Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device. The method comprises: a first terminal device sending first information to a second terminal device, the first information being used for determining a first paging index, the first information comprising a second paging index and / or first configuration information, the second paging index being a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state, and the first configuration information being a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state; the first paging index and the second paging index are used for representing the index of the same paging opportunity, and then receiving a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device. The first terminal device provides the first information for the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index used for helping the first terminal device to receive the paging message from the network device according to the first information; therefore, the second terminal device can utilize the first paging index to help the first terminal device to timely and effectively receive the paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device.

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] User equipment-to-network relay (U2N) technology is a technology that can effectively improve network coverage. Exemplarily, the U2N relay scenario includes relay user equipment (relay UE), remote terminal equipment (remote UE) and network equipment. Among them, the relay UE can provide relay services for the remote UE, so that the remote UE can communicate with the network equipment through the relay UE, so that the network equipment can provide corresponding network services for the remote UE. In the U2N relay scenario, the remote UE can receive paging messages from the network through the relay UE.

[0003] However, in the existing U2N relay scenario, when the remote UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the relay UE cannot obtain the corresponding capability information of the remote UE in the RRC inactive state (such as whether the remote UE in the RRC inactive state supports the inactive state (inactive state) paging occasion (PO) determination), so the relay UE cannot use the paging index of the remote UE in the idle state to help the remote UE receive the paging message in the inactive state.

[0004] Therefore, the solution for the relay UE to help the remote UE receive the paging message needs further study. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for enabling a relay terminal device to help a remote terminal device receive a paging message in a timely and effective manner.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device, a second communication device, etc.). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required by the method. Exemplarily, taking the data interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device to implement the communication method as an example, in the method, the first terminal device can first send a first message to the second terminal device, wherein the first information can be used to determine a first paging index, the first information can include a second paging index and / or a first configuration information, the second paging index can be a paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity, and then the first terminal device can receive a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device.

[0007] In the present method, the first terminal device provides (or sends) the first information (such as the second paging index and / or the first configuration information) to the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device based on the first information, so that the second terminal device can use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device in a timely and effective manner, thereby enabling the second terminal device to effectively help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device based on the first information provided by the first terminal device.

[0008] In one possible design, the first terminal device receives a paging message corresponding to a first paging index from a network device through a second terminal device, including: the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state can receive a paging message corresponding to a first paging index from a network device through a second terminal device.

[0009] In the above design, for the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state, the first terminal device can provide the first information to the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can help the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state to effectively receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device, thereby satisfying the scenario in which the second terminal device helps the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state to receive the paging message from the network device.

[0010] In one possible design, a first terminal device sends first information to a second terminal device, including: the first terminal device can first obtain second information from a network device, wherein the second information can be used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging opportunity, and the first paging opportunity can be a paging opportunity corresponding to a second paging index. Thereafter, when the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in an RRC inactive state, the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device.

[0011] In the above design, when the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, the first terminal device decides to provide the first information to the second terminal device, which can ensure the pertinence and rationality of providing the first information, so that the second terminal device can effectively use the first information to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device.

[0012] In one possible design, when the first terminal device supports extended discontinuous reception eDRX, the first terminal device sends first information to the second terminal device, including: the first terminal device can obtain second information from the network device, wherein the second information can be used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging opportunity, and the first paging opportunity can be a paging opportunity corresponding to a second paging index, and the first terminal device can obtain third information from the second terminal device, wherein the third information can be used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and then, when the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in an RRC inactive state, the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device.

[0013] In the above design, when the first terminal device supports eDRX, if the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, then the first terminal device can provide the first information to the second terminal device, so that the first terminal device provides the first information to the second terminal device based on the eDRX capability of the second terminal device, and can ensure the pertinence and rationality of the provision of the first information, so that the second terminal device can effectively use the first information to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device.

[0014] In one possible design, when the first terminal device supports eDRX, the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging opportunity, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index in an RRC inactive state, the first terminal device sends the first information to the second terminal device, including: when the eDRX cycle of the first terminal device is less than or equal to 1024 radio frames, the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device; or when the eDRX cycle is greater than 1024 radio frames, the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device, and the first information includes indication information, the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window, or the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

[0015] In the above design, whether it is necessary to limit the usage period of the first information is determined based on the relationship between the eDRX cycle of the first terminal device and the size of 1024 wireless frames. In this way, the usage period of the first information can be dynamically configured according to the eDRX cycle of the first terminal device. This makes the configuration of the usage period of the first information more flexible and more in line with the actual eDRX cycle configured by the upper layer for the first terminal device.

[0016] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: a discontinuous reception DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state or a paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index.

[0017] In the above design, the first terminal device provides the second terminal device with one or more of the DRX cycle in the RRC idle state or the paging configuration in the RRC idle state, so that the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index for helping the first terminal device receive the paging message according to the corresponding configuration information provided by the first terminal device.

[0018] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device, a second communication device, etc.). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required by the method. Exemplarily, taking the data interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device to implement the communication method as an example, in the method, the second terminal device can first receive the first information from the first terminal device, wherein the first information can be used to determine the first paging index, the first information can include the second paging index and / or the first configuration information, the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity, and then, the second terminal device can send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device.

[0019] For the technical effects that can be achieved in the second aspect, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect mentioned above, and no further details will be given here.

[0020] In one possible design, the method also includes: the second terminal device can determine the first paging index based on the second paging index; or the second terminal device can also determine the first paging index based on the first configuration information.

[0021] For example, when the first information provided by the first terminal device includes the second paging index, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index based on the second paging index; when the first information provided by the first terminal device includes the first configuration information, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index based on the first configuration information; when the first information provided by the first terminal device includes the second paging index and the first configuration information, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index based on the second paging index or the first configuration information. In this way, the second terminal device can calculate the first paging index in different ways according to the different content provided by the first terminal device, thereby ensuring that the calculation accuracy of the first paging index is high.

[0022] In one possible design, the second terminal device receives first information from the first terminal device, including: the second terminal device can first send third information to the first terminal device, wherein the third information can be used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and then the second terminal device can receive the first information from the first terminal device.

[0023] In the above design, when the third information provided by the second terminal device to the first terminal device supporting eDRX indicates that the second terminal device also supports eDRX, the second terminal device is more likely to obtain the first information provided by the first terminal device.

[0024] In one possible design, the first information may include indication information, and the indication information may be used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window, or the indication information may also be used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

[0025] For example, when the first information includes a second paging index and indication information, the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window; when the first information includes first configuration information and indication information, the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

[0026] In one possible design, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: a DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state or a paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, wherein the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index.

[0027] In the above design, the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message based on the corresponding configuration information provided by the first terminal device (such as the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state or one or more of the paging configurations in the RRC idle state).

[0028] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device, a second communication device, etc.). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required by the method. Exemplarily, taking the data interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device to implement the communication method as an example, in the method, the second terminal device obtains fourth information from the first terminal device, wherein the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, and the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and the second terminal device can obtain fifth information from the first terminal device, wherein the fifth information may include the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, wherein the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index, the second paging index can be used to determine the first paging index, the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent the index of the same paging occasion, and then, the second terminal device can send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device.

[0029] In this method, the second terminal device can obtain from the first terminal device the fifth information including the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and / or the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, by determining that the fourth information indication information obtained from the first terminal device indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. This allows the second terminal device to determine, based on the fifth information, the first paging index for helping the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device, and use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device in a timely and effective manner.

[0030] In one possible design, before the second terminal device obtains the fourth information from the first terminal device, the method also includes: the second terminal device may first obtain the sixth information from the network device, wherein the sixth information may be used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging opportunity, and the first paging opportunity may be a paging opportunity corresponding to the second paging index. Thereafter, when the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, the second terminal device may send a first capability query information to the first terminal device, wherein the first capability query information is used to request whether the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in an RRC inactive state.

[0031] In the above design, when it is determined that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, the second terminal device decides to send the first capability query information to the first terminal device, thereby ensuring the rationality and effectiveness of sending the first capability query information.

[0032] In one possible design, the second terminal device obtains the fourth information from the first terminal device, including: the second terminal device may first send the seventh information to the first terminal device, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and then the second terminal device may obtain the fourth information from the first terminal device.

[0033] In the above design, when the first terminal device supports eDRX and the second terminal device supports eDRX, the second terminal device is likely to obtain the fourth information from the first terminal device, and when the fourth information indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, the second terminal device requests the first terminal device to obtain the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state.

[0034] In one possible design, before the second terminal device sends the seventh information to the first terminal device, the method also includes: the second terminal device can obtain second capability query information from the first terminal device, wherein the second capability query information is used to request whether the second terminal device supports eDRX, and then the second terminal device can send the seventh information to the first terminal device.

[0035] In the above design, the second terminal device is more likely to obtain the fourth information from the first terminal device by providing the seventh information for indicating that the second terminal device supports eDRX to the first terminal device, and when the fourth information indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, the second terminal device requests the first terminal device to obtain the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state.

[0036] In one possible design, before the second terminal device obtains the fifth information from the first terminal device, the method also includes: the second terminal device may send eighth information to the first terminal device, wherein the eighth information is used to request acquisition of the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state.

[0037] In the above design, the second terminal device can obtain the second paging index or one or more of the DRX cycles of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state from the first terminal device by sending a corresponding data acquisition request to the first terminal device, and can accurately determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device, so that the second terminal device can use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device in a timely and effective manner.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device, a second communication device, etc.). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required by the method. Exemplarily, taking the data interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device to implement the communication method as an example, in the method, the first terminal device can send fourth information to the second terminal device, wherein the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, and the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and the first terminal device can send fifth information to the second terminal device, wherein the fifth information can include the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index, and the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index, the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent the index of the same paging occasion, and then, the first terminal device can receive the paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device.

[0039] In one possible design, the first terminal device sends fourth information to the second terminal device, including: the first terminal device can first obtain sixth information of the network device, wherein the sixth information can be used to indicate that the network device supports sending paging messages in a first paging opportunity, and the first paging opportunity can be a paging opportunity corresponding to the second paging index. Thereafter, when the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, the first terminal device can send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0040] In one possible design, a first terminal device sends fourth information to a second terminal device, including: the first terminal device may first receive first capability query information from the second terminal device, wherein the first capability query information may be used to request whether the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index when in an RRC inactive state, and then the first terminal device may send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0041] In one possible design, when the first terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device sends fourth information to the second terminal device, including: the first terminal device can first obtain seventh information from the second terminal device, wherein the seventh information can be used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and then the first terminal device can send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0042] In one possible design, before the first terminal device obtains the seventh information from the second terminal device, the method also includes: the first terminal device can send second capability query information to the second terminal device, wherein the second capability query information can be used to request whether the second terminal device supports eDRX.

[0043] In one possible design, before the first terminal device sends the fifth information to the second terminal device, the method also includes: the first terminal device can receive the eighth information from the second terminal device, wherein the eighth information is used to request to obtain the second paging index and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state.

[0044] The technical effects that can be achieved in the fourth aspect can refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the third aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a possible communication device. Optionally, the communication device may be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device or a network device) or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the communication device to implement the functions required for the communication method. Exemplarily, the first communication device may be a first terminal device, and the second communication device may be a second terminal device. When the communication device is a chip arranged in a first communication device (or a second communication device or a network device), the communication device includes a transceiver and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the transceiver exists as an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transceiver of the communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the sending of the communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the communication method embodiment provided by the present application, the input and output interface can implement the sending and receiving operations performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the communication method embodiment provided by the present application; the processor can implement other operations except the sending and receiving operations performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the above-mentioned communication method embodiment provided by the present application.

