Communication method and device, communication equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, communication equipment and a storage medium. The method is applied to the terminal and comprises the following steps: determining that the terminal enters a power-saving state according to configuration information; wherein the configuration information is determined based on a coverage state of a service satellite of the terminal.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent with application number 202080004222.4, application date December 28, 2020, and invention name "Communication method and device, communication equipment and storage medium". Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of wireless communications but are not limited to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, relate to a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0003] In the field of wireless communications, satellite communications are gradually being used. Satellite communications refer to communications conducted by ground-based radio communication equipment using satellites as relays. Satellite communication systems consist of satellite parts and ground parts. Satellite communications have the advantages of a large communication range and are not easily affected by land disasters. However, due to the limited number of satellites, satellite communications are difficult to achieve all-weather coverage, resulting in excessive unnecessary power consumption by terminals when satellite coverage is limited. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a communication device and a storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, the method being applied to a terminal, comprising:

[0006] According to the configuration information, it is determined that the terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of the service satellite of the terminal.

[0007] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, where the method is applied to a base station, including:

[0008] Configuration information for determining that the terminal enters a power saving state is issued; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of a service satellite of the terminal.

[0009] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, where the device is applied to a terminal, including:

[0010] The first determination module is configured to determine that the terminal enters a power saving state according to configuration information; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of the service satellite of the terminal.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, where the device is applied to a base station, including:

[0012] The sending module is configured to send configuration information for determining that the terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of the service satellite of the terminal.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising at least: a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions that can be run on the processor, wherein:

[0014] When the processor is used to run the executable instructions, the executable instructions execute the steps in the communication method provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0015] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0016] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a communication device and a storage medium. Through the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal enters the power saving state of the terminal based on the configuration information determined by the service satellite coverage state. In this way, on the one hand, the normal communication of the terminal within the coverage range of the service satellite is not affected, and on the other hand, the waste of power consumption can be reduced outside the coverage range of the service satellite, thereby achieving the purpose of power saving. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless communication system according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0019] Figure 2 A communication method according to an exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. Figure 1 ;

[0020] Figure 3 A communication method according to an exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. Figure 2 ;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a terminal monitoring paging information according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0022] Figure 5 A structural frame of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment is shown Figure 1 ;

[0023] Figure 6 A structural frame of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment is shown Figure 2 ;

[0024] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 1 ;

[0025] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment Figure 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0027] The terms used in the disclosed embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments. The singular forms of "a", "an" and "the" used in the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0028] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various information in the disclosed embodiments, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the words "if" and "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at" or "when" or "in response to determination".

[0029] In order to better describe any embodiment of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustratively described by taking an application scenario of access control as an example.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 1 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a wireless communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system is a communication system based on cellular mobile communication technology, and the wireless communication system may include: a plurality of terminals 11 and a plurality of base stations 12 .

[0031] Among them, the terminal 11 can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user. The terminal 11 can communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal 11 can be an Internet of Things terminal, such as a sensor device, a mobile phone (or a "cellular" phone), and a computer with an Internet of Things terminal. For example, it can be a fixed, portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted device. For example, a station (STA), a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or a user terminal (user equipment, terminal). Alternatively, the terminal 11 can also be a device of an unmanned aerial vehicle. Alternatively, the terminal 11 can also be a vehicle-mounted device, for example, it can be a driving computer with wireless communication function, or a wireless terminal connected to an external driving computer. Alternatively, the terminal 11 may also be a roadside device, for example, a street lamp, a signal lamp or other roadside device with a wireless communication function.

[0032] The base station 12 may be a network-side device in a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be a fourth generation mobile communication technology (4G) system, also known as a long term evolution (LTE) system; or, the wireless communication system may be a 5G system, also known as a new radio (NR) system or a 5G NR system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may be a next generation system of the 5G system. The access network in the 5G system may be referred to as NG-RAN (New Generation-Radio Access Network).

