Communication method, communication device, medium, and program product

Abstract

A communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device; and in response to having received the trigger signal, the terminal device sending the auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information is used for indicating at least one of a plurality of beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state. In this way, a terminal device completes feedback in a non-connected state, such that auxiliary information required by a network side is sent while minimizing the additional energy consumption of the terminal device to the greatest extent. After a network device acquires the terminal coverage condition under each beam, a reduction in energy consumption is facilitated.

Description

Communication method, communication device, medium and program product

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on October 31, 2023, with application number 202311438201.5 and invention name “A communication method, communication equipment, medium and program product”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. Background Art

[0003] In the 5G and 6G eras, large-scale commercial deployment of active antenna units (AAUs) has significantly increased the number of antennas at base stations, exponentially increasing base station energy consumption compared to the 3G and 4G eras. Furthermore, 5G and 6G require support for higher data rates and greater traffic, requiring more transmission bandwidth and, consequently, increased base station energy consumption. The use of millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies has led to denser site deployments, and increasing the number of sites also means increased energy consumption.

[0004] With the development of technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) has attracted widespread attention in the field of wireless communications. 3GPP has introduced technologies for different types of IoT devices, such as Machine Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and Reduced Capability (RedCap). However, most current wireless devices are battery-powered, resulting in high maintenance costs and urgent issues in certain use cases.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, communication device, and computer-readable storage medium. This allows a terminal device to complete feedback of auxiliary information related to terminal coverage under each beam while in a non-connected state, thereby transmitting the auxiliary information required by the network device while minimizing additional energy consumption by the terminal device. After the network device obtains the terminal coverage status under each beam, it can reduce energy consumption by appropriately shutting down or adjusting the transmit power.

[0007] In a first aspect of the present application, a communication method is provided. The method includes: a terminal device receiving a trigger signal, the trigger signal being used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device; and in response to receiving the trigger signal, sending the auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information indicates at least one of multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle or inactive state. In this manner, the terminal device can send the auxiliary information required by the network device while in a non-connected state, thereby reducing energy consumption of the terminal device.

[0008] In some embodiments, the method may further include: receiving a response signal for the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may determine whether the auxiliary information is successfully received.

[0009] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via at least one of the following: a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; or a preamble sequence. Thus, the assistance information may be sent to the network device via multiple methods.

[0010] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via an RRC message, and the assistance information includes an index of at least one beam, so that a specific beam can be indicated to the network device.

[0011] In some embodiments, the auxiliary information may be sent via an RRC message, and the auxiliary information may further include at least one of the following: a cause value indicating that the reason for sending the RRC message is the receipt of a trigger signal; or an identity (ID) of the terminal device. Thus, a variety of information may be indicated to the network device.

[0012] In some embodiments, the response signal may be received via at least one of the following: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message including a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; an RRC release message, the RRC release message including a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or an RRC feedback message, the RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. Thus, the response signal may be received in a variety of ways.

[0013] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be transmitted via a preamble sequence, and the preamble sequence corresponds to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. Thus, the network device may determine a target beam based on the preamble sequence.

[0014] In some embodiments, the response signal may be received via a Random Access Response (RAR) message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field is used to indicate a response of the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may determine that the auxiliary information has been successfully received based on the RAR message.

[0015] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be carried by a paging message, and the paging message includes a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may send the auxiliary information based on the paging message.

[0016] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS), and the trigger signal includes at least one of the following: a second trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information; or a paging group indication. Thus, the network device may send the trigger signal in a variety of ways.

[0017] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may include a paging group indication, and the method further includes: receiving a paging message, the paging message carrying a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may send the auxiliary information based on the paging message.

[0018] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be received via at least one of the following: a paging message including an instruction for triggering the very low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information; an LP-WUS, where the LP-WUS is used to trigger the very low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information; or a first very low power consumption signaling, where the first very low power consumption signaling is used to trigger the very low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may send auxiliary information based on the very low power consumption communication module.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following: time domain resources or frequency domain resources corresponding to the plurality of beams. Thus, the terminal device may transmit the auxiliary information using the extremely low power consumption communication module based on the resource configuration information.

[0020] In some embodiments, the resource configuration information may include frequency domain resources corresponding to at least one beam, and resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing. Thus, the terminal device can use the ultra-low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information based on the frequency domain resources.

[0021] In some embodiments, transmitting the assistance information may include: selecting a target beam from the plurality of beams based on received signal strengths associated with the plurality of beams; determining a resource corresponding to the target beam based on resource configuration information; and transmitting the assistance information on the resource. Thus, the terminal device may transmit the assistance information using the resource corresponding to the target beam.

[0022] In some embodiments, the assistance information may include an index of at least one beam, the received signal strength associated with the at least one beam being greater than or equal to a threshold; or the assistance information may include an index of a beam having the strongest received signal strength among multiple beams. Thus, the target beam may be determined in various ways.

[0023] In some embodiments, the value of the first trigger indication may indicate not to send auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate to send auxiliary information when set to a second value; or the value of the second trigger indication may indicate not to send auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate to send auxiliary information when set to a second value. Thus, the trigger signal may trigger the sending of auxiliary information or may not trigger the sending of auxiliary information.

[0024] In a second aspect of the present application, a communication method is provided. The method includes: sending a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger a terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device; and receiving the auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam from multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle or inactive state. In this way, the network device can receive the auxiliary information and obtain the terminal coverage status under each beam.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method may further include: adjusting one or more beams from the plurality of beams based on the auxiliary information, wherein the adjustment includes at least one of: shutting down one or more beams; or adjusting the transmit power of one or more beams. Thus, energy consumption of the network device may be reduced.

[0026] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be sent via at least one of the following: a paging message; an LP-WUS; or a first extremely low power consumption signaling, the first extremely low power consumption signaling being used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send the auxiliary information. Thus, the trigger signal may be sent in a variety of ways.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method may further include: sending a response signal for the auxiliary information in response to the auxiliary information. Thus, the network device may indicate to the terminal device whether the auxiliary information is successfully received.

[0028] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be received via at least one of: an RRC message; or a preamble sequence. Thus, the network device may receive the assistance information in a variety of ways.

[0029] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be received via an RRC message, and the assistance information includes an index of at least one beam, so that the network device can determine the target beam.

[0030] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be received via an RRC message, and the assistance information may further include at least one of: a cause value indicating that the reason for sending the RRC message is the receipt of a trigger signal; or an identifier of the terminal device. Thus, a variety of information may be indicated to the network device.

[0031] In some embodiments, the response signal may be sent via at least one of the following: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message including a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; an RRC release message, the RRC release message including a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or an RRC feedback message, the RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. Thus, the response signal may be sent in a variety of ways.

[0032] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be received via a preamble sequence, where the preamble sequence corresponds to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. Thus, the network device may determine a target beam based on the preamble sequence.

[0033] In some embodiments, the response signal may be sent via a RAR message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field is used to indicate a response of the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may determine that the auxiliary information has been successfully received based on the RAR message.