[0046] In one example, when the communication device is used to implement the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above, the beneficial effects can be referred to the description of the first terminal device in the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware, or it can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication module (or a communication unit, a transceiver module or a transceiver unit, used to send and receive data) and a processing module (or a processing unit). The communication module is used to send the first information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the first information can be used to determine the first paging index; the first information can include the second paging index and / or the first configuration information; the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module is also used to receive a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device. A processing module is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as judging whether the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity according to relevant information from the network device (such as ranPagingInIdlePO), or calculating the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state according to the calculation formula of the index of the paging opportunity of the terminal device, or judging whether the second terminal device supports eDRX according to corresponding information from the second terminal device (such as third information), or performing other operations. These modules can execute the corresponding functions of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding functions of the first terminal device in the method example, which will not be repeated here.

[0047] In another example, when the communication device is used to implement the function of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect, the beneficial effect can be referred to the description of the second terminal device in the first aspect or the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect. The function 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. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is used to receive first information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the first information can be used to determine the first paging index; the first information can include the second paging index and / or the first configuration information; the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module is also used to send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device. The processing module is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as determining the first paging index according to the second paging index or the first configuration information, or performing other operations. These modules can execute the corresponding functions of the second terminal device in the method embodiments shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding functions of the second terminal device in the method examples, which will not be repeated here.

[0048] In another example, when the communication device is used to implement the function of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above, the beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first terminal device in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is used to send fourth information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index in an RRC inactive state; the second paging index can be a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state. The communication module is also used to send fifth information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the fifth information may include the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index; the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module is also used to receive a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device. The processing module is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as for determining whether the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity according to relevant information from the network device (such as ranPagingInIdlePO), or for calculating the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state according to the calculation formula of the index of the paging opportunity of the terminal device, or for determining whether the second terminal device supports eDRX according to the corresponding information from the second terminal device (such as the third information), or for performing other operations. These modules can execute the corresponding functions of the first terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding functions of the first terminal device in the method example, which will not be repeated here.

[0049] In another example, when the communication device is used to implement the function of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above, the beneficial effects can be found in the description of the second terminal device in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is used to obtain fourth information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index in an RRC inactive state; the second paging index can be a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state. The communication module is also used to obtain fifth information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the fifth information may include the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index; the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module is also used to send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device. The processing module is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as calculating the first paging index according to the second paging index or the first configuration information, or performing other operations. These modules can execute the corresponding functions of the second terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding functions of the second terminal device in the method example, which will not be repeated here.

[0050] In another example, when the communication device is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect, the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the beneficial effect can be referred to the description of the network device in the first aspect or the second aspect, the third aspect or the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior of the network device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect, the third aspect or the fourth aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or it can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is used to implement the data (or information or signal) receiving and sending function of the network device. The processing module is used to implement the data processing function of the network device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in the first aspect or the second aspect, the third aspect or the fourth aspect, specifically refer to the detailed description of the corresponding functions of the network device in the method example, which will not be repeated here.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a possible communication device, which may be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device or a network device) required for executing the communication method provided in the present application, or may be a device including a communication device required for executing the communication method provided in the present application, or may be a device having the functions required to implement the communication method. Among them, the communication device may include a transceiver and a processor. Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory. Among them, the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the transceiver. When the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the communication device executes any possible method in the design of the first aspect or any possible method in the design of the second aspect or any possible method in the design of the third aspect or any possible method in the design of the fourth aspect.

[0052] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a possible communication system, which may include the first communication device, the second communication device, and the network device mentioned in the first aspect or the second aspect. The relevant functional implementation of the first communication device or the second communication device can refer to the relevant description mentioned in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0053] Exemplarily, the communication system may include one or more first communication devices, one or more second communication devices, and one or more network devices.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible design of the first aspect or any possible design of the second aspect or any possible design of the third aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect.

[0055] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes any possible method in the design of the first aspect or any possible method in the design of the second aspect or any possible method in the design of the third aspect or any possible method in the design of the fourth aspect.

[0056] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), and the chip executes program instructions in the memory to execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the method in any possible design of the second aspect or the method in any possible design of the third aspect or the method in any possible design of the fourth aspect. Wherein, "coupling" refers to the direct or indirect combination of two components with each other, such as coupling may refer to an electrical connection between two components.

[0057] In the eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement any possible method in the design of the first aspect or any possible method in the design of the second aspect or any possible method in the design of the third aspect or any possible method in the design of the fourth aspect. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data of the computer device. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0058] Based on the implementations provided in the above aspects, this application can also be further combined to provide more implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] Figure 1 A possible communication system architecture diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown;

[0060] Figure 2a A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown;

[0061] Figure 2b A schematic diagram of a control plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown;

[0062] Figure 3 A flow chart showing an exemplary communication method according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 4 A flowchart showing another communication method provided in Embodiment 1 of the present application is exemplified;

[0064] Figure 5 A flowchart showing another communication method provided in Embodiment 1 of the present application is exemplified;

[0065] Figure 6 A flow chart showing an exemplary communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present application;

[0066] Figure 7A flowchart showing another communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present application is exemplified;

[0067] Figure 8 A flowchart showing another communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present application is exemplified;

[0068] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing a possible structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplified;

[0069] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of another possible communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplified. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] Before introducing the technical solution provided by the present application, some of the terms involved in the present application are first explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0071] (1) Terminal equipment: It is a device on the user side that has the function of sending and receiving signals and can provide users with service functions such as video, voice, and data connectivity.

[0072] Optionally, the terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile equipment, UE terminal equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent or UE device, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be fixed or mobile, and the implementation of the present application does not limit this.

[0073] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a factory machine / equipment, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a ship or a robot, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0074] (2) Network equipment: may refer to any equipment with wireless transceiver functions. For example, the network equipment may be a radio access network (RAN) equipment that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. Exemplarily, the RAN equipment may include, but is not limited to: a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) communication system, a base station in a future communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home NodeB, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc.

[0075] Optionally, in a network structure, the RAN device may also include a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). This structure can split the protocol layer of the network device, and the functions of some protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized control, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers can be set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP (such as the RLC layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer, etc.) are set in the DU. It should be noted that this division of the protocol layer is only an example, and it can also be divided in other protocol layers. The radio frequency device can be remote and not placed in the DU, or it can be integrated in the DU, or part of it can be remote and part of it can be integrated in the DU. The embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions. In addition, in some embodiments, the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can also be separated and divided into different entities for implementation, namely the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity).

[0076] For example, taking the network device as a base station, the base station can communicate with the terminal device, or communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. The terminal device can communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies.

[0077] In the embodiment of the present application, the RAN device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the wireless access network device.

[0078] (3) RRC connection state. In a communication system, the RRC connection state of a terminal device includes three types: RRC connection state (RRC_connected, referred to as connection state), RRC idle state (RRC_idle, referred to as idle state), and RRC inactive state (RRC_inactive, referred to as inactive state, or referred to as inactive state or deactivated state). Among them, the RRC idle state and the RRC inactive state can be collectively referred to as the RRC inactive state.

[0079] When the terminal device is in an idle state, the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is released, the network device and the terminal device no longer store the terminal device context information, and the terminal device can receive broadcast information (such as system information) and paging messages sent by the network device.

[0080] When the terminal device is in an inactive state, the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is suspended, but the terminal device and the terminal device will continue to save the context information of the terminal device. When the terminal device enters the connected state from the inactive state, the network device and the terminal device can quickly restore the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device based on the saved context information of the terminal device, so that the terminal device can quickly restore to the connected state.

[0081] When the terminal device is in a connected state, there is an RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device, and the two can communicate based on the RRC connection.

[0082] (4) Discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism. The DRX mechanism includes a DRX cycle. In order to enable new radio (NR) terminal devices to save energy, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) introduced the DRX mechanism, which allows terminal devices to periodically enter a sleep state at certain times. In the sleep state, the terminal device does not need to monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). When it is necessary to monitor the PDCCH, the terminal device wakes up from the sleep state, which can save power for the terminal device. Optionally, in order to further adapt to the low power consumption of the Internet of Things, an extended (or extended) discontinuous reception (eDRX) mechanism is introduced on the basis of DRX. In the eDRX cycle, the terminal device is in a deep sleep period for a long time and only monitors paging messages according to the DRX mechanism within the paging time window (PTW).

[0083] (5) The paging mechanism refers to the sending of a paging message to a terminal device in an idle or inactive state when the core network or radio access network has data to send to the terminal device. The content of the paging message is sent to the terminal device through the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) resource location, and the PDSCH resource is indicated by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambled by the paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI). In other words, in order for the terminal device to obtain the paging message, the terminal device must first periodically wake up to monitor the PDCCH channel scrambled by the P-RNTI, and then parse the downlink control information (DCI) to further obtain the time-frequency location of the PDSCH channel. Finally, the terminal device receives and parses the paging message at the time-frequency location of the PDSCH channel.

[0084] In the frequency domain, the frequency domain resources occupied by the paging message are specified by the PDCCH encrypted by the P-RNTI. In the time domain, the terminal device will only try to receive the paging message in the PO of a specific radio frame (the radio frame can be called a paging frame (PF)) within its paging cycle. Optionally, a PO may have multiple time slots (slots), and LTE PO is a concept of subframes. Therefore, the RAN device (such as gNB) needs to send the paging message from the air interface at this moment (i.e. PO), so that the terminal device can receive the paging message at this moment.

[0085] It can be understood that PF is a radio frame, and a single PF can contain one or more POs. PO is a collection of PDCCH monitoring occasions, which may include multiple time slots or subframes or symbols. On the PO, there may be a PDCCH that is encrypted with P-RNTI and indicates a paging message. When DRX is used, the terminal device only needs to detect 1 PO in each DRX cycle, that is, for each terminal device, the gNB has only 1 PO available to send paging messages in each paging cycle. Therefore, the DRX cycle and the paging cycle completely overlap in the time domain. In the embodiment of the present application, the DRX cycle and the paging cycle can be regarded as the same concept.

[0086] In the time domain, the terminal device attempts to receive the paging message at a specific PO of a specific frame PF of the paging cycle. The gNB needs to send the paging message from the air interface at that moment (i.e., specific PO), so that the terminal device can receive the paging message at this moment.

[0087] NR paging includes core network paging (CN paging) and radio access network paging (RAN paging). CN paging is initiated by the core network and can page idle and inactive terminal devices. RAN paging is initiated by the RAN side and only pages inactive terminal devices.

