Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which are used for improving the energy-saving effect of a network device. The method comprises: a terminal device receives first information used for indicating a sleep period of a network device, and determines a paging frame on the basis of the sleep period. The terminal device monitors for a paging message on the paging frame. In embodiments of the present application, when determining the paging frame, the terminal device and the network device take the sleep period of the network device into account so that the interval of paging frames is extended, for example, the paging frames can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up, and improving the energy-saving effect of the network device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 8, 2023, with application number 202311163329.5 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] In systems such as new radio (NR) systems, terminal devices in the radio resource control (RRC) idle state or RRC inactive state can wake up periodically to monitor paging messages in a discontinuous reception (DRX) manner. The period of periodic wake-up can be called a DRX cycle, and the position of the wake-up is called a paging opportunity (PO). The PO is located in a paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in a paging frame (PF). The terminal device can determine the PO to be monitored based on the paging cycle T, the number of PFs in a paging cycle, the number of POs, and the terminal device identifier.

[0005] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, reducing the energy consumption of network equipment (such as base stations) has received increasing attention. One of the main technical means of reducing network equipment energy consumption is to enable network equipment to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) / DRX when the network equipment is unloaded or lightly loaded. In this case, the network equipment can sleep during periods of inactivity, achieving energy conservation.

[0006] In combination with the above description, the current problem is that, according to the above-mentioned method of determining the paging frame, the network device needs to wake up frequently, resulting in poor energy saving effect of the network device.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving energy-saving effects of network equipment.

[0009] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the terminal device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving first information indicating a sleep cycle of a network device, determining a paging frame based on the sleep cycle, and monitoring a paging message in the paging frame.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0011] In one possible design, the first information is the sleep period T1. This method introduces the sleep period parameter of the network device so that the network device and the terminal device can determine the PF in conjunction with the sleep period of the network device. This allows the PF to be concentrated within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0012] In a possible design, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle, the paging frame can be determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In this way, the DRX cycle of the terminal device and the sleep cycle of the network device can be comprehensively considered, thereby improving the probability of successful paging.

[0013] In one possible design, a paging frame is identified based on a sleep cycle and a paging cycle, including determining a system frame number (SFN) of the paging frame based on a maximum of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. This approach can extend the PF interval, thereby reducing the number of times a network device wakes up and improving energy efficiency.

[0014] In one possible design, the system frame number (SFN) of the paging frame is determined based on the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; where A is determined based on the SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is a modulo operation. Through the embodiments of the present application, PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy efficiency of the network device.

[0015] In one possible design, determining a paging frame based on a sleep cycle includes: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of paging frames based on the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determining the SFN of the paging frame based on N'. This embodiment of the present application allows PFs of different terminal devices to be aggregated onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times network devices wake up and improving energy efficiency of network devices.

[0016] In a possible design, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

[0017] In one possible design, the SFN of the paging frame is determined based on N', including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N'); where A is determined based on the SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is a modulo operation.

[0018] In one possible design, the first information is the number of paging frames, N, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This approach increases the number of candidate values ​​for N, thereby extending the sleep cycle of network devices, reducing the number of times network devices wake up, and improving energy conservation.

[0019] In one possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); wherein, A is determined according to the SFN, T2 = max(T1, T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0020] Through the above approach, backward compatibility can be achieved when T1 is less than T. When T1 is greater than or equal to T, the embodiments of the present application can aggregate PFs of different paging cycles onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0021] In one possible design, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0022] In one possible design, the method further includes: reporting capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode. The above method can make the behavior of the terminal device and the network device consistent through capability negotiation, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0023] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving a second message, the second message being used to indicate that the network device has enabled a network energy-saving mode. The above method can make the behavior of the terminal device and the network device consistent, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0024] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the network device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: sending first information indicating a sleep cycle of the network device, determining a paging frame based on the sleep cycle, and sending a paging message in the paging frame.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0026] In one possible design, the first information is the sleep period T1. This method introduces the sleep period parameter of the network device so that the network device and the terminal device can determine the PF in conjunction with the sleep period of the network device. This allows the PF to be concentrated within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0027] In a possible design, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle, the paging frame can be determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. In this way, the DRX cycle of the terminal device and the sleep cycle of the network device can be comprehensively considered, thereby improving the probability of successful paging.

[0028] In one possible design, a paging frame is determined based on a sleep cycle and a paging cycle, including determining the SFN of the paging frame based on the maximum of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle. This approach can extend the PF interval, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving energy efficiency of the network device.

[0029] In one possible design, the system frame number (SFN) of the paging frame is determined based on the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; where A is determined based on the SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is a modulo operation. Through the embodiments of the present application, PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy efficiency of the network device.

[0030] In one possible design, determining a paging frame based on a sleep cycle includes: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of paging frames based on the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determining the SFN of the paging frame based on N'. This embodiment of the present application allows PFs of different terminal devices to be aggregated onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times network devices wake up and improving energy efficiency of network devices.

[0031] In a possible design, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

[0032] In one possible design, the SFN of the paging frame is determined based on N', including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N'); where A is determined based on the SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is a modulo operation.

[0033] In one possible design, the first information is the number of paging frames, N, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This approach increases the number of candidate values ​​for N, thereby extending the sleep cycle of network devices, reducing the number of times network devices wake up, and improving energy conservation.

[0034] In one possible design, the paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle, including: the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); wherein, A is determined according to the SFN, T2 = max(T1, T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0035] Through the above approach, backward compatibility can be achieved when T1 is less than T. When T1 is greater than or equal to T, the embodiments of the present application can aggregate PFs of different paging cycles onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0036] In one possible design, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0037] In one possible design, the method further includes: determining that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode; and enabling the network energy-saving mode. The above method can make the terminal device and the network device behave in the same manner through capability negotiation, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0038] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending a second message, the second message being used to indicate that the network device has turned on a network energy-saving mode. The above method can make the behavior of the terminal device and the network device consistent, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0039] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the terminal device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: determining a paging occasion based on an identifier of the terminal device, and monitoring a paging message at the paging occasion. If the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0040] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode, so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network equipment and terminal equipment support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0041] In one possible design, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging opportunities in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identifier is greater than 12.

[0042] In one possible design, the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, where 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier (5G S-temporary mobile subscription identifier) ​​of the terminal device.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the network device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: determining a paging opportunity based on an identifier of a terminal device, and sending a paging message at the paging opportunity. If the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0044] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode, so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network equipment and terminal equipment support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0045] In one possible design, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging opportunities in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identifier is greater than 12.

