Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, which are used for improving the energy-saving effect of network equipment. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving first information for indicating a sleep period of a network device, and determining a paging frame according to the sleep period. And the terminal equipment monitors the paging message on the paging frame. In the embodiment of the invention, when the terminal equipment and the network equipment determine the paging frame, the interval of the paging frame is prolonged by combining the sleep period of the network equipment, for example, the paging frame can be concentrated in the duration time of the network equipment, so that the waking frequency of the network equipment can be reduced, and the energy-saving effect of the network equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In new radio (NR) systems and other systems, a terminal device in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state can wake up periodically to monitor paging messages in a discontinuous reception (DRX) manner. The period of periodic wake-up can be called a DRX period, and the position of the wake-up is called a paging occasion (PO). The PO is located in a paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in a paging frame (PF). The terminal device can determine the PO to be monitored based on the paging period T, the number of PFs in a paging period, the number of POs, and the terminal device's identifier.

[0003] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, how to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment (such as base stations) has received more and more attention. One of the main technical means to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment is to enable the network equipment to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) / DRX when the network equipment is unloaded or lightly loaded. In this case, the network equipment can sleep during the period when it is not sending or receiving, so as to achieve the purpose of energy saving of the network equipment.

[0004] In combination with the above description, the current problem is that, according to the above-mentioned method of determining the paging frame, the network device needs to wake up frequently, resulting in poor energy saving effect of the network device. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and device for improving the energy saving effect of network equipment.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the terminal device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving first information indicating a sleep cycle of a network device, and determining a paging frame according to the sleep cycle. Listening for a paging message on the paging frame.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy-saving effect of the network device.

[0008] In one possible design, the first information is the sleep cycle T1. This method introduces the sleep cycle parameters of the network device so that the network device and the terminal device can determine the PF in combination with the sleep cycle of the network device, thereby concentrating the PF within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up, and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0009] In a possible design, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle, the paging frame can be determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In the above manner, the DRX cycle of the terminal device and the sleep cycle of the network device can be comprehensively considered, thereby improving the probability of successful paging.

[0010] In one possible design, the paging frame is confirmed according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: determining the system frame number (SFN) of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In this way, the PF interval can be extended, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0011] In a possible design, the system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; wherein A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is a modulo operation. Through the embodiment of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0012] In a possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, the number of paging frames N' is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and the SFN of the paging frame is determined according to N'. Through the embodiment of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0013] In a possible design, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

[0014] In a possible design, the SFN of the paging frame is determined according to N', including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: Amod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N'); wherein A is determined according to the SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is a modulo operation.

[0015] In one possible design, the first information is the number of paging frames N, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This method can support the extension of the sleep cycle of the network device by increasing the candidate value of N, reduce the number of times the network device wakes up, and improve the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0016] In a possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); wherein A is determined according to the SFN, T2 = max(T1, T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0017] In the above manner, backward compatibility can be achieved when T1 is less than T. When T1 is greater than or equal to T, the PFs of different paging cycles can be aggregated to the same PF through the embodiment of the present application, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0018] In one possible design, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0019] In one possible design, the method further includes: reporting capability information, the capability information being used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy saving mode. The above method can make the behavior of the terminal device and the network device consistent through capability negotiation, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0020] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate that the network device has turned on a network energy-saving mode. The above method can make the behaviors of the terminal device and the network device consistent, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0021] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a network device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the network device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: sending first information for indicating a sleep cycle of the network device, and determining a paging frame according to the sleep cycle. Sending a paging message on the paging frame.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy-saving effect of the network device.

[0023] In one possible design, the first information is the sleep cycle T1. This method introduces the sleep cycle parameters of the network device so that the network device and the terminal device can determine the PF in combination with the sleep cycle of the network device, thereby concentrating the PF within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up, and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0024] In a possible design, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle, the paging frame can be determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In the above manner, the DRX cycle of the terminal device and the sleep cycle of the network device can be comprehensively considered, thereby improving the probability of successful paging.

[0025] In one possible design, the paging frame is confirmed according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: determining the SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In this way, the PF interval can be extended, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0026] In a possible design, the system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; wherein A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is a modulo operation. Through the embodiment of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0027] In a possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, the number of paging frames N' is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and the SFN of the paging frame is determined according to N'. Through the embodiment of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0028] In a possible design, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

[0029] In a possible design, the SFN of the paging frame is determined according to N', including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: Amod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N'); wherein A is determined according to the SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is a modulo operation.

[0030] In one possible design, the first information is the number of paging frames N, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This method can support the extension of the sleep cycle of the network device by increasing the candidate value of N, reduce the number of times the network device wakes up, and improve the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0031] In a possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); wherein A is determined according to the SFN, T2 = max(T1, T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0032] In the above manner, backward compatibility can be achieved when T1 is less than T. When T1 is greater than or equal to T, the PFs of different paging cycles can be aggregated to the same PF through the embodiment of the present application, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0033] In one possible design, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0034] In one possible design, the method further includes: determining that the terminal device supports the network energy saving mode; and enabling the network energy saving mode. The above method can make the behaviors of the terminal device and the network device consistent through capability negotiation, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0035] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending a second message, the second message is used to indicate that the network device has turned on the network energy saving mode. The above method can make the behavior of the terminal device and the network device consistent, and improve the probability of successful paging.

[0036] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the terminal device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: determining a paging occasion according to an identifier of the terminal device, and monitoring a paging message at the paging occasion. Wherein, if the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0037] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network device and the terminal device support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0038] In one possible design, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging opportunities in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identifier is greater than 12.

