Communication method and apparatuses, and storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, communication apparatuses, and a storage medium. The communication method comprises: a terminal enters a first state, the first state being a state other than an idle state, a connected state and an inactive state; and the terminal communicates in the first state.

Description

Communication method and device, and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202311637443.7, filed on November 30, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a communication method and device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication technology is pushing the world towards an increasingly interconnected and networked society. The rapid growth and advancement of wireless communication technology has led to higher capacity and connectivity requirements. Other aspects, such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectrum efficiency, and latency, are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: a terminal entering a first state, the first state being a state other than an idle state, a connected state, and an inactive state; and the terminal communicating in the first state.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processing unit for entering a first state, the first state being a state other than an idle state, a connected state, and an inactive state; and a communication unit for communicating in the first state.

[0007] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor; when the processor is configured to execute the instructions, the communication device implements the method described in the first aspect.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method described in the first aspect.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a computer program product comprising computer instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solution of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an eDRX Cycle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing the composition of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0018] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprise" and its other forms, such as the third person singular form "comprises" and the present participle form "comprising", are to be interpreted as open and inclusive, that is, "including, but not limited to". In the description of the specification, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "exemplary embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" are intended to indicate that the particular features, structures, materials or characteristics associated with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. In addition, the particular features, structures, materials or characteristics may be included in any one or more embodiments or examples in any appropriate manner.

[0019] The terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature identified with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. Throughout this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0020] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to describe examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in the embodiments of the present disclosure using words such as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0021] Additionally, the use of “based on” is meant to be open and inclusive, as a process, step, calculation, or other action “based on” one or more stated conditions or values ​​may, in practice, be based on additional conditions or values ​​beyond those stated.

[0022] Currently, to improve terminal energy conservation, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) systems support user-plane optimization schemes for the cellular IoT enhanced packet system / 5G system (CIoT EPS / 5GS). Extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) can be supported to save terminal power. This mechanism can suspend the terminal context in idle state and quickly resume the context, improving terminal energy conservation and service performance. However, this mechanism is inefficient in terms of UU interface signaling overhead. In new radio (NR) systems, the radio resource control inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) with eDRX is supported to achieve terminal energy conservation. In this state, eDRX can be supported to save the terminal's power. It can suspend specific connections between the terminal and the next-generation base station (gNodeB or gNB), maintain specific connections between the gNB and the core network, and quickly restore the terminal's context, which can improve the terminal's energy saving effect. However, this mechanism is not efficient for the UU interface signaling overhead. Compared with related wireless networks, sixth-generation mobile communication technology (6G) systems and wireless communication technologies need to support an increase in IoT devices, provide higher user data rates, and more reliable and low-latency services. This requires balancing the terminal's energy saving effect and service performance (such as traffic transmission delay and / or user data rate). Therefore, how to ensure the terminal's service performance while improving the terminal's energy saving effect is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0023] Based on this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and device, as well as a storage medium, in which the terminal enters a first state, which is a state other than the idle state, the connected state and the inactive state, and then the terminal communicates in the first state. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new state other than the idle state, the connected state and the inactive state, namely, the first state. The terminal communicates in the first state, which can avoid frequent state switching of the terminal, help reduce the power consumption of the terminal, and achieve the goal of ensuring the service performance of the terminal while improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0024] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, for example, new radio (NR) communication systems using 5G communication technology, future evolution systems, or multiple communication convergence systems, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0025] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 10 includes multiple base stations (e.g., base station 21 and base station 22) and multiple terminals (e.g., terminal 31, terminal 32, terminal 33, and terminal 34). Multiple base stations and multiple terminals can be connected via a wired network or a wireless network. The wired network or wireless network may include routers, switches, or other devices that facilitate communication between multiple base stations and multiple terminals, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] In some embodiments, a base station is used to provide wireless access services to multiple terminals. For example, a base station provides a service coverage area (also called a cell). Terminals within this area can communicate with the base station via wireless signals to receive the wireless access services provided by the base station. The service coverage areas of base stations may overlap, and terminals within the overlapping areas can receive wireless signals from multiple base stations.

[0027] In some embodiments, each of the multiple base stations can be connected to multiple terminals. For example, base station 21 is connected to terminal 31 and terminal 32. Terminal 31 and terminal 32 can be located in the same cell or in different cells. In other words, a base station can provide network services to terminals in one cell or to terminals in multiple cells simultaneously.

[0028] In some embodiments, each of the multiple base stations (e.g., base station 21) can be an evolution nodeB (eNB), a next-generation nodeB (gNB), a transmission and reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), or any other access node. Based on the size of the service coverage area provided, base stations can be further divided into macro base stations for providing macro cells, micro base stations for providing pico cells, and femto base stations for providing femto cells. With the continuous evolution of wireless communication technology, future base stations may also adopt other names.

[0029] In some embodiments, each of the multiple terminals (e.g., terminal 31) may be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a laptop computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of terminal.

[0030] It should be understood that Figure 1 is an exemplary structural diagram, and the number of devices included in the communication system shown in Figure 1 is not limited, for example, the number of base stations is not limited, and the number of terminals is not limited. Furthermore, in addition to the devices shown in Figure 1, the communication system shown in Figure 1 may also include other devices, which is not limited.

[0031] Next, as shown in Figure 2, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a terminal. The terminal can be any terminal shown in Figure 1, such as terminal 31. The communication method includes the following steps S101 and S102.

[0032] In S101 , the terminal enters a first state.

[0033] The first state is a state other than the idle state, the connected state, and the inactive state.

[0034] In some embodiments, the first state is a semi-connected state, a shared connection state, or a light connection state. The first state may also have other names, such as an energy-saving state, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] As an example, the terminal enters the first state, which may be when the terminal receives indication information sent by the base station for instructing the terminal to enter the first state, and in response to the indication information, the terminal enters the first state. The base station sends the indication information for instructing the terminal to enter the first state to the terminal, which may be when the base station monitors that the terminal is in a stationary state and after a preset time period has passed, the base station sends the indication information for instructing the terminal to enter the first state to the terminal; or when the base station monitors that the data transmission frequency of the terminal per unit time is less than a preset frequency threshold, the base station sends the indication information for instructing the terminal to enter the first state to the terminal. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the implementation method of the base station sending the indication information for instructing the terminal to enter the first state to the terminal.

