Paging mode determination method and terminal device

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications. Provided are a paging mode determination method and a terminal device. The method comprises: a first network device sending first indication information to a terminal device, wherein the first indication information indicates a first paging mode, which is supported by the first network device; a second network device sending second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the second indication information indicates a second paging mode, which is supported by the second network device; a core network device determining a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device, and sending a first paging message to the first network device, wherein the first paging message comprises the third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device; the first network device sending a second paging message to the second network device, wherein the second paging message comprises the third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device; and the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device all determining a target paging mode. In this way, it can be ensured that a terminal device and network devices send and receive paging on the basis of the same flow.

Description

Paging mode determination method and terminal equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 29, 2023, with application number 202311865053.5 and application name “Method and Terminal Device for Determining Paging Mode”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method for determining a paging mode and a terminal device. Background Art

[0003] In a cellular communication system, a terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state periodically monitors paging messages so as to initiate processes such as RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery in response to the paging messages.

[0004] To reduce the power consumption caused by terminal devices constantly listening for paging, PEI (paging early indication) technology has been introduced in addition to traditional paging methods. PEI groups terminal devices associated with a paging opportunity and then issues paging instructions to each grouped terminal device separately. WUS (wake-up signal) technology has also been introduced to further reduce terminal device power consumption.

[0005] Under the premise that there are multiple paging methods, if the network device and the terminal device use different paging methods, paging abnormalities may occur.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention provides a method and terminal device for determining a paging method, which are applied in the field of communications technology. The technical solution of the present invention enables network devices and terminal devices to send and receive paging messages using the same process, allowing the network device to send paging messages to specific terminal devices using an accurate paging method, thereby saving network resources for sending paging messages while avoiding paging loss.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a paging mode, which is applied to a terminal device. The method includes:

[0009] receiving first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging mode supported by the first network device;

[0010] When the terminal device moves into the coverage area of ​​the second network device, receiving second indication information sent by the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0011] A target paging method for receiving a paging message is determined according to the first paging method, the second paging method, and a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0012] In this implementation, because the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device align the first paging method, the second paging method and the third paging method with each other, and then the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device determine the target paging method based on the same method, it can be ensured that the network device and the terminal device implement the transmission of paging messages based on the same target paging method, so that the terminal device can correctly receive the paging, and when the target paging method has the effect of saving power consumption, it can also be ensured that the power saving effect can be normally exerted.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the third paging mode is a paging mode supported by the terminal device, and the method further includes:

[0014] Sending third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate the third paging method.

[0015] In this implementation, the terminal device sends the third indication information to the first network device, which can simply and effectively enable the terminal device to report the third paging method it supports.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the third paging mode is a paging mode negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device, and the method further includes:

[0017] Sending fourth indication information to the core network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a fourth paging method supported by the terminal device; and

[0018] Receive first configuration information sent by the core network device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate the third paging method, wherein the third paging method is determined by the core network device in the fourth paging method.

[0019] In this implementation, the terminal device directly negotiates the third paging method with the core network device, thereby saving a certain amount of signaling overhead. At the same time, the negotiation between the terminal device and the core network on the third paging method can also improve the adaptability of the determined third paging method to the current network conditions.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information includes a receiver type, and the receiver type includes at least one of the following: a low-power receiver and a main receiver;

[0021] The receiver type is used to indicate the third paging mode.

[0022] In a possible implementation, if the receiver type includes only the low-power receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on a wake-up signal WUS;

[0023] If the receiver type includes only the primary receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on a paging advance indication PEI and a paging mode of decoding a physical downlink shared channel PDCCH in a paging occasion PO on a periodic basis;

[0024] If the receiver type includes the low power receiver and the main receiver, the third paging method includes: a WUS-based paging method, a PEI-based paging method, and a paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0025] In this implementation, the third indication information may include the type of receiver, thereby indirectly indicating the third paging method.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the third indication information includes the third paging method, and the third paging method includes at least one of the following: a WUS-based paging method, a PEI-based paging method, and a paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0027] In this implementation, the second indication information may be configured to include the second paging method, thereby directly indicating the second paging method.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information includes a first parameter associated with a paging method, and the paging method associated with the first parameter is the third paging method.

[0029] In this implementation, the second paging method is indirectly indicated by multiplexing the first parameter, and this implementation can effectively save signaling overhead.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information is sent through UE capability information.

[0031] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device is within the coverage of the first network device, the target paging method is the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the first paging method and the third paging method.

[0032] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device is within the coverage of the second network device, the target paging method is the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0033] In this implementation, the optimal paging method can be determined as the target paging method under the premise of ensuring support from both parties, so as to improve the paging effect.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the priority of the paging method is pre-configured; or, the priority of the paging method is indicated by second configuration information sent by the first network device or the second network device.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information is sent by the first network device through broadcast signaling; and

[0036] The second indication information is sent by the second network device through broadcast signaling.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0038] Receive fifth indication information sent by the first network device through unicast signaling, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate a fifth paging method used by the terminal device to receive paging messages.

[0039] In a possible implementation, if the fifth indication information sent through unicast signaling exists, the fifth paging method is determined as the paging method with the highest priority.

[0040] In this implementation, when there is a fifth indication message sent by the first network device via unicast, the fifth paging method indicated by the fifth indication message is determined as the paging method with the highest priority, thereby ensuring that paging is performed as much as possible in accordance with the paging method indicated by the network device via unicast, so as to increase the possibility of successful paging.

[0041] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a paging mode, which is applied to a first network device. The method includes:

[0042] Sending first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device;

[0043] Receiving a first paging message sent by a core network device, where the first paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device;

[0044] A target paging method for sending a paging message is determined according to the first paging method and the third paging method.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the third paging mode is a paging mode supported by the terminal device, and the method further includes:

[0046] Receive third indication information sent by the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate the third paging method.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0048] Send the third indication information to the core network device.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the third paging method is a paging method negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device.

[0050] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information includes a receiver type, and the receiver type includes at least one of the following: a low-power receiver and a main receiver;

[0051] The receiver type is used to indicate the third paging mode.

