Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. In the technical solution of the present application, a terminal device detects a synchronization signal; the terminal device determines a working mode of a cell on the basis of the synchronization signal, wherein the cell supports at least two working modes having different energy consumption, and the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: raster information of the synchronization signal and the type of the synchronization signal; and the terminal device accesses a network on the basis of the working mode of the cell. By means of the method, a terminal device can quickly obtain a working mode of a current cell after startup, and then accesses a network on the basis of the working mode of the cell.

Description

Communication method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] To meet people's ever-increasing data demands, wireless networks are undergoing rapid construction. As networks grow in size, energy consumption continues to rise. The current 5G energy-saving technology framework encompasses device-, site-, and network-level energy conservation. To reduce network-side energy consumption, next-generation communication systems support at least two operating modes, each with different energy consumption requirements. After a terminal is powered on, quickly obtaining the current cell's operating mode is a pressing issue.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that enable a terminal device to quickly obtain the working mode of the current cell after being powered on, and then access the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0006] The terminal device detects the synchronization signal; the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell based on the synchronization signal, the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, and the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal, the type of the synchronization signal; the terminal device accesses the network based on the working mode of the cell.

[0007] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific number of working modes supported by the cell. Specifically, the cell supports N working modes, each working mode has different energy consumption, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0008] In one example, the cell supports two working modes: energy-saving mode and enhanced transmission mode, and the two working modes have different energy consumptions.

[0009] In another example, the cell supports four working modes: a first energy-saving mode, a second energy-saving mode, a first enhanced transmission mode, and a second enhanced transmission mode, and the energy consumption of the four working modes are different.

[0010] Based on the above solution, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal or the type of the synchronization signal, and access the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell based on the synchronization signal, including: determining the working mode of the cell based on a first association relationship according to the synchronization signal, the first association relationship including the association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or the association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

[0012] As an example and not a limitation, N working modes and N types of synchronization grids are defined, and the N working modes and N types of synchronization grids correspond one to one, wherein the first type of synchronization grid is associated with the first working mode, and the second type of synchronization grid is associated with the second working mode, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0013] As an example and not a limitation, M types of working modes and M types of synchronization signals are defined, and the M types of working modes and the M types of synchronization signals correspond one to one, wherein the first type of synchronization signal is associated with the first working mode, and the second type of synchronization signal is associated with the second working mode, and M is a positive integer greater than 2.

[0014] Based on the above method, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the first association relationship, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in determining the working mode of the cell.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: a frequency domain offset, a frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of a global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0016] It should be understood that when a network device switches between different working modes, the grid information of the synchronization signal sent by the network device will also change accordingly.

[0017] It should be understood that this application does not limit the types of synchronization signals (or, in other words, associated synchronization signals) placed on synchronization grids of different grid types. For example, different synchronization grids may have different associated synchronization signal types, where the differences may be reflected in sequence types (e.g., ZC (Zaddoff-Chu) sequences or m-sequences), sequence lengths (e.g., long sequences and short sequences), etc.

[0018] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, different types of synchronization signals have the same center frequency, and the type of the synchronization signal is distinguished based on one or more of the following: the sequence type of the synchronization signal; the sequence length of the synchronization signal; or the composition of the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal including one or more of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a master information block (MIB), and a timing indication signal.

[0020] Exemplarily, in order to improve the frequency scanning accuracy of synchronization signals of different sequence lengths, a sequence with a shorter sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a short sequence) can be the middle part truncated from a sequence with a longer sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a long sequence). Specifically, the length of the short sequence is N, the length of the long sequence is M, and the short sequence corresponds to the middle N bits in the long sequence M.

[0021] Based on the above scheme, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization signals, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the sequence type, sequence length or composition of the synchronization signal.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the cell has one or more of the following differences under different energy consumption working modes: the public signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, the functions supported by the cell, and the hardware resources of the cell.

[0023] Exemplarily, the minimum system information of a cell is obtained by actively broadcasting by the network side, or triggered by a terminal device request, wherein the minimum system message includes at least one item of the master information block MIB and the system information block 1 (System Information Block 1, SIB1), and SIB1 can also be called the remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0024] Exemplarily, the access type of the cell includes whether the access procedure is based on a preamble sequence, or whether the access procedure is based on a wake-up signal sent by a terminal device.

[0025] Exemplarily, the common signal period of a cell is 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, and 160ms. The common signals of a cell include a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, a physical broadcast channel, and a system information block 1 (SIB1). It should be understood that the common signal period of the cell may be the period of one or more of the above common signals.

[0026] Exemplarily, the transmission resources of a cell include the time domain position of the transmission resources, the frequency domain position of the transmission resources, the spatial domain resources of the transmission resources, the transmission power of the cell, the bandwidth of the cell, etc.

[0027] Exemplarily, the features and functions supported by a cell include whether the cell supports small data transmission, whether the cell supports multicast services, and the like.

[0028] Exemplarily, the hardware resources of a cell include the number of antennas supported by the cell, quantization accuracy of digital-to-analog conversion / analog-to-digital conversion, and the like.

[0029] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can determine the common signal period, access process, system message acquisition method, time domain and frequency domain position of the transmission resources, functions supported by the cell, hardware resources and other information of the cell with different energy consumption working modes through the grid information of the synchronization signal or the type of the synchronization signal, so as to access the network according to the above content.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or before the terminal device detects the synchronization signal, the method further includes: receiving a first message, the first message including the first association relationship.

[0031] Based on the above solution, the first association relationship can be defined by a protocol or broadcast by a network device, and the terminal device can quickly determine the working mode of the cell according to the first association relationship.

[0032] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the network device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0033] The network device determines the synchronization signal based on the working mode of the cell, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, wherein the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following items: the grid information of the synchronization signal, the type of the synchronization signal: the network device sends the synchronization signal.

[0034] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific number of working modes supported by the cell. Specifically, the cell supports N working modes, each working mode has different energy consumption, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0035] In one example, the cell supports two working modes: energy-saving mode and enhanced transmission mode, and the two working modes have different energy consumptions.

[0036] In another example, the cell supports four working modes: a first energy-saving mode, a second energy-saving mode, a first enhanced transmission mode, and a second enhanced transmission mode, and the energy consumption of the four working modes are different.

[0037] Based on the above scheme, the network equipment can determine the grid information of the synchronization signal and / or the type of the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell, so that the terminal equipment can quickly determine the working mode of the cell after detecting the synchronization signal.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the network device determines the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell, including: the network device determines the synchronization signal based on a first association relationship according to the working mode of the cell, and the first association relationship includes the association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or the association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

[0039] As an example and not a limitation, N working modes and N types of synchronization grids are defined, and the N working modes and N types of synchronization grids correspond one to one, wherein the first type of synchronization grid is associated with the first working mode, and the second type of synchronization grid is associated with the second working mode, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0040] As an example and not a limitation, M types of working modes and M types of synchronization signals are defined, and the M types of working modes and the M types of synchronization signals correspond one to one, wherein the first type of synchronization signal is associated with the first working mode, and the second type of synchronization signal is associated with the second working mode, and M is a positive integer greater than 2.

[0041] Based on the above method, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the first association relationship, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in determining the working mode of the cell.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: a frequency domain offset, a frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of a global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0043] It should be understood that when a network device switches between different working modes, the grid information of the synchronization signal sent by the network device will also change accordingly.

[0044] It should be understood that this application does not limit the types of synchronization signals (or, in other words, associated synchronization signals) placed on synchronization grids of different grid types. For example, different synchronization grids may have different types of associated synchronization signals, where the differences may be reflected in sequence types (e.g., ZC (Zaddoff-Chu) sequences or m-sequences), sequence lengths (e.g., long sequences and short sequences), etc.

[0045] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, different types of synchronization signals have the same center frequency, and the type of the synchronization signal is distinguished based on one or more of the following: the sequence type of the synchronization signal; the sequence length of the synchronization signal; or the composition of the synchronization signal, which synchronization signal includes one or more of the primary synchronization signal PSS, the secondary synchronization signal SSS, the main information block MIB, and the timing indication signal.