[0046] In one possible design, the terminal device operates in network energy-saving mode, and UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096.

[0047] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the terminal device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving a paging early indication (PEI), where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; determining a paging opportunity based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and monitoring paging messages at the paging opportunity.

[0048] This application uses PEI to indicate the actual number of POs used, which can achieve dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs.

[0049] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by the system message. This application takes into account that excessively long POs may squeeze the sleep time of network devices, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the PEI is used to indicate the actual number of POs used. Since the actual number of POs used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device's sleep time is further reduced.

[0050] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0051] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE paging calls that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, which can realize dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs. It can also aggregate the POs of different UEs into a small number of POs, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0052] In a possible design, the index number i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns';

[0053] Where Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0054] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the network device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: sending a PEI indicating the total number of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; determining a paging opportunity based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and sending a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0055] This application uses PEI to indicate the actual number of POs used, which can achieve dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs.

[0056] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by the system message. This application takes into account that excessively long POs may squeeze the sleep time of network devices, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is small. In this application, the PEI is used to indicate the actual number of POs used. Since the actual number of POs used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device's sleep time is further reduced.

[0057] In one possible design, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0058] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE paging calls that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, which can realize dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs. It can also aggregate the POs of different UEs into a small number of POs, further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0059] In a possible design, the index number i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns';

[0060] Where Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0061] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a terminal device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the terminal device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: receiving a system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle, determining a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within a network device duration, and monitoring paging messages at the paging opportunity.

[0062] This application considers that when Ns indicated by the system message is greater than the total number of POs within the network device duration, an excessively long PO may squeeze the sleep time of the network device. Through this application, the POs of different UEs can be aggregated into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device duration.

[0063] In one possible design, a paging occasion is determined based on Ns and the total number of paging occasions N0 within the network device duration, including: determining the paging occasion based on N', where N' = min{N0, Ns}. This design reduces the total number of POs and aggregates them into a smaller number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device duration.

[0064] In a possible design, the index value i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}.

[0065] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device or a chip, chip system, or circuit located in the network device. The method may be implemented by the following steps: sending a system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle, determining a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within the network device duration, and sending a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0066] This application considers that when Ns indicated by the system message is greater than the total number of POs within the network device duration, an excessively long PO may squeeze the sleep time of the network device. Through this application, the POs of different UEs can be aggregated into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device duration.

[0067] In one possible design, a paging occasion is determined based on Ns and the total number of paging occasions N0 within the network device duration, including: determining the paging occasion based on N', where N' = min{N0, Ns}. This design reduces the total number of POs and aggregates them into a smaller number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device duration.

[0068] In a possible design, the index value i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}.

[0069] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods provided in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects above. The communication device may be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0070] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the above-described method. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and a network device.

[0071] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the first aspect above, and the processor can be used to: receive first information through the interface circuit; and determine the paging frame according to the sleep cycle; and monitor the paging message on the paging frame through the interface circuit.

[0072] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the third aspect above, and the processor can be used to: determine the paging occasion according to the identification of the terminal device; and monitor the paging message at the paging occasion through the interface circuit.

[0073] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fifth aspect. The processor can be configured to: receive a PEI via an interface circuit, where the PEI indicates a total number of paging occasions to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging occasion based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and monitor a paging message at the paging occasion via the interface circuit.

[0074] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the seventh aspect. The processor can be configured to: receive a system message via an interface circuit, the system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within a network device duration; and monitor a paging message at the paging opportunity via the interface circuit.

[0075] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0076] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing module) and a communication unit (or communication module). These units can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the first aspect, the third aspect, the fifth aspect or the seventh aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0077] For example, the communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the first aspect. The processing unit is configured to receive first information through the communication unit, determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle, and monitor a paging message on the paging frame through the communication unit.

[0078] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the third aspect. The processing unit is configured to receive, via the communication unit, a PEI, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging occasions to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging occasion based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and monitor, via the communication unit, a paging message at each paging occasion.

[0079] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fifth aspect. The processing unit can be configured to: receive a PEI via the communication unit, where the PEI indicates a total number of paging occasions to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging occasion based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and monitor a paging message at the paging occasion via the communication unit.

[0080] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the seventh aspect above, and the processing unit can be configured to: receive a system message via the communication unit, the system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within a network device duration; and monitor, via the communication unit, a paging message at the paging opportunity.

[0081] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device having the function of implementing any of the methods provided in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, the sixth aspect, or the eighth aspect. The communication device can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0082] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the network device in the method described above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and a terminal device.

[0083] For example, a communication device having the function of implementing the method provided in the second aspect above, wherein the processor may be configured to: transmit, via an interface circuit, first information indicating a sleep cycle of a network device; determine a paging frame based on the sleep cycle; and transmit, via the interface circuit, a paging message in the paging frame.

[0084] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fourth aspect above, and the processor can be configured to: determine a paging occasion based on an identifier of a terminal device; and send a paging message at the paging occasion via an interface circuit. If the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0085] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the sixth aspect. The processor may be configured to: transmit a PEI via an interface circuit, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging occasions to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging occasion based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and transmit a paging message at the paging occasion via the interface circuit.

[0086] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the eighth aspect, wherein the processor can be configured to: send a system message via an interface circuit, the system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; and determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within a network device duration; and send a paging message via the interface circuit at the paging opportunity.

[0087] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0088] In one possible design, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit (or processing module) and a communication unit (or a first communication module). These units can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in the second aspect, fourth aspect, sixth aspect or eighth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0089] For example, a communication device having the function of implementing the method provided in the second aspect above, wherein the processing unit may be configured to: transmit, via the communication unit, first information indicating a sleep cycle of the network device; determine a paging frame based on the sleep cycle; and transmit, via the communication unit, a paging message in the paging frame.

[0090] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the fourth aspect above, and the processing unit can be configured to: determine a paging occasion based on an identifier of a terminal device; and send a paging message at the paging occasion via the communication unit. If the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode.

[0091] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the sixth aspect above, and the processing unit can be configured to: transmit a PEI via the communication unit, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging occasions to be monitored within a paging cycle; determine a paging occasion based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and transmit a paging message via the communication unit at the paging occasion.

[0092] The communication device has the function of implementing the method provided in the eighth aspect above, and the processing unit can be configured to: send a system message via the communication unit, the system message indicating a total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; and determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and a total number N0 of paging opportunities within a network device duration; and send a paging message via the communication unit at the paging opportunity.