[0052] In a possible implementation, if the receiver type includes only the low-power receiver, the third paging method includes: a WUS-based paging method;

[0053] If the receiver type includes only the primary receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on PEI and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically;

[0054] If the receiver type includes the low power receiver and the main receiver, the third paging method includes: a WUS-based paging method, a PEI-based paging method, and a paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the third indication information includes the third paging method, and the third paging method includes at least one of the following: a WUS-based paging method, a PEI-based paging method, and a paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0056] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information includes a first parameter associated with a paging method, and the paging method associated with the first parameter is the third paging method.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information is sent through UE capability information.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the target paging method is a paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method that exists in both the first paging method and the third paging method.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the priority of the paging method is preconfigured; or,

[0060] The method further comprises:

[0061] Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the priority of the paging method.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0063] The fifth indication information is sent to the terminal device via unicast signaling, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate a fifth paging method used by the terminal device to receive paging messages.

[0064] In a possible implementation, if the fifth indication information sent through unicast signaling exists, the fifth paging method is determined as the paging method with the highest priority.

[0065] In a possible implementation, after receiving the first paging message sent by the core network device, the method further includes:

[0066] The second paging message is sent to the second network device, where the second paging message includes the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0067] In a possible implementation manner, the second paging message further includes a fifth paging mode indicated by fifth indication information.

[0068] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a paging mode, which is applied to a second network device. The method includes:

[0069] Sending second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0070] receiving a second paging message sent by the first network device, where the second paging message includes a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device;

[0071] A target paging method for sending a paging message is determined according to the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the target paging method is a paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the priority of the paging method is preconfigured; or,

[0074] The method further comprises:

[0075] Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the priority of the paging method.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the second paging message further includes a fifth paging method, where the fifth paging method is the paging method that the first network device instructs the terminal device to use through unicast signaling.

[0077] In a possible implementation, if the second paging message includes the fifth indication information, the fifth paging method is determined as the paging method with the highest priority.

[0078] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a paging mode determination device, including:

[0079] a receiving module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device;

[0080] The receiving module is further configured to receive second indication information sent by a second network device when the terminal device moves into a coverage area of ​​the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0081] The processing module is used to determine a target paging method for receiving a paging message according to the first paging method, the second paging method and a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0082] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a paging mode determination device, including:

[0083] A sending module, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device;

[0084] A receiving module, configured to receive a first paging message sent by a core network device, where the first paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device;

[0085] The processing module is configured to determine a target paging method for sending a paging message according to the first paging method and the third paging method.

[0086] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a paging mode determination device, including:

[0087] A sending module, configured to send second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0088] a receiving module, configured to receive a second paging message sent by the first network device, where the second paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device;

[0089] The processing module is configured to determine a target paging method for sending a paging message according to the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0090] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal device, which may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device may be a mobile phone, a smart TV, a wearable device, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc.

[0091] The terminal device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the method as described in the first aspect.

[0092] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device, which may be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in a GSM system or a CDMA system, or a base station (NodeB, NB) in a WCDMA system, or an evolved NodeB (eNB), access point (AP) or relay station in an LTE system, or a base station in a 5G system, etc.

[0093] The network device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the method as described in the second aspect and the third aspect.

[0094] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described in aspects 1 to 3 is implemented.

[0095] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute the methods described in the first to third aspects.

[0096] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, wherein the chip or chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or instruction to perform the methods described in aspects 1 to 3. The communication interface in the chip can be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0097] In one possible implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further includes at least one memory, in which instructions are stored. The memory may be a storage unit within the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or a storage unit of the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0098] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a paging method determination system, the system comprising: a terminal device, a first network device, and a second network device; wherein,

[0099] The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method indicated by the first network device;

[0100] The second network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0101] When the terminal device is within the coverage of the first network device, the terminal device determines a target paging method for receiving a paging message according to the first paging method and a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device; or, when the terminal device moves into the coverage of the second network device, the terminal device determines the target paging method according to the second paging method and the third paging method;

[0102] Furthermore, the first network device is further configured to receive a first paging message sent by the core network device, the first paging message including a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device, and thus the first network device determines a target paging method for sending the paging message based on the first paging method and the third paging method;

[0103] In addition, the second network device is also used to receive a second paging message sent by the first network device, and the second paging message includes a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device. Therefore, the second network device determines the target paging method for sending the paging message based on the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0104] Furthermore, the terminal device in the system is used to execute the method described in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect, the first network device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect, and the second network device is used to execute the method described in the third aspect and any possible design of the third aspect.

[0105] It should be understood that the second to twelfth aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect of the present application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0106] FIG1 is a system architecture diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a first implementation of a paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG3 is a second schematic diagram of an implementation of a paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG4 is a signaling interaction diagram for determining a paging group according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG5 is a third schematic diagram of an implementation of a paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG6 is a signaling interaction diagram 1 of a method for determining a paging mode according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG7 is a second signaling interaction diagram of a method for determining a paging mode according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG8 is a signaling interaction diagram 3 of the paging mode determination method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of an implementation method for determining a target paging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG10 is a second schematic diagram of an implementation method for determining a target paging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG11 is a structural diagram of a first apparatus for determining a paging mode according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG12 is a second structural diagram of a paging mode determination device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG13 is a third structural diagram of a paging mode determination device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0120] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms and technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced below:

[0121] 1. Terminal equipment

[0122] A terminal device may be a device that includes wireless transceiver functions and can cooperate with network devices to provide communication services to users. Specifically, a terminal device may refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. For example, a terminal device may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a network after 5G, etc. Among them, 5G refers to the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology), referred to as 5G.

[0123] 2. Network equipment

[0124] The network device can be a device used to communicate with the terminal device, for example, it can be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communication system, it can also be a base station (NodeB, NB) in the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, it can also be an evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB) in the LTE system, or the network device can be a relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, and network side device in the future 5G network or the network after 5G, or network device in the future evolved public land mobile network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) network, etc.

[0125] The network devices involved in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as network devices or radio access network (RAN) devices. The RAN device is connected to the terminal device and is used to receive data from the terminal device and send it to the core network device. The RAN device corresponds to different devices in different communication systems. For example, in the 2G system, it corresponds to the base station and the base station controller, in the 3G system, it corresponds to the base station and the radio network controller (Radio Network Controller, RNC), in the 4G system, it corresponds to the evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB), and in the 5G system, it corresponds to the access network device (e.g., gNB, centralized unit CU, distributed unit DU) in the new radio (New Radio, NR).

[0126] 3. Core network equipment

[0127] The core network device may be, but is not limited to, a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (SGW), MME, etc., wherein MME / SGW means that the MME and the SGW are located in one physical entity.

