Communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

A communication method, an apparatus and a system. In the method, UE may receive an indication message from a network device, the indication message being used for indicating that system information comprised in a first set is changed, or the indication message being used for indicating that system information comprised in a second set is changed, the system information comprised in the first set being carried in a first cell, and the system information comprised in the second set being carried in the second cell; and then, on the basis of the indication message, the UE may detect in the first cell the system information comprised in the first set, or detect in the second cell the system information comprised in the second set. In this way, according to the indication of the network device, UE can determine a specific cell that carries updated system information of the first cell, such that UE does not need to perform detection on each cell, thus reducing power consumption of the UE. Moreover, network devices in the scenario can reduce transmission of public signals, thus achieving energy conservation of network devices.

Description

Communication method, device and system

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 15, 2023, with application number 202311736295.4 and application name "A Communication Method, Device and System", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, reducing the energy consumption of network devices and terminal devices within the network has become of vital research significance. A key technical approach to reducing network device energy consumption involves reducing the transmission of unnecessary signals. For example, when a network device has no data to transmit, energy efficiency suggests that it should not transmit any signals. However, network devices often have to transmit common signals that are always on to allow terminal devices to identify them. Common signals include synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), system information messages, and paging messages. System-related messages include system information block 1 (SIB1). Current protocols require each cell to periodically broadcast SIB1. In scenarios with multiple beams or short SIB1 transmission periods, the time domain required to transmit SIB1 is significant. In light-to-medium load scenarios, although actual service data transmission is minimal, the transmission of common signals prevents effective reduction in network device power consumption.

[0005] Therefore, it is worth studying how to reduce the energy consumption of network devices and terminal devices in the network.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, apparatus, and system for reducing energy consumption of network equipment and user equipment (UE).

[0008] In a first aspect, a first communication method is provided, which can be executed by a UE, or by other devices including UE functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the UE, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the UE. The method includes: the UE receives an indication message from a network device, the indication message is used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed, and the system information included in the target set is carried in the carrier of the target cell; wherein the target set is a first set, and the target cell is the first cell; or the target set is a second set, and the target cell is the second cell; the UE detects the system information included in the target set in the target cell according to the indication message. In other words, the UE can detect the system information included in the first set in the first cell, or detect the system information included in the second set in the second cell according to the indication information.

[0009] In this method, the UE can determine the cell that carries the updated system information through an indication message from a network device. In this way, in scenarios where system information is carried across multiple different cells, the network device can not only indicate to the UE that there has been a system information change, but also indicate to the UE the cell corresponding to the updated system information. This allows the UE to respond to the system information change without having to perform detection in multiple cells, thereby reducing the UE's power consumption. Furthermore, since system information can be carried across multiple different cells, the transmission of common signals in the network can be reduced, thereby achieving energy conservation for network devices.

[0010] In one possible implementation, system information belonging to the first cell is carried in the first cell and the second cell. In other words, the second cell carries not only the system information belonging to its own cell, but also the system information belonging to the first cell; the first cell carries part of the system information belonging to the first cell. Optionally, the SIB1 of the first cell is carried in the second cell, and other system information of the first cell, excluding the SIB1, is carried in the first cell.

[0011] Through this implementation, the network device can reduce the transmission of common signals in the first cell, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the network device. In addition, the system information of the second cell itself also needs to be transmitted, so the SIB1 of the first cell is carried in the second cell, which reduces the energy consumption of the network device.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

[0013] In this implementation, the system information update indication message is carried by the existing downlink control message, so that the network device can instruct the UE to update the cell carrying the system information without adding a new downlink control message.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message. In this implementation, based on the short message indication information included in the downlink control message used for paging and the short message indicated by it, on the one hand, the short message indication information can be used to indicate that there is a change in system information, and on the other hand, the short message indicated by the short message indication information can be combined to further indicate which cell carries the system information that has changed. In this way, the existing downlink control information can be used to indicate the cell carrying the updated system information, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0015] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the short message indication information is used to indicate that there has been a change in system information, and this can be achieved through a variety of bit values. For example, the bit values ​​"11" and "10" can be used to indicate that the system information has been changed. In this case, the short message indicated by the short message indication information can further indicate the cell on which the system information has been changed. For another example, the reserved bit value "00" can be used to indicate that the system information has been changed. In this case, the short message indicated by the short message indication information can further indicate the cell on which the system information has been changed.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0017] In this implementation, the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH scheduled based on the downlink control message can also be used to indicate the cell carrying the updated system information, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0019] In this implementation, in addition to reusing existing downlink control messages, newly added downlink control messages can also be used to indicate the cell carrying the updated system information, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit. Exemplarily, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

[0021] In this implementation, based on existing downlink control messages or newly added downlink control messages, not only can the reserved bits be reused, but also new bits can be added to the downlink control message to indicate the cell carrying the updated system information, thereby reducing UE power consumption.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the UE receiving configuration information from the network device, the configuration information including at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, and an identifier of the system information included in the second set.

[0023] In this implementation, the network device and the UE may synchronize configuration information in advance, so that based on the synchronized configuration information, an indication of a cell carrying updated system information may be implemented through an indication message, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information other than the M system information, where M and N are positive integers, and the M system information and the N system information belong to the first cell.