[0033] Among them, the base station 12 can be an evolved base station (eNB) adopted in the 4G system. Alternatively, the base station 12 can also be a base station (gNB) adopting a centralized distributed architecture in the 5G system. When the base station 12 adopts a centralized distributed architecture, it usually includes a centralized unit (CU) and at least two distributed units (DU). The centralized unit is provided with a protocol stack of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link layer control protocol (RLC) layer, and a media access control (MAC) layer; the distributed unit is provided with a physical (Physical, PHY) layer protocol stack. The specific implementation method of the base station 12 is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] A wireless connection can be established between the base station 12 and the terminal 11 through a wireless air interface. In different implementations, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on the fourth generation mobile communication network technology (4G) standard; or, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on the fifth generation mobile communication network technology (5G) standard, for example, the wireless air interface is a new air interface; or, the wireless air interface can also be a wireless air interface based on the next generation mobile communication network technology standard of 5G.

[0035] In some embodiments, E2E (End to End) connections may also be established between the terminals 11, such as V2V (vehicle to vehicle) communication, V2I (vehicle to Infrastructure) communication, and V2P (vehicle to pedestrian) communication in vehicle to everything (V2X) communication.

[0036] In some embodiments, the wireless communication system may further include a network management device 13 .

[0037] Several base stations 12 are respectively connected to a network management device 13. The network management device 13 may be a core network device in a wireless communication system. For example, the network management device 13 may be a mobility management entity (MME) in an evolved packet core (EPC). Alternatively, the network management device may be other core network devices, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a public data network gateway (PGW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), or a home subscriber server (HSS). The implementation form of the network management device 13 is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] The emergence of new Internet applications such as AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and vehicle-to-vehicle communication has put forward higher requirements for wireless communication technology, driving the continuous evolution of wireless communication technology to meet the needs of applications. At present, cellular mobile communication technology is in the evolution stage of the new generation of technology. An important feature of the new generation of technology is to support flexible configuration of multiple service types. Since different service types have different requirements for wireless communication technology, such as eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband) service type mainly requires large bandwidth, high rate, etc.; URLLC (Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications) service type mainly requires high reliability and low latency; mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communication) service type mainly requires a large number of connections. Therefore, the new generation of wireless communication systems requires flexible and configurable designs to support the transmission of multiple service types.

[0039] In wireless communication technology, satellite communication is an important aspect of the future development of wireless communication technology. Satellite communication refers to the communication conducted by radio communication equipment on the ground using satellites as relays. The satellite communication system consists of a satellite part and a ground part. The characteristics of satellite communication are: a large communication range; communication can be carried out between any two points as long as they are within the range covered by the radio waves emitted by the satellite; and it is not easily affected by land disasters (high reliability). As a supplement to the current ground cellular communication system, satellite communication can have the following benefits:

[0040] First, extended coverage: For areas that cannot be covered by current cellular communication systems or where coverage costs are high, such as oceans, deserts, remote mountainous areas, etc., satellite communications can be used to solve communication problems.

[0041] Second, emergency communications: In extreme situations such as disasters such as earthquakes that make cellular communication infrastructure unavailable, satellite communications can be used to quickly establish communication connections.

[0042] Third, provide industry applications: For example, for delay-sensitive services in long-distance transmission, satellite communications can be used to reduce the delay of service transmission.

[0043] It can be foreseen that in future wireless communication systems, satellite communication systems and terrestrial cellular communication systems will gradually achieve deep integration and truly realize the intelligent connection of all things.

[0044] Based on the integration of the above satellite communication system and the terrestrial communication system, such as Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied in a terminal, including:

[0045] Step S101: Determine, according to configuration information, whether the terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of a service satellite of the terminal.

[0046] In the disclosed embodiment, the terminal can switch different states based on the configuration information determined by the coverage status of the service satellite. The power saving state of the terminal is: the state in which the terminal switches between the active state and the sleep state is determined according to the coverage status of the service satellite. Compared with the periodic activation mode that does not consider the satellite coverage, the power saving state can be a non-periodic activation. For example, when the service satellite is covered, the terminal enters the active state, and does not perform communication activities such as PDCCH monitoring in the range not covered by the service satellite, that is, it remains in the sleep state, and the sleep state includes the idle state and the inactive state. For another example, in the range covered by the service satellite, the terminal enters the state of periodic monitoring, and in the range not covered by the service satellite, it is always in the sleep state without periodic state switching.

