Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving indication information, wherein the indication information indicates to start monitoring a wake-up signal; and in response to the indication information, the terminal device starts to monitor the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information. Based on this, flexible indication of the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal can be realized, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal can be dynamically adjusted along with the external environment (such as the position change of the terminal equipment, the change of the channel environment and the like). In addition, the terminal device can monitor the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, thereby improving the receiving performance of the wake-up signal.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410851912.3, filed on June 27, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] The terminal device can receive a wake-up signal via a separate low-power circuit, such as a wake-up radio (WUR), while the main receiver can be in sleep mode. When the terminal device detects the wake-up signal via the WUR, it triggers the main receiver to wake up. After the main receiver wakes up, the terminal device can receive data through it. Improving the reception performance of the wake-up signal is a problem worth considering. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and a communication device. By designing a TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, the terminal device can monitor the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, thereby improving the reception performance of the wake-up signal.

[0005] Firstly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the terminal side; that is, it can be executed by the terminal device or by components of the terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description mainly uses a terminal device as an example.

[0006] The method may include: receiving indication information, the indication information indicating to start monitoring a wake-up signal; and monitoring a wake-up signal according to a TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, wherein the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device can receive indication information indicating the start of wake-up signal monitoring, and the terminal device can also determine the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal based on this indication information. In response to the indication information, the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal. Based on this, flexible indication of the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal can be achieved, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal can be dynamically adjusted according to the external environment (such as changes in the terminal device's location, changes in the channel environment, etc.). Specifically, when instructing the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal, the indication information simultaneously indicates the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal. This allows for different (or environmentally adapted) TCI states of the wake-up signal to be indicated each time the terminal device is instructed to start monitoring the wake-up signal. Furthermore, the terminal device can monitor the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, which can improve the reception performance of the wake-up signal. For example, assuming the terminal device obtains the reception parameters of the wake-up signal based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, the terminal device can directly monitor the wake-up signal based on these reception parameters, significantly improving the reception performance compared to direct monitoring of the wake-up signal.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, including: the indication information further indicating the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0009] Based on the above technical solution, the indication information can explicitly indicate the TCI status associated with the wake-up signal, so that the terminal device can directly know the TCI status associated with the wake-up signal based on the indication information, which is simple and easy to implement.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, including: the indication information is carried in downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the control resource set of the downlink control information; or, the indication information is carried in the physical downlink shared channel, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the physical downlink shared channel.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the indication information can implicitly indicate the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal. This not only enables the indication of the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, but also reduces the signaling overhead caused by indicating the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state in the control resource set of the downlink control information that meets the preset conditions.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes one TCI state.

[0014] Based on the above technical solution, when a terminal device monitors a wake-up signal for a period of time, it can do so based on the same TCI status monitoring. Correspondingly, when a network device sends a wake-up signal during the same time period, it also sends the wake-up signal with the same or similar parameters, which can reduce the difficulty for the terminal device to receive the wake-up signal.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes multiple TCI states, the multiple TCI states include a first TCI state and a second TCI state, and the monitoring of the wake-up signal includes: monitoring the wake-up signal in a first time period, the first time period including X1 first time domain units and X2 second time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X1 first time domain units is the first TCI state, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X2 second time domain units is the second TCI state, wherein X1 and X2 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0016] Based on the above technical solution, when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal over a period of time, it can monitor based on different TCI states, such as using different TCI states at different time domain locations. This can enhance the reliability of the wake-up signal transmission. For example, when the channel state corresponding to a certain TCI state is poor, the channel state corresponding to another TCI state may be better.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information includes a first sub-information and a second sub-information, wherein the first sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within the X1 first time domain units and the first sub-information indicates the first TCI state; and the second sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within the X2 second time domain units and the second sub-information indicates the second TCI state.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units overlap at the first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal at the first time domain position is determined based on a preset rule.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the start time of the first time period is the first moment, which is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal begins in response to the indication information, and the end time of the first time period is the moment after the first moment when monitoring the wake-up signal stops.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, receiving the indication information includes: receiving the indication information before the timer expires; monitoring the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes: if the indication information is received before the timer expires, monitoring the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal. Optionally, the method further includes: if the indication information is not received before the timer expires, monitoring the wake-up signal according to a preset TCI state after the timer expires.

[0021] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal device monitors indication information. If indication information is detected before the timer expires, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, and the wake-up signal is monitored based on the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal; if the terminal device does not detect indication information until the timer expires, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the preset TCI state when the timer expires.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the preset TCI state includes one TCI state; or, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, the multiple TCI states including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state; the monitoring of the wake-up signal includes: monitoring the wake-up signal in a second time period, the second time period including X3 third time domain units and X4 fourth time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X3 third time domain units is the first preset TCI state, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X4 fourth time domain units is the second preset TCI state, and X3 and X4 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0023] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state. Before monitoring the wake-up signal, the method further includes: receiving configuration information, the configuration information indicating a wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration including multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations, including a first wake-up signal monitoring configuration and a second wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration being associated with the first preset TCI state, and the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration being associated with the second preset TCI state.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes at least one of the following: quasi-co-addressable QCL type, reference signal, and reference signal resource.

[0025] Secondly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the network side; that is, it can be executed by a network device or by a component of the network device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description mainly uses a network device as an example.

[0026] The method may include: determining indication information, the indication information indicating the start of monitoring a wake-up signal, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal being determined based on the indication information; and sending the indication information.

[0027] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, including: the indication information further indicating the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0028] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, including: the indication information is carried in downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the control resource set of the downlink control information; or, the indication information is carried in the physical downlink shared channel, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the physical downlink shared channel.

[0029] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state in the control resource set of the downlink control information that meets the preset conditions.

[0030] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes one TCI state.

[0031] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes multiple TCI states, including a first TCI state and a second TCI state. Within X1 first time domain units of the first time period, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the first TCI state, and within X2 second time domain units of the first time period, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the second TCI state, where X1 and X2 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0032] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indication information includes a first sub-information and a second sub-information, wherein the first sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within the X1 first time domain units and the first sub-information indicates the first TCI state; and the second sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within the X2 second time domain units and the second sub-information indicates the second TCI state.

[0033] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units overlap at the first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal at the first time domain position is determined based on a preset rule.

[0034] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the start time of the first time period is the first moment, which is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal begins in response to the indication information, and the end time of the first time period is the moment after the first moment when monitoring the wake-up signal stops.

[0035] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes at least one of the following: quasi-co-addressable QCL type, reference signal, and reference signal resource.

[0036] Thirdly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the terminal side; that is, it can be executed by the terminal device or by components of the terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description mainly uses a terminal device as an example.

[0037] The method may include: starting to monitor a wake-up signal based on a timer, wherein the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is a preset TCI state.

[0038] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the preset TCI state includes one TCI state; or, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, the multiple TCI states including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state; the monitoring of the wake-up signal includes: monitoring the wake-up signal in a second time period, the second time period including X3 third time domain units and X4 fourth time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X3 third time domain units is the first preset TCI state, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X4 fourth time domain units is the second preset TCI state, and X3 and X4 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0039] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state. Before monitoring the wake-up signal, the method further includes: receiving configuration information, the configuration information indicating a wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration including multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations, including a first wake-up signal monitoring configuration and a second wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration being associated with the first preset TCI state, and the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration being associated with the second preset TCI state.

[0040] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the first preset TCI state, including: the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes an index of the first preset TCI state; and / or, the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the second preset TCI state, including: the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes an index of the second preset TCI state.

[0041] For the beneficial effects and possible designs of the second and third aspects, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0042] Fourthly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the terminal side; that is, it can be executed by the terminal device or by components of the terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description mainly uses a terminal device as an example.

[0043] The method may include: receiving configuration information, the configuration information indicating a wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration including multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations.

[0044] Fifthly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the network side; that is, it can be executed by a network device or by a component of the network device (such as a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description mainly uses a network device as an example.

[0045] The method may include: sending configuration information, the configuration information indicating a wake-up signal monitoring configuration, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration including multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations.

[0046] Based on the above technical solution, multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations can be configured, so that the terminal device can monitor the wake-up signal based on different wake-up signal monitoring configurations at different times or under different conditions.

[0047] In conjunction with the fourth or fifth aspect, in some implementations, the plurality of wake-up signal monitoring configurations include a first wake-up signal monitoring configuration and a second wake-up signal monitoring configuration, wherein the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the first preset TCI state, and the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the second preset TCI state.

[0048] In conjunction with the fourth or fifth aspect, in some implementations, the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the first preset TCI state, including: the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes an index of the first preset TCI state; and / or, the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the second preset TCI state, including: the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes an index of the second preset TCI state.

[0049] Sixthly, a communication apparatus is provided for performing the methods of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the apparatus may include units and / or modules for performing the methods of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof, such as processing units and / or communication units.

[0050] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0051] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0052] A seventh aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor configured to cause the device to perform any of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0053] Optionally, the at least one processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform the methods of any of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0054] Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions.

[0055] Optionally, the at least one processor is coupled to a memory for storing the computer program or instructions. The memory may be located externally to the device.

[0056] Optionally, the device also includes a communication interface through which the processor reads instructions from memory. This can be understood as the communication interface being coupled to the processor and used to input computer programs or instructions to the processor, or to output information from the processor.

[0057] Unless otherwise specified, or if the transmission and acquisition / reception operations involved do not contradict their actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be understood as output, input, or other operations, or as transmission and reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0058] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0059] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment). Optionally, the chip is a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip.

[0060] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (e.g., program code) or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the methods of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0061] Ninth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0062] A tenth aspect provides a communication system, including a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is configured to execute a method provided in any implementation of the first aspect, and the second communication device is configured to execute a method provided in any implementation of the second aspect; or, the first communication device is configured to execute a method provided in any implementation of the fourth aspect, and the second communication device is configured to execute a method provided in any implementation of the fifth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0063] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0064] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main circuit and the wake-up circuit.