[0034] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be an LP-WUS, and the trigger signal includes at least one of the following: a second trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information; or a paging group indication. Thus, the network device may send the trigger signal in a variety of ways.

[0035] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may include a paging group indication, and the method further includes: sending a paging message to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device, the paging message carrying a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information. Thus, the terminal device may send the auxiliary information based on the paging message.

[0036] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be sent via a paging message, and the trigger signal includes at least one of the following: a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information; or an indication for triggering the terminal device's ultra-low power communication module to send auxiliary information. Thus, the network device may send the trigger signal in a variety of ways.

[0037] In some embodiments, the method may further include: transmitting resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following: time domain resources or frequency domain resources corresponding to the multiple beams. Thus, the terminal device may transmit the auxiliary information using the extremely low power consumption communication module based on the resource configuration information.

[0038] In some embodiments, the resource configuration information may include frequency domain resources corresponding to at least one beam, and resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing. Thus, the terminal device can use the resources corresponding to the target beam to send auxiliary information.

[0039] In some embodiments, the value of the first trigger indication may indicate not to send auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate to send auxiliary information when set to a second value; or the value of the second trigger indication may indicate not to send auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate to send auxiliary information when set to a second value. Thus, the trigger signal may trigger the sending of auxiliary information or not trigger the sending of auxiliary information.

[0040] In a third aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes a processor and a memory storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device performs any method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects and their implementations.

[0041] In a fourth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes a component for receiving a trigger signal, the trigger signal being used to trigger a terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device; and a component for sending the auxiliary information in response to receiving the trigger signal, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0042] In a fifth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes a component for sending a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger a terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device; and a component for receiving the auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0043] In a sixth aspect of the present application, a chip is provided, which includes a processing circuit configured to execute any one of the methods of the first aspect or the second aspect and their implementations.

[0044] In a seventh aspect of the present application, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device executes any one of the methods of the first aspect or the second aspect and their implementations.

[0045] In an eighth aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device, causes the electronic device to execute any one of the methods of the first aspect or the second aspect and their implementations.

[0046] It should be understood that the contents described in the Summary of the Invention are not intended to define the key or important features of the present application, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present application. Other features of the present application will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the embodiments of the present application will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0048] FIG1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented.

[0049] FIG1B shows a schematic diagram of a terminal with different power consumption modules communicating with a network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present application.

[0050] FIG1C shows a schematic diagram of a standalone (SA) networking scenario in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented.

[0051] FIG1D shows a schematic diagram of a dual connectivity (DC) scenario in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented.

[0052] FIG2 shows an interactive signaling diagram of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0053] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of communication transmission resources of an extremely low power consumption communication module according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG4 illustrates an example process of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0055] FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of resources associated with SSB according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0056] FIG6 shows a schematic flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] FIG7 shows a schematic flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] FIG8 shows a simplified block diagram of an example device of a possible implementation method of an embodiment of the present application.

[0059] FIG9 shows a simplified block diagram of an example device of a possible implementation method of an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The following describes embodiments of the present application in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although certain embodiments of the present application are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present application can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present application. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present application are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0062] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "including" and similar terms should be understood as open inclusion, that is, "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. can refer to different or the same objects. The term "and / or" means at least one of the two items associated with it. For example, "A and / or B" means A, B, or A and B. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0063] The embodiments of the present application may be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), and future communication protocols (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.

[0064] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are applied to communication systems that comply with any appropriate communication protocols, such as: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, Time Division Duplex (TDD), fifth generation (5G) system (e.g., New Radio (NR)) and future communication systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) system), etc.

[0065] For the purpose of illustration, the embodiments of the present application are described below in the context of the 5G communication system in 3GPP. However, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this communication system, but can be applied to any communication system with similar problems, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wired communication system, or other communication systems developed in the future.

[0066] The term "terminal" or "terminal device" used in this application refers to any terminal device that can communicate with network devices or with each other by wire or wirelessly. Terminal devices may sometimes be referred to as user equipment or UE. Terminal devices may be any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal or portable terminal. Terminal devices may be various wireless communication devices with wireless communication capabilities. With the rise of Internet of Things (IOT) technology, more and more devices that did not previously have communication capabilities, such as but not limited to household appliances, vehicles, tools and equipment, service equipment and service facilities, have begun to obtain wireless communication capabilities by configuring wireless communication units, so that they can access wireless communication networks and accept remote control. Such devices have wireless communication capabilities because they are configured with wireless communication units, and therefore also fall into the category of wireless communication devices. As an example, the terminal device may include a mobile cellular phone, a cordless phone, a mobile terminal (MT), a mobile station, a mobile device, a wireless terminal, a handheld device, a client, a subscription station, a portable subscription station, an Internet node, a communicator, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a personal communication system device, a personal navigation device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless data card, a wireless modem (Modulator demodulator, Modem), a positioning device, a radio broadcast receiver, an e-book device, a gaming device, an IoT device, a vehicle-mounted device, an aircraft, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, etc.), a terminal device in a 5G network or any terminal device in an evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), other devices that can be used for communication, a terminal device suitable for use in a 6G network, or any combination of the above.

[0067] The term "network node" or "network device" used in this application refers to an entity or node that can be used to communicate with a terminal device, for example, an access network device. An access network device can be a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for a mobile terminal, for example, a radio access network (RAN) network device. Access network devices may include various types of base stations. Base stations are used to provide wireless access services to terminal devices. Specifically, each base station corresponds to a service coverage area, and terminal devices entering the area can communicate with the base station through wireless signals to receive wireless access services provided by the base station. There may be overlap between the service coverage areas of base stations. A terminal device in the overlapping area can receive wireless signals from multiple base stations, so that the terminal device can be served by multiple base stations at the same time. Depending on the size of the service coverage area provided, the access network device may include a macro base station providing macro cells, a micro base station for providing pico cells, a pico base station for providing micro cells, and a femto base station for providing femto cells. In addition, access network equipment may also include various forms of relay stations, access points, remote radio units (RRUs), radio heads (RHs), remote radio heads (RRHs), etc. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of access network equipment may vary. For example, in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, it is called evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), in 3G networks, it is called NodeB (NB), in 5G networks, it may be called gNodeB (gNB) or NR NodeB (NR NB), etc.

[0068] It should be understood that in the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, some repetitions may not be repeated in the introduction of the following specific embodiments, but these specific embodiments should be regarded as having been referenced to each other and can be combined with each other.

[0069] To meet people's ever-increasing demands for data traffic, wireless networks are undergoing rapid construction. As networks grow in size, network energy consumption continues to rise, and electricity bills significantly increase operating costs. The main reasons for this increase in energy consumption are the widespread use of AAUs in the 5G and 6G eras, which has led to a significant increase in the number of antennas at base stations. Compared to the 3G and 4G eras, base station energy consumption has increased exponentially. Furthermore, 5G and 6G require support for higher data rates and greater traffic, resulting in more transmission bandwidth, which in turn increases base station energy consumption. Furthermore, the use of millimeter waves and terahertz frequencies has led to denser site deployments, and increasing sites means increased energy consumption.