[0047] In some embodiments, the terminal uses a periodic DRX configuration to periodically enter an active state to monitor PDCCH to achieve the purpose of saving power consumption. However, this method does not take into account the characteristics of satellite coverage. When the terminal is out of the coverage of the service satellite, it still periodically activates and monitors PDCCH, but actually cannot receive downlink information, resulting in a waste of power consumption.

[0048] Therefore, in the disclosed embodiment, the terminal switches the state based on the characteristics of the service satellite coverage, that is, enters the power saving state of the terminal based on the configuration information determined by the service satellite coverage state. In this way, on the one hand, the normal communication of the terminal within the coverage of the service satellite is not affected, and on the other hand, the waste of power consumption can be reduced outside the coverage of the service satellite, thereby achieving the purpose of power saving.

[0049] In some embodiments, the configuration information is agreed upon by a protocol or issued by a base station.

[0050] In the disclosed embodiment, the terminal may determine the above configuration information through the agreement of the protocol, or may obtain the above configuration information through the base station. For example, the base station obtains information related to the coverage status of the service satellite, and the terminal may receive the configuration information determined by the base station based on the service satellite status.

[0051] In addition, the terminal may also obtain the above configuration information in a manner predetermined by the protocol, for example, the protocol agrees to receive the above configuration information, and the terminal determines its own monitoring state according to the configuration information agreed in the protocol, etc. For another example, according to the protocol, when the terminal obtains information such as ephemeris information of the service satellite, it may determine the above configuration information according to the ephemeris information. For example, the time when the terminal enters the power saving state is determined according to the ephemeris information.

[0052] In some embodiments, the configuration information is sent by a base station, and the method includes:

[0053] Receive a signaling sent by a base station and carrying the configuration information, wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following:

[0054] RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

[0055] The terminal may receive the above configuration information through different signalings at different layers during random access with the base station. For example, the fields or character bits corresponding to the above configuration information may be added to the above signaling, or the above configuration information may be identified in an implicit manner, such as a coding and decoding method, a verification method, etc.

[0056] In this way, during the process of random access between the terminal and the base station, the terminal can obtain the configuration information sent by the base station and further determine the specific information for entering the above power saving state.

[0057] Of course, the terminal may also obtain the above configuration information through dedicated signaling, or obtain the above configuration information from the base station broadcast.

[0058] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0059] Used to determine the time information when the terminal enters the power saving state;

[0060] Instruction information for instructing the terminal to enter the power saving state.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal can determine the time information of entering the power saving state according to the above configuration information, for example, the start time, end time or duration of entering the power saving state, etc. The terminal can determine when to enter and end the power saving state according to the above time information.

[0062] In addition, the above configuration information can also be indication information for instructing the terminal to enter a power saving state. That is, after receiving the configuration information, the terminal can enter the power saving state according to the indication information, and determine the switching method and switching cycle of activation or sleep in the power saving state according to the configuration information.

[0063] It should be noted that the terminal entering the power saving state here does not mean that the terminal enters the sleep state, but rather adopts a more power-saving method compared to the original periodic activation method.

[0064] Exemplarily, in the power saving state, within the coverage of the service satellite, the terminal can switch between the active state and the sleep state according to a predetermined first cycle, and outside the coverage of the service satellite, the active state and the sleep state are switched with a predetermined second cycle. And outside the coverage, the duration of the active state in each cycle is shorter than the duration of the active state in each cycle within the coverage. In the non-power saving state, the terminal can switch between the active state and the sleep state according to the cycle, duration, etc. configured by DRX.

[0065] For example, in the power saving state, if the terminal is outside the coverage of the service satellite, it enters the sleep state. If it is within the coverage of the service satellite, the state is switched according to the cycle and duration configured by DRX.

[0066] In some embodiments, the time information includes:

[0067] The time information at which the terminal enters the power saving state is determined according to the ephemeris information of the serving satellite.

[0068] The above-mentioned time information can be the time information used to determine that the terminal enters the power saving state. For example, based on the ephemeris information of the service satellite, it can be determined that the terminal enters the power saving state after a specified period of time, the period of time the terminal maintains in the power saving state after entering the power saving state, or the time and period for switching between the activation state and the sleep state after entering the power saving state.