[0036] As another example, the terminal entering the first state may be when the terminal detects that a condition for entering the first state is met. The condition for entering the first state may include at least one of the following: the duration of the terminal being in a stationary state is greater than a preset duration, or the frequency of data transmission by the terminal per unit time is less than a preset frequency threshold.

[0037] In some embodiments, the configuration parameters of the first state are preconfigured or configured by the access network device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The access network device may be a base station. For ease of description, the following embodiments are all described using the access network device as a base station as an example.

[0038] It should be noted that configuration and pre-configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure generally refer to: configuration generally comes from the network or base station and is sent from the network or base station to the communication node (e.g., terminal) via signaling; pre-configuration generally refers to configuration provided by other higher-level entities, such as the higher-level layers of the communication node itself, other network entities, etc. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the higher-level entity refers to the base station, network, or other higher-level entity.

[0039] In S102, the terminal communicates in a first state.

[0040] As an example, the terminal communicates in a first state, including: the terminal uses a common physical uplink shared channel (physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH) resource to send uplink data and / or signaling, and / or, the terminal uses a common physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) resource to receive downlink data and / or signaling.

[0041] It should be understood that frequent state switching of the terminal will lead to increased power consumption of the terminal. After the terminal enters the first state, the terminal can use the public PUSCH resources to send uplink data and / or signaling, and can use the public PDSCH resources to receive downlink data and / or signaling. In this way, the terminal can send uplink data and / or signaling and receive downlink data and / or signaling without switching states (for example, switching to a connected state). There is no need for the terminal to frequently switch states, which reduces the number of terminal state switchings, thereby ensuring the service performance of the terminal while improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0042] In some embodiments, when a terminal uses a common PUSCH resource to send uplink data and / or signaling, the terminal does not need to send a random access preamble, which can improve energy saving of the terminal.

[0043] In some embodiments, in the first state, the terminal also performs at least one of the following: monitoring a common search space; monitoring a predefined terminal-specific search space; performing wireless quality measurement and cell reselection; performing wireless channel detection and feedback; performing sensing indication; performing positioning operations; and sending an uplink reference signal.

[0044] Performing wireless channel sounding and feedback may be performing uplink sounding reference signal feedback.

[0045] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned common search space, common PUSCH resources and PDSCH resources are configured by the access network device through a system information block (SIB) or dedicated signaling.

[0046] In some embodiments, the dedicated signaling may be sent by the access network device when establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection, reconfiguring an RRC connection, or instructing the terminal to enter the first state.

[0047] In some embodiments, when a terminal in a first state initiates service establishment (RRC connection establishment or recovery), it enters a connected state or a small data transmission state according to the instruction of the access network device; when the data transmission is completed, it enters an idle state, a semi-connected state or an RRC_INACTIVE state according to the instruction of the access network device. That is, the terminal communicates in the first state, including: when the terminal is in the first state, when there is a data service that needs to be transmitted, the terminal initiates a service establishment request to the access network device to request to establish a service with the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the service establishment request sent by the terminal, and sends a first indication message to the terminal in response to the service establishment request. The first indication message is used to instruct the terminal to enter a connected state or a small data transmission state. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first indication message from the access network device, and enters a connected state or a small data transmission state according to the first indication message to perform data transmission.

[0048] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: upon completion of data transmission, the access network device sending second indication information to the terminal, the second indication information being used to instruct the terminal to enter an idle state, a first state, or an inactive state. Accordingly, the terminal receives the second indication information from the access network device and enters the idle state, the first state, or the inactive state according to the second indication information.

[0049] In some embodiments, the first state is valid within the cell to which the terminal was connected before entering the first state. That is, the first state is valid within the cell to which the terminal was connected before entering the first state. When the terminal moves out of the cell to which it was connected before entering the first state, the communication method may further include: the terminal exiting the first state; or, triggering a cell update, using the resource configuration of the first state corresponding to the new cell for communication. That is, each cell corresponds to a resource configuration of the first state. After the terminal moves out of the currently connected cell and enters the network coverage of the next new cell, it exits the first state or uses the resource configuration of the first state corresponding to the new cell for communication.

[0050] In some embodiments, in the first state, the context and dedicated configuration of the terminal are maintained on the terminal and the access network device. It should be understood that in the first state, the context and dedicated configuration of the terminal are maintained on the terminal and the access network device, so that after the terminal switches states, it is not necessary to re-interact with the access network device through signaling to restore the context and dedicated configuration of the terminal, which can reduce signaling overhead, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0051] In some embodiments, in a first state, the access network device configures a terminal-specific radio resource control (UE specific RRC) configuration for the UE; at least one of the following items in the configuration is maintained on the terminal and the access network device: a specific search space of the terminal; uplink dedicated resources of the terminal; downlink dedicated resources of the terminal; a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS).

[0052] It should be understood that in the first state, at least one of the above-mentioned items in the specific wireless resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device, which can avoid frequent updates of at least one of the above-mentioned items in the specific wireless resource control configuration of the terminal on both the terminal and the access network device, and can avoid frequent state switching of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal, achieving the goal of ensuring the service performance of the terminal while improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0053] In some embodiments, the UE specific RRC configuration is maintained or valid while the UE resides within a specific area.

[0054] In some embodiments, the UE specific RRC configuration may also include a terminal specific physical random access channel (PRACH) (UE specific PRACH), that is, in the first state, the UE specific PRACH may also be maintained on the terminal and the access network device.

[0055] In some embodiments, the uplink dedicated resources of the terminal include at least one of the following: a configured grant (CG) scheduling transmission mechanism, a scheduling request (SR), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a sounding reference signal (SRS), an access message, etc. The downlink dedicated resources of the terminal include at least one of the following: a downlink reference signal (DL RS) and paging.

[0056] In some embodiments, the specific search space of the terminal is used for at least one of the following: downlink data scheduling, uplink data scheduling, SRS triggering, system change indication, state switching, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order, etc.