[0070] Whether researching current or next-generation wireless communication systems, network-side energy conservation requires continuous optimization and research. The current 5G energy conservation technology framework encompasses device-, site-, and network-level energy conservation. At the device level, hardware energy conservation solutions are primarily researched from the perspective of device and hardware design. At the site level, software energy conservation solutions are primarily researched from the perspectives of symbol shutdown, channel shutdown, carrier shutdown, and deep sleep. At the network level, energy-saving terminals implement intelligent energy conservation through multi-network coordination.

[0071] On the other hand, the evolution of the NR system continues to study how to reduce energy consumption on the network side. For example, 3GPP Rel-18 has established corresponding research items (SI) and work items (WI) for network energy-saving features. These will support flexible antenna unit shutdown, flexible transmit power adjustment, and discontinuous transmission on the base station side on the network side. Considering the existence of existing terminals in the existing network, the study is also about mechanisms to prevent existing terminals from accessing cells that support these new energy-saving features.

[0072] With the advancement of technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) has garnered widespread attention in the wireless communications field. 3GPP has introduced technologies for different types of IoT devices in different releases, including Machine Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and Reduced Capability (RedCap). Since most current wireless devices are battery-powered, this leads to high maintenance costs, serious environmental concerns, and even safety risks in certain use cases. To further reduce the size, complexity, and power consumption of IoT devices, the Ambient IoT (AIoT)—an IoT based on devices without batteries or with limited energy storage—has become a recent research hotspot. For these devices, energy is harvested from radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other suitable power source. AIoT is also known as zero-power devices, near-zero-power devices, passive IoT, ambient backscatter communication (AmBC), and passive reflection-based communication. Compared with low-power and wide-coverage services (such as NB IoT and eMTC), AIoT has lower complexity and lower power consumption, enabling more application scenarios.

[0073] AIoT is applicable to environmental backscatter systems, which generally consist of three parts: an environmental RF source, a backscatter device, and a reader. In an environmental backscatter communication system, backscatter devices can obtain energy from the environmental RF source and communicate with each other using the wireless signals broadcast by it. The zero-power device receives the carrier signal sent by the reader and collects energy through the radio frequency (RF) energy collection module to power the low-power processing module. After obtaining energy, the backscatter tag drives the corresponding circuit to adjust the incoming signal and perform backscattering.

[0074] FIG1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100A in which an embodiment of the present application may be implemented. As shown in FIG1A , the system 100A may include a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. The terminal device 110 may have wireless transceiver functionality, capable of communicating (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more network devices of one or more communication systems and receiving network services provided by the network devices, including but not limited to the illustrated network devices. The network devices herein include but are not limited to the illustrated network devices. The network device 120 manages a cell 101. It should be understood that the cells herein include but are not limited to the illustrated cells.

[0075] According to different energy consumption, the communication modules on the terminal side can be divided into three categories: main radio module, low-power communication module, and ultra-low power communication module, among which the low-power communication module corresponds to the low-power receiver module (Low Power Wake Up Receiver, LP-WUR), and the ultra-low power module communication corresponds to the communication module based on environmental reflection, which is similar to the aforementioned AIoT, passive IoT, and near-zero power consumption terminal. The terminal device 110 can deploy at least one of the main radio module, low-power communication module, or ultra-low power communication module. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 communicates with the network device 120 in an idle state or an inactive state or when no state change occurs, and sends the auxiliary information required by the network side to the network device 120, so that the network side can obtain the terminal coverage status under each beam.

[0076] It should be understood that the number of terminal devices and network devices shown in FIG1A is only an example. There may be more or fewer terminal devices, network devices and cells, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0077] Furthermore, it should be understood that the communication system 100A can be applied to various scenarios. For example, the application scenarios of the communication system 100A include, but are not limited to, fourth generation systems (4G), fifth generation systems (5G), new radio (NR) communication systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) systems, and other existing communication systems or future evolved communication systems. Furthermore, it should be understood that the above-mentioned communications can comply with any appropriate communication technology and corresponding communication standards.

[0078] Figure 1B shows a schematic diagram of a terminal with different power consumption modules communicating with a network in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 1B, according to the deployment of different power consumption modules in the terminal, four scenarios can be divided. In scenario one, only the main radio module is deployed on the terminal side, the main radio module of the terminal is always on, and the network side always communicates with the main radio module of the terminal. In scenario two, the main radio module and the LP-WUR module are deployed on the terminal side. When there is no data transmission, the main radio module of the terminal is turned off, and the LP-WUR can receive the low power wake-up signal (Low Power Wake Up Signal, LP-WUS) signal sent by the network side. In scenario three, the main radio module and the ultra-low power consumption communication module are deployed on the terminal side. When there is no data transmission, the main radio module of the terminal is turned off, and the A-IoT module transmits and receives low power consumption signaling / data with the network side. In scenario four, the main radio module, the LP-WUR module and the ultra-low power consumption communication module are deployed on the terminal side. When there is no data transmission, the main radio module of the terminal is turned off, the LP-WUR can receive the downlink signal sent by the network side, and the A-IoT module sends uplink signaling / data in a low power consumption manner.

[0079] Figure 1C shows a schematic diagram of an SA scenario 100C in which an embodiment of the present application can be implemented. As shown in Figure 1C, the terminal device is connected to a single base station, and the base station to which the terminal is connected and the core network to which the base station is connected are of the same standard. For example, the core network is a 5G core network, the base station corresponds to a 5G base station, and the 5G base station is directly connected to the 5G core network; or the core network is a 6G core network, the base station is a 6G base station, and the 6G base station is directly connected to the 6G core network.

[0080] Figure 1D shows a schematic diagram of a DC scenario 100D in which an embodiment of the present application can be implemented. As shown in Figure 1D, the terminal device can be connected to base stations of different or the same standards at the same time, which is applicable to connected UEs. In one example, the core network is a 5G core network, and the terminal device can be connected to a 5G base station and a 6G base station at the same time, wherein the 5G base station serves as the primary station and the 6G base station serves as the secondary station. In another example, the core network is a 6G core network, and the terminal device can be connected to a 6G base station and a 5G base station at the same time, wherein the 6G base station serves as the primary station and the 5G base station serves as the secondary station. In yet another example, the core network is a 6G core network, and the terminal device can be connected to two 6G base stations at the same time, that is, both the primary station and the secondary station are 6G base stations. Application

[0081] NR supports high-frequency deployment and uses multiple antennas to enhance coverage. However, more antennas will result in very narrow antenna radiation beams. Considering that a single narrow beam cannot cover the entire cell, NR introduces the concept of beam scanning. That is, the base station can send one beam direction at a certain time, and send different beams at multiple times to cover the directions required by the entire cell.

[0082] In each beam, the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) need to be configured so that the terminal can complete downlink synchronization and obtain cell-related information (such as the System Information Block, SIB1 reception configuration). In NR, PSS, SSS and PBCH are bundled and sent down at the same time, collectively referred to as SSB (SS PBCH Block). As before, the network side will cover the entire cell through beam scanning, so N SSB beams will be required. These SSBs are also called SSB bursts or SSB burst sets. In multi-beam scenarios, SIB1 and paging messages will also be sent in each beam.

