Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and in particular to a communication method and an apparatus. In the communication method, a network device sends target indication information in a target time period within an active period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell; and a terminal device receives the target indication information in the target time period, and on the basis of the target indication information, activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. By using the communication method provided by the present application, the number of transmissions of the target indication information used for indicating activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell can be effectively reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of a communication system where the network device and the terminal device are located.

Description

A communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on August 10, 2023, with application number 202311015609.1 and application name “A communication method and related device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] With the continuous advancement of cellular communication technology, network transmission bandwidth continues to increase, and the number of transmission channels is also rapidly increasing. This has led to a corresponding increase in the power consumption of network equipment and terminal devices. To reduce the power consumption of communication systems, two energy-saving technologies have been proposed: cell discontinuous transmission (cell DTX) and cell discontinuous reception (cell DRX). The basic concept of these two energy-saving technologies is to configure a cycle consisting of active and inactive times. When the energy-saving technology is activated, network equipment and terminal devices will not transmit certain channels / signals during the inactive periods within this cycle, thereby reducing the power consumption of the communication system.

[0004] In the prior art, network devices instruct terminal devices to activate / deactivate cell DTX or cell DRX by multicasting downlink control information (DCI). This DCI is also called DCI Format 2_X. In this case, the terminal device needs to blindly detect the DCI based on the search space and control resource set configuration corresponding to the DCI. However, this approach requires the terminal device to continuously detect the DCI, and the network device may also need to continuously send the DCI to the terminal device, which is not conducive to reducing the power consumption of the communication system.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method and related devices, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the communication system.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applicable to a terminal device. The method comprises: receiving target indication information sent by a network device within a target period, wherein the target period is included in an active period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device; and activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information.

[0008] In the above implementation, the terminal device will only detect and receive the target indication information during the target time period, and further activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information, which can reduce the number of times the target indication information is received and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation, a terminal device may receive target configuration information sent by the network device, where the target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset. The first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission; or, the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. The terminal device may determine the target period based on the first offset and the second offset.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation, the terminal device may activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is the time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, and the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX. The terminal device can activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0013] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, defining the target time period based on the DTX of the first cell can reduce the number of times the terminal device receives target indication information, and can effectively reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, and the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX. The terminal device can activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0016] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, defining the target time period based on the DRX of the first cell can also reduce the number of times the terminal device sends target indication information, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one feasible implementation, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with second discontinuous transmission. The terminal device may activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell according to the target indication information.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0019] In the above implementation, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the target time period for receiving the target indication information can be defined based on the cell with the shortest active period and / or shortest cycle of the discontinuous transmission among these multiple cells. This can also reduce the number of times the target indication information is sent, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation, if the terminal device determines that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of any second cell i in the at least one second cell, and the time unit for receiving the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second cell i is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit for receiving the target indication information, and Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. With this implementation, even if the terminal device receives the target indication information within the inactive period of the second continuous transmission of any second cell i, it can activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i in a timely manner, thereby improving transmission stability.

[0021] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one feasible implementation, target indication information received by the terminal device during an inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Such an implementation not only avoids repeated indication of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, but also avoids affecting the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i that has already been determined to be activated or deactivated when the terminal device fails to detect the target indication information, thereby avoiding logical confusion.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation, when the terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device within each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method applicable to a network device. The method includes: determining target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to activate / deactivate a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell. Sending the target indication information to a terminal device within a target period, wherein the target period is included in an active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0026] In the above implementation, the network device only sends the target indication information during the target period, which can reduce the number of times the target indication information is sent and reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0027] In conjunction with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation, the network device may send target configuration information to the terminal device. The target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset, wherein the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0028] In conjunction with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is the time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0031] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, defining the target time period based on the DTX of the first cell can not only reduce the number of times the network device sends target indication information, but also avoid the network device sending target indication information during the inactive period of DTX of the first cell, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is further configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the target indication information is further used to activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0034] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, defining the target time period based on the DRX of the first cell can also reduce the number of times the network device sends target indication information, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0037] In the above implementation, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the target time period for sending the target indication information can be defined based on the cell with the shortest active period and / or shortest cycle of discontinuous transmission among these multiple cells. This can also reduce the number of times the target indication information is sent, thereby reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one feasible implementation, the target indication information sent by the network device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Such an implementation not only avoids repeated indication of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, but also avoids affecting the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i that has already been determined to be activated or deactivated when the terminal device fails to detect the target indication information, thereby avoiding logical confusion.

[0039] In conjunction with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation, when the network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j of the terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device within each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0042] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method applicable to the terminal device described above. The communication method includes: receiving target indication information sent by a network device during a target time period within a preset period, wherein the preset period is different from the period of a search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing of the search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information. Activating / deactivating a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device according to the target indication information.

[0043] In the above implementation, the terminal device only detects and receives the target indication information during the target time period within the preset cycle, which can reduce the number of times the target indication information is received and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0044] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one feasible implementation, preset period configuration information sent by a network device is received. The preset period configuration information includes at least the period length and starting offset of the preset period, and configuration information of the target time period. The configuration information corresponding to the target time period is used to indicate the position of the target time period within the preset period. The preset period is determined based on the period length and starting offset, and the target time period included in each preset period is determined based on the configuration information of the target time period.

[0045] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device may be activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0046] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the method further includes activating / deactivating the DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0047] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0048] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception (DRX), and the first cell is further configured with discontinuous transmission (DTX). The method further includes activating / deactivating DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0050] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the method also includes activating / deactivating the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell according to the target indication information.

[0051] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0052] In conjunction with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation, if it is determined that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of any second cell i among the at least one second cell, and the time unit in which the target indication information is received is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second cell i is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at a second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the target indication information is received, where Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0054] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0055] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0056] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation manner, the preset period is an integer multiple of the period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0057] In combination with the third aspect, in a feasible implementation manner, the target time period is included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method applicable to a network device. The method includes: determining target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of a terminal device. The target indication information is sent to the terminal device at a target time period within a preset period, wherein the preset period is different from a period of a search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from a detection timing of a search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information.

[0059] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in an optional implementation, the network device generates and sends preset period configuration information to the terminal device. The preset period configuration information includes at least the period length and starting offset of the preset period, and configuration information corresponding to the target period, where the configuration information corresponding to the target period is used to indicate the position of the target period within the preset period.

[0060] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the method further includes: activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is a time unit next to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0061] In the above implementation, the network device only sends the target indication information during the target time period within the preset cycle, which can reduce the number of times the target indication information is sent and reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0062] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell.

[0063] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0064] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell.

[0065] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0066] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell.

[0067] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0068] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information sent by the network device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0069] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j of the terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0070] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0071] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation manner, the preset period is a positive integer multiple of the period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0072] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a feasible implementation manner, the target time period is included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0073] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the terminal device mentioned in the first aspect. The communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive target indication information sent by a network device within a target time period. The target time period is included in an active time period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device. The processing unit is configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information.

[0074] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the transceiver unit is further used to receive target configuration information sent by the network device, and the target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset. The first offset is the time unit offset of the start time unit of the target time period relative to the start time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is the time unit offset of the end time unit of the target time period relative to the start time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first offset is the time unit offset of the start time unit of the target time period relative to the end time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset parameter is the time unit offset of the end time unit of the target time period relative to the end time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. The processing unit is also used to determine the target time period based on the first offset and the second offset.

[0075] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is a time unit next to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0076] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the processing unit is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0077] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0078] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the processing unit is further used to activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0079] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0080] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the processing unit is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell according to the target indication information.

[0081] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0082] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to, if it is determined that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of any second cell i among the at least one second cell, and the time unit in which the target indication information is received is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, activate / deactivate the second cell i according to the target indication information at a second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the target indication information is received, where Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0083] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information received by the transceiver unit during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0084] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the transceiver unit receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate the activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate the deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0085] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0086] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0087] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the network device involved in the aforementioned second aspect. The network device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The processing unit is configured to determine target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to activate / deactivate a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell. The transceiver unit is configured to send the target indication information to a terminal device within a target time period, wherein the target time period is included in an active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0088] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the transceiver unit is further used to send target configuration information to the terminal device. The target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset, the first offset being the time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset being the time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first offset is the time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is the time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0089] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is a time unit next to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0090] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell.

[0091] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0092] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell.

[0093] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0094] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell.

[0095] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0096] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information sent by the transceiver unit during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0097] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the transceiver unit sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j of the terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0098] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0099] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0100] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be the terminal device described in the third aspect above. The communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive target indication information sent by a network device at a target time period within a preset period. The preset period is different from the period of the search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing of the search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information. The processing unit is used to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device according to the target indication information.

[0101] In conjunction with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0102] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the processing unit is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0103] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0104] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the processing unit is also used to activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0105] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0106] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the processing unit is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell according to the target indication information.

[0107] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0108] In conjunction with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to, if it is determined that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of any second cell i among the at least one second cell, and the time unit in which the target indication information is received is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, activate / deactivate the second cell i according to the target indication information at a second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the target indication information is received, where Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0109] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information received by the transceiver unit during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0110] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the transceiver unit receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate the activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate the deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0111] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0112] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0113] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation, the preset period is a positive integer multiple of the period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0114] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target time period is included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0115] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the network device described in the fourth aspect above. The communication device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is used to determine target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device. The transceiver unit is used to send target indication information to the terminal device at a target time period within a preset period, wherein the preset period is different from the period of the search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing of the search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information.

[0116] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission at a first target time unit. The first target time unit is a time unit next to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0117] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell.

[0118] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DRX of the first cell.

[0119] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell.

[0120] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of DTX of the first cell.

[0121] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i in the at least one second cell.

[0122] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the period of the first discontinuous transmission is less than or equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0123] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target indication information sent by the transceiver unit during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i in the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0124] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, when the transceiver unit sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j of the terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

[0125] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the active timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

[0126] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a partial cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the partial cycle is the same.

[0127] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation, the preset period is a positive integer multiple of the period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0128] In combination with the eighth aspect, in a feasible implementation method, the target time period is included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0129] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, the instructions being executable by one or more processors on a processing circuit. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the communication method described in the first, second, third, or fourth aspects above.

[0130] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, at least one processor, and a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the communication method provided in the first, second, third, or fourth aspect.

[0131] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising an input and output interface and a processing circuit, wherein the input and output interface is used to exchange information or data, and the processing circuit is used to run instructions so that the device on which the chip is installed executes the communication method provided in the first, second, third or fourth aspect above.

[0132] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device in which the chip system is installed to implement the communication method provided in the first, second, third or fourth aspects above, such as generating or processing the data and / or information involved in the above methods. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data necessary for the data sending device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0133] By adopting the communication method provided in the present application, the network device and the terminal device only need to transmit the target indication information of the first discontinuous transmission for indicating activation / deactivation of the first cell during a preset time period, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the communication system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0134] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the DTX / DRX cycle provided by the present application;

[0136] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0137] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application;

[0138] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0139] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0140] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0141] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0142] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0143] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0144] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0145] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0146] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0147] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0148] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0149] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0150] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0151] FIG18 is another flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0152] FIG19 is another flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0153] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of the format of target indication information provided by this application;

[0154] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of another format of target indication information provided by the present application;

[0155] FIG22 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0156] FIG23 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0157] FIG24 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0158] FIG25 is a schematic diagram of a transmission period of another target indication information provided by the present application;

[0159] FIG26 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application;

[0160] FIG27 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

[0161] FIG28 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application;

[0162] FIG29 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0163] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), or applied to future communication systems or other similar communication systems.

[0164] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The radio access network 100 may include at least one radio access network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1) and at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal is wirelessly connected to the radio access network device, and the radio access network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the radio access network device may be independent and distinct physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device may be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the radio access network device. Terminals and radio access network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0165] A radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a Wi-Fi system. It can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, such as a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer, as well as some or all of the physical layer. For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The wireless access network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node, a donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and device form used by the wireless access network device. For ease of description, the following description uses a network device as an example of a wireless access network device.

[0166] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0167] Network devices and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminals.

[0168] The roles of network devices and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. With respect to the terminal 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, drone 120i is a network device. However, with respect to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0169] Communication between network devices and terminals, between network devices, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0170] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0171] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0172] Below, some terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0173] (1) Cell discontinuous transmission (cell DTX) and cell discontinuous reception (cell DRX)

[0174] In order to achieve the purpose of energy saving for a communication system (including terminal devices and network devices), the prior art provides a method: configuring a cell of a terminal device with a period including an active time and an inactive time. During the inactive time period of this period, the terminal device does not send some signals / channels, and the network device does not receive these signals / channels. Only during the active time period of this period will the terminal device send these signals / channels, and the network device will receive these signals / channels. Such energy-saving technology is called cell DTX, and such a period is also the period of cell DTX. It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, cell DTX can also be referred to as DTX for short, and these two expressions can be equivalently replaced. For the convenience of expression, it is uniformly expressed as DTX in the following text.

[0175] Similarly, the prior art also provides another way: configuring a cell for a terminal device with a period including an active time and an inactive time. During the inactive time of this period, the terminal device does not receive some signals / channels, and the network device does not send these signals / channels. Only during the active time period of this cycle will the terminal device receive these signals / channels, and the network device will also send these signals / channels. This energy-saving technology is called cellDRX. It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, cellDRX can also be referred to as DRX, and these two expressions can be equivalently replaced. For the convenience of expression, it will be uniformly expressed as DRX in the following text.

[0176] It should be understood that when a cell is configured with DTX or DRX, it is effective for all terminal devices in the cell, or in other words, the network equipment can indicate DTX or DRX to all users in the cell through relevant information, or in other words, all users in the cell use the same DTX or DRX.

[0177] In actual implementation, DTX or DRX can be configured at the cell level. The network device can configure DTX for a cell of the terminal device through RRC signaling. During actual communication, the network device can instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX for the cell through multicast DCI or MAC control element (CE). Similarly, the network device can also configure DRX for a cell of the terminal device through RRC signaling, and instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX for the cell through multicast DCI or MAC CE.

