, time-frequency synchronization, and RRM measurement by receiving reference signals. In the new radio (NR), in the RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE performs AGC tuning and time-frequency synchronization based on the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block) signal. The period of the SSB signal in NR is relatively large, generally 20 ms. The minimum can be 5 ms, and the maximum can be 160 ms. Since the UE generally needs 1-3 SSBs to complete AGC tuning and time-frequency synchronization, the UE needs to wake up a long time in advance before the paging occasion (PO), and maintain light sleep or deep sleep between SSBs and between SSB and PO. It can be seen that the UE needs to wake up multiple times (involving multiple switches between the sleep state and the wake state), and maintain a long wake-up / light sleep state, which will consume a lot of power of the UE. Performing beam selection will also consume a large amount of power of the UE.

[0004] Therefore, a paging early indication (PEI) (which can also be referred to as a wake-up signal (WUS)) mechanism is introduced. The purpose of introducing PEI is mainly to notify the UE in advance whether there is paging information, or to notify the UE in advance whether there is paging information for this UE, or to notify the UE whether this UE is paged. If there is paging information, the UE then monitors the paging information, that is, it monitors the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). If there is no paging information, the UE can avoid monitoring the paging information and thus enter the sleep state, waiting to be woken up and monitor the PEI indication in the next discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle.

[0005] As Figure 1 shown in the above figure, it is the behavior that the UE needs to perform before monitoring the paging information at the PO without introducing PEI.

[0006] As Figure 1 shown in the following figure, after introducing PEI, if the PEI indicates that there is no paging information for the UE, the UE can directly enter the sleep state to save power consumption.

[0007] It can be seen that introducing PEI has the following benefits: when the UE is not paged, it can reduce the power consumption of the UE when performing the following behaviors:

[0008] 1) State switching (switching between deep sleep / light sleep and wake-up);

[0009] 2) Maintaining light sleep between two wake-ups.

[0010] However, after introducing the PEI mechanism, if each UE still monitors the paging PDCCH at its respective configured PO, the network device cannot achieve flexible resource allocation and improve resource utilization; in addition, introducing the PEI indication will also increase the resource / signaling overhead of the network device. Summary of the Invention

[0011] Embodiments of the present application provide a method for sending and monitoring paging information, a communication device, and a system, so that after introducing the PEI mechanism, the network device can flexibly allocate resources for the UE to monitor the paging PDCCH and improve resource utilization.

[0012] In a first aspect, a method for paging information monitoring is provided. The method includes: a first terminal device receives first information, where the first information is used for the first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle, the first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by a network device for the first terminal device to monitor a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first terminal device receives second information, where the second information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; the first terminal device monitoring the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion includes: if the second information indicates that the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0014] In a second aspect, a method for paging information transmission is provided. The method includes: a network device sends first information, where the first information is used for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle, the first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to monitor a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0015] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sends second information, where the second information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; the network device sending a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion includes: if the second information indicates that the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0016] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first paging occasion is one of the paging occasions configured for at least two sets of terminal devices, and each set of terminal devices in the at least two sets of terminal devices corresponds to one or more sets of configured paging occasions.

[0017] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, or is located at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

[0018] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, the second information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, or is located at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

[0019] In another possible implementation, in combination with the second aspect or any one of the second aspect, the first information is further used for the second terminal device to determine the second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The second configured paging occasion is the paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The method further includes: the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0020] In another possible implementation, in combination with the second aspect or any one of the second aspect, the second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The network device sending a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion includes: if the second information indicates that the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0021] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to different terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are the same paging occasion.

[0022] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same terminal device group among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are different paging occasions.

[0023] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the second information is used to indicate whether the at least two groups of terminal devices monitor the paging PDCCH, or, the second information is used to indicate whether each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices monitors the paging PDCCH, or, the at least two groups of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the second information is used to indicate whether each terminal device subgroup in the at least three terminal device subgroups monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0024] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, or, the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher layer signaling, or, the at least two groups of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, or, the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, and the first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher layer signaling; the second information is used to indicate that the terminal device group or terminal device subgroup having the first corresponding relationship with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0025] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, when the first information is the first state value, the first paging occasion is a specified paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the first paging occasion is a paging occasion indicated from the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices by the first information or the second information; when the first information is the second state value, the first paging occasion is the first configured paging occasion.

[0026] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first paging occasion is any one of the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the first information is used to indicate that the first paging occasion is any one of the first configured paging occasion and the paging occasions before the first configured paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

[0027] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of paging occasions with paging information among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices is P, and P is greater than or equal to 0.

[0028] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the P paging occasions with paging information are the first P paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

[0029] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the number of paging occasions in a paging frame PF where the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices are located.

[0030] Combined with the implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect or any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

[0031] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect, the status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the at least two sets of paging occasions configured for the terminal devices, or the status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the at least two sets of paging occasions configured for the terminal devices. The second corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling. The first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the paging occasion or the combination of paging occasions that has the second corresponding relationship with the status value of the first information.

[0032] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first paging occasion is the (x + 1)-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of the following parameters: the identification number of the first terminal device and the value of P.

[0033] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect, the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the at least two sets of paging occasions configured for the terminal devices, or the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the at least two sets of paging occasions configured for the terminal devices. The third corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling. The first paging occasion is the paging occasion with paging information that has the third corresponding relationship with the first configured paging occasion.

[0034] In another possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first information and / or the second information is downlink control information or a reference signal sequence.

[0035] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a module applied to the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Wherein, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the above method. The modules, units, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes at least one module or unit corresponding to the above functions.

[0036] In combination with the above third aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; the transceiver unit is configured to receive first information for the first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle, where the first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position identical to the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by a network device for the first terminal device to monitor a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the processing unit is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0037] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information for indicating whether the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, where the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position identical to the first configured paging occasion; and the processing unit is configured to, if the second information indicates that the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0038] In combination with the above third aspect, in another possible implementation, the communication device includes: an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit; wherein, the input interface is configured to receive first information for the first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle, where the first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position identical to the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by a network device for the first terminal device to monitor a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the processing circuit is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0039] Optionally, the input interface is further configured to receive second information for indicating whether the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, where the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position identical to the first configured paging occasion; and the processing circuit is configured to, if the second information indicates that the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0040] Exemplarily, the communication device further includes a memory coupled to the at least one processor, and the at least one processor is configured to run program instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method in the above first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the memory is used to store program instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the at least one processor, and the at least one processor can call and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0042] Exemplarily, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. When the communication device is a terminal, the communication interface is a transceiver, an input / output interface, a circuit, or the like.

[0043] In a possible design, the communication device includes: at least one processor and a communication interface, which are used to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Specifically, it includes: the at least one processor communicates with the outside through the communication interface; the at least one processor is used to run a computer program, so that the communication device executes the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. It can be understood that the outside can be an object other than the processor or an object other than the communication device.

[0044] In another possible design, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. The communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0045] Among them, for the technical effects brought by any design method in the third aspect, reference can be made to the technical effects brought by different design methods in the first aspect above, and details are not described here again.

[0046] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device can be the first network device in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or a module applied to the first network device, such as a chip or a chip system. Among them, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the above method, and the modules, units, or means can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes at least one module or unit corresponding to the above functions.

[0047] Combined with the above fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device includes: a transceiver unit; the transceiver unit is configured to send a first piece of information, where the first piece of information is used for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to a paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle, the first piece of information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the transceiver unit is further configured to send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0048] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second piece of information, where the second piece of information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the second piece of information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; and the transceiver unit is further configured to, if the second piece of information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0049] Optionally, the first piece of information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle of the second terminal device, the first piece of information is located before a second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion, and the second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0050] Optionally, the second piece of information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the second piece of information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion; the transceiver unit is configured to, if the second piece of information indicates that the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0051] Combined with the above fourth aspect, in another possible implementation, the communication device includes: an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit; the output interface is used to send first information, and the first information is used for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to a paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle. The first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the output interface is further used to send the paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0052] Optionally, the output interface is further used to send second information, and the second information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; and the output interface is further used to, if the second information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, send the paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0053] Optionally, the first information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first information is located before a second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device; the output interface is further used to send the paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0054] Optionally, the second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion; the output interface is used to, if the second information indicates that the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, send the paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0055] Exemplarily, the communication device further includes a memory, and the memory is coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is used to run program instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method in the above second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the memory is used to store program instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the at least one processor, and the at least one processor can call and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0057] Exemplarily, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. When the communication device is an access network device, the communication interface is a transceiver, an input / output interface, a circuit, etc.

[0058] In a possible design, the communication device includes: at least one processor and a communication interface, which are used to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. Specifically, it includes: the at least one processor uses the communication interface to communicate with the outside; the at least one processor is used to run a computer program, so that the communication device executes the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. It can be understood that the outside can be an object other than the processor or an object other than the communication device.

[0059] In another possible design, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. The communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc. on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0060] Among them, the technical effects brought by any design method in the fourth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different design methods in the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0061] In a fifth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the communication device as described in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect, and the communication device as described in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0062] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in the above aspects or any implementation of the above aspects.

[0063] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided. When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in the above aspects or any implementation of the above aspects.

[0064] In an eighth aspect, a chip is provided. The chip is coupled to a memory and executes the method described in the first aspect or any implementation in the first aspect.

[0065] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided. The chip is coupled to a memory and executes the method described in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect.

[0066] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, "coupled" means that two components are directly or indirectly combined with each other. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the behavior of the UE before and after introducing PEI;

[0068] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a paging occasion;

[0069] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applying the method of the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] Figure 4 Shown is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the communication device 300 provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0071] Figure 5 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for sending and listening for paging information provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0072] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the current paging cycle of the first UE;

[0073] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the second information covering the first configured PO and the second configured PO in the current paging cycle of the first UE;

[0074] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the first information covering the first configured PO and the second configured PO in the current paging cycle of the first UE;

[0075] Figure 9 It is a comparison schematic diagram of the UE listening for paging PDCCH before and after implementing this solution;

[0076] Figure 10 Shown is a schematic diagram of the module structure of the communication device 400 provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0077] Figure 11 Shown is a schematic diagram of the module structure of the communication device 500 provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0078] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the simplified hardware structure of the terminal device 600;

[0079] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of the simplified hardware structure of the network device 700. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0080] NR Paging Mechanism

[0081] As described above, the UE in RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE mainly does two things: listening for paging information and RRM measurements. As Figure 2 shown in the paging occasion schematic diagram, the network device configures a paging DRX cycle for the UE. The UE only needs to listen for paging information in one PO (i.e., its own PO) in each paging DRX cycle, and can enter the sleep state at other times without listening for paging information. The PO of the UE is determined by the user equipment identity (UE_ID), so different UEs may have different paging occasions.