[0083] Because there are idle or inactive terminals in the network, but the network side cannot know their specific beams, blindly adjusting the SSB beams may cause idle terminals to have increased access latency or even no coverage. Therefore, it is difficult to disable the SSB beams on the network side, forcing the network side to always use omnidirectional beam scanning to transmit SSBs. However, when the network is idle, the periodic transmission of SSBs and SIB1s is one of the main contributors to network energy consumption. At this time, for those terminals without beams, SSBs and SIB1s are still transmitted, resulting in wasted resources and increased energy consumption.

[0084] In view of the above research and analysis, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. In this method, a terminal device receives a trigger signal, which is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to a network device. In response to receiving the trigger signal, the terminal device sends auxiliary information, which is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state. In this way, the terminal device completes feedback in a non-connected state, so that the auxiliary information required by the network side is sent while minimizing the additional energy consumption of the terminal device. After the network obtains the terminal coverage under each beam, it helps to reduce energy consumption.

[0085] FIG2 illustrates an interactive signaling diagram of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present application. For clarity of discussion and without any limitation, process 200 will be discussed in conjunction with FIG1A .

[0086] In process 200, the network device 120 sends 205 a trigger signal 210 to the terminal device 110, and the trigger signal 210 is used to trigger the terminal device 110 to send auxiliary information to the network device 120. The auxiliary information can be used to indicate at least one beam from a plurality of beams of the network device 120, and that the terminal device 110 is in an idle state or an inactive state. For example, the plurality of beams of the network device may cover one or more terminal devices, and the auxiliary information sent by the terminal device 110 may indicate the beam with the best received signal quality, so that the network device can determine whether there is a terminal to be connected under the coverage of each beam. The terminal device 110 may be in a non-connected state or may not undergo a state change. The non-connected state may include an idle state or an inactive state.

[0087] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be sent by a paging message, and the trigger signal includes: a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device 110 to send auxiliary information, an indication for triggering the extremely low power consumption communication module of the terminal device 110 to send auxiliary information, or one or more of the above. In one example, the indication information in the paging message sent by the network device 120 may be indicated by a short message (Short Message), and the first trigger indication may be location-UL-Feedback. In another example, the terminal device 110 is deployed with an extremely low power consumption communication module, and the indication information in the paging message sent by the network device 120 may also be indicated by a short message, but the information carried is different. The purpose of the paging message is to trigger the terminal device 110 to feedback an uplink signal based on the extremely low power consumption communication module. The indication may be aIoT-UL-Feedback. When the aIoT-UL-Feedback indication in the short message received by the terminal device 110 is set to 1, the A-IoT module of the terminal device 110 will send auxiliary information. It should be understood that the communication between the network device and the A-IoT module is bidirectional, that is, the network device and the A-IoT module can send data or signaling to each other.

[0088] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be an LP-WUS, and the trigger signal may include a second trigger indication for triggering auxiliary information for the terminal device, a paging group indication, or one or more of the above. For example, the main radio module of the terminal device 110 is turned off, and the terminal device 110 receives the LP-WUS via the LP-WUR. In one example, the LP-WUS carries a second trigger indication, instructing the LP-WUR to wake up the main radio module after receiving the LP-WUS and provide feedback via the main radio module.

[0089] Additionally or alternatively, when the trigger signal includes a paging group indication, network device 120 may also send a paging message to multiple terminal devices, including terminal device 110, with the paging message carrying a first trigger indication for triggering terminal device 110 to transmit auxiliary information. Correspondingly, when the trigger signal includes a paging group indication, terminal device 110 may receive a paging message from network device 120. For example, terminal device 110 may further receive the paging message on its primary radio module. For information on sending a paging message in this scenario, please refer to the aforementioned related content.

[0090] In some embodiments, the value of the first trigger indication indicates not sending auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates sending auxiliary information when it is set to a second value. For example, when the location-UL-Feedback indication in the short message received by the terminal device 110 is set to 1, the terminal device 110 will send auxiliary information, and when it is set to 0, it indicates that the terminal device 110 is not triggered to send auxiliary information. In some embodiments, the value of the second trigger indication indicates not sending auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates sending auxiliary information when it is set to a second value. For example, the second trigger indication carried in the LP-WUS can be indicated by 1 bit, and when it is set to 0, it indicates that uplink non-connected state feedback is not triggered; when it is set to 1, it indicates that non-connected state feedback is triggered.

[0091] Additionally, the trigger signal may be sent via a paging message, a first extremely low power consumption signaling, or one or more of the above. The paging message includes an instruction for triggering the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information. The first extremely low power consumption signaling is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information. Optionally, the trigger signal may also be an LP-WUS, which is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information.

[0092] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may further transmit resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or one or both of the above corresponding to multiple beams. Correspondingly, the terminal device 110 may further receive resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or one or both of the above corresponding to multiple beams. In some embodiments, the resource configuration information includes frequency domain resources corresponding to at least one beam, and resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing.

[0093] For example, network equipment broadcasts transmission resources based on extremely low power communication modules. In one example, system messages broadcast time and frequency resources for A-IoT communication. For different SSB beams, different resources can be configured by time division and frequency division. Taking frequency division as an example, different SSB beams are configured with different frequency domain communication resources. As shown in Figure 3, each resource unit corresponds to a section of transmission resources in the time domain and frequency domain. For different SSB beams, resource units staggered in the frequency domain can be configured or associated. In another example, the system message broadcasts frequency domain resources, and the time domain starting position of the resources can be related to paging, such as starting N time slots after the paging slot.

[0094] It should be understood that, as mentioned above, the A-IoT module is powered by receiving signals sent by network devices and transmits data based on reflection. For the extremely low-power communication in the embodiment of the present application, the frequency resources used for communication and the signal sent by the network device for power supply, or the signal sent by the network device to the A-IoT module, can be of the same frequency or different frequencies, that is, the terminal performs frequency conversion and then reflection. Whether the frequency conversion is performed can be predefined by the protocol or configured by signaling. For example, the network device configures a reflection frequency conversion indication. A configuration of 0 indicates no frequency conversion, and a configuration of non-0 indicates that the configured value is used for frequency conversion.

[0095] Continuing with FIG2 , terminal device 110 receives 215 a trigger signal 210 from network device 120. In response to receiving the trigger signal, terminal device 110 sends 220 assistance information 225 to network device 120. In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via a radio resource control (RRC) message, a preamble, or one or more of the above. Alternatively, the assistance information may be sent via a media access control element (MAC CE).