[0057] In some embodiments, the CG is used for uplink data transmission, the SR is used for uplink data request, the PUCCH is used for downlink information feedback or uplink information transmission, such as downlink hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) or channel state information (CSI), the SRS is used by access network equipment to determine the location of the terminal and perform uplink / downlink channel measurement, beam switching, or selection; the UE-specific PRACH is used for dedicated access; the DL RS is used for downlink measurement or downlink synchronization; the above-mentioned paging, i.e., UE-specific paging, is used to quickly wake up the UE, etc. The LP-WUS is used for at least one of the following: quickly waking up the terminal, triggering the terminal to perform PDCCH detection, triggering the terminal's state transition, triggering the terminal to release the RRC configuration, triggering the terminal to perform inter-cell handover, and triggering the terminal to perform handover between transmission and reception points (TRPs).

[0058] In some embodiments, at least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device, and it may be that at least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device when a first preset condition is satisfied. The first preset condition includes at least one of the following items: the terminal is located in a designated cell; the terminal is located in a designated transmission and reception point; the terminal is located in a designated beam; the terminal is located in an area corresponding to a designated reference signal identifier (RS ID); the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of cells; the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of transmission and reception points; the terminal is located in a designated plurality of carriers; the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of beams; the terminal is located in an area corresponding to a predefined plurality of reference signal identifiers; the change in reference signal received power (RSRP) within a predefined time period is less than or equal to a preset change threshold; the reference signal received power is greater than or equal to a preset power threshold; the duration for the terminal to enter the first state is less than or equal to a preset duration; the degree of matching between the terminal's movement trajectory and the preset movement trajectory within a predefined time period is greater than a preset degree threshold.

[0059] In some embodiments, the first preset condition is configured for the terminal by the access network device. As an example, the access network device may predict the terminal's movement trajectory based on artificial intelligence (AI), and then configure the first preset condition for the terminal based on the predicted movement trajectory of the terminal. Different first preset conditions may correspond to different times. The terminal may adaptively switch the first preset condition based on time.

[0060] In some embodiments, in the first state, the terminal may also perform at least one of the following: receiving downlink data, transmitting uplink data, accessing, synchronizing, etc. based on downlink resources within a specific area, where the downlink resources include terminal-specific search space, terminal-specific LP-WUS, DL RS, etc.; sending uplink data, SRS, SR, etc. based on uplink resources within a specific area.

[0061] In some embodiments, after the terminal communicates in the first state, the communication method may further include the following: if a second preset condition is satisfied, the terminal switches from the first state to an idle state or an inactive state. The second preset condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal moves out of a valid area of ​​a specific wireless resource of the terminal; the duration of the terminal entering the first state exceeds a preset duration; indication information for instructing a state switch is received; the reference signal received power is less than a preset power threshold; and a change in the reference signal received power within a predefined time period is greater than a preset change threshold.

[0062] In some embodiments, the second preset condition may further include at least one of the following: the terminal moves into an area that does not support the first state; the number of area updates occurring at the terminal is greater than a preset number; the terminal receives an idle state paging message.

[0063] It should be noted that in the 5G NR system, only one notification area can be configured for the terminal, and the notification area can contain one or more cells. A terminal in the RRC_INACTIVE state will monitor RAN paging within the radio access network (RAN) notification area. If the UE moves out of the RAN notification area (RNA), the RNA update process will be performed (for example, the RRC connection recovery process is initiated and the recovery cause value is set to RNA-Update). When downlink data arrives, RAN paging will be used to trigger RRC connection recovery; when uplink data arrives, the RRC connection recovery process will be triggered. However, this process is not conducive to the transmission of small downlink data.

[0064] Based on this, the embodiment of the present disclosure proposes that the paging area of ​​the terminal includes multiple configurations. The paging area of ​​the terminal can have other names, such as the notification area of ​​the terminal, the RAN notification area of ​​the terminal, etc.

[0065] It should be understood that if a terminal's paging area includes multiple configurations, and the terminal switches between multiple paging areas, it does not need to perform a state switch after each paging area switch to report its location to the access network device. In other words, if a terminal includes multiple paging areas, frequent state switching of the terminal can be avoided, thereby reducing the terminal's power consumption, achieving the goal of ensuring terminal service performance while improving terminal energy conservation.

[0066] In some embodiments, the paging area of ​​the terminal includes multiple configurations, which may be when the terminal is in an inactive state or a first state, and the paging area of ​​the terminal includes multiple configurations.

[0067] In some embodiments, the paging area of ​​the terminal includes at least one of the following: the beam of the cell to which the terminal last connected; one or more configured cell beam groups; the cell to which the terminal last connected; one or more configured cells.

[0068] As an example, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, the terminal monitors RAN paging or DL ​​data in the beam of the cell to which the terminal is last connected.

[0069] As another example, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, and the paging area of ​​the terminal is the beam of the cell to which the terminal last connected, the terminal monitors RAN paging or DL ​​data in the beam of the cell to which the terminal last connected.

[0070] As another example, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, and the paging area of ​​the terminal is the cell to which the terminal is last connected, the terminal monitors RAN paging or DL ​​data in the cell to which the terminal is last connected.

[0071] As another example, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, and the paging area of ​​the terminal is one or more configured cells, the terminal monitors RAN paging or DL ​​data in the one or more configured cells.

[0072] As another example, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, and when the paging area of ​​the terminal is one or more configured cell beam groups, the terminal monitors RAN paging or DL ​​data in the one or more configured cell beam groups.

[0073] In some embodiments, when the terminal includes multiple paging areas, the terminal can switch from one paging area to another based on a timer, a RAN notification area update event, a RAN notification area update event counter, or a RAN indication.

[0074] For example, when the terminal enters the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state, if the paging area used by the terminal is the beam of the last connected cell, the first timer is started; when data is transmitted and / or received, the first timer is stopped or restarted. When the first timer expires, the terminal is transferred to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state of another paging area (i.e., one of one or more configured cell beam groups, the cell last connected by the terminal, or one of one or more configured cells).

