A paging method, a communication device and a computer readable storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a paging method, a communication device and a computer readable storage medium, and relate to the technical field of communication, which can reduce the power consumption of a terminal device. The paging method comprises: receiving, by a terminal device, first indication information from a network side device, the first indication information indicating that the terminal device remains in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device in an eDRX cycle when an identity of the terminal device is not carried in a paging message received by the terminal device in the eDRX cycle; and when the identity of the terminal device is not carried in the received paging message, the terminal device can remain in the sleep state at the at least one PO associated with the terminal device in the eDRX cycle according to the first indication information. Based on the first indication information issued by the network side device, the terminal device can remain in the sleep state at the at least one associated PO without being paged, and does not need to wake up to receive the paging message, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202111373274.1, filed on November 19, 2021, entitled "A Method for Reducing the Detection of PO", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a paging method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] In some communication mechanisms, discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles are used to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices. Multiple paging occasions (POs) are set within a DRX cycle. The terminal device can wake up in its associated PO to receive paging messages from the network side and determine if downlink data needs to be received. It remains in sleep mode in other POs, thus achieving power reduction. eDRX is an extended DRX, with each eDRX cycle comprising multiple DRX cycles and a paging time window (PTW) set within each eDRX cycle. The terminal device can sleep or receive paging messages according to the DRX cycle within the PTW of the eDRX cycle, further saving power.

[0004] However, currently, within an eDRX cycle, if a network-side device sends a paging message at a Point of Purchase (PO) associated with the terminal device, the terminal device needs to wake up at that PO to receive the paging message. If the paging message does not carry the terminal device's identifier (i.e., the terminal device has not been paged), then the terminal device needs to wake up at its associated PO in the next DRX cycle to continue receiving paging messages until it has listened to every PO associated with it within the PTW. In other words, even if the network-side device does not page the terminal device, the terminal device may need to listen to every PO associated with it within the PTW, resulting in unnecessary power consumption for the terminal device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a paging method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium that can reduce the power consumption of terminal devices.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a paging method applied to a terminal device, the method comprising:

[0008] The terminal device receives a first indication information from the network side device. The first indication information indicates that when the paging message received by the terminal device during the eDRX cycle does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device shall remain in a dormant state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle; when the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device shall remain in a dormant state at at least one PO according to the first indication information.

[0009] The dormant state refers to a state where the user is in an idle or inactive state and is not listening for network paging.

[0010] In this embodiment, based on the first instruction information issued by the network-side device, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one associated PO without waking up to receive the paging message, thus saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0011] Optionally, the eDRX cycle includes K POs associated with the terminal device, the K POs are located in K DRX cycles respectively, K≥1, and K is an integer. Receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes:

[0012] The network-side device receives a first PEI corresponding to the K POs, and the first PEI carries the first indication information.

[0013] Optionally, the first PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send the paging message at the K POs, the at least one PO including the PO located after the first PO among the K POs, or the at least one PO including the PO associated with the terminal device located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle, the first PO being the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the K POs.

[0014] Optionally, the eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, the K POs being located in K DRX cycles respectively, and receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes:

[0015] The paging message is received at the Jth PO among the K POs, and the paging message carries the first indication information; the at least one PO includes the PO located after the Jth PO among the K POs, or the at least one PO includes the PO located after the Jth PO within the eDRX period, K≥1, 1≤J≤K, and K and J are both integers.

[0016] Here, the Jth PO can be the PO in which the terminal device successfully received the paging message. Based on this optional approach, since paging messages are sent periodically, configuring the first indication information in the paging message by the network-side device can increase the reliability of the terminal device receiving the first indication information. In one implementation, terminal devices configured with eDRX and PEI can parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message, while terminal devices without configured eDRX and PEI do not need to parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message after receiving it.

[0017] Optionally, receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes:

[0018] The network-side device receives a first system message, which carries the first indication information.

[0019] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0020] The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle, where n ≥ 2 and n is an integer. The at least one PO includes the PO located after the second PO among the n POs. The second PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the n POs.

[0021] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0022] The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries third indication information. The third indication information indicates that multiple POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group includes p POs, and the network-side device sends the same paging message at each of the p POs in each PO group, where m ≥ 2, p ≥ 2, and m and p are both integers; the at least one PO includes the PO after the third PO in the PO group, and the third PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message in the PO group.

[0023] System messages comprise multiple System Information Blocks (SIBs). In one possible implementation, the first system message and the second system message can be different SIBs. For example, the first system message can be SIB1, and the network-side device can add a cell to SIB1 as first indication information. The second system message can be SIB2, and the network-side device can add a cell to SIB2 to indicate packet indication information (i.e., the aforementioned second or third indication information).

[0024] In another possible implementation, the network-side device can also carry both the first indication information and the packet indication information in a single system message. That is, the first system information and the second system information are the same SIB, with an additional bit added to identify the first indication information and an additional cell added to indicate the packet indication information.

[0025] In another possible implementation, packet indication information can also serve as the first indication information. That is, when the network-side device sends packet indication information to the terminal device through system information, the terminal device can determine the packet status of the PO based on the packet indication information, and at the same time, determine that if the terminal is not paged, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle to save power.

[0026] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the terminal device configured with eDRX is able to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message, while the terminal device without eDRX (e.g., the terminal device with only DRX configured but not eDRX configured, or the terminal device without both DRX and eDRX configured) does not need to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message after receiving the system message.

[0027] Optionally, the eDRX cycle includes q POs associated with the terminal device, the q POs are located in q DRX cycles respectively, q≥1, where q is an integer, and the method further includes:

[0028] The terminal device receives a second PEI from the network-side device. The second PEI carries fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device should reuse the second PEI at the q POs.

[0029] Optionally, if it is determined according to the fourth instruction that the second PEI is reused at the q POs, then at the q POs, the second PEI is kept in a sleep state or a paging state is received.

[0030] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0031] If it is determined according to the fourth instruction that the second PEI is not reused at the q POs, then at the first PO among the q POs, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the second PEI, and receives the third PEI corresponding to each PO after the first PO among the q POs, and at each PO, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the corresponding third PEI.

[0032] Based on the above options, when the network-side device can predict the paging status within q DRX cycles, it can select a second PEI to be reused at q POs based on the paging status. With reuse, the network-side device only needs to send one second PEI at each of the q POs, and the terminal device only needs to receive the second PEI once, thus saving power. When the paging status within q DRX cycles cannot be predicted, the network-side device can choose not to reuse the second PEI, allowing it to flexibly and promptly paging the associated terminal devices at each PO based on sudden traffic surges, thereby reducing paging latency.

[0033] Optionally, if the fourth indication information indicates that the third PEI is not reused, the terminal device may choose not to recognize the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI after receiving the corresponding third PEI in each PO after the first PO. Alternatively, it may continue to recognize the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI and determine whether the third PEI is reused based on the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first PEI and the second PEI are the same PEI, that is, the network-side device carries the first indication information and the fourth indication information in the PEI, in which case K = q.

[0035] Secondly, this application provides a paging method applied to a network-side device, the method comprising:

[0036] Send a first indication message, which indicates that if the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, the terminal device shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0037] In this embodiment of the application, the network-side device instructs the terminal device to remain in a sleep state at at least one associated PO when it is not being paged, without having to wake up to receive a paging message, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0038] In one possible scenario, the network-side equipment configures eDRX cycles and PEIs for the terminal device. The PTW within an eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles, and the PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position within K DRX cycles, where r ≥ K ≥ 1, and K and r are integers. The one or more POs located at the same position within K DRX cycles can be understood as one or more POs with the same sequence number (or index, number) in the paging frames at the same position within K DRX cycles. For a terminal device, since only one PO corresponds to it in a DRX cycle, the PEI received by the terminal corresponds to one of its K POs. That is, when the terminal device receives a PEI, it can determine whether it needs to wake up to receive paging messages at any of the K associated POs based on this PEI.

[0039] Based on this possible scenario, the network-side device can carry the first indication information in the PEI (hereinafter, the PEI carrying the first indication information is referred to as the first PEI) or in the paging message.