[0025] In this implementation, the system information carried in different cells may be different, thereby reducing repeated carrying of system information in different cells.

[0026] In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell. In this embodiment, system information belonging to the same cell can be carried by different cells. In this way, the transmission of common signals by network devices can be reduced, thereby achieving energy saving of network devices.

[0027] In a second aspect, a second communication method is provided, which can be executed by a UE, or by another device including UE functions, or by a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, wherein the chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the UE, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the UE. The method includes: receiving an indication message from a network device, wherein the indication message is used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and the system information indicating that the changed system information is sent on the second cell; and detecting the changed system information on the second cell according to the indication message.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, the short message is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent on the second cell; wherein, the short message includes the indication message.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the UE receiving configuration information from the network device, the configuration information including at least one of the following information: an identifier of system information included in a first set, and an identifier of system information included in a second set. The system information included in the first set is carried on the first cell, and the system information included in the second set is carried on the second cell.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M pieces of system information, and the second set includes N pieces of system information other than the M pieces of system information, where M and N are positive integers.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner, the system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

[0036] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the third aspect or various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementations.

[0037] On the third aspect, a third communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by other devices including the functions of a network device, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, and the chip system or functional module can realize the functions of the network device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, arranged in the network device. The network device is, for example, an access network device, for example, one implementation of the access network device is a base station. The method includes: the network device sends an indication message to the UE, the indication message is used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed, and the system information included in the target set is carried in the carrier of the target cell; wherein the target set is a first set, and the target cell is the first cell; or the target set is a second set, and the target cell is the second cell; the network device sends the changed system information to the UE in the target cell. In other words, the network device sends the changed system information to the UE in the first cell or the second cell.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

[0039] In a possible embodiment, the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message. Exemplarily, the indication message is carried in the following message positions: when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a reserved bit value, on any bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; or, when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a first bit value or a second bit value, on any reserved bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; wherein the first bit value or the second bit value is used to indicate that there is a change in system information.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit. Exemplarily, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the UE, where the configuration information includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, and an identifier of the system information included in the second set.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information other than the M system information, where M and N are positive integers, and the M system information and the N system information belong to the first cell.

[0045] Based on the above embodiments, the first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information other than the M system information, where M and N are positive integers.

[0046] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the third aspect or various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementations.

[0047] In a fourth aspect, a fourth communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by other devices including network device functions, or by a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module, which can realize the functions of the network device, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, arranged in the network device. The network device is, for example, an access network device, for example, one implementation of the access network device is a base station. The method includes: sending system information in a second cell, the system information including system information of a change in a first cell; sending an indication message to a UE on the first cell, the indication message being used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and being used to indicate that the changed system information is sent in the second cell.

[0048] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, the short message is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent on the second cell; wherein the short message includes the indication message.

[0050] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the UE, the configuration information including at least one of the following information: an identifier of system information included in a first set, and an identifier of system information included in a second set. The system information included in the first set is carried on the first cell, and the system information included in the second set is carried on the second cell.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M pieces of system information, and the second set includes N pieces of system information other than the M pieces of system information, where M and N are positive integers.

[0055] In a possible implementation manner, the system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

[0056] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the fourth aspect or various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementations.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the UE described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect. The communication device has the functions of the UE. The communication device may be, for example, a UE, or a larger device including a UE, or a functional module in the UE, such as a baseband device or a chip system. In an optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement a sending function and a receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it may be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional module can implement a sending function and a receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0058] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or, the receiving unit) is used to: receive an indication message from a network device, wherein the indication message is used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed, and the system information included in the target set is carried in the carrier of the target cell; wherein the target set is a first set, and the target cell is the first cell; or the target set is a second set, and the target cell is the second cell; and the processing unit is used to detect the system information included in the target set in the target cell according to the indication message.

[0059] In another optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or, the receiving unit) is used to: receive an indication message from a network device, wherein the indication message is used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent on the second cell; and the processing unit is used to detect the changed system information on the second cell according to the indication message.

[0060] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used for scheduling paging.

[0061] In a possible embodiment, the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message. Exemplarily, the indication message is carried in the following message positions: when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a reserved bit value, on any bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; or, when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a first bit value or a second bit value, on any reserved bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; wherein the first bit value or the second bit value is used to indicate that there is a change in system information.

[0062] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0063] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, and an identifier of the system information included in the second set.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information other than the M system information, where M and N are positive integers, and the M system information and the N system information belong to the first cell.

[0067] Based on the above embodiments, the system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the network device described in any one of the third or fourth aspects above. The communication device has the functions of the above-mentioned network device. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or a larger device including a network device, or a functional module in a network device, such as a baseband device or a chip system. In an optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). For the implementation of the transceiver unit, please refer to the introduction of the fifth aspect.

[0069] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or sending unit) is used to send an indication message to the UE, where the indication message is used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed, and the system information included in the target set is carried in the carrier of the target cell; wherein the target set is the first set, and the target cell is the first cell; or the target set is the second set, and the target cell is the second cell; the transceiver unit (or sending unit) is also used to send the changed system information to the UE in the target cell.