[0075] For another example, when the terminal enters the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state, and the paging area used by the terminal is the beam of the cell to which the terminal was last connected, when the terminal moves to the beam of another cell, a beam update process is triggered (for example, an RRC connection recovery process is initiated, and the recovery cause value is set to beam-Update), and the RAN sends a beam update confirmation message to the terminal to confirm the beam update process; during the beam update process (for example, in the beam update confirmation message), the RAN may instruct the terminal to transfer to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state of another paging area.

[0076] For another example, when a beam update is triggered or several beam updates are triggered (for example, the number of times the beam is triggered is equal to or greater than a counter), the RAN may instruct the terminal to transfer to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state of another paging area.

[0077] In some embodiments, when the terminal enters the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state, when the paging area of ​​the terminal is one or more configured cell beam groups, when the terminal moves out of the one or more configured cell beam groups, the beam group update process is triggered (for example, the RRC connection recovery process is initiated, and the recovery cause value is set to beams-Update), and the RAN sends a beam group update confirmation message to the UE to confirm the beam group update process.

[0078] In some embodiments, when the terminal enters the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state, when the paging area of ​​the terminal is the last connected cell, when the terminal moves into another cell, the cell update process is triggered (for example, the RRC connection recovery process is initiated and the recovery cause value is set to cell-Update).

[0079] In some embodiments, when the terminal enters the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state, when the paging area of ​​the terminal is one or more configured cells, when the terminal moves out of the one or more configured cells, the cell update process is triggered (for example, an RRC connection recovery process is initiated, and the recovery cause value is set to cell-Update), and the RAN sends a cell update confirmation message to the UE to confirm the cell update process; during the cell update process (for example, in the cell update confirmation message), the RAN may instruct the UE to transfer to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state of other paging areas.

[0080] In some embodiments, RNA update may be used to indicate beam update, beam group update, cell update and / or cell group update, and the RAN sends an RNA update confirmation message to the UE to confirm the RNA update process; during the RNA update process (e.g., in the RNA update confirmation message), the RAN may instruct the UE to transfer to the RRC_INACTIVE state or the first state of other paging areas.

[0081] In some embodiments, the RAN may send a paging area update indication (e.g., via an RRC reconfiguration message) to update the UE from one paging area to another paging area (e.g., from one of the following to another one of the following: the beam of the cell to which the terminal was last connected, one or more configured cell beam groups, the cell to which the terminal was last connected, or one or more configured cells). The paging area update indication includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the target paging area, and a configuration of the target paging area (e.g., one or more configured cell beam groups, or one or more configured cells).

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal's paging area and updated paging area parameters are configured by an access network device to the terminal via a core network. For example, the access network device may transmit the terminal's paging area and updated paging area parameters to the core network via terminal-specific signaling, and the core network may transmit the terminal's paging area and updated paging area parameters to the terminal.

[0083] When the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, the terminal may update the paging area of ​​the terminal based on the update parameters and update rules of the paging area. The update rules are used by the terminal and the core network to update the paging area of ​​the terminal.

[0084] In some embodiments, the update rule may also be used by the access network device to update the paging area of ​​the terminal. The access network device may send downlink data to the terminal or page the terminal within the updated paging area of ​​the terminal.

[0085] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in the first state or inactive state, the access network device may configure an indication to indicate whether downlink data (e.g., instead of RAN paging) is to be sent directly to the terminal. For example, a terminal-specific search space for data transmission may be configured to implicitly indicate that the terminal should monitor downlink data instead of monitoring RAN paging in the first state or inactive state.

[0086] Based on this, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, the communication method may further include the following A1 and A2.

[0087] In A1, third indication information is received.

[0088] The third indication information is used to indicate whether to directly send downlink data to the terminal.

[0089] In some embodiments, directly sending downlink data to the terminal can be understood as the terminal not monitoring a paging message and receiving downlink data after the terminal is awakened, but directly monitoring a terminal-specific PDCCH to receive downlink data.

[0090] In A2, when the third indication information indicates to directly send downlink data to the terminal, the terminal receives the downlink data in the first paging area.

[0091] The first paging area includes at least one of a beam of a cell to which the terminal is last connected, one or more configured cell beam groups, and a cell to which the terminal is last connected.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, and when the paging area of ​​the terminal is one or more of the above-mentioned configured beam groups, the method may further include the following B1.

[0093] In B1, the terminal listens to paging messages in one or more configured beam groups.

[0094] Afterwards, the terminal may receive downlink data based on the paging message.

[0095] That is to say, when the terminal is in the first state or the inactive state, when the paging area of ​​the terminal is the above-mentioned first paging area, after the terminal receives the third indication information, the terminal can directly monitor the terminal-specific PDCCH to receive downlink data. When the paging area of ​​the terminal is the above-mentioned one or more configured beam groups, the terminal monitors the paging message in the above-mentioned one or more configured beam groups and receives downlink data based on the paging message.

[0096] It should be understood that when the terminal includes multiple paging areas, that is, when multiple paging areas are configured for the terminal, the access network equipment can more effectively determine the location of the terminal, thereby reducing unnecessary paging messages and notification messages, and there is no need for the terminal to frequently switch states to report its own location, which saves the power consumption of the terminal, can ensure the service performance of the terminal, and improve the energy-saving effect of the terminal.

[0097] Based on the embodiment shown in FIG2 , after entering the first state, the terminal uses common physical uplink shared channel resources to send uplink data and / or signaling; and uses common physical downlink shared channel resources to receive downlink data and / or signaling. This allows the terminal to receive and send data / signaling without switching states, reducing terminal power consumption and improving terminal energy conservation while ensuring terminal service performance. Furthermore, after the terminal enters the first state, at least one of the terminal's specific radio resource control configurations is maintained between the terminal and the access network device. This eliminates the need to re-apply to the access network device to establish at least one of the terminal's specific radio resource control configurations after a state switch. This reduces signaling overhead and thus reduces terminal power consumption, ensuring terminal service performance while improving terminal energy conservation. When the terminal is in the first state or inactive state, it has multiple paging areas. This prevents frequent state switching, thereby reducing terminal power consumption and improving terminal energy conservation while ensuring terminal service performance.