[0178] It should be understood that activating DTX means making the DTX of the cell effective, or in other words, making the terminal device receive some signals / channels during the active period of the DTX cycle of the cell, and not receiving these signals / channels during the inactive period of the DTX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device sends some signals / channels during the active period of the DTX cycle of the cell, and does not send these signals / channels during the inactive period of the DTX cycle of the cell). Deactivating the DTX of the cell means making the DTX of the cell invalid, or in other words, making the terminal device receive these signals / channels at any time unit within the DTX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device can send these signals / channels at any time unit within the DTX cycle of the cell), or making the terminal device receive these signals / channels at the inactive period of the DTX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device can also send these signals / channels at the inactive period of the DTX cycle of the cell). Similarly, activating DRX means making the DRX of the cell effective, or in other words, making the terminal device send some signals / channels during the active period of the DRX cycle of the cell, and not sending these signals / channels during the inactive period of the DRX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device receives some signals / channels during the active period of the DRX cycle of the cell, and does not receive these signals / channels during the inactive period of the DRX cycle of the cell). Deactivating the DRX of the cell means making the DRX of the cell invalid, or in other words, making the terminal device send these signals / channels at any time unit within the DRX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device can receive these signals / channels at any time unit within the DRX cycle of the cell), or making the terminal device send these signals / channels at the inactive period of the DRX cycle of the cell (at this time, the network device can also receive these signals / channels at the inactive period of the DRX cycle of the cell). For the sake of convenience, the following text will uniformly express them in the form of activation / deactivation.

[0179] For any cell of a terminal device, it may be configured with only one DTX or DRX, or may be configured with multiple DTX or multiple DRX. If multiple DTXs are configured for the cell, only one DTX will be activated or effective at the same time, and the remaining DTXs will be deactivated or invalid. Similarly, if multiple DRXs are configured for the cell, only one DRX will be activated or effective at the same time, and the remaining DTXs will be deactivated or invalid.

[0180] It should be noted that DTX or DRX is merely an abbreviation for the two energy-saving technologies mentioned above. In actual implementation, the two energy-saving technologies may be referred to as energy-saving mode 1 and energy-saving mode 2, or energy-saving configuration 1 and energy-saving configuration 2, respectively. This application does not impose any specific restrictions on the names of these two energy-saving technologies.

[0181] It should also be noted that in the embodiments of this application, DTX and DRX technologies can be collectively referred to as discontinuous transmission technologies. Alternatively, DTX and DRX can be collectively referred to as discontinuous transmission. In the embodiments of this application, the discontinuous transmission of a cell is referred to as DTX or DRX for that cell. Alternatively, in the embodiments of this application, discontinuous transmission is equivalent to DTX or DRX.

[0182] (2) DTX and DRX cycles, active periods, and inactive periods

[0183] Key DTX / DRX configuration information may include the following: cycle length, active period, inactive period, on-time, and off-time. The on-time refers to the start of the active period within the DTX / DRX cycle (i.e., the start time of the DTX / DRX cycle), and the off-time refers to the start of the inactive period within the DTX / DRX cycle. A DTX / DRX cycle consists of an active period and an inactive period.

[0184] For example, see Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of the DTX / DRX cycle provided in this application. As shown in Figure 2, the DTX / DRX cycle includes an active period and an inactive period, and the total duration of the active period and the inactive period is the length of the DTX / DRX cycle. Furthermore, within a DTX / DRX cycle, the active period and the inactive period are included in chronological order.

[0185] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the active period within the DTX cycle is defined by the DTX activity timer, and the DTX activity period is the timing period (or running period) of the DTX activity timer. The active period within the DRX cycle is defined by the DRX activity timer, and the DRX activity period is the timing period of the DRX activity timer. It can also be understood that the start time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission provided by the present application is the time unit at which the timing start moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the end time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit at which the timing end moment or timeout moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located. The next time unit after the end time unit of the DTX / DRX active period is the start time unit of the DTX / DRX inactive period. The DTX activity timer can also be called the cell DTX-on Duration Timer, and the DRX activity timer can also be called the cell DRX-on Duration Timer. Accordingly, the inactive period within the DTX / DRX cycle is the remaining period of the DTX / DRX cycle excluding the DTX / DRX active period.

[0186] In practical applications, the channel / signal that cannot be transmitted during the inactive period in the DTX cycle may be a downlink channel / signal, and the channel / signal that cannot be transmitted during the inactive period in the DRX cycle may be an uplink channel / signal.

[0187] Exemplarily, the channels / signals that cannot be transmitted during the inactive period within the DRX cycle include at least one of the following: configured grant PUSCH (CG PUSCH; PUSCH is the English abbreviation of physical uplink shared channel); hybrid automatic repeat request feedback (HARQ-ACK) of semi-persistent scheduled physical downlink shared channel (SPS PDSCH); scheduling request (SR); physical random access channel (PRACH); random access message A; random access message 3.

[0188] Exemplarily, the channels / signals that cannot be transmitted during the inactive period of the DTX cycle include at least one of the following: PDCCH scrambled by modulation and coding scheme-cell radio network temporary identifier (MCS-C-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by power saving-RNTI (PS-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by system information radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI); PDCCH scrambled by paging early indication radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI); indication-RNTI, PEI-RNTI) scrambled PDCCH; synchronization and physical broadcast channel block SSB; system information; paging message; random access message 2; random access message 4; random access message B; or semi-persistent scheduling physical layer downlink shared channel (SPS PDSCH).

[0189] (3) Time unit

[0190] The time unit referred to in this application is specifically the time domain resource granularity at a specific moment. Specifically, the time unit can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a time slot (i.e., a slot), a millisecond, or a second, etc., and this application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0191] In the prior art, network devices use DCI to instruct terminal devices to activate / deactivate a cell's DTX or DRX. Terminal devices, however, must blindly detect the DCI based on the search space and control resource set configuration corresponding to the multicast DCI. This approach requires frequent DCI transmission between terminal devices and network devices, which is not conducive to reducing power consumption in the communication system.

[0192] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by this application is: how to reduce the power consumption of activating / deactivating DTX and / or DRX to further save the power consumption of the communication system.

[0193] Example 1

[0194] To solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method. In this communication method, after the network device determines the target indication information for instructing the terminal device to activate / activate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, it will send the target indication information at a preset target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. Correspondingly, the terminal device will also detect and receive the target indication information during the target time period, and further activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information. In this communication method, the network device and the terminal device only send and receive the target indication information during the preset target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, so that the number of interactions of the target indication information can be reduced, and the power consumption generated by activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission can be reduced, thereby achieving the purpose of further saving the power consumption of the communication system.

[0195] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0196] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. This method is applicable to the network device and terminal device described above. It should be noted that since the network device and the terminal device will repeatedly execute the communication method provided by the present application during all or part of the cycles of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, for ease of understanding, the embodiment of the present application will take a certain cycle of the first discontinuous transmission as an example to describe the various method steps to be executed by the network device and the terminal device. As shown in Figure 3, the method may include the following steps:

[0197] S301: The network device determines target indication information.

[0198] In some feasible implementations, the network device determines that it needs to send target indication information to the terminal device, and may determine to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on information such as the current load status and the usage of the first discontinuous transmission, and generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the determined result. Here, the first discontinuous transmission can be DTX or DRX. Optionally, the network device may determine that it needs to send target indication information to the terminal device when it detects that a preset trigger condition is met. The above-mentioned preset trigger condition may be the arrival of a preset activation / deactivation cycle, the occurrence of a preset communication event, the receipt of an activation / deactivation request sent by the terminal device, or the detection of the presence of a target time period within the first cycle in which the target indication information can be sent to the terminal device, etc. This application does not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0199] It should be understood that the process of determining the target indication information by the network device described above corresponds to an application scenario in which the first cell of the terminal device is configured with only one first discontinuous transmission, or corresponds to an application scenario in which the first cell of the terminal device is configured with only one DTX or one DRX. This is application scenario one provided by this application. In actual use, the communication method provided by this application may also be applicable to other application scenarios. The operation of determining the target indication information by the network device will be supplemented with these other application scenarios below.

[0200] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both a DTX and a DRX

[0201] In an optional implementation, when the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission is DTX, the target indication information determined by the network device can also be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell.

[0202] Alternatively, in the case where the first discontinuous transmission mentioned above is DRX, the target indication information determined by the network device can also be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell.

[0203] In other words, when the first cell is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, the network device can determine whether to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell based on the current load status, the usage of DTX of the first cell, and the usage of DRX of the first cell, and further generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell based on the determined results.

[0204] In another optional implementation, when the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission is DTX, the network device may also determine first indication information for instructing the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell.

[0205] That is, when both DTX and DRX are configured for the first cell, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on information such as the current load status and the usage of DTX for the first cell, and further generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on the determination result. At the same time, the network device may also determine whether to activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on information such as the current load status and the usage of DRX for the first cell, and further generate first indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on the determination result.

[0206] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0207] In a specific implementation, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate the first DTX and each second DTX based on the current load status and the usage of the first DTX and each second DTX of the first cell, and generate target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX based on the determination result. It should be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DTXs, only one DTX is activated at a time, and the remaining DTXs are deactivated.

[0208] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0209] In a specific implementation, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate the first DRX and each second DRX based on the current load status, usage of the first DRX of the first cell, and usage of each second DRX of the first cell, and generate target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX based on the determination result. It should be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DRXs, only one DRX is activated at a time, and the remaining DRXs are deactivated.

[0210] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0211] In an optional implementation, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with a first discontinuous transmission and each second cell in at least one second cell is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, the network device can determine the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and each second discontinuous transmission based on the current load status, the usage of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, and the usage of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, and generate target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell based on the determined result. In other words, the target indication information determined by the network device is not only used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission, but also can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of any second cell in the at least one second cell (here assumed to be the second cell i).

[0212] In another optional implementation, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with a first discontinuous transmission and each of the at least one second cell is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, the network device can determine whether to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the current load status and the usage of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, and generate the above-mentioned target indication information based on the determined result. At the same time, the network device can also determine whether to activate / deactivate each second discontinuous transmission based on the current load status and the usage of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and generate at least one second indication information for respectively indicating the activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell based on the determined result. In other words, the network device not only needs to determine the above-mentioned target indication information, but also needs to determine the second indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i.

[0213] S302: The network device sends target indication information to the terminal device during the target time period.

[0214] In some feasible embodiments, after determining the above-mentioned target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during the target period. The above-mentioned target period is included in the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. In other words, the target period is a partial period or the entire period of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. It is understandable that the target period can be the entire period of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, that is, the entire active period of the first discontinuous transmission is used as the target period. Correspondingly, the network device can send the target indication information during the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Correspondingly, the terminal device can also receive or monitor the target indication information during the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0215] The following will further explain the process of the network device sending the target indication information in combination with the application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0216] Application scenario 1: The first cell of the terminal device is configured with a DTX or a DRX

[0217] In this application scenario, after determining the target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information during a target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. That is, if the first cell is configured with DTX, after determining the target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of DTX for the first cell, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during a target time period within the active time period of DTX for the first cell. If the first cell is configured with DRX, after determining the target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during a target time period within the active time period of DRX for the first cell.

[0218] It should be understood that in this application scenario, the network device only sends the target indication information during the target period. Moreover, during the target period, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device once or multiple times, or in other words, the network device may send one or more target indication information to the terminal device during the target period.

[0219] It should also be noted that, for the multiple target time periods of the first discontinuous transmission, the relative position of each target time period within the active time period is consistent. In other words, for each cycle containing a target time period, the time interval between the start time unit of the target time period and the start time unit of the entire cycle is equal, and the time interval between the end time unit of the target time period and the end time unit of the entire cycle is equal.

[0220] For example, please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of a target indication information transmission period provided by this application. It should be understood that Figure 4 only illustrates the first and second periods of the first discontinuous transmission. The other periods of the first discontinuous transmission are similar and are not further detailed. As shown in Figure 4, the inactive periods of the first and second periods of the first discontinuous transmission each include a target period. The active period of the first period of the first discontinuous transmission includes target period 1, and the active period of the second period of the first discontinuous transmission includes target period 2. Furthermore, the position of target period 1 within the first period of the first discontinuous transmission coincides with the position of target period 2 within the second period of the first discontinuous transmission. After determining the target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during target period 1. The network may also send the target indication information to the terminal device during target period 2. It should be understood that the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2 may be newly generated or directly reused from the target indication information sent during target period 1. This is not specifically limited in this application.

[0221] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0222] In a first optional implementation, the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After determining the target indication information that can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX of the first cell, the network device can send the target indication information on the target time period within the DTX cycle of the first cell. In other words, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, the network device will only send the target indication information on the target time period within the active time period of the DTX of the first cell, and will not determine another target time period within the active time period of the DRX of the first cell and send the above-mentioned target indication information accordingly. It can also be understood that when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, the target time period for sending the target indication information is defined by the DTX of the first cell.

[0223] Furthermore, the active period of the DTX of the above-mentioned first cell should be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the above-mentioned first cell should be less than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell. That is to say, when the network device determines that the active period of the DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell, the target indication information can be sent only on the target period within the active period of the DTX of the first cell. It should be understood that the network device usually sends the target indication information to the terminal device multiple times within the target period. In addition, for multiple target periods of the DTX of the first cell, the relative position of each target period within the active period is consistent.

[0224] For example, please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that FIG. 5 only illustrates the first and second periods of the DTX of the first cell. Other periods are similar and are not listed here. As shown in FIG. 5 , when the active period of the DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the DTX period of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the DRX period of the first cell, only the DTX period of the first cell will include the target period. Specifically, the active period of the first DTX period of the first cell includes target period 1, and the active period of the second DTX period of the first cell includes target period 2. The DRX period of the first cell (only the first DRX period is shown in FIG. 5 ) does not include the target period. Furthermore, the relative position of target period 1 within the first DTX period is consistent with the relative position of target period 2 within the second DTX period. After determining the target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during target period 1. The network device may also send the target indication information to the terminal device during target period 2. It should be understood that the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 2 can be regenerated by it, or it can directly use the target indication information sent in the target time period 1. This application does not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0225] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, defining the target time period based on the DTX of the first cell can not only reduce the number of times the network device sends target indication information, but also avoid the network device sending target indication information during the inactive period of DTX of the first cell, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0226] In a second optional implementation, the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. After determining the target indication information that can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX of the first cell, the network device can send the target indication information on the target time period within the DRX cycle of the first cell. In other words, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with DRX and DTX at the same time, the network device will only send the target indication information on the target time period within the active time period of the DRX of the first cell, and will not determine another target time period within the active time period of the DTX of the first cell and send the above-mentioned target indication information accordingly. It can also be understood that when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, the target time period for sending the target indication information is defined by the DRX of the first cell.

[0227] Furthermore, the active period of the DRX of the above-mentioned first cell should be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DRX of the above-mentioned first cell should be less than or equal to the cycle of the DTX of the first cell. That is to say, when the network device determines that the active period of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DRX of the first cell is less than or equal to the cycle of the DTX of the first cell, the above-mentioned target indication information can be sent only on the target period within the active period of the DRX of the first cell. It should be understood that within the target period, the network device will usually send the target indication information to the terminal device multiple times. In addition, for multiple target periods of the DRX of the first cell, the relative position of each target period within the active period is consistent.

