Indication method, communication device, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to an indication method, communication equipment, a communication system and a storage medium. The indication method comprises: a terminal sending a first feature signal, the first feature signal being used for requesting a network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; and receiving a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel sent by the network equipment. Therefore, the terminal can indicate the network equipment as required to request the network equipment to send the required downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

Description

Indication method, communication device, communication system, and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an indication method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In the New Radio (NR), the time domain location of the transmission timing of some downlink signals (such as the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel PBCH block (SSB), system information block (SIB)) is semi-statically configured. The periodic transmission of common signals (such as SSB and / or system information block type 1 SIB1 / cell common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) will limit the network equipment from using (deeper) sleep mode to save energy. Therefore, in the time domain technology, energy saving can be achieved by limiting the transmission / reception of common signals and increasing the network's sleep time.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an indication method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device, a chip system, a storage medium, a computer program, and a computer program product, which can be applied in the field of communication technology to solve the technical problem that "the related technology does not support the terminal to indicate the network device on demand to request the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or downlink channel."

[0005] The present disclosure provides an indication method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0006] According to the first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an indication method is proposed, which is executed by a terminal, including: sending a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request a network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; and receiving a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel sent by the network device.

[0007] According to the second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an indication method is proposed, which is executed by a network device, including: receiving a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; sending a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0008] According to the third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an indication method is proposed, including: the terminal sends a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request a network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; the network device receives the first characteristic signal and sends a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; the terminal receives the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel.

[0009] According to the fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is proposed, comprising: a transceiver module for sending a first characteristic signal and receiving a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel sent by a network device, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0010] According to the fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device is proposed, comprising: a transceiver module for receiving a first characteristic signal and sending a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0011] According to the sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the indication method of any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the third aspect.

[0012] According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, characterized in that it includes a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the indication method of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the indication method of the second aspect.

[0013] According to the eighth aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions, and is characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes an indication method as described in any one of the first, second, and third aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

[0015] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG3A is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG3B is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG3C is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG4A is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG4B is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG4C is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG5 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating an indication method according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send an SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send an SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG6C is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send an SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG6D is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send an SSB according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG8A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG8B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The present disclosure provides an indication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms "indication method" and "information processing method" and "communication method" are interchangeable; the terms "indication apparatus" and "information processing apparatus" and "communication apparatus" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system" and "communication system" are interchangeable.

[0033] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0034] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0035] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0036] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0038] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0039] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0040] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0041] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0042] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0043] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0044] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0045] In some embodiments, devices and equipment can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0046] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network, such as access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.

[0047] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" may also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", and in some embodiments may also be understood as "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission and / or reception point (TRP)" "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)", etc.

[0048] In some embodiments, "terminal" or "terminal device" may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal" "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc.

[0049] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0050] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0051] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a terminal 101 and a network device 102. The network device 102 may include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0052] In some embodiments, the terminal 101 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0053] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB) in a 5G communication system, a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a WiFi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0054] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0055] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0056] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or may be a plurality of devices or device groups, each comprising all or part of one or more network elements. A network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may, for example, comprise at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), or a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0057] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0058] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in Figure 1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in Figure 1, or may include other entities outside of Figure 1. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0059] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0060] Alternatively, on-demand SSB / SIB1 technology in the time domain is an important candidate technology and will be studied for standardization in some communication protocols. In on-demand SSB / SIB1 technology, SSB / SIB1 is no longer sent periodically, but is sent based on terminal demand.

[0061] Optionally, assuming that the network device periodically sends SSB and / or SIB1, the terminal can receive SSB and / or SIB1 at the location of the configured time-frequency resources. After the network device uses the on-demand SSB / SIB1 technology, the terminal needs to determine whether the base station is in the Network Energy Saving (NES) state, and then send a wake-up signal (WUS) to obtain SSB and / or SIB1. When the network device enters the NES state, the terminal can determine that the network device is in the NES state. Therefore, it is necessary to define how the terminal sends indication information to the network device to request the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels on demand.

[0062] FIG2 is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method, which can be used in a communication system 100. The method includes:

[0063] Step S2101: The terminal determines the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal.

[0064] In some embodiments, the terminal may send a first characteristic signal to the network device, and the first characteristic signal may be used to request the network device to send a downlink signal, or request the network device to send a downlink channel, or request the network device to send a downlink signal and a downlink channel.

[0065] In some embodiments, there may be no corresponding relationship between the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel, and the network device may be notified by other means of the downlink signal and / or downlink channel requested by the terminal, including a specific downlink signal, or a specific downlink channel, or a specific combination of downlink signals, or a specific combination of downlink channels, or a specific combination of downlink signals and downlink channels, without limitation.

[0066] In some embodiments, the terminal may send the first characteristic signal to the network device when it determines that the network device supports the network energy saving NES technology, or the terminal may send the first characteristic signal to the network device when it determines that the network device is in the NES state, without limitation.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first characteristic signal may include indication information, where the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel. In other words, the terminal requests the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel by carrying the indication information in the first characteristic signal.

[0068] In some embodiments, the terminal state includes any of the following: CONNECTED state, IDLE state, and INACTIVE state. In other words, the terminal can request the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels in any of the aforementioned states, thereby effectively expanding application scenarios.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first characteristic signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) format 1 signal. This supports requesting a network device to transmit downlink signals and / or downlink channels based on the PUCCH format 1 signal. Of course, the first characteristic signal may also be any other possible PUCCH format signal, without limitation.

[0070] In some embodiments, the downlink signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB, a system information block type 1 SIB1, a tracking reference signal (TRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a discovery reference signal (DRS), a system information block type n SIBn, and a first common signal, where the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, and SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1. Thus, the terminal can flexibly instruct the network device to send various downlink signals on demand.

[0071] In some embodiments, the downlink channel includes at least one of the following: a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). This allows the terminal to flexibly instruct the network device to send various downlink channels as needed.

[0072] In some embodiments, the terminal may also request the network device to send a combination of the above downlink signals, or a combination of the above downlink channels, or a combination of the above downlink signals and downlink channels, thereby effectively expanding the application scenarios.

[0073] In some embodiments, when sending the first characteristic signal, the terminal may first determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, and then send the first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources. The terminal may determine the time-frequency resources based on the configuration information sent by the network device. The configuration information may be sent to the terminal by the network device when the terminal is in the CONNECTED state. If the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal may be determined based on the configuration information received in the CONNECTED state.

[0074] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through first configuration information in a cell-specific radio resource control (RRC) signaling sent by a network device. The cell-specific RRC signaling may be, for example, cell-specific signaling. The configuration information for configuring the time-frequency resources included in the cell-specific RRC signaling may be referred to as the first configuration information.

[0075] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal using second configuration information in terminal-specific RRC signaling sent by a network device. The terminal-specific RRC signaling may be, for example, UE-dedicated RRC signaling. The configuration information for configuring the time-frequency resources included in the terminal-specific RRC signaling may be referred to as second configuration information.

[0076] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through information predefined in the protocol.

[0077] Therefore, the terminal can flexibly determine the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal, effectively determine the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal, and send the first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources.

[0078] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resources are additional PUCCH resources. That is, the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal are time-frequency resources that do not overlap with or are different from PUCCH resources configured for other functions.

[0079] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for a first function, wherein the first function is used to send ACK information and / or NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information. In other words, the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal may overlap with or be the same as the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function.

[0080] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set. That is, the time-frequency resource used to send the first characteristic signal belongs to the PUCCH resource set.

[0081] Therefore, personalized time-frequency resources can be configured for the terminal, and the terminal is supported to use the configured time-frequency resources to send the first characteristic signal, which can be effectively applied to personalized communication scenarios.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first configuration information may carry the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set to indicate to the terminal one or more PUCCH resources in the PUCCH resource set as the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal.

[0083] In some embodiments, the second configuration information may carry the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set to indicate to the terminal one or more PUCCH resources in the PUCCH resource set as the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal.

[0084] In some embodiments, the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set can be carried by protocol predefined information to indicate to the terminal one or more PUCCH resources in the PUCCH resource set as the time-frequency resource used to send the first characteristic signal.

[0085] In this way, one or more PUCCH resources in the PUCCH resource set can be effectively configured for the terminal as time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal.

[0086] In some embodiments, the terminal may receive the first configuration information or the second configuration information sent by the network device in the CONNECTED state to determine the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal. If the terminal switches to the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the terminal may not release the time-frequency resources indicated by the first configuration information or the second configuration information or the information predefined by the protocol, so that the terminal can still effectively determine the time-frequency resources used to send the first characteristic signal in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, so as to support the effective request to the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first characteristic signal may have a corresponding first characteristic, the first characteristic describes the characteristic condition of the first characteristic signal, different first characteristic signals may correspond to different first characteristics, and the terminal may request the network device to send different downlink signals and / or downlink channels by sending different first characteristic signals with different first characteristics to the network device.

[0088] Among them, different downlink signals and / or downlink channels can be, for example, different types of downlink signals, different types of downlink channels, combinations of different downlink signals, combinations of different downlink channels, and combinations of different downlink signals and downlink channels, without limitation.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal includes at least one of the following: a signal sequence, an orthogonal cover code (OOC), the number of bits of indication information, and the value of the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or downlink channel. Thus, it is possible to support first characteristic signals with different first characteristics, requesting the network device to send different downlink signals and / or downlink channels.

[0090] The sequence can be determined by combining the indication of the initialCyclicShift cell, or can be obtained based on a sequence generation method predefined in the protocol. The OCC can be determined by the indication of the timeDomainOCC cell.