[0065] Figure 3 This is a waveform diagram of a signal modulated using OOK modulation.

[0066] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0067] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and the TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0068] Figure 6 This is another schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0069] Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0070] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a communication method 800 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0071] Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0072] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0073] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1100 provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0074] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Before introducing the scheme of this application, the following points should be noted.

[0076] (1) In this application, "instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, implicit instruction, etc. When describing an instruction information as indicating A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, carries the identifier of A, carries B which is associated with A, carries the identifier of B which is associated with A, etc. In other words, if the receiving side of an instruction information can determine A based on the instruction information, it can be described as the instruction information indicating A, and the specific method of determination is not limited. When it is understood that the instruction information carries A, "instruction" can be replaced with "includes". In this case, a statement such as "send / receive instruction information, the instruction information indicates A" can be replaced with "send / receive A".

[0077] In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. Furthermore, the information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information pieces, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information pieces can be the same or different.

[0078] (2) In this application, the expression " / " is used to indicate that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; for example, A / B can mean: A or B. The expression "and / or" is used to indicate that the objects before and after are in a relationship of either "and" or "or"; for example, A and / or B can mean the following: A exists alone, B exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be single or multiple. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions are used to indicate any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B and / or C can mean the following: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, B and C exist simultaneously, A and C exist simultaneously, A, B and C exist simultaneously, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0079] (3) In this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0080] (4) In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0081] (5) In this application, "first," "second," and "#1," "#2," and "#A" are merely for descriptive convenience and are used to distinguish objects, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. They are not used to describe the order or sequence of features. It should be understood that such described objects can be interchanged where appropriate in order to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application.

[0082] (6) In this application, "predefined" can mean a standard protocol predefined, or it can mean a pre-agreed or pre-negotiated agreement between devices. Here, "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include fourth-generation (4G) protocols. th Generation 4G network, fifth generation (5G) network th This application does not limit the scope to network protocols such as 5G (generation, 5G), New Radio (NR), 5.5G, and related protocols applied in future communication networks.

[0083] (7) In this application, the words “exemplary,” “for example,” etc., are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as an “example” in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word “example” is intended to present the concept in a concrete manner. In the embodiments of this application, “of,” “corresponding, relevant,” and “corresponding” may sometimes be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that their intended meanings are consistent unless their distinction is emphasized.

[0084] First, let me introduce the communication system to which this application applies.

[0085] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, and LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication network systems. Furthermore, the technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as inter-satellite communication and satellite communication.

[0086] As an example, a satellite communication system includes a satellite base station and terminal equipment. The satellite base station provides communication services to the terminal equipment. Satellite base stations can also communicate with each other. A satellite can act as a base station or as a terminal device. Here, "satellite" can refer to drones, hot air balloons, low-Earth orbit satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, high-Earth orbit satellites, etc. "Satellite" can also refer to non-terrestrial base stations or non-terrestrial equipment.

[0087] As an example, V2X communication can include: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication.

[0088] In a communication system, a device can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This application uses a device as an example for description.

[0089] The terminal device in this application embodiment can be a device or module that accesses the aforementioned communication system and has corresponding communication functions. The terminal device can include various devices with wireless communication capabilities, which can be used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as: cellular communication, D2D, V2X, peer-to-peer (P2P), M2M, MTC, IoT, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery, etc. The terminal device can be a terminal in any of the above scenarios, such as an MTC terminal, an IoT terminal, etc. Terminal equipment can be user equipment (UE), terminal, fixed equipment, mobile station equipment or mobile equipment, subscriber unit, handheld device, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable device, cellular phone, smartphone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless data card, personal digital assistant (PDA), computer, tablet computer, laptop computer, wireless modem, handset, laptop computer, computer with wireless transceiver capability, smart book, vehicle, satellite, global positioning system (GPS) device, target tracking device, aircraft (e.g., drone, helicopter, multiple helicopters, four helicopters, or airplanes), ship, remote control device, smart home device, industrial equipment, transportation vehicle with wireless communication capability, communication module, or roadside unit with terminal function, all conforming to the 3GPP standard. The device may be a wireless communication unit (RSU), or a device built into the aforementioned device (e.g., a communication module, modem, or chip in the aforementioned device), or other processing devices connected to the wireless modem.

[0090] It should be understood that in certain scenarios, a UE can also be used as a base station. For example, a UE can act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signaling between UEs in scenarios such as V2X, D2D, or P2P.

[0091] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of a terminal device, i.e., the terminal device, can be the terminal device itself, or it can be any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, chip, circuit, or communication module (i.e., a communication module that performs communication functions). This device can be installed in the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. Furthermore, the device can also be configured with program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions.

[0092] The network device in this application embodiment can be a device or module with corresponding communication functions. The network device can be a device used to communicate with terminal devices; it can also be called an access network device or a wireless access network device, such as a base station. In this application embodiment, the network device can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to the wireless network. A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitter, master station, auxiliary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center, a device that performs base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network-side device in future communication networks, or a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. A base station can support networks using the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the network equipment.

[0093] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another base station.

[0094] In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be devices including CU, or DU, or devices including CU and DU, or devices with control plane CU nodes (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and user plane CU nodes (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and DU nodes.

[0095] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, or radio units (RUs). CUs and DUs can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as RRUs, AAUs, or RRHs.

[0096] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, a radio access network can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. In an O-RAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0097] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself, or a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, chip, circuit, or communication module (i.e., a communication module that performs communication functions). This device can be installed within the network device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. Furthermore, the device can be configured with program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions. This embodiment only uses a network device as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of a network device, and does not limit the solution of this embodiment.

[0098] Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on airplanes, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the scenario in which the network devices and terminal devices are located.

[0099] Combination Figure 1 The communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application is briefly described below.

[0100] See Figure 1 As an example, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system includes a wireless access network 100. The wireless access network 100 can be a next-generation (e.g., future or later) wireless access network, or a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G) wireless access network. One or more terminal devices (120a-120j, collectively referred to as 120) can be interconnected or connected to one or more network devices (110a, 110b, collectively referred to as 110) within the wireless access network 100. Network elements in the wireless communication system are connected via interfaces (e.g., NG, Xn) or over-the-air interfaces.

[0101] When network devices and terminal devices communicate, the network device can manage one or more cells, and a cell can include at least one terminal device. A cell can be understood as an area within the wireless signal coverage range of the network device.

[0102] Figure 1 This is just an illustration; the wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as core network equipment, wireless relay equipment, and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 1 It is not shown in the middle.

[0103] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terms used in this application will be briefly explained.

[0104] 1. Wake-up circuit: Also known as a wake-up receiver / radio (WUR), low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR), or wake-up module, it can be understood as a single, low-power small circuit, such as the circuit used by a terminal device in the idle state. This low-power small circuit can be implemented using a simple, single small circuit or chip with low power consumption. It is understood that the term "wake-up circuit" is merely a designation for differentiation, and its specific naming does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, without loss of generality, a wake-up circuit can also be described as a first circuit (or first module). The following description will uniformly refer to it as a wake-up circuit.

[0105] The signal received by the terminal device through the wake-up circuit can be referred to as being transmitted on the wake-up link. The wake-up link represents a connection relationship between the terminal device and the network device; it is a logical concept, not a physical entity. It is understood that the term "wake-up link" is merely a designation for differentiation, and its specific naming does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, without loss of generality, a wake-up link can also be described as a first link. Hereinafter, it will be uniformly referred to as a wake-up link.

[0106] The signal received by the terminal device using the wake-up circuit can be called a wake-up signal (WUS) or a low-power wake-up signal (LP-WUS). It is understood that the term "wake-up signal" is merely a designation for differentiation, and its specific name does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, without loss of generality, a wake-up signal can also be called a signal. The following description will consistently use "wake-up signal".

[0107] 2. Main Circuit: Also known as the main receiver (MR) or main module, it can be understood as the circuit used by the terminal device during normal data transmission, or the circuit used by the terminal device during data transmission in a connected state. The terminal device consumes a significant amount of power when transmitting data through the main circuit. It is understood that the term "main circuit" is merely a designation for differentiation and does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, without loss of generality, the main circuit can also be described as a second circuit (or second module). The following text will uniformly describe it as the main circuit.

[0108] Signals received by a terminal device through the main circuit can be referred to as being transmitted on the main link. The main link represents a connection between the terminal device and the network device; it is a logical concept, not a physical entity. It is understood that the term "main link" is merely a designation for distinction, and its specific naming does not limit the scope of protection of this application. For example, without loss of generality, the main link can also be described as a second link. The following text will uniformly refer to it as the main link.

[0109] In the following text, for the sake of distinction, the signals transmitted by the main circuit of the terminal device will be referred to as data signals.

[0110] See Figure 2 As an example, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main circuit and the wake-up circuit.

[0111] like Figure 2 As shown, the terminal device can receive (or detect, or monitor) a wake-up signal through a wake-up circuit, and can receive data signals through the main circuit. Assume the terminal device receives a wake-up signal through the wake-up circuit. If the terminal device does not detect a wake-up signal, it continues to receive wake-up signals through the wake-up circuit, and the main circuit can be in a closed state (or sleep state). If the terminal device detects a wake-up signal, it triggers the main circuit to wake up, that is, it puts the main circuit into / switches to an on state (or working state, or active state). After the main circuit is turned on, the terminal device can transmit data signals through the main circuit.

[0112] 3. On-Off-Key (OOK) Modulation: This modulates information based on whether a signal is transmitted or not. The corresponding wake-up circuit can use envelope detection to receive the signal. OOK modulation technology can be demodulated using a low-complexity receiver, thus achieving the low-power goal of the wake-up circuit. To ensure power efficiency, the wake-up signal can use OOK modulation. It is understood that other modulation methods can also be used for the wake-up signal; there are no restrictions on this.