[0039] In one possible design, the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod4096, where 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier (5G S-temporary mobile subscription identifier) ​​of the terminal device.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a network device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the network device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: determining a paging opportunity according to an identifier of a terminal device, and sending a paging message at the paging opportunity. Wherein, if the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0041] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network device and the terminal device support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0042] In one possible design, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging opportunities in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identifier is greater than 12.

[0043] In one possible design, the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, and UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod4096.

[0044] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the terminal device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving a paging early indication (PEI), the PEI indicating the total number of paging opportunities to be monitored within the paging cycle. Determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by the PEI, and monitor the paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0045] This application indicates the actual number of POs used through PEI, which can achieve dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs.

[0046] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by the system message. This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is indicated by PEI. Since the number of POs actually used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device is further reduced.

[0047] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0048] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE paging calls that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, which can realize dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs. It can also aggregate the POs of different UEs into a small number of POs, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0049] In a possible design, the index number i_s of PO can satisfy the following formula:

[0050] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns′;

[0051] Wherein, Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0052] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a network device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the network device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: sending a PEI, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. Determine the paging opportunity based on the total number indicated by the PEI, and send a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0053] This application indicates the actual number of POs used through PEI, which can achieve dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs.

[0054] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by the system message. This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is indicated by PEI. Since the number of POs actually used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device is further reduced.

[0055] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0056] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE paging calls that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, which can realize dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs. It can also aggregate the POs of different UEs into a small number of POs, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0057] In a possible design, the index number i_s of PO can satisfy the following formula:

[0058] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns′;

[0059] Wherein, Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the terminal device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving a system message, the system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within a paging cycle, and determining a paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. Monitoring paging messages at the paging opportunity.

[0061] This application considers that when Ns indicated by the system message is greater than the total number of POs during the duration of the network device, an excessively long PO may squeeze the sleep duration of the network device. Through this application, the POs of different UEs can be aggregated into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0062] In one possible design, the paging occasion is determined according to Ns and the total number of paging occasions N0 within the duration of the network device, including: determining the paging occasion according to N', N' = min{N0, Ns}. The above design can aggregate POs into a small number of POs by reducing the total number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0063] In a possible design, the index value i_s of PO can satisfy the following formula:

[0064] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}.

[0065] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, the execution subject of the method may be a network device or a chip, a chip system or a circuit located in the network device, and the method may be implemented by the following steps: sending a system message, the system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle, and determining the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. Sending a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0066] This application considers that when Ns indicated by the system message is greater than the total number of POs during the duration of the network device, an excessively long PO may squeeze the sleep duration of the network device. Through this application, the POs of different UEs can be aggregated into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0067] In one possible design, the paging occasion is determined according to Ns and the total number of paging occasions N0 within the duration of the network device, including: determining the paging occasion according to N', N' = min{N0, Ns}. The above design can aggregate POs into a small number of POs by reducing the total number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0068] In a possible design, the index value i_s of PO can satisfy the following formula:

[0069] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}.

[0070] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the first aspect, the third aspect, the fifth aspect, or the seventh aspect. The communication device can be implemented by hardware, or can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0071] In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processor configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and the network device.

[0072] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the first aspect above, and the processor can be used to: receive first information through the interface circuit; and determine the paging frame according to the sleep cycle; and monitor the paging message on the paging frame through the interface circuit.

[0073] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the third aspect above, and the processor can be used to: determine the paging occasion according to the identification of the terminal equipment; and monitor the paging message at the paging occasion through the interface circuit.

[0074] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fifth aspect, and the processor can be used to: receive PEI through the interface circuit, where PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by PEI. And, monitor the paging message at the paging opportunity through the interface circuit.

[0075] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the seventh aspect, and the processor can be used to: receive a system message through an interface circuit, the system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within a paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. And, monitor the paging message at the paging opportunity through the interface circuit.

[0076] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, which are respectively used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0077] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing module) and a communication unit (or communication module), which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the first aspect, the third aspect, the fifth aspect or the seventh aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0078] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the first aspect. The processing unit is configured to receive first information through the communication unit; determine a paging frame according to a sleep cycle; and monitor a paging message on the paging frame through the communication unit.

[0079] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the third aspect. The processing unit is used to receive PEI through the communication unit, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by the PEI. And, monitor the paging message on the paging opportunity through the communication unit.

[0080] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fifth aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: receive PEI through the communication unit, where PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by PEI. And, monitor the paging message on the paging opportunity through the communication unit.

[0081] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the seventh aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: receive a system message through the communication unit, the system message indicates the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. And, monitor the paging message at the paging opportunity through the communication unit.

[0082] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing any method provided in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, the sixth aspect, or the eighth aspect. The communication device can be implemented by hardware, or can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0083] In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processor, the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions of the network device in the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and the terminal device.

[0084] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the second aspect, and the processor can be used to: send first information indicating the sleep cycle of the network device through the interface circuit; and determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle. And, send a paging message on the paging frame through the interface circuit.

[0085] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fourth aspect, and the processor can be used to: determine the paging occasion according to the identifier of the terminal device; and send a paging message at the paging occasion through the interface circuit. Wherein, if the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when it is not running in the network energy-saving mode.

[0086] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the sixth aspect, and the processor can be used to: send PEI through the interface circuit, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by the PEI. And, send a paging message on the paging opportunity through the interface circuit.

[0087] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the eighth aspect, and the processor can be used to: send a system message through an interface circuit, the system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; and determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. And, send a paging message on the paging opportunity through the interface circuit.

[0088] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, which are respectively used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0089] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing module) and a communication unit (or a first communication module), which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, the sixth aspect, or the eighth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0090] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the second aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: send first information indicating the sleep cycle of the network device through the communication unit; and determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle. And, send a paging message on the paging frame through the communication unit.

[0091] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fourth aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: determine the paging occasion according to the identifier of the terminal device; and send a paging message at the paging occasion through the communication unit. Wherein, if the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when it is not running in the network energy-saving mode.