[0098] In some embodiments, for the RRC_INACTIVE state in the NR system, the access network device can configure a long extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) for the terminal, with a DRX cycle of up to 2.91 hours. Outside the paging time window (PTW) of the eDRX, the terminal may not monitor the PDCCH, thereby saving energy. However, the RRC connection of the terminal in the RRC_INACTIVE state is suspended (RRC Suspend). When the access network device needs to transmit downlink data to the terminal, it needs to send a downlink paging message (paging). The downlink data can only be scheduled after the terminal restores the RRC (RRC Resume) connection. When the terminal needs to transmit uplink data, it needs to restore the RRC (RRC Resume) connection before it can send downlink data. The suspension and restoration of the RRC connection will result in additional signaling overhead and unnecessary service delays. For the RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) in the NR system, the access network equipment can configure short discontinuous reception (short DRX) and long discontinuous reception (long DRX) for the terminal. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal can save energy by not monitoring the PDCCH during the DRX Off period (Off Duration in Figure 3). However, the DRX Cycle is a maximum of 10240ms, which means that the duration that the terminal does not monitor the PDCCH cannot exceed 10240ms, so the energy saving effect of the terminal is limited. The UE shall monitor PDCCH (UE shall monitor PDCCH) in Figure 3 indicates that the UE will monitor the downlink control channel, the On Duration indicates the duration that the UE monitors the downlink control channel, the Off Duration indicates the time when the UE does not monitor the downlink control channel, and the DRX Cycle indicates the length of the discontinuous reception cycle.

[0099] Based on this, a communication method of a UE is provided as shown in Figure 4. The communication method may include the following S201.

[0100] In S201, configuration parameters of eDRX in a connected state are received.

[0101] In some embodiments, when or after a terminal switches to a connected state, the terminal receives connected state eDRX configuration parameters sent by an access network device. In other words, the terminal receives connected state eDRX configuration parameters sent by the access network device. The connected state eDRX configuration parameters include at least one of the following: a discontinuous reception cycle length; and a data transmission window (DTW) length. The discontinuous reception cycle length is measured in hypersystem frame numbers (H-SFNs).

[0102] In some embodiments, the terminal receives the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX sent by the access network device, which may be that the access network device sends the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX to the core network, and then the terminal receives the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX sent by the core network.

[0103] In some embodiments, after receiving the configuration parameters of the eDRX in the connected state, the terminal monitors the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) within the data transmission window. If no indication for scheduling the PDCCH is received within the data transmission window, the terminal stops monitoring the PDCCH after the data transmission window ends. Alternatively, if an indication for scheduling the PDCCH is received within the data transmission window, a timer for waiting for data (e.g., DRX-InactiveTimer) is started after the data transmission ends. If there is a need to transmit data within the set duration of the timer, the timer is restarted after the data transmission ends; if there is no need to transmit data within the set duration of the timer, the terminal stops monitoring the PDCCH, stops reporting the channel state information or stops measuring and feeding back the channel state information, and enters the muting state.

[0104] In some embodiments, after receiving the configuration parameters of the eDRX in the connected state, the terminal releases or suspends the radio resource control connection and enters the idle state or inactive state when the terminal moves out of the predefined area. In the case where the terminal suspends the radio resource control connection, the configuration parameters of the inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE) of the terminal are configured for the terminal by the access network device during the radio resource control connection establishment process, the radio resource control connection recovery process, or the radio resource control connection reconfiguration process. The terminal moving out of the predefined area can be understood as the terminal moving. The predefined area can be pre-configured or pre-indicated by the access network device, or it can be pre-negotiated between the terminal and the access network device. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

[0105] In some embodiments, when the terminal receives the configuration parameters of the inactive state and moves out of the predefined area, the terminal enters the inactive state by default.

[0106] In some embodiments, the starting position of the data transmission window is determined based on the terminal identifier and the cycle length of discontinuous reception. The starting position of the data transmission window may be the H-SFN or subframe where the starting position of the data transmission window is located. The terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI); a shortened temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI). That is, the H-SFN where the starting position of DTW is located can be determined based on the RNTI of the access stratum (AS) terminal and the cycle length of discontinuous reception, or the H-SFN where the starting position of DTW is located can be determined based on the S-TMSI of the non-access stratum (NAS) terminal and the cycle length of discontinuous reception.

[0107] Exemplarily, the starting position of the data transmission window is determined based on the terminal identifier and the length of the discontinuous reception cycle, which can be shown as the following formula: H-SFN mod T eDRX =(UE ID mod T eDRX );

[0108] Among them, T eDRX is the length of the discontinuous reception cycle, UE ID The identifier of the AS layer terminal or the NAS layer terminal, or the UE ID The n least significant bits of the identifier of the AS layer terminal or the NAS layer terminal, where n is a positive integer.

[0109] In some embodiments, the H-SFN or subframe where the data transmission window starts can also be determined by pre-definition or pre-configuration. For example, it can be shown as the following formula: SFN = X*i eDRX_CN , where;

[0110] Wherein, X*Y=1024, X and Y are integers, Y represents the number of starting positions of data transmission windows in one SFN cycle (0 to 1023), X represents the interval between the starting positions of data transmission windows of two consecutive SFN cycles, i eDRX_CN Indicates the starting position of the data transmission window, T eDRX_CN Indicates the cycle length of discontinuous reception. In some embodiments, the cycle length of discontinuous reception of the terminal in the connected state is the same as the cycle length of discontinuous reception of the terminal in the idle state.

[0111] In some embodiments, the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the connected state is an integer factor of the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the idle state.

[0112] In some embodiments, when the terminal is in the connected state, the terminal may monitor idle state paging messages based on the eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the idle state. The eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the idle state are configured by the core network through a NAS message, pre-configured, or configured by an access network device, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0113] In some embodiments, when a terminal is in a connected state, the terminal may monitor paging messages in the inactive state based on the eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the inactive state. The eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the active state are received by the terminal before entering the connected state or being in the connected state and receiving an indication for instructing the release of the radio resource control connection of the terminal. The indication for instructing the release of the radio resource control connection of the terminal may be RRCRelease (RRC release).