[0069] The above time information can be an absolute time, for example, entering the power saving state for 1 hour, entering the power saving state after 20 minutes, etc. It can also be a logical time, for example, entering the power saving state for 1000 subframes, etc. In this case, the time information can also include the reference duration information of the above logical time, for example, the logical time is 10 time slots. According to the parameter set (numerology) information corresponding to the time slot, the absolute duration corresponding to each time slot can be determined. For example, if the parameter frequency is 15kHz, then the duration of each time slot is 1ms (millisecond).

[0070] In some embodiments, the power saving state includes: an activation state and a dormant state configured by DRX; and the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0071] Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0072] Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0073] Detection information indicating that the terminal performs downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state;

[0074] Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

[0075] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the power saving state includes at least the activation state and the sleep state configured by the DRX. Therefore, the above indication information may include time information related to the switching of the activation state and the sleep state of the terminal.

[0076] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after receiving the above indication information, the terminal can enter the power saving state, and switch between the active state and the sleep state according to the information such as the start time and duration or end time of entering the active state or sleep state contained in the indication information.

[0077] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above indication information may also include the behavior of the terminal after entering the activated state or the dormant state. For example, after the terminal enters the dormant state, it still performs some detection on the downlink information, such as the physical layer downlink signal or downlink signaling, etc. Therefore, the above indication information may also be used to indicate the detection information such as the time, cycle, number of detections and detection method of the terminal to perform these signal or signaling detections.

[0078] In addition, the indication information may also include: information related to the service satellite of the terminal in the subsequent period, for example, satellite information of the next service satellite. In this way, the terminal can determine whether to enter the power saving state in the future according to the indication information.

[0079] In some embodiments, the detection information includes at least one of the following:

[0080] Detection method;

[0081] Number of tests;

[0082] Identification information.

[0083] Here, after the terminal enters the activated state or the dormant state, it can determine its own detection behavior according to the above detection information, including the above detection method, for example, according to the indication information, the terminal needs to detect the PDCCH in the power saving state, then the detection method includes the aggregation level of the downlink control information carried on the PDCCH; the number of detections and the type of downlink control information, etc.

[0084] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0085] In response to the terminal entering the sleep state based on the indication information, detection is performed according to the detection information.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the terminal enters the sleep state based on the indication information, the information may be detected to determine the behavior of the terminal after entering the sleep state.

[0087] Exemplarily, after the terminal enters the sleep state, it does not perform any uplink data transmission. At the same time, it can periodically detect GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) information, positioning information or other information that needs to be detected based on the detection method, number of detections and identification information determined by the above detection information.

[0088] In addition, the terminal can also determine when to switch to the active state based on the configuration information, as well as relevant information for rapid system access when switching to the active state, such as the random access preamble (Preamble sequence) and time-frequency resources required for rapid access.

[0089] like Figure 3 As shown, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied in a base station, including:

[0090] Step S201: issuing configuration information for determining that a terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of a service satellite of the terminal.

[0091] In the disclosed embodiment, the power saving state of the terminal is a mode in which the terminal state is switched according to the coverage state of the service satellite. Compared with the mode of periodic activation without considering the satellite coverage, the power saving state can be a non-periodic activation. For example, when the service satellite is covered, the terminal enters the activation state, and does not perform communication activities such as PDCCH monitoring in the range not covered by the service satellite, that is, it remains in a dormant state. For another example, in the range covered by the service satellite, the terminal enters the state of periodic monitoring, and in the range not covered by the service satellite, it is always in a dormant state without periodic state switching.

[0092] In one embodiment, the base station may send the above configuration information to the terminal according to the protocol agreement. For example, when the terminal is in a connected state, the base station sends the above configuration information to the terminal; when the terminal is in an idle state or an inactive state, the base station sends the above configuration information by broadcasting, etc.

[0093] In the disclosed embodiment, the base station determines the above configuration information according to the coverage status of the service satellite of the terminal, so that the terminal can switch the state based on the characteristics of the service satellite coverage, that is, enter the power saving state of the terminal based on the configuration information determined by the service satellite coverage status. In this way, on the one hand, the normal communication of the terminal within the coverage range of the service satellite is not affected, and on the other hand, the waste of power consumption can be reduced outside the coverage range of the service satellite, thereby achieving the purpose of power saving.