[0096] Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary information may be sent via an RRC message, and the auxiliary information may include an index of at least one beam. For example, the index of at least one beam may indicate the beam with the best received signal quality. In some embodiments, the auxiliary information may be sent via an RRC message, and the auxiliary information may also include a cause value or an identification ID of the terminal device, or one or more of the above. The cause value may be used to indicate that the reason for sending the RRC message is the receipt of a trigger signal. For example, after receiving a paging message, the terminal device 110 initiates a random access process and carries a cause value in the RRC message corresponding to Msg3. In one example, the RRC message is RRCSetupRequest, in which EstablishmentCause defines a new cause value, such as UL feedback, to indicate that the message is mainly used for responding to the aforementioned paging message, not for establishing an RRC connection. Of course, the setting of the RRC message and the cause value is only an example, and it may also be other RRC messages, such as an RRC resume message. In another example, in addition to carrying the cause value, the RRC message may also carry at least one of the strongest SSB index and UE ID.

[0097] Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary information may be transmitted via a preamble sequence, and the preamble sequence may correspond to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. For example, a dedicated preamble resource may be broadcast in a system message, such as one or more preamble sequences, which are used to trigger the network to feedback auxiliary information from the terminal device. Different preamble sequences may be used for different SSB beams, so that the network device can determine whether a terminal exists in each SSB beam based on the detected preamble sequence. For multiple terminals in an SSB beam, the same preamble sequence and transmission resources may be reused.

[0098] In some embodiments, the terminal device is configured with an extremely low power consumption communication module. To transmit the auxiliary information, the terminal device 110 may select a target beam from the plurality of beams based on the received signal strength associated with the plurality of beams. Based on the resource configuration information, the terminal device 110 may determine the resource corresponding to the target beam, and then transmit the auxiliary information on the resource.

[0099] Optionally, the auxiliary information includes the index of at least one beam, and the received signal strength associated with the at least one beam is greater than or equal to a threshold. For example, when there are multiple SSB beams, the network device may further set a signal quality threshold for triggering the transmission of auxiliary information. That is, the terminal will trigger the transmission of auxiliary information only when it detects that the signal quality of the signal associated with the SSB sent by the network device is greater than the configured threshold. Otherwise, even if a trigger signal is detected, the terminal will not trigger the transmission of auxiliary information because its energy is lower than the threshold. Optionally, the auxiliary information includes the index of a beam, which has the strongest received signal strength among multiple beams.

[0100] Continuing with FIG2 , network device 120 receives 230 assistance information 225 from terminal device 110. In some embodiments, based on the assistance information, network device 120 may adjust one or more of the plurality of beams. The adjustment may include shutting down one or more beams, adjusting the transmit power of one or more beams, or one or more of the above. For example, shutting down one or more beams may reduce repeated transmissions of SSBs, SIB1s, or paging messages, thereby reducing the time network device 120 spends transmitting signals and allowing network device 120 more time to sleep.

[0101] Additionally or alternatively, in response to the auxiliary information, the network device 120 sends a response signal for the auxiliary information. Correspondingly, the terminal device 110 may receive a response signal for the auxiliary information from the network device 120.

[0102] In some embodiments, when the auxiliary information is sent via an RRC message, the response signal may be received via an RRC reject message, an RRC release message, an RRC feedback message, or one or more of the above. The RRC reject message may include a reject cause value, which indicates a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. The RRC release message may include a release cause value, which indicates a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. The RRC feedback message indicates a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. For example, the response signal may reuse the RRC reject / RRC release message, but with a newly added reject value indication in the RRC message, such as adding a reject cause value and a release cause value. A new RRC message, such as RRC feedback, may also be defined as a response to the RRC message sent by the aforementioned terminal.

[0103] In some embodiments, when the auxiliary information is transmitted via a preamble, the response signal may be received via a random access response (RAR) message, and the RAR message includes a first field, wherein a first value of the first field is used to indicate a response to the auxiliary information. For example, some fields in the RAR message may be set to specific values ​​to indicate that the preamble has been successfully received and does not need to be retransmitted. The UL Grant in the RAR may be set to all 0s, and / or the TA Command field may be set to 0, or other possible implementations may be used.

[0104] In general, the network device 120 can trigger the low-power module to feedback the uplink signal based on the trigger signal. On the one hand, it defines the trigger condition for sending the uplink signal. On the other hand, the uplink signal can also be sent through the low-power module, which causes lower energy consumption to the terminal device 110. After the network device 120 obtains the terminal coverage under each beam, it helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device by reasonably shutting down or adjusting the transmission power. By enabling the terminal device 110 to complete the uplink auxiliary information feedback in a non-connected state, the auxiliary information required by the network device is obtained while minimizing the additional energy consumption of the terminal device, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the end-to-end (E2E).

[0105] FIG4 illustrates an example process of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present application, which may be considered as a specific implementation of the communication process 200 of FIG2 . The example process 400 involves a UE 401 and a BS 402 . The UE 401 may be an example of the terminal device 110 , and the BS 402 may be an example of the network device 120 .

[0106] At 405 , BS 402 sends a paging message including a location feedback indication to UE 401 . Correspondingly, UE 401 receives the paging message from BS 402 .

[0107] At 410 , UE 401 sends an RRCSetupRequest message to BS 402 . The RRCSetupRequest message may include an SSB beam index value and a cause value. Correspondingly, BS 402 receives the RRCSetupRequest message from UE 401 .

[0108] At 415 , BS 402 sends an RRC release message to UE 401 , where the RRC release message may carry a release cause. Correspondingly, UE 401 receives the RRC release message from BS 402 .

[0109] In order to understand the present application more thoroughly and completely, Example 1 is described below with reference to FIG2 . It should be noted that each part of the content in Example 1 can be used alone or in any combination with the content in other embodiments. It is only used for illustrative purposes and is not used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0110] Example 1

[0111] Embodiment 1 is mainly aimed at scenario 1 in Figure 1B, that is, the network device 120 always communicates with the main radio module of the terminal device 110. The network device 120 triggers the terminal device 110 to feedback the first uplink signal (that is, the auxiliary information in Figure 2) by sending a paging message. It should be noted that when the terminal device 110 sends the first uplink signal, it does not need to establish an RRC connection with the network side. The network side adjusts part of the SSB beam based on the received uplink signal. The adjustments here include: turning off the SSB beam, adjusting the transmission power of the signal on the SSB beam, or stopping the transmission of the SIB1 signal on the beam, etc.

[0112] Specifically, the paging message sent by the network device 120 supports triggering the terminal device 110 to send a first uplink signal. The indication information is indicated by a short message. An exemplary indication is shown in Table 1:

[0113] Table 1 Short Message for Triggering a Terminal Device to Send a First Uplink Signal

[0114] The location-UL-Feedback is an indication for triggering the terminal device 110 to send the first uplink signal. When the location-UL-Feedback indication in the short message received by the terminal device 110 is set to 1, the terminal device 110 will send the first uplink signal. The first uplink signal can have different forms.

[0115] In one example, the first uplink signal may be an uplink signal based on layer 1, such as a preamble sequence. In another example, the first uplink signal may be an uplink signal based on layer 3, that is, an RRC message.