[0091] In some embodiments, the indication information occupies 1 bit or 2 bits. In some embodiments, the first correspondence between the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following: the first characteristic corresponds to a downlink signal; the first characteristic corresponds to a downlink channel; the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel; the first characteristic corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; the first characteristic corresponds to at least one downlink signal and the transmission beam used for sending a downlink signal; the first characteristic corresponds to at least one downlink channel and the transmission beam used for sending a downlink channel. In this way, it is achieved that the network device is requested to send different downlink signals and / or downlink channels based on the first characteristic signals with different first characteristics.

[0092] For example, assume that downlink signals include: downlink signal A, downlink signal B, and downlink signal C, and downlink channels include: downlink channel D, downlink channel E, and downlink channel F. Then, a downlink signal represents downlink signal A, downlink signal B, or downlink signal C. A downlink channel represents downlink channel D, downlink channel E, or downlink channel F. A combination of downlink signals, for example, a combination of downlink signal A and downlink signal B, or a combination of downlink signal A and downlink signal C, and so on. A combination of downlink channels, for example, a combination of downlink channel D and downlink channel E, or a combination of downlink channel D and downlink channel F, and so on. A combination of downlink signals and downlink channels, for example, a combination of downlink signal A and downlink channel D, or a combination of downlink signal A and downlink channel E, and so on.

[0093] For example, when there is a first corresponding relationship between the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel, it means that there is a one-to-one corresponding relationship between the first characteristic signal and the various downlink signals and / or downlink channels mentioned above. For example, one downlink signal corresponds to one first characteristic, one downlink channel corresponds to one first characteristic, one first characteristic corresponds to a downlink signal and / or a transmission beam used by a downlink channel, one first characteristic corresponds to a downlink signal and a transmission beam used for sending the downlink signal, one first characteristic corresponds to a downlink channel and a transmission beam used for sending the downlink channel, and so on.

[0094] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the first correspondence through third configuration information in higher-layer signaling, or the terminal may determine the first correspondence through information predefined in a protocol, thereby effectively improving the flexibility of configuring the first correspondence between the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

[0095] That is to say, a first corresponding relationship can be configured for the terminal based on high-level signaling, and the terminal can determine the downlink signal and / or downlink channel sent by the required network device, and / or the transmission beam used for the sent downlink signal and / or downlink channel based on the first corresponding relationship indicated by the high-level signaling, and then send a first characteristic signal with the corresponding first characteristic to request the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or channel.

[0096] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the third configuration information is not released.

[0097] In some embodiments, the terminal may obtain third configuration information in the higher-layer signaling in the CONNECTED state to determine the first corresponding relationship indicated by the higher-layer signaling. If the terminal switches to the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the terminal may not release the third configuration information, so that the terminal can still effectively determine the first corresponding relationship in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, so as to support the effective request to the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or downlink channel in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state.

[0098] In some embodiments, the second correspondence between the position of the time-frequency resource, the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal, and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following: the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a downlink signal; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a downlink channel; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel. The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or downlink channel; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to at least one downlink signal and the transmission beam used for transmitting the downlink signal; the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic corresponds to at least one downlink channel and the transmission beam used for transmitting the downlink channel. In this way, based on the first characteristic signal of the position and / or first characteristic of different time-frequency resources, a request is made to the network device to send different downlink signals and / or downlink channels.

[0099] For example, assume that downlink signals include: downlink signal A, downlink signal B, and downlink signal C, and downlink channels include: downlink channel D, downlink channel E, and downlink channel F. Then, a downlink signal represents downlink signal A, downlink signal B, or downlink signal C. A downlink channel represents downlink channel D, downlink channel E, or downlink channel F. A combination of downlink signals, for example, a combination of downlink signal A and downlink signal B, or a combination of downlink signal A and downlink signal C, and so on. A combination of downlink channels, for example, a combination of downlink channel D and downlink channel E, or a combination of downlink channel D and downlink channel F, and so on. A combination of downlink signals and downlink channels, for example, a combination of downlink signal A and downlink channel D, or a combination of downlink signal A and downlink channel E, and so on.

[0100] For example, when there is a second corresponding relationship between the position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal, the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel, it indicates that there is a one-to-one corresponding relationship between the first characteristic signal and the various downlink signals and / or downlink channels mentioned above; or it indicates that there is a one-to-one corresponding relationship between the position of the time-frequency resource and the various downlink signals and / or downlink channels mentioned above; or it indicates that there is a one-to-one corresponding relationship between the position of the time-frequency resource, the first characteristic signal, and the various downlink signals and / or downlink channels mentioned above.

[0101] For example, a downlink signal corresponds to a first feature, or corresponds to the position of a time-frequency resource, or corresponds to a first feature and the position of a time-frequency resource; a downlink channel corresponds to a first feature, or corresponds to the position of a time-frequency resource, or corresponds to a first feature and the position of a time-frequency resource.

[0102] In some embodiments, a first feature may correspond to one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels; or the position of a time-frequency resource may correspond to one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels; or the joint correspondence of a first feature and the position of a time-frequency resource may correspond to one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels, and so on.

[0103] In some embodiments, a first feature may also correspond to a transmission beam used by one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels; or the position of a time-frequency resource may correspond to a transmission beam used by one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels; or a first feature and the position of a time-frequency resource may jointly correspond to a transmission beam used by one or more downlink signals and / or downlink channels, and so on.

[0104] In some embodiments, a first feature may also correspond to a downlink signal and / or downlink channel and a transmission beam used by the downlink signal and / or channel; or the position of a time-frequency resource may also correspond to a downlink signal and / or downlink channel and a transmission beam used by the downlink signal and / or channel; or a combination of a first feature and the position of a time-frequency resource may correspond to a downlink signal and / or downlink channel and a transmission beam used by the downlink signal and / or channel, and so on.

[0105] In some embodiments, the terminal may determine the second correspondence using fourth configuration information in higher-layer signaling, or using information predefined in a protocol, thereby effectively increasing the flexibility of configuring the second correspondence between the location of the time-frequency resource, the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal, and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

[0106] That is to say, a second corresponding relationship can be configured for the terminal based on high-layer signaling, and the terminal can determine the downlink signal and / or downlink channel required to be sent by the network device, or the transmission beam used, based on the second corresponding relationship indicated by the high-layer signaling, and then send a first characteristic signal with the corresponding first characteristic, or send a first characteristic first signal at the location of the corresponding time-frequency resource, or send a first characteristic signal with the corresponding first characteristic at the location of the corresponding time-frequency resource to request the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or channel.

[0107] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the fourth configuration information is not released.

[0108] In some embodiments, the terminal may obtain the fourth configuration information in the high-layer signaling in the CONNECTED state to determine the second corresponding relationship indicated by the high-layer signaling. If the terminal switches to the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the terminal may not release the fourth configuration information, so that the terminal can still effectively determine the second corresponding relationship in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, so as to support the effective request to the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or downlink channel, or the transmit beam used in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state.

[0109] Step S2102: The terminal sends a first characteristic signal on time-frequency resources.

[0110] In some embodiments, after determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, the terminal may send the first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0111] In some embodiments, if the time-frequency resources coincide with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, the terminal may send confirmation ACK information and / or non-confirmation NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information on the time-frequency resources, or send a first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources.

[0112] For example, if the time-frequency resources coincide with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, then when the time-frequency resources are configured for the terminal, the network device will also indicate to the terminal that the time-frequency resources are used to send the first characteristic signal. That is to say, if the time-frequency resources configured for the terminal coincide with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, then further, the network device is configured or indicated or the protocol pre-defined to send the first characteristic signal on the configured time-frequency resources to ensure that the first characteristic signal can be effectively sent. If the network device is not configured or indicated or the protocol does not pre-defined to send the first characteristic signal on the configured time-frequency resources, the terminal can send ACK information and / or NACK information and / or SR information on the time-frequency resources. If the network device is configured or indicated or the protocol pre-defined to send ACK information and / or NACK information and / or SR information on the time-frequency resources, the terminal can send ACK information and / or NACK information and / or SR information on the time-frequency resources. When there is a need to obtain a downlink signal and / or a downlink signal, the first characteristic signal is sent on another time-frequency resource (the other time-frequency resource can be configured not to send ACK information and / or NACK information and / or SR information, and the other time-frequency resource has been configured to send the first characteristic signal).

[0113] Therefore, when the time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, it is still possible to request the network device to send a downlink channel and / or downlink signal through the first characteristic signal.

[0114] In some embodiments, based on a cell-specific discontinuous transmission (DTX) and / or discontinuous reception (DRX) pattern configured and activated for the terminal, a first characteristic signal is sent on time-frequency resources within the activation duration of the cell, or the first characteristic signal is sent on time-frequency resources within the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell. This effectively expands communication scenarios.

[0115] Step S2103: The network device receives the first characteristic signal.

[0116] In some embodiments, after the terminal sends the first characteristic signal, the network device may receive the first characteristic signal.

[0117] In some embodiments, the network device may configure the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal for the terminal, and receive the first characteristic signal sent on the time-frequency resources.

[0118] In some embodiments, if the time-frequency resources coincide with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, the network device may receive confirmation ACK information and / or non-confirmation NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information sent on the time-frequency resources.

[0119] In some embodiments, if the time-frequency resource coincides with the time-frequency resource of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, the network device may receive the first characteristic signal sent on the time-frequency resource.

[0120] In some embodiments, based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, the network device can receive the first characteristic signal within the activation duration of the cell, or receive the first characteristic signal within the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell.

[0121] Step S2104: The network device sends a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0122] In some embodiments, the network device may determine a suitable downlink signal and / or downlink channel with reference to the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal; or determine a suitable downlink signal and / or downlink channel with reference to the location of the time-frequency resource for sending the first characteristic signal; or determine a suitable downlink signal and / or downlink channel with reference to the first characteristic and the location of the time-frequency resource.