[0228] For example, please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 6 only illustrates the first and second cycles of the DRX of the first cell. The situations of other cycles are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 6, when the active period of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DTX of the first cell, only the cycle of the DRX of the first cell (only the first and second cycles of the DRX are shown in Figure 6) contains the target period. For example, the active period of the first cycle of the DRX of the first cell includes target period 1, and the active period of the second cycle of the DRX of the first cell includes target period 2. However, the DTX cycle of the first cell (only the first cycle of the DTX is shown in Figure 6) does not include the target period. Moreover, the relative position of the target period 1 in the first cycle of the DRX is consistent with the relative position of the target period 2 in the second cycle of the DRX. After determining the target indication information, the network device can send the target indication information to the terminal device in target period 1. The network device may also send target indication information to the terminal device in target period 2. It should be understood that the target indication information sent by the network device in target period 2 may be newly generated, or may directly use the target indication information sent in target period 1, and this application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0229] In the above implementation, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, defining the target time period based on the DRX of the first cell can also reduce the number of times the network device sends target indication information, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0230] In a third optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The network device can further use the determined target indication information to indicate activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell. The network device can send the target indication information during a target time period within an active time period of DTX for the first cell, and can also send the target indication information during a first time period within an active time period of DRX for the first cell.

[0231] For example, please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of another target indication information transmission period provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 7 only illustrates the first and second cycles of the DTX and DRX of the first cell. Other cycles of the DTX and DRX of the first cell are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 7, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the network device transmits target indication information indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX during the target period of the DTX of the first cell. For example, the network device transmits target indication information during target period 1 within the first cycle of the DTX of the first cell and again during target period 2 within the second cycle of the DTX of the first cell. It should be understood that the target indication information transmitted by the network device during target period 1 and target period 2 can be the same, or the target indication information transmitted by the network device during target period 2 can be regenerated. Furthermore, the network device transmits target indication information, which can also be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the DRX of the first cell, during the first period within the active period of the DRX of the first cell. Illustratively, the network device may send target indication information in a first time period 1 within a first DRX cycle of the first cell, and the network device may also send target indication information again in a first time period 2 within a second DRX cycle of the first cell. Similarly, the target indication information sent by the network device in the first time period 1 and the second time period 2 may be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device in the second time period 2 may be newly generated.

[0232] Optionally, for the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell, these multiple target time periods and these multiple first time periods may be consistent. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the two time periods are consistent, which is equivalent to the start time unit and the end time unit of the two time periods being the same. As shown in Figure 7, the first time period 1 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is consistent with the target time period 1 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, and the first time period 2 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is also consistent with the target time period 2 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell. It should be noted that in order to ensure the consistency between the target time period and the first time period, the period of the DTX of the first cell can be made consistent in length with the period of the DRX of the first cell, and the start time unit and the end time unit are also consistent.

[0233] Optionally, for the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell, some of the target time periods in the multiple target time periods and some of the time periods in the multiple first time periods may be the same. In other words, some of the target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell may be made consistent with some of the target time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell. Please refer to Figure 8, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission time period of target indication information provided in the present application. It should be understood that Figure 8 only exemplarily illustrates the first cycle and the second cycle of the DTX and DRX of the first cell, and the situations of the DTX of the first cell and the other cycles of the DRX of the first cell are similar and will not be listed again. As shown in Figure 8, the first time period 1 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is consistent with the target time period 1 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, and the first time period 2 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is inconsistent with the target time period 2 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell.

[0234] In the above implementation, it is ensured that the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell are partially or completely consistent, so that the network device can send target indication information less times, which can further reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0235] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After determining target indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DTX for the first cell, the network device may further determine first indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell. The network device may then send the target indication information during a target time period within the active time period of DTX for the first cell, or may send the first indication information during a first time period within the active time period of DRX for the first cell.

[0236] As shown in Figure 7, when DTX and DRX are configured simultaneously in the first cell, the network device may send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX during the target time period of the DTX of the first cell. For example, the network device may send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX during target time period 1 within the first cycle of the DTX of the first cell, and the network device may also send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX again during target time period 2 within the second cycle of the DTX of the first cell. It should be understood that the target indication information sent by the network device during target time period 1 and target time period 2 may be the same or different, and this application does not impose specific limitations on this. The network device may also send the above-mentioned first indication information during the first time period within the active period of the DRX of the first cell. For example, the network device may send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX during the first time period 1 within the first cycle of the DRX of the first cell, and the network device may also send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX again during the first time period 2 within the second cycle of the DRX of the first cell. It should be understood that the target indication information sent by the network device in the two first time periods may be the same or different, and this application does not impose any specific limitation on this.

[0237] In the above implementation, when the terminal device is equipped with DTX and DRX, different indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX respectively, and the sending time period of the indication information is also different. This method is more flexible and can effectively avoid the occurrence of indication confusion while reducing the power consumption of network equipment.

[0238] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0239] In this application scenario, the target indication information can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX. The following takes the first DTX and any second DTX of at least one second DTX as an example. In a specific implementation, when the network device determines that the first DTX is activated, the above-mentioned target indication information is sent only in the target time period within the active time period of the first DTX. At this time, it can be understood that each cycle of any second DTX does not contain the second time period for sending the target indication information, or it can be understood that the second time period in each cycle of any second DTX is invalid. When the network device determines that any second DTX is activated, the above-mentioned target indication information can be sent only in the second time period within the active time period of any second DTX. At this time, it can be understood that each cycle of the first DTX does not contain the target time period for sending the target indication information, or it can be understood that the target time period in each cycle of the first DTX is invalid.

[0240] For example, please refer to Figure 9, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the first DTX is activated in its first cycle, and any second DTX is deactivated in its first cycle. After the network device determines the target indication information, it can send the target indication information to the terminal device in the target time period 1 in the first cycle of the first DTX. Furthermore, the first DTX is deactivated in its second cycle, and any second DTX is activated in its second cycle. After determining the new target indication information, the network device can send the new target indication information to the terminal device in the second time period 1 in the second cycle of any second DTX.

[0241] In short, when the first cell is configured with multiple DTXs, the network device will only send target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of these multiple DTXs during a preset time period within the active time period of the DTXs that are activated among these multiple DTXs.

[0242] Optionally, each target time period of the first DTX is consistent with each second time period corresponding to any second DTX in the at least one second DTX. Alternatively, part of the target time period of the first DTX is consistent with part of the second time period corresponding to any second DTX in the at least one second DTX.

[0243] For example, please refer to Figure 10, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 10 is only for illustrating the difference between each target period of the first DTX and each second period of any second DTX, and does not mean that the first DTX and any second DTX will be activated at the same time. As shown in Figure 10, the first cycle of the first DTX includes a target period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of the first DTX includes a target period 2 for sending target indication information. The first cycle of any second DTX includes a second period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of any second DTX includes a second period 2 for sending target indication information. Among them, the second period 1 is exactly the same as the target period 1, and the second period 2 is exactly the same as the target period 2. It can also be understood that, for the first DTX and any second DTX, the period for the network device to send the target indication information is the same, so it only needs to send the target indication information in the same period to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate the first DTX and any second DTX.

[0244] For example, please refer to Figure 11, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. Similarly, Figure 11 is only for indicating the difference between each target period of the first DTX and each second period of any second DTX, and does not mean that the first DTX and any second DTX will be activated at the same time. As shown in Figure 11, the first cycle of the first DTX includes a target period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of the first DTX includes a target period 2 for sending target indication information. The first cycle of any second DTX includes a second period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of any second DTX includes a second period 2 for sending target indication information. Among them, the second period 1 is exactly the same as the target period 1, and the second period 2 is inconsistent with the target period 2. It can also be understood that, for the first DTX and any second DTX, the partial period for the network device to send the target indication information is the same.

[0245] By adopting the above implementation method, the number of times the network device sends target indication information can also be reduced, thereby further reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0246] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0247] In this application scenario, the target indication information can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX. The following takes the first DRX and any second DRX of at least one second DRX as an example. In a specific implementation, when the network device determines that the first DRX is activated, the above-mentioned target indication information is sent only in the target time period within the active time period of the first DRX. At this time, it can be understood that each cycle of any second DRX does not contain the third time period for sending the target indication information, or it can be understood that the third time period in each cycle of any second DRX is invalid. When the network device determines that any second DRX is activated, the above-mentioned target indication information can be sent only in the third time period within the active time period of any second DRX. At this time, it can be understood that each cycle of the first DRX does not contain the target time period for sending the target indication information, or it can be understood that the target time period in each cycle of the first DRX is invalid.

[0248] For example, please refer to Figure 12, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the first DRX is activated in its first cycle, and at the same time, any second DRX is deactivated in its first cycle. After the network device determines the target indication information, it can send the target indication information to the terminal device in the target time period 1 in the first cycle of the first DRX. Furthermore, the first DRX is deactivated in its second cycle, and at the same time, any second DRX is activated in its second cycle. After determining the new target indication information, the network device can send the new target indication information to the terminal device in the third time period 1 in the second cycle of any second DRX.

[0249] In short, when multiple DRXs are configured in the first cell, the network device will only send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the multiple DRXs during a preset time period within an active time period of the DRXs in the activated state among the multiple DRXs.

[0250] Optionally, each target period of the first DRX is consistent with each third period corresponding to any second DRX in the at least one second DRX. Alternatively, part of the target period of the first DRX is consistent with part of the third period corresponding to any second DRX in the at least one second DRX.

[0251] For example, please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 13 is only for illustrating the difference between each target period of the first DRX and each third period of any second DRX, and does not mean that the first DRX and any second DRX will be activated at the same time. As shown in Figure 13, the first cycle of the first DRX includes a target period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of the first DRX includes a target period 2 for sending target indication information. The first cycle of any second DRX includes a third period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of any second DRX includes a third period 2 for sending target indication information. Among them, the third period 1 is completely consistent with the target period 1, and the third period 2 is completely consistent with the target period 2. It can also be understood that for the first DRX and any second DRX, the period for the network device to send the target indication information is the same, so it only needs to send the target indication information in the same period to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate the first DRX and any second DRX.

[0252] For example, please refer to Figure 14, which is another schematic diagram of the transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. Similarly, Figure 14 is only for indicating the difference between each target period of the first DRX and each third period of any second DRX, and does not mean that the first DRX and any second DRX will be activated at the same time. As shown in Figure 14, the first cycle of the first DRX includes a target period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of the first DRX includes a target period 2 for sending target indication information. The first cycle of any second DRX includes a third period 1 for sending target indication information, and the second cycle of any second DRX includes a third period 2 for sending target indication information. Among them, the third period 1 is exactly the same as the target period 1, and the third period 2 is inconsistent with the target period 2. It can also be understood that, for the first DRX and any second DRX, the partial period for the network device to send the target indication information is the same.

[0253] By adopting the above implementation method, the number of times the network device sends target indication information can also be reduced, thereby further reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0254] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0255] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell. After determining the target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information during a target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. The second discontinuous transmission may be DTX or DRX.

[0256] Furthermore, in the above case, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0257] It can also be understood that, in this application scenario, if the target indication information determined by the network device is simultaneously used to indicate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell, the network device can select the discontinuous transmission with the shortest activity time and / or the shortest period from the first discontinuous transmission and the at least one second discontinuous transmission, and send the target indication information at a preset time period within the active period of the discontinuous transmission. In other words, in this application scenario, if the target indication information determined by the network device is simultaneously used to indicate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell, the sending time period of the target indication information is based on the definition of the cell with the shortest activity period of the discontinuous transmission and / or the shortest period of the discontinuous transmission.

[0258] For example, please refer to Figure 15, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. As shown in Figure 15, it is assumed that the second cell i and the second cell k of the terminal device are configured with a second discontinuous transmission. As shown in Figure 15, since the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell k is longer than the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i is longer than the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, and the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i is also longer than the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, when the target indication information determined by the network device can also be used to indicate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i and the second cell k, the sending period of the target indication information is defined by the first cell, that is, the network device will send the target indication information in the target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0259] In the above implementation, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the target time period for sending the target indication information can be defined based on the cell with the shortest active period and / or shortest cycle of discontinuous transmission among these multiple cells. This can also reduce the number of times the target indication information is sent, thereby reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0260] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell. The network device will send the target indication information in the target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. The network device will also send the target indication information in the fourth time period within the active time period of each second discontinuous transmission. In other words, the network device will also send the target indication information in the fourth time period within the active time period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i. It can also be understood that when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the network device will send the target indication information that can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell in the preset time period within the active time period of the discontinuous transmission of each cell.

[0261] For example, please refer to Figure 16, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. Take any second cell i among the first cell and at least one second cell as an example. It should be understood that Figure 16 only illustrates the first and second periods of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Other periods of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 16, during the first period of the first discontinuous transmission, the network device sends target indication information during target period 1, and during the second period of the first discontinuous transmission, the network device sends target indication information during target period 2. Similarly, during the first period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the network device sends target indication information during a fourth period 1, and during the second period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the network device sends target indication information during a fourth period 2. It should be noted that the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 1 and target period 2 can be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2 can be newly determined. The target indication information sent by the network device in the fourth time period 1 and the fourth time period 2 is similar.

[0262] Optionally, each target time period corresponding to the first discontinuous transmission coincides with each fourth time period corresponding to any one of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, part of the target time period corresponding to the first discontinuous transmission coincides with part of the fourth time period corresponding to any one of the at least one second discontinuous transmission.

[0263] For example, please continue to refer to Figure 16. As shown in Figure 16, the target time period 1 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth time period 1 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Similarly, the target time period 2 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth time period 2 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. It should be noted that in order to ensure that each target time period corresponding to the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with each fourth time period corresponding to any second discontinuous transmission in at least one second discontinuous transmission, the period of the first discontinuous transmission can be designed to be equal to the period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0264] For example, please refer to Figure 17, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 17 only exemplarily illustrates the first period and the second period of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. The other periods of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 17, the target period 1 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth period 1 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, while the target period 2 of the first discontinuous transmission is inconsistent with the fourth period 2 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0265] In the above implementation, when multiple cells of the terminal device are respectively configured with non-continuous transmission, the same indication information is used for indication, and then this indication information is sent separately in the time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell, and it is ensured that the time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell is exactly the same or partially the same. This method can effectively reduce the number of times the network device sends the target indication information, and can further reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0266] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines a target indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. In this case, the network device sends the target indication message in the target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission. The network device also sends each second indication message in the fourth time period within the active time period of each second discontinuous transmission. In other words, the network device also sends the second indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i in the fourth time period within the active time period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i. In other words, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the network device generates corresponding indication information for the discontinuous transmission configured for each cell to indicate its activation / deactivation, and the indication information corresponding to each discontinuous transmission is sent in a preset time period within the active time period of each discontinuous transmission.

