Communication method and related device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and related devices for reducing the power consumption of a network device. The communication method applied to the network device includes sending first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to activate a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a first broadcast service configured by the network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to communication methods and related devices. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of the information age and the popularization and application of network communications, green communications has become a topic of great concern. Green communications aims to reduce the power consumption of communication systems, reduce the generation of electronic waste, and improve the efficient use of resources. Among them, how to reduce the power consumption of communication devices has attracted wide attention.

[0003] In related communication methods, for multicast service or broadcast service scenarios, the network device sends the same data to multiple terminal devices at the same time. The network device keeps the downlink open to facilitate data transmission, continuously consuming power, resulting in high power consumption. There is no relevant mechanism to solve this problem. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and related devices for reducing the power consumption of network devices.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network device and includes:

[0006] The network device sends the first information to the terminal device. The first information is used to activate the first cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) mechanism of the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service configured by the network device. A multicast service is a point-to-multipoint communication service. In a multicast service scenario, the network device sends the same data to multiple terminal devices. A broadcast service is a point-to-all-points communication service. In a broadcast service scenario, the network device sends the same data to all terminal devices connected thereto. The cell discontinuous mechanism defines the active period and the inactive period for the network device to transmit service data. Only during the active period does the network device transmit service data to the terminal device. That is to say, within the first active period defined by the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, the network device sends multicast service data to the terminal device; within the second active period defined by the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, the network device sends broadcast service data to the terminal device. The so-called activation means that the terminal device receives relevant service data based on the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism configured by the network device. That is, after activating the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, the terminal device expects to receive multicast service data sent by the network device within the first active period defined by the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism; after activating the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, within the second active period defined by the second cell discontinuous transmission, the terminal device expects to receive broadcast service data sent by the network device.

[0007] Based on the above description, it can be seen that the present application has the following beneficial effects: After the network device configures the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service and sends the information for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism to the network device, the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism becomes effective. Then, when the network device transmits relevant services to the terminal device, it does not need to continuously transmit relevant service data, but transmits according to the definition of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism within a specific time period, thereby saving the power consumption of the network device.

[0008] In some optional implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information further includes configuration information, and the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. That is to say, when the network device sends the configuration information to the terminal device, it instructs the configuration information to become effective. Or rather, for the terminal device, receiving the configuration information determines that the configuration becomes effective. Then, when the network device sends multicast service data and / or broadcast service data to the terminal device, it is based on the corresponding cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Correspondingly, the terminal device also receives multicast service data and / or broadcast service data within the corresponding active period based on the corresponding cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0009] In this application, the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services in the configuration information enables the network device to perform the transmission of relevant multicast services and / or broadcast services based on the configured cell discontinuous transmission mechanism after sending the configuration information without waiting, reducing the transmission delay and improving the efficiency.

[0010] In some alternative implementation manners of the first aspect, before the network device sends the first information to the terminal device, the network device also sends configuration information to the terminal device, and the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. The network device then sends a first paging message to the terminal device, and the first paging message includes the first information. That is to say, the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism configured by the network device is activated in the first paging message. In other words, the network device sends the configuration information and the activation information to the terminal device respectively.

[0011] In this application, there are multiple possible ways to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services, enriching the implementation manners and application scenarios of the technical solution of this application and improving the flexibility of the technical solution. In addition, in the solution where the network device sends the configuration information and the activation information to the terminal device respectively, the activation time of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services can be flexibly controlled, further improving the practicality of the technical solution.

[0012] In some alternative implementation manners of the first aspect, after sending the first information to the terminal device, the network device may also send a second paging message to the terminal device, and the second paging message is used to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. By deactivation, it means that the network device no longer sends relevant multicast service data and / or broadcast service data to the terminal device based on the relevant discontinuous transmission mechanism, and the terminal device no longer receives relevant multicast service data and / or broadcast service data from the network device based on the relevant discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0013] In this application, a deactivation solution for the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multicast services and / or broadcast services is also provided, which can flexibly adapt to different requirements and further improve the practicality of the technical solution.

[0014] In a second aspect, this application provides a communication method, which is applied to a terminal device and includes:

[0015] The terminal device receives first information from the network device. The first information is used to activate the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for the first broadcast service configured by the network device. The terminal device activates the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, and / or the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, based on the first information. Among them, activating the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism means that the terminal device expects to receive multicast service data sent by the network device during the first activation period defined by the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism. After activating the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, it means that the terminal device expects to receive broadcast service data sent by the network device during the second activation period defined by the second discontinuous cell transmission.