[0128] 4. Network elements in the core network

[0129] The 5G core network (5G core / new generation core, 5GC / NGC) includes multiple functional units such as access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, authentication server function (AUSF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, application function (AF) network element, unified data management function (UDM) network element, and network slice selection function (NSSF) network element.

[0130] Among them, the AMF network element is mainly responsible for services such as mobility management and access management. For example, the terminal device can transmit control plane messages with the AMF network element through NG interface 1 (abbreviated as N1).

[0131] 5. RRC status

[0132] RRC (Radio Resource Control) under 5G includes three RRC states: RRC connected state (RRC CONNECTED), RRC inactive state (RRC INACTIVE) and RRC idle state (RRC IDLE).

[0133] 6. AS signaling

[0134] The AS (Access Stratum) protocol refers to the communication protocol between terminal devices and network devices. Correspondingly, AS signaling is the signaling used for interaction between network devices and terminal devices.

[0135] 7. NAS signaling

[0136] The NAS (Non Access Stratum) protocol refers to the communication protocol between terminal devices and core network devices. Correspondingly, NAS signaling is the signaling used for interaction between network devices and core network devices.

[0137] 8. Other terms

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. For example, the terms "first chip" and "second chip" are used solely to distinguish between different chips and do not define their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not define the quantity or execution order, and do not necessarily define differences.

[0139] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0140] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0141] In order to better understand the technical solution of this application, based on the above-mentioned concepts, the relevant technologies involved in this application are further introduced in detail below.

[0142] Energy conservation and emission reduction are currently a topic of global concern. To achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction, equipment is usually required to reduce power consumption as much as possible without affecting business.

[0143] For example, in order to achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction, in the current communication system, when the terminal device does not need to communicate with the network device, the terminal device can release the RRC connection and enter the RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, so that the terminal device can save electricity and reduce power consumption.

[0144] After the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is released, the core network device may, for example, mark the terminal device as entering an idle or inactive state. When downlink data needs to be sent to the terminal device in the idle or inactive state, the core network device must first send a paging message to all network devices in the tracking area where the terminal device is located, and then forward the paging message to the terminal device through the network device. The tracking area includes multiple cells in which the terminal device can move freely, and the multiple cells belong to at least one network device.

[0145] Accordingly, a terminal device in an idle or inactive state needs to periodically monitor paging messages, and then respond to the paging messages to initiate an RRC connection process or an RRC recovery process to the network device in order to carry out downlink services. Specifically, when the terminal device enters the working state in response to the paging message, it means that the terminal device is awakened, specifically the transceiver in the terminal device is awakened, so that the terminal device can subsequently communicate with the network device.

[0146] For example, the communication system in the present application can be introduced based on the above introduction in conjunction with Figure 1. Figure 1 is a system architecture diagram of the communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0147] As shown in FIG1 , the architecture of the communication system includes: multiple network devices, multiple terminal devices and core network devices.

[0148] Among them, terminal devices are used to access network devices for various services (such as voice services, short message services, Internet services, etc.). For example, terminal device 1 in Figure 1 can access network device 1 for various services; terminal device 2 can access network device 1 or access network device 2 for various services; terminal device 3 can access network device 2 for various services.

[0149] In addition, each terminal device can move freely within the area covered by the network. When the terminal device is in an idle or inactive state, there is no need to update the free movement area of ​​the service network device, which is the tracking area (TA) of the terminal device. The TA includes multiple cells in which the terminal device can move freely, and the multiple cells are areas covered by at least one network device. The TA of the terminal device can change, that is, the terminal device can have different tracking areas at different time periods or locations. The terminal device needs to register or update the TA with the core network device so that the core network device can identify the TA where the terminal device is in an idle or inactive state, and then accurately page the terminal device when it needs to send downlink data to the terminal device.

[0150] Furthermore, a terminal device may move between network devices. For example, in the example of Figure 1, assume that terminal device 1 is initially within the coverage of network device 1 and establishes an RRC connection with network device 1. The RRC connection between terminal device 1 and network device 1 may then be released. Terminal device 1 may then move, for example, and enter the coverage of network device 2. Therefore, when paging the terminal device, both network device 1 and network device 2 need to page terminal device 1 to increase the likelihood of paging the terminal device.

[0151] Network devices are located in the access network and are used to provide wireless access services to terminal devices, allowing them to access the corresponding network devices and perform various services. Each network device can provide wireless access services to at least one terminal device. For example, network device 1 shown in Figure 1 can provide wireless access services to terminal devices 1 and 2, and network device 2 can provide wireless access services to terminal devices 2 and 3.

[0152] Among them, the core network equipment is located in the core network and is used to manage the mobility of multiple terminal devices, etc., and when downlink data needs to be sent to multiple terminal devices, it forwards the downlink data to the corresponding terminal devices through multiple network devices.

[0153] In specific implementation, when any terminal device accesses a network device, that is, when the terminal device communicates with the network device, an RRC connection will be established between the two. When the terminal device and the network device no longer need to communicate, the RRC connection can be released.

[0154] After the RRC connection is released, the terminal device will enter an idle state or an inactive state. When the core network device needs to page the terminal device, the core network device can send a paging message to each network device in the TA where the terminal device is located, thereby paging the terminal device. For example, in the example of Figure 1, assuming that the TA corresponding to terminal device 1 contains network device 1 and network device 2, the core network device can send a paging message to core network device 1 and core network device 2 at the same time, and then network device 1 and network device 2 will send a paging message to terminal device 1, thereby accurately paging the terminal device.

[0155] The terminal device then responds to the paging message and establishes an RRC connection with the network device, and can receive downlink data. It should also be noted that, although not shown, the architecture of the communication system shown in Figure 1 may also include other devices or network elements.

[0156] After introducing the system architecture of terminal devices, network devices, and core network equipment, let's return to the mechanism for periodic monitoring of paging by terminal devices. One of the goals of periodic monitoring of paging by terminal devices is to prevent them from continuously monitoring downlink data, thereby conserving power. Despite this periodic monitoring mechanism, research is ongoing on optimizing paging to further reduce terminal energy consumption during the paging process.

[0157] The following is a brief introduction to several possible paging methods in conjunction with Figures 2 to 5. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the implementation of the paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the implementation of the paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 is a signaling interaction diagram for determining the paging group provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the implementation of the paging method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0158] The first method: decoding PDCCH paging in PO periodically

[0159] This paging method can also be called a paging method that directly decodes the PDCCH in the PO periodically, which can be understood as a traditional paging method, or the basic mechanism of paging. First of all, it should be noted that the terminal device in the RRC idle state or RRC inactive state is mainly in a dormant state, and the main receiver (MR) of the terminal device in the dormant state is turned off.