[0040] For example, optionally, the eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, the K POs are located in K DRX cycles respectively, K≥1, and K is an integer, and the sending of the first indication information includes:

[0041] Send the first PEI corresponding to the K POs, the first PEI carrying the first indication information.

[0042] Optionally, the first PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send the paging message at the K POs, and the method further includes:

[0043] The paging message is sent at the K POs.

[0044] Based on the above optional methods, for a terminal device, when a network-side device sends a paging message at one of the K POs associated with the terminal device, the terminal device will listen for paging at the K POs based on the indication of the first PEI until it successfully receives the first paging message. When it is detected that the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle according to the first indication information carried in the first PEI.

[0045] Optionally, the at least one PO may include a PO located after the first PO among the K POs, or the at least one PO may include a PO associated with the terminal device located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle, wherein the first PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the K POs.

[0046] Optionally, the eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, the K POs being located in K DRX cycles respectively, and the sending of the first indication information includes:

[0047] A paging message is sent at the K POs, wherein the paging message sent at the Jth PO among the K POs carries the first indication information, where K≥1, 1≤J≤K, and K and J are both integers.

[0048] Based on the aforementioned options, when a network device sends a paging message at K POs, the paging message sent at the Jth PO among the K POs carries first indication information. When a terminal device associated with the K POs successfully receives the paging message at the Jth PO, it can obtain the first indication information from the paging message. If the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device can, according to the first indication information, remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0049] Wherein, at least one PO includes the PO located after the J-th PO among K POs, or, at least one PO includes the PO located after the J-th PO within the eDRX period, 1≤J≤K, and J is an integer.

[0050] Understandably, since paging messages are sent periodically, configuring the first indication information in the paging message by the network-side device can increase the reliability of the terminal device receiving the first indication information.

[0051] In one implementation, terminal devices configured with eDRX and PEI can parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message, while terminal devices without eDRX and PEI do not need to parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message after receiving it.

[0052] Optionally, sending the first indication information includes:

[0053] Send a first system message, which carries the first indication information.

[0054] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0055] Send a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle, where n≥2 and n are all integers. Send the paging message according to the second indication information.

[0056] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0057] A second system message is sent, which carries third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that multiple POs associated with the terminal device located within the PTW in the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group includes p POs, and the network-side device sends the same paging message at each p PO in each PO group, where m≥2, p≥2, and m and p are both integers; the paging message is sent according to the third indication information.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the first system message and the second system message can be different SIBs. For example, the first system message can be SIB1, and the network-side device can add a cell to SIB1 as first indication information. The second system message can be SIB2, and the network-side device can add a cell to SIB2 to indicate packet indication information (i.e., the aforementioned second or third indication information).

[0059] In another possible implementation, the network-side device can also carry both the first indication information and the packet indication information in a single system message. That is, the first system information and the second system information are the same SIB, with an additional bit added to identify the first indication information and an additional cell added to indicate the packet indication information.

[0060] In another possible implementation, packet indication information can also serve as the first indication information. That is, when the network-side device sends packet indication information to the terminal device through system information, the terminal device can determine the packet status of the PO based on the packet indication information, and at the same time, determine that if the terminal is not paged, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle to save power.

[0061] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the terminal device configured with eDRX is able to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message, while the terminal device without eDRX (e.g., the terminal device with only DRX configured but not eDRX configured, or the terminal device without both DRX and eDRX configured) does not need to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message after receiving the system message.

[0062] In one possible scenario, the network-side device configures an eDRX cycle and a PEI for the terminal device. The PTW within an eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles. The PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs within a DRX cycle, and the network-side device can determine whether the PEI is multiplexed at one or more POs located at the same position within q DRX cycles based on the paging information, where r ≥ q ≥ 1, and K and r are both integers. The q DRX cycles can be consecutive or non-consecutive. The one or more POs located at the same position within q DRX cycles can be understood as one or more POs with the same sequence number (or index, number) in paging frames at the same position within q DRX cycles.

[0063] For example, optionally, the eDRX cycle includes q POs associated with the terminal device, the q POs are located in q DRX cycles respectively, q≥1, where q is an integer, and the method further includes:

[0064] Send a second PEI, which carries fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device reuses the second PEI in the q POs.

[0065] For example, if the network-side device determines that the paging lists at q POs are the same, the fourth indication information is configured as indication multiplexing. Alternatively, if the network-side device determines that the number of terminal devices to be paged exceeds the maximum number of paging calls that a single PO can support, the fourth indication information is configured as indication multiplexing; if the paging lists at the q POs are different, the fourth indication information is configured as indication non-multiplexing; if the paging lists of some of the q POs are not obtained, the fourth indication information is configured as indication non-multiplexing.

[0066] Based on this option, when the network-side device can predict the paging status within q DRX cycles, it can select a second PEI to be reused at q POs based on the paging status. With reuse, the network-side device only needs to send one second PEI at each of the q POs, and the terminal device only needs to receive the second PEI once, thus saving power. When the paging status within q DRX cycles cannot be predicted, the network-side device can choose not to reuse the second PEI, allowing it to flexibly and promptly paging the associated terminal devices at each PO based on sudden traffic surges, thereby reducing paging latency.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the first PEI and the second PEI are the same PEI, that is, the network-side device carries the first indication information and the fourth indication information in the PEI, in which case K = q.

[0068] Optionally, in one possible scenario, the network-side device configures an eDRX cycle and a fourth PEI for the terminal device. The PTW within the eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles, and the fourth PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position within q DRX cycles, where r ≥ q ≥ 1, and q and r are both integers. The q DRX cycles can be consecutive or discontinuous. The fourth PEI includes a bitmap corresponding to each group of terminal devices in each PO. Based on this PEI configuration, the network-side device can predict the paging situation at each PO corresponding to the fourth PEI in advance, thus only needing to send one fourth PEI at each of the q POs. The terminal device only needs to receive the fourth PEI once to determine whether it needs to wake up to receive paging messages at each of the q POs, thereby saving power consumption for the terminal device.

[0069] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a paging method applied to a terminal device, the method comprising:

[0070] The terminal device receives a second PEI from the network-side device. The second PEI carries fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device reuses the second PEI at q POs associated with the terminal device during the eDR cycle; q ≥ 1, where q is an integer.

[0071] If the second PEI is determined to be reused at the q POs according to the fourth instruction, then at the q POs, the second PEI is used to maintain a sleep state or receive a paging state.

[0072] Based on the paging method provided in this application embodiment, the network-side device indicates whether the second PEI is multiplexed at multiple POs through the fourth indication information. In the case of multiplexing, the network-side device can send a second PEI at q POs. The terminal device only needs to receive the second PEI once to determine whether it is in a sleep state or receiving a paging state at q POs, thereby saving power consumption.

[0073] Optionally, the second PEI also carries first indication information, which indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle. The method further includes:

[0074] When the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the device remains in a sleep state at at least one PO according to the first indication information.

[0075] The at least one PO includes the PO located after the first PO among the q POs, or the at least one PO includes the PO associated with the terminal device located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle, wherein the first PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the q POs.

[0076] Optionally, the second PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send the paging message at the q POs, and the method further includes:

[0077] The paging message is received at the Jth PO among the q POs. The paging message carries first indication information. The first indication information indicates that when the paging message received by the terminal device during the eDRX cycle does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0078] When the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the device remains in a dormant state at at least one PO according to the first indication information; the at least one PO includes the PO located after the Jth PO among the q POs, or the at least one PO includes the PO located after the Jth PO within the eDRX cycle, 1≤J≤q, where q and J are both integers.

[0079] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0080] The terminal device receives a first system message from the network-side device, the first system message carrying the first indication information; the first indication information indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0081] When the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the device remains in a sleep state at at least one PO according to the first indication information.

[0082] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0083] The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle, where n ≥ 2 and n is an integer. The at least one PO includes the PO located after the second PO among the n POs. The second PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the n POs.

[0084] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0085] The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries third indication information. The third indication information indicates that multiple POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group includes p POs, and the network-side device sends the same paging message at each of the p POs in each PO group, where m ≥ 2, p ≥ 2, and m and p are both integers; the at least one PO includes the PO after the third PO in the PO group, and the third PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message in the PO group.