[0092] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the sixth aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: send PEI through the communication unit, where PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. And, determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by PEI. And, send a paging message on the paging opportunity through the communication unit.

[0093] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the eighth aspect, and the processing unit can be used to: send a system message through the communication unit, the system message indicates the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; and determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device. And, send a paging message on the paging opportunity through the communication unit.

[0094] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods in the aforementioned first aspect, third aspect, fifth aspect, seventh aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0095] In the twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods in the aforementioned second aspect, fourth aspect, sixth aspect, eighth aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0096] In the thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method in any one of the first to eighth aspects and any possible design is implemented.

[0097] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method in any one of the first to eighth aspects and any possible design.

[0098] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, the chip system includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the method in any of the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible design. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0099] In the sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising the apparatus described in the first aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the second aspect (such as a network device).

[0100] In the seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, wherein the system comprises the apparatus described in the third aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the fourth aspect (such as a network device).

[0101] In the eighteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising the apparatus described in the fifth aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the sixth aspect (such as a network device).

[0102] In the nineteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising the apparatus described in the seventh aspect (such as a terminal device) and the apparatus described in the eighth aspect (such as a network device). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0103] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Figure 2 A paging schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a network system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] Fig. 9 A flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] Fig.10 A flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] Fig.11 A flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0116] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0117] Below, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0118] 1) Terminal equipment, which can be a device with wireless transceiver function or a chip that can be set in any device, can also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment in the embodiment of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, an XR device (such as VR device, AR device, MR device, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in video surveillance, and a wearable terminal device. The terminal equipment can also be an eMBB UE, a URLLC UE, a drone, other Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a positioning device, etc.

[0119] The network device may be a device for realizing the functions of the access network device. The access network device may refer to a device in the access network that communicates with the wireless terminal device through one or more cells at the air interface, for example, it may be a next generation base station (next Generation node B, gNB) in the NR system, or an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, eNB) in the long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system. The network device may also be a device that can support the network device to realize the functions of the access network device, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device.

[0120] Exemplarily, the structure of the network device in the embodiment of the present application can be as follows: Figure 1As shown. Specifically, the network device can be divided into a centralized unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU). Among them, the CU can be used to manage or control at least one DU, and it can also be referred to as a CU connected to at least one DU. This structure can disassemble the protocol layer of the network device in the communication system, where some of the protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized control, and the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. Taking the network device as a gNB as an example, the protocol layer of the gNB includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control sublayer (MAC) layer and a physical layer. Among them, exemplarily, the CU can be used to implement the functions of the RRC layer, the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer, and the DU can be used to implement the functions of the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the physical layer. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the protocol stack included in the CU and the DU.

[0121] 2) Network energy-saving mode: With the gradual evolution of communication systems, "low carbon" has received more and more attention in communication networks. Among them, how to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment has received more and more attention. One of the main technical means to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment is to enable the network equipment to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) and / or discontinuous reception (DRX). DTX means that the network equipment can alternately send and not send in the time domain, or it can also be understood that the network equipment periodically enters a sleep period, and the network equipment can not send during the sleep period. DRX means that the network equipment can alternately receive and not receive in the time domain, or it can also be understood that the network equipment periodically enters sleep, and the network equipment can not receive during the sleep period. In this case, the network equipment can sleep during the time period when it is not sending and / or not receiving, so as to achieve the purpose of energy saving of the network equipment.

[0122] The network energy-saving mode involved in the present application can be understood as a mode in which the network device performs DRX and / or DTX, or can also be understood as a mode in which the network device periodically enters sleep. Each cycle of the network energy-saving mode may include the duration of the network device and the sleep period of the network device. Among them, during the duration of the network device, the network device sends and / or receives, and during the sleep period of the network device, the network device may not send and / or receive. The period of periodic sleep can be called a sleep cycle.

[0123] It should be understood that the above-mentioned “network sleep mode”, “sleep period” and “sleep cycle” are merely exemplary names and are not specifically limited here.

[0124] 3) Paging early indication (PEI)

[0125] At present, the energy saving problem of terminal devices is discussed, considering that as long as one of the terminal devices is paged, the terminal devices monitoring the same PO will be instructed to receive paging messages. For terminal devices that are not actually paged, receiving paging messages will cause unnecessary power consumption. In response to this problem, a possible solution is to divide the terminal devices belonging to the same PO into subgroups. The network pages the terminal devices according to the subgroup granularity to reduce the probability of paging false alarms, thereby reducing unnecessary paging reception power consumption of the terminal devices. Specifically, PEI is introduced to indicate the terminal device subgroup to be paged before PO.

[0126] There are two ways for a terminal device to determine the subgroup it belongs to:

[0127] -CN controlled subgrouping: The core network device allocates subgroups to the terminal device and sends the terminal device subgroup ID to the network device and the terminal device respectively. The terminal device subgroup allocation depends on the core network device implementation, for example, based on the paging probability of the terminal device.

[0128] -UE ID based subgrouping: The calculation method of the terminal equipment subgroup ID is: k = [floor (UE_ID / (N*Ns)) mod Nsg-UEID] + Nsg-CN.

[0129] Among them, Nsg-UEID is the total number of subgroups broadcast in the system message. The number of subgroups is the total number of subgroups grouped based on UE_ID in a single PO, assuming that the Paging message corresponding to the PO contains multiple terminal devices. Nsg-CN is the total number of subgroups allocated based on core network control in a single PO.

[0130] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0131] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. For example, the first communication device and the second communication device are only used to distinguish different communication devices, and do not indicate the difference in the location, communication capability, priority or importance of the two communication devices.