[0267] For example, please continue to refer to Figure 16. During the first cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, the network device will send target indication information in the target time period 1. During the second cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, the network device will send target indication information in the target time period 2. Similarly, during the first cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the network device will send second indication information in the fourth time period 1. During the second cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the network device will send second indication information in the fourth time period 2. It should be noted that the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 1 and the target time period 2 can be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 2 can also be re-determined. Similarly, the second indication information sent by the network device in the fourth time period 1 and the fourth time period 2 can be the same, or the second indication information sent by the network device in the fourth time period 2 can also be re-determined.

[0268] In the above implementation, when multiple cells of the terminal device are respectively configured with non-continuous transmission, different indication information is used for indication, and these different indication information are sent respectively in the time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell. This method of activating / deactivating the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell is more flexible, and can effectively avoid indication confusion and the like while reducing the power consumption of the network equipment.

[0269] It should be noted that, in actual implementation, the network device may send the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information to the terminal device via multicast DCI or MAC CE.

[0270] In some feasible implementations, the target indication information sent by the network device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Such an implementation not only avoids repeated indication of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, but also avoids affecting the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i that has already been determined to be activated or deactivated when the terminal device fails to detect the target indication information, thereby avoiding logical confusion.

[0271] In some feasible implementations, the network device may send the above-mentioned target indication information, first indication information or second indication information on its primary cell (Pcell), primary secondary cell (PScell) or special cell (spcell).

[0272] S303: The terminal device receives target indication information sent by the network device during the target time period.

[0273] In some feasible embodiments, the terminal device may receive target indication information sent by the network device during a target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. In other words, the terminal device uses the target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell as a detection opportunity to detect the target indication information sent by the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, detecting target indication information and receiving target indication information are equivalent expressions, and the target period can also be understood as the detection opportunity for the terminal device to detect the target indication information.

[0274] The following will further explain the process of the terminal device receiving the target indication information in combination with the application scenarios one to five described above.

[0275] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0276] In this application scenario, the terminal device can receive the target indication information sent by the network device during the target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0277] When the first cell is configured with DTX, the terminal device may receive the target indication information during a target period within an active period of the DTX of the first cell. When the first cell is configured with DRX, the terminal device may receive the target indication information during a target period within an active period of the DRX of the first cell.

[0278] It should be understood that the terminal device may receive one or more target indication information during the target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. In the case of multiple target indication information, the contents of the multiple target indication information should be completely consistent.

[0279] For example, as shown in FIG4 , the terminal device receives target indication information sent by the network device during target period 1. Similarly, the terminal device also receives target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2. It should be understood that the target indication information transmitted during target period 2 may be newly generated by the network device or may be the target indication information transmitted during the first period.

[0280] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0281] In a first optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The terminal device receives the target indication information only during a target time period within the active time period of DTX for the first cell, and does not preset a time period within the active time period of DRX for the first cell and repeatedly receive the target indication information. Furthermore, the target indication information can be used to simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell.

[0282] Furthermore, the active period of the DTX of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell. That is to say, when the active period of the DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell, the detection timing of the target indication information is defined by the DTX of the first cell, and the terminal device only needs to receive the target indication information in the target period within the active period of the DTX of the first cell.

[0283] For example, please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by this application. As shown in Figure 5, the active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of DRX of the first cell, and the cycle of DTX of the first cell is less than the cycle of DRX of the first cell. In this case, only the cycle of DTX of the first cell (only the first and second cycles of DTX are shown in Figure 5) includes the target period. The terminal device will also receive the target indication information sent by the network device in target period 1 and target period 2, respectively.

[0284] In the above implementation, defining the target time period based on the DTX of the first cell can not only reduce the number of times the target indication information is received, but also avoid the terminal device from receiving the target indication information during the inactive period of the DTX of the first cell, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0285] In a second optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. The terminal device receives the target indication information only during a target time period within the active time period of DRX for the first cell, and does not preset a time period within the active time period of DTX for the first cell and repeatedly receive the target indication information. Furthermore, the target indication information can be used to simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell.

[0286] Furthermore, the active period of the DRX of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DRX of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DTX of the first cell. That is to say, when the active period of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DTX of the first cell, the detection timing of the target indication information is defined by the DRX of the first cell, and the terminal device only needs to receive the target indication information in the target period within the active period of the DRX of the first cell.

[0287] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG6 , the active period of the DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to the active period of the DTX of the first cell, and the DRX cycle of the first cell is shorter than the DTX cycle of the first cell. In this case, only the DRX cycle of the first cell (only the first and second DRX cycles are shown in FIG6 ) includes the target period. The terminal device also receives target indication information sent by the network device during target period 1 and target period 2 defined based on the DRX of the first cell, respectively.

[0288] In the above implementation, defining the target time period based on the DRX of the first cell can not only reduce the number of times the target indication information is received, but also avoid the terminal device from receiving the target indication information during the inactive period of the DRX of the first cell, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0289] In a third optional implementation, the above-mentioned first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The network device can also use the determined target indication information to indicate activation / deactivation of the DRX of the first cell. The terminal device can receive the target indication information in the target time period within the active time period of the DTX of the first cell, and can also receive the target indication information in the first time period within the active time period of the DRX of the first cell. That is to say, the detection timings of the DTX of the first cell and the DRX of the first cell are independently configured, and the terminal device will separately detect the target indication information at the detection timings configured for the DTX of the first cell and the DRX of the first cell, respectively.

[0290] For example, as shown in FIG7 , when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the terminal device will receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 1 and the target time period 2 defined by the DTX of the first cell, respectively. Furthermore, the terminal device will also receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the first time period 1 and the second time period 2 defined by the DRX of the first cell, respectively.

[0291] Optionally, for multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell, the multiple target time periods and the multiple first time periods may be consistent. As shown in FIG7 , the first time period 1 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is consistent with the target time period 1 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, and the first time period 2 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell is consistent with the target time period 2 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell.

[0292] Alternatively, for multiple target time periods corresponding to DTX of the first cell and multiple first time periods corresponding to DRX of the first cell, some of the multiple target time periods and some of the multiple first time periods may be the same. As shown in FIG8 , first time period 1 corresponding to DRX of the first cell is consistent with target time period 1 corresponding to DTX of the first cell, while first time period 2 corresponding to DRX of the first cell is inconsistent with target time period 2 corresponding to DTX of the first cell.

[0293] In the above implementation, since the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell are partially or completely the same, the terminal device receives target indication information fewer times, which can further reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0294] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is further configured with DRX. The terminal device can receive the target indication information not only during the target time period defined by DTX of the first cell, but also during the first time period defined by DRX of the first cell.

[0295] As shown in Figure 7 or Figure 8, when DTX and DRX are configured for the first cell at the same time, the terminal device can receive target indication information sent by the network device in target time period 1 and target time period 2 defined based on DTX of the first cell. The terminal device can also receive first indication information sent by the network device in first time period 1 and second time period 2 defined based on DRX of the first cell.

[0296] In the above implementation, when the terminal device is equipped with DTX and DRX, different indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX respectively, and the sending time period of the indication information is also different. This method is more flexible and can effectively avoid the occurrence of indication confusion while reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0297] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0298] In this application scenario, the target indication information can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX. The following takes the first DTX and any second DTX of at least one second DTX as an example. In a specific implementation, when the terminal device determines that the first DTX is activated, the target indication information is received only during the target time period within the active time period of the first DTX. When the terminal device determines that any second DTX is activated, the target indication information may be received only during the second time period within the active time period of any second DTX.

[0299] For example, as shown in FIG9 , if the first DTX is activated in its first cycle and any second DTX is deactivated in its first cycle, the terminal device can receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 1 in the first cycle of the first DTX. Furthermore, if the first DTX is deactivated in its second cycle and any second DTX is activated in its second cycle, the terminal device can receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the second time period 1 in the second cycle of the any second DTX.

[0300] It can also be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DTXs, the terminal device will only receive target indication information indicating the activation / deactivation of these multiple DTXs during a preset time period within the active time period of the DTX in the activated state among these multiple DTXs.

[0301] Optionally, each target time period of the first DTX is consistent with each second time period corresponding to any second DTX in the at least one second DTX. Alternatively, part of the target time period of the first DTX is consistent with part of the second time period corresponding to any second DTX in the at least one second DTX.

[0302] 10 , the second period 1 is completely consistent with the target period 1, and the second period 2 is completely consistent with the target period 2. Alternatively, as shown in FIG11 , the second period 1 is completely consistent with the target period 1, and the second period 2 is inconsistent with the target period 2.

[0303] By adopting such an implementation method, the number of times the terminal device receives target indication information can be reduced, thereby further reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0304] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0305] In this application scenario, the target indication information can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX. The following takes the first DRX and any second DRX among at least one second DRX as an example. In a specific implementation, when the terminal device determines that the first DRX is activated, the target indication information is received only during the target time period within the active time period of the first DRX. When the terminal device determines that any second DRX is activated, the target indication information can be received only during the second time period within the active time period of any second DRX.

[0306] For example, as shown in FIG12 , if the first DRX is activated in its first cycle and any second DRX is deactivated in its first cycle, the terminal device can receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the target time period 1 in the first cycle of the first DRX. Furthermore, if the first DRX is deactivated in its second cycle and any second DRX is activated in its second cycle, the terminal device can receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the second time period 1 in the second cycle of the any second DRX.

[0307] It can also be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DRXs, the terminal device will only receive target indication information indicating the activation / deactivation of these multiple DXRs during a preset time period within the active time period of the DRX in the activated state among these multiple DRXs.

[0308] Optionally, each target period of the first DRX is consistent with each second period corresponding to any second DRX in the at least one second DRX. Alternatively, part of the target period of the first DRX is consistent with part of the second period corresponding to any second DRX in the at least one second DRX.

[0309] 13 , the second period 1 is completely consistent with the target period 1, and the second period 2 is completely consistent with the target period 2. Alternatively, as shown in FIG14 , the second period 1 is completely consistent with the target period 1, and the second period 2 is inconsistent with the target period 2.

[0310] By adopting such an implementation method, the number of times the terminal device receives target indication information can also be reduced, thereby further reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0311] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0312] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell. The terminal device may receive the target indication information sent by the network device only during a target time period within an active time period of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. The second discontinuous transmission may be DTX or DRX.

[0313] Furthermore, in the above case, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0314] It can also be understood that in this application scenario, the terminal device can select the discontinuous transmission with the shortest activity time and / or the shortest period from the first discontinuous transmission and the at least one second discontinuous transmission, and receive the target indication information during a preset time period within the active period of the discontinuous transmission. In other words, in this application scenario, the detection timing of the target indication information is based on the definition of the discontinuous transmission with the shortest activity time and / or the shortest period from the first discontinuous transmission and the at least one second discontinuous transmission.

[0315] For example, as shown in Figure 15, since the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell k is longer than the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i is longer than the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, and the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i is also longer than the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, when the target indication information determined by the network device can also be used to indicate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i and the second cell k, the detection timing of the target indication information is defined by the first cell, that is, the terminal device will receive the target indication information sent by the network device in the target period within the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0316] In the above implementation, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the target time period for sending the target indication information can be defined based on the cell with the shortest active period and / or the shortest cycle of the discontinuous transmission configured in these multiple cells. This can also reduce the number of times the target indication information is received, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0317] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell. The terminal device not only receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, but also receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the fourth time period within the active time period of each second discontinuous transmission. In other words, the terminal device also receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the fourth time period within the active time period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i.

[0318] For example, as shown in FIG16 , during a first cycle of a first discontinuous transmission, a terminal device receives target indication information during target time period 1, and during a second cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, the terminal device receives target indication information during target time period 2. Similarly, during a first cycle of a second discontinuous transmission of a second cell i, the terminal device receives target indication information during a fourth time period 1, and during a second cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the terminal device receives target indication information during a fourth time period 2.

[0319] Optionally, each target time period corresponding to the first discontinuous transmission coincides with each fourth time period corresponding to any one of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, part of the target time period corresponding to the first discontinuous transmission coincides with part of the fourth time period corresponding to any one of the at least one second discontinuous transmission.

[0320] For example, as shown in FIG16 , the target time period 1 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth time period 1 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Similarly, the target time period 2 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth time period 2 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Alternatively, as shown in FIG17 , the target time period 1 of the first discontinuous transmission is consistent with the fourth time period 1 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, while the target time period 2 of the first discontinuous transmission is inconsistent with the fourth time period 2 corresponding to the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0321] In the above implementation, when multiple cells of the terminal device are respectively configured with non-continuous transmission, the target indication information is received respectively in the time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell, and it is ensured that the receiving time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell is exactly the same or partially the same. This method can effectively reduce the number of times the terminal device receives the target indication information, and can further reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0322] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines a target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. In this case, the terminal device will not only receive the target indication information sent by the network device during the target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, but will also receive each second indication information sent by the network device during the fourth time period within the active time period of each second discontinuous transmission. In other words, the terminal device will also receive the second indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i during the fourth time period within the active time period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i. In other words, when the terminal device has multiple cells configured with discontinuous transmission, the discontinuous transmission configured for each cell is indicated by the corresponding indication information for activation / deactivation, and the indication information corresponding to each discontinuous transmission will be received during the preset time period within the active time period of each discontinuous transmission.

[0323] For example, as shown in FIG16 , during a first cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, the terminal device receives target indication information in target time period 1, and during a second cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, the terminal device receives target indication information in target time period 2. Similarly, during a first cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the terminal device receives second indication information in a fourth time period 1, and during a second cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the terminal device receives second indication information in a fourth time period 2.

[0324] In the above implementation, when multiple cells of the terminal device are respectively configured with non-continuous transmission, the indication information corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell is received respectively during the time period corresponding to the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell. This method of activating / deactivating the non-continuous transmission configured in each cell is more flexible, and can effectively avoid indication confusion and the like while reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0325] It should be understood that the terminal device can receive the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information by detecting the multicast DCI or MAC CE sent by the network device.

[0326] In some feasible implementations, each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes a target time period. That is, when the first cell is configured with the first discontinuous transmission, the network device can send target indication information in the target time period included in each cycle of the first discontinuous transmission, and the terminal device can receive target indication information in the target time period included in each cycle of the first discontinuous transmission. It can also be understood that, for the terminal device, each cycle of the first discontinuous transmission defines a detection timing for the target indication information. It should be understood that in this case, the target indication information received by the terminal device in the target time period within any cycle can only indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell within that any cycle.