[0086] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0087] If it is determined according to the fourth instruction that the second PEI is not reused at the q POs, then at the first PO among the q POs, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the second PEI, and receives the third PEI corresponding to each PO after the first PO among the q POs, and at each PO, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the corresponding third PEI.

[0088] Fourthly, embodiments of this application also provide a paging method applied to a network-side device, the method comprising:

[0089] Send a second PEI, which carries fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reuses the second PEI among the q POs associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0090] Based on the paging method provided in this application embodiment, the network-side device indicates whether the second PEI is multiplexed at multiple POs through the fourth indication information. In the case of multiplexing, the network-side device can send a second PEI at q POs. The terminal device only needs to receive the second PEI once to determine whether it is in a sleep state or receiving a paging state at q POs, thereby saving power consumption.

[0091] Optionally, the second PEI also carries first indication information, which indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0092] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0093] Paging messages are sent at the q POs.

[0094] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0095] A paging message is sent at each of the q POs, wherein the paging message sent at the Jth PO among the q POs carries first indication information. The first indication information indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received within the eDRX cycle, the terminal device shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device within the eDRX cycle.

[0096] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0097] Send a first system message, the first system message carrying the first indication information, the first indication information indicating that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0098] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0099] Send a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle, where n≥2 and n are all integers. Send the paging message according to the second indication information.

[0100] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0101] A second system message is sent, which carries third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that multiple POs associated with the terminal device located within the PTW in the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group includes p POs, and the network-side device sends the same paging message at each p PO in each PO group, where m≥2, p≥2, and m and p are both integers; the paging message is sent according to the third indication information.

[0102] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which is used to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the third aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or other methods described in embodiments of this application.

[0103] Optionally, the communication device may include units of the method described in any embodiment of this application. Optionally, the communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit can communicate with external systems, and the processing unit is used for data processing. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0104] The communication device can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in any possible implementation of the first aspect, or it can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in any possible implementation of the third aspect. In this case, the communication device can be referred to as the terminal device. The transceiver unit is used for transceiver-related operations on the terminal device side, and the processing unit is used to perform processing-related operations on the terminal device side.

[0105] The communication device can be used to perform the actions performed by the network-side device in any possible implementation of the second aspect, or it can be used to perform the actions performed by the network-side device in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. In this case, the communication device can be referred to as a network-side device, the transceiver unit is used for transceiver-related operations on the network-side device side, and the processing unit is used to perform processing-related operations on the network-side device side.

[0106] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device including a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, such that the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed, or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed, or the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed, or the method in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed, or the method described in other embodiments of this application is executed.

[0107] Optionally, the device may include one or more processors.

[0108] Optionally, the device may also include the memory coupled to the processor, the memory being used to store computer programs or instructions.

[0109] Optionally, the device may include one or more memories.

[0110] Alternatively, the memory can be integrated with the processor or set up separately.

[0111] Optionally, the device may also include a transceiver.

[0112] A seventh aspect provides a communication system comprising a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect as described in the fifth aspect and a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect; or, the communication system comprises a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the third aspect as described in the fifth aspect and a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect; or, the communication system comprises a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect as described in the sixth aspect and a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect; or, the communication system comprises a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the third aspect as described in the sixth aspect and a communication device for performing the method in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0113] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program (also referred to as instructions or code) for implementing the above methods is stored.

[0114] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to perform the methods of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The computer may be a communication device.

[0115] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to perform the methods of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The computer may be a communication device.

[0116] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to perform the methods of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The computer may be a communication device.

[0117] Ninthly, this application provides a chip including a processor. The processor is configured to read and execute a computer program stored in a memory to perform the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to perform the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to perform the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to perform the method of the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or to perform the method described in other embodiments of this application.

[0118] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory, which is connected to the processor via a circuit or wire.

[0119] Tenthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program (also referred to as instructions or code), wherein when executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or, when executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or, when executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or, when executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or, when executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to implement the method of any embodiment of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0120] Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system.

[0121] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an eDRX cycle mode provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0122] Figure 3 This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 1 ;

[0123] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a paging method provided in this application embodiment. Figure 1 ;

[0124] Figure 5 This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 2 ;

[0125] Figure 6 This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 3 ;

[0126] Figure 7 This application provides an illustration of a PO grouping scenario. Figure 1 ;

[0127] Figure 8 This application provides an illustration of a PO grouping scenario. Figure 2 ;

[0128] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating a paging method provided in this application embodiment. Figure 2 ;

[0129] Figure 10This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 4 ;

[0130] Figure 11 This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 5 ;

[0131] Figure 12 This application provides an illustration of a PEI configuration method. Figure 6 ;

[0132] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0133] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0134] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, future 5th generation (5G) systems, or new radio (NR), etc.

[0135] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applied in an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes: terminal equipment and network-side equipment.

[0136] Terminal equipment, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user equipment, etc.

[0137] Terminal devices can be devices that provide voice / data connectivity to users, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. This application does not limit the scope to terminal devices in a network (PLMN), etc.

[0138] Network-side equipment can include access network equipment and core network equipment. Access network equipment, also known as radio access network (RAN), can be a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable devices, network equipment in 5G networks, or network equipment in future evolved PLMN networks. It can also be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, a gNB in ​​an NR system, and can be a city base station, micro base station, pico base station, femtobase station, etc., which are not limited in this application. For example, access network equipment is used for information exchange with terminal equipment.

[0139] In a network architecture, access network equipment may include centralized unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, radio access network (RAN) equipment including CU nodes and DU nodes, or equipment including control plane CU nodes (CU-CP nodes), user plane CU nodes (CU-UP nodes), and DU nodes.

[0140] Core network equipment is used to manage one or more access network equipment. For example, core network equipment may include at least one of the following: core access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, data network (DN), unified data repository (UDR), or unified data management (UDM).

[0141] In some communication mechanisms, to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices, network-side equipment can control terminal device sleep mode by configuring the DRX cycle. Multiple Points of Interest (POs) are set within a DRX cycle, and each PO can be associated with multiple terminal devices. One terminal device is associated with one PO within one DRX cycle. During the DRX cycle, the terminal device wakes up at its associated PO (i.e., activates the receive circuitry and receives downlink data) and listens for paging. If paged, the terminal device enters the connected state. For example, if the terminal device is in the idle state, after being paged, it will initiate an RRC connection request, i.e., initiate random access, to transition from the idle state to the connected state. If the terminal device is in the inactive state, after being paged, it will initiate an RRC connection resume request to transition from the inactive state to the connected state. If not paged, it remains in the idle or inactive state and sleeps at other POs (i.e., turns off the receive circuitry and does not receive downlink data). In the following text, for ease of description, the PO associated with the terminal device will sometimes be referred to as the PO of the terminal device.

[0142] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, a DRX cycle includes multiple paging frames (PF), each corresponding to multiple POs (e.g., PO0, PO1, ..., PO9, a total of 10 POs). Assume UE1, UE2, ..., UE6 are associated with PO0 in the first paging frame. These six terminal devices will wake up at PO0 in the first paging frame of each DRX cycle and listen for paging. If a network-side device wants to page UE1, it will page UE1 at PO0 in the first paging frame. If the access network device in the network side is paging UE1, it will send a paging message to UE1. If the core network device in the network side is paging UE1, it will send information for paging UE1 to the access network device, such as UE1's identifier and time-frequency resource location information. Then, the access network device will send a paging message to UE1 based on the information sent by the core network device.

[0143] After receiving the paging message, UE1 can initiate an RRC connection request or RRC connection resume request process and enter the connected state. For UE2 to UE6, since they were not paging at PO0, UE2 to UE6 continue to remain in the idle or inactive state and re-enter the sleep state.

[0144] In some communication mechanisms, an eDRX cycle is also configured. eDRX is extended DRX, for example, ... Figure 2 As shown, each eDRX cycle includes multiple DRX cycles, and a paging time window (PTW) is set within each eDRX cycle. The terminal device can receive paging messages in DRX mode within the PTW of the eDRX cycle, and remain in sleep mode outside the PTW. Based on different communication mechanisms, the duration of the DRX cycle and eDRX cycle has different configuration ranges depending on the type of terminal device (or service type). For example, in the current protocol definition, the maximum duration of the DRX cycle can be configured to approximately 2.56 seconds. In enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC), the maximum configurable eDRX cycle for idle terminal devices is approximately 44 minutes, and the maximum configurable eDRX cycle for inactive terminal devices is 10.24 seconds. Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) currently does not support the inactive state; therefore, the maximum configurable eDRX cycle for idle terminal devices in NB-IoT is approximately 3 hours.