[0070] In another optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or sending unit) is used to: send system information in the second cell, wherein the system information includes system information in which changes have occurred in the first cell; the transceiver unit (or sending unit) is also used to: send an indication message to the UE on the first cell, wherein the indication message is used to indicate that the system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent in the second cell.

[0071] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used for scheduling paging.

[0072] In a possible embodiment, the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; when the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message. Exemplarily, the indication message is carried in the following message positions: when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a reserved bit value, on any bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; or, when the short message indication information included in the first downlink control message is a first bit value or a second bit value, on any reserved bit included in the short message corresponding to the short message indication information; wherein the first bit value or the second bit value is used to indicate that there is a change in system information.

[0073] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

[0074] In a possible implementation manner, the second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, the indication message is carried on a newly added bit.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit (or sending unit) is further used to: send configuration information to the UE, where the configuration information includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, and an identifier of the system information included in the second set.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information other than the M system information, where M and N are positive integers, and the M system information and the N system information belong to the first cell.

[0078] Based on the above implementation modes, the system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

[0079] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a UE, or a chip or chip system used in a UE. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method performed by the UE in the above aspects.

[0080] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a network device, or a chip or chip system used in a network device. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method performed by the network device in the above aspects.

[0081] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a UE and a network device, wherein the UE is configured to execute the methods described in the aforementioned aspects, and the network device is configured to execute the methods described in the aforementioned aspects. For example, the UE may be implemented by the communication apparatus described in the fifth or seventh aspect, and the network device may be implemented by the communication apparatus described in the sixth or eighth aspect.

[0082] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, enables the methods performed by the UE or network device in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0083] According to an eleventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which enables the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented when the computer program product is run on the computer.

[0084] In the twelfth aspect, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to call and execute instructions from the interface so that the chip system implements the above-mentioned methods.

[0085] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the fifth to twelfth aspects and their various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or the corresponding implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0086] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a SIB1-less resource block provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] FIG5 is a second flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] The embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0094] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wireless local area network (WLAN), sidelink communication system, fourth generation (4G) communication system, fifth generation (5G) wireless communication system, sixth generation (6G) communication system or other future evolution systems, or other various wireless communication systems using wireless access technology. As long as there is a change in system information in the communication system, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be adopted.

[0095] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The radio access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ) and at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1 ). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the network device, and the network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the network device may be independent, distinct physical devices, or the core network device's functions and the network device's logical functions may be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the core network device's functions and some of the network device's functions. Terminal devices and network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as relay devices and backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1 .

[0096] A network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. It may also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or all of the physical layer. For the specific description of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), or a relay node or a donor node. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device. Among them, the main function of the network device is to send radio waves to the terminal device, on the one hand, to realize downlink data transmission, and on the other hand, to send scheduling information to control uplink transmission, and receive radio waves sent by the terminal device to receive uplink data transmission.

[0097] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminal devices may be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms used by the terminal devices. The main functions of the terminal devices may include, but are not limited to: receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices; some terminal devices may also collect data.

[0098] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0099] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, 120i is a network device. However, to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0100] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0101] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0102] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present application, communication between a terminal device and a network device refers to the terminal device sending an uplink signal or uplink information to the network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel, and / or the network device sending a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the network device (that is, the terminal device resides in the cell controlled by the network device). The cell that establishes a wireless connection with the terminal device is called the service cell of the terminal device (that is, the cell that provides services to the terminal device).

[0104] The terminal device may be located within the coverage of one or more cells (carriers), and the cell providing services to the terminal device may be one or more. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 2, the terminal device is simultaneously located within the coverage of cell 1 controlled by network device 1, cell 2 controlled by network device 2, and cell 3 controlled by network device 3, and cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3 can all provide services for the terminal device. It should be noted that Figure 2 takes an example in which a network device controls only one cell. In actual applications, a network device can control multiple cells at the same time. When there are multiple cells providing services to the terminal device, the terminal device may operate in a manner of carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC), or coordinated multiple points transmission / reception (CoMP), and one or more cells may provide the terminal device with one or more of the following tasks: wireless resources corresponding to more than one transmission parameter set.

[0105] In addition, communication between a cell and a terminal device (such as a cell sending a downlink signal to a terminal device, and / or a cell receiving an uplink signal from a terminal device) refers to communication between the network device to which the cell belongs (such as a base station that controls the cell) and the terminal device. Communication between cells, such as communication between one cell and another cell, if the two cells belong to different network devices (such as two cells controlled by different base stations), refers to communication between the network device to which the one cell belongs and the network device to which the other cell belongs (such as message transmission between the two network devices); if the two cells belong to the same network device (such as two cells controlled by the same base station), refers to signaling or data exchange between the functional module in the network device that controls the one cell and the functional module that controls the other cell within the network device.

[0106] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably; "cell", "base station" and "network device" can also be used interchangeably. For example, "target cell" can also be referred to as "target base station" or "target network device", and "source cell" can also be referred to as "source base station" or "source network device". "Multiple" means two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be understood as one or more, for example, one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then including A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A, B and C. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is similar. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character “ / ”, unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

[0107] Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the descriptions of "first" and "second" do not limit the objects to be different.

[0108] The following first explains the relevant technical features involved in the embodiments of the present application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0109] (1) Subcarrier: In an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, frequency domain resources are divided into several sub-resources. Each sub-resource in the frequency domain is called a subcarrier. A subcarrier can also be understood as the minimum granularity of frequency domain resources.