[0123] In some embodiments, after determining a suitable downlink signal and / or downlink channel, the network device may send the downlink signal and / or downlink channel to the terminal.

[0124] In some embodiments, the network device may also determine a transmit beam used to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel, and use the transmit beam to send the downlink channel and / or downlink signal.

[0125] In some embodiments, the network device may determine the transmission beam with reference to the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal; or determine the transmission beam with reference to the position of the time-frequency resources for sending the first characteristic signal; or determine the transmission beam with reference to the first characteristic and the position of the time-frequency resources, without limitation.

[0126] In some embodiments, the transmit beam used by the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following: a beam corresponding to the first characteristic signal; a beam corresponding to the first characteristic signal and valid beams from the N beams preceding and following the corresponding beam, where N is a positive integer greater than 0; and all beam directions of the SSB. This effectively increases the flexibility of transmit beam determination, effectively adapts to personalized communication scenarios, and supports network devices in selecting appropriate transmit beams.

[0127] Step S2105: The terminal receives a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0128] In some embodiments, the terminal may receive a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel sent by a network device.

[0129] In some embodiments, after the duration of time after the first characteristic signal is sent reaches a reference duration, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency resource location where the requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel transmission occurs. This effectively detects and receives the downlink signal and / or downlink channel, and improves the success rate of detecting and receiving the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

[0130] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resource position where the transmission occurs may be, for example, the time-frequency resource position where the transmission of the downlink signal and / or downlink channel first occurs, or the time-frequency resource position that appears after the first occurrence (for example, the time-frequency resource position that appears for the second or third time), and there is no limitation on this.

[0131] For example, since the terminal can instruct the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels multiple times, when the terminal requests the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels once, before the request, the terminal may have requested the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels, and the network device may have sent downlink signals and / or downlink channels multiple times. Each transmission of downlink signals and / or downlink channels may correspond to different or the same time-frequency resource positions. Then, after requesting the network device to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels, the terminal can detect and receive downlink signals and / or downlink channels at the time-frequency resource positions used by the network device to transmit downlink signals and / or downlink channels, thereby improving the probability of successful detection and reception of downlink signals and / or downlink channels. If the request is the first time that the network device is requested to send downlink signals and / or downlink channels, any possible implementation method can be used to detect and receive downlink signals and / or downlink channels. For example, blind detection of downlink signals and / or downlink channels may be performed at any possible time-frequency resource location, or downlink signals and / or downlink channels may be detected and received at a time-frequency resource location configured or indicated by a network device or predefined by a protocol, without limitation.

[0132] In some embodiments, the reference duration may be determined by terminal capabilities, or by configuration information sent by a network device.

[0133] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2105. For example, step S2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S2101+S2102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, and steps S2101+S2102+S2103 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0134] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0135] In this embodiment, the terminal determines the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, sends the first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources, the network device receives the first characteristic signal and sends a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel, and the terminal receives the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel, so that the terminal can instruct the network device as needed to request the network device to send the required downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

[0136] FIG3A is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a terminal. The above method includes:

[0137] Step S3101: Send a first characteristic signal, where the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0138] Step S3102: Receive a downlink signal and / or downlink channel sent by a network device.

[0139] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 and S3102. For example, step S3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S3101 and S3102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0140] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0141] FIG3B is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a terminal. The above method includes:

[0142] Step S3201: Determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0143] Step S3202: Send a first characteristic signal on time-frequency resources.

[0144] Step S3203: Receive a downlink signal and / or downlink channel sent by the network device.

[0145] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 to S3203. For example, step S3201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S3201+S3202 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0146] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0147] FIG3C is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a terminal. The above method includes:

[0148] Step S3301: Determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0149] Step S3302: Based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, a first characteristic signal is sent on the time-frequency resources within the activation duration of the cell, or a first characteristic signal is sent on the time-frequency resources within the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell.

[0150] Step S3303: After the duration after sending the first characteristic signal reaches the reference duration, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency resource position where the transmission of the requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel occurs.

[0151] The time interval between sending the first characteristic signal and receiving the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is greater than or equal to the reference duration.

[0152] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 to S3303. For example, step S3301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S3301+S3302 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0153] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0154] FIG4A is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a network device. The above method includes:

[0155] Step S4101: Receive a first characteristic signal, where the first characteristic signal is used to request a network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0156] Step S4102: Send downlink signals and / or downlink channels.

[0157] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4101 and S4102. For example, step S4101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S4101+S4102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0158] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0159] FIG4B is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a network device. The above method includes:

[0160] Step S4201: configure the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0161] Step S4202: Receive a first characteristic signal sent on a time-frequency resource.

[0162] Step S4203: Send downlink signals and / or downlink channels.

[0163] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 to S4203. For example, step S4201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S4201+S4202 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0164] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0165] FIG4C is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a network device. The above method includes:

[0166] Step S4301: configure the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0167] Step S4302: Based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, a first characteristic signal is received within the activation duration of the cell, or a first characteristic signal is received within the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell.

[0168] Step S4303: Send downlink signals and / or downlink channels.

[0169] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4301 to S4303. For example, step S4301 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S4302 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S4301+S4302 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0170] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0171] FIG5 is an interactive diagram of an indication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an indication method that can be used in a communication system. The above method includes:

[0172] Step S5101: The terminal sends a first characteristic signal, where the first characteristic signal is used to request a network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0173] Step S5102: The network device receives the first characteristic signal and sends a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0174] Step S5103: The terminal receives a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0175] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5101 to S5103. For example, step S5101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S5102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Steps S5101+S5102 can be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0176] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal supporting network energy-saving technology can request a network device supporting network energy-saving technology to transmit a downlink signal or channel using indication information carried on the PUCCH channel. The network device supporting network energy-saving technology can determine whether to transmit a downlink signal or channel based on the indication information sent by the terminal. A terminal supporting network energy-saving technology means that the terminal is able to determine whether the network device supports network energy-saving technology.

[0178] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device is taken as a base station for example, but no limitation is imposed on this.

[0179] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the resources (time-frequency resources) used to request the base station to send downlink signals and / or channels may be referred to as WUS resources. WUS resources refer to the resources occupied by PUCCH format #1 used to request the base station to send downlink signals and / or channels.

[0180] In the disclosed embodiment, on resource #1 occupied by PUCCH format #1, the UE transmits PUCCH format #1 signal #1 and PUCCH format #1 signal #2. Signal #1 can carry 1 bit or 2 bits of information, and signal #2 can carry 1 bit or 2 bits of information. The first characteristics of signal #1 and the first characteristics of signal #2 can be different.

[0181] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the sequences and / or orthogonal cover codes (OOC) of signal #1 and signal #2 are different, the two signals can be demodulated and distinguished at the network side.

[0182] In the disclosed embodiment, the combination of sequence, OOC, number of information bits (1 bit or 2 bits), and value of the information may be referred to as the first characteristic of the PUCCH format #1 signal.

[0183] In the disclosed embodiment, different combinations of PUCCH format#1 signal sequence, OOC, number of information bits (1 bit or 2 bits), and information values ​​can be used for different purposes. One combination corresponds to a first feature, and the signal corresponding to one combination can be called a first feature signal.

[0184] In the disclosed embodiments, the sequence may be obtained by combining the initialCyclicShift indication of the cell and the sequence generation method predefined by the protocol, and there is no limitation on this. The OCC may be indicated by the timeDomainOCC cell, and there is no limitation on this. The signal used to request the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel may be called a wake-up signal (WUS). The WUS signal is an optional example of the first characteristic signal.

[0185] Terminal side:

[0186] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal supporting network energy saving sends a PUCCH format #1 signal, i.e., a first characteristic signal, to a base station, and requests the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel through the indication information carried by the PUCCH signal, wherein the signal and / or channel includes at least SSB and / or SIB1. The downlink signal includes at least one of the following: synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB, system information block type 1 SIB1, tracking reference signal TRS, channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, primary synchronization signal PSS, secondary synchronization signal SSS, discovery reference signal DRS, system information block type n SIBn, first common signal, the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1; the downlink channel includes at least one of the following: physical broadcast channel PBCH, physical downlink control channel PDCCH, physical downlink shared channel PDSCH. The terminal requests the NES base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel through one of the following methods:

[0187] Method 1: The terminal sends a specific first characteristic signal on the periodically appearing WUS resource to request the base station to send downlink signals and / or channels. The network side configures the terminal with PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 of PUCCH format #1 signal for other purposes.

[0188] (1) The terminal determines the PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 occupied by the WUS resource according to the following method:

[0189] The configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station may not limit the signal carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling.

[0190] Or, configuration information in UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station.

[0191] Alternatively, the protocol is predefined.

[0192] (2) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 partially or completely overlaps with PUCCH time-frequency resource #2.

[0193] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information as needed on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0194] Option 2: The terminal sends the WUS signal on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0195] Optionally, the use of Option 1 or Option 2 is determined by network configuration or indication or by a protocol predefined method.

[0196] Optionally, PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 is a subset of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2. The base station can indicate to the terminal the specific resource number of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 for the WUS signal, and the time-frequency resources in PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 use Option 2.

[0197] (3) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 and PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 do not overlap.

[0198] (4) When the terminal needs the base station to send a downlink signal or channel, it sends any first characteristic signal on the PUCCH time-frequency resource #1.

[0199] The first characteristic of the first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to send SSB, or SIB1, or SSB and SIB1, or any other combination of downlink channels and / or signals.

[0200] Among them, when the terminal is in the IDLE / INACTIVE state, the configuration information of PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 is not released, and the terminal can still send PUCCH format #1 on the corresponding time-frequency resource according to the configuration information to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal and / or channel.