[0114] In some embodiments, when the access network device sends the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX to the terminal, it also sends the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX or an indication for configuring the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX for the UE to the core network; after the terminal receives the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, if the terminal does not receive an indication for instructing the release of the terminal's communication connection, the terminal and the core network maintain a communication connection. In other words, for a terminal configured with the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, the core network will not actively trigger the release of the communication connection with the terminal. In this way, the terminal does not need to monitor paging messages in the idle state and / or inactive state in the connected state, thereby improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0115] In some embodiments, before the timer for waiting for data is started, the core network may send downlink data / signaling to the terminal before the DTW window and close to the PTW start position (for example, within 1 second) or within the PTW window; if there is no data transmission or reception within the DTW, the downlink data / signaling to the access network device will be stopped after the DTW ends; if downlink data is sent within the DTW, the timer for waiting for data (for example, drx-InactiveTimer) will be started after the data transmission ends. If there is data transmission within the timer for waiting for data (for example, drx-InactiveTimer), the timer for waiting for data will be restarted after the data transmission ends; after the timer for waiting for data times out, data transmission will be stopped and the Muting state will be entered.

[0116] In some embodiments, considering the PTW window of eDRX, the C-RNTI (Cell-RNTI, Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​configured by the access network device for the terminal may be reallocated to other terminals to improve the efficiency of C-RNTI usage. The access network device can reallocate the C-RNTI to the terminal through an RRC reconfiguration message or a media access control control element (MAC CE) message to avoid C-RNTI conflicts. For example, if the C-RNTI configured by the access network device for the terminal is allocated to another terminal outside the PTW window, but the terminal still has data to transmit after the PTW ends, the access network device can reallocate a C-RNTI to the terminal through an RRC reconfiguration message or a MAC CE message.

[0117] Based on the embodiment shown in FIG4 , after receiving the eDRX configuration parameters, the terminal can extend the time period during which the terminal does not monitor the PDCCH based on the eDRX configuration parameters, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0118] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the present disclosure from the perspective of the interaction between each node. It is understandable that each node, such as a base station or a terminal, includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function in order to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present disclosure.

[0119] FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing the composition of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the communication device 30 includes a processing unit 301 and a communication unit 302 .

[0120] The communication device 30 may be the terminal or a chip in the terminal. When the communication device 30 is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the above embodiment, each unit is used to implement the following functions.

[0121] The processing unit 301 is configured to enter a first state. The first state is a state other than the idle state, the connected state, and the inactive state.

[0122] The communication unit 302 is configured to communicate in a first state.

[0123] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is, for example, configured to send uplink data and / or signaling using common physical uplink shared channel resources; and receive downlink data and / or signaling using common physical downlink shared channel resources.

[0124] In some embodiments, in the first state, the communication unit 302 is further used to perform at least one of the following: monitoring a predefined public search space; monitoring a predefined terminal-specific search space; performing wireless quality measurement and cell reselection; performing wireless channel detection and feedback; performing perception indication; performing positioning operations; and sending uplink reference signals.

[0125] In some embodiments, the common search space, the common physical uplink shared channel resources, and the common physical downlink shared channel resources are configured through an information system block or dedicated signaling.

[0126] In some embodiments, the dedicated signaling is sent by the access network device when establishing a radio resource control connection, reconfiguring a radio resource control connection, or instructing the terminal to enter the first state.

[0127] In some embodiments, the predefined dedicated search space is configured by the access network device through dedicated signaling when the RRC connection is established / reconfigured or when the access network device instructs the UE to enter the first state.

[0128] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is configured to, for example, initiate a service establishment request to the access network device in the first state; receive first indication information from the access network device, enter a connection state or a small data transmission state according to the first indication information, and perform data transmission;

[0129] The communication unit 302 is further configured to receive second indication information from the access network device when data transmission is completed; and enter the idle state, the first state, or the inactive state according to the second indication information.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first state is valid within the cell to which the terminal is connected when it enters the first state; when the terminal moves out of the cell to which it is connected when it enters the first state, the communication unit 302 is also used to exit the first state; or, trigger a cell update and use the resource configuration communication of the first state corresponding to the new cell.

[0131] In some embodiments, in the first state, the context and dedicated configuration of the terminal are maintained on the terminal and the access network device.

[0132] In some embodiments, in the first state, at least one of the following items in the terminal's specific wireless resource control configuration is maintained on the terminal and the access network device: the terminal's specific search space; the terminal's uplink dedicated resources; the terminal's downlink dedicated resources; a low-power wake-up signal.

[0133] In some embodiments, when a first preset condition is met, at least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device. The first preset condition includes at least one of the following items: the terminal is located in a designated cell; the terminal is located in a designated transmission reception point; the terminal is located in a designated beam; the terminal is located in an area corresponding to a designated reference signal identifier; the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of cells; the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of transmission reception points; the terminal is located in a designated plurality of carriers; the terminal is located in a predefined plurality of beams; the terminal is located in an area corresponding to a predefined plurality of reference signal identifiers; the change in the reference signal received power per unit time is less than or equal to a preset change threshold; the reference signal received power is greater than or equal to a preset power threshold; the duration for which the terminal enters the first state is less than or equal to a preset duration; the degree of matching between the terminal's movement trajectory and the preset movement trajectory within the predefined time is greater than a preset degree threshold.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first preset condition is configured by the access network device for the terminal.

[0135] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is further configured to switch from the first state to the idle state or the inactive state when a second preset condition is satisfied. The second preset condition includes at least one of the following: the terminal moves out of the valid area of ​​a specific wireless resource of the terminal; the duration of the terminal entering the first state exceeds a preset duration; indication information for instructing a state switch is received; the reference signal received power is less than a preset power threshold; and a change in the reference signal received power within a predefined time period is greater than a preset change threshold.

[0136] In some embodiments, the paging area of ​​the terminal includes multiple configurations.

[0137] In some embodiments, the paging area of ​​the terminal includes at least one of the following: the beam of the cell to which the terminal last connected; one or more configured cell beam groups; the cell to which the terminal last connected; one or more configured cells.