[0093] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods of the aforementioned first aspect, third aspect, fifth aspect, or seventh aspect and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0094] In the twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor being used to implement the methods in the aforementioned second aspect, fourth aspect, sixth aspect, eighth aspect, and any possible design through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0095] In the thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the method in any one of the aforementioned aspects from the first to the eighth aspect and any possible design.

[0096] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method in any one of the aforementioned aspects from the first to the eighth aspect and any possible design.

[0097] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and possibly a memory, for implementing the method of any of the aforementioned first or second aspects and any possible designs. The chip system may be composed of a chip alone or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0098] In the sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the device described in the first aspect (such as a terminal device) and the device described in the second aspect (such as a network device).

[0099] In the seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the device described in the third aspect (such as a terminal device) and the device described in the fourth aspect (such as a network device).

[0100] In the eighteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the device described in the fifth aspect (such as a terminal device) and the device described in the sixth aspect (such as a network device).

[0101] In the nineteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the device described in the seventh aspect (such as a terminal device) and the device described in the eighth aspect (such as a network device). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0102] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a network system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the effect of PF polymerization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0115] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0116] Below, some terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0117] 1) Terminal equipment, which can be a device with wireless transceiver functions or a chip that can be set in any device, can also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, an XR device (such as a VR device, an AR device, an MR device, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in video surveillance, and a wearable terminal device. The terminal equipment can also be an eMBB UE, a URLLC UE, a drone, other Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a positioning device, etc.

[0118] A network device may be a device for implementing the functions of an access network device. An access network device may refer to a device in an access network that communicates with a wireless terminal device through one or more cells over an air interface. For example, it may be a next-generation base station (gNB) in an NR system, or an evolutionary base station (eNB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system. A network device may also be a device that can support a network device to implement the functions of the access network device, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device.

[0119] For example, the structure of the network device in the embodiment of the present application can be shown in Figure 1. Specifically, the network device can be divided into a centralized unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU). The CU can be used to manage or control at least one DU, and can also be referred to as a CU connected to at least one DU. This structure can separate the protocol layers of the network device in the communication system, wherein some protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. Taking the network device as a gNB as an example, the protocol layer of the gNB includes the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control sublayer (MAC) layer, and the physical layer. For example, the CU can be used to implement the functions of the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, and the DU can be used to implement the functions of the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the physical layer. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the protocol stacks included in the CU and DU.

[0120] 2) Network energy-saving mode: With the gradual evolution of communication systems, "low carbon" has received more and more attention in communication networks. Among them, how to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment has received more and more attention. One of the main technical means to reduce the energy consumption of network equipment is to enable the network equipment to perform discontinuous transmission (DTX) and / or discontinuous reception (DRX). DTX means that the network equipment can alternate between sending and not sending in the time domain, or it can also be understood that the network equipment periodically enters a sleep period, and the network equipment can not send during the sleep period. DRX means that the network equipment can alternate between receiving and not receiving in the time domain, or it can also be understood that the network equipment periodically enters sleep, and the network equipment can not receive during the sleep period. In this case, the network equipment can sleep during the time period when it is not sending and / or not receiving, so as to achieve the purpose of energy saving of the network equipment.

[0121] The network energy-saving mode referred to in this application can be understood as a mode in which a network device performs DRX and / or DTX, or it can also be understood as a mode in which a network device periodically enters sleep mode. Each cycle of the network energy-saving mode can include a duration of the network device and a sleep period of the network device. During the duration of the network device, the network device transmits and / or receives, and during the sleep period, the network device may not transmit and / or receive. The period of periodic sleep mode can be referred to as a sleep cycle.

[0122] It should be understood that the above-mentioned “network sleep mode”, “sleep period” and “sleep cycle” are merely exemplary names and are not specifically limited here.

[0123] 3) Paging Early Indication (PEI)

[0124] The current discussion addresses energy conservation in terminal devices. Considering that as long as one terminal device is paged, all terminal devices monitoring the same point of view (PO) will be instructed to receive paging messages. For terminal devices that are not actually paged, receiving paging messages results in unnecessary power consumption. A possible solution to this problem is to divide terminal devices belonging to the same point of view (PO) into subgroups. The network pages terminal devices based on subgroup granularity, reducing the probability of false paging alarms and, consequently, unnecessary power consumption for terminal devices to receive paging messages. Specifically, a PEI is introduced to indicate the subgroup of terminal devices to be paged before the PO.

[0125] There are two ways for a terminal device to determine its subgroup:

[0126] -CN controlled subgrouping: The core network device assigns subgroups to terminal devices and sends the terminal device subgroup ID to the network device and the terminal device respectively. The terminal device subgroup assignment depends on the core network device implementation, for example, based on the paging probability of the terminal device.

[0127] -UE ID based subgrouping: The calculation method of the terminal equipment subgroup ID is: k = [floor (UE_ID / (N*Ns)) mod Nsg-UEID] + Nsg-CN.

[0128] Among them, Nsg-UEID is the total number of subgroups broadcast in the system message. The number of subgroups is the total number of subgroups grouped based on UE_ID in a single PO, assuming that the Paging message corresponding to the PO contains multiple terminal devices. Nsg-CN is the total number of subgroups allocated based on core network control in a single PO.

[0129] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0130] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, the first communication device and the second communication device are only used to distinguish different communication devices and do not indicate differences in the location, communication capabilities, priority, or importance of the two communication devices.

[0131] The foregoing text introduces some of the terms and concepts involved in the embodiments of this application. The following text introduces the technical features involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0132] In systems such as the NR system, a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state can wake up periodically to monitor paging messages in a DRX manner. The period of periodic waking up can be called a DRX period, and the position of waking up is called a PO. The PO is located in the paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in the PF. For example, in long term evolution (LTE), a PF includes 10 subframes, indexed from 0 to 9. The time domain position of the PO can be the subframe with an index of 7 in the PF; in NR, the PO is a set of monitoring occasions for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which is obtained according to the corresponding search space. The PO is located in the paging frame or the starting position of the PO is located in the paging frame.

[0133] The terminal device can determine the PF according to the following formula: SFN mod T = (T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) Formula (1);

[0134] SFN is the system frame number of PF.

[0135] T is the paging cycle, also known as the DRX cycle or DRX paging cycle. The network device can send the network's default DRX configuration to the UE via SIB1. Therefore, the default DRX cycle configured by SIB1 always exists. If the terminal device does not need to use a special DRX configuration, the terminal device can use the default DRX cycle configured by SIB1.