[0016] Based on the above description, it can be seen that the present application has the following beneficial effects: After the network device configures the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service, and sends information for activating the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism to the network device, the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism becomes effective. Then, when the terminal device transmits related services with the network device, it does not need to continuously turn on the related data reception function, but turns it on during a specific time period according to the definition of the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, thus saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0017] In some optional implementation manners of the second aspect, the first information further includes configuration information, and the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, and / or the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism. That is to say, when the network device sends the configuration information to the terminal device, it indicates that the configuration information becomes effective. Then, for the terminal device, receiving the configuration information determines that the configuration becomes effective. The terminal device receives multicast service data and / or broadcast service data during the corresponding activation period based on the corresponding discontinuous cell transmission mechanism.

[0018] In the present application, configuring the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service in the configuration information enables the terminal device to perform related multicast service and / or broadcast service transmission based on the configured discontinuous cell transmission mechanism after receiving the configuration information, without waiting, reducing the transmission delay and also improving the efficiency.

[0019] In some optional implementations of the second aspect, the terminal device may further receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. After receiving the configuration information from the network device, the terminal device then receives a first paging message, and the first paging message includes first information. That is to say, the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell configured by the network device is activated in the first paging message. In other words, the terminal device receives the configuration information and the activation information from the network device respectively.

[0020] In this application, there are multiple possibilities for activating the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service in a cell, which enriches the implementation manners and application scenarios of the technical solution of this application and improves the flexibility of the technical solution. In addition, in the solution where the network device separately sends the configuration information and the activation information to the terminal device, the effective time of the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service in the cell can be flexibly controlled, further improving the practicality of the technical solution.

[0021] In some optional implementations of the second aspect, after receiving the first information from the network device, the terminal device may further receive a second paging message from the network device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. By deactivation, it means that the terminal device no longer receives the relevant multicast service data and / or broadcast service data from the network device based on the relevant discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0022] In this application, a deactivation solution for the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the multicast service and / or the broadcast service in a cell is also provided, which can flexibly adapt to different requirements and further improves the practicality of the technical solution.

[0023] In some optional implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first paging message includes a first activation instruction, and the first activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell corresponding to the first group. Among them, the first group includes the terminal device, and the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell corresponding to the first group includes the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. That is to say, the first paging message is a message that separately activates the first group.

[0024] In this application, the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell corresponding to the first group can be separately activated in the first paging message, avoiding interference with the services of other groups and improving the reliability of the technical solution of this application.

[0025] In some alternative implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction, and the second activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. That is to say, the first paging message can activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services at the same time. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0026] In this application, the first paging message can activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services at the same time, without the need to activate each multicast service or each broadcast service separately. This can not only improve efficiency, but also reduce the data transmission volume between the network device and the terminal device, and reduce the occupation of network resources.

[0027] In some alternative implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first paging message includes a third activation instruction, and / or a fourth activation instruction. Among them, the third activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. The fourth activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, in the first paging message, the instruction for activating the discontinuous cell mechanism of the multicast service is decoupled from the instruction for activating the discontinuous cell mechanism of the broadcast service and will not interfere with each other.

[0028] In this application, the instruction for activating the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism of the multicast service can be decoupled from the instruction for activating the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism of the broadcast service. Then in practical applications, in the same paging message, it is possible to activate or not activate different services, and there is no interference between them, which improves the reliability of the technical solution and further enriches the implementation methods of the technical solution of this application.

[0029] In some alternative implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction, and the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. Among them, the first group includes terminal devices, and the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes a first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, and / or a second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism.

[0030] In this application, the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group can be deactivated separately in the second paging message, avoiding interference with the services of other groups and improving the reliability of the technical solution of this application.

[0031] In some alternative implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction, and the second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. That is to say, the second paging message can deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services at the same time. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0032] In this application, the second paging message can deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services at the same time, without the need to deactivate each multicast service or each broadcast service separately. This can not only improve efficiency, but also reduce the data transmission volume between the network device and the terminal device, and reduce the occupancy of network resources.

[0033] In some alternative implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction, and / or a fourth deactivation instruction. Among them, the third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, in the second paging message, the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous mechanism for multicast services is decoupled from the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous mechanism for broadcast services and will not interfere with each other.

[0034] In this application, the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services can be decoupled from the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for broadcast services. Then in practical applications, in the same paging message, it is possible to activate or deactivate different services, and there is no interference between them, which improves the reliability of the technical solution and further enriches the implementation methods of the technical solution of this application.

[0035] In a third aspect, this application provides a network device, including:

[0036] A transceiver unit, configured to send first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to activate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first broadcast service configured by the network device.

[0037] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect, the first information is included in the first paging message. The transceiver unit is further configured to send configuration information to the terminal device, and the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0038] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second paging message to the terminal device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a terminal device, including:

[0040] A transceiver unit, configured to receive first information from a network device, where the first information is used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell for the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell for the first broadcast service configured by the network device.