[0138] In some embodiments, the paging area of ​​the terminal and the update parameters of the paging area are configured to the terminal by the access network device through the core network.

[0139] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is further configured to update the paging area of ​​the terminal based on the update parameters and update rules of the paging area. The update rules are used by the terminal and the core network to update the paging area of ​​the terminal.

[0140] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is further configured to receive third indication information. The third indication information is configured to indicate whether to directly send downlink data to the terminal. When the third indication information indicates to directly send downlink data to the terminal, the terminal receives the downlink data in the first paging area.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first paging area includes at least one of: a beam of a cell to which the terminal is last connected, one or more configured cell beam groups, and a cell to which the terminal is last connected.

[0142] In some embodiments, in the first state or inactive state, when the paging area is one or more configured beam groups, the communication unit 302 is further used to monitor paging messages in the one or more configured beam groups and receive downlink data based on the paging messages.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first state is a semi-connected state, a shared connection state, or a light connection state.

[0144] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is further configured to receive configuration parameters of extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) in a connected state; the configuration parameters of eDRX include at least one of the following: a discontinuous reception cycle length; and a data transmission window length.

[0145] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is further used for at least one of the following: monitoring the physical downlink control channel within the data transmission window; and stopping monitoring the physical downlink control channel after the data transmission window ends if no indication for scheduling the physical downlink control channel is received within the data transmission window.

[0146] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is also used for at least one of the following: when an indication for scheduling a physical downlink control channel is received within a data transmission window, starting a timer for waiting for data after the data transmission is completed; when there is a need to transmit data within the set duration of the timer, restarting the timer after the data transmission is completed; when there is no need to transmit data within the set duration of the timer, stopping monitoring the physical downlink control channel.

[0147] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is further configured to, when the terminal moves out of a predefined area, cause the terminal to release or suspend the radio resource control connection and enter an idle state or an inactive state.

[0148] In some embodiments, when the terminal suspends the radio resource control connection, the inactive configuration parameters are configured for the terminal by the access network device during the radio resource control connection establishment process, the radio resource control connection recovery process, or the radio resource control connection reconfiguration process.

[0149] In some embodiments, the start position of the data transmission window is determined based on the identification of the terminal and the length of the discontinuous reception cycle.

[0150] In some embodiments, the terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a wireless network temporary identifier; a truncated temporary mobile user identifier.

[0151] In some embodiments, the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the connected state is the same as the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the idle state.

[0152] In some embodiments, the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the connected state is an integer factor of the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the idle state.

[0153] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is further configured to monitor paging messages in the idle state based on the eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the idle state.

[0154] In some embodiments, the processing unit 301 is further configured to monitor the paging message in the inactive state based on the eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the inactive state. The eDRX configuration parameters corresponding to the inactive state are received by the terminal before entering the connected state or being in the connected state and receiving the indication for instructing to release the radio resource control connection of the terminal.

[0155] In some embodiments, the communication unit 302 is further configured to maintain the communication connection between the terminal and the core network when no instruction for instructing to release the communication connection of the terminal is received.

[0156] In some embodiments, the configuration parameters of the first state are pre-configured or configured by the access network device.

[0157] It should be noted that the units in FIG. 5 may also be referred to as modules. For example, the communication unit may be referred to as a communication module.

[0158] If the various units in Figure 5 are implemented in the form of software function modules and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is essentially or the part that contributes to the relevant technology or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium for storing computer software products includes: U disk (USB (universal serial bus, universal serial bus) flash disk), mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0159] In the case where the communication device 30 implements the functions of the integrated modules in hardware, the present disclosure provides a schematic structural diagram of the communication device. As shown in Figure 6, the communication device 40 includes: a processor 402, a communication interface 403, and a bus 404. In some embodiments, the communication device 40 may also include a memory 401.

[0160] Processor 402 may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure. Processor 402 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure. Processor 402 may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP (digital signal processor) and a microprocessor, or the like.

[0161] The communication interface 403 is used to connect to other devices via a communication network, such as Ethernet, wireless access network, or wireless local area network (WLAN).

[0162] The memory 401 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, 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, but is not limited thereto.

[0163] As an implementation, memory 401 may exist independently of processor 402. Memory 401 may be connected to processor 402 via bus 404 to store instructions or program codes. When processor 402 calls and executes the instructions or program codes stored in memory 401, the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0164] In another implementation, the memory 401 may also be integrated with the processor 402 .

[0165] Bus 404 can be an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Bus 404 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG6 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0166] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and conciseness of the description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the base station or terminal is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0167] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). All or part of the processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by computer instructions to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be the memory or memory of any of the aforementioned embodiments. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on the terminal, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. Further, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the terminal and an external storage device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above-mentioned computer program and other programs and data required by the terminal. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0168] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute any one of the communication methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0169] In the technical solution disclosed herein, the terminal enters a first state, which is a state other than an idle state, a connected state, and an inactive state. The terminal then communicates in the first state, which can avoid frequent state switching of the terminal, help reduce the power consumption of the terminal, and achieve the goal of ensuring the service performance of the terminal while improving the energy saving effect of the terminal.

[0170] Although the present disclosure is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the disclosure for which protection is sought, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "one" or "an" does not exclude multiple components. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0171] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present disclosure. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is intended to encompass such modifications and variations if they fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents.