[0082] The process for the UE to listen for paging information is as follows: The UE listens for the paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in its own PO. If the downlink control information (DCI) carried by the paging PDCCH includes the scheduling information for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the UE will receive and parse the corresponding PDSCH. The DCI carried by the paging PDCCH can be called paging DCI, and the PDSCH scheduled by the paging DCI can be called paging PDSCH. Paging information is generally carried by the paging PDSCH, and part of the paging information can also be included in the paging DCI, such as short messages. The paging DCI generally includes a short message indication field, a short message field, and an information field for scheduling the paging PDSCH. If the UE does not blindly detect DCI in the paging PDCCH, or blindly detects paging DCI but the paging DCI indicates that there is no PDSCH scheduled, the UE considers that there is no paging PDSCH. The UE generally enters the sleep state next, until the next paging occasion after a paging DRX cycle, and then the UE wakes up to listen for paging information. From the above process, it can be seen that listening for paging information can also be considered as listening for the paging PDCCH.

[0083] The information of the UE, such as the UE_ID of the UE, will be carried in the paging PDSCH. After the UE decodes the PDSCH, if the UE_ID carried in the paging PDSCH matches its own UE_ID, it indicates that it has been paged. Otherwise, the UE has actually not been paged, and it is other UEs that are also listening for the paging PDCCH in this PO that have been paged. If the paging DCI indicates that there is a paging message (i.e., the DCI schedules the PDSCH), but the UE has actually not been paged, this phenomenon is called a paging false alarm.

[0084] How to determine the PO for the UE to listen for the paging PDCCH?

[0085] Based on the information semi-statically configured by the network device and the predefined formula in the protocol, the UE can calculate the specific time-domain positions to listen for the paging PDCCH.

[0086] As Figure 2 shown, a UE listens for the paging PDCCH only in its calculated PO belonging to itself in each DRX cycle. In the Figure 2 example, the DRX cycle T = 1.28 s, and each paging frame includes 2 POs (PO1 and PO2 in the figure). The 10 UEs, UE1 - UE10, determine to listen for the paging information in PO1. After one cycle, UE1 - UE10 will listen for the paging information in PO1 again.

[0087] Among them, the information semi-statically configured by the network device includes:

[0088] ● Paging cycle T;

[0089] ● The number of paging frames N included in each paging cycle T (note that N is not directly configured, but is deduced from the configuration information);

[0090] ● The number of POs Ns in each paging frame;

[0091] ● Paging frame offset PF_offset used to calculate the paging frame.

[0092] The network device configures the above information through system messages. For example, the above configuration information is carried in the system information block 1 (SIB1).

[0093] When calculating the PO of the UE, the UE_ID is also used. In NR, the UE_ID is related to the 5G-S-TMSI (5G-System-Architecture-Evolution Temporary Mobile Station Identifier). If the UE does not have a 5G-S-TMSI, UE_ID = 0; otherwise, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024.

[0094] The system frame number (SFN) of the radio frame (i.e., the paging frame) in which the UE monitors the paging information is obtained by the following formula 1:

[0095] (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N) …… Formula 1

[0096] The UE monitors the (i_s + 1)-th PO in the calculated radio frame (frame number: SFN), where i_s is obtained by the following formula 2:

[0097] i_s = floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns …… Formula 2

[0098] Note that in the present invention, the PO for which the UE is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH can also be referred to as "the UE's own PO", or "the PO to which the UE belongs", or "the UE's PO".

[0099] A paging occasion PO includes one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions, and the PDCCH monitoring occasion is determined according to the search space (SS) configured by the network device.

[0100] The PO for which a UE is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH appears periodically, as Figure 2 shown, and its period is the paging DRX period. The paging DRX period can also be referred to as the paging period.

[0101] In the present invention, for a UE, the PO for which it is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH can be referred to as a kind of PO, or a group of POs, or a PO group, or a paging group, that is, a kind of PO or a group of POs is a periodically appearing PO. However, in each paging DRX period, there is only one PO for which a UE is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH.

[0102] Different UEs configured to monitor paging PDCCH on the same PO form a group of terminal devices. The paging occasions configured for different UEs in a group of terminal devices may correspond to the same group of POs. At this time, the paging cycles of different UEs in this group of UEs are the same. If the paging occasions configured for different UEs in a group of UEs correspond to different groups of POs, then there are at least two UEs in this group of UEs with different paging cycles.

[0103] RRM Measurement

[0104] The purpose of mobility RRM measurement is to enable UEs in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states to perform cell selection / reselection, and to enable UEs in RRC_CONNECTED state to perform cell handover.

[0105] Currently, there are mainly two types of reference signals used for RRM measurement: SSB signals and channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RS). SSB signals are cell-level signals, so UEs can use them in RRC idle state / inactive state / connected state. While CSI-RS signals can only be used by UEs in RRC_CONNECTED state. When the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state, the network device will configure certain CSI-RS resources through RRC signaling for mobility RRM measurement. When in RRC_CONNECTED state, which signal to use for RRM measurement (it can be based on both signals simultaneously) is configured by RRC signaling. Currently, in RRC_IDLE state and RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE only performs RRM measurement based on SSB signals.

[0106] When the UE performs RRM measurement based on SSB signals, if the network device configures an SSB measurement time configuration (SS / PBCH block measurement time configuration, SMTC) for the UE, then the UE only performs RRM measurement within the SMTC window time (SMTC window duration). If the UE is not configured with SMTC, then the UE assumes that the period of the SSB is 5 ms.

[0107] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems. For example: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, 5th Generation (5G) systems or New Radio (NR), systems in which REDuced CAPability (REDCAP) UEs operate, or next-generation communication systems, such as 6G, etc. The 5G mobile communication systems involved in this application include non-standalone (NSA) 5G mobile communication systems or standalone (SA) 5G mobile communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation mobile communication system. The communication system can also be a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, the Internet of Things (IoT), a vehicle-to-everything communication system, or other communication systems.

[0108] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system for applying the method of the embodiments of this application. As Figure 3 shown, the communication system includes one or more network devices 100 ( Figure 3 illustrated by taking one network device as an example) and one or more terminal devices 200 connected to the network device 100. Among them, the terminal devices and the network devices can communicate directly with each other, or can communicate through the forwarding of other devices. The embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0109] Optionally, the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applicable to the above various communication systems. Taking the 5G mobile communication system as an example, Figure 3 the network element or entity corresponding to the network device in it can be a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) device in the 5G mobile communication system.

[0110] Optionally, the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to an access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile device, relay station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, user equipment (UE), terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, user device, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN, or a terminal device in a future vehicle-to-everything network, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0111] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality terminal, an augmented reality terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0112] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the wearable device may also be referred to as a wearable intelligent device, which is a general term for devices developed by applying wearable technology to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, shoes, etc. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. A wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include those with complete functions and large sizes that can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for physical sign monitoring.

[0113] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, so as to realize an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and thing-to-thing interconnection. In the embodiments of the present application, IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage, and power saving of the terminal through, for example, narrow band (NB) technology.

[0114] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may further include sensors such as intelligent printers, train detectors, and gas stations. The main functions include collecting data (for some terminals), receiving control information and downlink data from the network device, and transmitting electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to the network device.

[0115] Optionally, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may be any communication device with wireless transceiver functions for communicating with the terminal. The network device includes, but is not limited to: evolved node B (eNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or transmission reception point (TRP), etc. The network device may also be a gNB or TRP or TP in a 5G system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system. In addition, the network device may also be a network node constituting a gNB or TP, such as a BBU, or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0116] In some deployments, the gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a DU. In addition, the gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some functions of the gNB, and the DU implements some functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC), and the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer (PHY). The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of active antennas. Since the information of the RRC layer will ultimately become the information of the PHY layer, or is transformed from the information of the PHY layer, therefore, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or sent by the DU and the AAU. It can be understood that the network device may be a device including one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node.

[0117] Optionally, the network device and the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may communicate through licensed spectrum, may also communicate through unlicensed spectrum, or may simultaneously communicate through licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum. The network device and the terminal device may communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), may also communicate through spectrum above 6 GHz, or may simultaneously use spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz for communication. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used between the network device and the terminal device.

[0118] Optionally, the terminal device or the network device in the embodiments of the present application may be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; may also be deployed on water; may also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the terminal device or the network device.

[0119] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or the network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and a memory (also referred to as main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement service processing through processes. For example, Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system, etc. The application layer includes applications such as a browser, an address book, a word processing software, and an instant messaging software. Moreover, the embodiments of the present application do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. As long as it can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be a terminal device or a network device, or a functional module in the terminal device or the network device that can call and execute the program.

[0120] In other words, the relevant functions of the terminal device or the network device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by one device, or jointly implemented by multiple devices, or can be implemented by one or more functional modules in one device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. It can be understood that the above functions can be either network elements in hardware devices, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0121] For example, the relevant functions of the terminal device or the network device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented through Figure 4 the communication device 300 therein. Figure 4 The following shows a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 300 provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 300 includes one or more processors (such as processor 301, processor 306), a communication line 302, and at least one communication interface ( Figure 4 only exemplified by including communication interface 304 and one processor 301 therein for illustration), and optionally may further include a memory 303.

[0122] The processor 301 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the solution of the present application.

[0123] The communication line 302 may include a path for connecting different components.

[0124] The communication interface 304 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, RAN, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Optionally, the communication interface 304 may also be an interface circuit located within the processor 301 for implementing signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0125] The memory 303 may be a device with storage functions. For example, it may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 302. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0126] Among them, the memory 303 is used to store the computer execution instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 301 for execution. The processor 301 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 303, so as to implement the paging information sending and listening methods provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0127] Alternatively, in the embodiments of the present application, it may also be that the processor 301 executes the functions related to the processing in the paging information sending and listening methods provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 304 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0128] The computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0129] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 4 CPU0 and CPU1 in

[0130] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 300 may include multiple processors, such as Figure 4 processor 301 and processor 306 in

[0131] Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Here, the processor may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0132] The above-mentioned communication device 300 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the communication device 300 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, or a device having a Figure 4 similar structure in

[0133] Next, the paging information sending and listening methods provided in the embodiments of the present application will be specifically described in conjunction with Figures 1 to 9 It should be noted that the message names between each network element or the names of each parameter in the message in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples. In a specific implementation, they may also be other names. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0134] As shown in

[0135] As Figure 5 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide a paging information sending and listening method. Exemplarily, the method includes the following steps:

[0136] Note that before implementing the method or steps provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network device may pre-configure POs for multiple UEs within its coverage area. For example, the network device pre-configures K groups of POs. As described above, each group of POs appears periodically, and its period is the paging DRX period. The network device may pre-configure POs for the UE through SIB1 and / or other system messages, and / or pre-configure POs for the UE through RRC signaling when the UE is in the RRC connected state. The RRC signaling may also have other names, such as RRC messages.

[0137] S101. The network device sends the second information. Correspondingly, the first UE and the second UE receive the second information.

[0138] Before the network device sends the second information, the network device may pre-configure POs for the first UE and the second UE. For example, the PO configured for the first UE is called the first configured PO group, or a group of first configured POs. Considering the current paging cycle, the first configured PO is the paging occasion for the network device to configure the first UE to monitor the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle.