[0094] In some embodiments, the sending of configuration information for determining that the terminal enters a power saving state includes:

[0095] Sending a signaling carrying the configuration information; wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following:

[0096] RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

[0097] The base station can carry the above configuration information in different signaling of each layer during the terminal random access process. For example, the field or character bit corresponding to the above configuration information is added to the above signaling, or the above configuration information can be identified in an implicit manner, such as a coding and decoding method, a verification method, etc.

[0098] In this way, during the process of random terminal access, the base station can send configuration information determined according to the coverage status of the service satellite to the terminal, so that the terminal can determine to enter the power saving state.

[0099] Of course, the base station may also send the above configuration information through dedicated signaling.

[0100] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0101] Used to determine the time information when the terminal enters the power saving state;

[0102] Instruction information for instructing the terminal to enter the power saving state.

[0103] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above configuration information can be used for the terminal to determine the time information of entering the power saving state, for example, the start time, end time or duration of entering the power saving state, etc. The terminal can determine how to proceed according to the above time information.

[0104] In addition, the above configuration information can also be indication information for instructing the terminal to enter the power saving state, that is, the terminal can enter the power saving state after receiving the configuration information, and determine the switching method and switching cycle of activation or sleep in the power saving state according to the configuration information.

[0105] It should be noted that the terminal entering the power saving state here does not mean that the terminal enters the sleep state, but rather adopts a more power-saving method compared to the original periodic activation method.

[0106] Exemplarily, in the power saving state, within the coverage of the service satellite, the terminal can switch between the active state and the sleep state according to a predetermined first cycle, and outside the coverage of the service satellite, the active state and the sleep state are switched with a predetermined second cycle. And outside the coverage, the duration of the active state in each cycle is shorter than the duration of the active state in each cycle within the coverage. In the non-power saving state, the terminal can switch between the active state and the sleep state according to the cycle, duration, etc. configured by DRX.

[0107] For example, in the power saving state, if the terminal is outside the coverage of the service satellite, it enters the sleep state. If it is within the coverage of the service satellite, the state is switched according to the cycle and duration configured by DRX.

[0108] In some embodiments, the time information includes:

[0109] The time information at which the terminal enters the power saving state is determined according to the ephemeris information of the serving satellite.

[0110] The above-mentioned time information can be the time information used to determine that the terminal enters the power saving state. For example, based on the ephemeris information of the service satellite, it can be determined that the terminal enters the power saving state after a specified period of time, the period of time the terminal maintains in the power saving state after entering the power saving state, or the time and period for switching between the activation state and the sleep state after entering the power saving state.

[0111] The time information can be an absolute time, for example, entering the power saving state for 1 hour, entering the power saving state after 20 minutes, etc. It can also be a logical time, for example, entering the power saving state for 1000 subframes, etc. In this case, the time information can also include the reference duration information of the logical time, for example, the logical time is 10 time slots. According to the parameter set (numerology) information corresponding to the time slot, the absolute duration corresponding to each time slot can be determined. For example, if the parameter frequency is 15kHz, the duration of each time slot is 1ms.

[0112] In some embodiments, the power saving state includes: an activation state and a dormant state configured by DRX; and the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0113] Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0114] Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0115] Detection information indicating that the terminal performs physical layer downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state;

[0116] Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

[0117] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the power saving state includes at least the activation state and the sleep state configured by the DRX. Therefore, the above indication information may include time information related to the switching of the activation state and the sleep state of the terminal.

[0118] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after the base station sends the above-mentioned indication information to the terminal, the terminal can enter a power saving state and switch between the active state and the sleep state according to the information such as the start time and duration or end time of entering the active state or the sleep state contained in the indication information.

[0119] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above indication information may also include the behavior after the terminal enters the activated state or the dormant state, for example, after the terminal enters the dormant state, it is instructed to perform some detection on the downlink information, such as the physical layer downlink signal or downlink signaling, etc. Therefore, the above indication information may also be used to instruct the terminal to perform detection information such as the time, cycle, number of detections, and detection method for these signal or signaling detections.

[0120] In some embodiments, the detection information includes at least one of the following:

[0121] Detection method;

[0122] Number of tests;

[0123] Identification information.