[0201] Method 2: The terminal sends one of the specific first characteristic signals on the WUS resource to request the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel and / or a transmission beam for sending a downlink signal and / or channel.

[0202] (1) The terminal determines the PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 occupied by the WUS resource according to the following method.

[0203] The configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station may not limit the signal carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling.

[0204] Or, configuration information in UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station.

[0205] Alternatively, the protocol is predefined.

[0206] (2) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 partially or completely overlaps with PUCCH time-frequency resource #2.

[0207] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information as needed on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0208] Option 2: The terminal sends the WUS signal on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0209] Optionally, the use of Option 1 or Option 2 is determined by network configuration or indication or by a protocol predefined method.

[0210] Optionally, PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 is a subset of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2. The base station can indicate to the terminal the specific resource number of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 for the WUS signal, and the time-frequency resources in PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 use Option 2.

[0211] (3) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 and PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 do not overlap.

[0212] (4) When the terminal needs the base station to send a downlink signal or channel, a specific first characteristic signal is sent on the resource.

[0213] The specific first feature indicates a combination of downlink signals and / or channels requested by the terminal, and includes at least one of the following information:

[0214] A combination of downlink signals and / or channels, such as SSB, or SIB1, or SSB and SIB1, or any other combination of downlink channels and / or signals.

[0215] Furthermore, any first feature corresponds to any one of the combinations.

[0216] Optionally, the first feature may also indicate the transmission beam of the downlink signal and / or channel, such as the corresponding one or more SSB indices.

[0217] Optionally, the first feature may also indicate the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal and the transmission beam for sending the downlink signal and / or channel.

[0218] The correspondence between the aforementioned first feature and the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal and / or the transmit beam of the downlink signal and / or channel is determined by one of the following methods:

[0219] Configuration is performed through higher-layer signaling;

[0220] Alternatively, it is determined in a manner predefined by the protocol.

[0221] Method 3: The terminal sends one of the specific first characteristic signals on the WUS resources to request the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel and / or a transmission beam for sending a downlink signal and / or channel.

[0222] (1) The terminal determines the PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 occupied by the WUS resource according to the following method.

[0223] The configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station may not limit the signal carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling.

[0224] Or, configuration information in UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station.

[0225] Alternatively, the protocol is predefined.

[0226] (2) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 partially or completely overlaps with PUCCH time-frequency resource #2.

[0227] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information as needed on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0228] Option 2: The terminal sends the WUS signal on overlapping time-frequency resources.

[0229] Optionally, the use of Option 1 or Option 2 is determined by network configuration or indication or by a protocol predefined method.

[0230] Optionally, PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 is a subset of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2. The base station can indicate to the terminal the specific resource number of PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 for the WUS signal. The time-frequency resources in PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 use Option 2.

[0231] (3) PUCCH time-frequency resource #1 and PUCCH time-frequency resource #2 do not overlap.

[0232] (4) When the terminal needs the base station to send a downlink signal or channel, a specific first characteristic signal is sent on one of the resources.

[0233] The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first characteristic indicates the combination of downlink signals and / or channels requested by the terminal, and includes at least one of the following information:

[0234] Type or combination of downlink signals and / or channels, such as SSB, or SIB1, or SSB and SIB1, or any other combination of downlink channels and / or signals.

[0235] Furthermore, any first characteristic signal sent on any resource corresponds to any one of the combinations.

[0236] Optionally, the position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource indicates the transmission beam of the downlink signal and / or channel, such as the corresponding one or more SSB indexes.

[0237] Optionally, the first feature may also indicate the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal and the transmit beam for transmitting the downlink signal and / or channel. The correspondence between the position of the aforementioned time-frequency resource and / or the first feature and the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal and / or the transmit beam for transmitting the downlink signal and / or channel is determined by one of the following methods:

[0238] Configuration is performed through higher-layer signaling;

[0239] Alternatively, it is determined in a manner predefined by the protocol.

[0240] Method 4: As in any of Methods 1 to 3, when the network side configures and activates the cell-specific DTX / DRX pattern, the terminal can still send WUS signals on the WUS resources according to actual needs within the inactive duration.

[0241] The specific methods are as follows: Method 1-Method 3, which will not be described in detail here.

[0242] Furthermore, after the duration after sending the WUS signal reaches a reference duration T, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency-time domain resource position where the transmission of the first requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel first appears, and T is determined according to the terminal capability or determined by the configuration information sent by the base station.

[0243] Base station side:

[0244] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station receiving terminal supporting network energy-saving technology sends a PUCCH format #1 signal carrying information indicating a request for a base station downlink channel and / or signal, i.e., a first characteristic signal, and determines whether to send the corresponding downlink channel and / or signal based on the request information:

[0245] Method 1: The base station receives a specific first characteristic signal sent by the terminal on the WUS resource for requesting the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel, and determines whether to send the corresponding downlink channel and / or signal according to the indication information.

[0246] The specific method is as on the terminal side and will not be repeated here.

[0247] Method 2: The base station receives a first characteristic signal sent by the terminal on the WUS resource for requesting the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel, and determines whether to send the corresponding downlink channel and / or signal based on the detected first characteristic signal.

[0248] The specific method is as on the terminal side and will not be repeated here.

[0249] Method 3: The base station receives a first characteristic signal sent by the terminal on multiple WUS resources to request the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel, and determines whether to send the corresponding downlink channel and / or signal based on the detected first characteristic signal.

[0250] The specific method is as on the terminal side and will not be repeated here.

[0251] Method 4: Like any of the methods 1 to 3, when the network side configures and activates the cell-specific DTX / DRX pattern, the base station still detects and receives the WUS signal within the inactive duration, and determines whether to send the corresponding downlink channel and / or signal based on the detected first characteristic signal.

[0252] The specific method is as on the terminal side and will not be repeated here.

[0253] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0254] First embodiment:

[0255] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the base station is a base station that supports network energy-saving technology. The base station can choose to stop sending some downlink signals or channels based on the network load, the number of resident terminals, the service type, the service period, etc. Of course, there is no restriction on the decision-making process and strategy of whether the base station sends some downlink signals or channels. After receiving the indication information sent by the terminal, the base station can choose to resume sending the downlink signal or channel according to the request information of the terminal. In this embodiment, according to the request of the terminal, the base station determines to send any one or any combination of the following downlink signals or channels: SSB, SIB1, TRS, PDCCH, PDSCH, CSI-RS, and other newly defined downlink reference signals, such as PSS+SSS, DRS, etc.

[0256] In this embodiment, the terminal sends a PUCCH signal to the base station, and requests the base station to send a downlink signal and / or a signal through the indication information carried by the PUCCH signal. In this embodiment, the terminal carries the request information through PUCCH format #1, which is referred to as a WUS signal in the subsequent description.

[0257] In this embodiment, the terminal can send a specific first characteristic signal on the periodically occurring WUS resource. The first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to send a downlink signal and / or channel. The WUS resource is used by the terminal to send PUCCH format #1, which carries the first characteristic signal used to request the base station to send a downlink signal / channel.

[0258] In this embodiment, the terminal determines the time-frequency resources occupied by PUCCH format #1 for requesting the base station to transmit downlink signals using the following method. This disclosed embodiment does not specify the terminal's state; for example, it can be applied to terminals in connected, idle, or inactive states. There is no limitation on the base station from which the configuration of the time-frequency resources for transmitting the WUS signal originates. For example, the relevant configuration information can be sent by the base station from which the terminal requests downlink transmission, or by another base station.

[0259] In this embodiment, the time-frequency resources may be determined based on the configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station, without limiting the type of signal carrying the cell-specific RRC, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying cell-specific RRC signaling. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources may be determined based on the configuration information in the UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources may be determined in a protocol-predefined manner, that is, the terminal sends PUCCH format #1 on the default resources specified in the protocol to request the base station to send downlink signals.

[0260] In this embodiment, since the PUCCH format #1 resource used to request the base station to send downlink may conflict with other PUCCH format #1 resources used to send ACK information / NACK information and / or SR information, in this scenario, Option 1 or Option 2 can be used:

[0261] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information on the WUS resource as needed.

[0262] Option 2: The terminal sends a request signal on the WUS resource.

[0263] Optional: The network configuration, instructions, or protocol predefined method determines whether to use Option 1 or Option 2.

[0264] In this embodiment, for the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1, it is an additional PUCCH resource configured or determined by any of the aforementioned methods. That is, it is a PUCCH resource that is different from the resource used to carry ACK information / NACK information and / or SR information. Alternatively, the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1 is shared with the legacy PUCCH resource, that is, through any of the aforementioned methods, one or more PUCCH resources are selected in the PUCCH resource set to send indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink. Under this assumption, the base station can inform the terminal of the PUCCH resource identifier used to send the indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink, and the PUCCH resource cannot be used to send PUCCH format #1 carrying HARQ-ACK or SR.

[0265] In this embodiment, based on the above assumptions and configurations, when the terminal needs to request the base station to send a corresponding downlink signal or channel on the WUS resource, it sends PUCCH format #1 carrying information requesting the base station to send downlink transmission indication. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal sends any allowed first characteristic signal on the resource to request the base station to send a downlink channel or signal. The first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to send an SSB, or SIB1, or a combination of SSB and SIB1, or any other downlink channel and / or signal, as described above.

[0266] In this embodiment, when the terminal is in the IDLE / INACTIVE state, the configuration information of the PUCCH format#1 resource for requesting the base station to send downlink is not released. The terminal can still send PUCCH format#1 on the corresponding time-frequency resources according to the configuration information to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal or channel.