[0139] As Figure 6 , this figure represents the understanding of the current paging cycle of the first UE. The current paging cycle of the first UE can be understood as a time period with a duration of one paging cycle that covers the next first configured PO after the first UE finishes monitoring the paging information in the previous paging cycle.

[0140] Specifically, the network device semi-statically configures the following information for each UE: the paging cycle T, the number N of paging frames included in each paging cycle T, the number Ns of paging occasions in each paging frame, and the paging frame offset PF_offset used to calculate the paging frame. Each UE can calculate a group of POs configured for itself to monitor the paging PDCCH according to Formula 1 and Formula 2. For example, the network device configures UE1 to UE10 to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO1, and UE11 to UE20 to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO2.

[0141] Although the network device configures a group of first configured POs for the first UE, the network device does not necessarily send the paging PDCCH on the first configured PO in each paging cycle. In this embodiment, the network device sends the second information before the first configured PO in each of the above paging cycles, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured PO in each paging cycle. The second information may be the above-mentioned PEI. The second information is used to indicate whether the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. When the second information indicates that the first UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle, then the first UE can learn as early as possible that it is not paged, so as to return to the sleep state as soon as possible to save power consumption.

[0142] It can be understood that the network device sends a paging PDCCH, or sends a PDCCH. There can also be other statements. For example, the network device sends paging information on the PDCCH, or the network device sends paging DCI on the PDCCH, or the network device sends DCI on the PDCCH.

[0143] The transmission period and the time-frequency domain position of the second information can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, if the network device does not pre-transmit the relevant parameters for configuring the second information, then the terminal device does not receive the second information, and the network device does not send the second information either.

[0144] Similarly, although the network device configures a set of second configuration POs for the second UE, the network device does not necessarily send a paging PDCCH on the second configuration PO in each paging cycle. In this embodiment, the network device sends the second information before the second configuration PO in each of the above paging cycles, or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configuration PO in each paging cycle. This second information can be the above-mentioned PEI. This second information is used to indicate whether the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH. When the second information indicates that the second UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH, then the second UE can learn as early as possible that it is not being paged, so as to return to the sleep state as soon as possible to save power consumption.

[0145] It can be understood that the above first UE and second UE are only examples. The network device can also send the second information to more UEs within its coverage area. In addition, the second information can be information sent to a group of UEs or multiple groups of UEs, that is, the solution of this embodiment can be applied to the case where one second information covers multiple configured POs. The time-domain position of this second information can be as follows:

[0146] Considering the current paging cycle, the second information can be located before the multiple configured POs it covers. For example, before the first configured PO among the multiple configured POs it covers, as Figure 7 shown, in the current paging cycle of (the first UE), the second information covers the first configured PO and the second configured PO.

[0147] It can be understood that the meaning of the second information covering multiple configured POs is that the second information covers multiple groups of UEs configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on the multiple configured POs. The second information is used to indicate whether the multiple groups of UEs covered listen to the paging PDCCH. Then, the multiple groups of UEs covered need to listen to or receive the second information.

[0148] Regarding the second information covering multiple POs, there can be other implementation forms. For example, the second information has an effective duration or an effective range or an effective time window. The second information is used to indicate whether a UE configured to monitor the paging PDCCH within the effective duration of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH, that is, the UE configured to monitor the paging PDCCH within the effective duration of the second information needs to monitor the second information.

[0149] The effective duration can be predefined or configured. Additionally, if the network device does not configure the effective duration of the second information, the second information can adopt a default effective duration. The unit of the effective duration can be the number of configured POs (i.e., the effective range of the second information). For example, the effective range of the second information is the M adjacent POs after the second information, where M is greater than or equal to 1, or M is greater than or equal to 2. The unit of the effective duration can also be a time length, and the unit of the time length can be subframes, milliseconds (ms), etc. For example, the effective range of the second information is the configured POs within the effective duration of the second information after the second information. The starting moment of the effective duration can be predefined or configured. The starting moment of the effective duration can be the next symbol of the second information, the next subframe, the next time slot, the starting moment of the first configured PO after the second information, the starting moment of the subframe / slot where the second information is located, or the starting moment of the radio frame where the second information is located, etc.

[0150] The second information can also have the same time domain position as the first configured PO among the multiple configured POs it covers. For example, the network device sends 2 PDCCHs (or 2 DCIs) in the first configured PO, where one PDCCH is used to carry the second information and the other PDCCH is used to carry the paging DCI. Another example is that the network device sends 1 PDCCH (or 1 DCI) in the first configured PO, and this PDCCH is the paging PDCCH, and the information it carries is the paging DCI. The second information is an information field in the paging DCI, such as an unused information field in the paging DCI, or a newly added information field, or a field after re-interpretation of one or more information fields therein.

[0151] In one implementation, the second information is carried by a PDCCH, and the PDCCH carrying the second information is scrambled by a paging - radio network temporary identifier (P - RNTI). In another implementation, the second information is carried by a PDCCH, and the RNTI used to scramble the PDCCH carrying the second information is different from the P - RNTI.

[0152] Among them, regarding the above - mentioned second information, its signal type can be as follows:

[0153] The second piece of information may be PDCCH-based indication information carried by the PDCCH. For example, the second piece of information is DCI carried by the PDCCH, or an information field in the DCI carried by the PDCCH.

[0154] The second piece of information may also be sequence-based indication information. For example, the sequence is a reference signal sequence. Specifically, the signal type of the reference signal may be CSI-RS, tracking reference signal (TRS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or other reference signal sequences. When the sequence is scrambled by different scrambling information, for example, with different scrambling numbers, it represents different second information indication states. And / or, when the sequence is sent in different time domains, it represents different second information indication states. And / or, when the sequence is sent in different frequency domains, it represents different second information indication states.

[0155] Before the first UE receives the first configured PO, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured PO, the first UE receives the second information sent by the network device, parses the content indicated by the second information, and determines whether it is paged.

[0156] Before the second UE receives the second configured PO, or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured PO, the second UE receives the second information sent by the network device, parses the content indicated by the second information, and determines whether it is paged.

[0157] How the above second information is indicated will be described in detail later.

[0158] It can be understood that in different implementations, the network device may not send the above second information, or the network device does not configure the function of the above second information, and the terminal device does not receive the above second information, but directly executes the following steps. Therefore, step S101 is optional and is shown by a dotted line in the figure.

[0159] S102. The network device sends the first piece of information.

[0160] After the network device configures a set of first configured POs for the first UE and a set of second configured POs for the second UE, in this embodiment, the network device can dynamically determine the resources for the first UE and the second UE to monitor the paging PDCCH according to the actual situation. Therefore, the network device sends the first piece of information to the first UE and the second UE.

[0161] The first piece of information is used for the first UE to determine the first PO for listening to the PDCCH in the current paging cycle (i.e., the PO at which the first UE actually listens to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle). The first piece of information is located before the first configured PO or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured PO. The first PO may be the same as or different from the first configured PO. It can be seen that in this embodiment, according to the first piece of information, the UE can change the time-domain position at which it listens to the paging PDCCH, and the first PO may not be the first configured PO determined by the UE according to the semi-static configuration and Formulas 1 and 2.

[0162] Correspondingly, the first UE receives the first piece of information.

[0163] In addition, the first piece of information is also used for the second UE to determine the second PO for listening to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second UE. The first piece of information is located before the second configured PO or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured PO. The second PO may be the same as or different from the second configured PO.

[0164] Correspondingly, the second UE receives the first piece of information.

[0165] If the network device does not send a paging PDCCH to any UE, the first piece of information sent by the network device may be empty, or the network device does not send the first piece of information.

[0166] By dynamically changing the time-domain position (or the PO position) at which the UE actually listens to the paging PDCCH, the network device can achieve the following beneficial effects: 1. The network device can dynamically determine the resources for the terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH, which is conducive to the network device to allocate resources more flexibly. 2. In addition, in a paging cycle, when the network device notifies the terminal device to listen at a PO before the PO configured for the terminal device, if the terminal device is not paged, then this will enable the terminal device to learn as early as possible that it is not paged, so as to return to the sleep state as soon as possible to save power consumption; if the terminal device is paged, then this will enable the terminal device to be paged faster, which is beneficial to reducing the data delay of the terminal device.

[0167] Similarly, similar to the second piece of information, the transmission period and the time-frequency domain position of the first piece of information can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, if the network device does not pre-transmit the relevant parameters for configuring the first piece of information, then the terminal device does not receive the first piece of information, and the network device does not send the first piece of information.

[0168] It can be understood that the above-mentioned first UE and second UE are only examples, and the network device can also send the first information to more UEs within its coverage area. Additionally, the first information can be information sent to a group of UEs or multiple groups of UEs, that is, the solution of this embodiment can be applicable to the case where one first information covers multiple configured POs. The time domain position of the first information can be as follows:

[0169] Considering the current paging cycle, the first information can be located before the multiple configured POs it covers. For example, before the first configured PO among the multiple configured POs it covers, as Figure 8 shown, in the current paging cycle of (the first UE), the first information covers the first configured PO and the second configured PO.

[0170] It can be understood that the meaning of the first information covering multiple configured POs is that the first information covers multiple groups of UEs configured to listen for paging PDCCH on the multiple configured POs. The first information is used for the multiple covered groups of UEs to respectively determine the time domain position or PO for actually listening for paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. Then, the multiple covered groups of UEs need to listen for or receive the first information.

[0171] Regarding the first information covering multiple POs, there can also be other implementation forms. For example, the first information has an effective duration or an effective range or an effective time window. The first information is used for UEs configured to listen for paging PDCCH within the effective duration of the first information to determine the time domain position or PO for actually listening for paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. That is, UEs configured to listen for paging PDCCH within the effective duration of the first information need to monitor the first information.

[0172] The effective duration can be predefined or configured. Additionally, if the network device does not configure the effective duration of the first information, the first information can adopt a default effective duration. The unit of the effective duration can be the number of configured POs (that is, the effective range of the first information). For example, the effective range of the first information is the M adjacent POs after the first information, where M is greater than or equal to 1, or M is greater than or equal to 2. The unit of the effective duration can also be a time length, and the unit of the time length can be subframes, milliseconds (ms), etc. For example, the effective range of the first information is the configured POs within the effective duration of the first information after the first information. The starting moment of the effective duration can be predefined or configured. The starting moment of the effective duration can be the next symbol of the first information, the next subframe, the next time slot, the starting moment of the first configured PO after the first information, the starting moment of the subframe / slot where the first information is located, or the starting moment of the radio frame where the first information is located, etc.

[0173] The first information may also have the same time domain position as the first configured PO among the multiple configured POs it covers. For example, the network device sends 2 PDCCHs (or 2 DCIs) in the first configured PO, where one PDCCH is used to carry the first information and the other PDCCH is used to carry the paging DCI. Another example is that the network device sends 1 PDCCH (or 1 DCI) in the first configured PO, and this PDCCH is the paging PDCCH, and the information it carries is the paging DCI. The first information is an information field in the paging DCI, such as an unused information field in the paging DCI, or a newly added information field, or a field after re-interpretation of one or more of the information fields.