[0145] It is evident that configuring a larger eDRX cycle and a smaller PTW allows the terminal to sleep for longer periods, resulting in greater power consumption gains; however, it increases the corresponding paging latency. For example, if the terminal device fails to receive a paging message within the PTW, or if data from the terminal device arrives at the network-side device outside the PTW, the network-side device can only paging the terminal device within the PTW of the next eDRX cycle. In this case, a larger eDRX cycle will cause a larger paging latency.

[0146] To further reduce the power consumption of terminal devices during paging, the concept of a Wake-Up Signal (WUS) is introduced in Release 15 NB-IoT. The WUS indicates that a paging message is being sent at the Point of Purchase (PO). For example, when an access network device determines that a paging message will be sent at a certain PO, it can send a WUS at an offset position before that PO. The location for sending the WUS can be specified by the protocol. For instance, UE1 to UE6 associated with PO0 will wake up at the specified offset position before PO0. If a WUS is received, it indicates that the access network device will send a paging message at PO0, and UE1 to UE6 will wake up at PO0 to receive the paging message. If no WUS is received at the specified offset position before PO0, UE1 to UE6 can remain asleep at PO0 without waking up to listen for paging, thus saving power.

[0147] The introduction of WUS also brought the problem of false alarms. For example, if the network-side device needs to page UE1 but not UE2 to UE6, it will still send a WUS at a specified offset position before PO0. In this case, the WUS sends a false alarm to UE2 to UE6, causing them to wake up at PO0 even though they haven't been paged, wasting their power consumption. To address this, the concept of Group Wake-Up Signal (GWUS) was introduced. GWUS indicates which groups of terminal devices have paging messages at their associated POs. The network-side device divides the multiple terminal devices associated with each PO into multiple different WUS group sets based on the paging probability of the terminal devices, and can determine the group number of the WUS group based on the terminal device's identifier (ID). For example, the network-side device might assign UE1 to WUS group1, UE2 and UE3 to WUS group2, UE4 to WUS group3, and UE5 and UE6 to WUS group4, meaning PO0 is associated with terminal devices from four groups. When the network-side device determines that UE1 needs to be paged, it determines the group number of WUS group1 based on UE1's ID. The network-side device determines that terminals in WUS group1 need to receive paging messages, but terminals in WUS groups2 to 4 do not need to receive paging messages. Therefore, the network-side device can send the GWUS corresponding to WUS group1 at a specified offset position before PO0. After UE1 receives the GWUS corresponding to WUS group1, it can wake up at PO0 to receive the paging message; UE2 to UE6 can remain in sleep mode at PO0 after receiving the GWUS from a different group, thereby saving power and reducing the probability of false alarms.

[0148] In one possible implementation, the network-side equipment configures eDRX cycles and GWUS for the terminal equipment. The GWUS can be associated with multiple POs (e.g., 1, 2, or 4 POs). These multiple POs can be located in multiple DRX cycles and associated with the same terminal equipment. Taking GWUS as an example of associating 4 POs, one GWUS can instruct UEs in the same group within 4 consecutive DRX cycles to wake up at the corresponding PO. For example, if UE1 to UE6 are associated with PO0 corresponding to the first paging frame within a DRX cycle, then within the PTW, PO0 corresponding to the first paging frame in 4 consecutive DRX cycles can be indicated by one GWUS.

[0149] For example, assuming the network-side device determines that UE2 needs to be paged, it obtains the group number of WUS group2 associated with PO0 based on UE2's ID. Therefore, the network-side device determines that it needs to send the GWUS corresponding to WUS group2 at a specified offset position before PO0 in the first DRX cycle, to instruct the terminal devices of WUS group2 (i.e., UE2 and UE3) to receive the paging message at PO0. After UE1 to UE6 receive this GWUS, UE2 and UE3 receive the paging message at PO0, while UE1, UE4 to UE6 can remain in sleep mode for four consecutive DRX cycles. After UE2 receives the paging message at PO0, it determines that it has been paged (i.e., it detects that the paging message carries UE2's identifier), and UE2 enters the connected state. After UE3 successfully receives the paging message at PO0, it determines that it has not been paged (i.e., it detects that the paging message does not carry UE3's identifier), so UE3 needs to wake up at the next PO0 to receive the paging message, until all four POs in four consecutive DRX cycles have been monitored.

[0150] In other words, while introducing GWUS can reduce the power consumption of each terminal device in an unpaging group, such as the terminal devices (including UE1, UE4 to UE6) in the unpaging WUS group1, WUS group3 and WUS group4 in the example above, for unpaging terminal devices in a paging group, such as UE3 in WUS group2, it is still necessary to wake up and listen for paging at each associated PO when not paging, which results in wasted power consumption.

[0151] WUS and GWUS are concepts introduced in LTE to reduce power consumption of terminal devices during paging. In NR, the concept of Paging Early Indication (PEI) was also introduced to reduce power consumption during paging. PEI indicates whether groups of terminal devices associated with a Point of Purchase (PO) need to wake up to receive paging messages at that PO. Currently, in discussions about PEI, one PEI can correspond to multiple POs in a DRX; PEI can be represented using a new Downlink Control Information (DCI) format, where 1 bit can be used to indicate whether one or more groups of terminal devices at a PO need to wake up to receive paging messages.

[0152] For example, such as Figure 3As shown, the PEI corresponds to the four POs (Paging Objects) for the first paging frame within a DRX cycle: PO0, PO4, PO5, and PO9. The PEI consists of a 16-bit sequence or bitmap, with each 4 bits indicating one of the four terminal devices within a PO. It's important to note that for a specific UE, only one PO corresponds to that UE within a DRX cycle; that is, the UE only needs to wake up once within a DRX cycle. Therefore, all bits in the PEI correspond to different UEs. For example, when the network-side device configures the PEI as "0101 0001 0111 1101" based on the ID of the terminal device to be paged, this PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send paging messages at PO0, PO4, PO5, and PO9. Terminal devices in WUSgroup2 and WUSgroup4 associated with PO0 need to wake up at PO0 to receive paging messages, while terminal devices in WUSgroup1 and WUSgroup3 associated with PO0 can sleep at PO0; terminal devices in WUSgroup4 associated with PO4 need to wake up at PO4 to receive paging messages, while terminal devices in WUSgroup1 to WUSgroup3 associated with PO4 can sleep at PO4; terminal devices in WUSgroup2 to WUSgroup4 associated with PO5 need to wake up at PO5 to receive paging messages, while terminal devices in WUSgroup1 associated with PO5 can sleep at PO5; and terminal devices in WUSgroup1, WUSgroup2, and WUSgroup3 associated with PO9... Terminal devices in group4 need to wake up at PO9 to receive paging messages, while terminal devices in WUS group3 associated with PO9 can hibernate at PO9.

[0153] In current discussions regarding PEIs, it's agreed that one PEI can correspond to one or more POs in a DRX. However, in this case, the terminal device needs to wake up before each associated PO to receive the PEI, resulting in power consumption. To further reduce power consumption, existing standards are discussing the possibility of one PEI corresponding to multiple POs in an eDRX. However, even with one PEI corresponding to multiple POs in an eDRX, there is still a problem of wasted power: if only some terminal devices in the same group are paged, the unpaged terminal devices also need to wake up at multiple associated POs to listen for paging.

[0154] Therefore, this application provides a paging method that can reduce the power consumption of terminal devices. The paging method provided by this application can reduce the power consumption of terminal devices in two ways: firstly, by reducing the number of times the terminal device wakes up to receive paging messages when it is not being paged, thereby saving power consumption; secondly, by reducing the number of times the terminal device wakes up to receive PEI / GWUS, thereby saving power consumption.