[0088] For example, for CN paging, when a terminal device registers to the network, the core network assigns a terminal device registration area (UE Registration Area) to each terminal device, which contains a tracking area identity (TAI) list. When the terminal device moves out to a cell that does not belong to the TAI list, it will actively access the network (including the core network) and perform a non-access stratum (NAS) registration update (NASRegistration Update). The core network registers the location of the terminal device and updates the terminal device registration area of ​​the terminal device, that is, reassigns the TAI list containing the timing advance (TA) of the cell where the terminal device is currently located to the terminal device. When the terminal device is in an idle state, in order to find the terminal device, the core network needs to send paging messages (5GC paging) to all cells under all TAs in the TAI list. Obviously, under this level of terminal tracking, since most paging messages are sent in cells where the terminal device is not, a higher paging message transmission overhead will be generated. In order to save the transmission overhead of paging messages, it is necessary to reduce the scope of paging message delivery. To reduce the scope of paging message delivery, the network side needs to manage the terminal device area with smaller granularity. For terminal devices in idle state, the minimum granularity area managed by the network side is only up to the TA of the core network. For UEs in an inactive state, in order to further save the transmission overhead of paging messages, the concept of "RNA (RAN-based Notification Area)" with a smaller range than TA is introduced. RNA is managed by gNB, and gNB can page (RANpaging) the terminal device based on RNA to find the terminal device.

[0089] (6) Sidelink (SL): It can also be called sidelink, sidelink, direct link, side link or auxiliary link, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the above terms all refer to links established between devices of the same type and have the same meaning. The so-called devices of the same type can be links between terminal devices, etc. Among them, for the link between terminal devices, it can be a D2D link defined by 3GPP version (Rel)-12 / 13 / 14 / 15, or it can be a V2X link defined by 3GPP for the Internet of Vehicles, such as vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-mobile phone, or vehicle-to-any entity, or it can be a V2X link based on the NR system of other versions (such as Rel-16 or subsequent versions). .

[0090] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0091] The following is an introduction to possible communication system architectures applicable to the communication method provided in this application. It should be noted that these introductions are for the convenience of understanding by those skilled in the art and do not limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0092] Figure 1 The following is a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system architecture includes a network device 100 and at least one terminal device (such as terminal device 201, terminal device 202, etc.).

[0093] The network device 100 is used to help the terminal device achieve wireless access, or to perform access management and switching management on the terminal device, and can communicate with the core network.

[0094] The terminal device 201 can communicate with one or more network devices of one or more communication systems and can receive network services provided by the network devices. Figure 1 The network device 100 shown may be other forms of network devices, which are not limited in the present application. Optionally, the terminal device 201 and the network device 100 may establish a communication connection via a Uu interface (universal user to network interface, uu) (or air interface).

[0095] The terminal device 202 is used for SL communication with the terminal device 201. Optionally, the communication interface between the terminal device 202 and the terminal device 201 is called a prose communication 5 (PC5) interface, and a PC5 connection can be established between the terminal device 202 and the terminal device 201. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the SL communication between the terminal device 202 and the terminal device 201 may include but is not limited to unicast communication, multicast communication or broadcast communication.

[0096] Furthermore, terminal device 201 and terminal device 202 may be configured to support relay transmission. For example, terminal device 201 may provide relay services for terminal device 202, and provide a connection between terminal device 202 and network device 100, thereby realizing a user equipment to network (UE-to-network, U2N) relay function. For example, terminal device 201 may receive information from network device 100 and forward it to terminal device 202, and receive information from network device 201 and forward it to network device 100, thereby realizing communication between terminal device 202 and network device 100 through terminal device 201. For ease of description, in the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device that provides relay services may be referred to as a relay terminal device (relay UE), and a terminal device that uses relay services may be referred to as a remote terminal device (remote UE). For example, in Figure 1 In the illustrated communication system architecture, terminal device 201 may be used as a relay terminal device, and terminal device 202 may be used as a remote terminal device.

[0097] Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a scenario where one device provides a relay service for another device, such as a U2N relay scenario, that is, a relay UE provides a connection to a network for a remote UE. It should be understood that in a relay scenario, the number of relay UEs can be one or more. When the number of relay UEs is one, a single-hop communication scenario is formed, and when the number of relay UEs is multiple, a multi-hop communication scenario is formed.

[0098] Exemplarily, several forms of U2N relay scenarios are introduced below.

[0099] Scenario 1: The relay terminal device is located within the coverage area of ​​a certain network device and the remote terminal device is located outside the coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0100] Scenario 2: The relay terminal device and the remote terminal device are located in the coverage area of ​​the same network device.

[0101] Scenario 3: The relay terminal device and the remote terminal device are located in the coverage areas of different network devices.

[0102] Optionally, the relay may include a layer 3 (layer 3, L3) relay and a layer 2 (layer 2, L2) relay. For an L3 relay, after the remote terminal device establishes a connection with the network device through the relay terminal device, the relay terminal device and the remote terminal device may be in the same cell or in different cells. For an L2 relay, after the remote terminal device establishes a connection with the network device through the relay terminal device, the relay terminal device and the remote terminal device are both controlled by the service cell where the relay terminal device is located. In addition, before the remote terminal device and the relay terminal device establish a connection, the relay terminal device and the remote terminal device may be in the same cell or in different cells.

[0103] It should be understood that when the relay terminal device provides network services to the remote terminal device, the service cell of the relay terminal device can also be considered as the service cell of the remote terminal device.

[0104] It should be noted that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: long term evolution (LTE) communication system, 5G communication system, such as NR, and next generation communication system, such as 6G communication system, etc. Of course, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, as long as the communication system has a positioning requirement for the terminal device. In addition, the communication system and business scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. It is known to those of ordinary skill in the art that with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0105] Optional, in the above Figure 1 In the illustrated communication system architecture, the communication between a terminal device (such as terminal device 202) and a terminal device (such as terminal device 201) (or the communication between terminal device 201 and a network device) may follow a certain protocol stack structure. Exemplarily, the protocol stack in the relay scenario may include a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. Figure 2a A schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2aAs shown, the user plane protocol stack may include a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a sidelink relay adaptation protocol (SRAP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer or a physical layer (PHY) and other protocol layers. In a possible implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer. Figure 2a In the user plane protocol stack shown, the user plane protocol stack followed by the remote terminal device may include the Uu-SDAP layer, the Uu-PDCP layer, the PC5-SRAP layer, the PC5-RLC layer, the PC5-MAC layer, and the PC5-PHY layer. The user plane protocol stack followed by the relay terminal device may include the PC5-SRAP layer, the PC5-RLC layer, the PC5-MAC layer, and the PC5-PHY layer, or may also include the Uu-SRAP layer, the Uu-RLC layer, the Uu-MAC layer, and the Uu-PHY layer. The user plane protocol stack followed by the network device may include the Uu-SDAP layer, the Uu-PDCP layer, the Uu-SRAP layer, the Uu-RLC layer, the Uu-MAC layer, and the Uu-PHY layer.

[0106] Figure 2b A schematic diagram of a control plane protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2b As shown, the control plane protocol stack may include an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, an SRAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer or a PHY layer. Figure 2b In the control plane protocol stack shown in the figure, the control plane protocol stack followed by the remote terminal device may include the Uu-RRC layer, the Uu-PDCP layer, the PC5-SRAP layer, the PC5-RLC layer, the PC5-MAC layer, and the PC5-PHY layer. The control plane protocol stack followed by the relay terminal device may include the PC5-SRAP layer, the PC5-RLC layer, the PC5-MAC layer, and the PC5-PHY layer, or may also include the Uu-SRAP layer, the Uu-RLC layer, the Uu-MAC layer, and the Uu-PHY layer. The control plane protocol stack followed by the network device may include the Uu-RRC layer, the Uu-PDCP layer, the Uu-SRAP layer, the Uu-RLC layer, the Uu-MAC layer, and the Uu-PHY layer.

[0107] In addition, for L2 U2N relay, regardless of the user plane or the control plane, the SRAP layer is placed above the RLC layer of the Uu interface between the relay terminal device and the network device (such as gNB), and the data packets of the relay terminal device are relayed below the PDCP layer. Figure 2a and Figure 2b PC5-SRAP is used in the text to represent the SRAP layer. Layer 3 relay is a relay based on the Internet protocol (IP) layer.

[0108] The following is based on Figure 1 The communication system architecture shown in the figure provides a detailed introduction to the specific implementation of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0109] [Example 1]

[0110] Figure 3 The following is a flow chart showing a communication method provided in Example 1 of the present application. Figure 1 The communication system architecture shown in the figure. The method process can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device and a second communication device). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required for the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required for the method. Exemplarily, the first terminal device can be as follows Figure 1 The terminal device 202 shown in the figure, the second terminal device can be as follows Figure 1 The terminal device 201 is shown. In order to facilitate the introduction of the technical solution provided in the first embodiment of the present application, the following takes the first communication device as the first terminal device and the second communication device as the second terminal device as an example to introduce the process of implementing the communication method by data interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0111] Step 301: A first terminal device sends first information to a second terminal device, and the second terminal device receives the first information.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present application, the first terminal device may be a remote terminal device in an RRC inactive state (or in an RRC inactive state), and the second terminal device may be a terminal device (such as a relay terminal device) that provides relay services for the first terminal device.

[0113] Exemplarily, the first information may include a second paging index and / or first configuration information. The second paging index may be a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state. The first information may be used to determine the first paging index. Optionally, the first information may also include a legacy configuration or a system frame number (SFN), etc. In a possible implementation, the legacy configuration or SFN, etc. may also be carried (or included) in the first information and sent to the second terminal device.

[0114] In an embodiment of the present application, in order to enable the second terminal device to timely and effectively help the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state to receive a paging message from a network device, the first terminal device can send a first message to the second terminal device so that the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index based on the first information. Afterwards, the second terminal device can accurately receive the paging message from the network device at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, and can forward the paging message from the network device to the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state. The paging message is used to page the first terminal device.

[0115] It should be understood that the first paging index and (or and) the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state (such as the second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state) can be used to represent the index (i_s) of the same paging occasion (same PO). In other words, the value (or value) expressed (or represented or indicated) by the first paging index and the second paging index (such as the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state) is the same. Optionally, in some scenarios, the terminal device can also use the second paging index as the first paging index. It is understandable that for the second terminal device and the first terminal device, the expression (or description or expression) of the index for the same paging occasion may be different, so in order to facilitate the clear description of the communication scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application, it is distinguished by "the first paging index (such as i_s)" and "the second paging index (such as i_s')".

[0116] Exemplarily, the first configuration information may include at least one of the following: a DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, or a paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. Among them, the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state is used to determine the first paging index, which can be understood as the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state is used to determine the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state.

[0117] For example, the paging configuration may refer to the following Table 1. It should be understood that Table 1 is an example, which is used to facilitate the description of the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution in the embodiment of the present application.

[0118] Table 1

[0119] parameter Parameter Description T DRX Cycle N The number of PFs included in each cycle T N Number of POs included in each PF PF_offset Offset used for PF UE_ID UE Identity or UE ID

[0120] The parameter T represents the DRX cycle or paging cycle. For a terminal device in an idle state, the value of T is min (specific DRX cycle, default DRX cycle). min (specific DRX cycle, default DRX cycle) represents: the minimum value of the dedicated DRX cycle (specific DRX cycle) and the default DRX cycle (default DRX cycle). For a terminal device in an inactive state, the value of T is min (specific DRX cycle, RAN paging cycle, default DRX cycle). min (specific DRX cycle, RAN paging cycle, default DRX cycle) represents: the minimum value of the dedicated DRX cycle (specific DRX cycle), the RAN (i.e., network device) paging DRX cycle (RANpaing cycle) and the default DRX cycle (default DRX cycle). Among them, the dedicated DRX cycle is a DRX cycle dedicated to a terminal device or a UE, and the dedicated DRX cycle is a value configured by the upper layer; the RAN paging DRX cycle is a value configured by the RRC. N represents the number of PFs contained in each cycle T. Ns represents the number of POs contained in each PF. The PF offset value (PF_offset) represents the offset value used for the PF. UE_ID represents the identifier of the terminal device. When in the idle state, the identifier is the 5G communication system architecture temporary mobile user identification number (5G-SAE-temporary mobile subscriber identify, 5G-S-TMSI); when in the inactive state, the identifier is the inactive radio network temporary identifier (inactive radio network temporary identifier, I-RNTI).