[0174] In one implementation, the first information is carried by a PDCCH, and the PDCCH carrying the first information is scrambled by a paging - radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI). In another implementation, the first information is carried by a PDCCH, and the RNTI used to scramble the PDCCH carrying the first information is different from the P-RNTI.

[0175] Regarding the above first information, its signal type may be as follows:

[0176] The first information may be PDCCH - based indication information and is carried by a PDCCH. For example, the first information is the DCI carried by a PDCCH, or an information field in the DCI carried by a PDCCH.

[0177] The first information may also be sequence - based indication information. For example, the sequence is a reference signal sequence. Specifically, the signal type of the reference signal may be CSI - RS, tracking reference signal (TRS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or other reference signal sequences. When the sequence is scrambled by different scrambling information, such as having different scrambling numbers, it represents different first information indication states. And / or, when the sequence is sent in different time domains, it represents different first information indication states. And / or, when the sequence is sent in different frequency domains, it represents different first information indication states.

[0178] Regarding how the first UE determines the first PO based on the first information and how the second UE determines the second PO based on the first information will be described in detail later.

[0179] The first information may be in different messages from the second information above, or may be in different fields of the same message. For example, the first information and the second information are carried by the same PDCCH, or the same DCI includes the first information and the second information. For another example, the first information and the second information are carried by different messages, the second information is carried by a reference signal sequence, and the first information is carried by the PDCCH. For yet another example, the second information (the first information) is carried by the PDCCH, and the first information (the second information) is carried by the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH. If the first information and the second information are in different fields of the same message, and the second information indicates that the first UE and the second UE do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH, the first information may be set to a specific state, or reserved, for future new functions, or for indicating other functions.

[0180] When the first information and the second information are in the same message, the valid range (or effective duration) of the first information and the second information is the same.

[0181] S103. The network device sends a paging PDCCH to the first UE in the first PO. Correspondingly, the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the first PO.

[0182] Specifically, if the second information indicates that the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH, the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the first PO.

[0183] If the second information indicates that the first UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH, the first UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH in the first PO. Regarding the first information, the first UE may ignore the first information.

[0184] S104. The network device sends a paging PDCCH to the second UE in the second PO. Correspondingly, the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the second PO.

[0185] Specifically, if the second information indicates that the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH, the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the second PO.

[0186] If the second information indicates that the second UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH, the second UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH in the second PO. Regarding the first information, the second UE may ignore the first information.

[0187] For the first UE, if the second information indicates that the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH, the network device sends the paging PDCCH in the first PO. Correspondingly, the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the first PO. If the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH and the DCI carried by the PDCCH indicates information for scheduling the PDSCH, the first UE receives and decodes the corresponding physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). If the first UE does not blindly detect the DCI in the paging PDCCH, or blindly detects the DCI but the DCI indicates no scheduling of the PDSCH and the DCI indicates no short message, for example, it indicates no change in system information and no information related to the public warning system (PwS) (such as no notice related to the earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) and commercial mobile alert service (CMAS)), the first UE considers that there is no paging message, and the first UE then enters the sleep state until it receives the next second information after a paging DRX cycle, and the first UE then determines whether to wake up and monitor the paging PDCCH according to the second information. If the first UE blindly detects the DCI in the paging PDCCH, the DCI indicates no scheduling of the PDSCH, but the DCI indicates a short message indication, for example, the system information has changed, the UE performs corresponding operations according to the indication of the short message.

[0188] If the second information indicates that the first UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH, the first UE can learn as early as possible that it is not paged, so as to return to the sleep state as soon as possible to save power consumption. The network device also does not carry information in the first information for the first UE to determine the first PO, and does not send the paging PDCCH and paging PDSCH, thus saving the resource overhead of the network device for sending the paging PDCCH and paging PDSCH.

[0189] It can be understood that if the second information indicates that the first UE does not monitor the paging PDCCH, but there are other UEs within the valid range of the second information / first information that are indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH, the network device will also send the paging PDCCH.

[0190] Similarly, for the second UE, if the second information indicates that the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH, the network device sends the paging PDCCH at the second paging occasion. Correspondingly, the second UE monitors the paging PDCCH at the second paging occasion.

[0191] The second piece of information may be the aforementioned PEI. Introducing the PEI mechanism will increase the resource overhead of network devices. Therefore, how to reduce the increased resource overhead caused by introducing PEI is a further problem to be solved in this application. As Figure 9 shown in the schematic diagram of resource overhead before and after implementing the solution of this embodiment, in the current paging cycle, one PEI indicates covering 4 configured POs (PO1 - PO4). For each configured PO, exactly 1 UE is paged (among the 10 UEs UE1 - UE10, UE1 is paged while listening for paging information on PO1; among the 10 UEs UE11 - UE20, UE11 is paged while listening for paging information on PO2; among the 10 UEs UE21 - UE30, UE21 is paged while listening for paging information on PO3; among the 10 UEs UE31 - UE40, UE31 is paged while listening for paging information on PO4).

[0192] As Figure 9 shown in the upper figure above, before implementing the solution of this embodiment, if the PEI indicates listening for the paging PDCCH, the UE listens for the paging PDCCH on its configured PO, and the network device needs to send 4 copies of the paging PDCCH. If the paging PDCCH schedules the paging PDSCH, the network device also needs to send 4 copies of the paging PDSCH.

[0193] As Figure 9 shown in the lower figure below, after implementing the solution of this embodiment, the PEI indicates that UE1 - UE40 only listen for the paging PDCCH on PO1, then the network device only needs to send 1 copy of the paging PDCCH and the paging PDSCH.

[0194] Introducing the PEI mechanism will increase the resource overhead of network devices. The solution of this embodiment does not directly reduce the resource overhead of PEI, but instead reduces the resource overhead of the paging PDCCH and the paging PDSCH by means of the PEI indication, thereby reducing the resource overhead of the network device as a whole.

[0195] It can be seen that by means of the PEI indication, the resource overhead of the network device for sending the paging PDCCH and the paging PDSCH can be reduced. In addition, since the network device can reduce the number of times of sending the paging PDCCH and the PDSCH, the overhead of the network device for sending the PEI is indirectly reduced.

[0196] The following details how the second piece of information specifically indicates whether the UE listens for the paging PDCCH:

[0197] In one implementation, the first UE and the second UE belong to the same UE group or different UE groups among at least two groups of UEs. In the current paging cycle of the first UE and / or the second UE, each group of UEs among at least two groups of UEs corresponds to a configured PO, and different UE groups correspond to different configured POs.

[0198] The second information covers the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs, and the second information is used to indicate whether at least two groups of UEs monitor the paging PDCCH. If the second information indicates that at least two groups of UEs monitor the paging PDCCH, then all at least two groups of UEs monitor the paging PDCCH. In this way, the network device can use fewer bits to indicate whether more UEs monitor the paging PDCCH. For example, 1 bit in the DCI is used to carry the second information. When this bit is set to 1 (or 0), it means that at least two groups of UEs monitor the paging PDCCH, and when this bit is set to 0 (or 1), it means that all at least two groups of UEs do not monitor the paging PDCCH.

[0199] In the above implementation, the second information does not include grouping indication information, saving the signaling overhead of the network device.

[0200] In another implementation, the second information can also be used for grouping indication. In this way, it can indicate which UEs need to monitor the paging PDCCH and which UEs do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH with a finer granularity, and the power consumption of the UEs can be saved. Specifically as follows:

[0201] In yet another implementation, the first UE and the second UE belong to the same UE group or different UE groups among at least two groups of UEs. Each group of UEs among at least two groups of UEs corresponds to a configured PO, and different UE groups correspond to different configured POs. In the current paging cycle of the first UE and / or the second UE, the second information covers the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs, and the second information is used to indicate whether each group of UEs among at least two groups of UEs monitors the paging PDCCH. For example, the number of bits included in the second information is the same as the number of UE groups of the at least two groups of UEs. Since each group of UEs corresponds to a configured PO, it can also be considered that the number of bits included in the second information is the same as the number of configured POs covered by the second information.

[0202] In one example, assume that a second piece of information indicates that M configured POs are covered, where M ≥ 1. The second piece of information includes M bits, each bit corresponding to a group of UEs, or each bit corresponding to one of the multiple configured POs covered by the second piece of information. For each of these bits, if the bit is set to 1, it means that the group of UEs corresponding to this bit needs to monitor the paging PDCCH; if the bit is set to 0, it means that the group of UEs corresponding to this bit does not need to monitor the paging PDCCH; or, if the bit is set to 0, it means that the group of UEs corresponding to this bit needs to monitor the paging PDCCH, and if the bit is set to 1, it means that the group of UEs on the PO corresponding to this bit does not need to monitor the paging PDCCH. In this way, the network device can accurately indicate whether each group of UEs monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0203] In yet another implementation, the above-mentioned at least two groups of UEs can be further divided into at least three UE subgroups, and the second piece of information is used to indicate whether each UE subgroup in the at least three UE subgroups monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0204] For example, the second piece of information covers M UE groups, and each UE group is further divided into g subgroups, so the M UE groups are divided into g*M UE subgroups in total. The second piece of information includes g*M bits, each bit corresponding to one of the UE subgroups. Thus, the network device can more accurately indicate which UE subgroup needs to monitor the paging PDCCH, and the UE subgroups that do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH can enter the sleep state as early as possible, which can save the UE power consumption.

[0205] For another example, the number of subgroups divided for each UE group can be different. For example, the m-th UE group among the M UE groups is divided into g m UE subgroups, then the M UE groups are divided into g1 + g2 + … + g M UE subgroups in total. The second piece of information includes g1 + g2 + … + g M bits, each bit corresponding to one of the subgroups. Thus, the network device can more accurately indicate which UE subgroup needs to monitor the paging PDCCH, and the UE subgroups that do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH can enter the sleep state as early as possible, which can save the UE power consumption.

[0206] In yet another implementation, the UE grouping indication is also indicated by joint coding. In this way, it is considered that the probability of some combinations of UE groups or UE subgroups being paged is relatively low, so there is no need to design a separate state to map such combinations. This not only saves the overhead of the network device sending the second piece of information but also enables the UEs that may be paged to reliably receive the second piece of information. This method is called joint coding indication.

[0207] Specifically, the UEs covered by the second information are divided into at least two groups of UEs, and the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with one or a combination of multiple groups of UEs among the at least two groups of UEs. It can be understood that the UE grouping can also be identified by an index. Therefore, it can also be that the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with the index corresponding to one or a combination of multiple groups of UEs among the at least two groups of UEs. Among them, the first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling, or system message SIB1, or other system messages). This second information is used to indicate that the UE group having a first corresponding relationship with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0208] Specifically, the UEs covered by the second information are divided into at least two groups of UEs, and the at least two groups of UEs can be further divided into at least three sub-groups of UEs. The status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with one or a combination of multiple sub-groups of UEs among the at least three sub-groups of UEs. It can be understood that the UE grouping can also be identified by an index. Therefore, it can also be that the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with the index corresponding to one or a combination of multiple sub-groups of UEs among the at least three sub-groups of UEs. Among them, the first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling. This second information is used to indicate that the sub-group of UEs having a first corresponding relationship with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0209] In the case of joint coding indication, the second information can be carried either by the PDCCH or by the reference signal sequence.