[0110] (2) Subcarrier spacing: The spacing between the center positions or peak positions of two adjacent subcarriers in the frequency domain in an OFDM system. For example, the subcarrier spacing in the long term evolution (LTE) system is 15 kHz, and the subcarrier spacing in the new radio (NR) system in 5G can be 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, or 120 kHz, etc.

[0111] (3) Resource block: N consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain are called a resource block. For example, a resource block in the LTE system includes 12 subcarriers, and a resource block in the NR system in 5G also includes 12 subcarriers. As communication systems evolve, the number of subcarriers included in a resource block can also be other values.

[0112] (4) Time slot: In the 5G NR system, a time slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols. The time slot length corresponding to a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing is 1 millisecond (ms), and the time slot length corresponding to a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing is 0.5 ms.

[0113] (5) Subframe: The duration of a subframe in the 5G NR system is 1ms.

[0114] (6) Time-frequency resource unit: The smallest resource granularity in the OFDM system, which is an OFDM symbol in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain. The OFDM symbol can also be understood as the smallest time unit in the OFDM system.

[0115] (8) Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI): RNTI can be used to distinguish or identify the following information, but is not limited to: terminal devices connected in a cell; a specific radio channel; a group of terminal devices in the case of paging; a group of terminal devices receiving power control parameters; system information sent by the network equipment for all terminal devices, etc.

[0116] Exemplarily, the RNTI may be a 16-bit identifier, the value of which depends on the type of RNTI. For example, the types of RNTI may include, but are not limited to: RNTI for paging, denoted as P-RNTI; RNTI for system information broadcast, denoted as (system information radio network temporary identifier, SI-RNTI); cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) for data scheduling; modulation and coding scheme cell radio network temporary identifier (MCS-C-RNTI); configured scheduling radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI), etc.

[0117] (9) Paging: Network devices broadcast messages over the air interface to notify idle or inactive mode terminal devices to enter active mode; or to update system information for idle / inactive / connected mode terminal devices.

[0118] The frame used to send paging messages is called a paging frame. Part of the time-frequency resources within a paging frame are used to send paging messages, called a paging occasion (PO). Each paging occasion is assigned to one or more terminal devices, which wait for paging messages during the assigned paging occasion.

[0119] (10) System Information Block (SIB): A resource block that carries system information. System information is classified and broadcast to terminal devices on different SIBs. The scheduling information for SIB1 is notified by the initial access signal, that is, by the master information block (MIB); the scheduling information for other SIBs is also notified by SIB1. When system information needs to be updated, the network device notifies the terminal device through paging to receive the update at the designated resource.

[0120] (10-1)SIB1

[0121] In 5G NR, each cell must send system information belonging to the cell. System information is divided into minimum system information (SI) and other system information (OSI). Among them, the minimum SI is transmitted using MIB and SIB1, while OSI is transmitted in other system information blocks, such as SIB2 and SIB3. SIB1 is transmitted on the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) with a period of 160ms. The default transmission repetition period of SIB1 is 20ms, but the actual transmission repetition period depends on the network implementation. SIB1 can also be considered as the remaining minimum system information (RMSI); it can also be considered as the first system information sent after MIB.

[0122] (10-2) System Information Changes

[0123] System information changes generally only occur in specific radio frames, which are called modification periods. During a modification period, if the system information of some terminal devices needs to be updated, the network device sends a paging DCI (which can also be understood as carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) encrypted with P-RNTI) on the PO corresponding to these terminal devices to indicate the system information change.

[0124] It should be noted that in addition to indicating system information changes, the paging DCI can also schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), which carries the paging information. During each modification cycle, the terminal device can monitor the paging DCI on its corresponding PO once or multiple times, depending on the specific configuration.

[0125] Under the existing standard solution (see TS 38.212 Clause 7.3.1.2.1), the DCI indicating system information changes is DCI format 1_0. It includes a short message indicator. The short message indicator can be used to indicate whether the short message is valid. The short message indicator is shown in Table 1 below:

[0126] Table 1

[0127] Among them, the short message indicator occupies 2 bits. The following information can be obtained from Table 1: "11" means that the DCI indicates a paging message (that is, paging information will be scheduled after the DCI, that is, the terminal device needs to detect paging information), and at the same time indicates a system information change; "10" means that the DCI only indicates a system information change; "01" means that the DCI only indicates a paging message; "00" is a reserved bit.

[0128] When the short message indicator is "11" or "10", it can indicate a system information change. The corresponding short message can be as shown in the following Table 2:

[0129] Table 2

[0130] As can be seen from Table 2, the short message primarily indicates the type of system information change. Specifically, the first four bits of the short message indicate different system information functions. For example, when bit 1 is set to 1 in Table 2, it indicates a system information change; bits 5-8 are reserved. The short message is present only when the short message indicator indicates a system information change (presence can also be understood as taking effect). That is, the short message is present when the short message indicator is "11" or "10."

[0131] It can be seen from Table 1 and Table 2 above that, although the paging message can carry a system information change indication, it can only notify the terminal device that the system information has changed, but cannot notify the terminal device of the specific system information that has changed.