[0267] Furthermore, after the duration after sending the WUS signal reaches a reference duration T, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency-time domain resource position where the transmission of the first requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel first appears, and T is determined according to the terminal capability or determined by the configuration information sent by the base station.

[0268] In this embodiment, after detecting and receiving the WUS signal sent by the terminal, the base station sends the downlink signal or channel requested by the terminal.

[0269] Based on this, as shown in Figure 6A, Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send SSB in one embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 6A, the base station is requested to send SSB via a WUS signal carried by PUCCH format #1. Of course, the downlink channel can be any one or any combination of the aforementioned channels or signals, without any limitation. In addition, taking SSB as an example, during the SSB OFF period, the base station can selectively send other channels or signals, also without any limitation.

[0270] Optionally, the beam used by the base station to send the requested downlink signal and / or channel may use one of the following options.

[0271] Option 1: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal.

[0272] Option 2: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal and the valid beams in the n beams before and after beam #m (n is greater than 0).

[0273] Option 3: Send downlink signals and / or channels in all beam directions of SSB.

[0274] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of beam schemes used is not limited. The network can configure or indicate the specific scheme to be used. If the network does not configure or indicate, Option 1 or the scheme predefined by the protocol is used.

[0275] Second embodiment:

[0276] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the base station is a base station that supports network energy-saving technology. The base station can choose to stop sending some downlink signals or channels based on the network load, the number of resident terminals, the service type, the service period, etc. Of course, there is no limitation on the decision-making process and strategy of whether the base station sends some downlink signals or channels. After receiving the indication information sent by the terminal, the base station can choose to resume sending the downlink signal or channel according to the request information of the terminal. In this embodiment, according to the request of the terminal, the base station determines to send any one or any combination of the following downlink signals or channels: SSB, SIB1, TRS, PDCCH, PDSCH, CSI-RS, and other newly defined downlink reference signals, such as PSS+SSS, DRS, etc.

[0277] In this embodiment, the terminal sends a PUCCH channel to the base station, and requests the base station to send downlink signals and / or signals through the indication information carried on the PUCCH channel. In this embodiment, the terminal carries the request information through PUCCH format#1, which is referred to as a WUS signal in the subsequent description.

[0278] In this embodiment, the terminal transmits a specific first characteristic signal on a periodically occurring WUS resource. The first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to transmit a downlink signal and / or channel. The WUS resource is used by the terminal to transmit PUCCH format #1, which carries the first characteristic signal used to request the base station to transmit a downlink signal / channel.

[0279] In this embodiment, the terminal determines the time-frequency resources occupied by PUCCH format #1 for requesting the base station to transmit downlink signals using the following method. This method is not limited to the terminal's state; for example, it can be applied to terminals in connected, idle, or inactive states. It is also not limited to the base station that configures the time-frequency resources for transmitting the WUS signal. For example, the relevant configuration information can be sent by the base station from which the terminal requests downlink transmission, or by another base station.

[0280] In this embodiment, the time-frequency resources can be determined based on the configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station, without limiting the type of signal carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying cell-specific RRC signaling. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources can be determined based on the configuration information in the UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources can be determined in a protocol-predefined manner, that is, the terminal sends PUCCH format #1 on the default resources specified in the protocol to request the base station to send downlink signals.

[0281] In this embodiment, since the PUCCH format #1 resource used to request the base station to send downlink may conflict with other PUCCH format #1 resources used to send ACK information / NACK information and / or SR information, in this scenario, Option 1 or Option 2 can be used:

[0282] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information on the WUS resource as needed.

[0283] Option 2: The terminal sends a request signal on the WUS resource.

[0284] Optional: The use of Option 1 or Option 2 may be determined based on network configuration or indication or in a manner predefined in the protocol.

[0285] In this embodiment, for the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1, it is an additional PUCCH resource configured or determined by any of the aforementioned methods. That is, it is a PUCCH resource that is different from the resource used to carry ACK information / NACK information or SR information. Alternatively, the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1 is shared with the legacy PUCCH resource, that is, through any of the aforementioned methods, one or more PUCCH resources are selected in the PUCCH resource set to send indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink. Under this assumption, the base station needs to inform the terminal of the PUCCH resource identifier used to send the indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink, and the PUCCH resource cannot be used to send PUCCH format #1 carrying HARQ-ACK or SR.

[0286] In this embodiment, based on the above assumptions and configurations, when a terminal requests the base station to transmit a corresponding downlink signal or channel on a WUS resource, it transmits PUCCH format #1, which carries information indicating a request for downlink transmission from the base station. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal transmits a specific first characteristic signal on the resource to request the base station to transmit a downlink channel or signal.

[0287] In this embodiment, the first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to send SSB, or SIB1, or SSB and SIB1, or any other combination of downlink channels and / or signals, as described above. The specific first characteristic signal used to request the base station to send a downlink signal or channel is determined in a manner predefined by the protocol, for example, a specific initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, a specific number of bits, a specific bit value (a value of 1 bit or 2 bits); it can also be configured by the base station, that is, the base station specifies a specific initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, and a specific bit value (a value of 1 bit or 2 bits) as a WUS signal. A specific combination of initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, and a specific bit value can be called a first characteristic. At this time, a first characteristic can correspond to a specific downlink channel or signal.

[0288] In this embodiment, the specific first feature may correspond to a transmission beam of a downlink signal and / or channel, such as one or more corresponding SSB indexes.

[0289] In this embodiment, the specific first feature may correspond to a specific downlink channel or a specific transmission beam of a signal, for example, one or more SSB indexes corresponding to the specific downlink channel or signal.

[0290] Optionally, when the specific first feature does not distinguish the transmission beam of the downlink signal and / or channel, the beam used by the base station to send the requested downlink signal and / or channel may use one of the following options:

[0291] Option 1: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal.

[0292] Option 2: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal and the valid beams in the n beams before and after beam #m (n is greater than 0).

[0293] Option 3: Send downlink signals and / or channels in all beam directions of SSB.

[0294] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of beam schemes used is not limited. The network can configure or indicate the specific scheme to be used. If the network does not configure or indicate, Option 1 or the scheme predefined by the protocol is used.

[0295] In this embodiment, the correspondence between the aforementioned first feature and the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal may be configured through high-layer signaling or determined through a protocol predefined manner, and is not limited in any way.

[0296] In this embodiment, when the terminal is in the IDLE / INACTIVE state, the configuration information is not released, and the terminal can still send PUCCH format #1 on the corresponding time-frequency resources according to the configuration information to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal or channel.

[0297] In this embodiment, after the duration after sending the WUS signal reaches a reference duration T, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency-time domain resource location where the first requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel transmission first occurs. T is determined based on the terminal's capabilities or through configuration information sent by the base station.

[0298] In this embodiment, after detecting and receiving the WUS signal sent by the terminal, the base station sends the downlink signal or channel requested by the terminal.

[0299] Based on this, as shown in Figure 6B, Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send SSB in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 6B, the base station is requested to send SSB via the WUS signal carried by PUCCH format #1. Of course, the downlink channel may be any one or any combination of the aforementioned channels or signals, without any limitation. In addition, taking SSB as an example, during the SSB OFF period, the base station may selectively send other channels or signals, also without any limitation. In the following example, it is assumed that the terminal can request the base station to send SSB through three different first characteristics. Assume that the transmission pattern of SSB at this time is case A, and is below 3GHz, so there are 4 SSBs in the system. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the correspondence between the first feature sent by the terminal and the SSB is as follows, and the correspondence is determined by any of the aforementioned methods:

[0300] The first characteristic signal #1 corresponds to SSB#0 and SSB#1;

[0301] The first characteristic signal #2 corresponds to SSB#2 and SSB#3;

[0302] The first characteristic signal #3 corresponds to SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2 and SSB#4.

[0303] To fully illustrate this embodiment, assume that the terminal transmits different first characteristic signals at three different WUS transmission locations. As shown in Figure 6B , when the base station does not receive any WUS signal from any terminal, the base station does not need to transmit an SSB. When the base station receives the first characteristic signal #1 from the terminal, it transmits SSB#0 and SSB#1. When the base station receives the first characteristic signal #2 from the terminal, it transmits SSB#2 and SSB#3. When the base station receives the first characteristic signal #3 from the terminal, it transmits SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2, and SSB#4.

[0304] Of course, as mentioned above, it is not limited to SSB, nor is the correspondence between the WUS signal and the downlink signal limited.

[0305] The third embodiment:

[0306] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the base station is a base station that supports network energy-saving technology. The base station can choose to stop sending some downlink signals or channels based on the network load, the number of resident terminals, the service type, the service period, etc. Of course, there is no limitation on the decision-making process and strategy of whether the base station sends some downlink signals or channels. After receiving the indication information sent by the terminal, the base station can choose to resume sending the downlink signal or channel according to the request information of the terminal. In this embodiment, according to the request of the terminal, the base station determines to send any one or any combination of the following downlink signals or channels: SSB, SIB1, TRS, PDCCH, PDSCH, CSI-RS, other newly defined downlink reference signals, such as PSS+SSS, DRS, etc.

[0307] In this embodiment, the terminal sends a PUCCH channel to the base station, and requests the base station to send downlink signals and / or signals through the indication information carried on the PUCCH channel. In this embodiment, the terminal carries the request information through PUCCH format#1, which is referred to as a WUS signal in the subsequent description.

[0308] In this embodiment, the terminal transmits a specific first characteristic signal on a periodically occurring WUS resource. The first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to transmit a downlink signal and / or channel. The WUS resource is used by the terminal to transmit PUCCH format #1, which carries the first characteristic signal used to request the base station to transmit a downlink signal / channel.