[0124] Here, after the terminal enters the active state or the dormant state, it can determine its own detection behavior according to the above detection information. According to the indication information, the terminal needs to detect the PDCCH in the power saving state, and the detection method includes the aggregation level of the downlink control information carried on the PDCCH; the number of detections and the type of downlink control information.

[0125] The present disclosure also provides the following examples:

[0126] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in a dormant state, the terminal needs to periodically monitor the PDCCH based on the configuration of the base station to determine whether it needs to enter an active state. In order to monitor the PDCCH, the terminal needs to monitor it continuously for a period of time, which will cause the terminal to consume a certain amount of energy, such as Figure 4 shown.

[0127] For satellite communications, in the early stage of low-orbit satellite deployment, it is impossible to achieve all-weather coverage due to the limited number of satellites. In this case, the terminal may only be able to interact with data when there is satellite coverage. At other times, the terminal does not need to receive downlink signals or signaling, or send uplink signals or signaling. Therefore, the above-mentioned method of periodically monitoring PDCCH, that is, the method of periodically configuring DRX, will cause more power consumption waste.

[0128] Therefore, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal power saving method applicable to a satellite communication system is provided, so that when there is no service satellite to provide coverage, the terminal can reduce invalid operations, thereby saving terminal power consumption and achieving the purpose of power saving.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal determines to enter a dormant state based on the presence of a serving satellite:

[0130] Method 1: Based on ephemeris information;

[0131] The terminal determines the time information for entering the sleep state based on the ephemeris information. The time information can be an absolute time, such as 1 hour, etc.; it can also be a logical time, such as 1000 subframes, etc. When the time information is a logical time, the reference duration information of the logical time is also required. For example, when the time information is 10 time slots, the information of the parameter set corresponding to the time slot is also required. For example, when the frequency indicated by the parameter set is 15KHz, the time length of a time slot is 1 millisecond.

[0132] The terminal can obtain the configuration information by a predefined method or by obtaining the configuration information sent by the base station to the terminal via a satellite. The configuration information is notified to the terminal via high-layer signaling such as RRC signaling, MAC signaling or physical layer signaling.

[0133] Mode 2: Based on the indication information that triggers the terminal to enter the power saving state, that is, trigger signaling;

[0134] In this way, the terminal enters the dormant state or active state based on the trigger instruction sent by the base station. The trigger instruction can be a high-level signaling or a physical layer signaling. The signaling can include the following information:

[0135] Indicates the start time, duration or end time when the terminal needs to enter the dormant state or active state;

[0136] Detection information indicating the detection behavior of the terminal after the terminal enters an active state or a dormant state.

[0137] Indicates the relevant information of the service satellite that will provide service during the next service time of the terminal.

[0138] The signaling for indicating entering a dormant state or an active state may be the same signaling or different signaling. The terminal may determine a method for receiving the trigger signaling based on a predefined method or configuration information of the receiving base station, including time information, detection methods such as aggregation level, number of detections, RNTI (RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identity, wireless network temporary identification), etc.

[0139] When the terminal enters the sleep state, the terminal determines the behavior of the terminal in entering the sleep state based on a predefined method or a trigger signaling notification.

[0140] In one implementation method, after the terminal enters the dormant state, it does not perform any uplink data transmission. At the same time, based on the configuration information, the terminal also needs to periodically detect GNSS information or other information that needs to be detected. In addition, the terminal can also determine through the configuration information that when switching to the active state, the terminal needs to quickly access the system. The relevant configuration information for quickly accessing the system includes information such as random access preambles and time-frequency resources.

[0141] like Figure 5 As shown, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication device 500, which is applied in a terminal, including:

[0142] The first determination module 501 is configured to determine, according to configuration information, whether the terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of the service satellite of the terminal.

[0143] In some embodiments, the configuration information is agreed upon by a protocol or issued by a base station.

[0144] In some embodiments, the apparatus 500 further includes:

[0145] The first receiving module is configured to receive a signaling carrying the configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following:

[0146] RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

[0147] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0148] Used to determine the time information when the terminal enters the power saving state;

[0149] Instruction information for instructing the terminal to enter the power saving state.