[0132] In communication networks, network devices often have to send common signals that are always on to identify them, leading to wasted resources. Examples of common signals include, but are not limited to, SSB, SIB1, and paging. Therefore, reducing the transmission of common signals in the network is an important means of achieving energy conservation in network devices.

[0133] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method is applicable to a scenario in which multiple system information belonging to the same cell can be carried by multiple different cells. In this way, there may be some cells that can only send part of the system information belonging to their own cells, and such cells can also be called energy-saving cells (NES cells); there may also be some cells that can not only send system information belonging to their own cells, but also send system information belonging to other cells at the same time, and such cells can also be called anchor cells (anchor cells). In this way, the sending frequency of the NES cell can be reduced, and since the anchor cell itself also sends system information belonging to its own cell and sends system information belonging to other cells at the same time, the power consumption required to be increased is less. Therefore, this method can reduce the energy consumption of network equipment.

[0134] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type and amount of system information sent by the NES cell on the anchor cell. For example, in a scenario where cell 1 is an anchor cell and cell 2 is an NES cell, for example, SIB1 belonging to cell 2 can be carried on cell 1, and for example, SIB2 belonging to cell 2 can be carried on cell 1, or for example, both SIB1 and SIB2 belonging to cell 2 can be carried on cell 1.

[0135] In addition, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of NES cells that carry system information belonging to the same NES. For example, the NES cell can be carried on two cells, three cells, or even more cells. For example, SIB1 belonging to cell 2 is carried on cell 1, and SIB2 belonging to cell 2 is carried on cell 3, while all other system information except SIB1 and SIB2 is carried on cell 2. For another example, SIB1 and SIB2 belonging to cell 2 are carried on cell 1, and SIB3 and SIB4 belonging to cell 2 are carried on cell 3, while all other system information except SIB1 to SIB4 is carried on cell 2.

[0136] Similarly, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of cells to which the system information simultaneously transmitted by the anchor cell belongs. For example, the system information may belong to two, three, or even more cells. For example, cell 1 may carry system information belonging to cell 1 itself, SIB1 and / or SIB2 belonging to cell 2, and SIB1 and / or SIB2 belonging to cell 4.

[0137] In addition, multiple cells carrying NES cell system information can correspond to the same network device or to different network devices, which is not limited in this application. For example, cell 2 corresponds to network device 2, and cell 1 also corresponds to network device 2. For another example, cell 2 corresponds to network device 2, and cell 1 also corresponds to network device 1.

[0138] Based on the above scenario, in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine which cell's system information has changed based on the indication message of the system information change; for example, whether the system information carried by its own cell has changed, or the system information carried by another cell has changed. Exemplarily, the indication message of the system information change can be implemented by reusing existing DCI or by newly added DCI. In this way, the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced by the indication message of the system information change; and by carrying the system information belonging to the same cell on different cells, energy saving of the network device can be achieved.

[0139] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flowchart of the method.

[0140] S300: The network device sends configuration information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the configuration information from the network device. The UE is located in a first cell.

[0141] In a possible scenario, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a resource block provided by an embodiment of the present application. Taking cell 1 as an anchor cell and cell 2 as an NES cell as an example, and taking the SIB1 of cell 2 carried on cell 1 as an example, other possible examples can refer to this example, and this application will not repeat them. As shown in Figure 4, in order to further reduce the energy consumption of the base station, the network equipment can carry part of the system information of cell 2 in cell 1; in other words, in addition to sending the SIB1 and OSI of cell 1, cell 1 can also send the system information of cell 2 (such as SIB1). Therefore, this scenario can also be called a SIB1-less scenario, or other SIB-less scenarios. In this way, for cell 2, because the transmission of SIB1 is saved, the energy consumption of the base station can be reduced. It should be noted that although the SIB1 of cell 2 is additionally transmitted on cell 1, as shown in the extended SIB1 in Figure 4, the extended SIB1 includes not only the SIB1 belonging to cell 1, but also the SIB1 belonging to cell 2; however, cell 1's own SIB1 is also originally transmitted on cell 1. Therefore, the additional transmission of the SIB1 of cell 2 brings a relatively small increase in the energy consumption of cell 1.

[0142] Based on the scenario shown in Figure 4, the network device can synchronize the cell bearer information corresponding to the cell system information to the UE. Exemplarily, it can be implemented as the network device sending configuration information to the UE, indicating the cell bearer information through the configuration information.

[0143] In an optional example, the configuration information includes: system information included in the first set and system information included in the second set. Exemplarily, the system information included in the set in the configuration information can be represented by an identifier. It can also be understood that the first set includes identifiers of M system information, and the M system information belongs to the first cell; and the M system information is carried in the first cell, that is, the first cell itself carries the M system information. The second set includes identifiers of N system information, and the N system information also belongs to the first cell; and the N system information is carried in the second cell, that is, other cells carry the N system information. Wherein, M and N are positive integers. Optionally, the first set includes other system information except SIB1; the second set includes SIB1.

[0144] In another optional example, the configuration information includes: the identifiers of the system information respectively included in P sets. P is a positive integer greater than 2. For example, P can be 3, and the configuration information includes: the system information included in the first set, the system information included in the second set, and the system information included in the third set. Exemplarily, the system information included in the set in the configuration information can be represented by an identifier. The first set and the second set can refer to the aforementioned introduction. The third set can include identifiers of L system information, and the L system information belongs to the first cell; and the L system information is carried in the third cell. L is a positive integer.