[0309] In this embodiment, the terminal determines the time-frequency resources occupied by PUCCH format #1 for requesting the base station to transmit downlink signals using the following method. There are no restrictions on the terminal's state; for example, this method can be applied to terminals in connected, idle, or inactive states. There are also no restrictions on the base station from which the configuration of the time-frequency resources for transmitting the WUS signal originates. For example, the relevant configuration information can be sent by the base station from which the terminal requests downlink transmission, or by another base station.

[0310] In this embodiment, the time-frequency resources can be determined based on the configuration information in the cell-specific RRC signaling sent by the base station, without limiting the type of signal carrying the cell-specific RRC signaling, such as SIB1 or other SIBs carrying cell-specific RRC signaling. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources can be determined based on the configuration information in the UE-dedicated RRC signaling sent by the base station. Alternatively, the time-frequency resources can be determined in a protocol-predefined manner, that is, the terminal sends PUCCH format #1 on the default resources specified in the protocol to request the base station to send downlink signals.

[0311] In this embodiment, since the PUCCH format #1 resource used to request the base station to send downlink may conflict with other PUCCH format #1 resources used to send ACK / NACK information and / or SR information, in this scenario, Option 1 or Option 2 can be used:

[0312] Option 1: The terminal sends ACK / NACK information and / or SR information on the WUS resource as needed.

[0313] Option 2: The terminal sends a request signal on the WUS resource.

[0314] Optional: Network configuration, instructions, or protocol predefined methods determine whether to use Option 1 or Option 2.

[0315] In this embodiment, for the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1, it is an additional PUCCH resource configured or determined by any of the aforementioned methods. That is, it is a PUCCH resource that is different from the resource used to carry ACK information / NACK information or SR information. Alternatively, the PUCCH resource used to send PUCCH format #1 is shared with the legacy PUCCH resource, that is, through any of the aforementioned methods, one or more PUCCH resources are selected in the PUCCH resource set to send indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink. Under this assumption, the base station needs to inform the terminal of the PUCCH resource identifier used to send the indication information requesting the base station to transmit downlink, and the PUCCH resource cannot be used to send PUCCH format #1 carrying HARQ-ACK or SR.

[0316] In this embodiment, based on the above assumptions and configurations, when a terminal needs to request the base station to send a corresponding downlink signal or channel on a WUS resource, it transmits PUCCH format #1, which carries information indicating a request for downlink transmission from the base station. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal transmits a specific first characteristic signal on one of multiple WUS resources to request the base station to transmit a downlink channel or signal.

[0317] In this embodiment, the first characteristic signal is used to request the base station to send SSB, or SIB1, or SSB and SIB1, or any other combination of downlink channels and / or signals, as described above. The specific first characteristic used to request the base station to send a downlink signal or channel is determined in a predefined manner by the protocol, such as a specific initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, a specific number of bits, and a specific bit value (a value of 1 bit or 2 bits); it can also be configured by the base station, that is, the base station specifies a specific initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, and a specific bit value (a value of 1 bit or 2 bits) as a WUS signal. A specific combination of initialCyclicShift, a specific timeDomainOCC, and a specific bit value can be called a first characteristic. At this time, a first characteristic can correspond to a specific requested downlink channel or signal. Of course, the first characteristic can also be not distinguished, and the terminal sends any first characteristic on one of multiple WUS resources to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal or channel.

[0318] Optionally, the WUS resource can be combined with the first feature to correspond to a specific downlink channel or signal, such as the downlink channel or signal corresponding to the first feature #1 of the first WUS resource is different from the downlink channel or signal corresponding to the first feature #1 of the second WUS resource.

[0319] In this embodiment, the specific first feature may correspond to a specific downlink channel or a specific transmission beam of a signal.

[0320] In this embodiment, different resources may correspond to transmit beams of downlink signals and / or channels, such as corresponding one or more SSB indices. The correspondence between the aforementioned first feature and the signal and / or channel requested by the terminal may be configured via higher-layer signaling or determined in a protocol predefined manner, and is not subject to any limitation.

[0321] As a more flexible indication method, the method of this embodiment can support the transmission beam of the downlink signal and / or channel corresponding to different first characteristics on different resources, such as one or more corresponding SSB indexes.

[0322] In this embodiment, the WUS resource and the first feature combination may correspond to a specific downlink channel or a specific transmission beam of a signal, for example, one or more SSB indexes corresponding to a specific downlink channel or signal.

[0323] In this embodiment, when the WUS resource and the first feature do not distinguish between transmission beams for downlink signals and / or channels, the beam used by the base station to send the requested downlink signal and / or channel may use one of the following options:

[0324] Option 1: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal.

[0325] Option 2: The beam used to send the downlink signal and / or channel is beam #m corresponding to the WUS signal and the valid beams in the n beams before and after beam #m (n is greater than 0).

[0326] Option 3: Send downlink signals and / or channels in all beam directions of SSB.

[0327] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of beam schemes used is not limited. The network can configure or indicate the specific scheme to be used. If the network does not configure or indicate, Option 1 or the scheme predefined by the protocol is used.

[0328] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the terminal is in the IDLE / INACTIVE state, the configuration information is not released, and the terminal can still send PUCCH format #1 on the corresponding time-frequency resources according to the configuration information to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal or channel.

[0329] In the disclosed embodiments, after a terminal sends a WUS signal, it detects and receives the downlink signal and / or downlink channel at the time-frequency-time domain resource location where the first requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel transmission first occurs, after a reference duration T has elapsed since the WUS signal was sent. T is determined based on the terminal's capabilities or through configuration information sent by the base station.

[0330] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after detecting and receiving a WUS signal sent by a terminal, the base station sends a downlink signal or channel requested by the terminal.

[0331] Based on this, as shown in Figure 6C, Figure 6C is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send SSB in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 6C, the base station is requested to send SSB via the WUS signal carried by PUCCH format #1. Of course, the downlink channel and / or signal may be any one or any combination of the aforementioned channels or signals, and there is no limitation on this. In addition, taking SSB as an example, during the SSB OFF period, the base station may selectively send other channels or signals, and there is no limitation on this. In the following example, it is assumed that the terminal can request the base station to send SSB through three different first characteristics. Assume that the transmission pattern of SSB at this time is case A, and is below 3GHz, so there are 4 SSBs in the system. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the correspondence between the first feature sent by the terminal and the SSB is as follows, and the correspondence is determined by any of the aforementioned methods:

[0332] The first characteristic signal #1 on Resource #1 corresponds to SSB #0;

[0333] The first characteristic signal #2 on Resource #1 corresponds to SSB #1;

[0334] The first characteristic signal #1 on Resource #2 corresponds to SSB #2;

[0335] The first characteristic signal #2 on Resource #2 corresponds to SSB #3;

[0336] The first characteristic signal on Resource#3 corresponds to SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2 and SSB#4.

[0337] To fully illustrate the scheme of this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal sends different first characteristic signals at three different WUS transmission positions. As can be seen from Figure 6C, when the base station does not receive any WUS signal sent by any terminal, the base station does not need to send SSB. When the base station receives the first characteristic signal #1 sent by the terminal on resource #1, it sends SSB #0; when the base station receives the first characteristic signal #1 sent by the terminal on resource #1, it sends SSB #0; when the base station receives the first characteristic signal #2 sent by the terminal on resource #1, it sends SSB #1; when the base station receives the first characteristic signal #1 sent by the terminal on the first characteristic signal #2, it sends SSB #3; when the base station receives the first characteristic signal #2 sent by the terminal on resource #2, it sends SSB #4; when the base station receives any first characteristic signal sent by the terminal on resource #3, it sends SSB #0, SSB #1, SSB #2 and SSB #4.

[0338] Of course, as mentioned above, the method in the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to SSB, nor is the correspondence between the WUS signal and the downlink signal limited.

[0339] Fourth embodiment:

[0340] In this embodiment, the method in which the terminal sends the WUS signal and the base station receives the WUS signal and determines to send a downlink signal or signals may be any method in Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3.

[0341] In this embodiment, the above method can be combined with cell-specific DTX / DRX. That is, when the network side configures and activates cell-specific DTX / DRX, regardless of whether the WUS resource configured by the base station or predefined by the protocol is within the cell's active duration, the terminal can send a WUS signal on the corresponding resource according to its own needs to request the base station to send the corresponding downlink signal or channel. As a specific example, as shown in Figure 6D, Figure 6D is a schematic diagram of a terminal requesting a base station to send an SSB in another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0342] The fifth embodiment:

[0343] As with any of the methods in Examples 1-4, the disclosed embodiments can be applied to UEs in any state, such as connected UEs, idle UEs, and inactive UEs. When the WUS signal configuration is determined via RRC signaling, the terminal can retain the configuration when entering the idle or inactive state. The terminal can still send the WUS signal according to the configuration. Correspondingly, the base station needs to detect and receive the WUS signal at the corresponding resource location based on the configuration and perform the corresponding action.

[0344] Sixth embodiment:

[0345] In NES, the WUS signal, which requests the base station to transmit downlink signals and / or channels, plays a key role. Downlink signals and / or channels include at least SSB and / or SIB1 signals. When using the PUCCH format #1 signal as the request signal, in the aforementioned embodiments, method a or b can be used to ensure sufficient power for the PUCCH format #1 signal, thereby increasing the probability of successful reception of the PUCCH format #1 signal as the WUS signal.

[0346] Method a: Compared with the PUCCH format #1 signal that is not a WUS signal, the PUCCH-PowerControl IE can be configured differently to enable the transmission power of the PUCCH format #1 signal that is a WUS signal to be sufficiently large.

[0347] Optionally, the PUCCH-PowerControl information element includes at least one of the following parameters:

[0348] deltaF-PUCCH-f1, deltaF of PUCCH format#1 signal;

[0349] p0-Set, target received power p0 set of PUCCH format#1 signal.