[0160] As shown in FIG2 , in the paging method currently introduced, a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state can wake up at its associated PO (paging occasion). For example, the terminal device can wake up the main receiver and monitor the paging at the PO through the main receiver.

[0161] Each terminal device has its own associated PO. The calculation of the PO associated with the terminal device is related to parameters such as the terminal device's ID (identification) and paging cycle. Therefore, multiple terminal devices can share one PO.

[0162] 2, it can be determined that the PO associated with the terminal device is repeated based on a paging cycle, so the terminal device can periodically monitor paging. The terminal device can perform the operations described in this embodiment within the PO in each corresponding paging cycle, so this embodiment only uses the implementation within one paging cycle as an example.

[0163] When the terminal device monitors paging in PO, the terminal device may, for example, first use a P-RNTI (Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​to decode the PDCCH.

[0164] When the core network device needs to page the terminal device, it will instruct the network device to send the PDCCH at the PO associated with the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device can receive the PDCCH at the PO and use the P-RNTI to decode the PDCCH.

[0165] If the decoding is successful, referring to FIG. 2 , the terminal device may receive a paging message (Paging Message) at a corresponding PDSCH resource according to the paging message scheduling information (time-frequency resources, modulation and coding scheme, etc.) contained in the PDCCH.

[0166] Afterwards, if the terminal device receives a paging message on the PDSCH resource and the paging message contains the terminal device ID, it means that the terminal device has been paged. Accordingly, the terminal device can initiate RRC connection establishment or RRC connection recovery processes to the network device, thereby responding to the paging message to receive downlink services.

[0167] However, if the terminal device does not detect the P-RNTI-encrypted PDCCH at the PO, or the paging message received at the PDSCH resource does not contain the terminal device ID, the terminal device considers itself not to be paged and then continues to return to the sleep state.

[0168] In the currently described paging method, since each PO is shared by multiple terminals, all associated terminals in a PO need to use the P-RNTI to monitor the PDCCH. Furthermore, among multiple terminal devices associated with the same PO, if even one terminal device is paged, all terminal devices associated with that PO need to receive a PDSCH paging message. For terminal devices that are not paged, this is a false paging alarm, and the power consumption of these terminal devices receiving the PDSCH is also unnecessary and wasteful.

[0169] In order to improve the traditional paging method currently introduced, PEI is introduced to support paging groups, thereby reducing the power consumption of terminals that are not paged. This is the second paging method to be introduced below.

[0170] The second method: PEI-based paging

[0171] This implementation method, based on the traditional paging method introduced above, introduces PEI technology that supports paging grouping, groups terminal devices associated with a PO, and provides paging instructions for terminal devices in different groups separately, thereby reducing the probability of paging false alarms.

[0172] As shown in Figure 3, the network device can send PEI at a fixed position before PO, where PEI is also DCI (Downlink Control Information) sent in a PDCCH. For example, the DCI contains an 8-bit bitmap, each bit corresponding to a paging group, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device in the paging group is paged.

[0173] For example, when a bit in the PEI is 1, it can indicate that the terminal device in the paging group has been paged; when the bit is 0, it can indicate that the terminal device in the paging group has not been paged. Alternatively, the opposite implementation can be implemented, that is, 0 indicates that the terminal device has been paged, and 1 indicates that the terminal device has not been paged. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0174] 3 , the terminal device may correspondingly monitor the P-RNTI at the PO, that is, before performing PDCCH decoding, it may first monitor the PEI at a fixed position before the PO.

[0175] In one case, if the bit of the group corresponding to the terminal device in the PEI indicates that the terminal device in the group is paged, then the terminal device can monitor PO according to the first paging method introduced above, that is, use P-RNTI to decode PDCCH, and after successful decoding, receive the paging message at the PDSCH resource indicated by PDCCH.

[0176] In another case, if the bit in the PEI corresponding to the terminal device group indicates that the terminal identification in the group has not been paged, the terminal device believes that it will not be paged and can return to the sleep state, thus avoiding the additional power consumption caused by decoding PDCCH and receiving PDSCH.

[0177] The implementation of PO and paging cycle in the current method is similar to that described above, so it will not be described in detail.

[0178] The following describes the implementation method for determining the paging group of the terminal device in conjunction with Figure 4. In this embodiment, the AMF network element is mainly involved in the paging process in the core network device. Therefore, in Figure 4, the AMF network element is used as the main body to describe the action of the core network device, and in Figure 4, the UE is used as the main body to describe the action of the terminal device. However, it should be understood that in the example of Figure 4, the AMF network element can also be replaced by the core network device, and the UE can be replaced by the terminal device.

[0179] As shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0180] S401. The UE and the AMF network element negotiate the core network grouping of the UE.

[0181] In this embodiment, there are two dimensions of paging packets for UEs. One dimension is the packet sent by the core network device to the UE, which is referred to as the UE core network packet in this embodiment. The other dimension is the packet determined by the network device based on the UE ID, which is referred to as the UE ID-based packet in this embodiment.

[0182] The UE will negotiate the core network grouping of the UE with the core network device. Corresponding to the current step, the UE can, for example, negotiate the core network grouping of the UE with the AMF network element. Exemplarily, there can be up to 8 core network groups, which are represented as group 0 to group 7.

[0183] S402: The network device sends the PEI configuration to the UE.

[0184] Exemplarily, the network device may send the PEI configuration to the UE in a broadcasting manner. By sending the PEI configuration to the UE, the network device informs the UE of the following two parameters: the number of core network groupings and the number of UE ID-based groupings.

[0185] In one implementation, the PEI configuration may include, for example, the total number of packets supported by the PO and the number of packets based on the UE ID, wherein the total number of packets minus the number of packets based on the UE ID equals the number of packets in the core network.

[0186] S403. When the AMF needs to page the UE, the AMF sends the core network packet of the UE to the network device.

[0187] S404: The UE and the network device determine the paging group of the UE according to the core network group and PEI configuration of the UE.

[0188] It can be understood that after the network device receives the core network group of the UE sent by the AMF, the network device has the following information: the core network group of the UE, the group of the UE based on the UE ID, the number of groups in the core network group, and the number of groups based on the UE ID.