[0121] The PF of a terminal device defined in the current standard protocol satisfies the following formula.

[0122] (SFN+PF_offset)mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N)

[0123] The frame whose frame number is SFN determined according to the above formula is PF.

[0124] The index (i_s) of the PO of the terminal device defined in the current standard protocol satisfies the following formula.

[0125] i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns

[0126] In the above two formulas, T is used to represent the DRX cycle of the terminal device (such as UE). Specifically, T is the minimum value of the specific DRX cycle of the terminal device and the default DRX cycle broadcast by the system information. N is used to represent the total number of PFs in the DRX cycle. Ns is used to represent the number of POs included (or associated) with a PF. PF_offset is used for the offset value determined by the PF. mod is used to represent the modulo operation.

[0127] Among them, UE_ID can be determined in the following way: if the UE is in eDRX, the UE_ID is 5G-S-TMSI mod4096, otherwise the UE_ID is UE_ID is 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024.

[0128] In addition, if the UE does not have a 5G-S-TMSI, for example when the UE has not yet registered on the network, the UE may use UE_ID=0 as a default identity.

[0129] Optionally, the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state can also be calculated using the calculation formula of i_s of the PO of the above-mentioned terminal device.

[0130] Exemplarily, the implementation process of the first terminal device sending the first information to the second terminal device is introduced below through the following possible implementation methods.

[0131] Implementation method 1: After the first terminal device obtains the second information from the network device (such as ranPagingInIdlePO (RAN paging in idle state PO)), if the second information indicates that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device. The second information is used to indicate that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, and the first paging opportunity may be the paging opportunity corresponding to the second paging index. Optionally, the first terminal device can determine whether it supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state based on its own capabilities (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination (inactive state PO-determination)), or it can also obtain the capability information of whether it supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state through the upper layer. For example, taking the capability information as inactiveStatePO-Determination, the first terminal device obtains an inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1 (or true, etc.), or obtains an inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 0 (or false, etc.).

[0132] Exemplarily, take the capability information as inactiveStatePO-Determination as an example. inactiveStatePO-Determination can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the same index (i_s) in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO, which can be understood as the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state (such as the second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state) in the RRC inactive state, or it can also be used to indicate that the first terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state, which can be understood as the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. For example, the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1 (or true, etc.), indicating that the first terminal device supports the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO; the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0 (or false, etc.), indicating that the first terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC idle state as in the RRC inactive state to determine PO.

[0133] In one example, when the first terminal device is located outside the coverage area of ​​the network device and the second terminal device is located within the coverage area of ​​the network device, the first terminal device can obtain the system message block (or system information block, SIB) 1 message broadcast by the network device through the second terminal device. The SIB1 message can carry the second information. Optionally, the second information can also be carried in other messages broadcast by the network device. In another example, when the first terminal device and the second terminal device are both located within the coverage area of ​​the network device, the first terminal device can receive the SIB1 message broadcast by the network device.

[0134] For example, the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is true (or 1, etc.), indicating that the network device supports sending paging messages (such as RAN paging) in the first paging opportunity (such as the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as remote UE) in the RRC idle state), and the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is false (or empty or 0, etc.), indicating that the network device does not support sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity. When the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is true (or 1, etc.), ranPagingInIdlePO is used to indicate that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity; when the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is false (or empty or 0, etc.), ranPagingInIdlePO is used to indicate that the network device does not support sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity. For example, taking the second information as ranPagingInIdlePO as an example, the first terminal device obtains a ranPagingInIdlePO with a value of true (or 1, etc.) from the network device, or obtains a ranPagingInIdlePO with a value of false (or empty or 0, etc.) from the network device.

[0135] Implementation method 2: When the first terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device can obtain the second information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) from the network device and the third information from the second terminal device. If the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state, then the first terminal device can send the first information to the second terminal device. In this way, this implementation method can be implemented in the case where the first terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device determines whether to provide the first information to the second terminal device based on whether the second terminal device supports eDRX, that is, the first terminal device provides the first information to the second terminal device only if the second terminal device also supports eDRX, thereby ensuring the pertinence and rationality of providing the first information, so that the second terminal device can effectively use the first information to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device. Optionally, the third information can be used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, or it can also be used to indicate that the second terminal device does not support eDRX.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present application, when the first terminal device (such as the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state) supports eDRX, the first terminal device may send capability query information to the second terminal device. The capability query information is used to request the eDRX capability of the second terminal device (such as whether the second terminal device supports eDRX or not). After receiving the capability query information, the second terminal device may send third information to the first terminal device. It can be understood that the above-mentioned first terminal device sending capability query information to the second terminal device is an optional execution step. In the case where the first terminal device does not send capability query information to the second terminal device, the second terminal device may also actively send the third information to the first terminal device, or the second terminal device may also exchange eDRX capability information (such as supporting eDRX or not supporting eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the first terminal device, or the second terminal device may not provide eDRX capability information to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device directly provides the first information (such as the first configuration information and / or the index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state) to the second terminal device, so that the signaling overhead can be saved and the power consumption generated by the first terminal device due to sending the capability query information can be reduced. The third information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, or is used to indicate that the second terminal device does not support eDRX.

[0137] Based on the above-mentioned second implementation method, the following several possible examples are used to introduce the implementation process of the first terminal device (for example, the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state) sending the first information to the second terminal device when the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, and the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state.

[0138] Example 1: When the eDRX cycle of the first terminal device (for example, the eDRX cycle configured by the upper layer for the first terminal device, such as T_(eDRX_CN)) is less than or equal to 1024 radio frames, the first terminal device can send first information to the second terminal device.

[0139] Example 2: When the eDRX cycle of the first terminal device is greater than 1024 radio frames, the first information sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device also includes indication information. In one example, when the first information includes a second paging index (such as a paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state), the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window. In another example, when the first information includes the first configuration information, the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

[0140] Step 302: The second terminal device sends a paging message corresponding to a first paging index from a network device to the first terminal device. The first terminal device receives the paging message corresponding to the first paging index.

[0141] In one possible implementation, when the first information includes a second paging index, the second terminal device may determine, based on the second paging index, a first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as a first terminal device in an RRC inactive state) receive a paging message from a network device. The paging message is used to page the first terminal device. Afterwards, the second terminal device may attempt to receive a paging message from the network device at a paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives a paging message from the network device at a paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device may send the paging message (or a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device) to the first terminal device (such as a first terminal device in an RRC inactive state).

[0142] For example, the value (or numerical value) indicated by the first paging index and the second paging index (such as the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state) are the same, so the second terminal device can determine a new paging index (such as the first paging index) that also indicates the value (or numerical value) as the paging index on the second terminal device side based on the value (or numerical value) indicated by the second paging index, and use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive a paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device.

[0143] In another possible implementation, when the first information includes the first configuration information, the second terminal device may determine, based on the first configuration information, a first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state) receive a paging message from a network device. Afterwards, the second terminal device may attempt to receive a paging message from the network device at a paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives a paging message from the network device at a paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device may send the paging message to the first terminal device (such as the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state).

[0144] In one example, when the first configuration information includes the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state) receive the paging message from the network device based on the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and using the calculation formula of i_s for the terminal device's PO in the above step 301. Optionally, in addition to obtaining the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can also obtain other parameters required to calculate the first paging index (such as the relevant parameters involved in the above two formulas) from the first terminal device or the network device.

[0145] In another example, when the first configuration information includes the paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state) receive the paging message from the network device based on the paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and using the calculation formula of i_s of the PO of the above terminal device.

[0146] In another possible implementation, when the first information includes a second paging index and the first configuration information, the second terminal device may choose to use the second paging index to determine a first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as a first terminal device in an RRC inactive state) receive a paging message from a network device, or may choose to use the first configuration information to determine a first paging index for helping the first terminal device (such as a first terminal device in an RRC inactive state) receive a paging message from a network device. After the second terminal device determines the first paging index, the second terminal device may attempt to receive a paging message from the network device at a paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives a paging message from the network device at a paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device may send the paging message to the first terminal device (such as a first terminal device in an RRC inactive state).

[0147] It can be seen from the above steps 301 to 302 that the first terminal device can provide the first information (such as the second paging index and / or the first configuration information) to the second terminal device, so that the second terminal device can accurately determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device based on the first information, so that the second terminal device can use the first paging index to promptly and effectively receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device, and send the paging message to the first terminal device. That is, the second terminal device can effectively help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device based on the first information provided by the first terminal device.

[0148] Based on the above Figure 3 In the implementation scheme of the communication method shown in the figure, the first information includes the second paging index or the first configuration information as an example. Figures 4 to 5 The specific example shown above Figure 3 The communication method shown in the figure is described in detail. Figure 4 or Figure 5 In the specific example shown, the first terminal device is a remote UE in an RRC inactive state (hereinafter referred to as remote UE), the second terminal device is a relay UE, the network device is a gNB (or may be referred to as an NG-(R)AN device), and the second information is ranPagingInIdlePO, which is carried in the SIB1 message. ranPagingInIdlePO is used to indicate whether the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state (such as the remote UE). For example, Figure 4 or Figure 5 The communication method shown is applicable to the scenario where the relay UE helps the remote UE in the RRC inactive state to receive the paging message from the gNB. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the action performed by a certain network element can also be replaced by the action performed by the functional component in the network element. In the embodiment of the present application, the functional component may include at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, and a processing unit.

[0149] Figure 4 A flow chart of another communication method provided in Example 1 of the present application. Figure 4 In the communication method shown, the first information includes the second paging index as an example. Figure 4 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0150] Step 401: The remote UE obtains the SIB1 message from the gNB.

[0151] In one example, when the remote UE is outside the coverage area of ​​the gNB and the relay UE is within the coverage area of ​​the gNB, the remote UE can obtain the SIB1 message broadcast by the gNB through the relay UE. The SIB1 message carries ranPagingInIdlePO.

[0152] In another example, when both the remote UE and the relay UE are located in the coverage area of ​​the gNB, the remote UE can receive the SIB1 message broadcast by the gNB. The SIB1 message carries ranPagingInIdlePO.

[0153] The remote UE may obtain the ranPagingInIdlePO from SIB1 after obtaining the SIB1 message from the gNB. When the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is true, the remote UE may determine that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (e.g., the remote UE) in the RRC idle state. When the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is false or empty, the remote UE may determine that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state.

[0154] Step 402: The remote UE sends a second paging index to the relay UE. The relay UE receives the second paging index.