[0041] In some alternative embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first information is included in the first paging message. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0042] In some alternative embodiments of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second paging message from the network device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0043] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first information further includes configuration information, where the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0044] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first paging message includes a first activation instruction, where the first activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell corresponding to the first group. The first group includes the terminal device, and the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell corresponding to the first group includes the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0045] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction, where the second activation instruction is used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0046] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first paging message includes a third activation instruction, and / or a fourth activation instruction. The third activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services; the fourth activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0047] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction, and the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. The first group includes terminal devices, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0048] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction, and the second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. The first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0049] In some alternative embodiments of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction, and / or a fourth deactivation instruction. The third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0050] It can be understood that the network device shown in the third aspect is used to implement the method shown in the foregoing first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. The terminal device shown in the fourth aspect is used to implement the method shown in the foregoing second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, and its beneficial effects are as shown above and will not be elaborated here.

[0051] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and a memory. The processor stores instructions, and when the instructions stored in the memory run on the processor, the methods shown in the foregoing first aspect, any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, second aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect are implemented.

[0052] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored. When the instructions are run on a processor, the method shown in the foregoing first aspect, any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is implemented.

[0053] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed on a processor, the method shown in the foregoing first aspect, any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect is implemented.

[0054] The beneficial effects shown in any one of the fifth aspect to the seventh aspect are similar to those shown in the foregoing first aspect, any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and will not be elaborated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 2 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 5 It is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0060] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related devices for reducing the power consumption of network devices.

[0061] Next, embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0062] First, proprietary terms and related concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of the present application will be described.

[0063] 1. Multicast.

[0064] Multicast is a point-to-multipoint communication method, which means that a multicast source (one or more hosts) simultaneously sends the same data to multiple hosts. The basic concept in multicast is "group". The multiple hosts mentioned above can be understood as a multicast group. A multicast group is a group of receivers that expect to receive a specific data stream. Each node in the multicast group can be called a multicast group member. It should be noted that the multicast group has no physical or geographical boundaries, and the hosts within the group can be located anywhere in the Internet or a private network.

[0065] 2. Broadcast.

[0066] In the broadcast transmission mechanism, all network hosts are allowed to use the same communication channel. In the broadcast mode, one host transmits data packets to all other hosts, and this method is called "all-to-all". Different from multicast transmission, in the multicast method, there is no need for group management.

[0067] Next, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is the schematic diagram of the system architecture provided by the embodiment of this application. It can be understood that Figure 1 the figure shows a possible and non-limiting system schematic diagram.

[0068] As Figure 1 shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes RAN nodes 110, terminal devices 121, 122, and 123.

[0069] Exemplarily, the terminal device 121 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wired. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or the same physical device integrating the core network logic function and the radio access network logic function. Specifically, it is not limited here.

[0070] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or an evolved system for the future (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0071] The RAN node 110, that is, the network device, which may sometimes also be referred to as an access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, etc., is a part of the communication system used to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access.

[0072] In some possible implementation manners, the RAN node 110 may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node 110 may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. It should be noted that the RAN node 110 in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node 110, and specific details are not limited here.

[0073] The terminal device 121 may also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal in the embodiments of the present application can be widely applied to various scenarios. For example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal. Exemplarily, Figure 1 Three different types of terminal devices are shown, namely terminal device 121, terminal device 122, and terminal device 123. In addition, all or part of the functions of the terminal device in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware. The terminal device in the present application can also be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Specifically, it is not limited here.

[0074] It should be noted that Figure 1 This is only an example of the communication system. In actual applications, the RAN 100 may also include a larger number of RAN nodes, more or fewer terminal devices. The types of multiple RAN nodes can be the same, partially the same, or all different. Specifically, it is not limited here. The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 1), etc.

[0075] In the present application, "sending information to... (such as a terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. It can include directly or indirectly sending information to the terminal device. "Receiving information from... (such as a terminal device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal device. It can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the terminal device. Necessary processing may be performed on the information between the source and the destination of the information transmission, such as format change, etc. However, the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the present application can be understood similarly and will not be elaborated here.

[0076] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 which is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, including:

[0077] The network device sends the first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell configured by the network device.

[0078] First, in combination with Figure 3 , the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell is described. Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 which is a schematic diagram of the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0079] In Figure 3 the illustrated embodiment, two discontinuous transmission periods of the cell are shown. T2 represents one of the periods, and this period includes two intervals: T1 and the interval outside T1. Among them, T1 represents the activation period, and the part outside T1 represents the non-activation period. Among them, the activation period is also called the on duration time. When in the activation period, the network device sends relevant service data to the terminal device, and the terminal device expects to receive relevant service data from the network device.