[0150] In some embodiments, the time information includes:

[0151] The time information at which the terminal enters the power saving state is determined according to the ephemeris information of the serving satellite.

[0152] In some embodiments, the power saving state includes: an activation state and a dormant state configured by DRX; and the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0153] Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0154] Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0155] Detection information indicating that the terminal performs downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state;

[0156] Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

[0157] In some embodiments, the detection information includes at least one of the following:

[0158] Detection method;

[0159] Number of tests;

[0160] Identification information.

[0161] In some embodiments, the apparatus 500 further includes:

[0162] The detection module is configured to perform detection according to the detection information in response to the terminal entering the sleep state based on the indication information.

[0163] like Figure 6 As shown, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication device 600, which is applied in a base station, including:

[0164] The sending module 601 is configured to send configuration information for determining whether the terminal enters a power saving state; wherein the configuration information is determined based on the coverage state of the service satellite of the terminal.

[0165] In some embodiments, the sending module 601 includes:

[0166] The sending submodule is configured to send a signaling carrying the configuration information; wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following:

[0167] RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

[0168] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0169] Used to determine the time information when the terminal enters the power saving state;

[0170] Instruction information for instructing the terminal to enter the power saving state.

[0171] In some embodiments, the time information includes:

[0172] The time information at which the terminal enters the power saving state is determined according to the ephemeris information of the serving satellite.

[0173] In some embodiments, the power saving state includes: an activation state and a dormant state configured by DRX; and the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0174] Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0175] Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state;

[0176] Detection information indicating that the terminal performs physical layer downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state;

[0177] Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

[0178] In some embodiments, the detection information includes at least one of the following:

[0179] Detection method;

[0180] Number of tests;

[0181] Identification information.

[0182] Regarding the device in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

[0183] Figure 7 700 is a block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device may be a terminal. For example, the communication device 700 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast user device, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, etc.

[0184] Reference Figure 7 , the communication device 700 may include at least one of the following components: a processing component 702 , a memory 704 , a power component 706 , a multimedia component 708 , an audio component 710 , an input / output (I / O) interface 712 , a sensor component 714 , and a communication component 716 .

[0185] The processing component 702 generally controls the overall operation of the communication device 700, such as operations associated with display, phone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 702 may include at least one processor 720 to execute instructions to complete all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method. In addition, the processing component 702 may include at least one module to facilitate the interaction between the processing component 702 and other components. For example, the processing component 702 may include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 708 and the processing component 702.

[0186] The memory 704 is configured to store various types of data to support operations on the communication device 700. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the communication device 700, contact data, phone book data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. The memory 704 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk.

[0187] The power supply component 706 provides power to the various components of the communication device 700. The power supply component 706 can include a power management system, at least one power supply, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the communication device 700.

[0188] The multimedia component 708 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the communication device 700 and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes at least one touch sensor to sense touch, slide, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not only sense the boundaries of the touch or slide action, but also detect the wake-up time and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 708 includes a front camera and / or a rear camera. When the communication device 700 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and / or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

[0189] The audio component 710 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 710 includes a microphone (MIC), and when the communication device 700 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a speech recognition mode, the microphone is configured to receive an external audio signal. The received audio signal can be further stored in the memory 704 or sent via the communication component 716. In some embodiments, the audio component 710 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0190] I / O interface 712 provides an interface between processing component 702 and peripheral interface modules, such as keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include but are not limited to: a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

[0191] The sensor assembly 714 includes at least one sensor for providing various aspects of status assessment for the communication device 700. For example, the sensor assembly 714 can detect the open / closed state of the communication device 700, the relative positioning of components, such as the display and keypad of the communication device 700, and the sensor assembly 714 can also detect the position change of the communication device 700 or a component of the communication device 700, the presence or absence of user contact with the communication device 700, the orientation or acceleration / deceleration of the communication device 700, and the temperature change of the communication device 700. The sensor assembly 714 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of a nearby object without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 714 may also include an optical sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 714 may also include an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[0192] The communication component 716 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the communication device 700 and other devices. The communication device 700 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 716 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 716 also includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module can be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technologies.

[0193] In an exemplary embodiment, the communication device 700 may be implemented by at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processing device (DSPD), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor or other electronic component to perform the above method.