[0155] Optionally, after obtaining the SIB1 message from the gNB, the remote UE can also determine whether it supports the capability information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination) of using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state based on its own capabilities. For example, the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, indicating that the terminal device supports the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO, and the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, indicating that the terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO. When the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, the remote UE can determine that it supports the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO. When the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, the remote UE can determine that it does not support the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO.

[0156] In one possible implementation, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE supports determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state, the remote UE may send the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state as the second paging index to the relay UE. Optionally, the remote UE may also send the legacy configuration and SFN to the relay UE.

[0157] In another possible implementation, when the remote UE determines that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and / or the remote UE does not support using the same index in the RRC idle state to determine the PO in the RRC inactive state, the remote UE can calculate the paging index (such as the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state) through the calculation formula of i_s of the PO of the above-mentioned terminal device, and can send the calculated paging index as the second paging index to the relay UE.

[0158] In another possible implementation, when the remote UE supports eDRX, the remote UE may send capability query information to the relay UE. The capability query information is used to request to query the eDRX capability of the relay UE (i.e., whether the relay UE supports eDRX or not). After receiving the capability query information, the relay UE may send information to the remote UE indicating whether the relay UE supports or does not support eDRX. It is understandable that the above-mentioned remote UE sending capability query information to the relay UE is an optional execution step. In the case where the remote UE does not send capability query information to the relay UE, the relay UE may actively provide the eDRX capability of the relay UE to the remote UE, or the relay UE may also exchange eDRX capability information (such as supporting eDRX or not supporting eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the remote UE, or the relay UE may not provide the eDRX capability information to the remote UE, and the remote UE directly provides the first information (such as the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state) to the relay UE, which can save signaling overhead and reduce the power consumption of the remote UE due to sending the capability query information. When the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state, the remote UE may send the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to the relay UE.

[0159] In one example, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO using the same index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state, if the eDRX cycle configured by the upper layer for the remote UE is greater than 1024 radio frames, the remote UE sends the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to the relay UE, and limits (or restricts) the usage period (or usage duration or usage time period) of the index. For example, the remote UE can send indication information to the relay UE, and the indication information is used to instruct the relay UE to use the index during the PTW.

[0160] In another example, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state, if the eDRX cycle (or eDRX value) configured by the upper layer for the remote UE is less than or equal to 1024 radio frames, the remote UE sends the index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to the relay UE, and there is no restriction on the usage period of the index.

[0161] Step 403: The relay UE determines, based on the second paging index, a first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB.

[0162] Optionally, the implementation method of step 403 may refer to the implementation method of the second terminal device determining the first paging index according to the second paging index in the above step 302, which will not be repeated here.

[0163] It should be understood that the relay UE can also use the second paging index to directly receive the paging message from the gNB. In other words, the relay UE can use the second paging index as the first paging index and receive the paging message from the gNB at the paging opportunity corresponding to the second paging index.

[0164] Step 404: The relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB at the paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. The paging message is used to page the remote UE.

[0165] Step 405: The relay UE sends a paging message from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the paging message.

[0166] Optionally, after determining the first paging index, the relay UE may attempt to receive a paging message from the gNB at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, where the paging message is used to paging the remote UE. When the relay UE receives the paging message from the gNB at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the relay UE may send the paging message to the remote UE.

[0167] It can be seen from the above steps 401 to 405 that the remote UE in the RRC inactive state can directly provide the second paging index to the relay UE, so that the relay UE can effectively help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB according to the first paging index corresponding to the second paging index. In addition, when the remote UE supports eDRX, if the relay UE also supports eDRX, and the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE supports using the same index in the RRC inactive state to determine the PO as in the RRC idle state, then the remote UE can provide a second paging index to the relay UE, thereby ensuring the targetedness and rationality of providing the second paging index, so that the relay UE can effectively use the second paging index to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE, and the remote UE can provide the second paging index to the relay UE based on the eDRX capability of the relay UE.

[0168] Figure 5 A flow chart of another communication method provided in Embodiment 1 of the present application. Figure 5 In the communication method process shown, the first information includes the first configuration information as an example. Figure 5 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0169] Step 501: The remote UE obtains the SIB1 message from the gNB.

[0170] Optionally, the implementation of step 501 may refer to the implementation of step 401 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0171] Step 502: The remote UE sends first configuration information to the relay UE. The relay UE receives the first configuration information.

[0172] Optionally, after obtaining the SIB1 message from the gNB, the remote UE can also determine whether it supports the capability information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination) of using the second paging index in the RRC inactive state based on its own capabilities. For example, the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, indicating that the terminal device supports the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO, and the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, indicating that the terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO. When the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, the remote UE can determine that it supports the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO. When the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, the remote UE can determine that it does not support the use of the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state to determine PO.

[0173] In a possible implementation, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as the remote UE) in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE supports determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state, the remote UE may send the first configuration information of the remote UE (such as the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state or the paging configuration of the remote UE in the RRC idle state) to the relay UE. Optionally, the remote UE may also send the legacy configuration to the relay UE.

[0174] In another possible implementation, when the remote UE determines that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and / or the remote UE does not support determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state, the remote UE sends the legacy configuration to the relay UE.

[0175] In another possible implementation, when the remote UE supports eDRX, the remote UE may send capability query information to the relay UE. The capability query information is used to request to query the eDRX capability of the relay UE (i.e., whether the relay UE supports eDRX or not). After receiving the capability query information, the relay UE may send information to the remote UE indicating whether the relay UE supports or does not support eDRX. It is understandable that the above-mentioned remote UE sending capability query information to the relay UE is an optional execution step. In the case where the remote UE does not send capability query information to the relay UE, the relay UE may actively provide the eDRX capability of the relay UE to the remote UE, or the relay UE may also exchange eDRX capability information (such as supporting eDRX or not supporting eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the remote UE, or the relay UE may not provide the eDRX capability information to the remote UE, and the remote UE directly provides the first information (such as the first configuration information) to the relay UE, which can save signaling overhead and reduce the power consumption of the remote UE due to sending the capability query information. When the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state, the remote UE may send the first configuration information to the relay UE.

[0176] In one example, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state, if the eDRX cycle configured by the upper layer for the remote UE is greater than 1024 radio frames, the remote UE sends the first configuration information to the relay UE and limits the usage period of the first configuration information. For example, the remote UE can send indication information to the relay UE, and the indication information is used to instruct the relay UE to use the first configuration information during the PTW.

[0177] In another example, when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE determines that the relay UE supports eDRX, and the remote UE supports determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state, if the eDRX cycle (or eDRX value) configured by the upper layer for the remote UE is less than or equal to 1024 radio frames, the remote UE sends the first configuration information to the relay UE, and does not limit the usage period of the first configuration information.

[0178] Step 503: The relay UE determines, based on the first configuration information, a first paging index for helping the remote UE receive a paging message from the gNB.

[0179] Optionally, the implementation method of step 503 may refer to the implementation method of the second terminal device determining the first paging index according to the first configuration information in the above step 302, which will not be repeated here.

[0180] Step 504: The relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB at the paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. The paging message is used to page the remote UE.

[0181] Step 505: The relay UE sends a paging message from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the paging message.

[0182] Optionally, after determining the first paging index, the relay UE may attempt to receive a paging message from the gNB at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, where the paging message is used to paging the remote UE. When the relay UE receives the paging message from the gNB at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the relay UE may send the paging message to the remote UE.

[0183] It can be seen from the above steps 501 to 505 that the remote UE in the RRC inactive state can provide the first configuration information to the relay UE, so that the relay UE can determine the first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB according to the first configuration information, thereby effectively helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB according to the first paging index. In addition, when the remote UE supports eDRX, if the relay UE also supports eDRX, and the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, and the remote UE supports using the same index in the RRC inactive state to determine the PO as in the RRC idle state, then the remote UE can provide the first configuration information to the relay UE, thereby ensuring the pertinence and rationality of providing the first configuration information, so that the relay UE can effectively use the first configuration information to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE, and can realize that the remote UE provides the first configuration information to the relay UE according to the eDRX capability of the relay UE.

[0184] [Example 2]

[0185] Figure 6 The following is a flow chart showing a communication method provided in the second embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The communication system architecture shown in the figure. The method process can be implemented by data interaction between multiple communication devices (such as a first communication device and a second communication device). Optionally, the first communication device can be a first terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the first terminal device to implement the functions required for the method, and the second communication device can be a second terminal device or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the second terminal device to implement the functions required for the method. Exemplarily, the first terminal device can be as follows Figure 1 The terminal device 202 shown in the figure, the second terminal device can be as follows Figure 1 The terminal device 201 is shown. In order to facilitate the introduction of the technical solution provided in the second embodiment of the present application, the following takes the first communication device as the first terminal device and the second communication device as the second terminal device as an example to introduce the process of implementing the communication method by data interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device. Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0186] Step 601: The first terminal device sends fourth information to the second terminal device. The second terminal device receives the fourth information.

[0187] In one example, the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state (for example, a second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state). In another example, the fourth information can also be used to indicate that the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state.

[0188] For example, the fourth information may be inactiveStatePO-Determination. inactiveStatePO-Determination may be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state, which may be understood as the first terminal device supporting the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state (such as the second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state) in the RRC inactive state, or it may also be used to indicate that the first terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state, which may be understood as the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. For example, a value of inactiveStatePO-Determination of 1 (or true, etc.) indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state; a value of inactiveStatePO-Determination of 0 (or false, etc.) indicates that the first terminal device does not support the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state.

[0189] Exemplarily, the implementation process of the first terminal device sending the fourth information to the second terminal device is introduced below through the following possible implementation methods.

[0190] Implementation method one: The second terminal device obtains the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) from the network device. For example, the sixth information can be carried in the SIB1 message broadcast by the network device, or it can also be carried in other messages broadcast by the network device. Exemplarily, the sixth information can be used to indicate that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, or it can also be used to indicate that the network device does not support sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, wherein the first paging opportunity is the paging opportunity corresponding to the paging index in the RRC idle state (such as the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state). When the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, the second terminal device can send the first capability query information to the first terminal device. Among them, the first capability query information is used to request whether the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. It can be understood that the above-mentioned second terminal device sending the first capability query information to the first terminal device is an optional execution step. In the case where the second terminal device does not send the first capability query information to the first terminal device, the first terminal device may actively provide the second terminal device with information on whether the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state, or the first terminal device may also exchange capability information on whether the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state is supported when establishing a unicast connection with the second terminal device. In one example, when the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state, the first terminal device may send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the second terminal device to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state. In another example, when the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state, the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 0) may be sent to the second terminal device to indicate that the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state.