[0136] If a terminal device requires a special DRX configuration, such as a shorter DRX cycle, it can use non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to negotiate a DRX configuration with the core network, which can include a special DRX cycle. The terminal device can monitor paging messages using the min{specific DRX cycle configured by the core network (CN), default DRX cycle configured by SIB1} cycle.

[0137] If the terminal device requires a special non-connected DRX configuration, such as a shorter DRX cycle, the network device may provide a special DRX cycle when releasing the terminal device to the non-connected state. The terminal device may monitor paging messages using the min{specific DRX cycle configured by CN if configured, default DRX cycle configured by SIB1, and a special DRX cycle configured by the access network (specific DRX cycle configured by RAN)} cycle. In this application, the non-connected state may include the deactivated state and the idle state.

[0138] For the convenience of description, T is collectively referred to as the paging cycle below.

[0139] N is the number of PFs in a paging cycle.

[0140] UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device.

[0141] mod is the remainder operation.

[0142] div is the integer division operation.

[0143] For NR terminal devices, an additional offset Framoffset may also be considered, namely, (SFN+Framoffset) mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) Formula (2).

[0144] Among them, Framoffset can be broadcast by system information.

[0145] The terminal device can determine the index value i_s of the PO according to the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns Formula (3);

[0146] Where i_s is the index number of the PO, floor is the rounding down operation, and Ns is the total number of POs in the paging cycle.

[0147] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, reducing the energy consumption of network devices has received increasing attention. One of the main technical means of reducing network device energy consumption is to put network devices into energy-saving mode when they are unloaded or lightly loaded. In this case, network devices can sleep during periods of inactivity, thereby achieving energy savings. However, due to the aforementioned method used by terminal devices to determine the power factor (PF), network devices must frequently wake up. For example, assuming N = T / 4 and Ns = 4, according to the above formula, the potential power factors are 0, 4, 8, 12, and so on. The corresponding subscripts under the potential power factors within each PF are 0, 1, 2, and 3, as shown in Figure 2. Therefore, network devices must wake up on radio frames with SFNs of 0, 4, 8, 12, and so on, resulting in poor energy conservation.

[0148] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the energy efficiency of network equipment. The method and apparatus are based on the same inventive concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and the repetitive parts will not be repeated.

[0149] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), long term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G) communication system, LTE and 5G hybrid architecture, 5G new radio (NR) system, and 6G or new communication systems emerging in future communication development. The 5G communication system described in this application may include at least one of a non-standalone (NSA) 5G communication system and a standalone (SA) 5G communication system. The communication system may also be a machine to machine (M2M) network or other network.

[0150] Referring to Figure 3, a communication system is provided for an embodiment of the present application, which includes a network device and six terminal devices, namely UE1 to UE6. In this communication system, UE1 to UE6 can send uplink data to the network device, and the network device can receive uplink data sent by UE1 to UE6. In addition, UE4 to UE6 can also form a sub-communication system. The network device can send downlink information to UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE5, and UE5 can send downlink information to UE4 and UE6 based on device-to-device (D2D) technology. Figure 3 is only a schematic diagram and does not specifically limit the type of communication system, the number and type of devices included in the communication system, etc.

[0151] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0152] See Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0153] S401: A network device sends first information, and a terminal device receives the first information accordingly.

[0154] The first information is used to indicate the sleep period of the network device.

[0155] Exemplarily, the first information may be carried in a system message broadcast by the network device, or may be carried in a unicast message sent by the network device to the terminal device, which is not specifically limited here.

[0156] The manner in which the first information indicates the sleep period is described below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0157] S402: The terminal device determines a PF according to a sleep cycle.

[0158] S403: The network device determines a PF according to the sleep cycle.

[0159] It should be noted that this application does not limit the execution order of S402 and S403.

[0160] S404: The network device sends a paging message on the PF. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PF.

[0161] It should be understood that the terminal device and the network device determine PF in the same manner. The following describes the manner of determining PF using the terminal device as an example. The network device may refer to the manner of determining PF by the terminal device.

[0162] In an embodiment of the present application, when determining PF, the terminal device and the network device extend the PF interval by combining the sleep cycle of the network device. For example, the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0163] In the embodiment of the present application, the first information may indicate the sleep period of the network device by direct indication or by indirect indication.

[0164] Specifically, a possible direct indication method is that the first information is the sleep period T1. In this method, the network device may send the sleep period of the network device to the terminal device. For example, the network device may carry the sleep period of the network device in a broadcast message.

[0165] This method introduces the sleep cycle parameters of the network device, so that the network device and terminal device can combine the sleep cycle of the network device when determining PF, so that the PF can be concentrated within the duration of the network device, reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0166] In the above manner, when determining the PF, the terminal device may determine the PF according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0167] In one example, the terminal device may determine the SFN of the PF based on the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0168] For example, the SFN of the PF may satisfy the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0 Formula (4);

[0169] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, for example, A = SFN, or A = SFN + offset, and offset is the offset value of the system frame number. In this application, offset can be the offset Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, or it can be other offsets, for example, it can be an offset introduced by the network energy saving mode. The offset can be carried in the same message as the first information, or it can be carried in a different message from the first information.

[0170] If A = SFN, the above formula (4) can be expressed as: SFN mod max(T1, T) = 0. If A = SFN + offset, the above formula (4) can be expressed as (SFN + offset) mod max(T1, T) = 0, or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod max(T1, T) = offset. In the implementation method where offset is the offset Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, the above formula (4) can be expressed as (SFN + Framoffset) mod max(T1, T) = 0, or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod max(T1, T) = Framoffset.

[0171] This application does not limit the expression form of the above formula (4) and the following formulas (5) to (8). The expressions listed in this application are only examples. In specific implementations, they can also be applied to other variations of formulas (4) to (8), which are not listed here one by one.

[0172] Alternatively, it can be understood that if the sleep cycle is greater than the paging cycle, the SFN of the PF may satisfy the following formula: A mod T1 = 0. If the sleep cycle is less than the paging cycle, the SFN of the PF may satisfy the following formula: A mod T = 0.

[0173] The following two examples illustrate the paging method of this application.