[0113] When a signal is modulated using OOK, each bit (i.e., the encoded bit) corresponds to a symbol. Equivalently, a symbol can also be called a chip, or any other name, which is not limited here.

[0114] For example, when a bit is "1", a signal is transmitted within the symbol length (i.e., the signal transmission power within that symbol length is not 0); when a bit is "0", no signal is transmitted within the symbol length (i.e., the signal transmission power within that symbol length is 0). Alternatively, it can be understood that in OOK modulation, transmitting energy represents "1", and not transmitting energy represents "0".

[0115] For example, when the bit is "0", a signal is transmitted within the symbol length (i.e., the signal transmission power within that symbol length is not 0); when the bit is "1", no signal is transmitted within the symbol length (i.e., the signal transmission power within that symbol length is 0). Alternatively, it can be understood that in OOK modulation, transmitting energy represents "0", and not transmitting energy represents "1".

[0116] For ease of description, the following text will primarily use the example of a signal being emitted within the symbol length when the bit is "1" and no signal being emitted within the symbol length when the bit is "0" as an example for illustration.

[0117] Furthermore, for ease of description, if a symbol emits a signal, it is denoted as an ON symbol; if a symbol emits no signal, it is denoted as an OFF symbol. Taking the example that when a bit is "1", a signal is emitted within the length of the symbol; and when a bit is "0", no signal is emitted within the length of the symbol, the ON symbol represents an information bit of "1", and the OFF symbol represents an information bit of "0". The ON symbol can also be called an ON signal, and the OFF symbol can also be called an OFF signal; for consistency, the ON and OFF symbols will be used in the following descriptions.

[0118] Wherein, the signal amplitude of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the signal amplitude of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to a second threshold; or, in other words, the signal amplitude of the ON symbol is greater than the signal amplitude of the OFF symbol; or, within a preset time period, the signal amplitude of the ON symbol is greater than the signal amplitude of the OFF symbol; or, within a preset time period, the signal power of the ON symbol is greater than the signal power of the OFF symbol; or, within a preset time period, the signal power of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the signal power of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold; or, within a preset time period, the signal power of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the signal power of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold; or, within a preset time period, the signal power of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the signal amplitude of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold. The signal power of the FF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold; or, the signal level of the ON symbol is greater than the signal level of the OFF symbol; or, within a preset time period, the signal level of the ON symbol is greater than the signal level of the OFF symbol; or, the signal level of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the signal level of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold; or, within a preset time period, the signal level of the ON symbol is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the signal level of the OFF symbol is less than or equal to the second threshold; or, the ON symbol indicates (or corresponds to, or represents) the first bit value, and the OFF symbol indicates (or corresponds to, or represents) the second bit value. Wherein, the first bit value and the second bit value are different. For example, the first bit value is "1", and the second bit value is "0".

[0119] Furthermore, the OOK symbol mentioned below refers to a symbol obtained by OOK modulation. An OOK symbol can be either an ON symbol or an OFF symbol. For example, if the information bit is "1", the OOK symbol obtained by OOK modulation is an ON symbol; if the information bit is "0", the OOK symbol obtained by OOK modulation is an OFF symbol. The OOK symbol can also be called an OOK signal; for consistency, it will be described as an OOK symbol below.

[0120] See Figure 3 As an example, Figure 3 This is a waveform diagram of a signal modulated using OOK modulation.

[0121] As an example, suppose that when the bit is "1", a signal is emitted within the OOK symbol length; and when the bit is "0", no signal is emitted within the OOK symbol length. Figure 3 The waveform shown can represent the four bits "0100", meaning the first is the OFF sign, the second is the ON sign, and the third and fourth are both OFF signs. For example... Figure 3 As shown, communication systems typically use a specific frequency to transmit signals, which need to be modulated onto a carrier wave. At the receiving end, the receiver detects the envelope (or energy) of the received signal to determine whether the OOK symbol corresponds to a bit "0" or a bit "1", thus completing demodulation.

[0122] After a signal passes through a channel, it may be distorted due to factors such as channel conditions. Therefore, to determine whether the signal corresponds to a bit "0" or a bit "1", the receiver can compare the received signal level with a threshold. For example, if the received signal level is greater than the threshold, it means the signal corresponds to a bit "1"; if the received signal level is less than the threshold, it means the signal corresponds to a bit "0". However, setting the threshold is difficult. For instance, an inappropriate threshold selection may lead to demodulation errors. To solve this problem, one possible approach is to use Manchester encoding.

[0123] Manchester encoding is a biphase encoding method that uses high-low level switching to represent bits "0" or "1". For example, Manchester encoding can encode a raw bit "0" as bit "10" and a raw bit "1" as bit "01". To distinguish them, the encoded bits, such as bits "10" and "01", are called encoded bits. When transmitting a signal, the transmitter can use two OOK symbols to send one bit of original information. If the raw bit "0" is encoded as bit "10" and the raw bit "1" is encoded as bit "01", then the raw bit "0" corresponds to one ON symbol followed by one OFF symbol, and the raw bit "1" corresponds to one OFF symbol followed by one ON symbol. When demodulating the Manchester-encoded signal, the receiver can compare the relative magnitude of the signal power (or signal amplitude) within two adjacent OOK symbols. If the signal power (or signal amplitude) in the preceding OOK symbol is greater than that in the following OOK symbol, the received information bit is considered "0"; otherwise, it is considered "1". In this way, we can avoid using an absolute threshold to make a decision.

[0124] It is understood that the above example of encoding a raw bit "0" as bit "10" and a raw bit "1" as bit "01" is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, a raw bit "0" can be encoded as bit "01" and a raw bit "1" can be encoded as bit "10".

[0125] 4. Wake-up Signal Monitoring: In connected mode, before the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal, the network device configures the relevant parameters of the wake-up signal. These configuration parameters may include at least one of the following: the time-domain monitoring location of the wake-up signal (e.g., monitoring occasion (MO)), the frequency-domain resource location of the wake-up signal, the signal length of the wake-up signal, and the format of the wake-up signal. The time-domain monitoring location of the wake-up signal refers to the time-domain resource location for monitoring the wake-up signal, such as the wake-up signal occasion or low-power wake-up signal occasion (LP-WUSoccasion, LO). An LO may include one or more MOs; that is, the time-domain monitoring location of the wake-up signal may include one or more MOs. An MO can also be called a wake-up signal MO (LP-WUS MO). An MO can be the basic time unit when the wake-up circuit is operating. A wake-up signal may occupy one or more MOs. MO and OFDM symbol are similar concepts; that is, an MO is a unit of time-domain resource scheduling (e.g., the smallest unit), meaning that one time unit (or time-domain unit) can be one MO. As an example, an MO includes one or more OOK symbols, or an MO includes one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, etc.

[0126] In connected mode, after the network device has configured the relevant parameters for the wake-up signal, the terminal device may not immediately begin monitoring the wake-up signal, but may only begin monitoring it under certain circumstances. Two possible scenarios are described below.

[0127] In one possible scenario, the network device instructs the terminal device to begin monitoring the wake-up signal via Layer 1 / L2 signaling. This L1 / L2 signaling can be, for example, downlink control information (DCI) or a media access control (MAC) control element (CE). For instance, the network device sends a DCI or MAC CE specifically to instruct the terminal device to begin monitoring the wake-up signal; correspondingly, upon receiving this instruction, the terminal device switches from monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to monitoring the wake-up signal. In some cases, when the terminal device is more capable, it may simultaneously monitor the PDCCH and the wake-up signal, meaning the terminal device continuously monitors the wake-up signal. In this case, the Layer 1 / L2 signaling can be interpreted as instructing the cessation of PDCCH monitoring.

[0128] The second possible scenario involves controlling when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal through certain conditions. For example, a timer can be used to control the terminal device's monitoring of the wake-up signal; when the timer expires, the terminal device switches from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. Similarly, if the terminal device is more capable, it may be able to monitor both the PDCCH and the wake-up signal simultaneously, meaning the terminal device always maintains monitoring of the wake-up signal. In this case, the timer can be understood as triggering the cessation of PDCCH monitoring.

[0129] 5. Quasi-co-location (QCL): Also known as quasi-co-location, it is used to define the relationship between antenna ports. Since antenna ports are defined by reference signals (RS), QCL essentially refers to the relationship between reference signals. One reason for introducing QCL is that reference signals cannot be too dense, so some characteristics may not be measurable. Therefore, in such cases, QCL relationships can be used to obtain corresponding features from other reference signals, reducing the density of reference signals.

[0130] Signals with a QCL relationship have the same parameters, or the signals corresponding to antenna ports with a QCL relationship have the same parameters, or the parameters of one antenna port can be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port with a QCL relationship with that antenna port, or the two antenna ports have the same parameters, or the parameter difference between the two antenna ports is less than a certain threshold. The parameters may include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters.

[0131] As an example, QCL relations can be classified into four types based on different parameters: type A, type B, type C, and type D.

[0132] Type A: Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread. As an example, the QCL relationship of type A can be used to obtain channel estimation information, such as Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread, enabling terminal equipment to obtain a comprehensive description of the characteristics of the reference signal (such as the demodulation reference signal, DMRS) for channel demodulation.

[0133] Type B: Doppler frequency shift, Doppler spread. As an example, the QCL relationship of type B can be used to obtain channel estimation information, such as Doppler frequency shift and Doppler spread.

[0134] Type C: Doppler frequency shift, average time delay. As an example, the QCL relationship of type C can be used to obtain measurement information such as reference signal receiving power (RSRP), and integrate Doppler frequency shift and time delay characteristics from the reference signal for further precise time-frequency domain synchronization.

[0135] Type D: Spatial Receiver Parameters. As an example, the QCL relationship of type D can be used to assist terminal equipment beamforming. For instance, the terminal equipment can use spatial parameter information obtained from the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) that satisfies the QCL relationship to assist in terminal equipment beamforming for receiving and demodulating the PDCCH and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0136] As an example, spatial reception parameters may include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average departure angle AOD, AOD spread, receive antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0137] 6. Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI): This indicator can be used to indicate the TCI state (TCI-state or TCI state). The TCI-state can be used to indicate the QCL relationship between two reference signals. A TCI-state can be identified by a TCI-state index; in other words, a TCI-state index can uniquely identify a TCI-state.