[0189] After negotiation between the UE and the AMF, the UE can determine the core network grouping of the UE. The UE can determine the number of core network groups and the number of UE ID-based groups through the PEI configuration broadcast by the network device. At the same time, the UE can calculate a unique UE ID-based group based on its own UE ID.

[0190] Therefore, based on the interaction process described above, the UE and the network device can obtain the same information. Afterwards, the UE and the network device can each determine the UE's paging group using the preset group determination rules. Because the input information is consistent and the group determination rules are also consistent, the UE and the network device will determine the same paging group.

[0191] Afterwards, the network device generates and sends a PEI based on the UE's paging packet to indicate whether the UE's corresponding paging packet has been paged. Correspondingly, the UE can receive and parse the PEI based on the UE's paging packet to determine whether its own paging packet has been paged.

[0192] The following is an introduction to possible implementation methods of grouping determination rules:

[0193] First, explain the following two parameters:

[0194] - subgroupsnumperpo: The total number of core network groups (if any) and UE-ID-based groups (if any) supported in a PO. This parameter can be broadcast in system information and corresponds to the total number of groups introduced above.

[0195] - subgroupsNumForUEID: The number of UE-ID-based groups in a PO. This parameter is also broadcast in system information and corresponds to the UE-ID-based group number introduced above.

[0196] Based on this, the group determination rule can be as follows:

[0197] Case 1: If subgroupsNumForUEID is not present in the subgroup configuration (subgroupConfig), and the core network group of the UE is available to the UE, then the core network group of the UE is used as the paging group in the cell.

[0198] Case 2: If both subgroupsNumPerPO and subgroupsNumForUEID are configured in subgroupConfig, and the value of subgroupsNumForUEID is the same as the value of subgroupsNumPerPO, then the UE-ID-based group of the UE is used as the paging group in the cell.

[0199] Case 3: If both subgroupsNumPerPO and subgroupsNumForUEID are configured in subgroupConfig, and subgroupsNumForUEID < subgroupsNumPerPO, then it is further divided into the following cases:

[0200] - If the core network group of the UE is available to the UE, then the core network group of the UE is used as the paging group in the cell.

[0201] - If the core network group of the UE is not available to the UE, then the UE-ID-based group of the UE is used as the paging group in the cell.

[0202] Case 4: If the UE does not have a core network group or does not support a core network group, and subgroupsNumForUEID is not configured, then the UE directly listens to the PO.

[0203] The above introduced the relevant implementation of the paging method based on PEI. Next, the last paging method will be introduced.

[0204] The third, paging method based on WUS

[0205] In this implementation, a low-power wake-up signal (WUS) / wake-up receiver (WUR) is further considered. That is, WUS / WUR is introduced before PO. For terminal devices that are not paged, the simpler WUS is used to replace the traditional paging reception operation that performs PDCCH detection at PO, thereby saving power consumption of receiving paging.

[0206] Regarding the first traditional paging method described above, since the terminal needs to monitor the P-RNTI during the PO (i.e., perform PDCCH decoding), it is necessary to wake up the main receiver before the PO. Therefore, to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, the introduction of a lower-power receiver, namely an LR (low-power receiver) or WUR, is considered. This receiver can receive a simpler WUS (possibly only sequence correlation, without PDCCH decoding), thus reducing power consumption.

[0207] Specifically, the main radio frequency interface corresponding to the main transceiver is mainly used for interactive communication with network devices, obtaining downlink data sent by core network devices through network devices, receiving complex messages from other network devices, and sending data and other messages to network devices. Since it is only used to receive relatively simple signals such as WUR, the power consumption of WUR is lower than that of MR.

[0208] As can be understood with reference to FIG5 , when the terminal device monitors paging, it only needs to start LR (or WUR) before PO to detect WUS. If no WUS is detected, the terminal device can continue to sleep. If WUS is detected, the terminal device further wakes up MR to monitor paging messages.

[0209] In the paging method currently described, for example, the WUS can be combined with the PEI described above. Referring to Figure 5 , after detecting the WUS, the terminal device can wake up the MR. The MR then receives the PEI before the PO. When the PEI indicates that the terminal device's paging packet is being paged, the terminal device uses the P-RNTI to decode the PDCCH and receives the paging message on the PDSCH resource indicated by the PDCCH.

[0210] Alternatively, the WUS mechanism can be used alone, without combining it with the PEI mechanism. For example, referring to Figure 5 , the terminal device can also wake up the MR after detecting the WUS. It then directly decodes the PDCCH using the P-RNTI based on the MR and, upon successful decoding, receives the paging message on the PDSCH resource indicated by the PDCCH.

[0211] This embodiment does not limit the specific relationship between the two mechanisms, but in general, both the PEI mechanism and the WUR mechanism can effectively reduce the power consumption of the terminal device when periodically monitoring paging.

[0212] The above introduces multiple possible paging methods. Under the premise that there are multiple possible paging methods, because terminal devices in idle and inactive states are invisible to network devices in the cell, if the network device uses one paging method to send a paging message, but the terminal device uses another paging method to receive a paging message, then it may cause paging abnormalities, or the power consumption of the terminal device to monitor the paging message will still be high.

[0213] Therefore, a reasonable paging process should be designed so that both the terminal device and the network device can know which paging technology should be used for the terminal device. At the same time, based on the above description, it can be determined that the terminal device may move, for example, it may move from network device 1 with which an RRC connection has been established to the coverage area of ​​another network device 2. When the terminal device moves into the coverage area of ​​network device 2, if the terminal device has not established an RRC connection with the network device 2, then the terminal device will be invisible to the network device 2.

[0214] At the same time, when paging the terminal device, in addition to network device 1 that has established an RRC connection with the terminal device, the remaining network devices in the paging area (such as network device 2) also need to page the terminal device to increase the possibility of paging the terminal device.

[0215] Therefore, in addition to the network device with which the terminal device has established an RRC connection, the remaining network devices within the paging area must also know which paging technology should be used for the terminal device to ensure that the terminal device can be correctly paged. Currently, there is no clear solution or approach to the implementation of the terminal device and network device determining the paging technology described above.

[0216] Therefore, the present application proposes the following technical concept: the paging configurations of both parties can be aligned in the terminal device and the network device through signaling interaction, and then the terminal device and the network device can determine the same paging method based on the preset rules and the aligned paging configurations of both parties. In this way, for terminal devices in idle and inactive states, the terminal device and the network device can use the same paging method to perform the paging process, so as to avoid the paging anomalies or high power consumption problems introduced above.