[0350] Optionally, the p0-Set of the PUCCH format#1 signal serving as a WUS signal is the same as that of the PUCCH format#1 signal not serving as a WUS signal, and the p0 of the PUCCH format#1 signal serving as a WUS signal and the p0 of the PUCCH format#1 signal not serving as a WUS signal can be indicated respectively based on the media access control layer control element (MAC CE).

[0351] One or two MACs enable p0 to be different between a PUCCH format#1 signal used as a WUS signal and a signal not used as a WUS signal.

[0352] Method b: When the PUCCH format#1 signal is used as a request through configuration enable or protocol default, full power is used for transmission.

[0353] In the disclosed embodiments, the terminal side includes: a terminal supporting network energy-saving technology, which requests a network device supporting network energy-saving technology to send a downlink signal or channel via indication information carried on the PUCCH channel. The network side includes: a network device supporting network energy-saving technology, which determines whether to send a downlink signal or channel based on the indication information sent by the terminal.

[0354] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., a RAN) in any of the above methods.

[0355] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0356] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP); in another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the above hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable, such as a hardware circuit implemented by a processor as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0357] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7A , the terminal 7100 may include at least one of a transceiver module 7101 and a processing module 7102. The terminal 7100 may include:

[0358] The transceiver module 7101 is used to send a first characteristic signal and receive a downlink signal and / or downlink channel sent by a network device, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

[0359] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the status of the terminal includes any of the following:

[0360] CONNECTED state;

[0361] IDLE state;

[0362] Deactivate the INACTIVE state.

[0363] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first characteristic signal is a physical uplink control channel PUCCH format 1 signal.

[0364] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0365] The downlink signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB, a system information block type 1 SIB1, a tracking reference signal TRS, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, a primary synchronization signal PSS, a secondary synchronization signal SSS, a discovery reference signal DRS, a system information block type n SIBn, a first common signal, where the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, and SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1;

[0366] The downlink channel includes at least one of the following: a physical broadcast channel PBCH, a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, and a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0367] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0368] The processing module 7102 is used to determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal;

[0369] The transceiver module 7101 is specifically configured to send a first characteristic signal on time-frequency resources.

[0370] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 is specifically configured to perform any of the following:

[0371] Determine the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through first configuration information in the cell-specific radio resource control RRC signaling sent by the network device;

[0372] Determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through second configuration information in the terminal-specific RRC signaling sent by the network device;

[0373] The time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal are determined through information predefined by the protocol.

[0374] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resources satisfy any of the following:

[0375] Time-frequency resources are additional PUCCH resources;

[0376] The time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for a first function, wherein the first function is used to send acknowledgment ACK information and / or non-acknowledgment NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information;

[0377] The time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set.

[0378] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set; wherein,

[0379] The first configuration information includes a resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or

[0380] The second configuration information includes a resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or

[0381] The information predefined by the protocol includes the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set.

[0382] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 is specifically configured to:

[0383] When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the time-frequency resources indicated by the first configuration information or the second configuration information or the information predefined by the protocol are not released.

[0384] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first feature of the first feature signal includes at least one of the following:

[0385] signal sequence;

[0386] Orthogonal mask OOC;

[0387] The number of bits of the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel;

[0388] Indicates the value of the information.

[0389] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first correspondence between the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following:

[0390] The first feature corresponds to a downlink signal;

[0391] The first feature corresponds to a downlink channel;

[0392] The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals;

[0393] The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels;

[0394] The first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel;

[0395] The first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0396] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 determines the first correspondence relationship by at least one of the following:

[0397] Determining the first corresponding relationship through third configuration information in the higher layer signaling;

[0398] The first corresponding relationship is determined through information predefined by the protocol.

[0399] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 is specifically configured to:

[0400] When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the third configuration information is not released.

[0401] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second correspondence between the position of the time-frequency resource, the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal, and the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel includes at least one of the following:

[0402] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a downlink signal;

[0403] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a downlink channel;

[0404] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of downlink signals;

[0405] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of downlink channels;

[0406] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel.

[0407] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0408] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 determines the second correspondence by at least one of the following:

[0409] Determining the second corresponding relationship through fourth configuration information in the higher layer signaling;

[0410] The second corresponding relationship is determined through information predefined by the protocol.

[0411] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7102 is specifically configured to:

[0412] When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, the fourth configuration information is not released.

[0413] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, and the transceiver module 7101 is specifically configured to:

[0414] Sending ACK information and / or NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information on time-frequency resources; or,

[0415] A first characteristic signal is sent on the time-frequency resource.

[0416] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transceiver module 7101 is specifically configured to:

[0417] Based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, the first characteristic signal is sent on the time-frequency resources within the activation duration of the cell, or the first characteristic signal is sent on the time-frequency resources within the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell.

[0418] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the indication information occupies 1 bit or 2 bits.

[0419] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transceiver module 7101 is specifically configured to:

[0420] After the duration after sending the first characteristic signal reaches the reference duration, the downlink signal and / or downlink channel is detected and received at the time-frequency resource location where the transmission of the requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel occurs.

[0421] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7B , the network device 7200 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 7201 and a processing module 7202. The network device 7200 may include:

[0422] The transceiver module 7201 is used to receive a first characteristic signal and send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel, wherein the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0423] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first characteristic signal is a physical uplink control channel PUCCH format 1 signal.

[0424] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0425] The downlink signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB, a system information block type 1 SIB1, a tracking reference signal TRS, a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, a primary synchronization signal PSS, a secondary synchronization signal SSS, a discovery reference signal DRS, a system information block type n SIBn, a first common signal, where the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, and SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1;

[0426] The downlink channel includes at least one of the following: a physical broadcast channel PBCH, a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, and a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH.

[0427] In some embodiments of the present disclosure,

[0428] The processing module 7202 is configured to configure the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal;

[0429] The transceiver module 7201 is specifically used to receive the first characteristic signal sent on the time-frequency resources.

[0430] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7202 is configured to perform any of the following:

[0431] Configuring the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through first configuration information in the cell-dedicated radio resource control RRC signaling;

[0432] Configuring the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through the second configuration information in the terminal-specific RRC signaling;

[0433] The time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal are configured through information predefined by the protocol.

[0434] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resources satisfy any of the following:

[0435] Time-frequency resources are additional PUCCH resources;

[0436] The time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for a first function, wherein the first function is used to send acknowledgment ACK information and / or non-acknowledgment NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information;

[0437] The time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set.

[0438] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set; wherein,

[0439] The first configuration information includes a resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or

[0440] The second configuration information includes a resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or

[0441] The information predefined by the protocol includes the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set.

[0442] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first feature of the first feature signal includes at least one of the following:

[0443] signal sequence;

[0444] Orthogonal mask OOC;

[0445] The number of bits of the indication information, wherein the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel;

[0446] Indicates the value of the information.

[0447] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first correspondence between the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following:

[0448] The first feature corresponds to a downlink signal;

[0449] The first feature corresponds to a downlink channel;

[0450] The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals;

[0451] The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels;

[0452] The first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel;

[0453] The first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0454] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7202 is configured to perform at least one of the following to configure the first correspondence:

[0455] Configuring the first corresponding relationship through third configuration information in the higher layer signaling;

[0456] The first corresponding relationship is configured through information predefined by the protocol.

[0457] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second correspondence between the position of the time-frequency resource, the first characteristic of the first characteristic signal, and the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel includes at least one of the following:

[0458] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a downlink signal;

[0459] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a downlink channel;

[0460] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of downlink signals;

[0461] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of downlink channels;

[0462] The position and / or the first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel.

[0463] The position and / or first characteristic of the time-frequency resource corresponds to a transmission beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

[0464] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing module 7202 is configured to perform at least one of the following to configure the second correspondence:

[0465] Configuring the second corresponding relationship through fourth configuration information in the higher layer signaling;

[0466] The second corresponding relationship is configured through information predefined by the protocol.

[0467] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time-frequency resources overlap with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 used for the first function, and the transceiver module 7201 is specifically configured to:

[0468] Receiving confirmation ACK information and / or non-confirmation NACK information and / or scheduling request SR information sent on the time-frequency resources; or,

[0469] A first characteristic signal sent on a time-frequency resource is received.

[0470] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transceiver module 7201 is specifically configured to:

[0471] Based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, the first characteristic signal is received during the activation duration of the cell, or the first characteristic signal is received during the activation duration and deactivation duration of the cell.

[0472] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a transmit beam used by a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel includes at least one of the following:

[0473] a beam corresponding to the first characteristic signal;

[0474] The beam corresponding to the first characteristic signal, and the valid beams in the N beams before and after the corresponding beam, where N is a positive integer greater than 0;

[0475] All beam directions of SSB.

[0476] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the indication information occupies 1 bit or 2 bits.

[0477] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, and the transmitting module and the receiving module may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with the transceiver.

[0478] In some embodiments, the processing module can be a single module or can include multiple submodules. Optionally, the multiple submodules respectively execute all or part of the steps required to be executed by the processing module. Optionally, the processing module can be interchangeable with the processor.

[0479] Figure 8A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 8100 can be a terminal, a network device, a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device implementing any of the above methods. Communication device 8100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0480] As shown in Figure 8A, the communication device 8100 includes one or more processors 8101. The processor 8101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The communication device 8100 is used to perform any of the above methods.

[0481] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more memories 8102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 8102 may be located outside the communication device 8100.

[0482] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more transceivers 8103. When the communication device 8100 includes one or more transceivers 8103, the transceiver 8103 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method, and the processor 8101 performs the other steps.