[0116] For the different first uplink signals described above, when the network device 120 receives the first uplink signal, the response signal sent by the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is also different. In one example, when the network device 120 receives the first uplink signal based on L1, it sets some fields in the RAR message to specific values ​​to indicate that the preamble sequence has been successfully received and does not need to be retransmitted. For example, the UL Grant field in the RAR can be set to all 0s and / or the TA command field can be set to 0, or other possible implementation methods can be used.

[0117] In another example, the network device receives a first uplink signal based on L3. At this time, the RRC reject / RRC release message can be reused, but a new reject value indication is added, such as adding a reject reason value and a release reason value; or a new RRC message is defined, such as RRC feedback, as a response to the RRC message sent by the aforementioned terminal.

[0118] In addition, the corresponding protocol also needs to define a new RRC process, such as: after the terminal device 110 sends an RRCSetupRequest, the network device 120 replies with an RRC release message, or other RRC message combinations mentioned above, such as possible combinations of multiple RRC messages sent by the terminal and multiple RRC messages replied by the network side.

[0119] In order to have a more thorough and complete understanding of the present application, Example 2 is described below with reference to FIG2 . It should be noted that each part of the content in Example 2 can be used alone or in any combination with the content in other embodiments. It is only used for exemplary purposes and is not used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0120] Example 2

[0121] Embodiment 2 is mainly aimed at scenario 2 in Figure 1B. The main radio module of the idle terminal device 110 is turned off, and LP-WUS is received through LP-WUR. The network device 120 sends a downlink signal (i.e., the trigger signal in Figure 2) through LP-WUS to trigger the terminal device 110 to send a first uplink signal, and the terminal device 110 also feeds back the first uplink signal in a non-connected state. The network device 120 adjusts part of the SSB based on the received first uplink signal. The network device 120 sends an LP-WUS signal to trigger the terminal device 110 to send an auxiliary uplink signal, which can be implemented in the following different ways.

[0122] In one example, the LP-WUS carries first uplink signal trigger indication information, such as a 1-bit indication, where a bit set to 0 indicates that uplink non-connected state feedback is not triggered; and a bit set to 1 indicates that non-connected state feedback is triggered. In another example, the LP-WUS carries multiple paging group indications.

[0123] Accordingly, when the LP-WUS signal carries the first uplink signal trigger indication information, indicating non-connected state feedback, the main radio module of the terminal device 110 is awakened and feedback is provided through the main radio module. The main radio module can provide feedback based on the L1 or L3 uplink signal.

[0124] When the LP-WUS signal carries a paging group indication, the main radio module further receives a paging message. In this scenario, the paging message can be sent as described in Example 1, that is, the trigger indication of the first uplink signal is carried by the short message in the paging.

[0125] After receiving the first uplink signal, the network device 120 can reply by means of a RAR message or an RRC message as a response to the first uplink signal. In addition, activation signaling for LP WUR can be sent in a group manner to trigger the UE under coverage to reactivate the low-power module and enter the LP-WUS listening mode. The low-power communication module may not need to be reactivated, for example, it is always communicating. At this time, the activation signaling is used to instruct the terminal device to enter the LP-WUS listening mode. Taking into account that multiple terminal devices may be awakened at the same time when the first uplink signal is sent, these multiple terminal devices are simultaneously allowed to enter the listening mode based on the low-power module through group activation.

[0126] In order to have a more thorough and complete understanding of the present application, Example 3 is described below with reference to FIG2 . It should be noted that each part of the content in Example 3 can be used alone or in any combination with the content in other embodiments. It is only used for exemplary purposes and is not used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0127] Example 3

[0128] Example 3 is mainly aimed at scenarios 3 and 4 in Figure 1B. The terminal device 110 is deployed with an A-IoT module. With the help of the A-IoT module, the terminal device 110 feeds back a first uplink signal, and the network device 120 adjusts part of the beam based on the received first uplink signal.

[0129] In scenarios 3 and 4, network devices broadcast transmission resources for communication using ultra-low-power modules. In one example, system messages broadcast time-frequency resources for A-IoT communication. In another example, system messages broadcast frequency-domain resources, with the time-domain starting position of the resources related to paging, such as starting N time slots after the paging time slot.

[0130] When certain conditions are met, the network device sends a trigger signal to trigger the terminal to send uplink feedback (i.e., the first uplink signal) on the corresponding resources through the A-IoT module. The trigger signal can be signaling suitable for A-IoT communication, LP-WUS signal, or paging message.

[0131] Taking the paging message as an example, the indication information is carried by a short message, but the information carried is different. As shown in Table 2, the purpose of the paging message is to trigger the terminal to feedback an uplink signal based on the A-IoT module.

[0132] Table 2 Short Message for Triggering the First Uplink Signal Transmission Based on the A-IoT Module

[0133] After the terminal device 110 detects the trigger signal, it feeds back a first uplink signal on the resource through the A-IoT module, wherein the first uplink signal can carry a terminal identifier. For example, when the signal is sent, the ON / OFF method is used to realize whether the signal is transmitted in the time domain to carry the terminal identifier.

[0134] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of resources associated with SSB according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 shows the downlink signal (i.e., the trigger signal in Figure 2) sent by the network device 120 when the network device 120 communicates with the A-IoT module. In addition, the network device configures the A-IoT module for same-frequency reflection. The resources associated with different SSBs are frequency-division multiplexed, and the terminal device 110 determines the feedback resource based on the strongest SSB signal it detects, and performs uplink signal feedback through the A-IoT module accordingly. As shown in Figure 5, there are terminals under SSB 0 and SSB 3, and signal feedback is performed through the A-IoT module, so that the network device 120 is informed that there are no users under SSB1 and SSB2, and beam adjustment of SSB1 and SSB2 is performed accordingly.

[0135] Optionally, if terminal device 110 supports energy storage, terminal device 110 can also directly transmit data on the above resources. In other words, network device 120 is configured with A-IoT transmission resources. After receiving the trigger signal from network device 120, terminal device 110 accordingly feeds back the first uplink signal on the A-IoT transmission resources configured by network device 120.

[0136] Additionally, when multiple SSB beams exist, network device 120 may further set a signal quality threshold for triggering the transmission of the first uplink signal. That is, terminal device 110 triggers the transmission of the first uplink signal only when terminal device 110 detects that the signal quality of the signal associated with the SSB transmitted by network device 120 is greater than the configured threshold. Otherwise, even if a downlink signal is detected, terminal device 110 will not trigger the transmission of the first uplink signal because its energy is below the threshold.

[0137] It should be understood that, considering that there may be terminals with various capabilities in the network, one or more of the above-mentioned embodiments one, two, and three may coexist. In the above embodiment, the network side sends a trigger signal for the terminal to feedback the first uplink signal, and the terminal is always in a non-connected state. The trigger signal is carried by a short message, LP-WUS or low-power signaling in the paging message. The first uplink signal is carried by an RRC message, and the RRC message carries a dedicated cause value to indicate that the purpose is not to establish a connection. In addition, RRC request and response messages are also established for non-connection. The first uplink signal can be implicitly carried by a dedicated preamble. Based on the trigger signal, the terminal can trigger uplink transmission on extremely low power transmission resources. The extremely low power transmission resources associated with different SSB beams are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing. Optionally, LP WUS activation signaling is also sent in a group manner.