[0138] A TCI-state includes several parameters. As an example, each TCI-state includes its own TCI-stateindex and at least one QCL information (QCL-Info). As an example, each QCL-Info (or each TCI-state) includes: a reference signal resource identifier (or an identifier of the reference signal), and the associated QCL type (qcl-Type), which indicates which type of QCL relationship is formed with which reference signal resource.

[0139] Reference signal resources can be used to configure the transmission attributes of reference signals, such as time-frequency resource location, port mapping relationships, power factors, and scrambling codes. The transmitting end can send reference signals based on reference signal resources, and the receiving end can receive reference signals based on reference signal resources. To distinguish different reference signal resources, each reference signal resource can correspond to a reference signal resource identifier. The reference signal resources in TCI-state refer to the reference signal resources used during beam training. Since network devices send reference signals through different transmit beams based on different reference signal resources during beam training, reference signals sent through different transmit beams can be associated with different reference signal resources; similarly, terminal devices receive reference signals through different receive beams based on different reference signal resources, and reference signals received through different receive beams can also be associated with different reference signal resources. Therefore, during beam training, terminal devices can maintain the correspondence between reference signal resource identifiers and receive beams, and network devices can maintain the correspondence between reference signal resource identifiers and transmit beams. Through the reference signal resource identifier, a pairing relationship between receive beams and transmit beams can be established.

[0140] Among them, qcl-Type can have four values: {typeA, typeB, typeC, typeD}.

[0141] In data transmission and channel measurement, beams can be mapped to reference signal resources, such as one beam corresponding to one reference signal resource. Therefore, the QCL relationship with a reference signal resource can also refer to the QCL relationship with a beam.

[0142] Here is a specific example. Suppose a TCI-state includes:

[0143] type 1: source RS1->QCL type X;

[0144] type 2: source RS2->QCL type Y.

[0145] This indicates that the TCI-state has a QCL relationship of type X with the source RS1, and the TCI-state has a QCL relationship of type Y with the source RS2. Here, type X is one of type A, type B, type C, and type D, and type Y is one of type A, type B, type C, and type D. Type X and type Y may be the same or different, and are not limited.

[0146] The following example illustrates the use of TCI-state.

[0147] Network devices can configure a TCI-state associated with a channel or signal (e.g., signal B) to terminal devices via signaling (such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling). Based on the aforementioned TCI-state configuration method, assuming the TCI-state includes reference signal A -> QCL type D, then after the terminal device performs channel estimation based on reference signal A, it can determine what reception parameters or signal processing methods should be used when receiving signal B.

[0148] Taking signal B as the PDCCH as an example, let's explain how the TCI state associated with the PDCCH is determined. When a terminal device monitors the PDCCH, it can do so based on the search space. The configuration information of the search space can associate a search space with a control resource set (CORESET). The configuration information of the CORESET contains one or more TCI-state indices, associating a CORESET with a reference signal. Therefore, when the terminal device receives the PDCCH, the reception parameters of that PDCCH can be determined based on the position of receiving the PDCCH (determined by the search space and the CORESET).

[0149] When a CORESET's configuration information includes a TCI-state index, the PDCCH monitoring associated with that CORESET determines the QCL information based on the TCI-state identified by that TCI-state index. When a CORESET's configuration information includes multiple TCI-state indices, the network device can activate one of the multiple TCI-states through a signaling (such as MAC CE), and the activated TCI-state can be used to determine the QCL information.

[0150] When a terminal device monitors the PDCCH, it can perform monitoring based on multiple search spaces. Different search spaces can be associated with different cores, and different cores can be associated with different TCI-states. Therefore, when monitoring the PDCCH, the terminal device may determine different QCL information at different monitoring locations, and further determine monitoring parameters based on the determined QCL information, and then monitor the PDCCH based on these monitoring parameters.

[0151] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments provided by this application can be applied to the scenarios shown in the above figures and are not limited thereto. Furthermore, the terms used below are explained in the preceding text and will not be repeated hereafter. For ease of description, terminal devices and network devices are used as examples for illustrative purposes. The terminal device can be replaced by a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (e.g., a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module), and the network device can be replaced by a component of a network device (e.g., a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module). Furthermore, the steps described below as being performed by a single execution entity can also be divided into steps performed by multiple execution entities, which can be logically and / or physically separated.

[0152] See Figure 4 As an example, Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 The method 400 shown may include the following steps.

[0153] Method 400 includes step S430. Optionally, method 400 includes steps S410 and S420.

[0154] S410, the terminal device receives an instruction message indicating that it should start monitoring the wake-up signal.

[0155] For example, the indication information may be L1 / L2 signaling. In other words, the terminal device receives L1 / L2 signaling, which instructs the terminal device to start monitoring for wake-up signals. L1 / L2 signaling can be, for example, DCI or MAC CE. As another example, the indication information may be RRC signaling. In other words, the terminal device receives RRC signaling (e.g., RRC signaling configuring wake-up signal parameters), which instructs the terminal device to start monitoring for wake-up signals.

[0156] The specific content of the instruction information is not limited; any scheme in which the terminal device determines to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the instruction information is applicable to the embodiments of this application. For example, the instruction information indicates to start monitoring the wake-up signal; another example is that the instruction information indicates to stop monitoring the PDCCH; yet another example is that the instruction information indicates to switch from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. In the embodiments of this application, the description involving "start monitoring the wake-up signal" can be replaced with any of the following: stop monitoring the PDCCH, or switch from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. For example, the terminal device determining to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the timer can be replaced with: the terminal device determining to stop monitoring the PDCCH based on the timer; or it can be replaced with: the terminal device determining to switch from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal based on the timer. Further details will not be elaborated upon below.

[0157] The above S410 is an illustrative example, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. In other words, the terminal device may also determine whether to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on other methods. For example, the terminal device may determine whether to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on some implicit conditions (such as a timer). For example, after the timer expires, the terminal device switches from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. In the embodiments of this application, the description involving "timer timeout" can be replaced with any of the following: the timer's timing duration reaches the first duration, and the timer stops timing. "After timer timeout" and "before timer timeout" can be replaced with "timer has timed out" and "timer has not timed out," respectively. This will not be elaborated further below.

[0158] S420, the terminal device determines the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0159] Specifically, the terminal device determines the TCI-state index associated with the wake-up signal, thereby obtaining the information contained in that TCI-state. Optionally, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal includes at least one of the following parameters: a reference signal (such as an identifier of the reference signal), a reference signal resource (such as a reference signal resource identifier), and an associated QCL type, indicating which reference signal constitutes which type of QCL relationship. A TCI-state may include one reference signal and its associated QCL type, or it may include multiple reference signals and the QCL types associated with each reference signal; this is not limited.

[0160] The TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, or the TCI-state of the wake-up signal, indicates that the wake-up signal and the reference signal (or reference signal resource) in that TCI-state have a QCL relationship. For example, if the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal includes a QCL type (such as type X) and signal #1, then it means that the wake-up signal and signal #1 have a QCL relationship of type X, where type X is one of type A, type B, type C, or type D.

[0161] As an example, the terminal device determines the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal in any of the following ways.

[0162] One possible implementation is that the terminal device determines the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on indication information. Specifically, the indication information indicates the start of wake-up signal monitoring, and also indicates the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0163] Another possible implementation is that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is preset (or configured, pre-configured, default, or predefined). Specifically, the network device configures the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal before the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal. When the terminal device needs to start monitoring the wake-up signal, such as when it determines to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on indication information or a timer, the terminal device can directly monitor the wake-up signal based on this pre-configured TCI-state. For example, the network device can configure this pre-configured TCI-state via RRC signaling.

[0164] Another possible implementation involves the terminal device determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on a preset rule. As an example, this preset rule could be: determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the last received signaling or signal (such as a signaling or signal received through the main circuit, referred to as signaling #A or signal #A for distinction) before monitoring the wake-up signal begins. In this case, the terminal device determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the preset rule can be replaced with: the terminal device determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the last received signaling or signal before monitoring the wake-up signal begins. Here, signaling #A or signal #A can be, for example, any of the following: PDCCH, PDSCH, reference signal (such as a synchronization signal block (SSB) or CSI-RS, etc.), etc. Specifically, the terminal device can determine the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the last received signaling #A or signal #A (or the TCI-state associated with signaling #A or signal #A) before monitoring the wake-up signal begins. For example, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. As another example, the TCI-state of the last PDSCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Yet another example, the TCI-state of the last reference signal received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0165] The three methods mentioned above will be explained in detail later.

[0166] S430: The terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0167] In one possible scenario, method 400 includes step S410, whereby the terminal device, in response to the instruction information, begins monitoring a wake-up signal. The timing of the terminal device monitoring the wake-up signal is not limited. For example, the terminal device may monitor the wake-up signal directly after receiving the instruction information; or, for another example, the terminal device may begin monitoring the wake-up signal some time after receiving the instruction information.

[0168] Another possible scenario is that the terminal device determines to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the timer timeout. In other words, after the timer expires, the terminal device starts to switch from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal.

[0169] Another possible scenario is that the terminal device starts monitoring for the wake-up signal in response to an instruction message during a certain time period (e.g., the first time period), and then determines to start monitoring for the wake-up signal based on a timer timeout during another time period (e.g., the second time period). This scenario will be discussed further below. Figure 8 Detailed explanation.

[0170] The above scenarios are illustrative examples, and the embodiments of this application do not limit the conditions for triggering the terminal device to monitor the wake-up signal.