[0194] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions is also provided, such as a memory 704 including instructions, and the instructions can be executed by the processor 720 of the communication device 700 to perform the above method. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, etc.

[0195] like Figure 8 As shown, an embodiment of the present disclosure shows the structure of another communication device. The communication device may be a base station involved in an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the communication device 800 may be provided as a network device. Figure 8 The communication device 800 includes a processing component 822, which further includes at least one processor, and a memory resource represented by a memory 832 for storing instructions executable by the processing component 822, such as an application. The application stored in the memory 832 may include one or more modules, each corresponding to a set of instructions. In addition, the processing component 822 is configured to execute instructions to perform any method of the aforementioned method applied to the communication device.

[0196] The communication device 800 may also include a power supply component 826 configured to perform power management of the communication device 800, a wired or wireless network interface 850 configured to connect the communication device 800 to a network, and an input / output (I / O) interface 858. The communication device 800 may operate based on an operating system stored in the memory 832, such as Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, or the like.

[0197] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present invention after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present invention that follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The description and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present invention are indicated by the following claims.

[0198] It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exact construction that has been described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, wherein: The method is applied to a terminal, comprising: Configuration information sent by a base station is received, where the configuration information is determined based on the coverage status of a service satellite of the terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: When the terminal is outside the coverage of the service satellite, it is determined that the terminal retains relevant configuration information for accessing the system, and the terminal does not need to perform idle state tasks.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The receiving base station sends configuration information, including: Receive a signaling carrying the configuration information sent by a base station, wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following: RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The configuration information includes at least one of the following: Time information for determining that the terminal retains the relevant configuration information and does not need to perform idle state tasks; Instruction information instructing the terminal to retain the relevant configuration information and not to perform idle state tasks.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The time information includes: The time information at which the terminal retains the relevant configuration information and does not need to perform idle state tasks is determined according to the ephemeris information of the service satellite.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The indication information includes at least one of the following: Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or dormant state; Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state; Detection information indicating that the terminal performs downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state; Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The detection information includes at least one of the following: Detection method; Number of tests; Identification information.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The method further comprises: In response to the terminal entering the sleep state based on the indication information, detection is performed according to the detection information.

9. A communication method, wherein: The method is applied to a base station, comprising: Configuration information is sent to a terminal, where the configuration information is determined based on a coverage status of a serving satellite of the terminal.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The configuration information is used to determine whether the terminal is outside the coverage of the service satellite; wherein, when the terminal is outside the coverage of the service satellite, the terminal retains relevant configuration information for accessing the system, and the terminal does not need to perform idle state tasks.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: The sending of configuration information to the terminal includes: Sending a signaling carrying the configuration information to the terminal; wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following: RRC signaling; MAC signaling; physical layer signaling.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The configuration information includes at least one of the following: Time information for determining that the terminal retains the relevant configuration information and does not need to perform idle state tasks; Instruction information instructing the terminal to retain the relevant configuration information and not to perform idle state tasks.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The time information includes: The time information at which the terminal retains the relevant configuration information and does not need to perform idle state tasks is determined according to the ephemeris information of the service satellite.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The indication information includes at least one of the following: Indicates the start time and duration of the terminal entering the active state or dormant state; Indicates the start time and end time of the terminal entering the active state or the dormant state; Detection information indicating that the terminal performs physical layer downlink information detection after entering the activated state or the dormant state; Indicates satellite information of a serving satellite in at least one serving period of the terminal.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The detection information includes at least one of the following: Detection method; Number of tests; Identification information.

16. A communication device, wherein: The device is applied to a terminal, and includes: The first receiving module is configured to receive configuration information sent by a base station, where the configuration information is determined based on the coverage status of the service satellite of the terminal.

17. A communication device, wherein: The device is applied to a base station, and includes: The sending module is configured to send configuration information to the terminal, where the configuration information is determined based on the coverage status of the service satellite of the terminal.

18. A communication device, wherein: The communication device comprises at least: a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions that can be run on the processor, wherein: When the processor is used to run the executable instructions, the executable instructions execute the steps in the communication method provided in any one of claims 1 to 8 or 9 to 15 above.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method provided in any one of claims 1 to 8 or 9 to 15.

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