[0047] Exemplarily, in order to improve the frequency scanning accuracy of synchronization signals of different sequence lengths, a sequence with a shorter sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a short sequence) can be the middle part truncated from a sequence with a longer sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a long sequence). Specifically, the length of the short sequence is N, the length of the long sequence is M, and the short sequence corresponds to the middle N bits in the long sequence M.

[0048] Based on the above scheme, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization signals, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the sequence type, sequence length or composition of the synchronization signal.

[0049] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the cell has one or more of the following differences under different energy consumption working modes: the public signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, the functions supported by the cell, and the hardware resources of the cell.

[0050] Based on the above scheme, the terminal device can determine the common signal period, access process, system message acquisition method, time domain and frequency domain position of the transmission resources, functions supported by the cell, hardware resources and other information of the cell with different energy consumption working modes through the grid information of the synchronization signal or the type of the synchronization signal, so as to access the network according to the above content.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or, before the network device sends the synchronization signal, the method further includes: sending a first message, the first message including the first association relationship.

[0052] Based on the above solution, the first association relationship can be defined by a protocol or broadcast by a network device, and the terminal device can quickly determine the working mode of the cell according to the first association relationship.

[0053] In a third aspect, a communication method is proposed. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0054] The terminal device detects a synchronization signal; the terminal device determines the type of a target TPR from at least two transmit and receive point (TRP) types based on the grid information of the synchronization signal, and the access parameters corresponding to the at least two TRP types are different; the terminal device accesses the network based on the type of the target TRP.

[0055] It should be understood that the access parameters corresponding to different TRP types are specified by the protocol or pre-configured, and the terminal device can determine the corresponding access parameters based on the TRP type.

[0056] As an example and not a limitation, the access parameters corresponding to different TRP types include at least one of the following: an uplink timing relationship, a downlink timing relationship, and a frequency offset between the terminal device and the TRP.

[0057] Optionally, the above-mentioned TRP type can be replaced by a base station type or a cell type. In other words, the terminal device can determine the base station type or the cell type based on the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0058] Based on the above scheme, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the TRP type / base station type / cell type according to the grid information of the synchronization signal, and then access the network according to the TRP type / base station type / cell type.

[0059] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: a frequency domain offset, a frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of a global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0060] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0061] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is proposed. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the network device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0062] The network device determines the grid information of the synchronization signal according to the type of the transmission receiving node TRP; and the network device sends the synchronization signal according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0063] By way of example and not limitation, the TRP type can include a terrestrial network (TN) TRP and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) TRP.

[0064] Optionally, the above-mentioned TRP type can be replaced by a base station type or a cell type. In other words, the terminal device can determine the base station type or the cell type based on the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0065] Based on the above scheme, the network equipment determines the grid information of the synchronization signal according to the TRP type / base station type / cell type, so that after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the TRP type / base station type / cell type according to the grid information of the synchronization signal, and then access the network according to the TRP type / base station type / cell type.

[0066] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of the global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0067] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal device can determine the working mode of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0068] In a fifth aspect, a method is provided that can be executed by a terminal device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0069] The terminal device detects a synchronization signal; the terminal device determines first information based on the synchronization signal, where the first information is associated with the energy consumption of the cell, and includes one or more of the common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, and the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell. The first information is mapped to at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal and the type of the synchronization signal; the terminal device accesses the network based on the first information.

[0070] Based on the above solution, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine one or more cell operating parameters based on the grid information of the synchronization signal or the type of the synchronization signal, and thus access the network based on the cell operating parameters.

[0071] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the terminal device determines the first information based on the synchronization signal, including: determining the first information based on the second association relationship according to the synchronization signal, the second association relationship including the association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the first information, and / or the association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

[0072] As an example and not a limitation, the second association relationship includes an association relationship between the cell's system message acquisition method and the type of synchronization signal. Specifically, when the cell's minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network side, the corresponding synchronization grid is a first-type synchronization grid; when the cell's minimum remaining system message is triggered by a terminal device request, the corresponding synchronization grid is a second-type synchronization grid. In this case, the cell whose minimum system message is actively broadcast by the network side will send a synchronization signal on the first synchronization grid.

[0073] As an example and not a limitation, the second association relationship includes an association relationship between the cell's system message acquisition method and the synchronization signal type. Specifically, when the cell's minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network side, the corresponding synchronization signal is a first-class synchronization signal; when the cell's minimum remaining system message is triggered by a terminal device request, the corresponding synchronization signal is a second-class synchronization signal. At this time, the cell whose minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network side will send a synchronization signal on the first synchronization signal. The sequence length of the first-class synchronization signal is 100 bits, and the sequence length of the second-class synchronization signal is 200 bits.

[0074] It should be understood that when the operating parameters in the second association relationship change, the grid information of the synchronization signal sent by the network device and / or the type of the synchronization signal will also change accordingly.

[0075] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of the global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0076] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal equipment can determine the operating parameters of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0077] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, different types of synchronization signals have the same center frequency, and the type of the synchronization signal is distinguished based on one or more of the following: the sequence type of the synchronization signal; the sequence length of the synchronization signal; or the composition of the synchronization signal, which synchronization signal includes one or more of the primary synchronization signal PSS, the secondary synchronization signal SSS, the main information block MIB, and the timing indication signal.

[0078] Exemplarily, in order to improve the frequency scanning accuracy of synchronization signals of different sequence lengths, a sequence with a shorter sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a short sequence) can be the middle part truncated from a sequence with a longer sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a long sequence). Specifically, the length of the short sequence is N, the length of the long sequence is M, and the short sequence corresponds to the middle N bits in the long sequence M.

[0079] Based on the above scheme, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization signals, so that the terminal device can determine the working parameters of the cell according to the sequence type, sequence length or composition of the synchronization signal.

[0080] In combination with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the second association relationship is defined by a protocol, or before the terminal device detects the synchronization signal, the method further includes: receiving a second message, the second message including the second association relationship.

[0081] Based on the above solution, the second association relationship can be defined by a protocol or broadcast by a network device, and the terminal device can quickly determine the operating parameters of the cell according to the second association relationship.

[0082] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the network device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0083] The network device determines the synchronization signal based on the first information, where the first information is associated with the energy consumption of the cell. The first information includes one or more of the common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, and the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell. The first information has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal and the type of the synchronization signal; the network device sends the synchronization signal.

[0084] Based on the above scheme, the network equipment determines the synchronization signal according to the working parameters of one or more cells, so that after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal equipment can determine the working parameters of one or more cells according to the grid information of the synchronization signal or the type of the synchronization signal, thereby accessing the network according to the working parameters of the cell.

[0085] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the terminal device determines the synchronization signal based on the first information, including: determining the synchronization signal based on the second association relationship based on the first information, the second association relationship including the association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the first information, and / or the association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

[0086] For the relevant description of the second association relationship, please refer to the fifth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0087] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and a calculation method of the global synchronization channel number GSCN.

[0088] Based on the above solution, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization grids, so that the terminal equipment can determine the operating parameters of the cell according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0089] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, different types of synchronization signals have the same center frequency, and the type of the synchronization signal is distinguished based on one or more of the following: the sequence type of the synchronization signal; the sequence length of the synchronization signal; or the composition of the synchronization signal, which synchronization signal includes one or more of the primary synchronization signal PSS, the secondary synchronization signal SSS, the main information block MIB, and the timing indication signal.

[0090] Based on the above scheme, the embodiment of the present application defines multiple synchronization signals, so that the terminal device can determine the working parameters of the cell according to the sequence type, sequence length or composition of the synchronization signal.

[0091] In combination with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the second association relationship is defined by a protocol, or before the terminal device detects the synchronization signal, the method also includes: receiving a second message, the second message including the second association relationship.

[0092] Based on the above solution, the second association relationship can be defined by a protocol or broadcast by a network device, and the terminal device can quickly determine the operating parameters of the cell according to the second association relationship.

[0093] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to detect a synchronization signal; the processing unit is used to determine the working mode of a cell based on the synchronization signal, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption. The working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following items: the grid information of the synchronization signal, the type of the synchronization signal; the processing unit is also used to access the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0094] It should be understood that the seventh aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the first aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the first aspect are also applicable to the seventh aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0095] In the eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, wherein the processing unit is used to determine a synchronization signal based on the working mode of the cell, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, wherein the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following items: grid information of the synchronization signal, type of the synchronization signal: the transceiver unit is used to send the synchronization signal.