[0483] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter. The receiver and transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0484] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 may include one or more interface circuits 8104. Optionally, the interface circuit 8104 is connected to the memory 8102. The interface circuit 8104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 8102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 8102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8104 may read instructions stored in the memory 8102 and send the instructions to the processor 8101.

[0485] The communication device 8100 described in the above embodiments may be a terminal, a network device, or a third entity, but the scope of the communication device 8100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 8100 may not be limited by FIG. 8A. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0486] FIG8B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 8100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 8200 shown in FIG8B , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0487] The chip 8200 includes one or more processors 8201 , and the chip 8200 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0488] In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further includes one or more interface circuits 8202. Optionally, the interface circuit 8202 is connected to the memory 8203. The interface circuit 8202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 8203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 8203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8202 can read instructions stored in the memory 8203 and send the instructions to the processor 8201.

[0489] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 8202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method, and the processor 8201 performs the other steps.

[0490] In some embodiments, terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver may be used interchangeably.

[0491] In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further includes one or more memories 8203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 8203 may be outside the chip 8200.

[0492] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 8100, causes the communication device 8100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0493] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 8100, enables the communication device 8100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0494] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0495] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can 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 program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0496] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0497] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0498] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. An indication method, characterized in that, Executed by a terminal, the method includes: Sending a first characteristic signal, where the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; Receiving the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel sent by the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The state of the terminal includes any one of the following: CONNECTED state; IDLE state; INACTIVE state.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The first characteristic signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) format 1 signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Wherein, The downlink signal includes at least one of the following: Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB), System Information Block type 1 (SIB1), Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Discovery Reference Signal (DRS), System Information Block type n (SIBn), a first common signal, where the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, and SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1; The downlink channel includes at least one of the following: Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The sending of the first characteristic signal includes: Determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal; Sending the first characteristic signal on the time-frequency resources.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The determining of the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal includes any one of the following: Determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through the first configuration information in the cell-specific Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling sent by the network device; Determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through the second configuration information in the terminal-specific RRC signaling sent by the network device; Determining the time-frequency resources occupied by the first characteristic signal through the information predefined by the protocol.

7. The method according to any one of claims 5-6, characterized in that The time-frequency resources satisfy any one of the following: The time-frequency resources are additional PUCCH resources; The time-frequency resources coincide with the time-frequency resources of PUCCH format 1 for a first function, where the first function is used to send Acknowledgment (ACK) information and / or Negative Acknowledgment (NACK) information and / or Scheduling Request (SR) information; The time-frequency resources are one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that The time-frequency resources are one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set; wherein, The first configuration information includes the resource number of the time-frequency resources in the PUCCH resource set; or The second configuration information includes the resource number of the time-frequency resources in the PUCCH resource set; or The information predefined by the protocol includes the resource number of the time-frequency resources in the PUCCH resource set.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further includes: When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, not releasing the time-frequency resources indicated by the first configuration information or the second configuration information or the information predefined by the protocol.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first characteristics of the first characteristic signal include at least one of the following: Signal sequence; Orthogonal Mask (OOC); The number of bits of the indication information, where the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel; The value of the indication information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first correspondence between the first feature of the first feature signal and the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel includes at least one of the following: The first feature corresponds to a downlink signal; The first feature corresponds to a downlink channel; The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; The first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel; The first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used for a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein Determine the first correspondence through at least one of the following: Determine the first correspondence through the third configuration information in the high-layer signaling; Determine the first correspondence through the information predefined by the protocol.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The method further includes: When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, do not release the third configuration information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 5-10, characterized in that, The position of the time-frequency resource, the first feature of the first feature signal, and the second correspondence between the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel include at least one of the following: The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a downlink signal; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a downlink channel; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel. The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used for a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Determine the second correspondence through at least one of the following: Determine the second correspondence through the fourth configuration information in the high-layer signaling; Determine the second correspondence through the information predefined by the protocol.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The method further includes: When the terminal is in the IDLE state or the INACTIVE state, do not release the fourth configuration information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 5-16, characterized in that, If the time-frequency resource coincides with the time-frequency resource of PUCCH format 1 for the first function, the method further includes: Send an acknowledgement ACK information and / or a non-acknowledgement NACK information and / or a scheduling request SR information on the time-frequency resource; or, Send the first feature signal on the time-frequency resource.

18. The method according to any one of claims 5-17, characterized in that, Sending the first feature signal on the time-frequency resource includes: Based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal, send the first feature signal on the time-frequency resource within the active duration of the cell, or send the first feature signal on the time-frequency resource within the active duration and the deactivation duration of the cell.

19. The method according to any one of claims 10-18, characterized in that, The indication information occupies 1 bit or 2 bits.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, characterized in that, Receiving the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel sent by the network device includes: After the duration that continues after sending the first characteristic signal reaches a reference duration, detect and receive the downlink signal and / or downlink channel at the time-frequency resource position where the requested downlink signal and / or downlink channel is transmitted.

21. An indication method, characterized in that, Performed by a network device, the method includes: Receiving a first characteristic signal, where the first characteristic signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or downlink channel; Sending the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The first characteristic signal is a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) format 1 signal.

23. The method according to any one of claims 21-22, characterized in that, Wherein, The downlink signal includes at least one of the following: Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB), System Information Block type 1 (SIB1), Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Discovery Reference Signal (DRS), System Information Block type n (SIBn), a first common signal, where the first common signal is a common signal other than SSB, SIB1, and SIBn, and n is an integer greater than 1; The downlink channel includes at least one of the following: Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that, The receiving the first characteristic signal includes: Configuring the time-frequency resource occupied by the first characteristic signal; Receiving the first characteristic signal sent on the time-frequency resource.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The configuring the time-frequency resource occupied by the first characteristic signal includes any one of the following: Configuring the time-frequency resource occupied by the first characteristic signal through first configuration information in cell-specific Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; Configuring the time-frequency resource occupied by the first characteristic signal through second configuration information in terminal-specific RRC signaling; Configuring the time-frequency resource occupied by the first characteristic signal through protocol-predefined information.

26. The method according to any one of claims 24-25, characterized in that, The time-frequency resource satisfies any one of the following: The time-frequency resource is an additional PUCCH resource; The time-frequency resource coincides with the time-frequency resource of PUCCH format 1 for a first function, where the first function is used to send Acknowledgment (ACK) information and / or Negative Acknowledgment (NACK) information and / or Scheduling Request (SR) information; The time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24-26, characterized in that, The time-frequency resource is one or more PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set; wherein, The first configuration information includes the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or The second configuration information includes the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set; or The protocol-predefined information includes the resource number of the time-frequency resource in the PUCCH resource set.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21-27, characterized in that The first characteristics of the first characteristic signal include at least one of the following: Signal sequence; Orthogonal Mask (OOC); The number of bits of indication information, where the indication information is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or downlink channel; The value of the indication information.

29. The method according to any one of claims 21-28, characterized in that, The first correspondence between the first characteristics of the first characteristic signal and the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following: The first feature corresponds to a downlink signal; The first feature corresponds to a downlink channel; The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; The first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; The first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel; The first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used for the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein Configure the first correspondence relationship through at least one of the following: Configure the first correspondence relationship through the third configuration information in the high-layer signaling; Configure the first correspondence relationship through the information predefined by the protocol.

31. The method according to any one of claims 24-28, characterized in that, The position of the time-frequency resource, the first feature of the first feature signal, and the second correspondence relationship between the downlink signal and / or downlink channel include at least one of the following: The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a downlink signal; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a downlink channel; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink signals; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of downlink channels; The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a combination of a downlink signal and a downlink channel. The position of the time-frequency resource and / or the first feature corresponds to a transmission beam used for the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein, Configure the second correspondence relationship through at least one of the following: Configure the second correspondence relationship through the fourth configuration information in the high-layer signaling; Configure the second correspondence relationship through the information predefined by the protocol.

33. The method according to any one of claims 24-32, characterized in that, If the time-frequency resource coincides with the time-frequency resource of PUCCH format 1 for the first function, the method further includes: Receiving an acknowledgement ACK information and / or a non-acknowledgement NACK information and / or a scheduling request SR information sent on the time-frequency resource; or, Receiving the first feature signal sent on the time-frequency resource.

34. The method according to any one of claims 24-33, characterized in that, Receiving the first feature signal sent on the time-frequency resource includes: Receiving the first feature signal within the active duration of the cell or within the active duration and the deactivation duration of the cell based on the cell-specific discontinuous transmission DTX and / or discontinuous reception DRX pattern configured and activated for the terminal.

35. The method according to any one of claims 21-34, characterized in that, The transmission beam used for the downlink signal and / or downlink channel includes at least one of the following: The beam corresponding to the first feature signal; The beam corresponding to the first feature signal and the valid beams among the N beams before and after the corresponding beam, where N is a positive integer greater than 0; All beam directions of the SSB.

36. The method according to any one of claims 28-35, characterized in that, The indication information occupies 1 bit or 2 bits.

37. An indication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The terminal sends a first feature signal, where the first feature signal is used to request the network device to send a downlink signal and / or downlink channel; The network device receives the first feature signal and sends the downlink signal and / or downlink channel; The terminal receives the downlink signal and / or downlink channel.

38. A terminal, characterized in that, The terminal includes: A transceiver module, configured to send a first characteristic signal and receive a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel sent by a network device, where the first characteristic signal includes indication information for requesting the network device to send the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel.

39. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes: A transceiver module, configured to receive a first characteristic signal and send a downlink signal and / or a downlink channel, where the first characteristic signal includes indication information for requesting the network device to send the downlink signal and / or the downlink channel.

40. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising: One or more processors; Wherein, the processor is configured to execute the indication method according to any one of claims 1-37.

41. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the indication method according to any one of claims 1-37.

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