[0155] The paging method provided in this application will be described exemplarily below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0156] See Figure 4 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of a paging method provided in this application, mainly relating to a scheme to reduce the number of times a terminal device wakes up to receive paging messages. Figure 4 As shown, the paging method includes:

[0157] S401, the network-side device sends a first indication message, which indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a dormant state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0158] S402, when the paging message received by the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle according to the first indication information.

[0159] In this embodiment of the application, the network-side device sends a first instruction message to instruct the terminal device to remain in a sleep state at at least one associated PO without waking up to receive a paging message, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0160] Network-side devices can send the first indication information via independent messages, or they can embed the first indication information within other messages before sending it to each terminal device. For example, network-side devices can embed the first indication information within PEI, GWUS, system messages, paging messages, etc., before sending it to each terminal device. The following sections will discuss several possible scenarios. Figure 4 The paging method shown is illustrated by way of example.

[0161] In the first possible scenario, the network-side device configures eDRX cycles and PEIs for the terminal device. The PTW in the eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles, and the PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position in K DRX cycles, where r≥K≥1, and K and r are both integers.

[0162] Among them, one or more POs located at the same position within K DRX cycles can be understood as one or more POs with the same sequence number (or index, number) corresponding to paging frames at the same position within K DRX cycles.

[0163] It should be noted that paging frames at the same position within a DRX cycle refer to paging frames that are in the same position within each DRX cycle (e.g., the first paging frame in each DRX cycle). The frame numbers of paging frames at the same position within a DRX cycle can be different.

[0164] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, the PEI is configured to correspond to the two POs (PO0, PO4) corresponding to the first paging frame in each of the K DRX cycles. That is, in this scenario, the PEI is configured to correspond to K ( Figure 5 Taking 1 < K < r as an example, there are 1 DRX cycles corresponding to each device, and the PEI specifically corresponds to the 1st PO and the 3rd PO (i.e., PO0 and PO4) corresponding to the 1st paging frame in each DRX cycle. For a terminal device, since only one PO corresponds to the terminal device in one DRX cycle, the received PEI corresponds to K POs of the terminal device. That is, when the terminal device receives a PEI, it can determine whether the terminal device needs to wake up to receive paging messages at the K associated POs based on the PEI.

[0165] For example, the PEI includes an 8-bit bitmap, with each 4 bits indicating 4 groups of terminal devices in a PO. For instance, when the network-side device configures the PEI as "0101 0001" based on the ID of the terminal device to be paged, the PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send paging messages at PO0 and PO4. Terminal devices in WUS group2 and WUS group4 associated with PO0 need to wake up at PO0 to receive the paging message, while terminal devices in WUS group1 and WUS group3 associated with PO0 can sleep at PO0. Terminal devices in WUS group4 associated with PO4 need to wake up at PO4 to receive the paging message, while terminal devices in WUS group1 to WUS group3 associated with PO4 can sleep at PO4.

[0166] For any terminal device associated with PO0 and PO4, for example, for terminal device UE2 in WUS group2 associated with PO0, Figure 5 The PEI shown corresponds to K PO0s. According to... Figure 5As shown in the PEI, UE2 can determine that the network-side device will send a paging message at PO0 corresponding to the first paging frame within K consecutive DRX cycles, and UE2 needs to wake up to listen for the paging.

[0167] Understandably, if K = r, for POs located at the same position within each DRX cycle of the entire PTW, the network-side device can send a PEI at most once for indication. In this way, the terminal device can receive a PEI once for all associated POs in the entire PTW, instead of receiving a PEI for each associated PO separately, thus reducing the number of PEI receptions and saving power. For example, when K = r, if there is a terminal device to be paged at either PO0 or PO4, the network-side device can send a PEI at a specified offset position before PO0 in the first DRX cycle of the PTW. This PEI indicates whether there is a paging message at PO0 and PO4 corresponding to the paging frames at the same position in each DRX cycle of the entire PTW, and which groups of terminal devices at the corresponding PO need to wake up to receive the paging message.

[0168] If K=1, it means that within the PTW of the eDRX cycle, the terminal device needs to receive PEI before each corresponding PO to determine whether it needs to wake up to receive a paging message at that PO.

[0169] If 1 < K < r, it means that within the PTW of an eDRX cycle, every K DRX cycles can be considered as one PEI transmission cycle. Within one PEI transmission cycle, the network-side device can send one PEI indication for a PO at the same location. Thus, the terminal device can receive one PEI for all associated POs within one PEI transmission cycle, instead of receiving a PEI for each associated PO individually, thereby reducing the number of PEI receptions and saving power consumption for the terminal device.

[0170] Based on the first possible scenario described above, in one possible implementation, the network-side device can send the first indication information to each terminal device by carrying it in the PEI. For ease of description, the PEI carrying the first indication information will be referred to as the first PEI below. In this case, for a terminal device, if the first PEI indicates that the network-side device will send paging messages at K POs associated with the terminal device, the terminal device will listen for paging at the K POs based on the indication of the first PEI until it successfully receives the first paging message. When it is detected that the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle, according to the first indication information carried in the first PEI.

[0171] Wherein, at least one PO includes the PO located after the first PO among the K POs, or at least one PO includes the PO associated with the terminal device located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle, wherein the first PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message at the K POs.

[0172] For example, the network-side device can add a one-bit information element to the front or back of the PEI to identify the first indication information. For example, based on Figure 5 The PEI shown can be modified by adding a bit to the end of the PEI to obtain the following result: Figure 6 The first PEI shown is "0101 0001 1".

[0173] Combination Figure 6 The first PEI shown assumes that the network-side device needs to page UE2, and therefore sends out [the necessary information / instructions]. Figure 6 The first PEI indicates that the network-side device will send a paging message at PO0. Terminal devices in WUS group 2 associated with PO0 (e.g., UE2 and UE3) need to wake up at PO0 to receive the paging message. After sending the first PEI, the network-side device will send a paging message for paging UE2 at K PO0s. This paging message carries the identifier of UE2. Since the network-side device does not page UE3, the paging message does not carry the identifier of UE3.

[0174] UE2 wakes up at K PO0s according to the instruction of the first PEI, listening for paging until UE2 successfully receives the first paging message. When UE2 determines that the paging message carries UE2's identifier, UE2 enters the connected state, preparing to receive the corresponding downlink data. It is understandable that UE2 may successfully receive the first paging message at the first PO0, or it may receive it at the second or third PO0. After successfully receiving the first paging message and determining that it carries UE2's identifier, UE2 can enter the connected state.

[0175] UE3 receives the paging message at K PO0s according to the indication of the first PEI until UE3 successfully receives the first paging message. When it is determined that the paging message does not carry the identifier of UE3, UE3 can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO0 during the eDRX cycle according to the first indication information carried in the first PEI.

[0176] At least one PO0 includes the PO0 following the first PO among the K POs, where the first PO refers to the PO where UE3 successfully received the first paging message among the K POs. For example, UE3 may successfully receive the first paging message at the first PO, in which case the first PO is the first PO. UE3 may also fail to receive the first paging message at the first PO, or fail to successfully receive the first paging message, in which case UE3 needs to wake up at the second PO to continue listening for paging. If the paging message is successfully received at the second PO, then the second PO is the first PO.

[0177] For example, K=4, UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the first PO0. By detecting the paging list carried in the paging message, UE3 determines that the paging message does not carry UE3's identifier. UE3 can then maintain a sleep state at the remaining 3 PO0 according to the first indication information, thereby saving power consumption.

[0178] Optionally, at least one PO0 includes the PO0 following the first PO within the eDRX cycle. For example, when K < r, assuming r = 10 and K = 8, then r DRX cycles include 2 PEI transmission cycles. Assuming UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the first PO in the first PEI transmission cycle and determines that the paging message does not carry UE3's identifier, UE3 can remain in a dormant state at the remaining 7 POs in the first PEI transmission cycle according to the first indication information. Furthermore, since only 2 POs remain in the eDRX cycle (the 2 POs in the second PEI transmission cycle), UE3 can also remain in a dormant state at the 2 POs in the second PEI transmission cycle if the network device anticipates that UE3 does not need to receive paging messages at the remaining 2 POs. In other words, if UE3 is not paged, it only needs to wake up at the first PO0 to listen for paging, and does not need to wake up at the subsequent nine PO0s to listen for paging. This greatly reduces the number of times UE3 wakes up to receive paging messages, and also eliminates the need to wake up to receive PEI in the second PEI transmission cycle, thereby saving UE3's power consumption.