[0096] It should be understood that the eighth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the second aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the second aspect are also applicable to the eighth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0097] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to detect a synchronization signal; the processing unit is used to determine the type of a target TPR from at least two transmission and receiving node TRP types based on the grid information of the synchronization signal, and the access parameters corresponding to the at least two TRP types are different; the processing unit is also used to access the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0098] It should be understood that the ninth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the third aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the third aspect are also applicable to the ninth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0099] In the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the processing unit is used to determine the grid information of the synchronization signal according to the type of the transmission and receiving node TRP; the transceiver unit is used to send the synchronization signal.

[0100] It should be understood that the tenth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the fourth aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the fourth aspect are also applicable to the tenth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0101] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is used to detect a synchronization signal; the processing unit is used to determine first information based on the synchronization signal, the first information is associated with the energy consumption of the cell, the first information includes the common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, and one or more of the first information is mapped to at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal, the type of the synchronization signal; the processing unit is also used to access the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0102] It should be understood that the eleventh aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the fifth aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the fifth aspect are also applicable to the eleventh aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0103] In the twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the processing unit is used to determine a synchronization signal based on first information, the first information is associated with the energy consumption of the cell, the first information includes the common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, one or more of the first information and there is a mapping relationship between the following at least one item; the transceiver unit is used to send the synchronization signal.

[0104] It should be understood that the twelfth aspect is an implementation method on the device side corresponding to the sixth aspect. The supplement, explanation and beneficial effects of the sixth aspect are also applicable to the twelfth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0105] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in any one of the first to eleventh aspects, or any one of the implementations of the first to eleventh aspects. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in any one of the first to eleventh aspects, or any one of the implementations of the first to eleventh aspects, can be implemented.

[0106] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, hardware circuit, bus, module, pin or other type of communication interface.

[0107] In one example, the communication device may be a network device, such as an access network device, or may be a device, module, or chip disposed in the network device, or may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0108] In another example, the communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the terminal device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device.

[0109] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, including a network device and a terminal device.

[0110] In the fifteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first to eleventh aspects, or any implementation of the first to eleventh aspects.

[0111] In the sixteenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in any one of the implementations of the first to eleventh aspects above.

[0112] In the seventeenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any implementation of the above-mentioned first to eleventh aspects, or the first to eleventh aspects.

[0113] In the eighteenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip, which is used to read the computer program stored in the memory and execute the method described in the above-mentioned first to eleventh aspects, or any implementation of the first to eleventh aspects; or, the chip includes a method for executing the above-mentioned first to eleventh aspects, or any implementation of the first to eleventh aspects.

[0114] In a nineteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, comprising a processor configured to support a device in implementing the method described in any of the above-mentioned aspects 1 to 11, or any of the implementations of aspects 1 to 11. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory configured to store programs and data necessary for the device. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0115] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable;

[0116] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an SSB symbol provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of different types of synchronization grids provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of different types of synchronization signals provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing the association relationship between different TRP types and different types of synchronization grids provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0125] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), etc. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also 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 system or other communication systems.

[0127] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable is first described in detail using the communication system shown in FIG1 as an example.

[0128] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable.

[0129] The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. As shown in (a) of Figure 1, the terminal device 110 is connected to a single network device (e.g., a base station) 120, and the terminal device 110 and the base station 120, as well as the core network to which the base station 120 is connected, are of the same standard. Exemplarily, the core network is a 5G core network, the base station corresponds to a 5G base station, and the 5G base station is directly connected to the 5G core network; or the core network is a 6G core network, the base station is a 6G base station, and the 6G base station is directly connected to the 6G core network.

[0130] As shown in (b) of Figure 1, this is a dual connectivity (DC) scenario. In this scenario, the terminal device is connected to two network devices at the same time, where the standards of the two network devices can be the same or different. For example, the core network is a 5G core network, and the terminal is connected to a 5G base station and a 6G base station at the same time, where the 5G base station serves as the primary station and the 6G base station serves as the secondary station; for another example: the core network is a 6G core network, and the terminal is connected to a 6G base station and a 5G base station at the same time, where the 6G base station serves as the primary station and the 5G base station serves as the secondary station; for another example: the core network is a 6G core network, and the terminal is connected to two 6G base stations at the same time, that is, both the primary station and the secondary station are 6G base stations.

[0131] It should be understood that Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices that are not shown in Figure 1. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of network devices and terminal devices included in the mobile communication system.

[0132] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to user equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network or a terminal in a future evolution network, etc.

[0133] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0134] Furthermore, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The technical characteristic of the IoT is that objects are connected to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network that interconnects humans and machines, and objects and things. This application does not limit the specific form of the terminal device.

[0135] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a device for implementing a terminal device function, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0136] The network device in the embodiment of the present application can be any device with wireless transceiver functions. The device includes but is not limited to: an evolved Node B (eNB), a home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., and can also be a fifth generation (5G), such as a next generation base station (gNB) in a new generation wireless communication system (NR), or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0137] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the network device may be a device for implementing the function of the network device, or it may be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device.

[0138] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to business scenarios such as backscatter communication and passive IoT communication in NR communication systems and various communication systems, such as: LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), 5G system, vehicle-to-X (V2X), where V2X may include vehicle to network (V2N), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I), vehicle to pedestrian (V2P), etc., long-term evolution-vehicle (LTE-V), Internet of Vehicles, machine type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), long-term evolution-machine (LTE-M), machine to machine (M2M), device to device (Device), etc. device, D2D) or future evolved communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) system.

[0139] It should be understood that a cell refers to a coverage area in a wireless communication system where one or more base stations are responsible for providing wireless signal coverage and communication services. Depending on the context in which the term "cell" is used, the term "cell" can refer to the coverage area of ​​a Node B (NB) and / or a Node B subsystem serving that coverage area. In NR systems, the terms "cell" and next-generation Node B (gNB), NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP), or transmit / receive point (TRP) can be interchangeable.

[0140] To meet people's ever-increasing demand for data traffic, wireless networks are being rapidly built. As networks grow larger, network energy consumption continues to rise, significantly increasing electricity costs for operators. The following are the main reasons for this increase in energy consumption:

[0141] (1) In the 5G and 6G era, with the large-scale commercial use of active antenna units (AAU), the number of antennas on the base station side has increased significantly. Compared with the 3G and 4G eras, the energy consumption of base stations has increased exponentially;

[0142] (2) In the 5G and 6G era, it is necessary to support higher data rates and larger traffic, so there will be more transmission bandwidth, which will correspondingly lead to increased energy consumption on the base station side;

[0143] (3) The use of millimeter waves and terahertz results in denser site deployment, and increasing the number of sites also means increased energy consumption.

[0144] In addition to significantly increasing costs for operators due to increased energy consumption, energy conservation and emission reduction also represent a social responsibility for operators, requiring them to meet government regulatory requirements. Therefore, network-side energy conservation requires continuous optimization research, both in current and next-generation wireless communication systems.

[0145] In today's networks, different equipment vendors and operators are using a variety of energy-saving methods. The current 5G energy-saving technology framework includes device-level, site-level, and network-level energy-saving solutions. At the device level, the focus is on hardware energy-saving solutions from the perspective of device and hardware design. At the site level, software energy-saving solutions are mainly studied, including symbol shutdown, channel shutdown, carrier shutdown, and deep sleep. At the network level, energy-saving terminals implement intelligent energy saving through multi-network coordination.

[0146] At the same time, the evolution of the NR system continues to research reducing network-side energy consumption. For example, 3GPP Rel-18 has established corresponding study items (SI) and work items (WI) for network energy-saving features. These will support flexible antenna unit shutdown on the network side, flexible transmit power adjustment, and discontinuous transmission on the base station side. Considering the existence of existing terminals in the existing network, research is also underway to study mechanisms to prevent existing terminals from accessing cells that support these new energy-saving features.

[0147] Furthermore, in the design of next-generation communication systems, the network will support operating modes with varying network energy consumption. For example, these two operating modes can be called energy-saving mode and enhanced transmission mode. In these different operating modes, the network can use different transmission resources (including time, frequency, spatial, and power domain resources), support functions (such as whether small packet transmission is supported), and related processes (such as access procedures).