[0080] It should be noted that the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cell configured by the network device in the embodiment of the present application includes the discontinuous transmission mechanism of multicast services and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of broadcast services. Then, the relevant service data mentioned above includes multicast service data and / or broadcast service data. In the following description, the first discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service and the second discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service are taken as examples.

[0081] The network device sends the first information to the terminal device, which means that the terminal device receives the first information from the network device. Among them, the first information is used to activate the first discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or the second discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service configured by the network device.

[0082] Specifically, the first information has multiple possibilities. It can be used to activate the first discontinuous transmission mechanism, or it can be used to activate the second discontinuous transmission mechanism, or it can be used to activate both the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second discontinuous transmission mechanism. Specifically, it is not limited here.

[0083] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information has multiple possibilities, which are described separately below:

[0084] In some alternative embodiments, the first information further includes configuration information, which instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. That is, the network device sends the configuration information to the terminal device, and the terminal device considers the configuration to take effect immediately upon receiving the configuration information, and performs relevant service data transmission with the network device based on the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell indicated by the configuration information.

[0085] Exemplarily, it is assumed that the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell of the first multicast service. When the terminal device receives this configuration information, it means that the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell takes effect.

[0086] Exemplarily, it is assumed that the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell of the first multicast service. When the terminal device receives this configuration information, it means that the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell take effect.

[0087] In this application, the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell of the multicast service and / or the broadcast service in the configuration information enables the network device to perform data transmission of relevant multicast services and / or broadcast services based on the configured discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell after sending the configuration information, and enables the terminal device to perform data reception of relevant multicast services and / or broadcast services based on the configured discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell after receiving the configuration information, without waiting, reducing the transmission delay and improving the efficiency.

[0088] In some alternative embodiments, the first information can also be decoupled from the configuration information. That is, the network device first sends the configuration information to the terminal device, and the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. Then, the network device sends the first paging message to the terminal device, and the first paging message includes the first information. That is, the configuration information is activated in the first paging message.

[0089] It should be noted that the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell indicated to be activated by the first paging message can be the same as or different from the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the cell sent by the network device to the terminal device, and specific details are not limited here.

[0090] Exemplarily, it is assumed that the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device instructs the network device to configure the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell. The first paging message can be used to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell and the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the second cell, or can be used only to activate the discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first cell.

[0091] In this application, there are multiple possible ways to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services, which enriches the implementation methods and application scenarios of the technical solutions of this application and improves the flexibility of the technical solutions. Additionally, in the solution where the network device separately sends configuration information and activation information to the terminal device, the effective time of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services can be flexibly controlled, further enhancing the practicality of the technical solutions.

[0092] In the embodiments of this application, there are multiple possible activation granularities corresponding to the first paging message. The possible situations are described separately as follows:

[0093] In some alternative implementation manners, the first paging message can separately activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the multicast services and / or broadcast services corresponding to a certain group. Generally speaking, the first paging message includes a first activation instruction, and the first activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. Among them, the first group includes terminal devices, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. That is to say, the first activation instruction is used to activate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first group where the terminal device is located for the first multicast service and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first broadcast service.

[0094] It can be understood that the first group can be indicated by a group identifier, and the group identifier includes identifiers such as a group common radio network temporary identity (G-RNTI) and a temporary mobile group identifier (TMGI) that can uniquely indicate a group. The identifier of the terminal device is included in the first group identifier, or the group identifier adopted by the terminal device is the first group identifier.

[0095] In this application, the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group can be separately activated in the first paging message, which can not only avoid affecting services other than the first multicast service and / or the first broadcast service in the first group, but also avoid interfering with the services of other groups, improving the reliability of the technical solutions of this application.

[0096] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message may also activate the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services simultaneously. Generally speaking, the first paging message may include a second activation instruction for activating the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services, and the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services.

[0097] It should be noted that the above-mentioned second activation instruction for activating the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device means that the second activation instruction can activate both the relevant configurations of the multicast service and the relevant configurations of the broadcast service. It is not limited that the network device must be configured with both multicast services and broadcast services at the same time. Instead, when the terminal device receives the second activation instruction, it activates the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism indicated by the activation instruction and already synchronized with the network device. The synchronization here means that the network device sends the relevant information of the discontinuous cell transmission mechanism configured by itself to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the relevant information.

[0098] Exemplarily, assume that the network device and the terminal device only synchronize the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism of the first multicast service. Then, when the terminal device receives the second activation instruction, it activates the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism. Assume that the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism of the first multicast service and the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service. Then, when the terminal device receives the second activation instruction, it activates the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism and the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism.

[0099] Optionally, the function of the second activation instruction may be implemented by a certain bit (bit) of the first paging message.