[0217] Because the technical solution of the present application involves a first network device and a second network device, a brief introduction to the first network device and the second network device will be given first.

[0218] In the actual implementation process, because the terminal device may move, for example, it may move from the coverage area of ​​one network device to the coverage area of ​​another network device. In this application, the network device with which the terminal device established an RRC connection before the movement is referred to as the first network device, or the first network device may also be referred to as the anchor network device. In this application, the network device corresponding to the network coverage area where the terminal device is located after the movement is referred to as the second network device, that is, the terminal device is located within the coverage area of ​​the second network device after the movement.

[0219] Based on the above introduction, the paging mode determination method provided by the present application will be first introduced in conjunction with Figure 6. Figure 6 is a signaling interaction diagram 1 of the paging mode determination method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0220] As shown in FIG6 , the method includes:

[0221] S601. A first network device sends first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device.

[0222] The first network device may send first indication information to the terminal device to inform the terminal device of which paging methods the first network device currently supports. In this embodiment, the paging method supported by the first network device is referred to as the first paging method. The first paging method supported by the first network device may include one or more paging methods.

[0223] Furthermore, the term "supported by the first network device" in this embodiment can be understood from the following two perspectives: First, from the perspective of the capabilities of the first network device, the paging method that the first network device itself can support is referred to as the first paging method. Second, from the perspective of the first network device's preference, provided that the capabilities of the first network device permit, the paging method that the first network device intends to support (or adopt) based on current circumstances can be referred to as the first paging method. In actual implementation, the specific understanding of "supported" can be determined based on actual needs.

[0224] Exemplarily, the first paging method may include at least one of the following: a paging method of parsing PDCCH in PO, a paging method based on PEI, and a paging method based on WUS. These three paging methods are described in detail in the above embodiments and will not be described again here.

[0225] In one implementation, the first network device may send the first indication information to the terminal device by broadcasting. Exemplarily, the first indication information may be sent by system broadcasting.

[0226] It can also be understood that, because the first indication information is sent via broadcast, the second network device can also receive the first indication information sent by the first network device, and therefore the second network device can also obtain the first paging method supported by the first network device.

[0227] Furthermore, the first network device may, for example, send the first indication information only once by broadcasting after the paging mode configuration is completed, and then no longer send it repeatedly. This implementation method can effectively save signaling overhead.

[0228] Alternatively, the first network device may periodically broadcast the first indication information at a preset time interval. Alternatively, the first network device may send the first indication information to the terminal device each time the terminal device accesses the device. The two aforementioned timings for sending the first indication information ensure that the terminal device can be informed of the first paging method of the first network device.

[0229] Furthermore, when the first paging method of the first network device is updated, the first network device may further broadcast and send the first indication information to inform the terminal device and the second network device of the updated first paging method of the first network device.

[0230] In actual implementation, the sending time, or the sending opportunity, at which the first network device sends the first indication information can be selected and set according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0231] S602. The second network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device.

[0232] Similar to the first network device described above, the second network device may also send second indication information to the terminal device to inform the terminal device of which paging methods the second network device currently supports. In this embodiment, the paging method supported by the second network device is referred to as the second paging method. The second paging method supported by the second network device may include one or more paging methods.

[0233] For example, the second paging method may include at least one of the following: a paging method of parsing PDCCH in PO, a paging method based on PEI, and a paging method based on WUS. These three paging methods are described in detail in the above embodiments and will not be described again here.

[0234] Furthermore, the concept of "second network device support" in this embodiment is similar to the concept of "first network device support" described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0235] Similarly, the second network device may send the second indication information to the terminal device via broadcast. It is understandable that, because the second indication information is sent via broadcast, the first network device may also receive the second indication information sent by the second network device, and thus the first network device may also obtain the second paging method supported by the second network device.

[0236] The timing at which the second network device sends the second indication information is similar to the timing at which the first indication information is sent as described above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0237] S603. The core network device determines a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0238] In this embodiment, in order to enable the terminal device and the network device to use the same paging method to transmit the paging message, it is necessary to ensure that the terminal device and the network device can know the paging methods of both parties.

[0239] Specifically, the terminal device learns the paging methods of the first network device and the second network device, which can be achieved through the above steps S601 and S602. In addition, the first network device and the second network device also need to learn the paging method of the terminal device.

[0240] For any one of the first network device and the second network device, in one implementation, the terminal device can inform the network device of the paging method supported by the terminal device through signaling interaction, but after the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device is released, the network device usually no longer saves the paging method informed by the terminal device. Therefore, it is unstable for the terminal device to simply inform the network device of the paging method.

[0241] Therefore, in this embodiment, the core network device determines the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device and stably stores the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device in the core network device. Later, when the core network device needs to page the terminal device, the core network device can inform the network device of the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device, thereby enabling the network device to learn the third paging method of the terminal device.

[0242] In one implementation, the third paging method in this embodiment may be a paging method reported by the terminal device and supported by the terminal device. Alternatively, the third paging method in this embodiment may be a paging method negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device and adopted by the terminal device.

[0243] Similarly, the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device may also include one or more paging methods. Exemplarily, the first paging method may include at least one of the following: a paging method for parsing PDCCH in PO, a paging method based on PEI, and a paging method based on WUS. These three paging methods are described in detail in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0244] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the execution order of S601 to S603. For example, S601, S602, and S603 may be executed in sequence; or S602 may be executed first, then S601, and finally S603; etc. Possible implementations of the execution order of these three steps are not listed here. The specific execution order of these three steps S601 to S603 can be selected according to actual needs.

[0245] S604. The core network device sends a first paging message to the first network device. The first paging message includes the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0246] Furthermore, when the core network device needs to page the terminal device, the core network device may send a first paging message to the first network device, where the first paging message is used to page the terminal device. In this embodiment, the first paging message may also include a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device, so as to inform the first network device of the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0247] The inclusion of the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device in the first paging message described here is one implementation. In another implementation, when the core network device needs to page the terminal device, the core network device can send the first paging message to the first network device. In addition, the core network device can also send additional notification information to the first network device, where the notification information is used to indicate the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device. In this implementation, the notification information and the first paging message can be two independent messages.