[0148] The following describes the terms used in the embodiments of this application:

[0149] 1. Synchronization Raster

[0150] After a terminal is powered on, the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) first selects an appropriate Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The NAS then instructs the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer to select and reselect a cell based on the selected PLMN. Cell selection can be divided into four steps: frequency scanning, cell search, system message decoding, and camping.

[0151] Among them, frequency scanning is to search for the covered cells and their power in the network environment where the mobile phone is located according to the standards and frequency bands supported by the terminal equipment; cell search is to capture the cell with the best coverage in the network environment according to the frequency scanning results after the frequency scanning is completed, and perform frame synchronization, time slot synchronization and obtain the physical cell ID of the cell; system message decoding and cell residency are the processes of reading the cell system message after the cell search is completed and measuring the cell signal strength and signal quality to determine whether the cell meets the residency conditions.

[0152] It is understood that the frequency scanning process will only be performed according to the frequency bands supported by the terminal device during the initial cell selection. In other words, if the frequency point information is stored before the cell selection (such as cell reselection), the frequency scanning process will be skipped and the cell search will be performed directly.

[0153] Among them, because the maximum cell bandwidth supported by NR is very wide, it is necessary to consider the appropriate granularity when performing frequency scanning to avoid very slow UE access speed and high power consumption. In order for the terminal to retrieve the cell more quickly (the synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) are used as an example below), NR specifies the center frequency and interval of SSB, which is called the synchronization grid. The specific calculation formulas for SSB center frequency in different frequency bands are shown in Table 1:

[0154] Table 1 SSB frequency domain position and GSCN calculation

[0155] Among them, the default value of the working frequency band that only supports the SCS interval channel grid is M=3.

[0156] In Table 1, SS REF Represents the center frequency of the SS Block; the global synchronization channel number (GSCN) is used to mark the channel number of the SSB.

[0157] It is understandable that SSBs are placed according to the synchronization grid. When scanning the frequency, the terminal device scans according to the synchronization grid. TS 38.101 defines the sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of SSBs for different bands, the multiplexing method, and the range and spacing of GSCNs. See Table 2 for details:

[0158] Table 2 Applicable SS grid entries for each operating frequency band

[0159] The SSB mode is defined in clause 4.1 of TS 38.213 [8]. The applicable SS grid entry is GSCN = {6432, 6443, 6457, 6468, 6479, 6493, 6507, 6518, 6532, 6543}.

[0160] However, when the network side has different working modes (or working states), for specific types of terminal devices under specific formats (for example, terminal devices in NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) communication systems), it is impossible to quickly obtain the working mode of the cell through the above method during the scanning phase.

[0161] 2. Synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB)

[0162] Synchronization Signal (SS): Synchronization signals are used to synchronize time and frequency between the terminal and the network, as well as detect the cell's physical identifier (ID). They include the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and / or the secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The PSS is used by the terminal for time and frequency synchronization and cell detection. The SSS is used to transmit the cell's physical identifier (ID). The PSS and SSS can also be combined to achieve the above functions.

[0163] Physical broadcasting channel (PBCH): used to transmit main system information, such as a small amount of important information, and methods for obtaining other system information.

[0164] Synchronization signal / PBCH block (SSB): Also known as the synchronization signal block, it includes the synchronization signal SS and / or PBCH, and is used to achieve time synchronization, detect the cell physical identifier (ID), obtain main system information, etc.

[0165] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the contents included in an SSB symbol provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the SSB bandwidth is 20 resource blocks (RBs), which includes 240 subcarriers. The first symbol carries PSS, which includes 127 subcarriers, that is, the PSS sequence length is 127, and the PSS only occupies the middle part of the SSB frequency domain, and no other data or control information is sent on both sides; the second and fourth symbols are physical broadcasting channels (PBCH), which mainly carry system information; the third symbol carries PBCH and SSS at the same time, where the SSS sequence length is 127, the same as the PSS, and both occupy 127 resource elements (REs) in the middle of the SSB frequency domain. 48 REs are used on both sides of the SSS to send PBCH, and there are intervals of 8 and 9 REs between SSS and PBCH. That is, PSS and SSS occupy one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in the time domain and 127 REs in the frequency domain, that is, REs 56 to 182; PSS occupies symbol 0 in SSB, SSS occupies symbol 2 in SSB; and PBCH occupies symbols 1 and 3 in SSB, and occupies part of the REs in symbol 2.

[0166] One of the functions of SSB is cell access. That is, the terminal device can receive MIB information through SSB, thereby obtaining the SIB1 associated with the SSB and accessing the cell. Since SSB includes PSS, SSS, PBCH, and Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), it can also be used by the terminal device to perform time-frequency tracking (or time-frequency synchronization), beam management, radio resource management (RRM) measurement, radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement, channel state information (CSI) measurement, etc.

[0167] The SSB contains the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel PBCH. The physical broadcast channel is used to carry the Master Information Block (MIB) and indicates the retrieval location of the System Information Block 1 (SIB1). SIB1 contains the system information required for the terminal to access the network. SIB1 is also called the remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0168] The SSB transmission period can be indicated by the SIB, and the configurable periods include: 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms and 160ms. During the initial cell search, the default SSB period is 20ms.

[0169] Considering that periodic SSB will cause the network side to wake up periodically to send SSB even when there is no business, it will cause unnecessary energy consumption, resulting in excessive network energy consumption. Therefore, configuring a larger SSB transmission period or simplifying the structure of SSB is also a feasible way to achieve network energy saving. Among them, the simplified structure of SSB can contain only PSS, or only PSS and SSS, or PSS, SSS and part of PBCH. In this way, the time domain overhead occupied by periodic SSB is smaller, and the corresponding network side can be shut down for a longer time, and the network overhead is smaller. However, after receiving the simplified structure SSB, the terminal device cannot determine the working mode of the cell.

[0170] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for quickly indicating a cell's operating mode, enabling a terminal to quickly obtain the current cell's operating mode and access method after powering on when the network supports at least two operating modes. Each operating mode has different energy consumption and is associated with different transmission resources, functions, hardware, and so on.

[0171] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the method 100 includes the following steps:

[0172] S110, the network device determines the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, wherein the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following items: grid information of the synchronization signal, and type of the synchronization signal.

[0173] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific number of working modes supported by the cell.

[0174] In one example, the cell supports two working modes: energy-saving mode and enhanced transmission mode, and the two working modes have different energy consumptions.

[0175] In another example, the cell supports four working modes: a first energy-saving mode, a second energy-saving mode, a first enhanced transmission mode, and a second enhanced transmission mode, and the energy consumption of the four working modes are different.

[0176] It should be understood that the names of the above working modes are only examples and do not constitute any limitation on the naming of future working modes.

[0177] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the grid information of the synchronization signal and the type of the synchronization grid are interchangeable.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the present application proposes at least two different types of synchronization grids, and each type of synchronization grid is associated with a cell operating mode. The following description uses two types of synchronization grids as examples.

[0179] Exemplarily, N operating modes and N types of synchronization grids are defined, and the N operating modes and the N types of synchronization grids correspond one to one, wherein the first type of synchronization grid is associated with the first operating mode, and the second type of synchronization grid is associated with the second operating mode.

[0180] It should be understood that the differences between different types of synchronization grids in the embodiments of the present application may include one or more of the following: different types of synchronization grids have different frequency domain offsets; different types of synchronization grids have different frequency domain intervals, or frequency domain granularity; and different types of synchronization grids define different GSCN calculation methods. The following uses two types of synchronization grids as examples for illustration.