[0210] It can be understood that if the status value of the second information does not have a first corresponding relationship with any UE group or sub-group of UEs, then the second information is used to indicate that none of the UEs covered by the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0211] In one example, the UEs covered by the second information are divided into 8 groups, and the second information can indicate that one group, two groups, or more groups of UEs among them monitor the paging PDCCH. For the second information indicating that one group of UEs monitors the paging PDCCH, there are status values of the second information used to indicate which specific group is paged by the PDCCH; for the second information indicating that two groups of UEs (a combination of two groups) monitor the paging PDCCH, there are status values of the second information used to indicate which specific two groups (a combination of two groups) monitor the paging PDCCH; for the second information indicating that three groups of UEs (a combination of three groups) monitor the paging PDCCH, there are The status value of the second piece of information is used to indicate which specific three groups (combinations of three groups) listen for the paging PDCCH; for the UE that the second piece of information indicates listens for the paging PDCCH among four groups (combinations of four groups) or more than four groups, since the probability that four or more groups out of eight groups are paged simultaneously is relatively low, only 1 status value of the second piece of information is needed to represent this situation. Therefore, in this example, the second piece of information includes 94 statuses, and the correspondence between the status value of the second piece of information and the UE group, or the correspondence between the status value of the second piece of information and the index of the UE group is shown in Table 1 below:

[0212] Table 1

[0213]

[0214] When the second piece of information indicates the 94th status, it can also be understood that the second piece of information is used to indicate that all UEs covered by the second piece of information should listen for the paging PDCCH.

[0215] According to the above joint coding indication, if the second piece of information is carried by the PDCCH, the number of bits required can be calculated as: However, if each bit corresponds to a UE group respectively, 8 bits are required. It can be seen that the joint coding indication can save the signaling overhead of the network device.

[0216] When the UE does not detect the second piece of information, the behavior of the UE can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For the case of network device configuration, if the network device does not configure the behavior when the UE does not detect the second piece of information, a default behavior can be specified by the protocol.

[0217] For example, not detecting the second piece of information can mean that in the current paging cycle, the UEs covered by the second piece of information do not need to listen for the paging PDCCH. In this way, when none of the UEs covered by the second piece of information are paged, the network device can choose not to send the second piece of information to save network device resources and energy consumption.

[0218] For example, not detecting the second piece of information can mean that the UE listens for the paging PDCCH at the PO it is preconfigured with.

[0219] The above describes the indication of the second piece of information. The following details how the first UE determines the first PO based on the first piece of information:

[0220] In one implementation, assume that the above-mentioned first UE and second UE belong to the same UE group or different UE groups among at least two groups of UEs. Each group of UEs in the at least two groups of UEs corresponds to a configured PO, and different UE groups correspond to different configured POs. Then, in the current paging cycle of the first UE and / or the second UE, the first PO / second PO is one of the POs configured for the at least two groups of UEs. For example, the first UE belongs to the first group of UEs, the second UE belongs to the second group of UEs, the first group of UEs is configured with a first configured PO, and the second group of UEs is configured with a second configured PO. Then the first PO can be the first configured PO, and the second PO can also be the first configured PO.

[0221] In each paging cycle, the first information covers the POs configured for the at least two groups of UEs. Specifically, in the current paging cycle, when the first information is in the first state, among the UEs covered by the first information, the UEs instructed to monitor the paging PDCCH monitor the paging PDCCH on a specific PO among the configured POs covered by the first information.

[0222] When the first information is in the second state, among the UEs covered by the first information, the UEs instructed to monitor the paging PDCCH monitor the paging PDCCH on their respective configured POs.

[0223] Among them, the specific PO can be predefined by the protocol, or configured by the network device, or dynamically indicated by the first information.

[0224] For example, it is predefined that the specific PO is the first one among the configured POs covered by the first information. For another example, it is predefined that the specific PO is the last one or the second one among the configured POs covered by the first information.

[0225] For the case where the network device configures the specific PO, for example, the network device can configure the specific PO as the first one or the Nth one among the configured POs covered by the first information.

[0226] A default specific PO can also be defined. When the network device does not configure which configured PO the specific PO is, the specific PO is the default specific PO.

[0227] The first information can also dynamically indicate the specific PO. For example, if the first information covers 4 configured POs, the first information is carried by 2 or 3 bits, and the 2 or 3 bits are used to indicate which one of the 4 configured POs the specific PO is.

[0228] In yet another implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first PO / second PO is any one of the POs configured for the at least two groups of UEs. For example, as Figure 8 in, the first PO / second PO can be any one of the first configured PO and the second configured PO.

[0229] Exemplarily, in the current paging cycle, if the second information covers the configured PO1 to PO4, the second information indicates that the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH, and the first information is used to indicate that the first PO is any one of the 4 configured POs, then the format of the first information can be as shown in Table 2 below:

[0230] Table 2

[0231]

[0232] In another implementation, in a paging cycle, the first information is used to indicate that the first PO is any one of the POs before the first configured PO among the first configured PO and the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs, and the first information covers the POs configured for the at least two groups of UEs.

[0233] Exemplarily, the first information and the second information are carried by the same message. In the current paging cycle, if the second information covers the configured PO1 to PO4, there are 4 UE groups, the first UE is in the first UE group, the second UE is in the second UE group, the third UE is in the third UE group, and the fourth UE is in the fourth UE group. The second information indicates that the first UE to the fourth UE monitor the paging PDCCH. For the first UE, since the second information indicates that the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH, the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the first configured PO. For the second UE, the first information is used to indicate that the second PO is any one of the POs before the second configured PO among the second configured PO and the 4 configured POs (PO1 to PO4). At this time, 1 bit is required for indication. For the third UE, the first information is used to indicate that the third PO is any one of the POs before the third configured PO among the third configured PO and the 4 configured POs (PO1 to PO4). At this time, 2 bits are required for indication. For the fourth UE, the first information is used to indicate that the fourth PO is any one of the POs before the fourth configured PO among the fourth configured PO and the 4 configured POs (PO1 to PO4). At this time, 2 bits are required for indication. Then the format of the first information can be as shown in Table 3 below:

[0234] Table 3

[0235]

[0236] It can be seen that for the first UE group, the first information does not need to contain any bits. If the UEs in the first UE group are indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH, then they monitor the paging PDCCH in the first configured PO. Through this implementation method, the signaling overhead of the first information can be saved.

[0237] In the above implementation, the first information is located before the first PO among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first PO among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs. The second information is located before the first PO among the at least two configured POs, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first PO among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs. For example, the second information covers 4 configured POs (PO1 to PO4), UEs 1 to 10 (the first group of UEs) are configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO1, UEs 11 to 20 (the second group of UEs) are configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO2, and so on. Here, it is assumed that the second information instructs the first UE (e.g., UE1) and the second UE (e.g., UE11) to monitor the PDCCH. The first UE and the second UE belong to the first group of UEs and the second group of UEs respectively. The first information is located before PO1, or at the same time-domain resource position as PO1; the second information is also located before PO1, or at the same time-domain resource position as PO1.

[0238] In one implementation, the first UE and the second UE belong to different UE groups among at least two groups of UEs, and the first PO and the second PO are the same PO. That is, the first UE and the second UE monitor the paging PDCCH on the same PO. The first PO and the second PO can be one of the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs. In this way, UEs configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on different configured POs can be made to monitor the paging PDCCH on the same PO, which can save the resources and energy consumption of the network device.

[0239] In yet another implementation, in the current paging cycle, the first UE and the second UE can belong to the same UE group among at least two groups of UEs, and the first PO and the second PO are different POs. That is, the first UE and the second UE monitor the paging PDCCH on different POs. For example, the first PO can be the first configured PO, and the second PO can be the second configured PO. Of course, the first PO / second PO can also be other POs. In this way, the network device can utilize time-frequency resources more efficiently and reduce the overhead of the paging PDCCH and PDSCH. And when the load is high, that is, when the number of UEs paged simultaneously is large, paging resources can be dynamically allocated to UEs, which can avoid UEs not being paged in the current paging cycle and having to wait until a subsequent (e.g., the next) paging cycle to be paged, and can reduce the latency of UEs.

[0240] In another implementation, it is assumed that the above-mentioned first UE and second UE belong to at least two groups of UEs. Among them, in one paging cycle, each group of UEs in at least two groups of UEs corresponds to a configured PO. In the current paging cycle, when the first information is the first status value, the first PO is a specified PO among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs. For example, the second information covers 4 configured POs (PO1 to PO4), and UE1 to UE10 (the first group of UEs) are configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO1, UE11 to UE20 (the second group of UEs) are configured to monitor the paging PDCCH on PO2, and so on. The specified PO can be any one of PO1 to PO4.

[0241] Optionally, the second PO can also be the specified PO, or it can be other specified POs.

[0242] If the second information indicates that a certain UE among the UEs covered by the second information monitors the paging PDCCH, then this UE monitors the paging PDCCH on the specified PO.

[0243] Among them, the specification of the above-mentioned first PO can be stipulated by the protocol, or configured by a higher layer, or indicated dynamically. For example, the protocol can stipulate that the first PO is the first PO among at least one configured PO covered by the second information. For another example, the network device can configure the first PO as the nth PO among at least one configured PO covered by the second information through higher layer signaling (such as a system message). The network device can also indicate the first PO dynamically. For example, the first information or the second information can also be used to indicate that the first PO is the nth PO among at least one configured PO covered by the second information / first information. In other words, the first PO is a PO indicated by the first information or the second information from the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs.

[0244] When the second information is the second status value, the first PO can be the first configured PO. Then the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH on the first configured PO according to the existing mechanism.

[0245] When the second information indicates that there is no paging information (that is, there is no paging information on the configured PO covered by the second information), obviously, at least two groups of UEs do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH and can return to the sleep state to save power consumption.

[0246] It can be understood that the above is only an example of the first UE and the second UE. The first information can be used to indicate the PO on which the UEs in a UE group or a UE subgroup listen for the paging PDCCH. For example, the first information includes multiple information fields, each information field includes one or more bits, and each information field corresponds to a UE group or a UE subgroup. If the second information indicates that a UE group or a UE subgroup listens for the paging PDCCH, then the UEs in that UE group or UE subgroup listen for the paging PDCCH on the PO indicated or determined by the information field corresponding to that UE group or UE subgroup in the first information.

[0247] In yet another implementation, in a paging cycle, the first information covers the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs, and the first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of POs with paging information among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs is P, where P is greater than or equal to 0, or P is greater than or equal to 1. For example, in the current paging cycle, the first information covers M configured POs, and this first information can dynamically indicate that actually only P POs have paging information, where P is less than or equal to M. For example, P = 1 means that at least two groups of UEs are configured with M POs, but the network device only sends paging information on one of the POs. The UEs in that at least two groups of UEs that are indicated to listen for the paging PDCCH listen for the paging PDCCH on one of the POs. For example, P can also take the value of 0, indicating that at least two groups of UEs do not need to listen for the paging PDCCH.