[0100] Exemplarily, it is defined that the value of the first bit of the first paging message is 1, indicating the activation of the first discontinuous cell transmission mechanism and / or the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, and the function of the second activation instruction is implemented. In this solution, when the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the first paging message with the first bit being 1, it activates the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism. When the network device and the terminal device synchronize the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the first paging message with the first bit being 1, it activates the second discontinuous cell transmission mechanism.

[0101] Through the above examples, it can be understood that the first bit can simultaneously activate the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Additionally, the foregoing examples do not limit the implementation manner of the second activation instruction. The definition of the first bit and its value can be determined according to actual applications, and the present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0102] In the present application, the first paging message can simultaneously activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services, without the need to activate each multicast service or each broadcast service separately. This can not only improve efficiency but also reduce the data transmission volume between the network device and the terminal device, reducing the occupancy of network resources.

[0103] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message can separately activate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Generally speaking, the first paging message includes a third activation instruction, and / or, a fourth activation instruction.

[0104] Among them, the third activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. That is to say, the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services.

[0105] The fourth activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple broadcast services.

[0106] That is to say, in this embodiment, the first paging message can separately control the activation of the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism through different activation instructions, and the two are decoupled.

[0107] Optionally, the functions of the third activation instruction and the fourth activation instruction can be respectively implemented through two bit positions of the first paging message.

[0108] Exemplarily, it is defined that when the value of the second bit of the first paging message is 1, it indicates the activation of the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, implementing the function of the third activation instruction. When the value of the third bit of the first paging message is 1, it indicates the activation of the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, implementing the function of the fourth activation instruction.

[0109] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device have synchronized the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives a first paging message in which both the second bit and the third bit are 1, the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism are activated.

[0110] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device have synchronized the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives a first paging message in which the second bit is 1 and the third bit is 0, only the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism is activated.

[0111] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device have synchronized the first discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives a first paging message in which both the second bit and the third bit are 1, only the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism is activated. At the same time, the terminal device may also send feedback information to the network device, and the feedback information indicates that the terminal device has not synchronized the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the fourth activation instruction.

[0112] It should be noted that the foregoing examples do not limit the implementation manners of the third activation instruction and the fourth activation instruction. The definitions of the second bit, the third bit, and the corresponding values can be determined according to actual applications, and the present application does not make any limitations thereto.

[0113] In addition, it should be noted that the multiple multicast services described in the embodiments of the present application may be some or all of the multicast services configured by the network device, and the multiple broadcast services may be some or all of the broadcast services configured by the network device. Exemplarily, in a solution where the multiple multicast services are some of the multicast services configured by the network device, the first paging message may further include the identifiers of these multiple multicast services to distinguish them from other services. In a solution where the multiple multicast services are all of the multicast services configured by the network device, the first paging message may not include the multicast service identifier. The multiple broadcast services are similar and will not be elaborated herein.

[0114] In the present application, the instruction for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the multicast service and the instruction for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the broadcast service may be decoupled. Then, in actual applications, in the same paging message, it is possible to activate or not activate different services, and there is no interference between them, improving the reliability of the technical solution, and at the same time further enriching the implementation manners of the technical solution of the present application.

[0115] Generally speaking, based on the above description, it can be seen that the present application has the following beneficial effects: After the network device configures the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services and / or broadcast services, it sends information for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism to the network device, enabling the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism to take effect. Then, when the network device transmits related services to the terminal device, it does not need to continuously send related service data, but instead sends it within a specific time period according to the definition of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, thereby saving the power consumption of the network device. Then, when the terminal device transmits related services to the network device, it does not need to continuously turn on the related data reception function, but instead turns it on within a specific time period according to the definition of the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, thereby saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0116] In some alternative embodiments, after step 201, the network device and the terminal device may further perform step 202. Transmit related service data based on the activated cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0117] In the embodiments of the present application, the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism defines the activation period and the non-activation period for the network device to send data to the terminal device in the transmission scheme of the first multicast service. When in the activation period of data transmission, the network device sends the data of the first multicast service to the terminal device. That is to say, in this period, the terminal device receives the data of the first multicast service from the network device.

[0118] Similarly, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism defines the activation period and the non-activation period for the network device to send data to the terminal device in the transmission scheme of the first broadcast service. When in the activation period of data transmission, the network device sends the data of the first broadcast service to the terminal device. That is to say, in this period, the terminal device receives the data of the first broadcast service from the network device.

[0119] In some alternative embodiments, after step 201, the network device may further perform step 203. Send a second paging message to the terminal device, and the second paging message is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism configured by the network device.

[0120] The so-called deactivation mentioned above means that the network device and the terminal device no longer perform data transmission of related services based on the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the second paging message. Exemplarily, assuming that the second paging message instructs to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service, then the network device no longer sends the data of the first multicast service to the terminal device based on the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and the terminal device no longer receives the data of the first multicast service from the network device based on the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0121] In this application, a deactivation solution for the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multicast services and / or broadcast services is also provided, which can flexibly adapt to different requirements and further improve the practicability of the technical solution.