[0327] In some feasible implementations, some of the cycles of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell include target time periods, and the time intervals between each cycle in these some of the cycles are the same. In other words, there are multiple target cycles in all the cycles of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell that include target time periods, and the time intervals between each target cycle in these multiple target cycles are the same. It can also be understood that, for the terminal device, a detection timing for the target indication information is defined only every multiple cycles of the first discontinuous transmission, and not all cycles define a detection timing for the target indication information, and the detection timing for the target indication information is defined periodically. It should also be understood that, in this case, the target indication information received by the terminal device in the target time period of any target cycle T1 may indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell within the arbitrary target cycle T1 and the multiple cycles between the arbitrary target cycle T1 and the next target cycle T2.

[0328] It should be understood that the foregoing describes the definition of the transmission period of the target indication information for the discontinuous transmission of the first cell. In a specific implementation, the definition of the transmission period of the first indication information or the second indication information for the discontinuous transmission of the first cell may also adopt the method described above. Of course, in the case where the terminal device not only has the first discontinuous transmission defined in the first cell, but also has at least one second cell configured with the second discontinuous transmission, the definition of the transmission period of the target indication information, the first indication information, or the second indication information for each second discontinuous transmission in the at least one second cell may also adopt the method described above.

[0329] In some feasible implementations, when a network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell (here, assumed to be cell j) of a terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. It can also be understood that when the network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, it is not expected that the indication results of the multiple target indication information are inconsistent, that is, it is not expected that some of the target indication information among the multiple target indication information indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, while the remaining target indication information indicates deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device in each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0330] For example, corresponding to application scenario two, as shown in FIG5 , since there is a situation where both target time period 1 and target time period 2 are located within the first cycle of DRX of the first cell, in order to avoid the target indication information indicating two different results within the first cycle of DRX of the first cell, the target indication information sent by the network device on target time period 1 and the target indication information sent on target time period 2 are required to have the same indication result for DRX of the first cell, that is, both indicate activation / deactivation of DRX of the first cell. Alternatively, for application scenario three, as shown in FIG6 , since there is a situation where both target time period 1 and target time period 2 are located within the first cycle of DTX of the first cell, in order to avoid the target indication information indicating two different results within the first cycle of DTX of the first cell, the target indication information sent by the network device on target time period 1 and the target indication information sent on target time period 2 are required to have the same indication result for DTX of the first cell, that is, both indicate activation / deactivation of DTX of the first cell.

[0331] In some feasible implementations, the target indication information sent by the network device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0332] For example, as shown in FIG15 , the network device sends target indication information during target period 2 that simultaneously indicates activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Since target period 2 is located during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, for the second cell i, the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2 is not used to indicate activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. This implementation avoids the situation where the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i is deactivated during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, thereby avoiding logical confusion.

[0333] In some feasible implementations, the terminal device may receive the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information on its primary cell, primary and secondary cells or special cells.

[0334] S304, the terminal device activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0335] In some feasible implementations, after obtaining the target indication information, the terminal device may further activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell according to the target indication information. For ease of understanding, the following will further explain the behavior of the terminal device in conjunction with application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0336] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0337] In the case that the first discontinuous transmission is DTX or DRX, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information upon receiving the above-mentioned target indication information.

[0338] Optionally, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first continuous transmission according to the target indication information at the first target time unit. The first target time unit can be the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first target time unit is the X-th time unit after the end time unit of the target period that can be defined for the first discontinuous transmission. Here, X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. It can also be understood that the target indication information received by the terminal device can take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or can take effect at the X-th time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission.

[0339] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0340] In a first optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0341] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DTX.

[0342] In a second optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. After receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0343] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DRX.

[0344] In a third optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The terminal device may activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on target indication information received during the target time period. Simultaneously, the terminal device may also activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on the target indication information received during the first time period.

[0345] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device within the target time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DTX. The target indication information received by the terminal device within the first time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DRX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the first time period defined by the first DRX.

[0346] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is further configured with DRX. The terminal device may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell based on the target indication information received during the target time period, and may also activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell based on the first indication information received during the first time period.

[0347] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device within the target time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DTX. The first indication information received by the terminal device within the first time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DRX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the first time period defined by the first DRX.

[0348] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0349] In this application scenario, after receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate the first DTX according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate at least one second DTX configured in the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0350] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the target time period may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DTX.

[0351] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0352] In this application scenario, after receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate the first DRX according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate at least one second DRX configured in the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0353] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the target time period may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DRX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DRX.

[0354] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0355] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell, and the detection timing of the target indication information is defined by the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. In this case, the terminal device can activate / deactivate not only the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information, but also the second discontinuous transmission configured for each second cell according to the target indication information.

[0356] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, the target indication information may be effective at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first discontinuous transmission.

[0357] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission. For the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, if the terminal device determines that it receives the target indication information for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission cycle of the second cell i, and the time unit for receiving the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i may be activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the terminal device receives the target indication information. Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0358] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, but the detection timing of the target indication information is defined separately for the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. In this case, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information received during the target time period, and can also activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission configured for each second cell based on the target indication information received during the fourth time period defined for each second discontinuous transmission.

[0359] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission. For each second discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the fourth period defined for each second discontinuous transmission.

[0360] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines target indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. In this case, the terminal device not only activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information, but also activates / deactivates each second discontinuous transmission based on the second indication information corresponding to each second discontinuous transmission.

[0361] Furthermore, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission. For each second discontinuous transmission, the second indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the fourth period defined for each second discontinuous transmission.

[0362] In some feasible implementations, when a terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. It can also be understood that when a terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, it does not expect the indication results of the multiple target indication information to be inconsistent, that is, it does not expect some of the multiple target indication information to indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, while the remaining target indication information indicates deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device in each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0363] For example, corresponding to application scenario two, as shown in FIG5 , since both target time period 1 and target time period 2 are within the first cycle of the DRX of the first cell, the target indication information received by the terminal device on target time period 1 and the target indication information received on target time period 2 are consistent with the indication result of the DRX of the first cell, that is, both indicate the activation / deactivation of the DRX of the first cell. Alternatively, for application scenario three, as shown in FIG6 , since both target time period 1 and target time period 2 are within the first cycle of the DTX of the first cell, the target indication information received by the terminal device on target time period 1 and the target indication information received on target time period 2 are consistent with the indication result of the DTX of the first cell, that is, both indicate the activation / deactivation of the DTX of the first cell.

[0364] In some feasible implementations, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0365] For example, as shown in FIG15 , the network device sends target indication information during target period 2, which is used to indicate activation / deactivation of both the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. Since target period 2 is located during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, for the second cell i, the target indication information received by the terminal device during target period 2 is not used to indicate activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i. This implementation not only avoids repeated indication of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, but also avoids affecting the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i that has already been determined to be activated or deactivated when the terminal device fails to detect the target indication information, thereby avoiding logical confusion.

[0366] In some feasible implementations, if the terminal device determines that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of the second cell i, and the time unit in which the target indication information is received is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second cell i is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the target indication information is received, and Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. With this implementation, even if the terminal device receives the target indication information within the inactive period of the second continuous transmission of any second cell i, it can activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i in a timely manner, thereby improving transmission stability.

[0367] In some feasible implementations, please refer to Figure 18, which is another flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. As shown in Figure 18, the communication method may also include the following steps:

[0368] S305: The network device activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell.

[0369] For ease of understanding, the following will further explain the specific behavior of the network device in combination with application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0370] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0371] When the first discontinuous transmission is DTX or DRX, the network device determines to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on information such as the current load status and the usage of the first discontinuous transmission, and then activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission based on the determined result.

[0372] Optionally, the network device may also activate / deactivate the first continuous transmission at the first target time unit mentioned above.

[0373] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0374] In a first optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate the DTX and DRX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX. The network device may also activate the DTX and DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DTX.

[0375] In a second optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX. Alternatively, the network device may activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DRX.

[0376] In a third optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DTX. The network device may activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or may activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the first period defined by the first DRX.

[0377] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0378] In this application scenario, the network device can activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DTX and at least one second DTX at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or it can also activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DTX and at least one second DTX at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DTX.

[0379] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0380] In this application scenario, the network device can activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DRX and at least one second DRX at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or can also activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DRX and at least one second DRX at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DRX.

[0381] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0382] In a first optional implementation, for the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, the network device may activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0383] Alternatively, the network device may also activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first discontinuous transmission.

[0384] Alternatively, for the first discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may activate / deactivate at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first discontinuous transmission. For the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, if the network device determines that it is sending the target indication information for the first time within the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, and the time unit for sending the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i may be activated / deactivated at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit where the terminal device receives the target indication information. Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0385] In a second optional implementation, for the first discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first discontinuous transmission. For each second discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the fourth period defined by each second discontinuous transmission.

[0386] In some feasible implementations, please refer to Figure 19, which is another flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. As shown in Figure 19, the communication method may also include the following steps:

[0387] S306: The network device sends target configuration information to the terminal device.

[0388] In some feasible implementations, after determining the target time period, the network device may generate corresponding target configuration information and send the target configuration information to the terminal device.

[0389] In an optional implementation, the target configuration information may include a first offset and a second offset. The first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0390] In another optional implementation, the target configuration information may include a first offset, where the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the end time unit of the target period is consistent with the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first offset is a time unit offset of the start time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the end time unit of the target period is consistent with the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0391] In another optional implementation, the target configuration information may include a second offset, where the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the start time unit of the target period is consistent with the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the second offset is a time unit offset of the end time unit of the target period relative to the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the start time unit of the target period is consistent with the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0392] It should be noted that the target configuration information may also include a third identifier, which is used to indicate that each period of discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period. Alternatively, the target configuration information may also include a fourth identifier and the number of interval periods Z. The fourth identifier information is used to indicate that a partial period of discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each period in the partial period is the same. The number of interval periods Z is used to indicate the time interval between each period in the partial period.

[0393] S307: The terminal device receives and determines the target time period according to the target configuration information.

[0394] In some feasible implementations, the terminal device may receive target indication information from the network device, and determine a target time period within the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0395] In an optional implementation, when the target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset, the terminal device may determine a third target time unit that is after the start time unit of the first discontinuous transmission active period and differs from the start time unit of the first discontinuous transmission active period by time units of the first offset as the start time unit of the target period. The terminal device may also determine a fourth target time unit that is after the start time unit of the first discontinuous transmission active period and differs from the start time unit of the first discontinuous transmission active period by time units of the second offset as the end time unit of the target period.

[0396] Alternatively, the terminal device may determine a third target time unit that is before the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by a first offset time unit as the start time unit of the target period. The terminal device may also determine a fourth target time unit that is before the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by a second offset time unit as the end time unit of the target period.

[0397] In another optional implementation, when the target configuration information includes a first offset, the terminal device may determine the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission as the end time unit of the target period, and determine a certain time unit that is after the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by the first offset time units as the start time unit of the target period. Alternatively, the terminal device may determine the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission as the end time unit of the target period, and determine a certain time unit that is before the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by the first offset time units as the start time unit of the target period.

[0398] In another optional implementation, when the target configuration information includes a second offset, the terminal device may determine the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission as the start time unit of the target period, and use a time unit that is after the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by a second offset time unit as the end time unit of the target period. Alternatively, the terminal device may determine the start time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission as the start time unit of the target period, and use a time unit that is before the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission and differs from the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission by a second offset time unit as the start time unit of the target period.

[0399] Furthermore, if the terminal device determines that the target configuration information further includes a third identifier, it can be determined that each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period. Alternatively, if the terminal device determines that the target configuration information further includes a fourth identifier and the number of interval periods Z, the terminal device can determine that a portion of the cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the number of periods between each period in the portion of the cycle is Z.

[0400] It should be understood that the aforementioned steps S306 and S307 can be performed before step S301, or after step S301 and before step S303, and this application does not limit this. The aforementioned steps S306 and S307 describe only optional solutions for the network device to configure the target time period for the terminal device. In actual implementation, the network device may also use this method to configure the target time period for the terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0401] It should be noted that steps S306 and S307 only describe the process of the network device configuring the target time period for the terminal device. For the first time period, second time period, third time period, and fourth time period described above, the network device can also configure the terminal device in a similar manner. To avoid redundancy, it will not be repeated here. Similarly, if the terminal device has multiple second cells configured with multiple second discontinuous transmissions, the network device can use the same or similar method to configure the corresponding transmission indication information time period for each cell of the terminal device. The specific process will not be repeated here.

[0402] It should also be understood that, in actual implementation, the network device will also send discontinuous transmission configuration information to the terminal device to configure corresponding discontinuous transmission for the terminal device's cell. The discontinuous transmission configuration information primarily includes the discontinuous transmission cycle length, active period, inactive period, on-time, and off-time. The target configuration information described above may be included in the discontinuous transmission configuration information or may be sent separately by the network device, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0403] In some feasible implementations, see Figure 20, which is a schematic diagram of the format of target indication information provided by this application. As shown in Figure 20, the target indication information may include multiple transmission blocks (blocks), of which only four are shown, namely block 1, block 2, block 3, and block 4.

[0404] Optionally, each transport block may include bits. Where M is the total number of cells where the terminal device is currently configured with DTX and DRX. N e The number of bits corresponding to DTX and DRX activation for cell e.

[0405] When the terminal device supports both DTX and DRX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (1):

[0406] When the terminal device only supports DTX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (2):

[0407] When the terminal device only supports DTX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (3):

[0408] Among them, C e1 C is the number of DTX configurations that the cell e of the terminal device can support, e2 The number of DRX configurations that the cell e of the terminal device can support. In the embodiment of the present application, It means x is rounded up. This is the round-up symbol.

[0409] Optionally, for each transport block For example, these bits can be indicated according to the cell identification of the terminal device first, that is, A part of the consecutive bits in the bits is used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX of each cell, and another part of the consecutive bits is used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX of each cell.

[0410] For example, as shown in FIG20 , assuming that cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3 of the terminal device are all configured with DTX and DRX, and are indicated by the bits in block 1, the three consecutive bits in block 1 are respectively used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX of the three cells, wherein the cell1 DTX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 1 activates / deactivates DTX, the cell2 DTX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 2 activates / deactivates DTX, and the cell3 DTX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 3 activates / deactivates DTX. At the same time, there are three consecutive bits in block 1 that are respectively used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX of the three cells, wherein the cell1 DRX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 1 activates / deactivates DRX, the cell2 DRX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 2 activates / deactivates DRX, and the cell 3DRX bit is used to indicate that the first cell 3 activates / deactivates DRX.