[0191] Implementation method 2: The first terminal device obtains the sixth information from the network device. In one example, when the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging occasion, and the first terminal device supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state, the first terminal device may send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the second terminal device to indicate that the first terminal device supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. In another example, when the sixth information indicates that the network device does not support sending a paging message in the first paging occasion, and / or the first terminal device does not support using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state, the first terminal device does not send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0192] Implementation method three: When the first terminal device supports eDRX, there are several possible situations in which the first terminal device sends the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0193] Scenario 1: The first terminal device may first obtain the seventh information from the second terminal device. Exemplarily, the seventh information may be used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX, or may also be used to indicate that the second terminal device does not support eDRX. When the seventh information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device may send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the second terminal device to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. When the seventh information indicates that the second terminal device does not support eDRX, the first terminal device does not send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0194] Scenario 2: The first terminal device can obtain the sixth information from the network device and obtain the seventh information from the second terminal device. Afterwards, when the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, and the seventh information indicates that the second terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device can send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the second terminal device to indicate that the first terminal device supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. When the sixth information indicates that the network device does not support sending paging messages in the first paging opportunity, and / or the seventh information indicates that the second terminal device does not support eDRX, the first terminal device does not send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

[0195] Optionally, in the case where the first terminal device supports eDRX, the first terminal device may also send the second capability query information to the second terminal device before obtaining the seventh information from the second terminal device. The second capability query information is used to request the eDRX capability of the second terminal device (for example, whether the second terminal device supports eDRX or does not support eDRX). For example, after receiving the second capability query information, the second terminal device may send its own eDRX capability on the Uu port to the first terminal device. It can be understood that the above-mentioned first terminal device sending the second capability query information to the second terminal device is an optional execution step. In the case where the first terminal device does not send the second capability query information to the second terminal device, the second terminal device may actively provide the eDRX capability of the second terminal device to the first terminal device, or the second terminal device may also exchange eDRX capability information (for example, support eDRX or not support eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the first terminal device, or the second terminal device may not provide the eDRX capability information to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device directly sends the fourth information to the second terminal device, so that the signaling overhead can be saved and the power consumption generated by the first terminal device due to sending the second capability query information can be reduced.

[0196] For example, after receiving the second capability query information, the second terminal device may send the seventh information to the first terminal device, or may actively send the seventh information to the first terminal device. In one example, when the second terminal device supports eDRX, the second terminal device may send the seventh information indicating that the second terminal device supports eDRX to the first terminal device. In another example, when the second terminal device does not support eDRX, the second terminal device may send the seventh information indicating that the second terminal device does not support eDRX to the first terminal device.

[0197] Step 602: The first terminal device sends fifth information to the second terminal device. The second terminal device receives the fifth information.

[0198] Exemplarily, the fifth message may include the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and / or the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state (for example, a second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state). Optionally, the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state can be used to determine the first paging index (the first paging can also be understood as the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state); the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index. It should be understood that the first paging index and the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity.

[0199] In a possible implementation, when the fourth information indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state, the second terminal device can use the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state to help the first terminal device in the RRC non-activated state receive a paging message from the network device, and the paging message is used to page the first terminal device. At this time, the second terminal device can send the eighth information to the first terminal device. The eighth information is used to request the acquisition of the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state (for example, a second paging index that can be used as the paging index in the RRC idle state) and / or the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. In one example, after receiving the eighth information, the first terminal device can include the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state in the fifth message and send it to the second terminal device. In another example, after receiving the eighth information, the first terminal device can include the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state in the fifth message and send it to the second terminal device. In another example, after receiving the eighth information, the first terminal device may include the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state in the fifth message and send them to the second terminal device.

[0200] In another possible implementation, when the fourth information indicates that the first terminal device does not support the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state, or the second terminal device does not receive the fourth information, the second terminal device can adopt the existing implementation method of helping the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state to receive the paging message from the network device to help the first terminal device in the RRC inactive state receive the paging message from the network device.

[0201] Step 603: The second terminal device sends a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device. The first terminal device receives the paging message corresponding to the first paging index.

[0202] In a possible implementation, when the fifth information includes the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index for helping the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device according to the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. Afterwards, the second terminal device can attempt to receive the paging message from the network device at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives the paging message from the network device at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device can send the paging message (or the paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device) to the first terminal device.

[0203] For example, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device based on the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and the calculation formula of i_s for the terminal device's PO in the above step 301. Optionally, in addition to obtaining the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can also obtain other parameters required to calculate the first paging index (such as the relevant parameters involved in the above two formulas) from the first terminal device or the network device.

[0204] In another possible implementation, when the fifth information includes the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device can determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device based on the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. Afterwards, the second terminal device can attempt to receive the paging message from the network device at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives the paging message from the network device at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device can send the paging message to the first terminal device.

[0205] For example, the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state is the same as the value (or numerical value) indicated by the first paging index, so the second terminal device can determine a new paging index (such as the first paging index) that also indicates the value (or numerical value) as the paging index on the second terminal device side based on the value (or numerical value) indicated by the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive a paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device.

[0206] In another possible implementation, when the first information includes the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the second terminal device may choose to use the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state to determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive a paging message from a network device, or may choose to use the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state to determine the first paging index used to help the first terminal device receive a paging message from a network device. After the second terminal device determines the first paging index, the second terminal device may attempt to receive a paging message from the network device at a paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the second terminal device receives a paging message from the network device at a paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the second terminal device may send the paging message to the first terminal device.

[0207] It can be seen from the above steps 601 to 603 that the second terminal device can obtain the fifth information including the DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state and / or the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state from the first terminal device when determining that the fourth information obtained from the first terminal device indicates that the first terminal device supports the use of the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC non-activated state, thereby enabling the second terminal device to determine the first paging index for helping the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device according to the fifth information, and use the first paging index to help the first terminal device receive the paging message from the network device in a timely and effective manner. For example, the second terminal device can receive the paging message from the network device for paging the first terminal device in a timely and effective manner at the paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index, and send the paging message to the first terminal device.

[0208] Based on the above Figure 6 The implementation scheme of the communication method shown is as follows Figures 7 and 8 The specific example shown above Figure 6 The communication method shown in the figure is described in detail. Figure 7 or Figure 8 In the specific example shown, the first terminal device is a remote UE in an RRC inactive state (hereinafter referred to as remote UE), the second terminal device is a relay UE, and the network device is a gNB (or NG-(R)AN device). For example, Figure 7 or Figure 8 The communication method shown is applicable to the scenario where the relay UE helps the remote UE in the RRC inactive state to receive the paging message from the gNB. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the action performed by a certain network element can also be replaced by the action performed by the functional component in the network element. In the embodiment of the present application, the functional component may include at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, and a processing unit.

[0209] Figure 7 A flow chart of another communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present application. Figure 7 In the communication method shown, the relay UE determines whether the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state according to the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) included in the SIB1 message from the gNB. Figure 7 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0210] Step 701: The relay UE obtains the SIB1 message from the gNB.

[0211] In an embodiment of the present application, when the relay UE is within the coverage area of ​​the gNB, the relay UE can obtain the SIB1 message broadcast by the gNB. The SIB1 message carries the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO). For example, taking the sixth information as ranPagingInIdlePO as an example, ranPagingInIdlePO is carried in the SIB1 message, and ranPagingInIdlePO is used to indicate whether the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state.

[0212] After obtaining the SIB1 message from the gNB, the relay UE can obtain the ranPagingInIdlePO from the SIB1. When the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is true, the relay UE can determine that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as the remote UE) in the RRC idle state. When the value of ranPagingInIdlePO is false or empty, the relay UE can determine that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state.

[0213] Step 702: The relay UE sends first capability query information to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the first capability query information.

[0214] The first capability query information is used to request whether the remote UE supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state.

[0215] In an embodiment of the present application, when the relay UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, the relay UE can send a first capability query information to the remote UE.

[0216] The above step 702 is an optional step. In the case where step 702 is not performed, the remote UE may actively provide the fourth information to the relay UE, or the remote UE may also interact with the relay UE to determine whether the capability information of using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state is supported when establishing a unicast connection with the relay UE, thereby saving signaling overhead and reducing the power consumption of the relay UE due to sending the first capability query information.

[0217] Step 703: The remote UE sends fourth information to the relay UE, and the relay UE receives the fourth information.

[0218] Exemplarily, take the fourth information as inactiveStatePO-Determination as an example. The value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, indicating that the remote UE supports the use of the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state; the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, indicating that the remote UE does not support the use of the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0219] In one example, when the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, the remote UE may send fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE supports determining PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0220] In another example, when the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, the remote UE may send fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 0) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE does not support determining PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0221] In another example, when the remote UE supports eDRX, the remote UE may send a second capability query message to the relay UE. The second capability query message is used to request to query the eDRX capability of the relay UE (i.e., whether the relay UE supports eDRX or does not support eDRX). After receiving the second capability query message, the relay UE may send a seventh message to the remote UE indicating whether the relay UE supports or does not support eDRX. It can be understood that the sending of the second capability query message by the remote UE to the relay UE is an optional execution step. In the case where the remote UE does not send the second capability query information to the relay UE, the relay UE can actively provide the eDRX capability of the relay UE to the remote UE, or the relay UE can also exchange eDRX capability information (such as supporting eDRX or not supporting eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the remote UE, or the relay UE may not provide the eDRX capability information to the remote UE, and the remote UE directly sends the fourth information to the relay UE, which can save signaling overhead and reduce the power consumption of the remote UE caused by sending the second capability query information. When the seventh information indicates that the relay UE supports eDRX, the remote UE can send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE supports the use of the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state. When the sixth information indicates that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as the remote UE) in the RRC idle state, and / or the seventh information indicates that the relay UE does not support eDRX, the remote UE does not send the fourth information to the relay UE.

[0222] Step 704: The relay UE sends the eighth information to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the eighth information.

[0223] In a possible implementation, when the fourth information (e.g., inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) indicates that the remote UE supports the use of the same index in the RRC idle state to determine PO in the RRC inactive state, the relay UE can use the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to help the remote UE in the RRC inactive state receive a paging message from the gNB, and the paging message is used to page the remote UE. At this time, the relay UE can send the eighth information to the remote UE. The eighth information is used to request the remote UE's paging index in the RRC idle state (e.g., a second paging index that can be used as a paging index in the RRC idle state) and / or the remote UE's DRX cycle in the RRC idle state.

[0224] In another possible implementation, when the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 0) indicates that the remote UE does not support using the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state, the relay UE can adopt the existing implementation method of helping the remote UE in the RRC inactive state to receive the paging message from the gNB to help the remote UE in the RRC inactive state receive the paging message from the gNB.

[0225] Step 705: The remote UE sends fifth information to the relay UE. The relay UE receives the fifth information.

[0226] In an example, after receiving the eighth information, the remote UE may include the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state in a fifth message and send it to the relay UE.

[0227] In another example, after receiving the eighth information, the remote UE may include the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state in the fifth message and send it to the relay UE.

[0228] In yet another example, after receiving the eighth information, the remote UE may include the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state and the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state in the fifth message and send them to the relayUE.

[0229] Step 706: The relay UE determines, based on the fifth information, a first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB.

[0230] In one example, when the fifth information includes the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state, the relayUE can calculate a new paging index (such as the first paging index) that also indicates the value (or the value) as the paging index on the relay UE side based on the value (or value) indicated by the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state, and use the first paging index to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE.

[0231] In another example, when the fifth information includes the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state, the relay UE can determine the first paging index used to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB according to the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state and the calculation formula of i_s of the PO for the terminal device (such as UE) in the above step 301.

[0232] In another example, when the fifth information includes the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state and the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state, the relay UE may choose to use the DRX cycle of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to determine the first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB, or may choose to use the paging index of the remote UE in the RRC idle state to determine the first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB.

[0233] Step 707: The relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB at the paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. The paging message is used to page the remote UE.

[0234] Step 708: The relay UE sends a paging message from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the paging message.

[0235] Optionally, after determining the first paging index, the relay UE may attempt to receive a paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the relay UE may send the paging message to the remote UE.