[0132] The foregoing introduces some terminology concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application. The following introduces the technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0133] In systems such as the NR system, a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state can wake up periodically to monitor paging messages in a DRX manner. The period of periodic waking up can be called a DRX period, and the position of waking up is called a PO. The PO is located in a paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in a PF. For example, in long term evolution (LTE), a PF includes 10 subframes, indexed from 0 to 9. The time domain position of the PO can be the subframe indexed as 7 in the PF; in NR, the PO is a set of monitoring occasions for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which is obtained according to the corresponding search space. The PO is located in a paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in a paging frame.

[0134] The terminal device can determine PF according to the following formula:

[0135] SFN mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) Formula (1);

[0136] SFN is the system frame number of PF.

[0137] T is the paging cycle, or it can also be called DRX cycle or DRX paging cycle. The network device can send the network default DRX configuration to the UE through SIB1, so the default DRX cycle configured by SIB1 (default DRX cycle configured by SIB1) always exists. If the terminal device does not need to use a special DRX configuration, the terminal device can use the default DRX cycle configured by SIB1.

[0138] If the terminal device needs to use a special DRX configuration, such as a shorter DRX cycle, the terminal device can use non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to negotiate the DRX configuration with the core network, which may include a special DRX cycle. The terminal device can use the min{specific DRX cycle configured by the core network (specific DRX cycle configured by CN), default DRX cycle configured by SIB1} cycle to monitor paging messages.

[0139] If the terminal device needs to use a special non-connected DRX configuration, such as a shorter DRX cycle, the network device can provide a special DRX cycle when releasing the terminal device to the non-connected state. The terminal device can use the min{specific DRX cycle configured by CN if configured, default DRX cycle configured by SIB1, special DRX cycle configured by the access network (specific DRX cycle configured by RAN)} cycle to monitor paging messages. Among them, the non-connected state in this application may include a deactivated state and an idle state.

[0140] For the convenience of description, T is uniformly referred to as the paging cycle below.

[0141] N is the number of PFs in one paging cycle.

[0142] UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device.

[0143] mod is the remainder operation.

[0144] Div is the integer division operation.

[0145] For NR terminal devices, an additional offset Framoffset can also be considered, that is,

[0146] (SFN+Framoffset)mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) Formula (2).

[0147] Among them, Framoffset can be broadcast by system information.

[0148] The terminal device can determine the index value i_s of the PO according to the following formula:

[0149] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns formula (3);

[0150] Among them, i_s is the index number of the PO, floor is the rounding down operation, and Ns is the total number of POs in the paging cycle.

[0151] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, how to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment has received more and more attention. One of the main technical means to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment is to enable the network equipment to enter the network energy-saving mode when the network equipment is unloaded or lightly loaded. In this case, the network equipment can sleep during the time period when it is not sending and receiving to achieve the purpose of energy saving. However, according to the way the terminal device determines PF, the network device needs to wake up frequently. For example, assuming N=T / 4, Ns=4, according to the above formula, the potential PF is 0, 4, 8, 12,... The subscripts corresponding to the potential PO in each PF are 0, 1, 2, 3. For example Figure 2 Therefore, the network device needs to wake up on the wireless frames with SFN of 0, 4, 8, 12, ..., resulting in poor energy saving effect of the network device.

[0152] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method and device for improving the energy saving effect of network equipment. The method and device are based on the same inventive concept. Since the method and device solve the problem in a similar way, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0153] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, it can be the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), long term evolution (LTE), it can also be a fifth generation (5G) communication system, it can also be a hybrid architecture of LTE and 5G, it can also be a 5G new radio (NR) system, and 6G or new communication systems that will appear in the future communication development. The 5G communication system described in this application may include at least one of a non-standalone (NSA) 5G communication system and a standalone (SA) 5G communication system. The communication system can also be a machine to machine (M2M) network or other network.

[0154] See also Figure 3 As shown, a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a network device and six terminal devices, namely UE1 to UE6. In the communication system, UE1 to UE6 can send uplink data to the network device, and the network device can receive uplink data sent by UE1 to UE6. In addition, UE4 to UE6 can also form a sub-communication system. The network device can send downlink information to UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE5, and UE5 can send downlink information to UE4 and UE6 based on device-to-device (D2D) technology. Figure 3 It is only a schematic diagram and does not specifically limit the type of communication system, or the number and type of devices included in the communication system.

[0155] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0156] See also Figure 4 , is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method comprises:

[0157] S401, a network device sends first information, and a terminal device receives the first information accordingly.

[0158] The first information is used to indicate the sleep period of the network device.

[0159] Exemplarily, the first information may be carried in a system message broadcast by a network device, or may be carried in a unicast message sent by the network device to a terminal device, which is not specifically limited here.

[0160] The manner in which the first information indicates the sleep cycle is described below in conjunction with a specific embodiment.

[0161] S402: The terminal device determines a PF according to a sleep cycle.

[0162] S403: The network device determines a PF according to the sleep cycle.

[0163] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the execution order of S402 and S403.

[0164] S404, the network device sends a paging message on the PF. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PF.

[0165] It should be understood that the terminal device and the network device determine PF in the same manner. The following describes the manner of determining PF using the terminal device as an example. The network device may refer to the manner of determining PF by the terminal device.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy-saving effect of the network device.

[0167] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information may indicate the sleep period of the network device by direct indication or by indirect indication.

[0168] Specifically, a possible direct indication method is that the first information is the sleep cycle T1. In this method, the network device can send the sleep cycle of the network device to the terminal device. For example, the network device can carry the sleep cycle of the network device in a broadcast message.