[0145] It should be understood that the configuration information may include at least two sets, and different sets may be carried in different cells. Exemplarily, the configuration information may be generated based on the actual system information allocation scenario. In the following embodiments, the configuration information includes two sets as an example, which may also be understood as the configuration information including a first set and a second set. It should be understood that the configuration information includes more sets, and reference may be made to the introduction of the following embodiments. For example, a possible configuration information corresponding to the first cell is shown in Table 3 below:

[0146] Table 3

[0147] As can be seen from Table 3, the system information corresponding to the first cell can be carried on the first cell and the second cell, thereby reducing the energy consumption of network equipment. Through configuration information, when the system information changes, the set identifier can be used to accurately indicate which cell the system information carried on has changed. For example, when the system information belonging to the first set changes, the indication message in S301 below can be used to indicate that the system information carried on the first cell has changed, that is, it can be indicated that the system information included in the first set has changed. For another example, when the system information belonging to the second set changes, the indication message in S301 below can be used to indicate that the system information carried on the second cell has changed, that is, it can be indicated that the system information included in the second set has changed.

[0148] Based on the above examples, the system information carried by different cells may include the same system information; or may include completely different system information, which can also be understood as complementary sets. For example, for scenarios including the same system information, the corresponding configuration information may be as shown in the following Table 4-1:

[0149] Table 4-1

[0150] As can be seen from Table 4-1, different sets may include the same system information, such as SIB2. It can also be understood that SIB2 is carried on both the first cell and the second cell.

[0151] For another example, for a scenario including completely different system information, the corresponding configuration information may be as shown in the following Table 4-2:

[0152] Table 4-2

[0153] As can be seen from Table 4-2, the N system information included in the second set is SIB1, that is, N is 1, and the M system information included in the first set is other system information except SIB1. Among them, the system information included in different sets is completely different. It can also be understood that when the system information is carried on one cell, it can no longer be carried on other cells, thereby reducing the bandwidth occupancy and reducing the repeated transmission of system information. For example, the first set includes other system information except SIB1, and it can also be understood that the system information belonging to the first cell carried on the first cell can be OSI, such as one or more of the following: SIB2, SIB3, SIB4, SIB5, etc. The second set includes SIB1, and it can also be understood that the system information belonging to the first cell carried on the second cell can be only SIB1.

[0154] Based on the content introduced in S300, the UE can obtain the cell carrying information of the system information belonging to the first cell through configuration information, so that it can receive the indication message from the network device introduced in the subsequent content, thereby determining which cell the updated system information is carried on, and then accurately detecting the system information and reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0155] S301. A network device sends an indication message to a UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the indication message from the network device. Optionally, the indication message may indicate a change in system information included in a first set. Alternatively, the indication message may also indicate a change in system information included in a second set.

[0156] In one possible scenario, the UE receives an indication message from the network device in a first cell. In another possible scenario, the UE receives an indication message from the network device in a second cell.

[0157] The following describes several possible implementations of indication messages, including but not limited to:

[0158] Scenario A: Reusing existing DCI

[0159] In an optional embodiment, the indication message may be carried in the paging DCI mentioned above. In combination with the above introduction to RNTI, the paging DCI may be carried on the PDCCH scrambled by the P-RNTI.

[0160] Exemplarily, the paging DCI includes a short message indicator as shown in Table 1. The short message indicator is used to indicate a short message. When the short message indicator is used to indicate a system information change, the short message takes effect. Therefore, the short message can further indicate, via the short message, that the system information included in the target set has changed. Optionally, the short message includes the indication message. Thus, the short message indicator and the short message can not only indicate the presence of a system information change, but also further indicate the cell on which the system information is carried.

[0161] For example, the DCI may include a short message indicator of "00," and any of the eight bits included in the short message indicated by the short message indicator may be used to carry the indication message. In this way, the indication message may be carried by the short message indicated by the reserved field in the short message indicator. Under the current standard definition, a short message indicator of "00" is a reserved field, and thus the functionality of this reserved field can be added. Accordingly, any bit position of the short message indicated by the short message indicator of "00" can be used, and thus the functionality of the short message can be added.

[0162] For another example, if the short message indicator included in the DCI is "10" or "11," the indication message can be carried by any of the four reserved bits included in the short message indicated by the short message indicator, that is, by any of bits 5 to 8 of the short message. In this way, when the short message indicator indicates a system information change as defined in the current standard, the indication message can be carried by the reserved bit position of the short message corresponding to the indication.

[0163] In another exemplary embodiment, the indication message may also be carried in the newly added bits in the paging DCI described above. It is understood that any position where the newly added bits in the paging DCI can be carried can also carry the indication message in the embodiment of the present application.

[0164] In scenario A, by reusing existing DCI, it is possible to indicate the cell information carried by the updated system information without adding a new DCI format and without affecting the original function of the paging DCI, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0165] Scenario B: Adding DCI

[0166] In conjunction with the introduction to RNTI in the foregoing content, the type of RNTI can be determined by a 16-bit identifier, and the newly added DCI can be carried on a PDCCH scrambled by the newly added RNTI, wherein the newly added RNTI is a newly added type of RNTI.