[0181] As an example and not a limitation, the above three parameters of the first type synchronization grid and the second type synchronization grid are all different. Based on this, when calculating the SS position, the frequency domain granularity (frequency domain interval) and frequency domain offset value associated with the first type synchronization grid and the second type synchronization grid are all different. An example is shown in Table 3 below:

[0182] Table 3 Calculation parameters of frequency domain positions of different types of synchronized grids

[0183] Based on Table 3, taking the frequency range of 0 to 3000MHz as an example, when the cell operates in the second working mode, the calculation formula for the center frequency domain position of the SSB it sends can reuse the formula in Table 1, that is, N*1200kHz+M*50kHz, N=1:2499, M∈{1,3,5}; and when the network device operates in the first working mode, the frequency domain position of the SSB it sends needs to adopt different granularity and offset values, that is, N*3600kHz+M*75kHz, N=1:839, M∈{1,3,5}. It should be understood that when the granularity increases, in order to obtain an SSB with an approximate frequency domain position, the embodiment of the present application adaptively increases the value of M, but the specific value of N in the first working state is not limited. For example, N=1:839 is only an example.

[0184] Moreover, in this implementation, different GSCN calculation formulas are defined for two different synchronization grids. For ease of understanding, still taking the frequency range of 0 to 3000 MHz as an example, the GSCN calculation formula in Table 1 is: 3N+(M-3) / 2, where the values ​​of N and M are related to the frequency domain position of the SSB, respectively: N=1:2499, M∈{1,3,5}. Then, when the cell operates in the second working mode, the GSCN calculation formula can reuse the formula in Table 1; and when the cell operates in the first working mode, the GSCN is calculated as: 3N+(M-3) / 2+P, where the P value is a protocol predefined value, such as 10000. It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application introduces P to distinguish the GSCN of different types of synchronization grids. The specific value of P in the GSCN calculation formula in the first working mode is only an example, and this application does not limit this.

[0185] It should be understood that when a cell switches between different operating modes, the location where its synchronization signal is sent or received will also change accordingly. For example, when a cell switches from a first operating mode to a second operating mode, the potential location where its synchronization signal is sent or received will also switch from a first type synchronization grid to a second type synchronization grid.

[0186] It should be understood that this application does not limit the types of synchronization signals (or, in other words, associated synchronization signals) placed on synchronization grids of different grid types. For example, different synchronization grids may have different types of associated synchronization signals, where the differences may be reflected in sequence types (e.g., ZC (Zaddoff-Chu) sequences or m-sequences), sequence lengths (e.g., long sequences and short sequences), etc.

[0187] It should be understood that the network device can explicitly indicate the operating mode of the cell through different types of synchronization grids, or the network device can implicitly indicate the operating mode of the cell through different types of synchronization grids, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The specific manner in which the network device implicitly indicates the operating mode of the cell based on different types of synchronization grids will be described in detail below.

[0188] In another possible implementation, the embodiment of the present application proposes at least two different types of synchronization signals, and each different type of synchronization signal is associated with the working mode of the cell, wherein the different types of synchronization signals have the same center frequency.

[0189] It should be understood that the differences between different types of synchronization signals in the embodiments of the present application may include one or more of the following: different sequence lengths, and different signal contents.

[0190] Specifically, the above-mentioned different signal contents can be understood as: the synchronization signal includes one or more of the primary synchronization signal PSS, the secondary synchronization signal SSS, the master information block MIB, and the timing synchronization signal. The timing synchronization signal is the timing relationship between the received synchronization signal and the wake-up signal.

[0191] In one possible implementation, in order to improve the frequency scanning accuracy of synchronization signals of different sequence lengths, a sequence with a shorter sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a short sequence) can be the middlemost part truncated from a sequence with a longer sequence length (hereinafter referred to as a long sequence). Exemplarily, the length of the short sequence is N, the length of the long sequence is M, and the short sequence corresponds to the middle N bits in the long sequence M.

[0192] It should be understood that the network device can explicitly indicate the operating mode of the cell through different types of synchronization signals, or the network device can implicitly indicate the operating mode of the cell through different types of synchronization signals, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The specific manner in which the network device implicitly indicates the operating mode of the cell based on different types of synchronization signals will be described in detail below.

[0193] S120: The network device sends the synchronization signal.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the network device sends a synchronization signal on a synchronization grid corresponding to the cell operating mode.

[0195] In another possible implementation, the network device sends a synchronization signal of a synchronization signal type corresponding to the cell operating mode.

[0196] S130, the terminal device detects the synchronization signal and determines the working mode of the cell according to the synchronization signal.

[0197] Specifically, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the first synchronization grid or the type of the synchronization signal.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the terminal device detects a synchronization signal on a synchronization grid and determines the working state of a cell according to the type of the synchronization grid.

[0199] As shown in Figure 4, two arrows indicate two types of synchronization grids. The first type of synchronization grid is associated with the first operating mode, and the second type of synchronization grid is associated with the second operating mode. When a terminal device detects a synchronization signal on the first type of synchronization grid, it can determine that the cell is operating in the first operating mode; when a terminal device detects a synchronization signal on the second type of synchronization grid, it can determine that the cell is operating in the second operating mode. Furthermore, after the frequency scan is completed, the terminal device can reside in the cell based on the acquired cell operating mode and the functions and resources related to the cell operating mode.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the terminal device detects the synchronization signal and determines the working state of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal.

[0201] As shown in Figure 5, the first and third types of synchronization signals are associated with the first operating mode, and the second and fourth types of synchronization signals are associated with the second operating mode. When a terminal device detects a synchronization signal on the synchronization grid, it can determine the type of synchronization signal during the process of decoding the system message, thereby determining the operating mode of the cell corresponding to the SSB. Furthermore, the terminal device can reside in the cell based on the acquired cell operating mode, as well as functions and resources related to the cell operating mode.

[0202] S140, the terminal device accesses the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0203] Specifically, after the terminal device determines the operating mode of the cell in step S130, it can access the network according to the operating mode of the cell. The specific method of accessing the network is described in detail below.

[0204] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the cell operating mode can correspond to a non-one-to-one synchronization grid type. In other words, the same type of synchronization grid can correspond to multiple cell operating modes. Specifically, an embodiment of the present application defines X operating modes and Y synchronization grids. The X operating modes correspond to the Y types of synchronization grids, and at least two of the X operating modes correspond to one type of synchronization grid in the Y types of synchronization grids, where X>Y≥2.

[0205] By way of example and not limitation, the present embodiment defines six operating modes and two types of synchronization grids. The first, third, and fifth operating modes are associated with the first type of synchronization grid, and the second, fourth, and sixth operating modes are associated with the second type of synchronization grid. Operating modes corresponding to the same type of synchronization grid reuse one or more operating parameters (e.g., access procedures).

[0206] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the operating mode of a cell may not correspond one-to-one to the type of synchronization signal. In other words, the same type of synchronization signal may correspond to multiple cell operating modes. Specifically, an embodiment of the present application defines type A operating modes and type B synchronization signals. The type A operating mode corresponds to the type B synchronization signal, and at least two operating modes in the type A operating mode correspond to the type B synchronization signal terminal type I synchronization signal, where A>B≥2.

[0207] By way of example and not limitation, the present embodiment defines five operating modes and three types of synchronization signals. The first and third operating modes are associated with the first type of synchronization signal, the second operating mode is associated with the second type of synchronization signal, and the fourth and fifth operating modes are associated with the third type of synchronization signal. The operating modes corresponding to the same type of synchronization signal reuse one or more operating parameters (e.g., access procedures).

[0208] In the above method 100, the network device can determine a first type, i.e., a synchronization grid type, and / or a synchronization signal type, based on the cell operating mode, and send a synchronization signal based on the first type. Correspondingly, after receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the cell operating mode based on the first type, and thereby determine the access procedure. The specific association between the first type and the cell operating mode will be described in detail below.

[0209] First, an application process 200 of the above method 100 is specifically described. In the application process 200, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of synchronization grid. The method 200 includes the following steps:

[0210] S210: The network device determines the type of synchronization grid where the synchronization signal of the cell is located according to the working mode of the cell, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumptions.

[0211] In one possible implementation, the network device determines the type of synchronization grid on which the cell's synchronization signal resides based on association relationship #A (an example of a first association relationship) and the cell's operating mode. Association relationship #A is an association between the type of synchronization grid and the cell's operating mode. For example, in association relationship #A, when the cell's operating mode is the first operating mode, the corresponding synchronization grid is a first-type synchronization grid; and when the cell's operating mode is the second operating mode, the corresponding synchronization grid is a second-type synchronization grid. In this case, the cell operating in the first operating mode will transmit synchronization signals on the first synchronization grid.