[0236] It can be seen from the above steps 701 to 708 that when the relay UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state according to the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) carried in the SIB1 message broadcast by the gNB, it can request the remote UE to query whether the remote UE supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state. Afterwards, when the relay UE determines that the remote UE supports using the paging index in the RRC idle state in the RRC inactive state, it can request the remote UE to obtain the fifth information, so that the relayUE can accurately determine the first paging index used to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB according to the fifth information, and use the first paging index to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB in ​​a timely and effective manner. In addition, when the remote UE supports eDRX, if the relay UE also supports eDRX, and the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, the remote UE can provide the fourth information to the relay UE, thereby ensuring the pertinence and rationality of providing the fourth information, and realizing that the remote UE provides the fourth information to the relay UE based on the eDRX capability of the relay UE.

[0237] Figure 8 A flow chart of another communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of the present application. Figure 8 In the communication method shown, the remote UE determines whether the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state according to the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) included in the SIB1 message from the gNB. Figure 8 As shown, the specific process of the method may include:

[0238] Step 801: The remote UE obtains the SIB1 message from the gNB.

[0239] The SIB1 message carries the sixth information. For example, the sixth information may be ranPagingInIdlePO.

[0240] Optionally, the implementation of step 801 may refer to the implementation of step 401 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0241] Step 802: The remote UE sends fourth information to the relay UE, and the relay UE receives the fourth information.

[0242] Exemplarily, take the fourth information as inactiveStatePO-Determination as an example. The value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, indicating that the remote UE supports the use of the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state; the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, indicating that the remote UE does not support the use of the same index to determine PO in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0243] In one example, when the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 1, the remote UE may send fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE supports determining PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0244] In another example, when the value of inactiveStatePO-Determination is 0, the remote UE may send fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 0) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE does not support determining PO using the same index in the RRC inactive state as in the RRC idle state.

[0245] In another example, when the remote UE supports eDRX, the remote UE may send a second capability query message to the relay UE. The second capability query message is used to request to query the eDRX capability of the relay UE (i.e., whether the relay UE supports eDRX or does not support eDRX). After receiving the second capability query message, the relay UE may send a seventh message to the remote UE indicating whether the relay UE supports or does not support eDRX. It can be understood that the sending of the second capability query message by the remote UE to the relay UE is an optional execution step. In the case where the remote UE does not send the second capability query information to the relay UE, the relay UE may actively provide the eDRX capability of the relay UE to the remote UE, or the relay UE may also exchange eDRX capability information (such as supporting eDRX or not supporting eDRX) when establishing a unicast connection with the remote UE, or the relay UE may not provide the eDRX capability information to the remote UE, and the remote UE directly sends the fourth information to the relay UE, which can save signaling overhead and reduce the power consumption of the remote UE caused by sending the second capability query information. When the sixth information indicates that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as the remote UE) in the RRC idle state, and the seventh information indicates that the relay UE supports eDRX, the remote UE may send the fourth information (such as inactiveStatePO-Determination with a value of 1) to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE supports determining the PO in the RRC inactive state using the same index as in the RRC idle state. When the sixth information indicates that the gNB does not support sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE (such as the remote UE) in the RRC idle state, and / or the seventh information indicates that the relay UE does not support eDRX, the remote UE does not send the fourth information to the relay UE.

[0246] Step 803: The relay UE sends the eighth information to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the eighth information.

[0247] Optionally, the implementation of step 803 may refer to the implementation of step 704 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0248] Step 804: The remote UE sends fifth information to the relay UE. The relay UE receives the fifth information.

[0249] Optionally, the implementation of step 804 may refer to the implementation of step 705 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0250] Step 805: The relay UE determines, based on the fifth information, a first paging index for helping the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB.

[0251] Optionally, the implementation of step 805 may refer to the implementation of step 706 described above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0252] Step 806: The relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB at the paging opportunity corresponding to the first paging index. The paging message is used to page the remote UE.

[0253] Step 807: The relay UE sends a paging message from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE receives the paging message.

[0254] Optionally, after determining the first paging index, the relay UE may attempt to receive a paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index. When the relay UE receives a paging message from the gNB for paging the remote UE at the paging time corresponding to the first paging index, the relay UE may send the paging message to the remote UE.

[0255] It can be seen from the above steps 801 to 807 that when the remote UE determines that the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state based on the sixth information (such as ranPagingInIdlePO) carried in the SIB1 message broadcast by the gNB, it can send the fourth information to the relay UE to indicate that the remote UE supports using the same index in the RRC idle state to determine the PO, so that the relay UE can promptly request the remote UE to obtain the fifth information, thereby allowing the relay UE to accurately determine the first paging index used to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB based on the fifth information, and use the first paging index to help the remote UE receive the paging message from the gNB in ​​a timely and effective manner. In addition, when the remote UE supports eDRX, if the relay UE also supports eDRX, and the gNB supports sending RAN paging in the PO corresponding to the index determined by the UE in the RRC idle state, the remote UE can provide the fourth information to the relay UE, thereby ensuring the pertinence and rationality of providing the fourth information, and realizing that the remote UE provides the fourth information to the relay UE based on the eDRX capability of the relay UE.

[0256] It should be noted that in the description of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: the situation where A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following (individuals)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first", "second", and "third" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. In addition, the terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations appearing in the present application all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0257] In addition, it should be noted that each step involved in the above embodiments can be performed by a corresponding device, or by a chip, processor, or chip system in the device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit them. The above embodiments are only described by taking the corresponding device as an example.

[0258] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, some steps can be selected for implementation, and the order of the steps in the diagram can be adjusted for implementation, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that executing some steps in the diagram, adjusting the order of the steps, or combining them for specific implementation all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0259] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the various devices involved in the above embodiments include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of the various functions. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0260] It should be understood that the "steps" in the embodiments of the present application are only for illustration, and are a method of expression used to better understand the embodiments, and do not constitute a substantial limitation on the execution of the scheme of the present application. For example, the "steps" can also be understood as "features". In addition, the steps do not constitute any limitation on the execution order of the scheme of the present application. Any changes in the order of steps, step merging, or step splitting made on this basis that do not affect the implementation of the overall scheme, and the resulting new technical solutions are also within the scope of the disclosure of the present application.

[0261] Based on the same concept, the present application embodiment also provides a possible communication device, which is suitable for Figure 1 The communication system architecture shown in the figure. Optionally, the communication device may be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) or a component (such as a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) that can support the communication device to implement the functions required for the communication method. In one example, when the communication device is a first communication device (such as a first terminal device), the communication device is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, or the module of the communication device (such as a chip) is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, and thus the beneficial effects possessed by the first communication device in the above embodiment can also be achieved. For example, the first terminal device may be as follows Figure 1The terminal device 202 is shown. Exemplarily, taking the communication device as a chip set in the first communication device, when the communication device is a chip, the communication device includes a transceiver and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the transceiver exists in the form of an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transceiver of the first communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the first communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the sending of the first communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the first communication device are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the first communication device in the above embodiment, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device in the above embodiment; the processor can implement other operations except the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device in the above embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the above Figures 3 to 8 The relevant description of the first communication device in the method embodiment shown is not introduced in detail here.

[0262] In another example, when the communication device is a second communication device (such as a second terminal device), the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, or the module (such as a chip) of the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, so the beneficial effects of the second communication device in the above embodiment can also be achieved. For example, the second terminal device can be such as Figure 1 The terminal device 201 shown. Exemplarily, taking the communication device as a chip set in the second communication device, when the communication device is a chip, the communication device includes a transceiver and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the transceiver exists in the form of an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transceiver of the second communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the second communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the sending of the second communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the second communication device are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the second communication device in the above embodiment, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operations performed by the second communication device in the above embodiment; the processor can implement other operations except the transceiver operations performed by the second communication device in the above embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the above Figures 3 to 8 The relevant description of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown is not introduced in detail here.

[0263] In another example, when the communication device is a network device (such as a gNB), the communication device is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the network device in the above embodiments, or the module (such as a chip) of the communication device is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the network device in the above embodiments, so the beneficial effects of the network device in the above embodiments can also be achieved. For example, the network device can be such as Figure 1 The network device 100 is shown. Exemplarily, taking the communication device as a chip set in the network device, when the communication device is a chip, the communication device includes a transceiver and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the transceiver exists in the form of an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transceiver of the network device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the network device, and the output interface can be used to implement the sending of the network device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the network device are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the network device in the above-mentioned embodiments, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operations performed by the network device in the above-mentioned embodiments; the processor can implement other operations except the transceiver operations performed by the network device in the above-mentioned embodiments. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the above Figures 3 to 8 The relevant description of the network device in the method embodiment shown is not introduced in detail here.

[0264] See also Fig. 9 The communication device 900 includes a communication module 901 (or may be referred to as a transceiver module or a transceiver unit or a communication unit, for sending and receiving data) and a processing module 902 (or may be referred to as a processing unit). The communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 3 to 8 The functions of the first communication device (such as the first terminal device) or the second communication device (such as the second terminal device) or the network device in the method embodiment shown.

[0265] Optionally, the communication module 901 may include a receiving module and / or a sending module. The receiving module may be used for the communication device 900 to receive signals (information or data, etc.); the sending module may be used for the communication device 900 to send signals (information or data, etc.). The sending module may send signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902, and the receiving module may receive signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902.

[0266] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 3 to 5The function of the first communication device in the method embodiment shown is: a communication module 901 is used to send the first information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the first information can be used to determine the first paging index; the first information can include the second paging index and / or the first configuration information; the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module 901 is also used to receive a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as for determining whether the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity according to the relevant information from the network device (such as ranPagingInIdlePO), or for calculating the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state according to the calculation formula of the index of the paging opportunity of the terminal device, or for determining whether the second terminal device supports eDRX according to the corresponding information from the second terminal device (such as the third information), or for performing other operations.

[0267] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 3 to 5 The function of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown is: a communication module 901 is used to receive the first information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the first information can be used to determine the first paging index; the first information may include the second paging index and / or the first configuration information; the second paging index may be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity. The communication module 901 is also used to send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as for determining the first paging index based on the second paging index or the first configuration information, or for performing other operations.

[0268] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 6 to 8The function of the first communication device in the method embodiment shown is: the communication module 901 is used to send the fourth information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state; the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. The communication module 901 is also used to send the fifth information to the second terminal device. Optionally, the fifth information may include the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index; the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging occasion. The communication module 901 is also used to receive a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device through the second terminal device. Processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as determining whether the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging opportunity based on relevant information from the network device (such as ranPagingInIdlePO), or calculating the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state based on the calculation formula of the index of the paging opportunity of the terminal device, or determining whether the second terminal device supports eDRX based on corresponding information from the second terminal device (such as third information), or performing other operations.

[0269] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 6 to 8 The function of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown is: the communication module 901 is used to obtain the fourth information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the fourth information can be used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state; the second paging index can be the paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state. The communication module 901 is also used to obtain the fifth information from the first terminal device. Optionally, the fifth information may include the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state; the DRX cycle can be used to determine the first paging index; the second paging index can also be used to determine the first paging index; the first paging index and the second paging index can be used to represent the index of the same paging occasion. The communication module 901 is also used to send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device to the first terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding data processing, such as for calculating the first paging index according to the second paging index or the first configuration information, or for performing other operations.