[0174] For example 1, assuming that A=SFN+offset, T=32, T1=64, N=4 / T, Framoffset=2, offset=0, the paging method of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0175] As shown in Figure 5, for a terminal device with a UE_ID of 33, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 2, 34, 66, 98, 130, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0176] For a terminal device with a UE_ID of 34, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 38, 70, 102, 134, etc. According to formula (4) above: A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0177] For a terminal device with a UE_ID of 35, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 10, 42, 74, 106, 138, etc. According to formula (4) above: A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0178] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is adopted, for different terminal devices, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to each terminal device, that is, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 33, that is, the PF with SFN 2, 34, 66, 98, and 130, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 34, that is, the PF with SFN 6, 38, 70, 102, and 134, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 35, that is, the PF with SFN 10, 42, 74, 106, and 138. However, according to the method described in the present application, the network device can wake up on the PF with SFN 62 and 126. It can be seen that through the embodiments of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated onto the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0179] Example 2: Assuming A=SFN+offset, UE_ID=34, T1=64, N=4 / T, Framoffset=2, offset=0, the paging method of this application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0180] As shown in Figure 6, if T = 32, according to formula (2) in the background technology: (SFN + Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 38, 70, 102, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0181] If T = 64, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN + Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 70, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 62, 126, etc.

[0182] If T = 128, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN + Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 134, etc. According to the above formula (4): A mod max(T1, T) = 0, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0183] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is adopted, for different paging cycles, the network device needs to wake up on different PFs, that is, when T=32, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 6, 38, 70, 102, and 134. When T=64, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 62 and 126. When T=128, the network device needs to wake up on PFs with SFNs of 126. According to the method described in the present application, for different paging cycles, the network device can wake up on PFs with SFNs of 62 and / or 126. It can be seen that through the embodiments of the present application, PFs with different paging cycles can be aggregated onto the same PF, such as 62 or 126, etc., thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0184] In another example, if the sleep cycle T1 is less than or equal to the paging cycle T, the terminal device may determine the number N' of PFs according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, and determine the SFN of the PFs according to N'.

[0185] Exemplarily, N' may satisfy the following formula: N'=T div T1;

[0186] Among them, div is the integer division operation.

[0187] The SFN of the PF may satisfy the following formula: A mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N') Formula (5).

[0188] If A = SFN, the above formula (5) can be expressed as: SFN mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N'). If A = SFN + offset, the above formula (5) can be expressed as (SFN + offset) mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N'), or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N') + offset. In the implementation method where offset is the offset Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, the above formula (5) can be expressed as (SFN + Framoffset) mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N'), or, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N') + Framoffset.

[0189] For example, assuming A=SFN+offset, T=128, T1=64, N=T / 4, Framoffset=2, offset=2, the paging method of the present application is described below with reference to specific examples.

[0190] As shown in Figure 7, for UE2 with a UE_ID of 34, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 6, 128 + 6 = 134, etc. According to formula (5) above: A mod T = T1 * (UE_ID mod N'), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0191] For UE3 with a UE_ID of 36, according to formula (2) in the background art: (SFN+Framoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 14, 128 + 14 = 142, etc. According to formula (5) above: A mod T = T1 * (UE_ID mod N'), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 126, etc.

[0192] It can be seen that if the paging method described in the background technology is used, for different terminal devices, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to each terminal device. In other words, the network device needs to wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 34, that is, the PF with SFN 6 or 134, and also wake up on the PF corresponding to the terminal device with UE_ID 36, that is, the PF with SFN 14 or 142. However, according to the method described in this application, the network device can wake up on the PF with SFN 126. It can be seen that through the embodiments of the present application, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated into the same PF, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0193] One possible indirect indication method is that the first information indicates the number of PFs, N, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle. This method increases the candidate value of N, thereby supporting the extension of the sleep cycle of network devices, reducing the number of network device wake-ups, and improving the energy efficiency of network devices.

[0194] Exemplarily, the SFN of the PF may satisfy the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1) Formula (6);

[0195] Among them, T2=max(T1, T), UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device.

[0196] The above formula (6) can also be expressed as A mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1).

[0197] If A = SFN, the above formula (6) can be expressed as: SFN mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, SFN mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). If A = SFN+offset, the above formula (6) can be expressed as (SFN+offset) mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, (SFN+offset) mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). Alternatively, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+offset, or, SFN mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+offset.

[0198] In an implementation where offset is the offset Framoffset described when the NR terminal device determines the PF in the background technology, the above formula (6) can be expressed as (SFN+Framoffset)mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1), or, (SFN+Framoffset)mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1). Alternatively, it can also be expressed as SFN mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+Framoffset, or, SFN mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1)+Framoffset.

[0199] In this approach, assuming A = SFN + offset, where offset equals Frameoffset, that is, A = SFN + Frameoffset, if N = T / 4 or T / 16, the sleep period T1 can be determined to be 4 or 16. Since T ≥ 32 > T1, then T2 = max(T1, T) = T. Substituting T2 into the above formula (6), we obtain (SFN + Frameoffset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N). It can be seen that when N = T / 4 or T / 16, the above formula (6) is the same as formula (2) in the background technology. Therefore, when T1 is less than T, backward compatibility can be achieved.

[0200] In this method, assuming A = SFN, if N = T / 64, the sleep period T1 can be determined to be 64.

[0201] As shown in Figure 8, for a terminal device with UE_ID = 34, if T = 32, then T2 = max(T1, T) = T1 = 64. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1) * (UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc. According to formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 32, 64, 96, 128, etc.

[0202] If T = 64, then T2 = max(T1, T) = T1 or T = 64. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1) * (UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc. According to formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 64, 128, etc.

[0203] If T = 128, then T2 = max(T1, T) = T = 128. According to the above formula (6): A mod T2 = (T2 div T2 / T1) * (UE_ID mod T2 / T1), the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 128, etc. According to formula (1) in the background technology, the SFN of the PF can be determined to be 0, 128, etc.

[0204] According to the above example, for different paging cycles, the network device can wake up on a PF with an SFN of 64 and / or 128. It can be seen that through the embodiment of the present application, PFs with different paging cycles can be aggregated into the same PF, such as 64 or 128, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0205] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, before the network device and the terminal device determine the PF using the above-mentioned S401 to S405 methods, the network device and the terminal device may first perform capability negotiation. For example, the terminal device may report capability information to the network device or the core network device, and the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode.

[0206] In one specific implementation, a terminal device may report capability information while in a connected state, indicating that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode. After reporting the capability information, the terminal device may be released to a non-connected state. Optionally, before being released to a non-connected state, the terminal device may also obtain a paging cycle T. For details, please refer to the description of T in the background technology section and will not be repeated here.

[0207] For example, a terminal device may report capability information to a core network device. This capability information indicates that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode. When paging the terminal device, the core network device may send a core network-side paging message to the network device. This paging message may include the capability information. The network device can then obtain the capability information of the terminal device.