[0171] Optionally, in S430, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal according to the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, including: the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal for a period of time (such as a first time period or a second time period) according to the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0172] For ease of description, we will use time period #A. Time period #A (e.g., the first time period, or the second time period) represents the time-domain monitoring position of the wake-up signal. The start time of time period #A is the first time, which is the moment when wake-up signal monitoring begins in response to the indication information. The end time of time period #A is the moment after the first time when wake-up signal monitoring stops. Alternatively, time period #A starts at the first time, which is the moment when wake-up signal monitoring begins in response to the indication information. The interval between the end time of time period #A and the second time is greater than or equal to a preset value. The end time of time period #A is before the second time. The second time is the moment after the first time when PDCCH monitoring first begins. The preset value is greater than or equal to 0. In other words, time period #A can be understood as: the time period from the start of wake-up signal monitoring to the start of PDCCH monitoring; or the time period from the start of switching from PDCCH monitoring to wake-up signal monitoring until the start of PDCCH monitoring again.

[0173] See Figure 5 As an example, Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and the TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 5 As shown, time period #A is either time period #A1 or time period #A2.

[0174] Taking TCI-state#A as the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal as an example, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on TCI-state#A, which can be interpreted as: the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the QCL information in TCI-state#A; or, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the QCL relationship indicated by TCI-state#A. Specifically, the terminal device determines the QCL information (or QCL relationship) of the wake-up signal based on TCI-state#A, and then monitors the wake-up signal based on this QCL information.

[0175] For example, when the QCL relationship in TCI-state#A is configured as one of type A, B, or C, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on TCI-state#A. This can be understood as the terminal device demodulating the wake-up signal according to the indication of TCI-state#A.

[0176] For example, when the QCL relationship in TCI-state#A is configured as type D, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on TCI-state#A. This can be understood as the terminal device determining the receiving parameters (such as the receiving beam) according to the indication of TCI-state#A, and then receiving the wake-up signal based on these receiving parameters. As an example, the terminal device can determine the receiving beam of the wake-up signal based on the TCI field in the DCI on the PDCCH.

[0177] For ease of description, in some embodiments below, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the TCI-state, and it is sometimes described as: the terminal device uses the TCI-state when monitoring the wake-up signal.

[0178] Optionally, method 400 further includes: the terminal device receiving configuration information for N TCI-states, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal in S420 belongs to one of the N TCI-states. For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is one of the N TCI-states; or, for another example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is multiple TCI-states among the N TCI-states.

[0179] As an example, the configuration information for each TCI-state includes at least one of the following parameters: reference signal (such as the identifier of the reference signal), reference signal resource (such as the identifier of the reference signal resource), and the associated QCL type. The configuration information for a TCI-state may include the identifier of a reference signal and the associated QCL type, or it may include the identifiers of multiple reference signals and the QCL types associated with each reference signal, without limitation.

[0180] The above is an illustrative example, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. In other words, the terminal device may also obtain the configuration information of N TCI-states through other means. As an example, the configuration information of N TCI-states is pre-configured on the terminal device side, that is, the configuration information of the N TCI-states has been configured on the terminal device side before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal.

[0181] Optionally, the wake-up signal may be associated with one TCI-state; or the wake-up signal may be associated with multiple TCI-states. These two methods are described in detail below.

[0182] The first possible implementation involves the wake-up signal being associated with a single TCI-state. This means that the wake-up signal is associated with only one TCI-state, indicating that the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the same TCI-state during a continuous period (i.e., time period #A). The terminal device monitoring the wake-up signal during this continuous period does not mean that the terminal device is constantly monitoring the wake-up signal; rather, it means that during this period, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal, not the PDCCH.

[0183] by Figure 5 For example, when a terminal device monitors a wake-up signal within time period #A1, it monitors the wake-up signal based on the same TCI-state (i.e., TCI-state #1); similarly, when a terminal device monitors a wake-up signal within time period #A2, it monitors the wake-up signal based on the same TCI-state (i.e., TCI-state #2). Furthermore, the terminal device can continuously monitor the wake-up signal within time period #A1 or time period A2, or it can monitor the wake-up signal discontinuously. For example, ... Figure 5 As shown in (a), the terminal device continuously monitors the wake-up signal during time periods #A1 and #A2. For example, as... Figure 5 As shown in (b), the terminal device discontinuously monitors the wake-up signal during time periods #A1 and #A2. For example, as... Figure 5 As shown in (c), the terminal device continuously monitors the wake-up signal during time period #A1 and discontinuously monitors the wake-up signal during time period #A2.

[0184] The second possible implementation involves multiple TCI-states associated with the wake-up signal. This means that when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal within a continuous time period (i.e., time period #A), it monitors the wake-up signal based on different TCI-states. For distinction, these multiple TCI-states are referred to as P TCI-states, where P is an integer greater than 1. When the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal within time period #A, it can monitor the wake-up signal based on different TCI-states in different time domain units. For example, the P TCI-states include a first TCI-state and a second TCI-state. In S430, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal within the first time period (i.e., time period #A), which includes X1 first time domain units and X2 second time domain units. Within X1 first time-domain units, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the first TCI-state, and within X2 second time-domain units, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the second TCI-state, where X1 and X2 are integers greater than or equal to 1. In other words, within X1 first time-domain units, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the first TCI-state, and within X2 second time-domain units, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the second TCI-state. The unit of a time-domain unit (such as a first time-domain unit or a second time-domain unit) can be, for example, MO, where one time-domain unit can be one MO.

[0185] See Figure 6 As an example, Figure 6 This is another schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 6 As shown, during the period when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal (e.g. Figure 5 The time period #A1 or time period #A2 shown may employ multiple TCI-states. For example, when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal in the first time domain unit, it employs the first TCI-state; when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal in the second time domain unit, it employs the second TCI-state. As an example, the first TCI-state may be indicated by the first sub-information in the indication information, and the second TCI-state may be indicated by the second sub-information in the indication information; alternatively, the first TCI-state and the second TCI-state may be preset; this will be explained in detail later in conjunction with the terminal device determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0186] Based on this implementation, overlapping time-domain units may occur, such as the first and second time-domain units coinciding at a certain time-domain location. If multiple time-domain units overlap, one possible implementation is for the terminal device to determine the TCI-state at the overlapping location based on preset rules. For example, if X1 first time-domain units and X2 second time-domain units overlap at a first time-domain location, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal at that first time-domain location is determined based on preset rules. Therefore, if different time-domain units overlap at a certain time-domain location (e.g., the first time-domain location), the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal at that first time-domain location can be determined based on preset rules.

[0187] See Figure 7 As an example, Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the wake-up signal and TCI-state applicable to embodiments of this application. For example... Figure 7 As shown, because the periods of the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit are different, the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit overlap at the first time domain position. The TCI-state#B used by the terminal device at the first time domain position is determined based on preset rules.

[0188] As an example, the default rules include any of the following: selecting the TCI-state with the smallest TCI-state index, selecting the TCI-state with the largest TCI-state index, selecting the TCI-state with the largest configuration index, and selecting the TCI-state with the smallest configuration index. Taking the default rule of selecting the TCI-state with the smallest TCI-state index as an example... Figure 7 As shown, assuming the index of the first TCI-state is less than the index of the second TCI-state, then the TCI-state#B associated with the wake-up signal at the first time domain position is the first TCI-state, that is, the terminal device uses the first TCI-state when monitoring the wake-up signal at the first time domain position.

[0189] As an example, a terminal device may determine the TCI-state associated with a wake-up signal in any of the following ways.

[0190] One possible implementation involves the network device instructing the terminal device to indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal before each time the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal. Specifically, the QCL relationship of the wake-up signal may dynamically change due to changes in the terminal device's location or channel environment, such as the dynamic changes in the reference signal (or reference signal resource) with a QCL relationship to the wake-up signal. Therefore, when or before the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal, the network device can indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal to the terminal device. In this way, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, i.e., the QCL relationship of the wake-up signal, can be dynamically adjusted. For example, each time the network device instructs the terminal device to begin monitoring the wake-up signal, it dynamically adjusts the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the actual situation and indicates the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal for this (or this round) to the terminal device.

[0191] Optionally, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal in S420 is determined based on the indication information; in other words, the indication information in S410 also indicates the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Therefore, when the network device instructs the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal, it simultaneously indicates the TCI-state associated with this wake-up signal.

[0192] The following explanation will consider two scenarios.

[0193] One possible scenario is that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is a single TCI-state.

[0194] In this case, the indication information in S410 indicates a TCI-state. Figure 5 For example, each time a terminal device switches from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal, the network device indicates the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal to the terminal device. For instance, if the terminal device is monitoring the PDCCH and receives the indication, it starts switching from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. The indication indicates that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is TCI-state #1. Therefore, when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal, i.e., during time period #A1, it monitors the wake-up signal based on TCI-state #1. As another example, if the terminal device is monitoring the PDCCH and receives the indication, it starts switching from monitoring the PDCCH to monitoring the wake-up signal. The indication indicates that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is TCI-state #2. Therefore, when the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal, i.e. during time period #A2, it monitors the wake-up signal based on TCI-state #2.

[0195] The above is an illustrative example, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. For example, the signaling instructing the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal and the signaling instructing the TCI-state can also be different signals. As another example, before S410, the network device can first instruct the terminal device on the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0196] Another possible scenario is that the wake-up signal is associated with multiple TCI-states.

[0197] Taking two TCI-states (i.e., the first TCI-state and the second TCI-state mentioned above) as an example, optionally, the indication information includes a first sub-information (or first information) and a second sub-information (or second information). The first sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X1 first time-domain units, and the first sub-information indicates the first TCI-state; the second sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X2 second time-domain units, and the second sub-information indicates the second TCI-state. The terminal device can determine the first TCI-state and the second TCI-state based on this indication information.

[0198] The first sub-information and the second sub-information can be carried in the same signaling or in different signaling, without limitation.