[0212] It should be understood that under different energy consumption conditions, different operating modes of a cell should have different operating parameters. The operating parameters of a cell include one or more of the following:

[0213] A method for obtaining the minimum system message of a cell, for example, the minimum system message is actively broadcast by the network side, or is triggered to be sent by a terminal device request.

[0214] The access type of the cell, for example, the access procedure is based on a preamble sequence, or the access procedure is based on a wake-up signal sent by a terminal device.

[0215] The common signal period of a cell, exemplarily, is 5 ms, or 20 ms. The common signals of a cell include a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, a physical broadcast channel, a system information block 1 (SIB1), and the like. It should be understood that the common signal period of the cell may be the period of one or more of the above common signals.

[0216] The transmission resources of the cell, for example, the time domain position of the transmission resources of the cell, the frequency domain position of the transmission resources, the spatial domain resources of the transmission resources, the transmit power of the cell, the bandwidth of the cell, etc.

[0217] Features and functions supported by the cell, for example, whether the cell supports small data transmission, whether the cell supports multicast services, etc.

[0218] The hardware resources of the cell, for example, the number of antennas supported by the cell, the quantization accuracy of digital-to-analog conversion / analog-to-digital conversion, etc.

[0219] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method of how the network device determines the association relationship #A.

[0220] Exemplarily, the association relationship #A is predefined by the protocol.

[0221] Exemplarily, the association relationship #A is determined by the network device itself.

[0222] S220: The network device sends a synchronization signal according to the type of the synchronization grid.

[0223] Specifically, the network device sends the synchronization signal on the synchronization grid of the type determined in step S210 .

[0224] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the types of synchronization signals sent on different types of synchronization grids. For example, a first type of synchronization signal is sent on a first type of synchronization grid, and a second type of synchronization signal is sent on a second type of synchronization grid, wherein the first type of synchronization signal and the second type of synchronization signal have different sequence lengths.

[0225] S230: The terminal device detects the synchronization signal and determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the synchronization grid.

[0226] In one possible manner, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the synchronization grid and based on the association relationship #A. For details on how the terminal device determines the type of the synchronization grid, please refer to S130 and will not be repeated here.

[0227] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method of how the terminal device determines the association relationship #A.

[0228] Exemplarily, the association relationship #A is predefined by the protocol.

[0229] Exemplarily, before receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device receives a system message broadcast by the network device, where the system message includes the association relationship #A.

[0230] S240, the terminal device accesses the network according to the working mode of the cell.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the corresponding operating parameters of the operating mode of the cell according to the determined operating mode of the cell, and then accesses the network.

[0232] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific manner in which the terminal device determines the operating parameters of each operating mode.

[0233] Exemplarily, the specific operating parameters of each of the above operating modes are predefined by the protocol.

[0234] Exemplarily, before receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device receives a system message broadcast by the network device, where the system message includes specific operating parameters for each operating mode.

[0235] In the above method 200, the synchronization grid type is associated with the cell's operating mode, allowing the terminal device to quickly determine the cell's operating mode based on the frequency scanning results and then access the network based on the cell's operating mode. The following method will specifically describe the method for associating the synchronization signal type with the cell's operating mode.

[0236] Another application process 300 of the above method 100 is described in detail below. In the application process 200, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal. The method 300 includes the following steps:

[0237] S310: The network device determines the type of synchronization signal of the cell according to the working mode of the cell, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumptions.

[0238] In one possible implementation, the network device determines the type of synchronization signal for the cell based on association relationship #C (another example of the first association relationship) and according to the cell's operating mode. Association relationship #C is an association relationship between the type of synchronization signal and the cell's operating mode. For example, in association relationship #C, when the cell's operating mode is the first operating mode, the corresponding synchronization grid is a first-type synchronization signal; when the cell's operating mode is the second operating mode, the corresponding synchronization grid is a second-type synchronization signal. In this case, the cell operating in the first operating mode will transmit the first-type synchronization signal.

[0239] It should be understood that the description of the working parameters of the working mode of the cell can refer to the relevant description in step S210 and will not be repeated here.

[0240] It should be understood that the specific manner in which the network device determines the association relationship #A can be referred to the relevant description in step S210 and will not be repeated here.

[0241] S320: The network device sends a synchronization signal according to the type of the synchronization signal. Specific steps can be found in step S220 and will not be described in detail here.

[0242] S330, the terminal device detects the synchronization signal and determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal.

[0243] In one possible implementation, the terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal based on the association relationship #C. For details on how the terminal device determines the type of the synchronization signal, please refer to S130 and will not be repeated here.

[0244] It should be understood that the description of the specific method for the terminal device to determine the association relationship #C can be referred to the relevant description in step S210 and will not be repeated here.

[0245] It should be understood that the description of the specific method for the terminal device to determine the association relationship #C can be referred to the relevant description in step S210 and will not be repeated here.

[0246] S340: The terminal device accesses the network according to the working mode of the cell. The specific method can be referred to S240 and will not be repeated here.

[0247] In the above method 300, the synchronization signal type is associated with the cell's operating mode, allowing the terminal device to quickly determine the cell's operating mode based on the synchronization signal type during the message decoding phase and then access the network based on the cell's operating mode. The following method will specifically describe the method for associating the synchronization grid type with the TRP type.

[0248] It should be understood that different types of transmit and receive points (TRPs) exist in wireless communications. Exemplary TRPs include terrestrial networks (TNs) and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Different TRP types also have different latency, frequency offset, and other characteristics, as well as different access procedures and parameters. Therefore, after powering on a terminal device, how to quickly determine the TRP type and access the network in scenarios where different TRP types are deployed simultaneously is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0249] Optionally, in the above method 100, different types of synchronization grids can also be associated with TRP types. By way of example and not limitation, as shown in FIG6 , a first type of synchronization grid is associated with a TN TRP, and a second type of synchronization grid is associated with an NTN TRP. Specifically, a TN TRP places the SSB on the first type of synchronization grid, while an NTN TRP places the SSB on the second type of synchronization grid.

[0250] Correspondingly, after the terminal device obtains the SSB on the first type of synchronization grid, it can determine that the TRP is a TN TRP, and thus perform random access according to the access procedure and parameters corresponding to the TN TRP in the subsequent access process; after the terminal device obtains the SSB on the second type of synchronization grid, it can determine that the TRP is an NTN TRP, and thus perform random access according to the access procedure and parameters corresponding to the NTN TRP in the subsequent access process.

[0251] The following is a detailed description of the method for a terminal device to determine the TRP type.

[0252] S410: The network device determines the type of synchronization grid in which the synchronization signal of the cell is located according to the TRP type.

[0253] Specifically, the network device determines the type of synchronization grid on which the synchronization signal resides based on the TRP type and association relationship #E. Association relationship #E represents the relationship between the synchronization grid type and the TRP type. For example, in association relationship #E, the first type of synchronization grid is associated with the TN TRP, and the second type of synchronization grid is associated with the NTN TRP. If the network device is a TNTPR, the network device determines that the synchronization signal needs to be sent on the first type of synchronization grid.

[0254] Optionally, the above-mentioned TRP type can be replaced by a base station type or a cell type. In other words, the terminal device can determine the base station type or the cell type based on the grid information of the synchronization signal.

[0255] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method of how the network device determines the association relationship #E.

[0256] Exemplarily, the association relationship #E is predefined by the protocol.

[0257] Exemplarily, the association relationship #E is determined by the network device itself.

[0258] S420: The network device sends a synchronization signal according to the type of the synchronization grid.

[0259] Specifically, the network device sends the synchronization signal on the synchronization grid of the type determined in step S410 .

[0260] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the types of synchronization signals sent on different types of synchronization grids. For example, a first type of synchronization signal is sent on a first type of synchronization grid, and a second type of synchronization signal is sent on a second type of synchronization grid, wherein the first type of synchronization signal and the second type of synchronization signal have different sequence lengths.

[0261] S430: The terminal device detects the synchronization signal and determines the TRP type according to the type of the synchronization grid.

[0262] Specifically, the terminal device determines the TRP type based on the type of synchronization grid and association relationship #E. By way of example and not limitation, after acquiring a synchronization signal on a first-type synchronization grid, the terminal device can determine the TRP type as a TN TRP based on association relationship #E. The manner in which the terminal device determines the synchronization grid type is described in S130 and is not further described here.