[0122] In the embodiments of this application, there are multiple possibilities for the deactivation granularity of the second paging message. The possible situations are described below:

[0123] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message can separately deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to a certain group for multicast services and / or broadcast services. Generally speaking, the second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction, and the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. Among them, the first group includes terminal devices, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or, a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. That is to say, the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first group where the terminal device is located for the first multicast service, and / or, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for the first broadcast service.

[0124] In this application, the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group can be separately deactivated in the second paging message, avoiding interference with the services of other groups and improving the reliability of the technical solution of this application.

[0125] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message can also deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services at the same time. Generally speaking, the second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction, and the second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of the multiple multicast services, and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of the multiple broadcast services.

[0126] It should be noted that the above-mentioned second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, which means that the second deactivation instruction can deactivate both the relevant configurations of multicast services and the relevant configurations of broadcast services. It is not limited that the network device must be configured with both multicast services and broadcast services at the same time, but rather that when the terminal device receives this second deactivation instruction, it deactivates the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by this deactivation instruction and that has been synchronized with the network device.

[0127] Exemplarily, assume that the network device and the terminal device have only synchronized the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service. Then, when the terminal device receives the second deactivation instruction, it deactivates the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Assume that the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service. Then, when the terminal device receives the second deactivation instruction, it deactivates the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0128] Optionally, the function of the second deactivation instruction can be implemented by a certain bit of the second paging message.

[0129] Exemplarily, it is defined that the value of the fourth bit of the second paging message is 0, indicating deactivation of the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, to implement the function of the second deactivation instruction. In this solution, when the network device and the terminal device have synchronized the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the second paging message with the fourth bit being 1, it deactivates the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. When the network device and the terminal device have synchronized the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the second paging message with the fourth bit being 1, it deactivates the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0130] Through the above example, it can be understood that the fourth bit can simultaneously implement the deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Additionally, the foregoing example does not constitute a limitation on the implementation manner of the second deactivation instruction. The fourth bit and its value definition can be determined according to actual applications, and the present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0131] In the present application, the second paging message can simultaneously deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services, without the need to separately deactivate each multicast service or each broadcast service. This can not only improve efficiency but also reduce the data transmission volume between the network device and the terminal device, reducing the occupation of network resources.

[0132] In some optional implementation manners, the second paging message can separately implement the deactivation of the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism. Generally speaking, the second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction, and / or, a fourth deactivation instruction.

[0133] Among them, the third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. That is to say, the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanisms of the multiple multicast services.

[0134] The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. The first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services. That is to say, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism indicated by the first information is included in the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the multiple broadcast services.

[0135] That is to say, in this embodiment, the second paging message can control the deactivation of the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism respectively through different deactivation instructions, and the two are decoupled.

[0136] Optionally, the functions of the third deactivation instruction and the fourth deactivation instruction can be respectively implemented by two bit positions of the second paging message.

[0137] Exemplarily, it is defined that the value of the fifth bit position of the second paging message is 0, indicating deactivating the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and implementing the function of the third deactivation instruction. The value of the sixth bit position of the second paging message is 0, indicating deactivating the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and implementing the function of the fourth deactivation instruction.

[0138] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the second paging message with both the fifth bit position and the sixth bit position being 0, it deactivates the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0139] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first discontinuous transmission mechanism and the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the second paging message with the fifth bit position being 0 and the sixth bit position being 1, it only deactivates the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0140] Optionally, in this solution, when the network device and the terminal device synchronize the first discontinuous transmission mechanism, when the terminal device receives the second paging message with both the fifth bit position and the sixth bit position being 0, it only deactivates the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0141] It should be noted that the foregoing examples do not constitute a limitation on the implementation manners of the third deactivation instruction and the fourth deactivation instruction. The fifth bit position, the sixth bit position and the corresponding value definitions can be determined according to actual applications, and the present application does not make any limitations thereon.

[0142] In this application, the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for multicast services can be decoupled from the instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for broadcast services. Then, in practical applications, in the same paging message, it is possible to activate or deactivate different services without interference with each other, improving the reliability of the technical solution and further enriching the implementation methods of the technical solution of this application.

[0143] It should be noted that for the same multicast service or the same broadcast service, the activation granularity and deactivation granularity of the paging message can be the same or different, and specific details are not limited here. Exemplarily, for the same multicast service, the first paging message for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism can correspond to one group, and the second paging message for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponds to the multicast services of all groups.

[0144] Next, the related devices provided in the embodiments of this application will be described.