[0208] In a network device with a DU-CU architecture, after receiving a paging message from the core network side, the CU can send the capability information carried in the paging message to the DU, so that the DU can determine whether to enable the network energy-saving mode.

[0209] As a possible implementation method, after the network device determines that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode, the network energy-saving mode can be enabled.

[0210] In addition, after the network energy saving mode is turned on, the network device can send a second message to the terminal device, where the second message is used to indicate that the network device has turned on the network energy saving mode. Optionally, a terminal device that does not support the network energy saving mode can be prohibited from accessing the cell.

[0211] As an example, the network device may indicate the second information through PEI. This method can notify a single UE (per UE), and compared with indicating the second information through a system message, the indication method is more flexible.

[0212] Optionally, when the network device and the terminal device perform paging using the method described in FIG4 , they may also use the paging method described in the background art, that is, determine PF using formula (1) or formula (2), and determine PO using formula (3).

[0213] In the embodiment of the present application, by combining the sleep cycle of the network device when determining the PF, the PFs of different terminal devices can be aggregated into the same PF, for example, as shown in Figure 5 or Figure 7, or the PFs of different paging cycles can be aggregated, for example, as shown in Figure 6 or Figure 8, thereby reducing the number of times the network device wakes up and improving the energy saving effect of the network device.

[0214] The above describes the PF polymerization method. The following describes three PO polymerization methods. Any of the following PO polymerization methods can be combined with the PF polymerization method described in Figure 3 to implement as a single scheme, or they can be implemented separately as two independent schemes.

[0215] Method 1:

[0216] See Figure 9, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0217] S901: The terminal device determines a PO according to an identifier of the terminal device.

[0218] Among them, if the terminal device operates in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device does not operate in the network energy-saving mode.

[0219] In order to reduce the paging load under PF, this application can introduce more PO numbers, that is, increase the number of Ns. The current maximum value of UE_ID is 1024 (i.e., 10 bits). According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the current maximum number of Ns is 4. This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device identifier in the network energy-saving mode, so that Ns can take a larger value, such as 8 / 16 / 32, etc., so that the network equipment and terminal equipment support the use of more POs for paging, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0220] Exemplarily, if the terminal device is operating in the network energy-saving mode, the total number of POs in the paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device's identification is greater than 12. For example, the terminal device is operating in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, where 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier (5G S-temporary mobile subscription identifier) ​​of the terminal device. It should be understood that the mod value of 4096 here is only an example. In specific implementations, the mod value of 5G-S-TMSI can be even larger, and this is not specifically limited here.

[0221] In one example, the mod value can be determined based on Ns. For example, the larger the Ns value, the larger the mod value, the smaller the Ns value, the smaller the mod value, and so on.

[0222] In a specific example, if the terminal device is not running in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024. If the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096.

[0223] In a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine PO according to formula (3) described in the background art.

[0224] S902: The network device determines a PO according to the identifier of the terminal device.

[0225] If the terminal device is running in the network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than the number of bits of the terminal device identifier when not running in the network energy-saving mode.

[0226] It should be noted that this application does not limit the execution order of S901 and S902.

[0227] S903: The network device sends a paging message to the terminal device on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0228] In a possible implementation, the network device may determine PO according to formula (3) described in the background art.

[0229] This application increases the number of bits of the terminal device's identification so that the network device and the terminal device can support the use of more POs for paging. For example, in this application, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, so that the number of Ns can be greater than 4, thereby reducing the paging load under PF.

[0230] It should be noted that the extension method of the above-mentioned terminal device identification can also be applied to other scenarios, such as in PEI. For example, the current terminal device subgroup ID k can satisfy the following formula: k = [floor (UE_ID / (N * Ns)) mod Nsg-UEID] + Nsg-CN. Wherein, UE_ID = 5G-S-TMSI mod X, where X can take a value of 4096 or greater, and is not specifically limited here. In one possible implementation, the value of X can be determined based on Ns.

[0231] Method 2:

[0232] See Figure 10, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0233] S1001: The network device sends a PEI, and the terminal device receives the PEI accordingly.

[0234] The PEI indicates the total number of POs that need to be monitored within a paging cycle.

[0235] Optionally, the total number indicated by PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of POs that need to be monitored within the paging cycle as indicated by a system message (e.g., a system information block 1 (SIB1) message). This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE paging calls that actually arrive is small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is indicated by PEI. Since the number of POs actually used is less than the number of POs indicated by the system message, the duration of the network device is further reduced.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the total number of POs indicated by the PEI is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI. For example, the more terminal devices corresponding to the PEI, the more total number of POs indicated by the PEI, and the fewer terminal devices corresponding to the PEI, the fewer total number of POs indicated by the PEI.

[0237] S1002: The terminal device determines PO according to the total number indicated by PEI.

[0238] For example, the index number i_s of the PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns' Formula (7);

[0239] Where Ns' is the total number of PO indicated by PEI.

[0240] S1003: The network device determines the PO according to the total number indicated by the PEI.

[0241] The way in which the network device determines the PO is the same as the way in which the terminal device determines the PO. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S1002, which will not be repeated here.

[0242] It should be noted that this application does not limit the execution order of S1002 and S1003.

[0243] S1004: The network device sends a paging message on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0244] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, while the number of UE pagings that actually arrive is relatively small. In this application, the number of POs actually used is allocated according to the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup, which can achieve dynamic adjustment of the total number of POs. It can also aggregate POs of different UEs into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device. For example, assuming that N=T / 4, T=32, and Ns is 4, the terminal device subgroup includes 4 UEs, and the UE_IDs of these 4 UEs are 34 / 41 / 45 / 49 respectively. According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1 / 2. Assuming that the total number of POs indicated by PEI is 2, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1. It can be seen that through the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup is relatively small, the POs can be aggregated into a small number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0245] See Figure 11, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided by this application. The method includes:

[0246] S1101: A network device sends a system message, and a terminal device receives the system message accordingly.

[0247] The system message indicates the total number Ns of POs that need to be monitored within the paging cycle. For example, the system message may be SIB1.

[0248] S1102: The terminal device determines PO according to Ns and the total number N0 of POs within the duration of the network device.

[0249] In a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine PO according to the smaller value of Ns and N0. For example, the index value i_s of PO may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns} Formula (8).

[0250] S1103: The network device determines PO according to Ns and the total number N0 of POs within the duration of the network device.

[0251] The way in which the network device determines the PO is the same as the way in which the terminal device determines the PO. For details, please refer to the relevant description of S1102, which will not be repeated here.

[0252] It should be noted that this application does not limit the execution order of S1102 and S1103.