[0411] Optionally, for each transport block For example, these bits can continuously indicate the DTX and DRX of each cell in units of each cell. Every N bits e The consecutive bits are used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of each cell.

[0412] For example, as shown in FIG20 , assuming that cell 4, cell 5, and cell 6 of the terminal device are all configured with DTX and DRX, and are indicated by the bits in block 4, there are three groups of consecutive 2 bits in block 4, and these three groups of consecutive 2 bits are respectively used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 4, cell 5, and cell 6. Among them, the two consecutive bits of cell4 DTX and cell4 DRX are used in turn to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 4, the two consecutive bits of cell5 DTX and cell5 DRX are used in turn to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 5, and the two consecutive bits of cell6 DTX and cell6 DRX are used in turn to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 6.

[0413] Optionally, when the cell corresponding to the terminal device is configured with DTX and / or DRX, the network device will also send an indication information reading parameter to the terminal device. Based on the indication information reading parameter, the terminal device can determine, from the bits included in the target indication information, a starting bit that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and / or DRX in the cell corresponding to the terminal device.

[0414] In other words, the terminal device can determine, based on the indication information reading parameter, from which bit in the target indication information it needs to start reading the bit used to indicate the activation / deactivation of DTX and / or DRX of the corresponding cell of the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device can determine, based on the indication information reading parameter, which transport block in the target indication information it needs to determine the activation / deactivation of DTX / DRX of the corresponding cell.

[0415] Optionally, when the cell corresponding to the terminal device is configured with DTX and / or DRX, the network device will also send configuration information reading parameters to the terminal device. Based on the configuration information reading parameters, the terminal device can determine the position of the activation / deactivation indication bit corresponding to the cell configured with DTX and / or DRX in the transmission block. In other words, the correspondence between the bits in a transmission block and the activation / deactivation indication of DTX / DRX of each cell.

[0416] Optionally, the terminal device may correspond to each N in the information block according to the target indication information. e The value of the bit determines the activation / deactivation of DTX / DRX of cell e.

[0417] For example, when N e =1 and cell e is only configured with DTX or DRX separately, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 1, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be activated. Correspondingly, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 0, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be deactivated. Alternatively, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 1, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be deactivated. Correspondingly, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 0, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be activated.

[0418] For example, when N i=2 and cell e is only configured with DTX or DRX separately, when the terminal device reads the value of the bit as 01, the DTX configuration 1 or DRX configuration 1 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be activated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 10, the DTX configuration 2 or DRX configuration 2 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be deactivated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 11, the DTX configuration 3 or DRX configuration 3 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be deactivated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 00, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the two bits is deactivated.

[0419] It is understandable that cell e can be configured with DTX or DRX alone, or with both DTX and DRX. e =4, where the first two bits indicate DTX activation / deactivation of cell e, and the last two bits indicate DRX activation / deactivation of cell e. In another possible configuration, N i =2, where the first bit indicates DTX activation / deactivation of cell e, and the second bit indicates DRX activation / deactivation of cell e. The specific indication method of DTX or DRX activation / deactivation can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0420] In some feasible implementations, see Figure 21 , which illustrates another format of target indication information provided herein. As shown in Figure 21 , the target indication information may include M transport blocks, where M is the total number of cells currently configured with DTX and DRX for the terminal device. Figure 21 illustrates only four transport blocks: block 1, block 2, block 3, and block 4.

[0421] Optionally, the e-th transmission block may include N e bits, corresponding to the DTX and DRX activation / deactivation of cell e.

[0422] When the terminal device supports both DTX and DRX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (4):

[0423] When the terminal device only supports DTX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (5):

[0424] When the terminal device only supports DTX, N e The value of can satisfy the following formula (6):

[0425] Among them, C e1 is the number of DTXs that each cell of the terminal device can support, C e2 The number of DRXs that each cell of the terminal device can support. In the embodiment of the present application, It means x is rounded up. That is, it is the round-up symbol, and e is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M.

[0426] Optionally, the M transport blocks may be sorted in order of each cell identifier, where the cell identifier may be a physical cell index (PCI) corresponding to the cell, or a serving cell index (serving cell index) corresponding to the cell.

[0427] Optionally, one or more bits in each transmission block may continuously indicate the DTX and DRX of each cell, that is, every two consecutive bits in the one or more bits are respectively used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate the DTX and DRX of each cell.

[0428] For example, as shown in FIG21 , assuming that cell 1, cell 2, cell 3, and cell 4 of a terminal device are all configured with DTX and DRX, and are indicated by bits in block 1 to block 4, each block in block 1 to block 4 has two consecutive bits, and these four groups of two consecutive bits are respectively used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 1, cell 2, cell 3, and cell 4. Specifically, the two consecutive bits of cell 1 DTX and cell 1 DRX in block 1 are used, in turn, to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 1; the two consecutive bits of cell 2 DTX and cell 2 DRX in block 2 are used, in turn, to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 2; the two consecutive bits of cell 3 DTX and cell 3 DRX in block 3 are used, in turn, to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 3; and the two consecutive bits of cell 4 DTX and cell 4 DRX in block 4 are used, in turn, to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of cell 4.

[0429] Optionally, the network device will also configure a cell indication parameter to the terminal device, and the cell indication parameter indicates the correspondence between the cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions in the terminal device and each block in the target indication information. Specifically, the cell indication parameter indicates the block index in the target indication information corresponding to each cell in the cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions in the terminal device, or the cell indication parameter indicates the physical cell identifier or service cell index of the terminal cell corresponding to each block in the target indication information. Correspondingly, the terminal device can find the bit used to indicate the DTX and / or DRX activation / deactivation of the cell corresponding to the terminal device from the block contained in the target indication information based on the cell indication parameter.

[0430] Alternatively, the cell indication parameter indicates the starting bit position of the cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions corresponding to the terminal in the target indication information, that is, the starting bit position of the transmission block corresponding to the cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions corresponding to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal device can find the starting bit of the DTX and / or DRX activation / deactivation indication bit corresponding to each cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions from the bits contained in the target indication information based on the cell indication parameter, or in other words, the starting bit of the transmission block corresponding to each cell configured with DTX and / or DRX functions.

[0431] Optionally, the network device will also configure a cell configuration parameter to the terminal device, wherein the cell configuration parameter indicates the specific configuration of the cell configured with the DTX and / or DRX function in the network device. The specific configuration of the cell configured with the DTX and / or DRX function includes whether the cell configured with the DTX and / or DRX function is configured with DTX alone, DRX alone, or both DTX and DRX, and / or the number of DTX and / or DRX supported by the cell configured with the DTX and / or DRX function. Based on the first cell configuration parameter, the terminal can learn the number of bits N corresponding to each cell configured with the DTX and / or DRX function. e , and then receive the indication information of the corresponding cell.

[0432] Optionally, the terminal device may select the target device according to the N in the e-th transmission block in the target indication information. e The value of the bit determines the activation / deactivation of DTX / DRX of cell e.

[0433] For example, when N e=1 and cell e is only configured with DTX or DRX separately, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 1, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be activated. Correspondingly, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 0, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be deactivated. Alternatively, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 1, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be deactivated. Correspondingly, when the terminal device reads the value of this bit as 0, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the bit can be activated.

[0434] For example, when N e =2 and cell e is only configured with DTX or DRX separately, when the terminal device reads the value of the bit as 01, the DTX configuration 1 or DRX configuration 1 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be activated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 10, the DTX configuration 2 or DRX configuration 2 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be deactivated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 11, the DTX configuration 3 or DRX configuration 3 of the cell e corresponding to the two bits can be deactivated. When the terminal device reads the value of the two bits as 00, the DTX or DRX of the cell e corresponding to the two bits is deactivated.

[0435] It is understandable that cell e can be configured with DTX or DRX alone, or with both DTX and DRX. e =4, where the first two bits indicate DTX activation / deactivation of cell e, and the last two bits indicate DRX activation / deactivation of cell e. In another possible configuration, N e =2, where the first bit indicates DTX activation / deactivation of cell e, and the second bit indicates DRX activation / deactivation of cell e. The specific indication method of DTX or DRX activation / deactivation can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0436] It should be understood that the above text mainly explains the data structure and usage of the target indication information. When the communication method provided in this application also involves the first indication information or the second indication information mentioned above, the data structure and usage of the first indication information and the second indication information may be similar, and this application will no longer list them one by one.

[0437] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device only sends target indication information during the target period within the active period of discontinuous transmission of the cell. The terminal device also only receives the target indication information during the target period and further activates / deactivates the discontinuous transmission of the cell based on the target indication information. This approach can significantly reduce the number of transmissions of information used to indicate activation / deactivation of discontinuous transmission, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the communication system.

[0438] Example 2

[0439] To solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method. In this communication method, the network device and the terminal device will transmit target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell at a target time period within each preset period, and the preset period is different from the period of the search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing indicated by the target indication information in the associated search space and control resource set (i.e., CORESET). By adopting this communication method, the number of interactions of the target indication information can be reduced, and the power consumption generated by activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission can be reduced, thereby achieving the purpose of further saving the power consumption of the network device and the terminal device (i.e., the power consumption of the communication system).

[0440] Please refer to Figure 22, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by this application. This method is applicable to the network device and terminal device described above. As shown in Figure 22, the method may include the following steps:

[0441] S221, the network device determines target indication information.

[0442] In some feasible implementations, the network device determines that it needs to send target indication information to the terminal device, and may determine whether to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on information such as the current load status and usage of the first discontinuous transmission, and generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the determination result. Here, the first discontinuous transmission can be DTX or DRX.

[0443] It should be understood that the process of determining the target indication information by the network device described above corresponds to an application scenario in which the first cell of the terminal device is configured with only one first discontinuous transmission, or corresponds to an application scenario in which the first cell of the terminal device is configured with only one DTX or one DRX. This is application scenario one provided by this application. In actual use, the communication method provided by this application may also be applicable to other application scenarios. The operation of determining the target indication information by the network device will be supplemented with these other application scenarios below.

[0444] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both a DTX and a DRX

[0445] In an optional implementation, when the first cell is configured with DTX and DRX at the same time, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell based on the current load status, the usage of DTX of the first cell, and the usage of DRX of the first cell, and further generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell based on the determined results.

[0446] In another optional implementation, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on information such as the current load status and the usage of DTX for the first cell, and further generate target indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on the determination result. At the same time, the network device may also determine whether to activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on information such as the current load status and the usage of DRX for the first cell, and further generate first indication information that can be used to instruct the terminal device to activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on the determination result.

[0447] It should be understood that the information format of the target indication information and the first indication information may be the same or different, and this application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0448] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0449] In a specific implementation, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate the first DTX and each second DTX based on the current load status and the usage of the first DTX and each second DTX of the first cell, and generate target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX based on the determination result. It should be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DTXs, only one DTX is activated at a time, and the remaining DTXs are deactivated.

[0450] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0451] In a specific implementation, the network device may determine whether to activate / deactivate the first DRX and each second DRX based on the current load status, usage of the first DRX of the first cell, and usage of each second DRX of the first cell, and generate target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX based on the determination result. It should be understood that when the first cell is configured with multiple DRXs, only one DRX is activated at a time, and the remaining DRXs are deactivated.

[0452] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission is DTX or DRX

[0453] In an optional implementation, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with a first discontinuous transmission and each second cell in at least one second cell is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, the network device can determine the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and each second discontinuous transmission based on the current load status, the usage of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, and the usage of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, and generate target indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell based on the determined result. In other words, the target indication information determined by the network device is not only used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission, but also can be used to indicate the activation / deactivation of any second cell in the at least one second cell (here assumed to be the second cell i).

[0454] In another optional implementation, when the first cell of the terminal device is configured with a first discontinuous transmission and each of the at least one second cell is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, the network device can determine whether to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the current load status and the usage of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell, and generate the above-mentioned target indication information based on the determined result. At the same time, the network device can also determine whether to activate / deactivate each second discontinuous transmission based on the current load status and the usage of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and generate at least one second indication information for respectively indicating the activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell based on the determined result. In other words, the network device not only needs to determine the above-mentioned target indication information, but also needs to determine the second indication information for indicating the activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i.

[0455] It should be understood that the information format of the target indication information and the second indication information may be the same or different, and this application does not impose any specific limitation on this.

[0456] S222: The network device sends target indication information to the terminal device during a target time period within a preset period.

[0457] In some feasible implementations, after determining the target indication information, the network device may transmit the target indication information at a target time period within a preset period, wherein the preset period is different from the period indicated by the search space associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing within the period indicated by the search space and control resource set associated with the target indication information.

[0458] It should be noted that, in the case where the target indication information includes multicast DCI, the period of the search space associated with the target indication information refers to the period configuration indicated by the monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset parameter in the search space configuration corresponding to the multicast DCI. Specifically, the parameter indicates the period length and the starting time slot offset of the period. The preset period is different from the period indicated by the search space associated with the target indication information, which means that the period configuration corresponding to the preset period exists independently of the period configuration of the search space indication corresponding to the multicast DCI. In other words, the period length of the preset period is different from the period length indicated by the monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset parameter in the search space configuration associated with the multicast DCI, and / or the period start offset of the preset period is different from the period start offset indicated by the monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset parameter in the search space configuration associated with the multicast DCI.

[0459] The detection timing within the period of the search space associated with the target indication information involved in this application refers to the detection timing determined by one or more of the parameters such as duration, monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset in the search space configuration corresponding to the multicast DCI and one or more of the parameters such as duration, frequencyDomainResources in the control resource set configuration. The target period is different from the detection timing in the search space and CORESET associated with the target indication information, which means that the target period corresponding to the preset period exists independently of the search space corresponding to the multicast DCI and the detection timing indicated by the CORESET. In other words, the target period is different from the detection timing determined by one or more of the parameters such as duration, monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset in the search space associated with the multicast DCI, and one or more of the parameters such as duration, frequencyDomainResources in the CORESET.

[0460] The following will further explain the process of the network device sending the target indication information in combination with the application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0461] Application scenario 1: The first cell of the terminal device is configured with a DTX or a DRX

[0462] In the case where the first cell is configured with DTX, after determining the target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of DTX of the first cell, the network device can send the target indication information to the terminal device at the target time period within the preset period.

[0463] In the case where the first cell is configured with DRX, after determining the target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the DRX of the first cell, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device at a target time period within a preset period.

[0464] It should be understood that in this application scenario, the network device will send the target indication information to the terminal device once or multiple times within the target time period, or in other words, the network device will send one or more of the above target indication information to the terminal device within the target time period.