[0270] Optionally, when the communication device 900 is used to implement Figures 3 to 8The functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown are: a communication module 901, which is used to implement the data (or information or signal) receiving and sending function of the network device; and a processing module 902, which is used to implement the data processing function of the network device.

[0271] Wherein, when the communication device 900 is used to implement Figures 3 to 8 For a more detailed description of the communication module 601 and the processing module 602, please refer to the above Figures 3 to 8 The relevant descriptions about the first communication device or the second communication device or the network device in the method embodiment shown are not repeated here.

[0272] It should be understood that the communication module 901 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, and the processing module 902 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component.

[0273] It should be noted that 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 unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0274] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, or a server, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program codes.

[0275] Based on the same concept, the present application embodiment also provides a possible communication device, which is suitable for Figure 1The communication system architecture shown. Exemplarily, the communication device may be a device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device or a network device) required for executing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, or may be a device including a device required for executing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the communication device may also be arranged in a chip in the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device). When the communication device is a chip arranged in the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device), the communication device includes a transceiver and a processor, but does not include a memory. Wherein, the transceiver exists as an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to realize the transceiver of the communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, and the input interface may realize the reception of the communication device, and the output interface may be used to realize the transmission of the communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) are realized. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the above embodiment, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operation performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the above embodiment; the processor can implement other operations other than the transceiver operation performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device or the network device) in the above embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here. For example, taking the communication device as a first communication device (such as a first terminal device) or a second communication device (such as a second terminal device) or a network device (such as a gNB) as an example, when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, the beneficial effects of the first communication device in the above method embodiment can be achieved; when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, the beneficial effects of the second communication device in the above method embodiment can be achieved; when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the network device in the above embodiment, the beneficial effects of the network device in the above method embodiment can be achieved.

[0276] See also Fig.10, the communication device 1000 includes: a transceiver 1001 and a processor 1002. Optionally, the communication device 1000 also includes a memory 1003. Among them, the transceiver 1001, the processor 1002 and the memory 1003 are interconnected. When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device (such as the first terminal device) provided in the above embodiment, the transceiver 1001 can be used to implement the function of the above communication module 901 when executing the technical solution involved in the first communication device, and the processor 1002 is used to implement the function of the above processing module 902 when executing the technical solution involved in the first communication device. When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device (such as the second terminal device) provided in the above embodiment, the transceiver 1001 can be used to implement the function of the above communication module 901 when executing the technical solution involved in the second communication device, and the processor 1002 is used to implement the function of the above processing module 902 when executing the technical solution involved in the second communication device. When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the network equipment provided in the above embodiments, the transceiver 1001 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned communication module 901 when executing the technical solutions involved in the network equipment, and the processor 1002 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing module 902 when executing the technical solutions involved in the network equipment.

[0277] Optionally, the transceiver 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 may be interconnected via a bus 1004. The bus 1004 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.10 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.

[0278] The transceiver 1001 is used to receive and send data. For example, when the communication device 1000 is as follows Figure 1 When the terminal device 201 is shown, the transceiver 1001 can be implemented as shown in FIG. Figure 1 100 as shown, or can also be implemented with Figure 1 The terminal device 202 shown in the figure can communicate with the Figure 1The invention can be used to communicate with other devices (such as other terminal devices or servers) outside the communication system architecture shown. In one example, the transceiver can be a transceiver device with integrated data transceiver function. In another example, the transceiver can also be composed of a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the transmitter is used to send data and the receiver is used to receive data.

[0279] Optionally, the transceiver 1001 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transmitter is used to send signals, messages, information, or data, etc. The receiver is used to receive signals, messages, information, or data, etc. Exemplarily, the transmitter sends signals, messages, information, or data, etc. under the control of the processor 1002. The receiver receives signals, messages, information, or data, etc. under the control of the processor 1002.

[0280] The functions of the processor 1002 can refer to the description of the corresponding functions involved in the first communication device or the second communication device or the network device in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here. Among them, the processor 1002 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP) or a combination of CPU and NP, etc. The processor 1002 can further include a hardware chip. The above-mentioned hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL) or any combination thereof. When the processor 1002 implements the above-mentioned functions, it can be implemented by hardware, and of course, it can also be implemented by executing the corresponding software through hardware.

[0281] The memory 1003 is used to store program instructions, etc. Specifically, the program instructions may include program codes, and the program codes include computer operation instructions. The memory 1003 may include a random access memory (RAM), and may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk storage. The processor 1002 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 1003 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method steps required to be executed by the first communication device or the second communication device or the network device in the above embodiments.

[0282] Based on the same concept, the embodiment of the present application also provides a possible communication system, which includes a first communication device (such as a first terminal device), a second communication device (such as a second terminal device) and a network device. Among them, the first communication device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, the second communication device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, and the network device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the network device in the above embodiment.

[0283] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0284] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0285] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. For example, but not limited to, a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0286] Based on the same concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), and the chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the method provided in the above embodiment. Wherein, "coupling" refers to the direct or indirect combination of two components, such as coupling may refer to the electrical connection between two components.

[0287] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in the first communication device (such as a first terminal device), the second communication device (such as a second terminal device) or the network device in the above embodiment. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0288] In the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0289] The steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in the hardware, the software unit executed by the processor, or the combination of the two. The software unit can be stored in RAM, ROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM or other storage media of any form in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC.

[0290] 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.

[0291] 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 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0292] 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: Applied to a first terminal device, the method includes: Sending first information to a second terminal device, where the first information is used to determine a first paging index, where the first information includes a second paging index and / or first configuration information, where the second paging index is a paging index of the first terminal device in a radio resource control RRC idle state, and where the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent indexes of the same paging opportunity; A paging message corresponding to the first paging index from a network device is received through the second terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Receiving, by the second terminal device, a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from a network device, includes: When the first terminal device is in an RRC inactive state, a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from the network device is received through the second terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Sending first information to a second terminal device includes: Acquire second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging occasion, where the first paging occasion is a paging occasion corresponding to the second paging index; When the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging occasion and the first terminal device supports using the second paging index in an RRC inactive state, the first information is sent to the second terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In a case where the first terminal device supports extended discontinuous reception eDRX, sending first information to the second terminal device includes: Acquire second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging occasion, where the first paging occasion is a paging occasion corresponding to the second paging index; Acquire third information from the second terminal device, where the third information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports the eDRX; When the second information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging occasion, and the third information indicates that the second terminal device supports the eDRX, and the first terminal device supports using the second paging index in an RRC inactive state, the first information is sent to the second terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Sending the first information to the second terminal device includes: When the eDRX period of the first terminal device is less than or equal to 1024 radio frames, sending the first information to the second terminal device; or When the eDRX cycle is greater than 1024 radio frames, the first information is sent to the second terminal device, wherein the first information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window, or the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: a discontinuous reception DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state or a paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and the DRX cycle is used to determine the first paging index.

7. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a second terminal device, the method includes: Receive first information from a first terminal device, where the first information is used to determine a first paging index, where the first information includes a second paging index and / or first configuration information, where the second paging index is a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state, and where the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent indexes of the same paging occasion; Send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from a network device to the first terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: determining the first paging index according to the second paging index; or Determine the first paging index according to the first configuration information.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that Receiving first information from a first terminal device includes: Sending third information to the first terminal device, where the third information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX; Receive the first information from the first terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first information includes indication information, and the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the second paging index within the paging time window, or the indication information is used to instruct the second terminal device to use the first configuration information within the paging time window.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that: The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: a discontinuous reception DRX cycle of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state or a paging configuration of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, and the DRX cycle is used to determine the first paging index.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a second terminal device, the method includes: Acquire fourth information from the first terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index in a radio resource control RRC inactive state, where the second paging index is a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state; Acquire fifth information from the first terminal device, the fifth information including a discontinuous reception DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state, the DRX cycle is used to determine the first paging index, the second paging index is used to determine the first paging index, and the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent indexes of the same paging opportunity; Send a paging message corresponding to the first paging index from a network device to the first terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that Before acquiring the fourth information from the first terminal device, the method further includes: Acquire sixth information from the network device, where the sixth information is used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging occasion, where the first paging occasion is a paging occasion corresponding to the second paging index; When the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging occasion, first capability query information is sent to the first terminal device, and the first capability query information is used to request whether the first terminal device supports the use of the second paging index in the RRC inactive state.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that Acquiring fourth information from the first terminal device, including: Sending seventh information to the first terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports eDRX; Acquire the fourth information from the first terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that Before sending the seventh information to the first terminal device, the method further includes: Acquire second capability query information from the first terminal device, where the second capability query information is used to request whether the second terminal device supports the eDRX; Send the seventh information to the first terminal device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: Before acquiring the fifth information from the first terminal device, the method further includes: Sending eighth information to the first terminal device, where the eighth information is used to request acquisition of the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first terminal device, the method includes: Sending fourth information to the second terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports the use of a second paging index in an RRC inactive state, where the second paging index is a paging index of the first terminal device in an RRC idle state; Sending fifth information to the second terminal device, the fifth information including the discontinuous reception DRX cycle and / or the second paging index of the first terminal device in the RRC idle state, the DRX cycle is used to determine the first paging index, the second paging index is used to determine the first paging index, and the first paging index and the second paging index are used to represent the index of the same paging opportunity; A paging message corresponding to the first paging index from a network device is received through the second terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that Sending fourth information to the second terminal device includes: Acquire sixth information of the network device, where the sixth information is used to indicate that the network device supports sending a paging message in a first paging occasion, where the first paging occasion is a paging occasion corresponding to the second paging index; When the sixth information indicates that the network device supports sending a paging message in the first paging occasion, the fourth information is sent to the second terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that Sending fourth information to the second terminal device includes: Receiving first capability query information from the second terminal device, where the first capability query information is used to request whether the first terminal device supports using the second paging index when in an RRC inactive state; Send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that In a case where the first terminal device supports extended discontinuous reception eDRX, sending fourth information to the second terminal device includes: Acquire seventh information from the second terminal device, where the seventh information is used to indicate that the second terminal device supports the eDRX; Send the fourth information to the second terminal device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: Before acquiring the seventh information from the second terminal device, the method further includes: Send second capability query information to the second terminal device, where the second capability query information is used to request whether the second terminal device supports the eDRX.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that: Before sending the fifth information to the second terminal device, the method further includes: Receive eighth information from the second terminal device, where the eighth information is used to request acquisition of the DRX cycle and / or the second paging index.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 11, or comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 16, or comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: transceiver, used to receive and send data; Memory for storing computer program instructions and data; A processor, configured to execute and call computer program instructions and data in the memory so that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-6, or the method as described in any one of claims 7-11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12-16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17-22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that: It includes a first terminal device for executing the method as described in any one of claims 1-6 or the method as described in any one of claims 17-22, a second terminal device for executing the method as described in any one of claims 7-11 or the method as described in any one of claims 12-16, and a network device, wherein the network device is used to provide corresponding information to the first terminal device or the second terminal device, or to send a paging message to the first terminal device or the second terminal device.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 22.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 11, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 22.

28. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a processor, which is used to execute program instructions in the memory to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-6, or the method as described in any one of claims 7-11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12-16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17-22.

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