[0248] It can be understood that when the network device indicates that there is paging information on a PO, it means that the network device sends a paging PDCCH or a paging DCI on that PO, or it means that the network device sends a paging PDCCH on that PO and the paging PDCCH schedules a paging PDSCH.

[0249] Among them, the specific positions of the P POs can be indicated by the first information, or configured by higher-layer signaling, or predefined by the protocol. For example, in the current paging cycle, the protocol predefines that the P POs are the first P POs among the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs. For another example, when the first information indicates that there are P POs with paging information, the network device can pre-configure the relative positions of the P POs among these M POs through higher-layer signaling.

[0250] Among them, the value range of P can be: [1, 2, 3, …, M], a total of M values, where M is the number of configured POs covered by the first information in a paging cycle.

[0251] Alternatively, the value range of P is a value range composed of Q (Q < M) natural numbers selected from 0 to M natural numbers. That is, the value range is: [0, 1, 2, 3, …, Q], a total of Q values, where Q < M. For example, Q = 3.

[0252] For another example, the value range is: [1, M], with a total of 2 values.

[0253] After the first UE receives the above second information and the first information, specifically, how does it determine on which PO to monitor the paging PDCCH? Specifically, in the current paging cycle, if the second information indicates that the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH, this first PO is the (x + 1)-th PO among the P POs with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of the following at least one parameter: the identification number of the first UE (UE1_ID) and the value of P.

[0254] When P = 1, obviously, the UEs in at least two groups that are instructed to monitor the PDCCH all monitor the PDCCH on this one PO with paging information that is indicated or determined.

[0255] When 1 < P < M, how is the PO on which the UEs in at least two groups that are instructed to monitor the PDCCH actually monitor the PDCCH distributed among the P POs?

[0256] As an implementation manner, the first UE calculates which specific PO among the P POs to monitor according to UE1_ID and the parameter P.

[0257] For example, the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH on the (x + 1)-th PO among the P POs, and the calculation formula for x is as follows formula 3 or formula 4:

[0258] x = floor(UE_ID / N) mod P,...... formula 3

[0259] Or,

[0260] x = UE_ID mod P...... formula 4

[0261] In another implementation, the first information is used to indicate the number Ns of POs in the paging frame where the POs configured for at least two groups of UEs are located. That is, Ns can be dynamically changed through the first information. When the Ns pre-configured by the network device is greater than 1, for example, Ns = 2 or Ns = 4, this implementation manner can dynamically reduce the number of POs, and can save the resources and energy consumption of the network device.

[0262] Specifically, in the current paging cycle, if the first information indicates that the number of POs in the paging frame where the covered POs are located is Ns, it means that the network device sends the paging PDCCH on the first Ns configured POs in the paging frame where the POs covered by the first information are located, or it means that the network device may send the paging PDCCH on the first Ns configured POs in the paging frame where the POs covered by the first information are located.

[0263] In a specific implementation of this implementation, the number Ns of POs in the paging frames configured for at least two groups of UEs is indicated by the first information, and the above-mentioned P value can also be indirectly determined. For example, in the current paging cycle, if the first information covers Z paging frames and the Ns value dynamically indicated by the first information is denoted as Ns_new, then P = Z * Ns_new can be determined.

[0264] Then, the UEs instructed to monitor the paging PDCCH can use the above formulas 3 and 4 to monitor the paging PDCCH in the (x + 1)-th PO among the P POs with paging information.

[0265] In another specific implementation of this implementation, in the current paging cycle, if the first information covers Z paging frames, the Ns value dynamically indicated by the first information is denoted as Ns_new, and the Ns pre-configured by the network device is denoted as Ns_old. For the first UE among at least two groups of UEs covered by the first information, if the first UE is pre-configured to monitor the paging PDCCH in one of the Ns_old configured POs in the q-th paging frame among the Z paging frames covered by the first information, and if the first UE is instructed by the second information to monitor the paging PDCCH, then the first UE monitors the paging PDCCH in one of the first Ns_new paging frames in the q-th paging frame among the Z paging frames covered by the first information. Specifically, the first UE can determine which configured PO to monitor according to the above formulas 1 and 2.

[0266] In another implementation, in a paging cycle, the first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each PO configured for at least two groups of UEs. For example, each PO covered by the first information corresponds to 1 bit in the first information. When this bit corresponds to the first state value, it indicates that there is a paging PDCCH on this PO; when this bit corresponds to the second state value, it indicates that there is no paging PDCCH on this PO.

[0267] Obviously, in the current paging cycle, the number P of POs with paging information among the configured POs covered by the first information is equal to the number of bits set to the first state value in the first information. For example, in the current paging cycle, the first information covers 4 configured POs, the first information has 4 bits, corresponding to these 4 configured POs respectively. Among them, 2 bits are set to the first state value, and the other 2 bits are set to the second state value, then P = 2.

[0268] In the current paging cycle, after determining the P value, the UEs among the UEs covered by the first information that are instructed to monitor the paging PDCCH can determine which one of the P POs with paging information to monitor according to the above method. For example, it is determined according to formula 3 or formula 4.

[0269] In another implementation, the second corresponding relationship can also be pre-configured by high-layer signaling or pre-defined by the protocol. The second corresponding relationship includes the corresponding relationship between the status value of the first information and one or a combination of multiple POs among at least two groups of POs configured for the UE, or the corresponding relationship between the status value of the first information and the index corresponding to one or a combination of multiple POs among at least two groups of POs configured for the UE. Then, the first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the PO or the combination of POs that has the second corresponding relationship with the status value of the first information.

[0270] Exemplarily, if the second information covers 4 configured POs, the above second corresponding relationship can be as shown in Table 4 below:

[0271] Status Value of the First Information One or a combination of multiple POs in at least two groups of POs configured for the UE 00 PO1 01 PO1, PO2 10 PO1, PO2, PO3 11 PO1, PO2, PO3, PO4

[0272] In the current paging cycle, through the indication of the first information and Table 4, the above-mentioned P value can be determined, and it can be determined on which specific configured POs there is paging information.

[0273] Then, among the UEs covered by the first information that are indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH, the UEs can determine on which one of the P POs with paging information to monitor the paging PDCCH according to the above method. For example, it is determined according to Formula 3 or Formula 4.

[0274] In another implementation, in a paging cycle, the first information is used to indicate the number P of POs with paging information among the M configured POs covered by the first information. For example, the first information can indicate that P = 1 or 2 or M. Additionally, through pre-configuration by high-layer signaling or pre-definition by the protocol, the Nth PO among the P POs with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with one or a combination of multiple POs among at least two groups of POs configured for the UE, or the Nth PO among the P POs with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with the index corresponding to one or a combination of multiple POs among at least two groups of POs configured for the UE.

[0275] In the current paging cycle, if a UE is indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH, the UE monitors the paging PDCCH on the configured PO with paging information that has a third corresponding relationship with the PO configured for the UE.

[0276] Exemplarily, assuming that the first information covers 4 POs, that is, M = 4, the above third corresponding relationship can be as shown in Tables 5 - 8 below: Table 5

[0277]

[0278] Table 6

[0279]

[0280] Table 7

[0281]

[0282]

[0283] Table 8

[0284]

[0285] Table 8 indicates that if the first information indicates P = 4 and the second information indicates that the UE monitors the paging PDCCH, then the first information is used to indicate that the UE monitors the paging PDCCH in the PO configured for itself. It can be understood that the third correspondence may not include Table 8. In addition, if the value range of P does not include 3, then the third correspondence also does not include Table 7.

[0286] Exemplarily, the value range of P is 1 or 2. For example, the first information is 1 bit or 2 bits. If the first information indicates P = 2, according to Table 6, in the current paging cycle, among the UEs configured to monitor the paging PDCCH in PO1 and PO2, the UE indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH monitors the paging PDCCH in the first of the P POs with paging information, and among the UEs configured to monitor the paging PDCCH in PO3 and PO4, the UE indicated to monitor the paging PDCCH monitors the paging PDCCH in the second of the P POs with paging information.

[0287] It can be understood that if the first information and the second information are in different fields of the same message, and the second information indicates that a UE group or a UE subgroup does not need to monitor the paging PDCCH, then the information field in the first information corresponding to the UE group or UE subgroup indicated by the second information not to monitor the paging PDCCH can be set to a specific state, or reserved for future new functions, or used to indicate other functions.

[0288] If the second information indicates that a UE group or a UE subgroup monitors the paging PDCCH, then the information field in the first information corresponding to the UE group or UE subgroup indicated by the second information to monitor the paging PDCCH is used to indicate or determine the paging occasion when the UE group or UE subgroup actually monitors the paging PDCCH.

[0289] The following embodiments describe the specific implementation where there is no second information.

[0290] For example, the protocol only defines the first information. Or the network device only configures the first information. In this case, the network device does not send the second information, and the UE does not monitor the second information.

[0291] In one implementation, when the first information is set to the first status value, it indicates that in the current paging cycle, all UEs covered by the first information do not monitor the paging PDCCH.

[0292] When the first information is set to the second status value, it indicates that in the current paging cycle, all UEs covered by the first information monitor the paging PDCCH at a specific PO. The specific PO is as described before and will not be elaborated here. For example, the specific PO is the first one among the configured POs covered by the first information.

[0293] When the first information is set to the third status value, it indicates that in the current paging cycle, all UEs covered by the first information monitor the paging PDCCH at their respective configured POs.

[0294] In yet another implementation, higher-layer signaling is pre-configured, or the protocol pre-defines a fourth correspondence. The y-th status value of the first information has a fourth correspondence with one or more UE groups or one or more UE subgroups among at least two sets of terminal devices covered by the first information, and, in each paging cycle, the y-th status value of the first information has a fourth correspondence with one or more POs among the configured POs covered by the first information.

[0295] When the first information indicates the y-th status value, it means that the UEs having a fourth correspondence with the y-th status value of the first information monitor the paging PDCCH on the PO having a fourth correspondence with the y-th status value of the first information. If the y-th status value of the first information has a fourth correspondence with P POs (P is greater than or equal to 2) among the configured POs covered by the first information, the UE can determine which one of these P POs to actually monitor the PDCCH according to the method described above. The specific method is as described above and will not be elaborated here. For example, it is determined according to Formula 3 or Formula 4.

[0296] When the UE does not detect the first information, the behavior of the UE can be pre-defined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For the case of network device configuration, if the network device does not configure the behavior when the UE does not detect the first information, the protocol can stipulate a default behavior.

[0297] For example, not detecting the first information can mean that in the current paging cycle, the UEs covered by the first information do not need to monitor the paging PDCCH. In this way, when none of the UEs covered by the first information are paged, the network device can choose not to send the first information to save network device resources and energy consumption.