[0138] Figure 6 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 600 implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. For clarity of discussion and without limitation, process 600 will be discussed in conjunction with Figure 1A. In one possible implementation, method 600 can be implemented by terminal device 110 in communication system 100A. In other possible implementations, method 600 can also be implemented by other communication devices independent of communication system 100A. As an example, method 600 will be described below using implementation by terminal device 110 in communication system 100A as an example.

[0139] At block 610, the terminal device 110 receives a trigger signal, which is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device. At block 620, the first network device 110 transmits the auxiliary information in response to receiving the trigger signal, wherein the auxiliary information indicates at least one beam from a plurality of beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0140] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may receive a response signal for the assistance information. In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via at least one of the following: an RRC message; or a preamble sequence. In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via an RRC message and may include an index of at least one beam. In some embodiments, the assistance information may be sent via an RRC message and may further include at least one of the following: a cause value indicating that the RRC message was sent due to receipt of a trigger signal; or an identification ID of the terminal device.

[0141] In some embodiments, the response signal may be received via at least one of: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message including a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; an RRC release message, the RRC release message including a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or an RRC feedback message, the RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information.

[0142] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be transmitted via a preamble sequence, and the preamble sequence corresponds to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. In some embodiments, the response signal may be received via a RAR message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field may be used to indicate a response to the assistance information.

[0143] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be carried by a paging message, and the paging message includes a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information. In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be an LP-WUS, and the trigger signal may include at least one of the following: a second trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information; or a paging group indication.

[0144] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may include a paging group indication, and the method may further include: receiving a paging message, where the paging message carries a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information.

[0145] In some embodiments, the trigger signal can be received by at least one of the following: a paging message, including an indication for triggering the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information; LP-WUS, LP-WUS is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information; or a first extremely low power consumption signaling, the first extremely low power consumption signaling is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information.

[0146] In some embodiments, the method may further include: receiving resource configuration information for the very low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the multiple beams: time domain resources or frequency domain resources.

[0147] In some embodiments, the resource configuration information may include frequency domain resources corresponding to at least one beam, and resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing.

[0148] In some embodiments, sending the assistance information may include: selecting a target beam from the plurality of beams based on received signal strengths associated with the plurality of beams; determining a resource corresponding to the target beam based on the resource configuration information; and sending the assistance information on the resource.

[0149] In some embodiments, the assistance information may include an index of at least one beam, the received signal strength associated with the at least one beam being greater than or equal to a threshold; or the assistance information may include an index of a beam, the beam having the strongest received signal strength among multiple beams.

[0150] In some embodiments, the value of the first trigger indication may indicate not sending auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate sending auxiliary information when set to a second value; or the value of the second trigger indication may indicate not sending auxiliary information when set to the first value, and indicate sending auxiliary information when set to the second value.

[0151] FIG7 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 700 implemented at a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. For clarity of discussion and without limitation, process 700 will be discussed in conjunction with FIG1A . In one possible implementation, method 700 may be implemented by network device 120 in communication system 100A. In other possible implementations, method 700 may also be implemented by other communication devices independent of communication system 100A. As an example, method 700 will be described below using implementation by network device 120 in communication system 100A as an example.

[0152] At block 710, the network device 120 sends a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device. At block 720, the network device 120 receives the auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among a plurality of beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0153] In some embodiments, the method may further include: performing adjustment on one or more beams of the plurality of beams based on the auxiliary information, wherein the adjustment includes at least one of the following: turning off one or more beams; or adjusting the transmit power of one or more beams.

[0154] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be sent via at least one of: a paging message; a low power wake-up signal LP-WUS; or a first very low power consumption signaling, the first very low power consumption signaling being used to trigger the very low power consumption communication module to send auxiliary information.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method may further include: sending a response signal for the assistance information in response to the assistance information.

[0156] In some embodiments, the assistance information may be received via at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) message; or a preamble sequence. In some embodiments, the assistance information is received via an RRC message, and the assistance information includes an index of at least one beam.

[0157] In some embodiments, the auxiliary information may be sent via an RRC message, and the auxiliary information further includes at least one of the following: a cause value, used to indicate that the reason for sending the RRC message is receiving a trigger signal; or an identification ID of the terminal device.

[0158] In some embodiments, the response signal may be sent via at least one of: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message including a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; an RRC release message, the RRC release message including a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or an RRC feedback message, the RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information.

[0159] In some embodiments, the auxiliary information may be received via a preamble sequence corresponding to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. In some embodiments, the response signal is transmitted via a random access response (RAR) message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field may be used to indicate a response to the auxiliary information.

[0160] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may be an LP-WUS, and the trigger signal may include at least one of the following: a second trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information; or a paging group indication.

[0161] In some embodiments, the trigger signal may include a paging group indication, and the method may further include: sending a paging message to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device, the paging message carrying a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information.

[0162] In some embodiments, the trigger signal can be sent via a paging message, and the trigger signal can include at least one of the following: a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send auxiliary information; or an indication for triggering the extremely low power consumption communication module of the terminal device to send auxiliary information.

[0163] In some embodiments, the method may further include: sending resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the multiple beams: time domain resources or frequency domain resources.

[0164] In some embodiments, the resource configuration information may include frequency domain resources corresponding to at least one beam, and resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing.

[0165] In some embodiments, the value of the first trigger indication may indicate not sending auxiliary information when set to a first value, and indicate sending auxiliary information when set to a second value; or the value of the second trigger indication may indicate not sending auxiliary information when set to the first value, and indicate sending auxiliary information when set to the second value.

[0166] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal device 110 or network device 120 as shown in FIG1A, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device 110 or network device 120.

[0167] As shown in Figure 8 , communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810, a receiving unit 820, and a transmitting unit 830. It should be understood that receiving unit 820 and transmitting unit 830 can be integrated into the same unit; that is, receiving unit 820 can be transmitting unit 830, and transmitting unit 830 can be receiving unit 820. The communication device can be used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in any of Figures 2 and 6 to 7 above. In some embodiments, the processing unit can be a processor, the transmitting unit can be a transmitter, and the receiving unit can be a receiver.

[0168] As shown in Figure 9, communication device 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. Processor 910 and interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by processor 910, input data required by processor 910 to execute instructions, or data generated after processor 910 executes instructions.

[0169] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the method in the above method embodiment, the processor 910 is used to execute the functions of the above processing unit 910, and the interface circuit 920 is used to execute the functions of the above receiving unit 920 and the sending unit 930.

[0170] When the communication device is a chip used in the terminal device 110 or the network device 120, the device chip implements the functions of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 in the above method embodiments. The device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device 110 or the network device 120, and the information may be sent by the other terminal device 110 or the network device 120; or the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device 120 or the terminal device 110, and the information is sent to the other terminal device 110 or the network device 120.

[0171] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0172] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system. The communication system may include the communication device involved in the embodiment shown in Figure 8 above, such as terminal device 110 or network device 120. Optionally, terminal device 110 or network device 120 in the communication system may execute the communication method shown in any one of Figures 2, 6, and 7.