[0172] The above are only specific embodiments of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: The terminal enters a first state, wherein the first state is a state other than an idle state, a connected state, and an inactive state; The terminal communicates in the first state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal communicating in the first state includes: The terminal uses a common physical uplink shared channel resource to send uplink data and / or signaling, and / or The terminal receives downlink data and / or signaling using a common physical downlink shared channel resource.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: In the first state, the terminal further performs at least one of the following: Monitor predefined public search spaces; Monitors a dedicated search space for predefined endpoints; Perform radio quality measurements and cell reselection; Perform wireless channel detection and feedback; executes perceived instructions; Perform positioning operations; Send an uplink reference signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The common search space, the common physical uplink shared channel resources and the common physical downlink shared channel resources are configured through an information system block or dedicated signaling.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The dedicated signaling is sent by the access network device when a radio resource control connection is established, a radio resource control connection is reconfigured, or when the terminal is instructed to enter the first state.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal communicating in the first state includes: The terminal initiates a service establishment request to the access network device in the first state; The terminal receives first indication information from the access network device, and enters the connection state or small data transmission state according to the first indication information to perform data transmission; The method further comprises: When the data transmission is completed, the terminal receives second indication information from the access network device; and the terminal enters the idle state or the first state or the inactive state according to the second indication information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first state is valid within the cell to which the terminal is connected when entering the first state; In a case where the terminal moves out of the cell to which the terminal is connected when entering the first state, the method further includes: The terminal exits the first state; or, Trigger the cell update and use the resources in the first state corresponding to the new cell to configure communications.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: In the first state, the context and dedicated configuration of the terminal are maintained on the terminal and the access network device.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: In the first state, at least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device: A specific search space of the terminal; Uplink dedicated resources of the terminal; Downlink dedicated resources of the terminal; Low power wake-up signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: At least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device, including: When the first preset condition is met, at least one of the following items in the specific radio resource control configuration of the terminal is maintained on the terminal and the access network device; The first preset condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal is located in a designated cell; The terminal is located within a designated transmission reception point; The terminal is located in a designated beam; The terminal is located in an area corresponding to a designated reference signal identifier; The terminal is located in a plurality of predefined cells; The terminal is located within a plurality of predefined transmission reception points; The terminal is located within a specified plurality of carriers; The terminal is located within a predefined plurality of beams; The terminal is located in an area corresponding to a plurality of predefined reference signal identifiers; The change in the reference signal received power per unit time is less than or equal to a preset change threshold; The reference signal received power is greater than or equal to a preset power threshold; The duration for which the terminal enters the first state is less than or equal to a preset duration; The matching degree between the movement trajectory of the terminal and the preset movement trajectory within the predefined time is greater than a preset degree threshold.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The first preset condition is configured by the access network device for the terminal.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When a second preset condition is met, the terminal switches from the first state to the idle state or the inactive state; the second preset condition includes at least one of the following: The terminal moves out of a valid area of ​​a specific wireless resource of the terminal; The duration of the terminal entering the first state is greater than a preset duration; Receiving indication information for indicating state switching; The reference signal receiving power is less than a preset power threshold; The change in the reference signal received power within a predefined time is greater than a preset change threshold.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The paging area of ​​the terminal includes multiple configurations.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The paging area of ​​the terminal includes at least one of the following: The beam of the cell to which the terminal is last connected; one or more configured cell beam groups; The cell to which the terminal was last connected; One or more configured cells.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The paging area of ​​the terminal and the update parameters of the paging area are configured to the terminal by the access network device through the core network.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: The terminal updates the paging area of ​​the terminal based on the update parameters and update rules of the paging area, wherein the update rules are used for The terminal and the core network update the paging area of ​​the terminal.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein: In the first state or the inactive state, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate whether to directly send downlink data to the terminal; When the third indication information indicates to directly send the downlink data to the terminal, the terminal receives the downlink data in the first paging area.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The first paging area includes at least one of a beam of a cell to which the terminal is last connected, one or more configured cell beam groups, and a cell to which the terminal is last connected.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein: In the first state or the inactive state, when the paging area is one or more configured beam groups, the method further includes: The terminal monitors a paging message in the one or more configured beam groups.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first state is a semi-connected state, a shared connection state or a light connection state.

21. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive the configuration parameters of the extended discontinuous reception eDRX in the connected state; the configuration parameters of the eDRX include at least one of the following: the cycle length of the discontinuous reception; Data transmission window length.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein: After receiving the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, the method further includes at least one of the following: The terminal monitors a physical downlink control channel within a data transmission window; When no instruction for scheduling the physical downlink control channel is received within the data transmission window, monitoring of the physical downlink control channel is stopped after the data transmission window ends.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising at least one of the following: When an indication for scheduling the physical downlink control channel is received within the data transmission window, starting a timer for waiting for data after the data transmission is completed; If data needs to be transmitted within the set duration of the timer, restart the timer after the data transmission is completed; When there is no data to be transmitted within the set duration of the timer, the monitoring of the physical downlink control channel is stopped.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein: After receiving the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, the method further includes: When the terminal moves out of the predefined area, the terminal releases or suspends the radio resource control connection and enters the idle state or the inactive state.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein: When the terminal suspends the radio resource control connection, the inactive configuration parameters are configured for the terminal by the access network device during the radio resource control connection establishment process, the radio resource control connection recovery process or the radio resource control connection reconfiguration process.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein: The starting position of the data transmission window is determined based on the identifier of the terminal and the cycle length of the discontinuous reception.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: Wireless network temporary identification; A truncated temporary mobile subscriber identifier.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein: The length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the connected state is the same as the length of the discontinuous reception cycle of the terminal in the idle state.

29. The method of claim 22, wherein: The cycle length of the discontinuous reception of the terminal in the connected state is an integer factor of the cycle length of the discontinuous reception of the terminal in the idle state.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein: After receiving the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, the method further includes: The paging message of the idle state is monitored based on the configuration parameters of the eDRX corresponding to the idle state.

31. The method of claim 21, further comprising: In the connected state, the terminal monitors the paging message of the inactive state based on the configuration parameters of the eDRX corresponding to the inactive state; wherein the configuration parameters of the eDRX corresponding to the inactive state are received by the terminal before entering the connected state or being in the connected state and before receiving an indication for instructing the release of the wireless resource control connection of the terminal.

32. The method of claim 21, wherein: After receiving the configuration parameters of the connected eDRX, the method further includes: In a case where the terminal does not receive an instruction for instructing to release the communication connection of the terminal, the terminal maintains the communication connection with the core network.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein: The configuration parameters of the first state are pre-configured or configured by the access network device.

34. A communication device, wherein: The method comprises a memory, a processor, and computer program instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 33 when executing the computer program instructions.

35. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: The computer-readable storage medium comprises computer program instructions; wherein, when the computer program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 33.

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