[0169] This method introduces the sleep cycle parameters of the network device so that the network device and the terminal device can determine the PF in conjunction with the sleep cycle of the network device, thereby concentrating the PF within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up, and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0170] In the above manner, when determining the PF, the terminal device may determine the PF according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0171] In one example, the terminal device may determine the SFN of the PF based on a maximum value between a sleep cycle and a paging cycle.

[0172] For example, the SFN of PF can satisfy the following formula:

[0173] A mod max (T1, T) = 0 formula (4);

[0174] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, for example, A = SFN, or A = SFN + offset, and offset is the offset value of the system frame number. In this application, offset can be the offset Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, or it can be other offsets, for example, it can be an offset introduced by the network energy saving mode. The offset can be carried in the same message as the first information, or it can be carried in a different message from the first information.

[0175] If A=SFN, the above formula (4) can be expressed as: SFN mod max(T1, T)=0. If A=SFN+offset, the above formula (4) can be expressed as (SFN+offset) mod max(T1, T)=0, or, it can also be expressed as SFN modmax(T1, T)=offset. In the implementation method where offset is the bias Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, the above formula (4) can be expressed as (SFN+Framoffset) mod max(T1, T)=0, or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod max(T1, T)=Framoffset.

[0176] The present application does not limit the expression form of the above formula (4) and the following formulas (5) to (8). The expressions listed in the present application are only examples. In specific implementations, they can also be applied to other variations of formulas (4) to (8), which are not listed here one by one.

[0177] Alternatively, it can be understood that if the sleep cycle is greater than the paging cycle, the SFN of the PF can satisfy the following formula: A mod T1 = 0. If the sleep cycle is less than the paging cycle, the SFN of the PF can satisfy the following formula: A mod T = 0.

[0178] The paging method of this application is explained below with two examples.

[0179] For example 1, assuming that A=SFN+offset, T=32, T1=64, N=4 / T, Framoffset=2, offset=0, the paging method of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0180] like Figure 5As shown, for a terminal device with UE_ID 33, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 2, 34, 66, 98, 130, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max (T1, T) = 0, the SFN of PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0181] For a terminal device with UE_ID 34, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 6, 38, 70, 102, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max (T1, T) = 0, the SFN of PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0182] For a terminal device with UE_ID 35, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 10, 42, 74, 106, 138, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max (T1, T) = 0, the SFN of PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0183] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is adopted, for different terminal devices, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to each terminal device, that is, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 33, that is, the PF with SFN 2, 34, 66, 98, and 130, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 34, that is, the PF with SFN 6, 38, 70, 102, and 134, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 35, that is, the PF with SFN 10, 42, 74, 106, and 138. According to the method described in the present application, the network device can wake up on the PF with SFN 62 and 126. It can be seen that the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF through the embodiments of the present application, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0184] Example 2: Assuming A=SFN+offset, UE_ID=34, T1=64, N=4 / T, Framoffset=2, offset=0, the paging method of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0185] like Figure 6As shown, if T=32, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T=(Tdiv N)*(UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 38, 70, 102, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): Amod max(T1, T)=0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0186] If T=64, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 6, 70, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T)=0, the SFN of PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0187] If T=128, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 6, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T)=0, the SFN of PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0188] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is adopted, for different paging cycles, the network device needs to wake up on different PFs, that is, when T=32, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 6, 38, 70, 102, and 134. When T=64, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 62 and 126. When T=128, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 126. According to the method described in the present application, for different paging cycles, the network device can wake up on PFs with SFNs of 62 and / or 126. It can be seen that through the embodiments of the present application, PFs of different paging cycles can be aggregated to the same PF, such as 62 or 126, etc., thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0189] In another example, if the sleep cycle T1 is less than or equal to the paging cycle T, the terminal device may determine the number N' of PFs according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, and determine the SFN of the PFs according to N'.

[0190] For example, N' may satisfy the following formula:

[0191] N' = Tdiv T1;

[0192] Among them, div is an integer division operation.

[0193] The SFN of PF can satisfy the following formula:

[0194] A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′) formula (5).

[0195] If A=SFN, the above formula (5) can be expressed as: SFN mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N'). If A=SFN+offset, the above formula (5) can be expressed as (SFN+offset) mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N'), or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N')+offset. In the implementation method where offset is the bias Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, the above formula (5) can be expressed as (SFN+Framoffset) modT=T1*(UE_ID mod N'), or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N')+Framoffset.

[0196] For example, assuming that A=SFN+offset, T=128, T1=64, N=T / 4, Framoffset=2, offset=2, the paging method of the present application is described below with reference to a specific example.

[0197] like Figure 7 As shown, for UE2 whose UE_ID is 34, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 6, 128+6 = 134, etc. According to the above formula (5): A mod T = T1 * (UE_ID mod N'), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0198] For UE3 whose UE_ID is 36, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (Tdiv N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 14, 128+14 = 142, etc. According to the above formula (5): Amod T = T1 * (UE_ID mod N'), the SFN of PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0199] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is adopted, for different terminal devices, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to each terminal device, that is, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 34, that is, the PF with SFN 6 and 134, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 36, that is, the PF with SFN 14 and 142. According to the method described in the present application, the network device can wake up on the PF with SFN 126. It can be seen that the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF through the embodiments of the present application, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0200] A possible indirect indication method is that the first information indicates the number N of PFs, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This method can support the extension of the sleep cycle of the network device by increasing the candidate value of N, reduce the number of times the network device wakes up, and improve the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0201] Exemplarily, the SFN of PF may satisfy the following formula:

[0202] A mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1) formula (6);

[0203] Among them, T2=max(T1,T), UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device.

[0204] The above formula (6) can also be expressed as A mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1).

[0205] If A=SFN, the above formula (6) can be expressed as: SFN mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, SFN mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). If A=SFN+offset, the above formula (6) can be expressed as (SFN+offset)mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, (SFN+offset)mod T2=(T2 divT2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). Alternatively, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+offset, or, SFN mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+offset.