[0263] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method of how the terminal device determines the association relationship #E.

[0264] Exemplarily, the association relationship #E is predefined by the protocol.

[0265] Exemplarily, before receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device receives a system message broadcast by the network device, where the system message includes the association relationship #E.

[0266] S440: The terminal device accesses the network according to the TRP type.

[0267] Specifically, the terminal device accesses the network according to the access process and access parameters corresponding to the TRP type.

[0268] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method by which the terminal device determines the access process and access parameters corresponding to each TRP type.

[0269] Exemplarily, the access process and access parameters corresponding to each of the above TRP types are predefined by the protocol.

[0270] Exemplarily, before receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device receives a system message broadcast by the network device, where the system message includes the access process and access parameters corresponding to each TRP type.

[0271] In the above method 400, the type of synchronization grid is associated with the TRP type, so that the terminal device can quickly determine the TRP type according to the frequency scanning result, and then access the network according to the TRP type.

[0272] The embodiment of the present application further proposes a communication method 500, as shown in FIG7 , the method 500 includes the following steps:

[0273] S510, the network device determines, based on the first information, that the first information is associated with the energy consumption of the cell, the first information includes one or more of the common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, and the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, and the first information corresponds to at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal and the type of the synchronization signal.

[0274] It should be understood that, compared with method 100 , the network device and terminal device in method 500 may not need to determine their own working modes.

[0275] It should be understood that the description of the type of synchronization grid and the type of synchronization signal can refer to method 100 and will not be repeated here.

[0276] In one possible implementation, the network device determines the type of synchronization grid in which the synchronization signal of the cell resides based on association relationship #B (an example of a second association relationship) and specific operating parameters of the cell. Association relationship #B is an association between the type of synchronization grid and specific operating parameters in the operating mode of the cell.

[0277] It should be understood that due to the different specific operating parameters of each cell, the cell's synchronization parameters also vary. In this implementation, the network device can determine the type of synchronization grid to send the synchronization signal based on the specific operating parameters of the cell. The specific operating parameters of the cell can be referred to in the description of the above implementation and will not be repeated here.

[0278] As an example and not a limitation, association #B includes an association between a cell's system message acquisition method and its synchronization grid type. Specifically, when the cell's minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network, the corresponding synchronization grid is a first-type synchronization grid. When the cell's minimum remaining system message is triggered by a terminal device request, the corresponding synchronization grid is a second-type synchronization grid. In this case, a cell whose minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network will send a synchronization signal on the first synchronization grid.

[0279] It should be understood that association relationship #B can include association relationships between two or more specific operating parameters and synchronization grid types. As an example and not a limitation, association relationship #B is shown in the following table:

[0280] Table 4 An example of an association relationship

[0281] It should be understood that the association relationship #B can include association relationships between more than two synchronization grids and specific operating parameters. As an example and not a limitation, the association relationship #B is shown in the following table:

[0282] Table 5 An example of an association relationship

[0283] In another possible implementation, the network device determines the type of the synchronization signal of the cell based on association relationship #D (another example of the second association relationship) and according to specific operating parameters in the operating mode of the cell. Association relationship #D is an association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the specific operating parameters in the operating mode of the cell.

[0284] In this implementation, the network device can determine the type of synchronization signal to be sent based on the specific operating parameters of the cell. The specific operating parameters of the cell can be referred to in the description of the above implementation and will not be repeated here.

[0285] As an example and not a limitation, the association relationship #D includes the association relationship between the cell's system message acquisition method and the synchronization signal type. Specifically, when the cell's minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network side, the corresponding synchronization signal is a first-class synchronization signal; when the cell's minimum remaining system message is triggered by a terminal device request, the corresponding synchronization signal is a second-class synchronization signal. At this time, the cell whose minimum remaining system message is actively broadcast by the network side will send a synchronization signal on the first synchronization signal. The sequence length of the first-class synchronization signal is 100 bits, and the sequence length of the second-class synchronization signal is 200 bits.

[0286] It should be understood that the association relationship #D can include the association relationship between two or more specific working parameters and synchronization signal types. For specific examples, please refer to Table 4. It is only necessary to replace the synchronization grid type with the synchronization signal type. No further details will be given here.

[0287] It should be understood that the association relationship #D can include the association relationship between more than two synchronization signal types and specific working parameters. For specific examples, please refer to Table 5. It is only necessary to replace the synchronization grid type with the synchronization signal type. No further details will be given here.

[0288] S520: The network device sends the synchronization signal. Specific steps can be found in step S120 and will not be described in detail here.

[0289] S530: The terminal device detects a synchronization signal and determines the first information according to the synchronization signal.

[0290] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines specific operating parameters of the cell according to the type of the synchronization grid and based on the association relationship #B, and different operating parameters correspond to different energy consumptions.

[0291] In another possible implementation, the terminal device determines the specific operating parameters of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal based on the association relationship #D, and different operating parameters correspond to different energy consumptions.

[0292] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific method of how the terminal device determines the association relationship #B and the association relationship #D.

[0293] Exemplarily, the association relationship #B and the association relationship #D are predefined by the protocol.

[0294] Exemplarily, before receiving the synchronization signal, the terminal device receives a system message broadcast by the network device, where the system message includes the association relationship #B and the association relationship #D.

[0295] S540: The terminal device accesses the network according to the first information.

[0296] In a possible implementation, the terminal device accesses the network through specific operating parameters of the cell determined according to the synchronization grid type or the synchronization signal type.

[0297] As an example but not limitation, the common signal period determined by the terminal device is 5ms, and the terminal device subsequently receives the common signal with a period of 5ms, thereby implementing a subsequent access process to access the network according to the common signal.

[0298] As an example and not a limitation, the RMSI receiving method determined by the terminal device is active broadcast on the network side, and the terminal device continuously detects the RMSI, and performs subsequent access procedures according to the RMSI to access the network.

[0299] As an example and not a limitation, if the access process determined by the terminal device is access based on a wake-up signal, the terminal device sends a wake-up signal to the network side, thereby performing a subsequent access process to access the network.

[0300] As an example and not a limitation, the terminal device determines the time domain position and frequency domain position of the transmission resource, and the terminal device receives and sends signals at the time domain position and frequency domain position, thereby performing a subsequent access process to access the network.

[0301] Based on the above solution, after detecting the synchronization signal, the terminal device can determine the specific operating parameters of the cell according to the type of the synchronization signal or the grid information of the synchronization signal, and then access the network according to the specific operating parameters.

[0302] It should be understood that the various embodiments described herein may be independent solutions or may be combined according to internal logic, and all of these solutions fall within the scope of protection of this application. It should be understood that the steps in the above embodiments are merely for the purpose of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments and do not limit the order in which the steps are executed.

[0303] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, the devices in the existing network architecture are mainly used as examples for illustrative description (such as terminal devices, network devices, etc.), and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the specific form of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0304] It is understandable that in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as terminal devices, network devices) can also be implemented by components of the devices (such as chips or circuits).

[0305] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 3 to 7. The communication method is primarily described from the perspective of interaction between a terminal device and a network device. It is understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the terminal device and the network device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions.

[0306] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0307] The terminal device and network device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 8 to 10. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents are not repeated here.

[0308] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device and the network device can be divided into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each functional module according to each function.

[0309] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 10 includes a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12. The transceiver module 11 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 12 is used to process data. In other words, the transceiver module 11 is used to perform operations related to receiving and sending, and the processing module 12 is used to perform operations other than receiving and sending. The transceiver module 11 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0310] Optionally, the device 10 may further include a storage module 13, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 12 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the device implements the actions of the devices in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0311] In one design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the terminal device.

[0312] The device 10 can implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment, wherein the transceiver module 11 can be used to execute the transceiver-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to execute the processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0313] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 11 is used to detect the synchronization signal; the processing module 12 determines the working mode of the cell based on the synchronization signal, and the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption. The working mode of the cell corresponds to at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal, and the type of the synchronization signal; the processing module 12 is also used to access the network based on the working mode of the cell.

[0314] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG. 3 or FIG. 7 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method; and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method.