[0179] In one example, when K=1, at least one PO can include a PO associated with the terminal device that is located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle. For example, UE3 receives a PO such as... before the 9th PO0 within the eDRX cycle. Figure 6The first PEI is shown. According to the indication of the first PEI, UE3 wakes up at the 9th PO0 to receive the paging message. If UE3 receives the paging message and determines that the paging message does not carry UE3's identifier, UE3 can remain asleep at the remaining r-9 POs during the eDRX cycle, based on the first indication information carried in the first PEI. Furthermore, it is possible that UE3 does not need to wake up to listen to the PEIs corresponding to the remaining r-9 POs, thus saving power consumption for both receiving the PEI and listening to the paging message.

[0180] Based on the first possible scenario described above, in another possible implementation, the network-side device can carry the first indication information in the paging message and send it to the corresponding terminal device. For example, when the network device sends a paging message at K POs, the paging message sent at the Jth PO among the K POs carries the first indication information. When the terminal device associated with the K POs successfully receives the paging message at the Jth PO, it can obtain the first indication information from the paging message. When it is detected that the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device can, according to the first indication information, remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle.

[0181] Wherein, at least one PO includes the PO located after the J-th PO among K POs, or, at least one PO includes the PO located after the J-th PO within the eDRX period, 1≤J≤K, and J is an integer.

[0182] When a network-side device sends a paging message, it can determine which paging messages to include the first indication information based on the number of terminal devices to be paged. Suppose the network-side device needs to send paging messages at K PO0s. In one example, if the network-side device determines that the number of terminal devices paged at a PO0 does not exceed the maximum number of paging devices that a PO0 can support (e.g., 32), then... Figure 7 As shown in (a), the network-side device can carry the first indication information in the paging message sent at each PO0 to ensure that the terminal device associated with the PO0 can receive the paging message carrying the first indication information.

[0183] For a terminal device associated with a PO0, the terminal device may successfully receive the first paging message at the Jth PO0. For example, UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the second (J=2)th PO0. If UE3 detects that the paging message does not carry UE3's identifier and detects the first indication information in the paging message, the terminal device may remain in a sleep state at the remaining K-2 PO0s, or remain in a sleep state at all PO0s after the PO0 where the paging message was received during the eDRX cycle.

[0184] In another example, if the network-side device determines that the number of terminal devices paged at PO0 exceeds the maximum number of pagers that PO0 can support (e.g., 32), the network-side device will not carry the first indication information in the paging message at first; when the paging message can page all terminal devices, the first indication information will then be carried in the paging message.

[0185] For example, if a network-side device needs to page 40 terminal devices at PO0, exceeding the maximum paging capacity of 32 at a single PO, then the network-side device can include some of the terminal device identifiers to be paged (e.g., 32 identifiers) in the paging message sent at the first PO0, and the remaining identifiers in the paging message sent at the second PO, to page all the necessary terminal devices completely. In this case, since the network-side device can page all the necessary terminal devices in the paging message sent at the second PO0, it can include first indication information in the paging message sent at the second PO0.

[0186] Understandably, since paging messages are sent periodically, such as Figure 7 As shown in (b), at K PO0s, the network-side device may carry the identifiers of the remaining 8 terminal devices in the paging messages sent at the 2nd PO0, 4th PO0, ..., Kth PO0. Therefore, the network-side device can carry the first indication information in all these paging messages.

[0187] For a terminal device associated with a PO0, the terminal device may successfully receive the first paging message at the Jth PO0. For example, UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the 4th (J=4) PO0. If the paging message does not carry the identifier of UE3, and the first indication information is detected in the paging message, then UE3 may remain in a sleep state at the remaining K-4 PO0s, or remain in a sleep state at all PO0s after the PO0 where the paging message was received during the eDRX cycle.

[0188] Understandably, since paging messages are sent periodically, configuring the first indication information in the paging message by the network-side device can increase the reliability of the terminal device receiving the first indication information. In one implementation, terminal devices configured with eDRX and PEI can parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message, while terminal devices without eDRX and PEI do not need to parse and read the first indication information carried in the paging message after receiving it.

[0189] In the second possible scenario, the network-side device configures an eDRX period for the terminal device and configures the packet information of PO within the eDRX period.

[0190] In this scenario, network-side devices can configure the packet status of a Point of Purchase (PO) through independent messages, or they can carry packet indication information in certain messages to indicate the PO's packet status. For example, packet indication information can be carried in system messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, and DCI messages. The following explanation uses system messages as an example to illustrate the second scenario and the paging method implemented based on it.

[0191] Network-side devices send packet indication information and first indication information to terminal devices via system messages.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the network-side device can send first indication information and packet indication information to the terminal device through different system messages. For example, the network-side device can send a first system message to the terminal device, carrying the first indication information in the first system message; and the network-side device can send a second system message to the terminal device, carrying the packet indication information in the second system message.

[0193] The system message includes multiple System Information Blocks (SIBs). For example, the first system message can be SIB1, and the network-side device can add an information element to SIB1 as the first indication information. The second system message can be SIB2, and the network-side device can add an information element to SIB2 to indicate packet indication information.

[0194] In one example, the packet indication information can be a second indication information, which instructs the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. These n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device in the eDRX cycle, where n ≥ 2 and n is an integer. Correspondingly, at least one PO where the terminal device is in sleep mode includes the PO following the second PO among these n POs. This second PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message among the n POs.

[0195] For example, taking UE3 as an example, such as Figure 8 As shown in (a), the PTW within the eDRX cycle includes r (r≥n) PO0s associated with UE3, and the r PO0s are located in the r DRX cycles within the PTW. After receiving the second indication information through the second system message, UE3 can determine based on the second indication information: if the network-side device sends a paging message at a PO0, it will send the same paging message at the first n PO0s within the PTW.

[0196] When the network-side device sends paging messages at the first n POs within a certain eDRX cycle, if UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the first PO, then the first PO becomes the second PO. Based on the first indication information received through the first system message, UE3 determines that it can remain in sleep mode at the n-1 POs following the first PO. In other words, if there is no paging at the first n POs, UE3 can remain in sleep mode at the n-1 POs without waking up to listen for paging, thus saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0197] For the remaining rn PO0s, UE3 can wake up at each PO0 to listen for paging. Of course, if the network-side equipment also configures GWUS / WUS / PEI for the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment can also determine whether to remain asleep or wake up to listen for paging at the corresponding PO0 based on whether the network-side equipment sends GWUS / WUS / PEI and the content of the sent GWUS / WUS / PEI.

[0198] Optionally, the group indication information can be third indication information. This third indication information indicates that multiple POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW during the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group including p POs. The network-side device sends the same paging message at each of the p POs in each PO group, where m ≥ 2, p ≥ 2, and m and p are both integers. Correspondingly, the terminal device determines, based on the first indication information, at least one PO that can be put into hibernation, including POs located after the third PO in the PO group. The third PO is the PO where the terminal device was located when it successfully received the first paging message in the PO group.

[0199] In this context, each group of p POs can consist of consecutive POs within the PTW. For example, the PTW within an eDRX cycle includes r (r > m, and r ≥ p) PO0s associated with UE3, and these r PO0s are located within r DRX cycles of the PTW. For instance, as... Figure 8 As shown in (b), every consecutive p PO0s are divided into a PO group. For example, the first p PO0s are the first PO group.

[0200] Optionally, the p POs in each PO group can be discontinuous POs within the PTW. For example, if p = 4, the first PO group can include the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th POs in the PTW; the second PO group can include the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th POs in the PTW; the third PO group can include the 9th, 11th, 13th, and 15th POs in the PTW; the fourth PO group can include the 10th, 12th, 14th, and 16th POs in the PTW, and so on.

[0201] With UE3 and Figure 8 Taking the PO group shown in (b) as an example, after UE3 receives the third indication information through the second system message, it can determine that r PO0s include m PO groups, and each PO group includes p POs. If the network-side device needs to send a paging message at the PO0, it will send the same paging message in each PO group.