[0206] In the implementation of the offset Framoffset described in the background technology when the NR terminal device determines the PF, the above formula (6) can be expressed as (SFN+Framoffset) mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, (SFN+Framoffset) mod T2 = (T2div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). Alternatively, it can also be expressed as SFN modT2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+Framoffset, or, SFN mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID modT2 / T1)+Framoffset.

[0207] In this method, it is assumed that A=SFN+offset, where offset is equal to Frameoffset, that is, A=SFN+Frameoffset. If N=T / 4 or T / 16, it can be determined that the sleep period T1 is 4 or 16. Since T≥32>T1, T2=max(T1, T)=T. Substituting T2 into the above formula (6), (SFN+Framoffset)mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID modN) is obtained. It can be seen that when N=T / 4 or T / 16, the above formula (6) is the same as the formula (2) in the background technology. Therefore, when T1 is less than T, backward compatibility can be achieved.

[0208] In this method, it is assumed that A=SFN. If N=T / 64, the sleep period T1 can be determined to be 64.

[0209] like Figure 8 As shown, for a terminal device with UE_ID=34, if T=32, then T2=max(T1, T)=T1=64. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc. According to the formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 32, 64, 96, 128, etc.

[0210] If T=64, then T2=max(T1, T)=T1 or T=64. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2=(T2 divT2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc. According to the formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc.

[0211] If T=128, then T2=max(T1, T)=T=128. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2=(T2 divT2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 128, etc. According to the formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 128, etc.

[0212] According to the above example, for different paging cycles, the network device can wake up on a PF with an SFN of 64 and / or 128. It can be seen that, through the embodiment of the present application, PFs of different paging cycles can be aggregated to the same PF, such as 64 or 128, etc., thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0213] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, before the network device and the terminal device determine the PF using the above-mentioned S401 to S405 methods, the network device and the terminal device may first perform capability negotiation. For example, the terminal device may report capability information to the network device or the core network device, and the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode.

[0214] In a specific implementation, the terminal device may report capability information in a connected state, and the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy saving mode. After reporting the capability information, the terminal device may be released to a non-connected state. Optionally, before being released to a non-connected state, the terminal device may also obtain a paging cycle T. For details, please refer to the relevant description of T in the background technology, which will not be repeated here.

[0215] Exemplarily, the terminal device may report capability information to the core network device, and the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode. When the core network device pages the terminal device, it may send a paging message from the core network side to the network device, and the paging message may carry the capability information. Thus, the network device may obtain the capability information of the terminal device.

[0216] In a network device with a DU-CU architecture, after receiving a paging message from the core network side, the CU can send the capability information carried in the paging message to the DU, so that the DU can determine whether to turn on the network energy-saving mode.

[0217] As a possible implementation mode, after the network device determines that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode, the network energy-saving mode may be enabled.

[0218] In addition, after the network energy saving mode is turned on, the network device may send second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate that the network device has turned on the network energy saving mode. Optionally, a terminal device that does not support the network energy saving mode may be prohibited from accessing the cell.

[0219] As an example, the network device may indicate the second information through PEI. In this way, a single UE (per UE) may be notified, and compared with indicating the second information through a system message, the indication method is more flexible.

[0220] Optionally, the network device and the terminal device adopt the above Figure 4 When performing paging, the paging method described in the background art may also be used, that is, PF is determined by formula (1) or formula (2), and PO is determined by formula (3).

[0221] In the embodiment of the present application, by determining the PF in combination with the sleep cycle of the network device, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated to the same PF, for example, Figure 5 or Figure 7 Alternatively, PFs of different paging cycles are aggregated, for example, Figure 6 or Figure 8 As shown, the number of times the network device wakes up can be reduced, thereby improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0222] The above introduces the PF polymerization method. The following introduces three PO polymerization methods. Any of the following PO polymerization methods can be used with Figure 3 The PF polymerization methods described above can be implemented in combination as one scheme, or can be implemented separately as two independent schemes.

[0223] Method 1:

[0224] See also Fig. 9 , is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method comprises:

[0225] S901, the terminal device determines a PO according to an identifier of the terminal device.

[0226] Among them, if the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the terminal device's identification is greater than the number of bits when it does not operate in the network energy-saving mode.

[0227] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network device and the terminal device support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0228] Exemplarily, if the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, the total number of POs in the paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identification is greater than 12. For example, the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSImod 4096, where 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier (5G S-temporary mobilesubs cription identifier) ​​of the terminal device. It should be understood that the mod value of 4096 here is only an example. In a specific implementation, the mod value of 5G-S-TMSI can also be larger, which is not specifically limited here.

[0229] In an example, the mod value can be determined according to Ns. For example, the larger the Ns value, the larger the mod value, the smaller the Ns value, the smaller the mod value, and so on.

[0230] In a specific example, if the terminal device is not running in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID=5G-S-TMSI mod 1024. If the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID=5G-S-TMSI mod 4096.

[0231] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device may determine PO according to formula (3) described in the background art.

[0232] S902: The network device determines a PO according to the identifier of the terminal device.

[0233] If the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than the number of bits of the terminal device identifier when not running in the network energy-saving mode. For details, please refer to the description of the terminal device identifier in S901, which will not be repeated here.

[0234] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the execution order of S901 and S902.

[0235] S903, the network device sends a paging message to the terminal device on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0236] In a possible implementation manner, the network device may determine PO according to formula (3) described in the background art.