[0253] S1104: The network device sends a paging message on the PO. Correspondingly, the terminal device monitors the paging message on the PO.

[0254] This application takes into account that an excessively long PO may occupy the sleep time of the network device, and the total number of POs within the duration of the network device is relatively small. This application can aggregate the POs of different UEs into the same PO, further reducing the duration of the network device. For example, assuming that N=T / 4, T=32, Ns=4, N0=2, the terminal device subgroup includes 4 UEs, and the UE_IDs of these 4 UEs are 34 / 41 / 45 / 49 respectively. According to formula (3) described in the background technology, the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1 / 2. According to the above formula (8), the POs corresponding to the terminal device subgroup include POs with indexes of 0 / 1. It can be seen that through the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the number of terminal devices in the terminal device subgroup is relatively small, the POs can be aggregated into a small number of POs, thereby saving PO overhead and further reducing the duration of the network device.

[0255] Based on the same concept as the method embodiment, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the structure of which may be as shown in FIG12 , including a communication unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202 .

[0256] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 4. The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the terminal device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to receive first information indicating a sleep cycle of the network device; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging frame based on the sleep cycle; and the communication unit 1201 is further configured to monitor the paging frame for a paging message.

[0257] Exemplarily, the first information is the sleep period T1.

[0258] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to determine a paging frame according to a sleep cycle and a paging cycle.

[0259] For example, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine the SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0260] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T)=0;

[0261] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0262] Alternatively, the processing unit 1202 may also be specifically configured to: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determine the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determine the SFN of the paging frame according to N'.

[0263] Exemplarily, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1;

[0264] Wherein, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is the integer division operation.

[0265] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N');

[0266] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0267] Exemplarily, the first information is the number N of paging frames, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

[0268] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1);

[0269] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, T2=max(T1,T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0270] Exemplarily, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0271] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further used to: report capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode.

[0272] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further used to: receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has enabled the network energy-saving mode.

[0273] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of Figure 4. The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to send first information indicating a sleep cycle of the network device; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging frame based on the sleep cycle; and the communication unit 1201 is further configured to send a paging message in the paging frame.

[0274] Exemplarily, the first information is the sleep period T1.

[0275] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to determine a paging frame according to a sleep cycle and a paging cycle.

[0276] For example, when determining the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle, the processing unit 1202 may be specifically configured to: determine the SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

[0277] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T)=0;

[0278] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0279] Alternatively, the processing unit 1202 may also be specifically configured to: when the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determine the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; and determine the SFN of the paging frame according to N'.

[0280] Exemplarily, N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1;

[0281] Wherein, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is the integer division operation.

[0282] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T = T1*(UE_ID mod N');

[0283] Wherein, A is determined according to SFN, T is the paging cycle, T1 is the sleep cycle, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0284] Exemplarily, the first information is the number N of paging frames, where N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

[0285] Exemplarily, the SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2 = T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1);

[0286] Among them, A is determined according to SFN, T2=max(T1,T), T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, mod is the remainder operation, and div is the integer division operation.

[0287] Exemplarily, A=SFN, or A=SFN+offset, where offset is the offset value of the system frame number.

[0288] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is further configured to: determine whether the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode; and enable the network energy-saving mode.

[0289] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to:

[0290] Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has enabled the network energy-saving mode.

[0291] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 9 . The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or portion of a chip in the terminal device that is used to execute the functions of the related method. The processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging occasion based on an identifier of the terminal device, wherein if the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode; and the communication unit 1201 is configured to monitor paging messages at the paging occasion.

[0292] Exemplarily, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

[0293] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of FIG. 9 . The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging occasion based on an identifier of the terminal device, wherein if the terminal device is operating in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits in the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device is not operating in the network energy-saving mode; and the communication unit 1201 is configured to send a paging message at the paging occasion.

[0294] Exemplarily, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

[0295] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 10 . The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the terminal device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a PEI, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging opportunity based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and the communication unit 1201 is configured to monitor paging messages during the paging opportunity.

[0296] Exemplarily, the total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and indicated by the system message.

[0297] Exemplarily, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0298] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of FIG. 10 . The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to send a PEI, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging opportunity based on the total number indicated by the PEI; and the communication unit 1201 is configured to send a paging message on the paging opportunity.

[0299] Exemplarily, the total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and indicated by the system message.

[0300] Exemplarily, the total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

[0301] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 11. The device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the terminal device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the network device duration; and the communication unit 1201 is configured to monitor paging messages during the paging opportunity.

[0302] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is specifically configured to: determine a paging occasion according to N', where N'=min{N0, Ns}.

[0303] In one embodiment, a communication device can be specifically used to implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of Figure 11. The device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a portion of a chip in the network device that performs the functions of the related method. The communication unit 1201 is configured to send a system message indicating the total number Ns of paging opportunities to be monitored within a paging cycle; the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a paging opportunity based on Ns and the total number N0 of paging opportunities within the network device's duration; and the communication unit 1201 is further configured to send a paging message during the paging opportunity.

[0304] Optionally, the processing unit 1202 is specifically configured to: determine a paging occasion according to N', where N'=min{N0, Ns}.

[0305] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processor, or can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It is understood that the functions or implementations of the various modules in the embodiments of the present application can be further referred to the relevant description of the method embodiment.

[0306] In one possible embodiment, a communication device may be as shown in FIG13 . The device may be a communication device or a chip within the communication device, wherein the communication device may be a terminal device or a network device. The device includes a processor 1301 and a communication interface 1302, and may also include a memory 1303. The processing unit 1202 may be the processor 1301, and the communication unit 1201 may be the communication interface 1302.

[0307] The processor 1301 may be a CPU, a digital processing unit, or the like. The communication interface 1302 may be a transceiver, an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, or the like. The device further includes: a memory 1303 for storing programs executed by the processor 1301. The memory 1303 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory 1303 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0308] The processor 1301 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1303, specifically to execute the actions of the processing unit 1202, which will not be described in detail in this application. The communication interface 1302 is specifically used to execute the actions of the communication unit 1201, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0309] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1302, processor 1301, and memory 1303 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 13, the embodiment of the present application shows that the memory 1303, processor 1301, and communication interface 1302 are connected via bus 1304. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 13. The connection method between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not limiting. Buses can be divided into address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 13, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0310] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions required to execute the above-mentioned processor, which includes a program required to execute the above-mentioned processor.

[0311] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 4 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 4.

[0312] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 9 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 9.

[0313] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 10 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 10.