[0202] For example, such as Figure 8 As shown in (b), when the network-side device sends a paging message in the first PO group, if UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the first PO0 in the first PO group, then the first PO0 in the first PO group is the third PO. UE3 determines, based on the first indication information received through the first system message, that it can remain in sleep mode at the p-1 POs following the first PO. In other words, in the first PO group, if it is not paging, UE3 can remain in sleep mode at the remaining p-1 POs without waking up to listen for paging, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0203] When the network-side device sends a paging message in the second PO group, if UE3 successfully receives the first paging message at the third PO0 in the second PO group, then the third PO0 in the second PO group is the third PO. UE3 determines, based on the first indication information received through the first system message, that it can remain in sleep mode at p-3 POs located after the third PO0. In other words, in the second PO group, if it is not paging, UE3 can remain in sleep mode at p-3 POs without waking up to listen for paging, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0204] Based on the second possible scenario, in another possible implementation, the network-side device can simultaneously carry the first indication information and the packet indication information in a single system message. That is, the first system information and the second system information are the same SIB, with an additional bit added to identify the first indication information and an additional information cell added to indicate the packet indication information.

[0205] Optionally, in another possible implementation, the packet indication information can also serve as the first indication information. That is, when the network-side device sends the packet indication information to the terminal device through system information, the terminal device, while knowing the packet status of the PO according to the packet indication information, can also determine that: if the terminal is not paged, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle to save power consumption.

[0206] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the terminal device configured with eDRX is able to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message, while the terminal device without eDRX (e.g., the terminal device with only DRX configured but not eDRX configured, or the terminal device without both DRX and eDRX configured) does not need to parse and read the first indication information and group indication information carried in the system message after receiving the system message.

[0207] In the third possible scenario, the network-side device configures an eDRX cycle and a PEI for the terminal device. The PTW within an eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles. The PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs within a DRX cycle, and the network-side device can determine whether the PEI is multiplexed at one or more POs located at the same position within q DRX cycles based on paging information, where r ≥ q ≥ 1, and K and r are both integers. The q DRX cycles can be consecutive or discontinuous.

[0208] In this context, one or more Pagers (POs) located at the same position within q DRX cycles can be understood as one or more POs with the same sequence number (or index, number) corresponding to paging frames at the same position within q DRX cycles. Similarly, paging frames at the same position within a DRX cycle refer to paging frames that are in the same position within each DRX cycle (e.g., the first paging frame in each DRX cycle), although the frame numbers of paging frames at the same position within a DRX cycle may be different.

[0209] Based on the third possible scenario, see Figure 9 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of a paging method provided in this application, mainly relating to a scheme to reduce the number of times a terminal device wakes up to receive a PEI. For example... Figure 9 As shown, the paging method includes:

[0210] S901, the network-side device sends a second PEI, which carries a fourth indication information. The fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device should reuse the second PEI at q POs.

[0211] The term "q POs" refers to POs targeting the same terminal device, each located within a separate "q" DRX cycle. For example, ... Figure 10As shown, q = 2, and the second PEI corresponds to PO0 and PO4 corresponding to the first paging frame within two consecutive DRX cycles. The second PEI includes a 9-bit bitmap. Assume the first 4 bits indicate the 4 groups of terminal devices in one PO0, the middle 4 bits indicate the 4 groups of terminal devices in one PO4, and the last bit represents the fourth indication information. For example, multiplexing can be indicated by assigning a value of "1" to the last bit and non-multiplexing by assigning a value of "0" to the last bit. Alternatively, multiplexing can be indicated by assigning a value of "0" to the last bit and non-multiplexing by assigning a value of "1" to the last bit. For any terminal device associated with PO0 and PO4, for example, for terminal device UE2 in WUS group2 associated with PO0, the fourth indication information can determine whether the second PEI is multiplexed at both PO0s.

[0212] In one example, the network-side device can determine whether to reuse or not by predicting whether the terminal devices paging at q POs are the same, or by determining whether the terminal devices paging at q POs can be predicted, or by determining the paging status based on the paging list.

[0213] For example, if the network-side device determines that the paging lists are identical at q POs, it configures the fourth indication information as indication multiplexing. Alternatively, if the network-side device determines that the number of terminal devices to be paged exceeds the maximum number of paging requests a single PO can support, it configures the fourth indication information as indication multiplexing. For instance, when the number of terminal devices to be paged exceeds the maximum number of paging requests a single PO can support, the network-side device cannot carry the identifiers of all terminal devices to be paged in a single paging message. Therefore, the network-side device will send the identifiers of the terminal devices to be paged in batches across multiple paging messages. If a terminal device does not detect its identifier in the first paging message, it may be because the terminal device has not been paged, or it may be because its identifier is carried in a subsequent paging message. Therefore, the terminal device needs to wake up at the next associated PO to continue listening for paging messages. In this case, to ensure that the terminal devices to be paged can receive the corresponding paging message, the network-side device can configure the fourth indication information as indication multiplexing.

[0214] If the paging lists at q POs are different, the fourth indication information is configured to indicate non-reuse; if the paging lists of some of the q POs are not obtained, the fourth indication information is configured to indicate non-reuse.

[0215] like Figure 10As shown, assuming the network-side device determines that the second PEI is multiplexed at PO0 and PO4 corresponding to the first paging frame within two DRX cycles, and determines that the network-side device will send a paging message at PO0 and PO4 based on the ID of the terminal device to be paging, the terminal devices in WUS group2 and WUS group4 associated with PO0 need to wake up at PO0 to receive the paging message, while the terminal devices in WUS group1 and WUS group3 associated with PO0 can sleep at PO0; the terminal devices in WUS group4 associated with PO4 need to wake up at PO4 to receive the paging message, while the terminal devices in WUS group1 to WUS group3 associated with PO4 can sleep at PO4. Therefore, the network-side device can configure the second PEI as "0101 00011".

[0216] S902, if the fourth indication information indicates multiplexing, the terminal device will remain in sleep mode or receive paging status at q POs according to the second PEI.

[0217] S903, if the fourth indication information indicates that it is not reused, the terminal device shall maintain a sleep state or receive a paging state at the first PO among the q POs according to the second PEI, and receive the third PEI corresponding to each PO after the first PO among the q POs respectively, and maintain a sleep state or receive a paging state at each PO after the first PO among the q POs according to the corresponding third PEI.

[0218] Understandably, if the network-side device can predict the paging status within q DRX cycles, it can select a second PEI to reuse at each of the q POs based on the paging status. With reuse, the network-side device only needs to send one second PEI at each of the q POs, and the terminal device only needs to receive the second PEI once, thus saving power. If the paging status within q DRX cycles cannot be predicted, the network-side device can choose not to reuse the second PEI, allowing it to flexibly and promptly paging the associated terminal devices at each PO based on sudden traffic surges, thereby reducing paging latency.

[0219] Optionally, if the fourth indication information indicates that the third PEI is not reused, the terminal device may choose not to recognize the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI after receiving the corresponding third PEI in each PO after the first PO. Alternatively, it may continue to recognize the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI and determine whether the third PEI is reused based on the fourth indication information carried in the third PEI.

[0220] It is worth noting that, Figure 4 The method flow shown is as follows: Figure 9The methods and procedures shown can be implemented independently or in combination.

[0221] For example, in the third scenario, when the network-side device determines that the second PEI is reused at q POs, for example, as Figure 11 As shown, the network-side device can also add an additional bit to the second PEI to represent the first indication information. The terminal device listens for paging at q (q=K) PO0s according to the indication of the second PEI until the terminal device successfully receives the first paging message. If it is determined that the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device can remain in a sleep state at the remaining POs out of the q POs according to the first indication information carried in the second PEI.

[0222] Optionally, this application also provides a fourth possible scenario, in which the network-side device configures an eDRX cycle and a fourth PEI for the terminal device. The PTW within the eDRX cycle includes r DRX cycles, and the fourth PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position within q DRX cycles, where r ≥ q ≥ 1, and q and r are both integers. The q DRX cycles can be consecutive or non-consecutive. The fourth PEI includes a bitmap corresponding to each group of terminal devices in each PO.