[0237] This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device's identification so that the network device and the terminal device can support the use of more POs for paging. For example, in this application, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, so that the number of Ns can be greater than 4, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0238] It should be noted that the extension method of the above terminal device identification can also be applied to other scenarios, such as in PEI. For example, the current terminal device subgroup ID k can satisfy the following formula: k = [floor (UE_ID / (N * Ns)) modNsg-UEID] + Nsg-CN. Among them, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod X, where X can take a value of 4096 or greater, and is not specifically limited here. In one possible implementation, the value of X can be determined based on Ns.

[0239] Method 2:

[0240] See also Fig.10 , is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method comprises:

[0241] S1001, the network device sends PEI, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives PEI.

[0242] The PEI indicates the total number of POs that need to be monitored within the paging cycle.

[0243] Optionally, the total number indicated by PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of POs that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by a system message (e.g., a system information block 1 (SIB1) message). This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is indicated by PEI. Since the number of POs actually used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device is further reduced.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the total number of POs indicated by the PEI is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI. For example, the more terminal devices the PEI corresponds to, the more total number of POs indicated by the PEI, and the fewer terminal devices the PEI corresponds to, the fewer total number of POs indicated by the PEI.

[0245] S1002, the terminal device determines PO according to the total number indicated by PEI.

[0246] For example, the index number i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula:

[0247] i_s = floor (UE_ID / N) mod Ns' formula (7);

[0248] Wherein, Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0249] S1003, the network device determines PO according to the total number indicated by PEI.

[0250] The way in which the network device determines PO is the same as the way in which the terminal device determines PO. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S1002, which will not be repeated here.

[0251] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the execution order of S1002 and S1003.

[0252] S1004, the network device sends a paging message on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0253] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, so that the total number of POs can be dynamically adjusted, and the POs of different UEs can be aggregated into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device. For example, assuming that N=T / 4, T=32, and Ns is 4, the terminal device subgroup includes 4 UEs, and the UE_IDs of these 4 UEs are 34 / 41 / 45 / 49 respectively. According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1 / 2. Assuming that the total number of POs indicated by PEI is 2, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1. It can be seen that through the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup is small, the POs can be aggregated into a small number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0254] See also Fig.11 , is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method comprises:

[0255] S1101, a network device sends a system message, and a terminal device receives the system message accordingly.

[0256] The system message indicates the total number Ns of POs that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. Exemplarily, the system message may be SIB1.

[0257] S1102, the terminal device determines PO according to Ns and the total number N0 of POs within the duration of the network device.

[0258] In a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine PO according to the smaller value of Ns and N0. For example, the index value i_s of PO may satisfy the following formula:

[0259] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns} formula (8).

[0260] S1103, the network device determines PO according to Ns and the total number N0 of POs within the duration of the network device.

[0261] The way in which the network device determines PO is the same as the way in which the terminal device determines PO. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S1102, which will not be repeated here.

[0262] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the execution order of S1102 and S1103.

[0263] S1104, the network device sends a paging message on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0264] The present application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, and the total number of POs within the duration of the network device is relatively small. The present application can aggregate the POs of different UEs into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device. For example, assuming that N=T / 4, T=32, Ns=4, N0=2, the terminal device subgroup includes 4 UEs, and the UE_IDs of these 4 UEs are 34 / 41 / 45 / 49 respectively. According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1 / 2. According to the above formula (8), the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1. It can be seen that through the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup is relatively small, the POs can be aggregated into a small number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0265] Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, the present application embodiment provides a communication device, the structure of which can be as follows: Fig.12 As shown, it includes a communication unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202.

[0266] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Figure 4 In the embodiment of the method executed by the terminal device, the device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the terminal device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the communication unit 1201 is used to receive the first information, and the first information is used to indicate the sleep cycle of the network device; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging frame according to the sleep cycle; the communication unit 1201 is also used to monitor the paging message on the paging frame.

[0267] Exemplarily, the first information is the sleep cycle T1.

[0268] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine a paging frame according to a sleep cycle and a paging cycle.

[0269] For example, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine the SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0270] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0271] A mod max(T1, T) = 0;

[0272] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0273] Alternatively, the processing unit 1202 may also be specifically configured to: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determine the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determine the SFN of the paging frame according to N'.

[0274] Exemplarily, N' satisfies the following formula:

[0275] N' = Tdiv T1;

[0276] Among them, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is the integer division operation.

[0277] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0278] A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′);

[0279] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0280] Exemplarily, the first information is the number N of paging frames, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

[0281] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0282] A mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1);

[0283] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, T2=max(T1,T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0284] Exemplarily, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0285] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further used to: report capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode.

[0286] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further used to: receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has turned on the network energy-saving mode.

[0287] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Figure 4 In the embodiment of the method performed by the network device, the device may be the network device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the network device or a part of the chip used to perform the function of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is used to send the first information, and the first information is used to indicate the sleep cycle of the network device; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging frame according to the sleep cycle; the communication unit 1201 is also used to send a paging message on the paging frame.

[0288] Exemplarily, the first information is the sleep cycle T1.

[0289] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine a paging frame according to a sleep cycle and a paging cycle.

[0290] For example, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine the SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0291] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0292] A mod max(T1, T) = 0;

[0293] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0294] Alternatively, the processing unit 1202 may also be specifically configured to: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determine the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determine the SFN of the paging frame according to N'.

[0295] Exemplarily, N' satisfies the following formula:

[0296] N' = Tdiv T1;

[0297] Among them, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is the integer division operation.

[0298] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0299] A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′);

[0300] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0301] Exemplarily, the first information is the number N of paging frames, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

[0302] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula:

[0303] A mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1);

[0304] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, T2=max(T1,T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0305] Exemplarily, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0306] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is further used to: determine whether the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode; and enable the network energy-saving mode.

[0307] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to:

[0308] Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has turned on the network energy saving mode.