[0465] For example, please refer to Figure 23, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 23 only shows two preset periods, namely preset period 1 and preset period 2, for example. The situations of other preset periods are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 23, preset period 1 and preset period 2 respectively include target period 1 and target period 2. Moreover, the position of target period 1 in preset period 1 is consistent with the position of target period 2 in preset period 2. After determining the target indication information, the network device can send the target indication information to the terminal device in target period 1. The network can also send the target indication information to the terminal device in target period 2. Here, the target indication information sent by the network device in target period 2 can be regenerated by it, or it can directly use the target indication information sent in target period 1. This application does not impose any specific restrictions on this.

[0466] It should be understood that the network device will send one or more identical target indication information to the terminal device in a target time period.

[0467] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0468] In a first optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After determining target indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell, the network device may send the target indication information to the terminal device during a target time period within a preset period.

[0469] Furthermore, the active period of the DTX of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell.

[0470] In a second optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. After determining target indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell, the network device may also send the target indication information during a target time period within a preset period.

[0471] Furthermore, the DRX active period of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the DTX active period of the first cell, and / or the DRX cycle of the first cell should be shorter than or equal to the DTX cycle of the first cell.

[0472] In a third optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The network device can also use the determined target indication information to indicate activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell. The preset period is a preset period for DTX for the first cell, and a similar first preset period is also preset for DRX for the first cell.

[0473] The network device may send the target indication information not only during the target time period within the preset cycle corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, but also during the first time period within the first preset cycle corresponding to the DRX of the first cell.

[0474] For example, please refer to Figure 24, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by the present application. It should be understood that Figure 24 only illustrates two preset periods of DTX and DRX for the first cell. Other periods of DTX and DRX for the first cell are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 24, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the network device transmits target indication information indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX during a target period within the preset period of DTX for the first cell. For example, the network device transmits target indication information during target period 1 within preset period 1 and again during target period 2 within preset period 2 of DTX for the first cell. It should be understood that the target indication information transmitted by the network device during target period 1 and target period 2 may be the same, or the target indication information transmitted by the network device during target period 2 may be a newly generated target indication information. Furthermore, the network device transmits target indication information, which can also be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell, during the first period within the first preset period of DRX for the first cell. Illustratively, the network device may send target indication information in a first time period 1 within a first preset DRX cycle 1 of the first cell, and the network device may also send target indication information again in a first time period 2 within a first preset DRX cycle 2 of the first cell. Similarly, the target indication information sent by the network device in the first time period 1 and the second time period 2 may be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device in the second time period 2 may be newly generated.

[0475] Optionally, for the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell, the multiple target time periods and the multiple first time periods may be consistent. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the two time periods are consistent, which is equivalent to the start time unit and the end time unit of the two time periods being the same. Alternatively, for the multiple target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell and the multiple first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell, some of the target time periods in the multiple target time periods and some of the first time periods in the multiple first time periods may be the same. In other words, some of the target time periods corresponding to the DTX of the first cell can be kept consistent with some of the first time periods corresponding to the DRX of the first cell.

[0476] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After determining the target indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the DTX of the first cell, the network device can also determine the first indication information that can be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the DRX of the first cell. The preset period is the preset period of the DTX of the first cell, and the DRX of the first cell is also preset with a similar first preset period. The network device can not only send the target indication information in the target time period within the preset period corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, but also send the first indication information in the first time period within the first preset period corresponding to the DRX of the first cell.

[0477] As shown in Figure 24, when DTX and DRX are configured simultaneously for the first cell, the network device may send target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first DTX in the target period 1 and target period 2 corresponding to the DTX of the first cell. The network device may also send the first indication information in the first period 1 and first period 2 corresponding to the DRX of the first cell.

[0478] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0479] In this application scenario, the target indication information may be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX.

[0480] In a specific implementation, after the network device issues the target indication information, the target indication information may be sent at a target time period within a preset period.

[0481] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0482] In this application scenario, the target indication information may be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX.

[0483] In a specific implementation, after the network device issues the target indication information, the target indication information may be sent at a target time period within a preset period.

[0484] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0485] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission for each of the at least one second cell. After determining the target indication information, the network device may send the target indication information during a target time period within the preset period. The second discontinuous transmission may be DTX or DRX.

[0486] Furthermore, in the above case, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0487] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission for each of the at least one second cell. The preset period is a period preset for the first cell, and any second cell i among the at least one second cell also has a similar second preset period preset. The network device transmits the target indication information during a target time period within the preset period corresponding to the first cell. The network device also transmits the target indication information during a second time period within the second preset period corresponding to any second cell i.

[0488] For example, please refer to Figure 25, which is a schematic diagram of another transmission period of target indication information provided by this application. Take any second cell i from a first cell and at least one second cell as an example. It should be understood that Figure 25 only illustrates two periods of the first cell and second cell i. The other periods of the first cell and second cell i are similar and are not listed here. As shown in Figure 25, the preset periods 1 and 2 of the first cell respectively include target period 1 and target period 2, and the second preset periods 1 and 2 of any second cell i respectively include second period 1 and second period 2. The network device will send target indication information during target period 1 and target period 2. Similarly, the network device will send target indication information during second period 1 and target period 2. It should be noted that the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 1 and target period 2 can be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2 can be newly determined. The same applies to the target indication information sent by the network device during second period 1 and second period 2.

[0489] Optionally, each target time period corresponding to the first cell is consistent with each second time period corresponding to each second cell in the at least one second cell. Alternatively, part of the target time period corresponding to the first cell is consistent with part of the second time period corresponding to each second cell in the at least one second cell.

[0490] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines target indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. The preset period is a period preset for the first cell, and any second cell i among the at least one second cell also has a similar second preset period preset.

[0491] In this case, the network device sends the target indication information during the target time period within the preset cycle of the first cell. The network device also sends each second indication information during the second time period within the second preset cycle corresponding to each second cell.

[0492] For example, please continue to refer to Figure 25. The network device will send target indication information during target time period 1, and the network device will also send target indication information during target time period 2. At the same time, the network device will send second indication information during second time period 1, and will also send second indication information during second time period 2. It should be noted that the target indication information sent by the network device during target time period 1 and target time period 2 can be the same, or the target indication information sent by the network device during target time period 2 can be newly determined. The same applies to the second indication information sent by the network device during second time period 1 and second time period 2.

[0493] It should be noted that, in actual implementation, the network device may send the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information to the terminal device via multicast DCI or MAC CE.

[0494] In some feasible implementations, the network device may send the above-mentioned target indication information, first indication information or second indication information on its primary cell (Pcell), primary secondary cell (PScell) or special cell (spcell).

[0495] In some feasible implementations, the network device may generate preset period configuration information corresponding to the preset period. The preset period configuration information includes at least the period length and starting offset of the preset period, as well as the configuration information corresponding to the target period. The configuration information corresponding to the target period is used to indicate the position of the target period within the preset period. Furthermore, the network device may send the preset period configuration information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can determine the preset period and the target period included in the preset period based on the preset period configuration information.

[0496] S223, the terminal device receives target indication information in a target time period within a preset period.

[0497] In some feasible embodiments, the terminal device may receive target indication information sent by the network device during a target time period within a preset period.

[0498] The following will further explain the process of the terminal device receiving the target indication information in combination with the application scenarios one to five described above.

[0499] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0500] In the case where the first cell is configured with DTX, the terminal device may receive DTX target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of the first cell during a target time period within a preset cycle. In the case where the first cell is configured with DRX, the terminal device may receive target indication information for indicating activation / deactivation of DRX of the first cell during a target time period within a preset cycle.

[0501] It should be understood that the terminal device may receive one or more target indication information within the target period. In the case of multiple target indication information, the contents of the multiple target indication information should be completely consistent.

[0502] For example, as shown in FIG23 , the terminal device receives the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 1. Similarly, the terminal device also receives the target indication information sent by the network device during target period 2.

[0503] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0504] In a first optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The terminal device receives target indication information that can be used to simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during a target time period within a preset period. For example, as shown in FIG24 , the terminal device can receive target indication information that can simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during target time period 1, and the terminal device can also receive target indication information that can simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during target time period 2.

[0505] Furthermore, the active period of the DTX of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the DRX of the first cell, and / or the cycle of the DTX of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the DRX of the first cell.

[0506] In a second optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. The terminal device receives target indication information that can be used to simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during a target time period within a preset period. For example, as shown in FIG24 , the terminal device can receive target indication information that can simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during target time period 1, and the terminal device can also receive target indication information that can simultaneously indicate activation / deactivation of DTX and DRX for the first cell during target time period 2.

[0507] Furthermore, the DRX active period of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the DTX active period of the first cell, and / or the DRX cycle of the first cell may be shorter than or equal to the DTX cycle of the first cell.

[0508] In a third optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The target indication information determined by the network device can also be used to indicate activation / deactivation of DRX for the first cell. The network device can send the target indication information during a target time period within a preset period corresponding to DTX for the first cell, and can also send the target indication information during a first time period within a first preset period corresponding to DRX for the first cell.

[0509] For example, as shown in FIG24 , when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the terminal device will receive target indication information sent by the network device in target time period 1 and target time period 2, respectively. Furthermore, the terminal device will also receive target indication information sent by the network device in the first time period 1 and the second time period 2, respectively.

[0510] Optionally, for the multiple target time periods and the multiple first time periods, the multiple target time periods and the multiple first time periods may be consistent. Alternatively, some of the multiple target time periods and some of the multiple first time periods may be the same.

[0511] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is further configured with DRX. The terminal device can receive the target indication information not only during a target time period within a preset period corresponding to the DTX of the first cell, but also during a first time period within a first preset period preset for the DRX of the first cell.

[0512] As shown in Figure 24, when the first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX, the terminal device can receive target indication information sent by the network device in target period 1 and target period 2. The terminal device can also receive first indication information sent by the network device in first period 1 and second period 2.

[0513] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0514] In this application scenario, the target indication information may be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first DTX and each second DTX. In a specific implementation, the terminal device may receive the target indication information during a target time period within a preset period.

[0515] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0516] In this application scenario, the target indication information may be used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first DRX and each second DRX. In a specific implementation, the terminal device may receive the target indication information during a target period within a preset cycle.

[0517] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0518] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell. The terminal device may receive the target indication information sent by the network device during a target time period within a preset period. The second discontinuous transmission may be DTX or DRX.

[0519] Furthermore, in the above case, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. Alternatively, the active period of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission may be shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

[0520] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell. The preset period is a period preset for the first cell, and any second cell i among the at least one second cell is also preset with a similar second preset period.

[0521] The terminal device not only receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the target time period within the preset period, but also receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the second time period within each second preset period. In other words, the terminal device also receives the target indication information sent by the network device during the second time period within the second preset period preset by any second cell i. For example, as shown in Figure 25, the terminal device receives the target indication information during target time period 1 and target time period 2. Similarly, the terminal device receives the target indication information during second time period 1 and second time period 2.

[0522] Optionally, each target time period corresponding to the first cell is consistent with each second time period corresponding to any second cell i of the at least one second cell. Alternatively, part of the target time period corresponding to the first cell is consistent with part of the second time period corresponding to any second cell i of the at least one second cell.

[0523] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines a target indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. In this case, the terminal device will not only receive the target indication message sent by the network device during the target time period within the preset period preset for the first cell, but will also receive each second indication message sent by the network device during the second time period within the second preset period preset for each second cell. In other words, the terminal device will also receive the second indication message for indicating activation / deactivation of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i during the second time period within the second preset period preset for any second cell i. For example, as shown in FIG25 , the terminal device will receive the target indication message during the target time period 1 and the target time period 2, and will also receive the second indication message during the second time period 1 and the second time period 2.

[0524] It should be understood that the terminal device can receive the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information by detecting the multicast DCI or MAC CE sent by the network device.

[0525] In some feasible implementations, when a network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell (here, assumed to be cell j) of a terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. It can also be understood that when the network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, it is not expected that the indication results of the multiple target indication information are inconsistent, that is, it is not expected that some of the target indication information among the multiple target indication information indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, while the remaining target indication information indicates deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device in each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0526] In some feasible implementations, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0527] In some feasible implementations, the terminal device may receive the above-mentioned target indication information, the first indication information or the second indication information on its primary cell, primary and secondary cells or special cells.

[0528] In some feasible implementations, a terminal device may receive preset period configuration information corresponding to a preset period sent by a network device. The preset period configuration information includes at least the preset period's length, starting offset, and configuration information corresponding to the target period. The target period configuration information indicates the position of the target period within the preset period. Furthermore, the terminal device may determine the preset period based on the preset period's length and starting offset. For example, assuming the preset period's length is 80 ms and its starting offset is 20 ms, the terminal device may determine the start time of the preset period to be 20 ms, 100 ms, 180 ms, 260 ms, and so on. Furthermore, the terminal device may determine the target period within each preset period based on the target period configuration information. Optionally, the target period configuration information may include one or more configuration parameters. The terminal device may determine the start and end time units of the target period based on these one or more configuration parameters. For example, the target period configuration information may include a first configuration parameter. The first configuration parameter indicates the offset between the end time of the target period and the start time of the period, e.g., 20 ms. At the same time, the start time of the target period is consistent with the start time of the cycle. Based on the first configuration parameter, the terminal device can determine the first 20ms of each preset cycle as the target period.

[0529] S224, the terminal device activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0530] In some feasible implementations, after obtaining the target indication information, the terminal device may further activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell according to the target indication information. For ease of understanding, the following will further explain the behavior of the terminal device in conjunction with application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0531] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0532] In the case that the first discontinuous transmission is DTX or DRX, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information upon receiving the above-mentioned target indication information.

[0533] Optionally, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first continuous transmission according to the target indication information at the first target time unit. The first target time unit can be the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. Alternatively, the first target time unit is the X-th time unit after the end time unit of the target period that can be defined for the first discontinuous transmission. Here, X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1. It can also be understood that the target indication information received by the terminal device can take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or can take effect at the X-th time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission.

[0534] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0535] In a first optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. After receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0536] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DTX.

[0537] In a second optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DRX, and the first cell is also configured with DTX. After receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0538] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DRX.

[0539] In a third optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is also configured with DRX. The terminal device may activate / deactivate DTX for the first cell based on target indication information received during the target time period. Simultaneously, the terminal device may also activate / deactivate DRX for the first cell based on the target indication information received during the first time period.

[0540] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device within the target time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DTX. The target indication information received by the terminal device within the first time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DRX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the first time period defined by the first DRX.

[0541] In a fourth optional implementation, the first discontinuous transmission is DTX, and the first cell is further configured with DRX. The terminal device may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell based on the target indication information received during the target time period, and may also activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell based on the first indication information received during the first time period.