[0223] For example, such as Figure 12 As shown, the fourth PEI corresponds to PO0 and PO4 (a total of 4 POs) in the first paging frame within two DRX cycles (q=2). The fourth PEI includes a 16-bit bitmap, indicating the 8 groups of terminal devices in these 4 POs (i.e., PO0 and PO4 corresponding to the first paging frame in the first DRX cycle, and PO0 and PO4 corresponding to the first paging frame in the second DRX cycle). For example, suppose that in the first DRX cycle, the network-side device will send paging messages for terminal devices in WUSgroup2 and WUSgroup4 associated with PO0, and for terminal devices in WUSgroup4 associated with PO4. In the second DRX cycle, the network-side device will send paging messages for terminal devices in WUSgroup4 associated with PO0, and for terminal devices in WUSgroup2 associated with PO4. Therefore, the network-side device determines that the fourth PEI can be configured as "0101 0101 0001 0100".

[0224] In this scenario, the network-side device needs to predict the paging situation at each PO corresponding to the fourth PEI in advance, so that it can send a fourth PEI at q POs. The terminal device only needs to receive the fourth PEI once to determine whether it needs to wake up to receive paging messages at each of the q POs, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0225] It is understood that the above method embodiments can be independent embodiments or embodiments that can be combined with each other. Steps in different method embodiments can be combined with each other to form other embodiments, and steps in the same method embodiment can also be combined with each other to form other embodiments.

[0226] It is understood that the methods and operations implemented by the terminal device in the above method embodiments can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used in the terminal device, and the methods and operations implemented by the network-side device in the above method embodiments can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used in the network-side device.

[0227] The method embodiments provided in this application have been described above. The apparatus embodiments provided in this application will be described below. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, any content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0228] Figure 13 A communication device 1300 provided in an embodiment of this application is shown. The communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and a transceiver 1320. The processor 1310 and the transceiver 1320 communicate with each other through an internal connection path. The processor 1310 is used to execute instructions to control the transceiver 1320 to send and / or receive signals.

[0229] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1330, which communicates with the processor 1310 and the transceiver 1320 via an internal connection path. The memory 1330 stores instructions, and the processor 1310 can execute the instructions stored in the memory 1330. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1300 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above method embodiments. In another possible implementation, the communication device 1300 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the network-side device in the above method embodiments.

[0230] It should be understood that the communication device 1300 may specifically be the terminal device or network-side device in the above embodiments, or it may be a chip or a chip system. Correspondingly, the transceiver 1320 may be the transceiver circuit of the chip, which is not limited here. Optionally, the memory 1330 may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store device type information. The processor 1310 may be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 1310 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1310 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device or network-side device described above.

[0231] In implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry of the hardware in the processor 1310 or by instructions in software form. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by the hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor 1310. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 1330, and the processor 1310 reads the information in memory 1330 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0232] It should be noted that the processor 1310 in this application embodiment can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the hardware of the processor 1310 or by instructions in software form. The processor 1310 can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 1330, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0233] It is understood that the memory 1330 in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0234] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the terminal device or network-side device in the above method embodiments.

[0235] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code. When the program code is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the terminal device or network-side device in the above method embodiments.

[0236] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, which includes one or more terminal devices and one or more network-side devices as described above.

[0237] The various device embodiments and method embodiments described above correspond completely, with corresponding modules or units performing corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiment, while other steps besides sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The function of a specific unit can be based on the corresponding method embodiment. There can be one or more processors.

[0238] In this application, "instruction" can include direct and indirect instructions, as well as explicit and implicit instructions. The information indicated by a given piece of information is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the information to be instructed, such as instructing the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly instruct the information to be instructed by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also instruct only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent.

[0239] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0240] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0241] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be based on the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0242] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0243] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0244] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0245] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. 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 one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0246] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0247] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A paging method applied to a terminal device, characterized in that, The method includes: The terminal device receives a first indication information from the network side device, which indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the extended discontinuous reception eDRX cycle, the terminal device shall remain in a sleep state at at least one paging opportunity PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle. When the paging message does not carry the identifier of the terminal device, the device remains in a sleep state at at least one PO according to the first indication information. The eDRX cycle includes K POs associated with the terminal device, each of which is located in one of the K DRX cycles, where K ≥ 1 and K is an integer. Receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes: The network-side device receives a first paging early indication (PEI) corresponding to the K POs, the first PEI carrying the first indication information; the PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position within K DRX cycles.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send the paging message at the K POs. The at least one PO includes the PO located after the first PO among the K POs, or the at least one PO includes the PO associated with the terminal device located after the first PO within the eDRX cycle. The first PO is the PO where the terminal device is located when it successfully receives the first paging message at the K POs.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, and the K POs are located in K DRX cycles respectively. Receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes: The paging message is received at the Jth PO among the K POs, and the paging message carries the first indication information; The at least one PO includes the PO that is located after the Jth PO among the K POs, or the at least one PO includes the PO that is located after the Jth PO within the eDRX period, where K≥1, 1≤J≤K, and K and J are both integers.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Receiving the first indication information from the network-side device includes: The network-side device receives a first system message, which carries the first indication information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device within the PTW in the eDRX cycle, where n ≥ 2 and n is an integer. The at least one PO includes the PO located after the second PO among the n POs, where the second PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message among the n POs.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network-side device receives a second system message, which carries third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that multiple POs associated with the terminal device located in the PTW during the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, and each PO group includes p POs. The network-side device sends the same paging message at p POs in each PO group, where m ≥ 2, p ≥ 2, and m and p are both integers. The at least one PO includes the PO located after the third PO in the PO group, where the third PO is the PO where the terminal device successfully received the first paging message in the PO group.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The eDRX cycle includes q POs associated with the terminal device, each of the q POs being located in one of the q DRX cycles, where q ≥ 1 and q is an integer. The method further includes: The terminal device receives a second PEI from the network-side device. The second PEI carries fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device should reuse the second PEI at the q POs.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, If the second PEI is determined to be reused at the q POs according to the fourth instruction, then at the q POs, the second PEI is used to maintain a sleep state or receive a paging state.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: If it is determined according to the fourth instruction that the second PEI is not reused at the q POs, then at the first PO among the q POs, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the second PEI, and receives the third PEI corresponding to each PO after the first PO among the q POs, and at each PO, the PO remains in a sleep state or receives a paging state according to the corresponding third PEI.

10. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to network-side devices, the method includes: Send a first indication message, which indicates that when the terminal device does not carry the identifier of the terminal device in the paging message received during the eDRX cycle, it shall remain in a sleep state at at least one PO associated with the terminal device during the eDRX cycle. The eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, each of which is located in one of the K DRX cycles, where K ≥ 1 and K is an integer. Sending the first indication information includes: Send a first PEI corresponding to the K POs, the first PEI carrying the first indication information; the PEI is configured to correspond to one or more POs located at the same position within K DRX cycles.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first PEI is used to instruct the network-side device to send the paging message at the K POs, and the method further includes: The paging message is sent at the K POs.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The eDRX includes K POs associated with the terminal device, and the K POs are located in K DRX cycles respectively. Sending the first indication information includes: A paging message is sent at the K POs, wherein the paging message sent at the Jth PO among the K POs carries the first indication information, where K≥1, 1≤J≤K, and K and J are both integers.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The sending of the first indication information includes: Send a first system message, which carries the first indication information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second system message, which carries second indication information. The second indication information is used to instruct the network-side device to send the same paging message at n POs. The n POs are the first n POs associated with the terminal device in the PTW within the eDRX cycle, where n≥2 and n are all integers. A paging message is sent according to the second instruction information.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second system message, which carries third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate that multiple POs associated with the terminal device located in the PTW in the eDRX cycle include m PO groups, each PO group includes p POs, and the network-side device sends the same p p PO in each PO group, where m≥2, p≥2, and m and p are both integers. A paging message is sent based on the third instruction information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10-15, characterized in that, The eDRX cycle includes q POs associated with the terminal device, each of the q POs being located in one of the q DRX cycles, where q ≥ 1 and q is an integer. The method further includes: Send a second PEI, which carries fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device reuses the second PEI in the q POs.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a program or instructions for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A computer program product containing instructions, characterized in that, When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

20. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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