[0167] For example, the newly added DCI may be used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed. In this way, the UE may obtain the cell on which the system information has changed through the newly added DCI.

[0168] Exemplarily, the indication message can be carried by the first indication field in the newly added DCI. Considering that the function of the newly added DCI has not yet been defined, the indication message can be carried by any indication field. Another exemplary embodiment can also be carried by the newly added bit field in the newly added DCI.

[0169] In scenario B, a new DCI type can be added to indicate the cell information carried by the updated system information, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0170] Scenario C, PDSCH

[0171] Exemplarily, the PDSCH may also be used to indicate that the system information included in the target set has changed. In this way, the UE can also obtain the system information carried on which cell has changed through the PDSCH. Optionally, the PDSCH may be scheduled through the paging DCI, and in this case, the PDSCH carries the paging information, as shown in Figure 4. Another option is that the PDSCH may be scheduled through the SI-DCI (which can also be understood as being carried on the PDCCH encrypted by the SI-RNTI), and in this case, the PDSCH carries the system information broadcast message. Another option is that the PDSCH may be scheduled through a newly added type of DCI (which can also be understood as being carried on the PDCCH encrypted by the newly added RNTI); wherein the newly added type of DCI may be the DCI of the newly added function defined in the future standard, etc.

[0172] Optionally, the indication message may be carried in the second indication field or the newly added bit field in the PDSCH scheduled by the paging DCI in the aforementioned content.

[0173] In scenario C, the resource scheduling information of the DCI can also be used to indicate the cell information carried by the updated system information, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0174] S302: The network device sends the changed system information to the UE in the first cell or the second cell. Correspondingly, the UE detects the system information included in the first set in the first cell, or detects the system information included in the second set in the second cell according to the indication message.

[0175] It can be understood that when the UE determines, based on the indication message, that the system information included in the first set has changed, it can be determined, based on the configuration information, that the system information included in the first set is carried by the first cell, and therefore the system information can be detected to obtain the updated system information. Alternatively, when the UE determines, based on the indication message, that the system information included in the second set has changed, it can be determined, based on the configuration information, that the system information included in the second set is carried by the second cell, and therefore the system information can be detected on the second cell to obtain the updated system information.

[0176] Through the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the UE can determine the cell that carries the updated system information through the indication message of the network device. In this way, in the scenario where the system information is carried by multiple different cells, the network device can not only indicate to the UE that there is a change in the system information, but also indicate to the UE the cell corresponding to the updated system information, thereby enabling the UE to respond to the change in the system information without having to detect in multiple cells, thereby reducing the power consumption of the UE. Moreover, since the system information can be carried by multiple different cells, the transmission of common signals in the network can also be reduced, thereby achieving energy saving of the network equipment.

[0177] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flowchart of the method.

[0178] S500, the network device sends configuration information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the configuration information from the network device. The UE is located in the first cell. Exemplarily, the configuration information may include at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, an identifier of the system information included in the second set. The system information included in the first set and the system information included in the second set both belong to the system information of the first cell. Moreover, the system information included in the first set is carried on the first cell, that is, carried on its own cell; the system information included in the second set is carried on the second cell, that is, carried on other cells.

[0179] S501. A network device sends an indication message to a UE in the first cell. Accordingly, the UE receives the indication message from the network device. The indication message indicates that system information in the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and the changed system information is sent in the second cell. It is understood that the network device may indicate to the UE that system information carried in other cells has changed.

[0180] S502: The network device sends system information to the second cell, where the system information includes changed system information of the first cell. Accordingly, the UE detects the changed system information on the second cell based on the indication message. Based on the indication of the network device, the UE may detect the changed system information on the corresponding bearer cell where the system information has changed, thereby obtaining the changed system information.

[0181] The implementation process of S500 to S502 can refer to the corresponding introduction content of Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0182] Based on the same inventive concept, FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 may be the UE or the circuit system of the UE described in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , and is used to implement the method corresponding to the UE in the above method embodiment. Alternatively, the communication device 600 may be the network device or the circuit system of the network device described in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , and is used to implement the method corresponding to the network device in the above method embodiment. For example, one circuit system is a chip system.

[0183] The communication device 600 includes at least one processor 601. Processor 601 can be used for internal processing of the device, implementing certain control processing functions. Optionally, processor 601 includes instructions. Optionally, processor 601 can store data. Optionally, different processors can be independent devices, located in different physical locations, or on different integrated circuits. Optionally, different processors can be integrated into one or more processors, for example, on one or more integrated circuits.

[0184] Optionally, the communication device 600 includes one or more memories 603 for storing instructions. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memories 603. The processor and memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0185] Optionally, the communication device 600 includes a communication line 602 and at least one communication interface 604. Since the memory 603, the communication line 602 and the communication interface 604 are all optional, they are indicated by dotted lines in FIG6 .

[0186] Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a transceiver and / or an antenna. The transceiver may be used to send information to or receive information from other devices. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input / output interface, etc., and is used to implement the transceiver function of the communication device 600 via an antenna. Optionally, the transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver. For example, the transmitter may be used to generate a radio frequency signal from a baseband signal, and the receiver may be used to convert the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal.