[0199] The above section described two scenarios: associating the wake-up signal with one TCI-state and associating it with multiple TCI-states. The following section uses the example of an indication message indicating the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal to illustrate the specific methods for this indication. Specifically, the indication message can explicitly indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, or it can implicitly indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Several examples are provided below.

[0200] Example 1: The indication information indicates the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. For example, the indication information indicates the index of the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Based on this, the indication information can explicitly indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0201] Example 2: The indication information is carried in the DCI, and the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state of the CORESET where the DCI is located. Based on this, the indication information can implicitly indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0202] Here, CORESET represents the set of resources used to transmit downlink control information, also known as a control resource area or physical downlink control channel resource set. Specifically, a control channel can be divided into one or more CORESETs, and each CORESET can be a set of resource-element groups (REGs). Terminal equipment can monitor the PDCCH on one or more CORESETs.

[0203] When a terminal device monitors the PDCCH, it can do so based on the search space. The search space represents the set of candidate downlink control channels that the terminal device needs to monitor. A situation may arise where the DCI containing the indication information is located in an overlapping region of multiple search spaces, and these multiple search spaces correspond to different TCI-states (e.g., these multiple searches correspond to different CORESETs, and different CORESETs are associated with different TCI-states). In this case, as an example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state among the TCI-states corresponding to the multiple search spaces that meets the preset conditions.

[0204] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state associated with the search space with the smallest search space index among the multiple search spaces.

[0205] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state associated with the search space with the largest search space index among the multiple search spaces.

[0206] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state with the largest CORESET index among the TCI-states corresponding to the multiple search spaces.

[0207] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state with the smallest CORESET index among the TCI-states corresponding to the multiple search spaces.

[0208] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state with the largest TCI-state index among the multiple TCI-states corresponding to the search spaces.

[0209] For example, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state with the smallest TCI-state index among the multiple TCI-states corresponding to the search spaces.

[0210] The above are illustrative examples, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. Any scheme in which the terminal device can determine the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on preset conditions (or preset rules) within the overlap area is applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0211] Example 3: The indication information is carried in the PDSCH, and the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI-state of the PDSCH. Based on this, the indication information can implicitly indicate the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0212] The second possible implementation is that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is preset (or configured, pre-configured, default, or predefined). In other words, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal can be semi-statically configured.

[0213] Based on this approach, optionally, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal in S420 is preset, or the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal in S420 is determined based on previously received configuration information.

[0214] The following explanation will consider two scenarios.

[0215] One possible scenario is that the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is a single TCI-state.

[0216] For example, prior to S430, the terminal device received configuration information indicating a preset TCI-state, which could be used as the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Thus, when monitoring the wake-up signal, the terminal device could directly monitor the wake-up signal based on this preset TCI-state.

[0217] The configuration information, also known as the Wake-up Signal Monitoring Configuration (LP-WUS monitoring configuration), refers to a set of wake-up signal monitoring configurations received by the terminal device. This configuration is used by the terminal device to monitor wake-up signals and indicates a TCI-state, which can be used by the terminal device to monitor wake-up signals later. As an example, this wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes an index of a TCI-state.

[0218] As an example, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration also includes at least one of the following: the monitoring periodicity of the wake-up signal (e.g., LP-WUS monitoring period), the monitoring duration of the wake-up signal (e.g., LP-WUS monitoring duration), and the monitoring offset value of the wake-up signal. A brief introduction to these parameters follows.

[0219] 1) Wake-up signal monitoring cycle: also known as monitoring cycle, refers to how often a terminal device (or group of terminal devices) monitors the wake-up signal.

[0220] For example, such as Figure 6 As shown, the monitoring period for the wake-up signal is T. For example, for the first time domain unit, the period for the terminal device to monitor the wake-up signal is T. This can be understood as the offset between two adjacent first time domain units being T. That is, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal once in one first time domain unit, and then monitors the wake-up signal again in another first time domain unit after an interval of T.

[0221] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, the monitoring period for the wake-up signal is T1 or T2. For example, for the first time domain unit, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal for a period of T1. This can be understood as the offset between two adjacent first time domain units being T1. That is, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal once within one first time domain unit, then after an interval of T1, monitors the wake-up signal again within another first time domain unit. For the second time domain unit, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal for a period of T2. This can be understood as the offset between two adjacent second time domain units being T2. That is, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal once within one second time domain unit, then after an interval of T2, monitors the wake-up signal again within another second time domain unit.

[0222] 2) Monitoring duration of wake-up signals: Also known as monitoring duration or monitoring time, this refers to the duration for which a terminal device (or group of terminal devices) monitors wake-up signals each time. One or more wake-up signals can typically be sent within the monitoring duration of a single wake-up signal; that is, the length of the monitoring duration of a single wake-up signal is greater than or equal to the length of the single wake-up signal itself. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the monitoring duration of the wake-up signal is Q.

[0223] 3) Monitoring offset value: Also known as the monitoring offset value of the wake-up signal, it refers to the offset relative to the starting position in each monitoring cycle of the wake-up signal. For example, in Figure 6In the example shown, the monitoring offset value corresponding to the first time domain unit is x1, and the monitoring offset value corresponding to the second time domain unit is x2. Network devices can configure different monitoring offset values ​​for different terminal devices (or groups of terminal devices) to stagger the time domain monitoring positions of different terminal devices (or groups of terminal devices), thereby avoiding congestion or conflict of wake-up signals from too many terminal devices.

[0224] Another possible scenario is that the wake-up signal is associated with multiple TCI-states.

[0225] Taking two TCI-states as an example, optionally, before S430, the terminal device receives configuration information. This configuration information includes multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations, including a first wake-up signal monitoring configuration and a second wake-up signal monitoring configuration. The first wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with a first preset TCI-state, and the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with a second preset TCI-state. The association of the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration with the first preset TCI-state indicates that the first wake-up signal monitoring configuration indicates the first preset TCI-state, such as by including an index of the first preset TCI-state. Similarly, the association of the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration with the second preset TCI-state indicates that the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration indicates the second preset TCI-state, such as by including an index of the second preset TCI-state. As an example, the wake-up signal monitoring configuration can be carried in control signaling, such as RRC signaling.

[0226] Optionally, in S430, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal in a second time period. This second time period includes X3 third time-domain units and X4 fourth time-domain units. Within the X3 third time-domain units, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is a first preset TCI-state, and within the X4 fourth time-domain units, the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is a second preset TCI-state. X3 and X4 are integers greater than or equal to 1. In other words, within the X3 third time-domain units, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the first preset TCI-state, and within the X4 fourth time-domain units, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the second preset TCI-state. The unit of a time-domain unit (such as a third time-domain unit or a fourth time-domain unit) can be, for example, MO, where one time-domain unit can be one MO.

[0227] The following are two examples applicable to this situation.

[0228] Example 1: A set of TCI-states is preset, which corresponds to multiple time periods. Based on this, the preset set of TCI-states can be used by the terminal device to monitor wake-up signals in multiple time periods. In other words, the terminal device uses this set of TCI-states when monitoring wake-up signals in multiple time periods.

[0229] One time period can be understood as a second time period.

[0230] This set of TCI-states may include multiple TCI-states, indicating that the wake-up signal is associated with multiple TCI-states. In other words, within each time period, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on different TCI-states. For example, assuming that the multiple TCI-states include a first preset TCI-state and a second preset TCI-state, and each time period includes X3 third time-domain units and X4 fourth time-domain units, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the first preset TCI-state in the X3 third time-domain units of each time period, and monitors the wake-up signal based on the second preset TCI-state in the X4 fourth time-domain units of each time period.

[0231] Example 2: H groups of TCI-states are preset, each corresponding to one of H time periods, where H is an integer greater than 1. Based on this, the preset H groups can be used by the terminal device to monitor wake-up signals in the H time periods.

[0232] Each TCI-state group contains multiple TCI-states. The number of TCI-states in each TCI-state group may be the same or different.

[0233] The correspondence between TCI-state and time period can be implemented in several ways, including the following.

[0234] As an example, the correspondence between TCI-state and time periods can be indicated to the terminal device by the network side. For instance, the configuration information indicates H groups of TCI-states and also indicates the correspondence between the H groups of TCI-states and H time periods. In other words, the configuration information indicates the TCI-state used when monitoring wake-up signals in each time period.

[0235] Another example is the mapping between TCI-state and time periods, which can be predefined or configured, and there is no limitation on this. For example, if the configuration information indicates the TCI-state of group H, the terminal device can default to using the first TCI-state in group H for the first time period, the second TCI-state in group H for the second time period, and so on.

[0236] Let's take H=2 as an example. The terminal device receives configuration information indicating a first set of TCI-states and a second set of TCI-states. The first set of TCI-states corresponds to the first time period, and the second set of TCI-states corresponds to the second time period. Therefore, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the first set of TCI-states during the first time period, and monitors the wake-up signal based on the second set of TCI-states during the second time period. The following explanation uses the first set of TCI-states corresponding to the first time period as an example to illustrate both scenarios.

[0237] One possible scenario is that at one moment, the network device instructs the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal via signaling (such as DCI or MAC CE). Upon receiving this signaling, the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal based on the first set of TCI-states for a first time period. At another moment, the network device instructs the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal via signaling. Upon receiving this signaling, the terminal device begins monitoring the wake-up signal based on the second set of TCI-states for a second time period, and so on. Further, optionally, the network device may also carry an index of each set of TCI-states each time it instructs the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal.

[0238] Another possible scenario is that when the timer times out for the first time, the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal based on the first set of TCI-states for the first time period; when the timer times out for the second time, the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal based on the second set of TCI-states for the second time period; and so on.

[0239] The third possible implementation is that the terminal device determines the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on preset rules.

[0240] The preset rule can be predefined, indicated by the network device, configured, or default; there are no restrictions on this.

[0241] As mentioned earlier, based on this method, the terminal device can determine the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the last received signaling #A or signal #A before starting to monitor the wake-up signal. The following example illustrates this, primarily using the case that the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the PDCCH or the last received PDCCH before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal as the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. Several examples are provided below.