[0248] S605. The first network device sends a second paging message to the second network device. The second paging message includes a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0249] After the first network device receives the first paging message sent by the core network device, the first network device can learn the third paging method of the terminal device through the first paging message. However, because the terminal device may move, in addition to the first network device needing to send a paging message to the terminal device, the second network device also needs to send a paging message to the terminal device to ensure that the terminal device can be paged.

[0250] Then, both the first network device and the second network device need to determine the third paging method of the terminal device. In one implementation, after learning the third paging method of the terminal device, the first network device may also send a second paging message to the second network device, where the second paging message includes the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device, so that the second network device can also learn the third paging method of the terminal device.

[0251] The first paging message and the second paging message may be the same, that is, after receiving the first paging message, the first network device directly forwards the first paging message to the second network device. In this embodiment, the paging message sent to the second network device is simply referred to as the second paging message.

[0252] Alternatively, the first paging message and the second paging message may be different, that is, after receiving the first paging message, the first network device may process the first paging message to obtain the second paging message, and then send the second paging message to the second network device.

[0253] The above introduction is about the implementation of the third paging method of the terminal device by sending the second paging message from the first network device to the second network device so that the second network device determines the second paging method of the terminal device.

[0254] In another implementation, because the first network device and the second network device are both network devices within the paging area, the core network device may, for example, send a paging message to all network devices within the paging area. That is, the core network device may also, for example, send the first paging message to the second network device. The implementation of the core network device sending the first paging message to the second network device is similar to the implementation of the core network device sending the first paging message to the first network device, and is not further described here.

[0255] Based on this implementation, the second network device can also be enabled to learn the third paging method of the terminal device. Therefore, step S605 in this embodiment is optional.

[0256] When executing step S605, the second network device may be informed of the third paging method of the terminal device by the first network device. Step S606 and the step of the core network device sending the first paging message to the second network device may also be executed simultaneously, thereby ensuring that the second network device is able to learn the third paging method of the terminal device.

[0257] Alternatively, when step S605 is not performed, the core network device may send the first paging message to the second network device in the manner described above, so that the second network device may be informed of the third paging method of the terminal device.

[0258] In actual implementation, the specific strategy used to allow the second network device to learn the third paging method of the terminal device can be selected and set according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any special restrictions on this.

[0259] S605: The terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device all determine a target paging method.

[0260] For a terminal device, the terminal device can obtain the first paging method supported by the first network device through the first indication information sent by the first network device. And the terminal device can obtain the second paging method supported by the second network device through the second indication information sent by the second network device. And the terminal device can determine the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device. Specifically, whether the terminal device reports the paging method it supports or the terminal device and the core network device negotiate which paging method to use, in short, the terminal device can determine the third paging method corresponding to itself.

[0261] Therefore, the terminal device can determine the target paging method according to the first paging method, the second paging method and the third paging party.

[0262] For the first network device, the first network device can determine the second paging method supported by the second network device based on the second indication information broadcast by the second network device. Furthermore, the first network device can obtain the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device through the first paging message sent by the core network device. Furthermore, the first network device can determine the first paging method it supports.

[0263] For the second network device, the second network device can determine the second paging party supported by the first network device based on the first indication information broadcasted by the first network device. The second network device can also learn the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device through the second paging message sent by the first network device. The second network device can also determine the second paging method it supports.

[0264] Therefore, in this embodiment, the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device can align the first paging method, the second paging method and the third paging method with each other. After that, the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device can determine the target paging method according to the first paging method, the second paging method and the third paging method respectively.

[0265] Exemplarily, the terminal device may determine a target paging method among the first paging method, the second paging method, and the third paging method according to a preset rule, and then receive a paging message sent by the first network device or the second network device according to the target paging method.

[0266] Furthermore, the first network device may determine a target paging method from the first paging method, the second paging method, and the third paging method according to the same preset rule, and then send a paging message to the terminal device according to the target paging method.

[0267] Because the terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device align the first, second, and third paging methods, and determine the target paging method based on the same preset rules, the terminal device and the network device can be guaranteed to determine the same target paging method. The network device and the terminal device will then transmit paging messages based on the same target paging method, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can correctly receive the paging message and, if the target paging method has a power saving effect, that power saving effect can also be properly utilized.

[0268] Based on the introduction of the above embodiment, it can be determined that there are two different implementations for the core network device to determine the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device. The specific steps of these two implementations will be further introduced below.

[0269] One implementation is that the terminal device can directly report the paging mode supported by the terminal device, and the corresponding third paging mode is the paging mode supported by the terminal device.

[0270] This situation is described below with reference to FIG7 , which is a second signaling interaction diagram of the paging mode determination method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0271] As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0272] S701. A first network device sends first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device.

[0273] S702. The second network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device.

[0274] The implementation of S701 and S702 is the same as that of S601 and S602 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0275] S703. The terminal device sends third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a third paging method supported by the terminal device.

[0276] Furthermore, the “core network device determines the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device” introduced in the above embodiment can be implemented through steps S703 and S704 in the current embodiment.

[0277] In this embodiment, the terminal device may send a third indication message to the first network device, wherein the purpose of the third indication message is to inform the device receiving the third indication message of the third paging method supported by the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device will report the third paging method it supports through the third indication message.

[0278] Furthermore, the term "terminal device support" in this embodiment can also be understood from the following two aspects: On the one hand, from the perspective of the terminal device's capabilities, the paging method that the terminal device itself can support based on its capabilities is referred to as the third paging method. On the other hand, from the perspective of the terminal device's inclination, the paging method that the terminal device intends to support (or adopt) based on its current actual situation, provided that the terminal device's capabilities permit, can be referred to as the third paging method. In actual implementation, the specific understanding of "support" can be determined based on actual needs.

[0279] It is understandable that the terminal device can report relevant uplink data to the first network device only when an RRC connection is established with the first network device. Therefore, the terminal device can send the third indication information to the first network device when in the RRC connection state.

[0280] In one implementation, the terminal device may, for example, send the third indication information to the first network device when first establishing an RRC connection with the first network device, and then not send the third indication information repeatedly. When the third paging method supported by the terminal device is updated, the terminal device may then send the third indication information to the first network device in the RRC connected state. This implementation can save signaling overhead.

[0281] Alternatively, the terminal device may also send the third indication information to the first network device each time an RRC connection is established with the first network device. This implementation method can ensure that the third paging method of the terminal device can be effectively reported to the first network device.

[0282] Alternatively, the terminal device may also respond to the request of the first network device, thereby sending the third indication information to the first network device. This embodiment does not impose any special restrictions on the triggering timing of the terminal device sending the third indication information.