[0145] Please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 which is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiment of this application. As Figure 4 shown, the communication device 400 includes a transceiver unit 401. Optionally, in the embodiment of this application, the communication device 400 can be used as a network device to perform the following operations:

[0146] In some optional implementation manners, the communication device 400 includes a transceiver unit 401, which is used to send first information to the terminal device. The first information is used to activate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first broadcast service configured by the network device.

[0147] In some optional implementation manners, the first information further includes configuration information, and the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0148] In some optional implementation manners, the first information is included in the first paging message. The transceiver unit 401 is further used to send configuration information to the terminal device, and the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0149] In some optional implementation manners, the first paging message includes a first activation instruction, and the first activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. The first group includes the terminal device, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or, the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0150] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction for activating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of multicast services and / or a plurality of broadcast services transmitted by a network device. Wherein, the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services.

[0151] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message includes a third activation instruction, and / or a fourth activation instruction. Wherein, the third activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services; the fourth activation instruction is used to activate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services.

[0152] In some alternative embodiments, the transceiver unit 401 is further configured to transmit the first multicast service to the terminal device based on the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism; and / or transmit the first broadcast service to the terminal device based on the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0153] In some alternative embodiments, the transceiver unit 401 is further configured to send a second paging message to the terminal device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0154] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group. The first group includes the terminal device, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism, and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

[0155] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction for deactivating the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of multicast services and / or a plurality of broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Wherein, the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services.

[0156] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction, and / or a fourth deactivation instruction. Wherein, the third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services. The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism for a plurality of broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services.

[0157] The communication device 400 is used to implement the foregoing Figures 1 to 3For the operations performed by the network device in the illustrated embodiments, refer to the foregoing, and details are not repeated here.

[0158] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the communication device 400 may be used as a terminal device to perform the following operations:

[0159] In some alternative embodiments, the transceiver unit 401 is configured to receive first information from a network device, where the first information is used to activate a first discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism for a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second DRX mechanism for a first broadcast service configured by the network device.

[0160] In some alternative embodiments, the first information further includes configuration information, where the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first DRX mechanism, and / or the second DRX mechanism.

[0161] In some alternative embodiments, the first information is included in a first paging message. The transceiver unit 401 is further configured to receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information indicates that the network device configures the first DRX mechanism, and / or the second DRX mechanism.

[0162] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message includes a first activation instruction, where the first activation instruction is used to activate the DRX mechanism corresponding to a first group. The first group includes terminal devices, and the DRX mechanism corresponding to the first group includes the first DRX mechanism, and / or the second DRX mechanism.

[0163] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction, where the second activation instruction is used to activate the DRX mechanism for multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0164] In some alternative embodiments, the first paging message includes a third activation instruction, and / or a fourth activation instruction. Among them, the third activation instruction is used to activate the DRX mechanism for multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services; the fourth activation instruction is used to activate the DRX mechanism for multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0165] In some alternative embodiments, the transceiver unit 401 is further configured to transmit the first multicast service to the network device based on the first DRX mechanism; and / or transmit the first broadcast service to the network device based on the second DRX mechanism.

[0166] In some alternative embodiments, the transceiver unit 401 is further configured to receive a second paging message from a network device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0167] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction for deactivating the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cells corresponding to the first group. The first group includes terminal devices, and the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the cells corresponding to the first group includes the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell, and / or the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell.

[0168] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction for deactivating the discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device. Among them, the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0169] In some alternative embodiments, the second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction, and / or a fourth deactivation instruction. Among them, the third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services transmitted by the network device, and the first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services. The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate the discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

[0170] The communication device 400 is configured to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the foregoing Figures 1 to 3 illustrated embodiments. For details, refer to the foregoing. Details are not described herein again.

[0171] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 500 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the corresponding method described above. Figures 1 to 3 The communication device 500 shown in

[0172] Figure 5 may include: a processor 501, a memory 502, a communication interface 503, and a bus 504. The processor 501, the memory 502, and the communication interface 503 can be connected through the bus 504.

[0173] The processor 501 is the control center of the communication device 500, which can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU) or other general-purpose processors. Among them, the general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0174] As an example, the processor 501 may include one or more CPUs.

[0175] The memory 502 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the memory 502 may exist independently of the processor 501. The memory 502 may be connected to the processor 501 through the bus 504 for storing data, instructions, or program code. When the processor 501 invokes and executes the instructions or program code stored in the memory 502, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be implemented.

[0177] In another possible implementation, the memory 502 may also be integrated with the processor 501.

[0178] The communication interface 503 is used to connect the communication device 500 to other devices through a communication network, and the communication network may be an Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0179] The bus 504 may be an industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of representation, Figure 5 only a thick line is used to represent it in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0180] It should be noted that Figure 5The structure shown does not constitute a limitation on the communication device 500. Except Figure 5 for the components shown, the communication device 500 may include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine certain components, or have a different component arrangement.