[0242] Example 1: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on Layer 1 signaling (L1 signaling), and the terminal device does not receive a PDCCH between receiving the L1 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. Then the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the PDCCH where the L1 signaling is located is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0243] Specifically, L1 signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal. L1 signaling (usually DCI) is generally carried in PDCCH. Since the terminal device does not receive PDCCH between receiving L1 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal, the PDCCH carrying this L1 signaling is the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal. Therefore, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the PDCCH where this L1 signaling is located is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0244] Example 2: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on L1 signaling, and the terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs between receiving L1 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. Then, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH among the one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0245] Specifically, L1 signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal, and L1 signaling (usually DCI) is generally carried in PDCCH. The terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs between receiving L1 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. Therefore, the last PDCCH among the one or more PDCCHs is the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal. Thus, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH among the one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0246] Example 3: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on Layer 2 signaling (L2 signaling), and the terminal device does not receive a PDCCH between receiving the L2 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. The TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the PDSCH where the L2 signaling is located is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0247] Specifically, L2 signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to start monitoring for wake-up signals. L2 signaling is generally carried within the PDSCH. Assuming the PDCCH scheduling this PDSCH is PDCCH#1, and the terminal device does not receive any PDCCH between receiving L2 signaling and starting wake-up signal monitoring, then PDCCH#1 is generally the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring for wake-up signals. Therefore, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with PDCCH#1 is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. It can be understood that if the terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs after receiving PDCCH#1 but before starting wake-up signal monitoring, then the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last of these one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0248] Example 4: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on L2 signaling, and the terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs between receiving L2 signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. Then, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH among the one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0249] Specifically, L2 signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to start monitoring the wake-up signal, and L2 signaling is generally carried in PDSCH. Assuming that the PDCCH that schedules this PDSCH is PDCCH#1, and the terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs between receiving L2 signaling (or receiving PDCCH#1) and starting to monitor the wake-up signal, the last PDCCH among these one or more PDCCHs is the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal. Therefore, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH among these one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0250] Example 5: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the RRC signaling, and the terminal device does not receive a PDCCH between receiving the RRC signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signaling. Then, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH before the terminal device receives the RRC signaling is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0251] Example 6: Suppose that the terminal device is triggered to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on RRC signaling, and the terminal device receives one or more PDCCHs between receiving the RRC signaling and starting to monitor the wake-up signal. Then, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH among the one or more PDCCHs is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0252] Example 7: If the start of monitoring wake-up signal is triggered based on timer (i.e., after timer expires, the terminal device switches from monitoring PDCCH to monitoring wake-up signal), then the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH received by the terminal device before timer expires is the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0253] The above examples are simplified illustrations and are not intended to be limiting. In other words, as long as there is a correlation between the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal and the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, such as the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last PDCCH received before the terminal device starts monitoring the wake-up signal being the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, the embodiments of this application are applicable. Furthermore, the above examples mainly use PDCCH as an example and are not intended to be limiting. For example, PDCCH can also be replaced with PDSCH, and correspondingly, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last received PDCCH can also be replaced with the TCI-state of PDSCH. As another example, PDCCH can also be replaced with a reference signal (such as CSI-RS, or SSB, etc.), and correspondingly, the TCI-state of the CORESET associated with the last received PDCCH can also be replaced with the TCI-state of the reference signal.

[0254] The above describes how terminal devices determine the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0255] As mentioned earlier, the terminal device can respond to the indication information to start monitoring the wake-up signal in a certain time period (such as the first time period), and determine to start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the timer timeout in another time period (such as the second time period). The following combines... Figure 8 Let me explain the situation. Figure 8 For details not described in detail, please refer to the relevant descriptions above.

[0256] See Figure 8 As an example, Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a communication method 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 The method 800 shown may include the following steps.

[0257] S810, monitoring indication information, the indication information indicates that monitoring of wake-up signals has begun.

[0258] The instruction information mentioned here is the same as the instruction information in S410, which will not be elaborated here.

[0259] The following describes two possible scenarios.

[0260] Scenario 1: The terminal device does not detect any indication information before the timer expires. In other words, the terminal device does not detect any indication information until the timer expires. In this case, method 800 may include S821.

[0261] S821, after the timer expires, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the preset TCI-state.

[0262] Specifically, the terminal device monitors the indication information. If the terminal device does not receive the indication information before the timer expires, the terminal device will start monitoring the wake-up signal based on the preset TCI-state.

[0263] Optionally, method 800 further includes: the terminal device determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, that is, the terminal device determining a preset TCI-state. For details, please refer to the relevant description in method 400, which will not be repeated here.

[0264] Scenario 2: Before the timer expires, the terminal device detects an indication message. In this scenario, method 800 may include S822.

[0265] S822, the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal based on the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal, and the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on indication information.

[0266] Specifically, the terminal device monitors the indication information. If the terminal device detects the indication information before the timer expires, it can determine the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the indication information and monitor the wake-up signal based on the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal. For details on how the terminal device determines the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal based on the indication information, please refer to the relevant description in method 400, which will not be repeated here.

[0267] It is understood that in various embodiments of this application, "monitoring" can also be replaced by "receiving", "detecting", or "reading", etc. For example, "monitoring indication information" can also be replaced by "receiving indication information", "detecting indication information" or "reading indication information", and "monitoring wake-up signal" can also be replaced by "receiving wake-up signal", "detecting wake-up signal" or "reading wake-up signal".

[0268] It is also understood that in some embodiments of this application, the mention of a terminal device monitoring wake-up signals based on multiple TCI-states does not mean that the terminal device monitors wake-up signals based on multiple TCI-states simultaneously. Rather, it means that when the terminal device monitors wake-up signals over a period of time, it can monitor wake-up signals based on different TCI-states. In other words, the terminal device uses different TCI-states when monitoring wake-up signals at different time-domain units over a period of time.

[0269] It is also understood that in the various embodiments of this application, if the terminal device learns that it has been woken up, such as by learning that it has been woken up based on a wake-up signal, the terminal device can immediately access the network device, or the terminal device can access the network device at intervals, without restriction.

[0270] It is also understood that in some of the above embodiments, the main circuit and wake-up circuit are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes, and this application is not limited thereto. For example, "wake-up circuit" can also be replaced with "first module", or "wake-up link", or "in a first state", or "in a first mode". For example, "the terminal device receives a signal using the wake-up circuit" can also be replaced with "the terminal device receives a signal through the first module or the terminal device receives a signal on the wake-up link". "Main circuit" can also be replaced with "second module", or "main link", or "in a second state", or "in a second mode". For example, "the terminal device receives a signal using the main circuit" can also be replaced with "the terminal device receives a signal through the second module or the terminal device receives a signal on the main link".

[0271] It is also understood that, in the various embodiments of this application, the interaction between a terminal device and a network device is mainly used as an example for illustrative purposes. This application is not limited thereto. The terminal device can be replaced by a receiving device, which can be either a terminal device or a network device; the network device can be replaced by a sending device, which can be either a terminal device or a network device. For example, "terminal device" can be replaced by "first terminal device," and "network device" can be replaced by "second terminal device."

[0272] The above, combined with Figures 4 to 8 The methods provided in the embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Figures 9 to 11 The apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application is described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, for content not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiments above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0273] See Figure 9 As an example, Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 900 includes a transceiver unit 910. The transceiver unit 910 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 910 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. Optionally, the communication device 900 further includes a processing unit 920. The processing unit 920 can be used to perform processing, such as determining the TCI-state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0274] Optionally, the device 900 may further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 920 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit to enable the device to implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0275] In a first possible design, the device 900 can be the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, which can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. Specifically, the transceiver unit 910 can be used to perform transceiver-related operations (such as sending and / or receiving data or messages) of the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 920 can be used to perform processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages).

[0276] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 910 is used to receive indication information indicating the start of monitoring the wake-up signal; the transceiver unit 910 is also used to monitor the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, wherein the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information.

[0277] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on indication information, including: the indication information also indicates the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0278] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on indication information, including: the indication information is carried in downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the control resource set of downlink control information; or, the indication information is carried in physical downlink shared channel, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of physical downlink shared channel.

[0279] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state in the control resource set of the downlink control information that meets the preset conditions.

[0280] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes one TCI state.

[0281] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes multiple TCI states, including a first TCI state and a second TCI state. The transceiver unit 910 is also used to monitor the wake-up signal, including: the transceiver unit 910 is also used to monitor the wake-up signal in a first time period, the first time period includes X1 first time domain units and X2 second time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X1 first time domain units is the first TCI state, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the X2 second time domain units is the second TCI state, where X1 and X2 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0282] Optionally, the indication information includes a first sub-information and a second sub-information. The first sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X1 first time domain units, and the first sub-information indicates a first TCI state. The second sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X2 second time domain units, and the second sub-information indicates a second TCI state.

[0283] Optionally, the X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units overlap in the first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the first time domain position is determined based on a preset rule.

[0284] Optionally, the start time of the first time period is the first moment, which is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal begins in response to the indication information, and the end time of the first time period is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal stops after the first moment.

[0285] Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive indication information, including: the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to receive indication information before the timer expires; the transceiver unit 910 is configured to monitor the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, including: if the indication information is received before the timer expires, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to monitor the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal; if the indication information is not received before the timer expires, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to monitor the wake-up signal according to the preset TCI state after the timer expires.

[0286] Optionally, the preset TCI state includes one TCI state; or, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state; Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to monitor a wake-up signal, including: monitoring the wake-up signal in a second time period, the second time period including X3 third time domain units and X4 fourth time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal within X3 third time domain units is the first preset TCI state, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal within X4 fourth time domain units is the second preset TCI state, where X3 and X4 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0287] Optionally, the preset TCI state includes multiple TCI states, including a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state. The transceiver unit 910 is also used to receive configuration information, which indicates wake-up signal monitoring configuration. The wake-up signal monitoring configuration includes multiple wake-up signal monitoring configurations, including a first wake-up signal monitoring configuration and a second wake-up signal monitoring configuration. The first wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the first preset TCI state, and the second wake-up signal monitoring configuration is associated with the second preset TCI state.