[0314] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the terminal device function in the embodiment of Figure 11 and a communication device for implementing the network device function in the embodiment of Figure 11.

[0315] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0316] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0317] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0318] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0319] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate a sleep period of a network device; Determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle; The paging frame is monitored for a paging message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is the sleep period T1.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The confirming the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to a maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining of the system frame number SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: When the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of the paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; The SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the N'.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; Wherein, T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and div is an integer division operation.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The determining the SFN of the paging frame according to the N' comprises: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′); Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T is the paging cycle, the T1 is the sleep cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is the number N of paging frames, wherein N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2=T1*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); Among them, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T2=max(T1,T), the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, the mod is the remainder operation, and the div is the integer division operation.

11. The method according to any one of claims 5, 8 and 10, characterized in that The A=SFN, or the A=SFN+offset, where the offset is an offset value of a system frame number.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Report capability information, where the capability information is used to indicate that the terminal device supports the network energy saving mode.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Second information is received, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has enabled a network energy saving mode.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a sleep period of the network device; Determine a paging frame according to the sleep cycle; A paging message is sent on the paging frame.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first information is the sleep period T1.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The paging frame is determined according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The confirming the paging frame according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The system frame number SFN of the paging frame is determined according to a maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The determining the system frame number SFN of the paging frame according to the maximum value of the sleep cycle and the paging cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod max(T1, T) = 0; Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: When the sleep cycle is less than or equal to the paging cycle, determining the number N' of paging frames according to the sleep cycle and the paging cycle; The SFN of the paging frame is determined according to the N'.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The N' satisfies the following formula: N'=T div T1; Wherein T1 is the sleep cycle, T is the paging cycle, and the div is an integer division operation.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The determining the SFN of the paging frame according to the N' comprises: The paging frame SFN satisfies the following formula: A mod T=T1*(UE_ID mod N′); Wherein, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T is the paging cycle, the T1 is the sleep cycle, and the mod is a modulo operation.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein: The first information indicates the number N of paging frames, wherein N is less than T / 16, T is the paging cycle, and N is used to determine the sleep cycle.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: The determining of the paging frame according to the sleep cycle includes: The SFN of the paging frame satisfies the following formula: A mod T2=(T2 div T2 / T1)*(UE_ID mod T2 / T1); Among them, the A is determined according to the SFN, the T2=max(T1,T), the T1 is the sleep cycle, the T is the paging cycle, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, the mod is the remainder operation, and the div is the integer division operation.

24. The method of claim 18, 21 or 23, wherein: The A=SFN, or the A=SFN+offset, where the offset is an offset value of a system frame number.

25. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that The method further comprises: Make sure the terminal device supports the network energy-saving mode; The network energy saving mode is enabled.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the network device has turned on a network energy-saving mode.

27. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine the paging opportunity according to the identification of the terminal device; The paging message is monitored at the paging occasion, wherein, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device does not operate in the network energy-saving mode.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein: If the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that The terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, and the identifier of the terminal device is 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, wherein the 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier of the terminal device.

30. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine the paging opportunity according to the identification of the terminal device; A paging message is sent at the paging occasion, wherein, if the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the number of bits of the identifier of the terminal device is greater than the number of bits when the terminal device does not operate in the network energy-saving mode.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein: If the terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, the total number of paging occasions in a paging cycle is greater than 4, and the number of bits of the terminal device identifier is greater than 12.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that The terminal device operates in a network energy-saving mode, and the identifier of the terminal device is 5G-S-TMSI mod 4096, wherein the 5G-S-TMSI is the 5G temporary mobile subscription identifier of the terminal device.

33. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving a paging early indication PEI, where the PEI indicates a total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within a paging cycle; Determining a paging occasion according to the total number of PEI indications; The paging message is monitored at the paging occasion.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein: The total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and indicated by a system message.

35. The method according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that The total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

36. The method according to any one of claims 33 to 35, characterized in that The index number i_s of the paging occasion may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns'; Wherein, Ns' is the total number of paging occasions indicated by the PEI, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, and N is the number of paging frames in one paging cycle.

37. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a paging early indication PEI, where the PEI indicates the total number of paging opportunities that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; Determining a paging occasion according to the total number of PEI indications; A paging message is sent on the paging occasion.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: The total number indicated by the PEI is less than Ns, where Ns is the total number of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle and indicated by a system message.

39. The method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that The total number of PEI indications is related to the number of terminal devices corresponding to the PEI.

40. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 39, characterized in that The index number i_s of the paging occasion may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns'; Wherein, Ns' is the total number of paging occasions indicated by the PEI, the UE_ID is the identifier of the terminal device, and N is the number of paging frames in one paging cycle.

41. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving a system message, where the system message indicates a total number Ns of paging occasions that need to be monitored within a paging cycle; Determine the paging occasion according to the Ns and the total number N0 of paging occasions within the duration of the network device; The paging message is monitored at the paging occasion.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein: The determining the paging occasion according to the Ns and the total number N0 of paging occasions within the duration of the network device includes: The paging occasion is determined according to N', where N'=min{N0,Ns}.

43. The method according to claim 41 or 42, characterized in that The index value i_s of the paging occasion may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}; The UE_ID is an identifier of a terminal device, and N is the number of paging frames in a paging cycle.

44. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a system message, where the system message indicates the total number Ns of paging occasions that need to be monitored within the paging cycle; Determine the paging occasion according to the Ns and the total number N0 of paging occasions within the duration of the network device; A paging message is sent on the paging occasion.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein: The determining the paging occasion according to the Ns and the total number N0 of paging occasions within the duration of the network device includes: The paging occasion is determined according to N', where N'=min{N0,Ns}.

46. ​​The method according to claim 44 or 45, characterized in that The index value i_s of the paging occasion may satisfy the following formula: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod min{N0,Ns}; The UE_ID is an identifier of a terminal device, and N is the number of paging frames in a paging cycle.

47. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 14-26, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 27-29, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 30-32, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 33-36, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 37-40, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 41-43, or comprising a unit or module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 44-46.

48. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store program instructions, and when the processor executes the program instructions, the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 14 to 26 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 27 to 29 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 30 to 32 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 33 to 36 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 37 to 40 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 41 to 43 is executed, or the method as described in any one of claims 44 to 46 is executed.

49. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, which, when executed on the communication device, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 27 to 29 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 30 to 32 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 33 to 36 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 37 to 40 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 41 to 43 to be executed, or the method according to any one of claims 44 to 46 to be executed.

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