[0181] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computing device can store or a data storage device such as a data center that contains one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive), etc. The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that direct the computing device to execute the above communication method.

[0182] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product containing instructions. The computer program product may be software or a program product that contains instructions and can run on a computing device or be stored in any available medium. When the computer program product runs on at least one computer device, it causes at least one computer device to execute the above communication method.

[0183] In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product.

[0184] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0185] In the description, claims and above-mentioned drawings of the present application, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In the present application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or modules does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or modules clearly listed, but may include other steps or modules not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The naming or numbering of steps that appear in the present application does not mean that the steps in the method flow must be executed in the time / logical order indicated by the naming or numbering. The named or numbered process steps can be changed in the execution order according to the technical purpose to be achieved, as long as the same or similar technical effects can be achieved. The division of modules that appears in the present application is a logical division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed coupling, direct coupling or communication connection to each other can be through some ports. The indirect coupling or communication connection between modules can be in an electrical or other similar form, which is not limited in the present application. And the modules or sub-modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, may or may not be physical modules, or may be distributed to multiple circuit modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the present application.

[0186] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not intended to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the protection scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a network device, and the method comprises: Sending first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to activate a first cell discontinuous sending mechanism for a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second cell discontinuous sending mechanism for a first broadcast service configured by the network device; The data of the first multicast service is sent to the terminal device only during a first activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell; and / or the data of the first broadcast service is sent to the terminal device only during a second activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell; The first information is included in a first paging message, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction, and the second activation instruction is used to activate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device; The first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services; Before sending the first information to the terminal device, the method further includes: Configuration information is sent to the terminal device, where the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After sending the first information to the terminal device, the method further includes: A second paging message is sent to the terminal device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction, where the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a discontinuous transmission mechanism of a cell corresponding to the first group; The first group includes the terminal devices, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction, where the second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device; The first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction and / or a fourth deactivation instruction; The third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a plurality of multicast services transmitted by the network device, wherein the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services; The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a terminal device, and the method comprises: Receiving first information from a network device, where the first information is used to activate a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a first broadcast service configured by the network device; The network device sends the data of the first multicast service to the terminal device only during a first activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell; and / or the network device sends the data of the first broadcast service to the terminal device only during a second activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell; The first information is included in a first paging message, the first paging message includes a second activation instruction, and the second activation instruction is used to activate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device; The first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the plurality of broadcast services; Before receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes: Configuration information is received from the network device, where the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that After receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes: A second paging message is received from the network device, where the second paging message is used to deactivate the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second paging message includes a first deactivation instruction, where the first deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a discontinuous transmission mechanism of a cell corresponding to the first group; The first group includes the terminal devices, and the cell discontinuous transmission mechanism corresponding to the first group includes the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second paging message includes a second deactivation instruction, where the second deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple multicast services and / or multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device; The first multicast service is included in the multiple multicast services, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second paging message includes a third deactivation instruction and / or a fourth deactivation instruction; The third deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a plurality of multicast services transmitted by the network device, wherein the first multicast service is included in the plurality of multicast services; The fourth deactivation instruction is used to deactivate a cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of multiple broadcast services transmitted by the network device, and the first broadcast service is included in the multiple broadcast services.

11. A network device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to send first information to a terminal device, wherein the first information is used to activate a first cell discontinuous sending mechanism of a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second cell discontinuous sending mechanism of a first broadcast service configured by the network device, wherein the first information is included in a first paging message; The transceiver unit is further configured to send the data of the first multicast service to the terminal device only during a first activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell; and / or send the data of the first broadcast service to the terminal device only during a second activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell; The transceiver unit is further used to send configuration information to the terminal device before sending the first information to the terminal device, and the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

12. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver unit, configured to receive first information from a network device, wherein the first information is used to activate a first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a first multicast service configured by the network device, and / or a second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism of a first broadcast service configured by the network device, wherein the first information is included in a first paging message; The network device sends the data of the first multicast service to the terminal device only during a first activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the first cell; and / or the network device sends the data of the first broadcast service to the terminal device only during a second activation period defined by the discontinuous transmission mechanism of the second cell; The transceiver unit is further used to receive configuration information from the network device before receiving the first information from the network device, and the configuration information instructs the network device to configure the first cell discontinuous transmission mechanism and / or the second cell discontinuous transmission mechanism.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a processor coupled to a memory; Instructions are stored in the memory, and when the instructions are executed on the processor, the communication device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 6 to 10.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a processor, the method of any one of claims 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 is implemented.

15. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is executed on a computer, the method of any one of claims 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 is implemented.

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