[0309] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig. 9 In the embodiment of the method executed by the terminal device, the device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the terminal device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging occasion according to the identifier of the terminal device, wherein if the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when it is not running in the network energy-saving mode; the communication unit 1201 is used to monitor the paging message at the paging occasion.

[0310] Exemplarily, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

[0311] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig. 9In the embodiment of the method executed by the network device, the device can be the network device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the network device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging occasion according to the identifier of the terminal device, wherein if the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when it is not running in the network energy-saving mode; the communication unit 1201 is used to send a paging message at the paging occasion.

[0312] Exemplarily, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

[0313] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig.10 In the embodiment of the method executed by the terminal device, the device may be the terminal device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the terminal device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the communication unit 1201 is used to receive PEI, and the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by the PEI; the communication unit 1201 is used to monitor the paging message on the paging opportunity.

[0314] Exemplarily, the total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and that are indicated by the system message.

[0315] Exemplarily, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0316] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig.10 In the embodiment of the method executed by the network device, the device may be the network device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the network device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the communication unit 1201 is used to send PEI, and the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging opportunity according to the total number indicated by the PEI; the communication unit 1201 is used to send a paging message on the paging opportunity.

[0317] Exemplarily, the total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and that are indicated by the system message.

[0318] Exemplarily, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0319] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig.11In the embodiment of the method executed by the terminal device, the device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the terminal device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the communication unit 1201 is used to receive a system message, and the system message indicates the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored in the paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities in the duration of the network device; the communication unit 1201 is used to monitor the paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0320] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is specifically configured to: determine a paging occasion according to N', where N'=min{N0, Ns}.

[0321] In one embodiment, the communication device can be used to implement Fig.11 In the embodiment of the method executed by the network device, the device may be the network device itself, or a chip or a chipset in the network device or a part of the chip used to execute the function of the related method. Among them, the communication unit 1201 is used to send a system message, and the system message indicates the total number Ns of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is used to determine the paging opportunity according to Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the duration of the network device; the communication unit 1201 is also used to send a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0322] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is specifically configured to: determine a paging occasion according to N', where N'=min{N0, Ns}.

[0323] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into a processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It is understood that the functions or implementations of each module in the embodiments of the present application may further refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment.

[0324] In one possible approach, the communication device may be as follows Fig.13 As shown, the device may be a communication device or a chip in a communication device, wherein the communication device may be a terminal device or a network device. The device includes a processor 1301 and a communication interface 1302, and may also include a memory 1303. The processing unit 1202 may be the processor 1301. The communication unit 1201 may be the communication interface 1302.

[0325] The processor 1301 may be a CPU, or a digital processing unit, etc. The communication interface 1302 may be a transceiver, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, etc. The device further includes: a memory 1303, which is used to store the program executed by the processor 1301. The memory 1303 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory 1303 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0326] The processor 1301 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1303, specifically to execute the actions of the processing unit 1202, which will not be described in detail in this application. The communication interface 1302 is specifically used to execute the actions of the communication unit 1201, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0327] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1302, the processor 1301 and the memory 1303 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Fig.13 The memory 1303, the processor 1301 and the communication interface 1302 are connected via a bus 1304. Fig.13 The connections between other components are shown in bold lines, which are only for illustration and are not intended to be limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.13 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0328] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor, which includes a program required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor.

[0329] The present application also provides a communication system, including a Figure 4 In the embodiment of the terminal device function and the communication device for realizing Figure 4 The communication device of the network device function in the embodiment.

[0330] The present application also provides a communication system, including a Fig. 9 In the embodiment of the terminal device function and the communication device for realizing Fig. 9 The communication device of the network device function in the embodiment.

[0331] The present application also provides a communication system, including a Fig.10 In the embodiment of the terminal device function and the communication device for realizing Fig.10 The communication device of the network device function in the embodiment.

[0332] The present application also provides a communication system, including a Fig.11 In the embodiment of the terminal device function and the communication device for realizing Fig.11 The communication device of the network device function in the embodiment.

[0333] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented in one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that include computer-usable program code.

[0334] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0335] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0336] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0337] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a sleep period of a network device; Determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle; The paging frame is monitored for a paging message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is the sleep period T1.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The confirming the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to a maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining of the system frame number SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: When the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of the paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; The SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the N'.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The N' satisfies the following formula: N' = Tdiv T1; Wherein, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The determining the SFN of the paging frame according to the N' comprises: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′); Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T is the paging cycle, the T1 is the sleep cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is the number N of paging frames, wherein N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); Among them, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T2=max(T1,T), the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, the mod is the remainder operation, and the div is the integer division operation.

11. The method according to claim 5, 8 or 10, characterized in that: The A=SFN, or the A=SFN+offset, where the offset is an offset value of a system frame number.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Report capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy saving mode.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has enabled a network energy saving mode.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a sleep period of the network device; Determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle; A paging message is sent on the paging frame.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first information is the sleep period T1.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The confirming the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to a maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The determining the system frame number SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: When the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; The SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the N'.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The N' satisfies the following formula: N' = Tdiv T1; Wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and the div is an integer division operation.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The determining the SFN of the paging frame according to the N' comprises: The paging frame SFN satisfies the following formula: A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′); Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T is the paging cycle, the T1 is the sleep cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein: The first information indicates the number N of paging frames, wherein N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); Among them, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T2=max(T1,T), the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, the mod is the remainder operation, and the div is the integer division operation.

24. The method according to claim 18, 21 or 23, characterized in that The A=SFN, or the A=SFN+offset, where the offset is an offset value of a system frame number.

25. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that The method further comprises: Make sure the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode; The network energy saving mode is enabled.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has turned on a network energy-saving mode.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program instructions, and when the processor executes the program instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, and when the computer-readable instructions are executed on the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed.

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