[0173] The present application also provides a circuit that can be coupled to a memory and can be used to execute the process related to the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 in any of the above method embodiments. The chip system may include the chip and may also include other components such as a memory or a transceiver.

[0174] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0175] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAMbus RAM (DR RAM).

[0176] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0177] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0178] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0179] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments applied for herein can be implemented with electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0180] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and modules described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0181] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed communication methods and devices can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0182] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network elements. Some or all of these elements may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0183] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each module may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module.

[0184] If this function is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that makes the contribution, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method of each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), universal serial bus flash disk (Universal Serial Bus Flash Disk), mobile hard disk, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or 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.

[0185] As used herein, the term "including" and similar terms should be understood as open inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. can refer to different or the same objects and are only used to distinguish the objects referred to, and do not imply a specific spatial order, temporal order, order of importance, etc. of the objects referred to. In some embodiments, values, processes, selected items, determined items, devices, means, components, assemblies, etc. are referred to as "best", "lowest", "highest", "minimum", "maximum", etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection can be made from a number of available functional options, and that such a selection need not be better, lower, higher, smaller, larger, or otherwise preferred than other options in other aspects or all aspects. As used herein, the term "determine" can encompass a variety of actions. For example, "determine" can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. Furthermore, "determining" may include receiving (eg, receiving information), accessing (eg, accessing data in a memory), etc. Furthermore, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0186] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, and all such changes or substitutions should be included in the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method, the method being applicable to a terminal device, comprising: receiving a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device; In response to receiving the trigger signal, the auxiliary information is sent, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A response signal to the auxiliary information is received.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary information is sent via at least one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; or Preamble sequence.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary information is sent via the RRC message, and the auxiliary information includes an index of the at least one beam.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the auxiliary information is sent via the RRC message, and the auxiliary information further includes at least one of the following: a cause value, used to indicate that the reason for sending the RRC message is receiving the trigger signal; or The identification ID of the terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the response signal is received via at least one of: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message comprising a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; An RRC release message, the RRC release message comprising a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or An RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information. 7 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the auxiliary information is transmitted via the preamble sequence, and the preamble sequence corresponds to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. 8 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the response signal is received via a random access response (RAR) message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field is used to indicate a response to the auxiliary information.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the trigger signal is carried by a paging message, and the paging message includes a first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the trigger signal is a low power wake-up signal LP-WUS, and the trigger signal comprises at least one of the following: A second trigger indication used to trigger the terminal device to send the auxiliary information; or Paging group indication.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the trigger signal comprises the paging group indication, the method further comprising: A paging message is received, where the paging message carries the first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger signal is received via at least one of: A paging message, including an instruction for triggering the very low power consumption communication module to send the auxiliary information; LP-WUS, where the LP-WUS is used to trigger the very low power consumption communication module to send the auxiliary information; or The first extremely low power consumption signaling is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send the auxiliary information.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Resource configuration information for the very low power consumption communication module is received, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the multiple beams: time domain resources or frequency domain resources.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the resource configuration information includes the frequency domain resources corresponding to the at least one beam, and the resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein sending the auxiliary information comprises: selecting a target beam from the plurality of beams based on received signal strengths associated with the plurality of beams; Determining a resource corresponding to the target beam based on the resource configuration information; as well as The auxiliary information is sent on the resource.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The assistance information includes an index of the at least one beam, and a received signal strength associated with the at least one beam is greater than or equal to a threshold; or The auxiliary information includes an index of a beam having the strongest received signal strength among the multiple beams.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: The value of the first trigger indication indicates not to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a second value; or The value of the second trigger indication indicates not to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a second value.

18. A method, the method being applicable to a network device, comprising: Sending a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device; as well as The auxiliary information is received, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: Based on the auxiliary information, performing adjustment of one or more beams of the plurality of beams, wherein the adjustment comprises at least one of the following: Turn off one or more beams; or Adjust the transmit power of one or more beams.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the trigger signal is sent via at least one of the following: Paging messages; Low power wake-up signal LP-WUS; or The first extremely low power consumption signaling is used to trigger the extremely low power consumption communication module to send the auxiliary information.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, further comprising: In response to the auxiliary information, a response signal for the auxiliary information is sent.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the auxiliary information is received via at least one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) message; or Preamble sequence.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the assistance information is received via the RRC message, and the assistance information comprises an index of the at least one beam.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the assistance information is received via the RRC message, and the assistance information further includes at least one of the following: a cause value, used to indicate that the reason for sending the RRC message is receiving the trigger signal; or The identification ID of the terminal device.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the response signal is sent via at least one of: an RRC reject message, the RRC reject message comprising a reject cause value, the reject cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; An RRC release message, the RRC release message comprising a release cause value, the release cause value indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information; or An RRC feedback message indicating a response to the RRC message including the auxiliary information.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the assistance information is received via the preamble sequence, the preamble sequence corresponding to a beam in at least one beam transmitted by the network device. 27 . The method according to claim 26 , wherein the response signal is sent via a random access response (RAR) message, and the RAR message includes a first field, and a first value of the first field is used to indicate a response to the auxiliary information.

28. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein the trigger signal is the LP-WUS, and the trigger signal comprises at least one of the following: A second trigger indication used to trigger the terminal device to send the auxiliary information; or Paging group indication.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the trigger signal comprises the paging group indication, the method further comprising: A paging message is sent to multiple terminal devices including the terminal device, where the paging message carries the first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information.

30. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein the trigger signal is sent via the paging message, and the trigger signal comprises at least one of the following: A first trigger indication for triggering the terminal device to send the auxiliary information; or An indication for triggering the extremely low power consumption communication module of the terminal device to send the auxiliary information.

31. The method of claim 18, further comprising: Resource configuration information for the extremely low power consumption communication module is sent, wherein the resource configuration information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the multiple beams: time domain resources or frequency domain resources.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the resource configuration information includes the frequency domain resources corresponding to the at least one beam, and the resources corresponding to different beams are multiplexed based on frequency division multiplexing.

33. A method according to any one of claims 18 to 32, wherein: The value of the first trigger indication indicates not to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a second value; or The value of the second trigger indication indicates not to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a first value, and indicates to send the auxiliary information when it is set to a second value.

34. A communication device, comprising: A processor, and a memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device executes: receiving a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device; In response to receiving the trigger signal, the auxiliary information is sent, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

35. A communication device, comprising: A processor, and a memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device executes: Sending a trigger signal, wherein the trigger signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send auxiliary information to the network device; as well as The auxiliary information is received, wherein the auxiliary information is used to indicate at least one beam among multiple beams of the network device, and the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state.

36. A chip comprising a processing circuit configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 or any one of claims 18 to 33.

37. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 or any one of claims 18 to 33.

38. A computer program product comprising instructions, the instructions being run on a communication device to cause the communication device to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 or any one of claims 18 to 33.

39. A communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions or a computer program so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 33.

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