[0542] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device within the target time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period defined by the first DTX. The first indication information received by the terminal device within the first time period may take effect at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DRX, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the first time period defined by the first DRX.

[0543] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0544] In this application scenario, after receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate the first DTX according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate at least one second DTX configured in the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0545] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the target time period may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active time period of the first DTX, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period.

[0546] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0547] In this application scenario, after receiving the target indication information, the terminal device can not only activate / deactivate the first DRX according to the target indication information, but also activate / deactivate at least one second DRX configured in the first cell according to the target indication information.

[0548] Furthermore, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the target time period may be effective at the next time unit of the end time unit of the first DRX active time period, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target time period.

[0549] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0550] In a first optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell, and the detection timing of the target indication information is defined by the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. In this case, the terminal device can activate / deactivate not only the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information, but also the second discontinuous transmission configured for each second cell according to the target indication information.

[0551] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, the target indication information may be effective at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may be effective at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period within a preset period.

[0552] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may take effect at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined for the first discontinuous transmission. For the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, if the terminal device determines that it receives the target indication information for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission cycle of the second cell i, and the time unit for receiving the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i may be activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the terminal device receives the target indication information. Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0553] In a second optional implementation, the target indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, but the detection timing of the target indication information is defined separately for the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell. In this case, the terminal device can activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information received during the target time period, and can also activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission configured for each second cell based on the target indication information received during the fourth time period defined for each second discontinuous transmission.

[0554] Optionally, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period. For each second discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of each second period.

[0555] In a third optional implementation, the network device determines target indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission and at least one second indication information for instructing activation / deactivation of the at least one second discontinuous transmission. In this case, the terminal device not only activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission based on the target indication information, but also activates / deactivates each second discontinuous transmission based on the second indication information corresponding to each second discontinuous transmission.

[0556] Furthermore, for the first discontinuous transmission, the target indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period. For each second discontinuous transmission, the second indication information may take effect at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of each second period.

[0557] In some feasible implementations, when a terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. It can also be understood that when a terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, it does not expect the indication results of the multiple target indication information to be inconsistent, that is, it does not expect some of the multiple target indication information to indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, while the remaining target indication information indicates deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j. Such an implementation can ensure that the indication results of all target indication information received by the terminal device in each discontinuous transmission period of any cell j are consistent, avoiding logical confusion caused by inconsistent indication results of multiple target indication information.

[0558] In some feasible implementations, the target indication information received by the terminal device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

[0559] In some feasible implementations, if the terminal device determines that target indication information is received for the first time within a second discontinuous transmission period of the second cell i, and the time unit in which the target indication information is received is within an inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second cell i is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information at a second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit in which the target indication information is received, where Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0560] In some feasible implementations, please refer to Figure 26, which is a flow chart of another communication method provided by this application. As shown in Figure 26, the communication method may also include the following steps:

[0561] S225: The network device activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell.

[0562] For ease of understanding, the following will further explain the specific behavior of the network device in combination with application scenarios 1 to 5 described above.

[0563] Application scenario 1: The terminal device has only one DTX or one DRX configured in the first cell

[0564] When the first discontinuous transmission is DTX or DRX, the network device determines to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission based on information such as the current load status and the usage of the first discontinuous transmission, and then activates / deactivates the first discontinuous transmission based on the determined result.

[0565] Optionally, the network device may also activate / deactivate the first continuous transmission at the first target time unit mentioned above.

[0566] Application scenario 2: The first cell is configured with both DTX and DRX

[0567] In a first optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX. The network device may also activate DTX and DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period within a preset period.

[0568] In a second optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX. Alternatively, the network device may activate / deactivate DTX and DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period defined by the first DRX.

[0569] In a third optional implementation, the network device may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or may activate / deactivate the DTX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period within a preset cycle. The network device may activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell at a time unit next to the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or may activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the above-mentioned first period.

[0570] Application scenario three: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DTX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DTX

[0571] In this application scenario, the network device can activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DTX and at least one second DTX at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DTX, or it can also activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DTX and at least one second DTX at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the above-mentioned target period.

[0572] Application scenario 4: The first discontinuous transmission is the first DRX, and the first cell is also configured with at least one second DRX

[0573] In this application scenario, the network device can activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DRX and at least one second DRX at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first DRX, or it can also activate / deactivate the above-mentioned first DRX and at least one second DRX at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the above-mentioned target period.

[0574] Application scenario 5: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission

[0575] In a first optional implementation, for the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell, the network device may activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell in the at least one second cell at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0576] Alternatively, the network device may also activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission and the second discontinuous transmission of each of the at least one second cell at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period.

[0577] Alternatively, for the first discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or may activate / deactivate at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the above-mentioned target period. For the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, if the network device determines that it is sending the target indication information for the first time within the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, and the time unit for sending the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, then the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i may be activated / deactivated at the second target time unit. The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit where the terminal device receives the target indication information. Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0578] In a second optional implementation, for the first discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period. For each second discontinuous transmission, the network device may activate / deactivate at the next time unit after the end time unit of the active period of each second discontinuous transmission, or at the Xth time unit after the end time unit of each second period.

[0579] In some feasible implementations, the preset period, the first preset period or the second preset period involved in the present application may be a positive integer multiple of the period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0580] In some feasible implementations, the target time period within the preset cycle described in this application may be included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

[0581] In some feasible implementations, the specific formats of the target indication information, first indication information and second indication information involved in Example 2 can be found in the description of the format of the target indication information in Example 1 above in combination with Figure 20 or Figure 21, and will not be repeated here.

[0582] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device only transmits target indication information during target time periods within a preset period, and the terminal device only receives the target indication information during the target time periods and further activates / deactivates discontinuous transmission for the cell based on the target indication information. This approach can significantly reduce the number of transmissions of information indicating activation / deactivation of discontinuous transmission, thereby effectively reducing power consumption of the communication system.

[0583] Please refer to Figure 27, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by this application. The communication device can be the terminal device described in the first embodiment above, or it can be an internal component or module of the terminal device described in the first embodiment above.

[0584] The communication device may include one or more transceiver units 271 and one or more processing units 272. The transceiver units 271 can be referred to as transceivers, transceiver circuits, or transceivers, and may include at least one antenna and a radio frequency unit. The transceiver unit 271 is primarily responsible for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals, for example, receiving target indication information from a network device. The processing unit 272 is primarily responsible for baseband processing and controlling the communication device. The transceiver unit 271 and processing unit 272 may be physically co-located or physically separate, i.e., distributed. In a specific implementation, the transceiver unit 271 may be comprised of one or more boards. Multiple boards may jointly support a radio access network of a single access standard or independently support radio access networks of different access standards. The processing unit 272 also includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor is used to control the communication device to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the communication device to execute the relevant operating procedures of the terminal device described in the first embodiment. The memory and processor may serve one or more boards. That is, each board can be equipped with a separate memory and processor. Alternatively, multiple boards can share the same memory and processor. In addition, each board can also be equipped with necessary circuits.

[0585] In a specific implementation, the transceiver unit 271 is configured to receive target indication information sent by a network device within a target period. The target period is included in an active period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device. The processing unit 272 is configured to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information.

[0586] It should be understood that for more detailed functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 272 and transceiver unit 271, reference can be made directly to the description of the method steps executed by the terminal device in the above embodiment 1, and no further details will be given here.

[0587] Please refer to Figure 28, which is a structural diagram of another communication device provided by the present application. The communication device can be used to perform the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned embodiment 1. The communication device can be the network device itself described in embodiment 1, or it can be an element or module inside the network device. For the sake of convenience, only the main components of the communication device are shown in Figure 28. As can be seen from Figure 28, the communication device includes modules such as a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, and an antenna. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as to control the communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals into radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0588] When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the RF signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, only one memory and processor are shown in Figure 28. In an actual device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor, and this embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0589] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver unit of the communication device, and the processor with processing function can be regarded as the processing unit of the communication device. As shown in Figure 28, the communication device includes a transceiver unit 281 and a processing unit 282. Optionally, the device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit 281 can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device used to implement the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 281 can be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 281 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. Here, the receiving unit may sometimes also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitting unit may sometimes also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0590] In a specific implementation, processing unit 282 determines target indication information, where the target indication information is used to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell. Transceiver unit 281 transmits the target indication information to the terminal device within a target period, where the target period is included in the active period of the first discontinuous transmission. It should be understood that for more detailed information on the functions of processing unit 282 and transceiver unit 281, please refer to the description of the method steps performed by the network device in the first embodiment above, and will not be repeated here.

[0591] Optionally, the communication device shown in Figure 27 can be the terminal device described in the aforementioned embodiment 2, or it can be an internal element or module of the terminal device described in the aforementioned embodiment 2. In a specific implementation, the transceiver unit 271 is used to receive target indication information sent by a network device at a target time period within a preset period. The preset period is different from the period of the search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing of the search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information. The processing unit 272 is used to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information. It should be understood that more detailed functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 272 and transceiver unit 271 can be directly referred to the description of the method steps performed by the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0592] Optionally, the communication device shown in Figure 28 can be used to perform the functions of the network device in the above-mentioned embodiment 2. The communication device can be the network device itself described in embodiment 2, or it can be an element or module inside the network device. In a specific implementation, the processing unit 282 is used to determine target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to indicate the activation / deactivation of the first discontinuous transmission of the first cell of the terminal device. The transceiver unit 281 is used to send target indication information to the terminal device at a target time period within a preset period, wherein the preset period is different from the period of the search space indication associated with the target indication information, and / or the target time period is different from the detection timing of the search space and control resource set indication associated with the target indication information. It should be understood that more detailed functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 282 and transceiver unit 281 can be directly referred to the description of the method steps performed by the network device in the above embodiment 2, and will not be repeated here.

[0593] Please refer to Figure 29, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in this application. This communication device 290 can be used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the above-mentioned embodiment 1 or embodiment 2. Alternatively,...

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applicable to a terminal device, and the method comprises: Receiving target indication information sent by a network device within a target time period, wherein the target time period is included in an active time period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device; The first discontinuous transmission is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving target configuration information sent by the network device, the target configuration information including a first offset and a second offset; The first offset is a time unit offset of a start time unit of the target period relative to a start time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of an end time unit of the target period relative to a start time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission; Alternatively, the first offset is a time unit offset of a start time unit of the target period relative to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset is a time unit offset of an end time unit of the target period relative to an end time unit of an active period of the first discontinuous transmission; The target period is determined according to the first offset amount and the second offset amount.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information includes: activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information at a first target time unit; The first target time unit is the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, and the first cell is further configured with discontinuous reception DRX. The method further includes: Activate / deactivate DRX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that An active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to an active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or a cycle of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to a cycle of DRX of the first cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is further configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the method further includes: Activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell according to the target indication information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that An active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to an active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or a cycle of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to a cycle of DTX of the first cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the method further includes: The second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i among the at least one second cell is activated / deactivated according to the target indication information.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The activating / deactivating the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i of the at least one second cell according to the target indication information includes: If it is determined that the target indication information is received for the first time within the second discontinuous transmission period of any second cell i among the at least one second cell, and the time unit for receiving the target indication information is within the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i, activating / deactivating the second cell i according to the target indication information at the second target time unit; The second target time unit is the Yth time unit after the time unit of receiving the target indication information, and Y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The target indication information received by the terminal device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: When the terminal device receives multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: Each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a part of the cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the part of the cycle is the same.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: The communication method is applicable to a network device, and the method comprises: Determine target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to activate / deactivate a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell; The target indication information is sent to a terminal device within a target time period, wherein the target time period is included in an active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending target configuration information to the terminal device; The target configuration information includes a first offset and a second offset, the first offset being a time unit offset of a start time unit of the target time period relative to a start time unit of an active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset being a time unit offset of an end time unit of the target time period relative to a start time unit of an active time period of the first discontinuous transmission; Alternatively, the first offset parameter is the time unit offset of the start time unit of the target time period relative to the end time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission, and the second offset parameter is the time unit offset of the end time unit of the target time period relative to the end time unit of the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: activating / deactivating the first discontinuous transmission at a first target time unit; The first target time unit is the next time unit of the end time unit of the active period of the first discontinuous transmission, or the first target time unit is the Xth time unit after the end time unit of the target period, where X is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous transmission DTX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous reception DRX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the DRX of the first cell.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that An active period of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to an active period of DRX of the first cell, and / or a cycle of DTX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to a cycle of DRX of the first cell.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The first discontinuous transmission is discontinuous reception DRX, the first cell is also configured with discontinuous transmission DTX, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate DTX of the first cell.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that An active period of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to an active period of DTX of the first cell, and / or a cycle of DRX of the first cell is shorter than or equal to a cycle of DTX of the first cell.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that: Each of the at least one second cell of the terminal device is configured with a second discontinuous transmission, and the target indication information is also used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of any one second cell i of the at least one second cell.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The active period of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the active period of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell, and / or the cycle of the first discontinuous transmission is shorter than or equal to the cycle of the second discontinuous transmission of each second cell.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that The target indication information sent by the network device during the inactive period of the second discontinuous transmission of any second cell i among the at least one second cell is not used to activate / deactivate the second discontinuous transmission of the second cell i.

25. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 24, characterized in that: When the network device sends multiple target indication information within a period of discontinuous transmission of any cell j of the terminal device, the multiple target indication information all indicate activation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j, or the multiple target indication information all indicate deactivation of the discontinuous transmission of the cell j.

26. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 25, characterized in that: The starting time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing start moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located, and the ending time unit of the active period of discontinuous transmission is the time unit where the timing end moment or timeout moment of the activity timer corresponding to the discontinuous transmission is located.

27. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 26, characterized in that: Each cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, or a part of the cycle of the discontinuous transmission of the first cell includes the target time period, and the time interval between each cycle in the part of the cycle is the same.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit; The transceiver unit is used to receive target indication information sent by a network device within a target time period, wherein the target time period is included in an active time period of a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell of the terminal device; The processing unit is used to activate / deactivate the first discontinuous transmission according to the target indication information.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit; The processing unit is used to determine target indication information, wherein the target indication information is used to activate / deactivate a first discontinuous transmission of a first cell; The transceiver unit is used to send the target indication information to the terminal device within a target time period, wherein the target time period is included in the active time period of the first discontinuous transmission.

30. A readable storage medium for storing instructions, which, when executed, enables the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 to be implemented.

31. A readable storage medium for storing instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 15 to 27 to be implemented.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: include: at least one processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device performs the method according to claims 1 to 14. The method of any one of the above.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: include: at least one processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 15 to 27.

34. A computer program product, wherein the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 27 is executed by a computer.

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