[0187] The processor 601 may include a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0188] Communication link 602 may include a pathway for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0189] The communication interface 604 uses any transceiver or other device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wired access network, etc.

[0190] The memory 603 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 compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic 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. The memory 603 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 601 via the communication line 602. Alternatively, the memory 603 may be integrated with the processor 601.

[0191] The memory 603 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 601. The processor 601 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603, thereby implementing the steps performed by the UE or network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 3.

[0192] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0193] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 601 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG6 .

[0194] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 600 may include multiple processors, such as processor 601 and processor 605 in FIG6 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0195] When the device shown in FIG6 is a chip, such as a UE chip or a network device chip, the chip includes a processor 601 (and may also include a processor 605), a communication circuit 602, and a communication interface 604. Optionally, the chip may include a memory 603. Specifically, the communication interface 604 may be an input interface, a pin, or a circuit. The memory 603 may be a register, a cache, or the like. The processor 601 and the processor 605 may be a general-purpose CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of any of the above-described embodiments of the communication method.

[0196] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the device according to the above-mentioned method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, in the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a device, and the device 700 can be the UE or network device involved in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, or a chip in the UE or a chip of the network device. The device 700 includes a sending unit 701, a processing unit 702 and a receiving unit 703.

[0197] It should be understood that the device 700 can be used to implement the steps performed by the UE or network device in the communication method of the embodiment of the present application. The relevant features can refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above and will not be repeated here.

[0198] Optionally, the functions / implementation processes of the sending unit 701, the receiving unit 703, and the processing unit 702 in FIG7 may be implemented by the processor 601 in FIG6 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing unit 702 in FIG7 may be implemented by the processor 601 in FIG6 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603, and the functions / implementation processes of the sending unit 701 and the receiving unit 703 in FIG7 may be implemented by the communication interface 604 in FIG6.

[0199] Optionally, when the device 700 is a chip or a circuit, the functions / implementation processes of the sending unit 701 and the receiving unit 703 can also be implemented through pins or circuits.

[0200] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method performed by the UE or network device in the aforementioned method embodiment is implemented. In this way, the functions described in the above embodiments can be implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or in other words, the part that contributes or the 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, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. Storage media include various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0201] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method executed by the UE or the network device in any of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0202] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method executed by the UE or network device involved in any of the above method embodiments.

[0203] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0204] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or operated by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, and optionally, the general-purpose processor can also be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0205] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software units can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. For example, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be provided in an ASIC, which can be provided in a UE. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can also be provided in different components in the UE.

[0206] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0207] The contents of the various embodiments of this application can refer to each other. If there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0208] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the UE and / or the network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples. In the embodiments of the present application, other operations or variations of various operations may also be performed. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment UE, including: receiving an indication message from a network device, the indication message being used to indicate that system information included in a target set is changed, the system information included in the target set being carried in a carrier of a target cell; wherein the target set is a first set and the target cell is a first cell; or the target set is a second set and the target cell is a second cell; According to the indication message, system information included in the target set is detected in the target cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The indication message is carried in the first downlink control message; the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; When the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The UE receives configuration information from the network device, where the configuration information includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of system information included in the first set, and an identifier of system information included in the second set.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information except the M system information, and M and N are positive integers.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment UE, including: receiving an indication message from a network device, where the indication message is used to indicate that system information of a first cell where the UE is located has changed, and is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent on a second cell; According to the indication message, the changed system information is detected on the second cell.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to network equipment, including: Sending an indication message to a terminal device UE, where the indication message is used to indicate that system information included in a target set has changed, where the system information included in the target set is carried in a carrier of a target cell; wherein the target set is a first set and the target cell is the first cell; or the target set is a second set and the target cell is a second cell; Sending the changed system information to the UE in the target cell.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The indication message is carried in a first downlink control message; wherein the first downlink control message is used to schedule paging of the UE.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The indication message is carried in the first downlink control message; the first downlink control message includes short message indication information, and the short message indication information is used to indicate a short message; When the short message indication information is used to indicate that there is a change in system information, the short message is used to indicate that there is a change in the system information included in the target set; wherein the short message includes the indication message.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The indication message is carried in resource scheduling information of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH; wherein the resource scheduling information of the PDSCH is scheduled by the second downlink control message.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The second downlink control message is a downlink control message used for scheduling paging, or a downlink control message used for system information broadcasting, or a newly added type of downlink control message.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that The indication message is carried on a newly added bit included in the downlink control message.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Configuration information is sent to the UE, where the configuration information includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the system information included in the first set, and an identifier of the system information included in the second set.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that The first set includes M system information, and the second set includes N system information except the M system information, and M and N are positive integers.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that The system information included in the first set belongs to the first cell, and the system information included in the second set belongs to the first cell.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to network equipment, including: Sending system information in the second cell, where the system information includes system information about changes in the first cell; An indication message is sent to the UE on the first cell, where the indication message is used to indicate that system information of the first cell where the UE is located has changed, and is used to indicate that the changed system information is sent in the second cell.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the processing unit is coupled to the transceiver unit to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor and a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored on the memory, so that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

25. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system comprises: A processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to call and run instructions from the interface, and when the processor executes the instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20 is implemented.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a terminal device and a network device, wherein: The terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and the network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

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