[0315] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0316] In another design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiment, or a component (such as a chip) of the network device.

[0317] The device 10 can implement the steps or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiment, wherein the transceiver module 11 can be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the network device in the above method embodiment, and the processing module 12 can be used to perform the processing-related operations of the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the processing module 12 is used to determine the first type of the synchronization signal based on the working mode of the cell, where the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, wherein the working mode of the cell is mapped to at least one of the following: the grid information of the synchronization signal, the type of the synchronization signal; the transceiver module 11 is used to send the synchronization signal.

[0319] When the device 10 is used to execute the method in FIG. 3 or FIG. 7 , the transceiver module 11 may be used to execute the steps of sending and receiving information in the method; and the processing module 12 may be used to execute the processing steps in the method.

[0320] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0321] It should also be understood that the device 10 here is embodied in the form of a functional module. The term "module" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 10 may be specifically the mobile management network element in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the mobile management network element in the above-mentioned method embodiments; or, the device 10 may be specifically the terminal device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0322] The apparatus 10 of each of the above-described solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the devices (such as terminal devices and network devices) in the above-described methods. This function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions; for example, the transceiver module can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver module can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing module, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0323] In addition, the transceiver module 11 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing module may be a processing circuit.

[0324] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 20 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Device 20 includes a processor 21, which is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 22, or read data / signaling stored in memory 22, to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, there may be one or more processors 21.

[0325] Optionally, as shown in FIG9 , the apparatus 20 further includes a memory 22 for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21 or may be separately provided. Optionally, there may be one or more memories 22 .

[0326] Optionally, as shown in Figure 9, the device 20 further includes a transceiver 23, which is used to receive and / or send signals. For example, the processor 21 is used to control the transceiver 23 to receive and / or send signals.

[0327] As a solution, the apparatus 20 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device and the network device in the above various method embodiments.

[0328] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0329] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a 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 link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0330] 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, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0331] 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.

[0332] 10 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 30 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 30 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 31 and an input / output interface 32.

[0333] The logic circuit 31 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 30. The logic circuit 31 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 30 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 32 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 30, outputting information processed by the chip system 30 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 30 for processing.

[0334] As a solution, the chip system 30 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device and the network device in the above various method embodiments.

[0335] For example, the logic circuit 31 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device and the network device in the above method embodiment; the input / output interface 32 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device and the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0336] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the terminal device and the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments are stored.

[0337] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by the terminal device and the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0338] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the aforementioned terminal device and network device.

[0339] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0340] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0341] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer 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 computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. 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 includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium includes, but is not limited to, various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0342] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device detects the synchronization signal; The terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the synchronization signal, the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumptions, and the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: grid information of the synchronization signal, and the type of the synchronization signal; The terminal device accesses the network according to the working mode of the cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The terminal device determines the working mode of the cell according to the synchronization signal, including: According to the synchronization signal, the working mode of the cell is determined based on a first association relationship, wherein the first association relationship includes an association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or an association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Different types of synchronization signals have the same central frequency point, and the types of the synchronization signals are distinguished based on one or more of the following: The sequence type of the synchronization signal; The sequence length of the synchronization signal; or The composition of the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal includes one or more of a primary synchronization signal PSS, a secondary synchronization signal SSS, a master information block MIB and a timing indication signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The cell has one or more of the following differences in the working modes of different energy consumptions: The common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, the functions supported by the cell, and the hardware resources of the cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that The first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or Before the terminal device detects the synchronization signal, the method further includes: A first message is received, where the first message includes the first association relationship.

7. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network device determines the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell, the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumption, wherein the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: grid information of the synchronization signal, type of the synchronization signal: The network device sends the synchronization signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The network equipment determines the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell, including: The network device determines the synchronization signal according to the working mode of the cell based on a first association relationship, wherein the first association relationship includes an association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or an association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that Different types of synchronization signals have the same central frequency point, and the types of the synchronization signals are distinguished based on one or more of the following: The sequence type of the synchronization signal; The sequence length of the synchronization signal; or The composition of the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal includes the primary synchronization signal PSS, the secondary synchronization signal SSS, the master information block MIB and the timing Indicates one or more of the following signals.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that The cell has one or more of the following differences in the working modes of different energy consumptions: The common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, the functions supported by the cell, and the hardware resources of the cell.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that The first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or Before the network device sends the synchronization signal, the method further includes: A first message is sent, where the first message includes the first association relationship.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device detects the synchronization signal; The terminal device determines the type of the target TPR from at least two transmission receiving node TRP types according to the grid information of the synchronization signal, and the access parameters corresponding to the at least two TRP types are different; The terminal device accesses the network according to the type of the target TRP.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network device determines the grid information of the synchronization signal according to the type of the transmission receiving node TRP; The network device sends the synchronization signal according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, used for detecting a synchronization signal; A processing unit, configured to determine a working mode of a cell according to the synchronization signal, wherein the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumptions, and the working mode of the cell has a mapping relationship with at least one of the following: grid information of the synchronization signal, and a type of the synchronization signal; The processing unit is further configured to access a network according to a working mode of the cell.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: According to the synchronization signal, the working mode of the cell is determined based on a first association relationship, wherein the first association relationship includes an association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or an association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

19. The device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

20. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that Different types of synchronization signals have the same central frequency point, and the types of the synchronization signals are distinguished based on one or more of the following: The sequence type of the synchronization signal; The sequence length of the synchronization signal; or The composition of the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal includes one or more of a primary synchronization signal PSS, a secondary synchronization signal SSS, a master information block MIB and a timing indication signal.

21. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that The cell corresponding to the working mode of the cell has one or more of the following differences in working modes with different energy consumptions: The common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, the functions supported by the cell, and the hardware resources of the cell.

22. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that The first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or The transceiver module is further used to receive a first message, where the first message includes the first association relationship.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to determine a synchronization signal according to a working mode of a cell, wherein the cell supports at least two working modes with different energy consumptions, wherein the working mode of the cell is mapped to at least one of the following: grid information of the synchronization signal, and a type of the synchronization signal: A transceiver unit is used to send the synchronization signal.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: According to the working mode of the cell, based on a first association relationship, the grid information of the synchronization signal and one or more of the types of the synchronization signal are determined. The first association relationship includes an association relationship between the grid information of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell, and / or an association relationship between the type of the synchronization signal and the working mode of the cell.

25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

26. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that Different types of synchronization signals have the same central frequency point, and the types of the synchronization signals are distinguished based on one or more of the following: The sequence type of the synchronization signal; The sequence length of the synchronization signal; or The composition of the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal includes one or more of a primary synchronization signal PSS, a secondary synchronization signal SSS, a master information block MIB and a timing indication signal.

27. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 26, characterized in that The configuration parameters corresponding to the working mode of the cell include one or more of the following: The common signal period of the cell, the access process of the cell, the system message acquisition method of the cell, the time domain and frequency domain positions of the transmission resources of the cell, and the functions supported by the cell.

28. The device according to any one of claims 24 to 27, characterized in that The first association relationship is defined by a protocol, or The transceiver module is further used to send a first message, where the first message includes the first association relationship.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, used for detecting a synchronization signal; A processing unit, configured to determine a type of a target TPR from at least two types of transmission receiving nodes TRP according to the grid information of the synchronization signal, wherein the at least two types of TRP have different access parameters; The processing unit is also used to access the network according to the type of the target TRP.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to determine grid information of a synchronization signal according to a type of a transmission receiving node TRP; A transceiver unit is used to send the synchronization signal according to the grid information of the synchronization signal.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that The grid information of the synchronization signal includes one or more of the following: The calculation method of frequency domain offset, frequency domain interval, and global synchronization channel number GSCN.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to execute a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or cause the communication device to execute a method as described in any one of claims 7 to 12, or cause the communication device to execute a method as described in any one of claims 13 to 14, or cause the communication device to execute a method as described in any one of claims 15 to 16.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that Contains instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, or cause the communication device to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 12, or cause the communication device to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 14, or cause the communication device to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 16.

35. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is installed in a communication device, and the chip includes a processor and a communication interface. When the processor reads instructions through the communication interface and runs, the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 7 to 12, or the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 13 to 14, or the communication device executes the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 16.

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