[0288] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes at least one of the following: quasi-co-address QCL type, reference signal, and reference signal resource.

[0289] In a second possible design, the device 900 can be a network device as described in the foregoing embodiments. This device 900 can implement the steps or processes performed by the network device corresponding to those described in the method embodiments above. Specifically, the transceiver unit 910 can be used to perform transceiver-related operations (such as sending and / or receiving data or messages) of the network device described in the method embodiments above, and the processing unit 920 can be used to perform processing-related operations of the network device described in the method embodiments above, or operations other than transceiver operations (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages).

[0290] One possible implementation is a processing unit 920, which determines indication information indicating the start of monitoring a wake-up signal, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information; and a transceiver unit 910, which sends the indication information.

[0291] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on indication information, including: the indication information also indicates the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

[0292] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on indication information, including: the indication information is carried in downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of the control resource set of downlink control information; or, the indication information is carried in physical downlink shared channel, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state of physical downlink shared channel.

[0293] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is the TCI state in the control resource set of the downlink control information that meets the preset conditions.

[0294] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes one TCI state.

[0295] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes multiple TCI states, including a first TCI state and a second TCI state. The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal within X1 first time domain units of the first time period is the first TCI state, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal within X2 second time domain units of the first time period is the second TCI state, where X1 and X2 are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0296] Optionally, the indication information includes a first sub-information and a second sub-information. The first sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X1 first time domain units, and the first sub-information indicates a first TCI state. The second sub-information is used to monitor the wake-up signal within X2 second time domain units, and the second sub-information indicates a second TCI state.

[0297] Optionally, the X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units overlap in the first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the first time domain position is determined based on a preset rule.

[0298] Optionally, the start time of the first time period is the first moment, which is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal begins in response to the indication information, and the end time of the first time period is the moment when monitoring the wake-up signal stops after the first moment.

[0299] Optionally, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal includes at least one of the following: quasi-co-address QCL type, reference signal, and reference signal resource.

[0300] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0301] It should also be understood that the device 900 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 900 can specifically be the communication device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above method embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described again here.

[0302] The apparatus 900 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above-described methods. The function can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by a processor, respectively executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0303] In addition, the transceiver unit 910 described above can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit.

[0304] It should be pointed out that, Figure 9 The device mentioned can be the communication equipment (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on a chip (SoC). The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0305] See Figure 10 As an example, Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1000 includes a processor 1010, which is coupled to a memory 1020. The memory 1020 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1010 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1020, or to read the data stored in the memory 1020, in order to execute the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0306] Optionally, there may be one or more processors 1010.

[0307] Optionally, the memory 1020 may be one or more.

[0308] Alternatively, the memory 1020 can be integrated with the processor 1010, or it can be set separately.

[0309] Optionally, such as Figure 10 As shown, the device 1000 also includes a transceiver 1030, which is used for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, the processor 1010 is used to control the transceiver 1030 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0310] As an example, processor 1010 may have Figure 9The processing unit 920 shown has the function of a storage unit, the memory 1020 can have the function of a storage unit, and the transceiver 1030 can have the function of a storage unit. Figure 9 The function of the transceiver unit 910 shown is illustrated.

[0311] As one option, the device 1000 is used to implement the operations performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the various method embodiments described above.

[0312] For example, processor 1010 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1020 to implement the relevant operations of the communication device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0313] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0314] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0315] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0316] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0317] See Figure 11 As an example, Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1100 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 1100 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1110 and an input / output interface 1120.

[0318] The logic circuit 1110 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1100. The logic circuit 1110 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1100 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1120 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1100, outputting processed information from the chip system 1100, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1100 for processing.

[0319] As one approach, the chip system 1100 is used to implement operations performed by communication devices (such as terminal devices or network devices) in the various method embodiments described above.

[0320] For example, logic circuit 1110 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 1120 is used to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above method embodiments.

[0321] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the methods executed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above-described method embodiments. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run on the communication device, the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) performs the above-described methods (such as method 400 or method 800).

[0322] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the methods described above as performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device). For example, when the computer program or instructions are run on the communication device, the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) performs the methods described above (such as method 400 or method 800).

[0323] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal devices and / or network devices described in the above embodiments. For example, the system includes... Figure 4 The terminal device and network device in the embodiment. For example, the system includes... Figure 8 The terminal device and network device in the embodiments.

[0324] The explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the devices provided above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0326] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs). For example, the aforementioned available media include, but are not limited to, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks, and other media capable of storing program code.

[0327] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: receiving indication information, the indication information indicating to start monitoring a wake-up signal; monitoring the wake-up signal according to a TCI state associated with the wake-up signal, wherein the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, comprising: The indication information further indicates the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is determined based on the indication information, comprising: The indication information is carried in a downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is a TCI state of a control resource set of the downlink control information; or The indication information is carried in a physical downlink shared channel, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is a TCI state of the physical downlink shared channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The indication information is carried in a downlink control information, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal is a TCI state of a control resource set of the downlink control information that meets a preset condition.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal comprises one TCI state.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal comprises a plurality of TCI states, and the plurality of TCI states comprise a first TCI state and a second TCI state, The monitoring of the wake-up signal comprises: monitoring the wake-up signal in a first time period, the first time period comprising X1 first time domain units and X2 second time domain units, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal being the first TCI state in the X1 first time domain units, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal being the second TCI state in the X2 second time domain units, the X1 and the X2 being integers greater than 1 or equal to 1.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The indication information comprises first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information being used for monitoring the wake-up signal in the X1 first time domain units, and the first sub-information indicating the first TCI state; the second sub-information being used for monitoring the wake-up signal in the X2 second time domain units, and the second sub-information indicating the second TCI state.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units coincide in a first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal in the first time domain position is determined based on a preset rule.

9. The method of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: a starting time of the first time period is a first time, the first time being a time of starting to monitor the wake-up signal in response to the indication information, and an ending time of the first time period being a time of stopping to monitor the wake-up signal after the first time.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The receiving of the indication information comprises: receiving the indication information before a timer expires; The monitoring of the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal comprises: monitoring the wake-up signal according to the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal if the indication information is received before the timer expires; The method further comprises: If the indication information is not received before the timer expires, a preset TCI state is determined for monitoring the wakeup signal after the timer expires.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, the preset TCI state comprises one TCI state; or the preset TCI state comprises a plurality of TCI states, and the plurality of TCI states comprise a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state. The monitoring of the wakeup signal comprises: monitoring the wakeup signal in a second time period, the second time period comprising X3 third time domain units and X4 fourth time domain units, a TCI state associated with the wakeup signal in the X3 third time domain units being the first preset TCI state, and a TCI state associated with the wakeup signal in the X4 fourth time domain units being the second preset TCI state, the X3 and the X4 being integers greater than 1 or equal to 1.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, the preset TCI state comprises a plurality of TCI states, and the plurality of TCI states comprise a first preset TCI state and a second preset TCI state, Before the monitoring of the wakeup signal, the method further comprises: receiving configuration information, the configuration information indicating a wakeup signal monitoring configuration, the wakeup signal monitoring configuration comprising a plurality of wakeup signal monitoring configurations, the plurality of wakeup signal monitoring configurations comprising a first wakeup signal monitoring configuration and a second wakeup signal monitoring configuration, the first wakeup signal monitoring configuration being associated with the first preset TCI state, and the second wakeup signal monitoring configuration being associated with the second preset TCI state.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The TCI state associated with the wakeup signal comprises at least one of the following: a quasi co-location (QCL) type, a reference signal, and a reference signal resource.

14. A communication method, comprising: comprises: determining indication information, the indication information indicating to start monitoring the wakeup signal, and a TCI state associated with the wakeup signal being determined based on the indication information; sending the indication information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The TCI state associated with the wakeup signal is determined based on the indication information, which comprises that the indication information further indicates the TCI state associated with the wakeup signal.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The TCI state associated with the wakeup signal is determined based on the indication information, which comprises: The indication information is carried in a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state associated with the wakeup signal is a TCI state of a control resource set (CORESET) of the DCI; or The indication information is carried in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the TCI state associated with the wakeup signal is a TCI state of the PDSCH.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The indication information is carried in a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state associated with the wakeup signal is a TCI state of a control resource set (CORESET) of the DCI that satisfies a preset condition.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that, The TCI state associated with the wakeup signal comprises one TCI state.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal comprises a plurality of TCI states, the plurality of TCI states comprising a first TCI state and a second TCI state, the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal being the first TCI state in X1 first time domain units of a first time period, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal being the second TCI state in X2 second time domain units of the first time period, the X1 and the X2 being integers greater than 1 or equal to 1.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The indication information comprises first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information being used for monitoring a wake-up signal in the X1 first time domain units, and the first sub-information indicating the first TCI state; and the second sub-information being used for monitoring a wake-up signal in the X2 second time domain units, and the second sub-information indicating the second TCI state.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein, The X1 first time domain units and the X2 second time domain units coincide at a first time domain position, and the TCI state associated with the wake-up signal at the first time domain position being determined based on a preset rule.

22. The method of any one of claims 19-21, wherein a start time of the first time period is a first time, the first time being a time of starting to monitor a wake-up signal in response to the indication information, and an end time of the first time period being a time of stopping to monitor a wake-up signal after the first time.

23. The method of any one of claims 14 to 22, wherein, The TCI state associated with the wake-up signal comprises at least one of the following: a quasi co-location, QCL, type, a reference signal, and a reference signal resource.

24. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises means or units for performing the method of any one of claims 1-13; or means or units for performing the method of any one of claims 14-23.

25. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13; or to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 14-23.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13; or cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 14-23.

27. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13; or cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 14-23.

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