[0298] For example, not detecting the first information can mean that the UE monitors the paging PDCCH at its pre-configured PO.

[0299] In addition, if a system has both traditional UEs and the UEs involved in this application. If there are traditional UEs and the UEs involved in this application listening for paging PDCCH on the same PO, and there is a traditional UE being paged by the PDCCH on this PO, then the network device needs to send the paging PDCCH on this PO. That is to say, even if the first information indicates that the UEs involved in this application can change to other POs to listen for paging PDCCH, the network device cannot cancel the sending of the paging PDCCH and PDSCH on this PO.

[0300] To solve this problem, for the UEs involved in this application, the mechanism of the POs they are configured with can be different from that of traditional UEs. That is to say, the configuration method of the PO resources configured for the UEs involved in this application is different from that of the PO resources configured for traditional UEs, or rather, the configuration signaling is different. That is, a group of PO resources are configured for traditional UEs, and a new group of PO resources are configured separately for the UEs involved in this application (for example, new configuration parameters are added, or different configuration information elements (IEs) are used). The PO resources involved in this application can include the PO resources configured for traditional UEs, or there is partial overlap between the PO resources involved in this application and the PO resources configured for traditional UEs, or the PO resources involved in this application and the PO resources configured for traditional UEs do not overlap at all. That is:

[0301] The network device sends the first configuration information to the traditional UEs, and the first configuration information includes the configuration information of at least one of the following parameters: paging cycle, total number of paging frames in each paging cycle, number of paging occasions in each paging frame, etc.;

[0302] The network device sends the second configuration information to the UEs involved in this application, and the second configuration information includes the configuration information of at least one of the following parameters: paging cycle, total number of paging frames in each paging cycle, number of paging occasions in each paging frame, etc.

[0303] For example, for traditional UEs, the network device configures 2 POs within 20 ms, and for the UEs involved in this application, the network device configures 8 POs within 20 ms.

[0304] In one implementation, the first information can indicate whether the UEs involved in this application will fallback to listen for paging PDCCH on the PO resources of traditional UEs. For example, the UEs involved in this application determine a group of configured POs according to the first configuration information, and determine another group of configured POs according to the second configuration information. In the current paging cycle, according to the indication of the first information, the UE can determine whether to listen for paging PDCCH on the PO resources configured by the first configuration information or on the PO resources configured by the second configuration information.

[0305] In yet another implementation, the UE involved in the present application determines a set of configured POs only according to the second configuration information. The functions of the first information and / or the second information are as described in the previous embodiments and will not be elaborated here. The first configuration information is invalid for the UE involved in the present application.

[0306] It can be understood that if there is a traditional UE being paged at the PO position of a traditional UE, then the overhead of paging PDCCH and PDSCH cannot be saved at that PO. Therefore, the first information indicates that at least two sets of POs for the UE to monitor the paging PDCCH should at least include the PO where the traditional UE is paged.

[0307] It can be understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) available for the terminal device; the methods and / or steps implemented by the network device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) available for the network device.

[0308] The above mainly introduces the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between each network element. Correspondingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, which is used to implement the above various methods. The communication device can be the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component available for the terminal device; or, the communication device can be the network device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above network device, or a component available for the network device. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, the communication device includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0309] The embodiments of the present application can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0310] Based on the same concept as the above paging information monitoring method, as Figure 10 shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 400, and the communication device 400 includes a transceiver unit 41 and a processing unit 42; where:

[0311] The transceiver unit 41 is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used for the first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for monitoring a physical downlink control channel PDCCH in a current paging cycle, the first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position the same as the first configured paging occasion, and the first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by a network device for the first terminal device to monitor a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle; and the processing unit 42 is configured to monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0312] Optionally, the transceiver unit 41 is further configured to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at a time domain resource position the same as the first configured paging occasion; and the processing unit 42 is configured to, if the second information indicates that the first terminal device monitors the paging PDCCH, monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

[0313] For the specific implementation of the above transceiver unit 41 and processing unit 42, reference may be made to Figure 5 the relevant description of the first terminal device in the shown embodiment.

[0314] According to a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application, the network device can dynamically determine the resource for the communication device to monitor the paging PDCCH according to the actual situation, and the communication device can monitor the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion according to the dynamic indication of the network device, so as to accurately monitor the paging PDCCH.

[0315] Based on the same concept as the above paging information sending method, as Figure 11 shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 500, and the communication device 500 includes a transceiver unit 51; where:

[0316] The transceiver unit 51 is configured to send a first piece of information for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to a paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle. The first piece of information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. Further, the transceiver unit 51 is configured to send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

[0317] Optionally, the transceiver unit 51 is further configured to send a second piece of information for indicating whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second piece of information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. Further, the transceiver unit 51 is configured to send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion if the second piece of information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH.

[0318] Optionally, the first piece of information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first piece of information is located before a second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The transceiver unit 51 is further configured to send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

[0319] Optionally, the second piece of information is further used for indicating whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second piece of information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The transceiver unit 51 is configured to send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion if the second piece of information indicates that the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH.

[0320] For the specific implementation of the above transceiver unit 51, reference may be made to Figure 5 the relevant description of the network device in the embodiments shown.

[0321] A communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application can dynamically determine the resources for the terminal device to monitor the paging PDCCH according to the actual situation, improving the resource utilization rate; and with the help of the PEI indication, the resource overhead of sending the paging PDCCH and the paging PDSCH by the communication device can be reduced, indirectly reducing the overhead of the network device for sending the PEI.

[0322] Figure 12 FIG. shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a simplified terminal device. For ease of understanding and convenient illustration, Figure 12 in which the terminal device takes a mobile phone as an example. As Figure 12 shown, the terminal device includes a processor, and may also include a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input / output device. Among them, the processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and can also be used to control the terminal device, execute software programs, process data of software programs, etc. The terminal device may also include a memory, which is mainly used to store software programs and data. These related programs can be loaded into the memory when the communication device leaves the factory, or can be loaded into the memory when needed later. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of terminal devices may not have an input / output device.

[0323] When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and then outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Figure 12 only one memory and one processor are shown in FIG. In an actual terminal device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0324] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the receiving unit and the sending unit of the terminal device (which can also be collectively referred to as the transceiver unit), and the processor with processing functions can be regarded as the processing unit of the terminal device. As Figure 12As shown in the figure, the terminal device includes a receiving unit 61, a processing unit 62, and a transmitting unit 63. The receiving unit 61 may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver unit, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit 63 may also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter unit, a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc. The processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc.

[0325] For example, in one embodiment, the receiving unit 61 is used to perform Figure 5 the actions of the first terminal device in steps S101, S102, and S103 in the embodiment shown; and the processing unit 62 is used to perform Figure 5 the action of the first terminal device listening for the paging PDCCH in step S103 in the embodiment shown.

[0326] Figure 13 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a simplified network device. The network device includes a radio frequency signal transceiver and conversion part and a 72 part. The radio frequency signal transceiver and conversion part further includes a receiving unit 71 part and a transmitting unit 73 part (which may also be collectively referred to as a transceiver unit). The radio frequency signal transceiver and conversion part is mainly used for the transceiver of radio frequency signals and the conversion between radio frequency signals and baseband signals; the 72 part is mainly used for baseband processing and controlling the network device, etc. The receiving unit 71 may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver unit, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit 73 may also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter unit, a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc. The 72 part is usually the control center of the network device and may usually be referred to as a processing unit, which is used to control the network device to perform the above Figure 5 steps regarding the network device. For specific details, please refer to the description in the relevant part above.

[0327] The 72 part may include one or more single boards. Each single board may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processors are used to read and execute programs in the memories to implement baseband processing functions and control of the network device. If there are multiple single boards, the single boards can be interconnected to increase processing capabilities. As an alternative embodiment, it may also be that multiple single boards share one or more processors, or multiple single boards share one or more memories, or multiple single boards simultaneously share one or more processors.

[0328] For example, in one embodiment, the transmitting unit 73 is used to perform Figure 5 the actions performed by the network device in steps S101 - S104 in the embodiment shown.

[0329] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. Instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When they run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the above method.

[0330] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product including instructions. When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the above method.

[0331] It should be noted that one or more of the above units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. When any of the above units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in the memory. The processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into a system on chip (SoC) or ASIC, or can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core for executing software instructions for arithmetic or processing within the processor, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a logic circuit for implementing dedicated logic operations.

[0332] When any of the above units is implemented by hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, an SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator, or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or execute the above method flow without relying on software.

[0333] Optionally, the embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system, including: at least one processor and an interface. The at least one processor is coupled to the memory through the interface. When the at least one processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory, the method in any of the above method embodiments is executed. Optionally, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0334] It should be understood that in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B; where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "a plurality of" means two or more than two. "At least one (item)" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Additionally, for the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit to being different. At the same time, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner for easy understanding.

[0335] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more media integrated therein. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0336] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with various embodiments herein, however, in the process of implementing the claimed present application, those skilled in the art can understand and realize other variations of the disclosed embodiments by viewing the accompanying drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions recited in the claims. Certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0337] Although the present application has been described in connection with specific features and their embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, the present specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A paging information monitoring method, characterized in that, The method includes: The first terminal device receives first information, which is used for the first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the current paging cycle. The first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. The first paging occasion is different from the first configured paging occasion. The first paging occasion is one of the paging occasions configured for at least two groups of terminal devices. Each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices corresponds to a group of configured paging occasions. The configured paging occasions corresponding to the at least two groups of terminal devices include the first configured paging occasion, and one of the configured paging occasions is different from the first configured paging occasion. The first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first terminal device receives second information, which is used to indicate whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first terminal device listening to the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion includes: If the second information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first information is located before a second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to different terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion is the same as the paging time configured for the second terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same terminal device group among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are different paging occasions.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that, The second information is used to indicate whether the at least two groups of terminal devices monitor the paging PDCCH, or The second information is used to indicate whether each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices monitors the paging PDCCH, or The at least two groups of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the second information is used to indicate whether each terminal device subgroup in the at least three terminal device subgroups monitors the paging PDCCH.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that The status value of the second information has a first correspondence relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the status value of the second information has a first correspondence relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices. The first correspondence relationship is predefined or configured by higher layer signaling, or The at least two groups of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the status value of the second information has a first correspondence relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, or the status value of the second information has a first correspondence relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups. The first correspondence relationship is predefined or configured by higher layer signaling; The second information is used to indicate that the terminal device group or terminal device subgroup having the first correspondence relationship with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of paging occasions with paging information among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices is P, and P is greater than or equal to 0.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The P paging occasions with paging information are the first P paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the number of paging occasions in the paging frame PF where the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices are located.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The status value of the first information has a second correspondence relationship with a combination of one or more paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the status value of the first information has a second correspondence relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices. The second correspondence relationship is predefined or configured by higher layer signaling; The first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the paging occasion or the combination of paging occasions having the second correspondence relationship with the status value of the first information.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first paging occasion is the (x + 1)-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of the following parameters: the identification number of the first terminal device and the value of P.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein The N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with the index corresponding to one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the third corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling; The first paging occasion is a paging occasion with paging information that has the third corresponding relationship with the first configured paging occasion.

18. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that, The first information and / or the second information is downlink control information or a reference signal sequence.

19. A paging information sending method, characterized in that, The method includes: The network device sends first information, which is used for the first terminal device to determine the first paging occasion for listening to the paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the current paging cycle. The first information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is the paging occasion configured by the network device for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. The first paging occasion is different from the first configured paging occasion, and the first paging occasion is one of the paging occasions configured for at least two groups of terminal devices. Each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices corresponds to a group of configured paging occasions. The configured paging occasions corresponding to the at least two groups of terminal devices include the first configured paging occasion, and one of the configured paging occasions is different from the first configured paging occasion; The network device sends a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: The network device sends second information, which is used to indicate whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; The network device sending a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion includes: If the second information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The first information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein The second information is located before the first paging occasion among the at least two sets of configured paging occasions of the terminal devices, or is located at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the at least two sets of configured paging occasions of the terminal devices.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein the first information is further used for the second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device, the first information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion, and the second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device; The method further includes: The network device sends a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein The second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, and the second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion; The network device sending a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion includes: If the second information indicates that the second terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, the network device sends a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to different terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion is the same as the configured paging time of the second terminal device.

26. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same terminal device group among the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are different paging occasions.

27. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, characterized in that, The second information is used to indicate whether the at least two sets of terminal devices listen to the paging PDCCH, or The second information is used to indicate whether each set of terminal devices among the at least two sets of terminal devices listens to the paging PDCCH, or The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the second information is used to indicate whether each terminal device subgroup among the at least three terminal device subgroups listens to the paging PDCCH.

28. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, characterized in that The status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices, or the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a high-layer signaling, or The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and there is a first correspondence between the status value of the second information and one terminal device subgroup or a combination of multiple terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, or there is a first correspondence between the status value of the second information and an index corresponding to one terminal device subgroup or a combination of multiple terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, and the first correspondence is predefined or configured by a high-layer signaling; The second information is used to indicate that the terminal device group or terminal device subgroup having the first correspondence with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

29. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of paging occasions with paging information among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices is P, and P is greater than or equal to 0.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The P paging occasions with paging information are the first P paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

31. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the number of paging occasions in a paging frame PF where the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices are located.

32. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

33. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that There is a second correspondence between the status value of the first information and one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, or there is a second correspondence between the status value of the first information and an index corresponding to one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the second correspondence is predefined or configured by a high-layer signaling; The first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the paging occasion or the combination of paging occasions having the second correspondence with the status value of the first information.

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein The first paging occasion is the (x + 1)-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of at least the following parameters: the identification number of the first terminal device and the value of P.

35. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, There is a third correspondence between the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information and one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, or there is a third correspondence between the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information and an index corresponding to one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the third correspondence is predefined or configured by a high-layer signaling; The first paging occasion is a paging occasion with paging information having the third correspondence with the first configured paging occasion.

36. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, characterized in that, The first information and / or the second information is a downlink control information or a reference signal sequence.

37. A communication device is applied to a first terminal device, characterized in that, Including: A transceiver unit, configured to receive first information, where the first information is used for the device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle. The first information is located before a first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by a network device for the device to listen to a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. The first paging occasion is different from the first configured paging occasion, and the first paging occasion is one of the paging occasions configured for at least two groups of terminal devices. Each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices corresponds to a group of configured paging occasions. The configured paging occasions corresponding to the at least two groups of terminal devices include the first configured paging occasion, and one of the configured paging occasions is different from the first configured paging occasion; A processing unit, configured to listen to a paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

38. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate whether the device listens to a paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; The processing unit is configured to, if the second information indicates that a first terminal device listens to a paging PDCCH, listen to the paging PDCCH at the first paging occasion.

39. The device according to claim 38, characterized in that, The first information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

40. The device according to claim 38, characterized in that, The second information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

41. The device according to claim 38, wherein, The first information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to a paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first information is located before a second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion. The second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the network device for the second terminal device to listen to a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device.

42. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to a paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion.

43. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to different terminal device groups among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion is the same as the paging time configured for the second terminal device.

44. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same terminal device group among the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are different paging occasions.

45. The device according to any one of claims 38 to 44, characterized in that, The second information is used to indicate whether the at least two sets of terminal devices monitor the paging PDCCH, or, The second information is used to indicate whether each set of terminal devices in the at least two sets of terminal devices monitors the paging PDCCH, or, The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the second information is used to indicate whether each terminal device subgroup in the at least three terminal device subgroups monitors the paging PDCCH.

46. The device according to any one of claims 38 to 44, characterized in that, The status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device groups in the at least two sets of terminal devices, or the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device groups in the at least two sets of terminal devices. The first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher layer signaling, or, The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups in the at least three terminal device subgroups, or the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups in the at least three terminal device subgroups. The first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher layer signaling; The second information is used to indicate that the terminal device group or terminal device subgroup having the first corresponding relationship with the status value of the second information monitors the paging PDCCH.

47. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 44, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of paging occasions with paging information among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices is P, where P is greater than or equal to 0.

48. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that, The P paging occasions with paging information are the first P paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

49. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 44, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate the number of paging occasions in a paging frame PF where the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices are located.

50. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 44, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices.

51. The device according to any one of claims 37 to 44, characterized in that, The status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices, or the status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two sets of terminal devices. The second corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher layer signaling; The first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the paging occasion or the combination of paging occasions having the second corresponding relationship with the status value of the first information.

52. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that: The first paging occasion is the (x + 1)-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of the following parameters: the identification number of the first terminal device and the value of P.

53. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein The N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the index corresponding to the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with one paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the third corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by higher-layer signaling; The first paging occasion is a paging occasion with paging information that has the third corresponding relationship with the first configured paging occasion.

54. The device according to any one of claims 38 to 44, characterized in that, The first information and / or the second information is / are downlink control information or a reference signal sequence.

55. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: A transceiver unit, configured to send first information, where the first information is used for a first terminal device to determine a first paging occasion for listening to a paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current paging cycle. The first information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion. The first configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the apparatus for the first terminal device to listen to the paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle. The first paging occasion is different from the first configured paging occasion, and the first paging occasion is one of the paging occasions configured for at least two groups of terminal devices. Each group of terminal devices in the at least two groups of terminal devices corresponds to a group of configured paging occasions, and the configured paging occasions corresponding to the at least two groups of terminal devices include the first configured paging occasion, and one of the configured paging occasions is different from the first configured paging occasion; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

56. The device according to claim 55, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send second information, where the second information is used to indicate whether the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, and the second information is located before the first configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the first configured paging occasion; The transceiver unit is further configured to, if the second information indicates that the first terminal device listens to the paging PDCCH, send a paging PDCCH to the first terminal device at the first paging occasion.

57. The device according to claim 56, characterized in that, The first information is located before the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

58. The device according to claim 56, characterized in that, The second information is located before the first paging occasion among the at least two sets of configured paging occasions of the terminal devices, or at the same time-domain resource position as the first paging occasion among the at least two sets of configured paging occasions of the terminal devices.

59. The device according to claim 56, characterized in that, The first information is further used for a second terminal device to determine a second paging occasion for listening to a paging PDCCH in a current paging cycle of the second terminal device. The first information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion, where the second configured paging occasion is a paging occasion configured by the apparatus for the second terminal device to listen to a paging PDCCH in the current paging cycle of the second terminal device; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

60. The device according to claim 59, wherein The second information is further used to indicate whether the second terminal device listens to a paging PDCCH. The second information is located before the second configured paging occasion or at the same time-domain resource position as the second configured paging occasion; The transceiver unit is configured to, if the second information indicates that the second terminal device listens to a paging PDCCH, send a paging PDCCH to the second terminal device at the second paging occasion.

61. The device according to claim 59, characterized in that, The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to different terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion is the same as the paging time configured for the second terminal device. The device according to claim 59, wherein The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same terminal device group among the at least two sets of terminal devices, and the first paging occasion and the second paging occasion are different paging occasions.

63. The device according to any one of claims 56 to 62, characterized in that, The second information is used to indicate whether the at least two sets of terminal devices listen to a paging PDCCH, or, The second information is used to indicate whether each set of terminal devices among the at least two sets of terminal devices listens to a paging PDCCH, or, The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the second information is used to indicate whether each terminal device subgroup among the at least three terminal device subgroups listens to a paging PDCCH.

64. The device according to any one of claims 56 to 62, characterized in that, The status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices, or the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device groups among the at least two sets of terminal devices. The first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher-layer signaling, or, The at least two sets of terminal devices are divided into at least three terminal device subgroups, and the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups, or the status value of the second information has a first corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a combination of one or more terminal device subgroups among the at least three terminal device subgroups. The first corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher-layer signaling; The second information is used to indicate that a terminal device group or a subgroup of terminal devices having the first corresponding relationship with the status value of the second information monitors a paging PDCCH.

65. The device according to any one of claims 55 to 62, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate or determine that the number of paging occasions with paging information among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices is P, where P is greater than or equal to 0.

66. The device according to claim 65, characterized in that, The P paging occasions with paging information are the first P paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

67. The device according to any one of claims 55 to 62, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate the number of paging occasions in a paging frame PF where the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices are located.

68. The device according to any one of claims 55 to 62, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate whether there is paging information on each paging occasion among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices.

69. The apparatus according to any one of claims 55 to 62, characterized in that The status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with a paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the status value of the first information has a second corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the second corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher layer signaling; The first information is used to indicate that there is paging information on the paging occasion or the combination of paging occasions having the second corresponding relationship with the status value of the first information.

70. The apparatus according to claim 65, characterized in that: The first paging occasion is the (x + 1)-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information, where x is greater than or equal to 0, and the value of x is determined by at least one of at least the following parameters: the identification number of the first terminal device and the value of P.

71. The apparatus according to claim 65, characterized in that The N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with a paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, or the N-th paging occasion among the P paging occasions with paging information has a third corresponding relationship with an index corresponding to a paging occasion or a combination of multiple paging occasions among the paging occasions configured for the at least two groups of terminal devices, and the third corresponding relationship is predefined or configured by a higher layer signaling; The first paging occasion is a paging occasion with paging information having the third corresponding relationship with the first configured paging occasion.

72. The device according to any one of claims 56 to 62, characterized in that The first information and / or the second information is a downlink control information or a reference signal sequence.

73. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: A processor, configured to execute a program stored in a memory, and when the program is executed, cause the apparatus to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

74. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: A processor, configured to execute a program stored in a memory, and when the program is executed, cause the apparatus to execute the method according to any one of claims 19 to 36.

75. A communication system, characterized in that, Comprising a communication device according to any one of claims 37 to 53, and a communication device according to any one of claims 55 to 72.

76. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, characterized in that, When run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36 is performed.

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