[0283] S704. The first network device sends third indication information to the core network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a third paging method supported by the terminal device.

[0284] After receiving the third indication information, the first network device may send the third indication information to the core network device. Similarly, the third indication information is used for the third paging method supported by the terminal device, thereby informing the core network device of the third paging method supported by the terminal device.

[0285] After receiving the third indication information sent by the terminal device, the first network device can perform the relevant processing required by the first network device on the second indication information. It then sends the processed third indication information to the core network device. In this implementation, the terminal device interacts with the first network device, which then interacts with the core network device. Accordingly, the signaling used in the third indication information sent by the terminal device is AS signaling.

[0286] Alternatively, after receiving the third indication information sent by the terminal device, the first network device may not process the third indication information in any way and may simply forward the third indication information to the core network device. In this implementation, it can be understood that the terminal device directly interacts with the core network device to inform the core network device of the third paging method supported by the terminal device. Accordingly, the signaling used by the terminal device to send the third indication information is NAS signaling.

[0287] This embodiment does not limit the specific interaction method of the terminal device. In short, it can be realized to inform the core network device of the third paging method supported by the terminal device.

[0288] The implementation of S705 to S707 in FIG7 is the same as the implementation of S604 to S606 described above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0289] In this embodiment, the terminal device sends the third indication information to the first network device, and then the first network device sends the third indication information to the core network device, so that the third paging method supported by the terminal device can be effectively notified to the core network device through the third indication information.

[0290] In another implementation, the terminal device informs the core network device of the paging methods it supports. The core network device and the terminal device then negotiate a paging method for the terminal device based on the paging methods supported by the terminal device. In this embodiment, the paging method supported by the terminal device is referred to as the fourth paging method, and the paging method negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device is referred to as the third paging method.

[0291] This situation is described below with reference to FIG8 , which is a third signaling interaction diagram of the paging mode determination method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0292] As shown in FIG8 , the method includes:

[0293] S801. A first network device sends first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device.

[0294] S802. The second network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device.

[0295] The implementation of S801 and S802 is the same as that of S601 and S602 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0296] S803. The terminal device sends fourth indication information to the core network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a fourth paging method supported by the terminal device.

[0297] Furthermore, the “core network device determines the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device” introduced in the above embodiment can be implemented through steps S803 and S804 in the current embodiment.

[0298] In this embodiment, the terminal device may send a fourth indication message to the core network device, wherein the purpose of the fourth indication message is to inform the core network device of the fourth paging method supported by the core network device. The fourth indication message here is similar to the second indication message described in the above embodiment, so the fourth indication message will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0299] However, it should be noted that, in this embodiment, the terminal device sends the fourth indication information by directly interacting with the core network device to inform the core network device of the fourth paging method supported by the terminal device. Therefore, the signaling used by the terminal device to send the fourth indication information is NAS signaling.

[0300] Furthermore, in addition to indicating the fourth paging method, the fourth indication information may also indicate the terminal device's preferred selection. For example, if the terminal device supports multiple fourth paging methods and the terminal device prefers to use one or more of these multiple paging methods to receive paging messages, the fourth indication information may be used to indicate the terminal device's preference.

[0301] S804. The core network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0302] After receiving the fourth indication information sent by the terminal device, the core network device can determine the fourth paging method supported by the terminal device. Further, when the fourth indication information indicates the preferred selection of the terminal device, the core network device can also determine the paging method that the terminal device prefers to select in the fourth paging method.

[0303] Afterwards, the core network device can, for example, determine the third paging method allowed to be used by the terminal device, or specify the third paging method used by the terminal device, among the fourth paging method supported by the terminal device, which is corresponding to the third paging method corresponding to the terminal device in this embodiment.

[0304] In one implementation, after the core network device learns the fourth paging methods supported by the terminal device, if it is determined that the terminal device is permitted to use all of the fourth paging methods, the core network device may send first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information may be, for example, confirmation information, the confirmation information being used to indicate confirmation of the fourth paging method. In other words, the core network device may directly determine the fourth paging method supported by the terminal device as the third paging method, and inform the terminal device through the first configuration information (e.g., confirmation information) that all of the fourth paging methods supported by the terminal device are the negotiated third paging method.

[0305] In another implementation, in addition to being able to learn the fourth paging method supported by the terminal device, the core network device can also learn the terminal device's preferred selection. If the core network device determines that at least one of the paging methods that the terminal device tends to select is allowed to be used by the terminal device, the core network device can send first configuration information to the terminal device, where the first configuration information can be, for example, confirmation information, which is used to indicate confirmation of the at least one paging method that the terminal device tends to select. In other words, the core network device determines the at least one paging method that the terminal device tends to select as the third paging method, and informs the terminal device of the at least one paging method that it tends to select as the negotiated third paging method through the first configuration information (e.g., confirmation information).

[0306] In another implementation, upon learning the third paging method supported by the terminal device and upon learning the preferred selection of the terminal device, the core network device may refer to these data and select at least one paging method allowed (or instructed) to be used by the terminal device from among the fourth paging methods supported by the terminal device, and then use the at least one paging method selected from among the fourth paging methods as the negotiated third paging method. Furthermore, the core network device may indicate the third paging method through the first configuration information, thereby enabling the core network and the terminal device to negotiate the third paging method.

[0307] The implementation of S805 to S807 in FIG8 is the same as the implementation of S604 to S606 described above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0308] In this embodiment, the terminal device sends a fourth indication information to the core network device, and then the core network device selects at least one paging method from the fourth paging methods supported by the terminal device based on the fourth indication information reported by the terminal device, and uses the selected paging method as the third paging method negotiated by the terminal device and the core network, and then informs the terminal device through the first configuration information, so that the terminal device and the core network device can negotiate the third paging method.

[0309] And in the current embodiment, because the paging group of the PEI introduced above is determined by the core network device, the terminal device and the core network device are allowed to interact directly so that the core network device determines the third paging information corresponding to the terminal device. This has certain benefits for the collaborative use of WUS and PEI, such as reducing signaling overhead and / or reducing implementation difficulty.

[0310] Based on the various situations described in the above embodiments, the first indication information sent by the network device is further described below.

[0311] The first indication information is used to indicate the first paging method supported by the network device. The first indication information may indicate the first paging method in the following two ways:

[0312] 1. The first indication information includes the first paging method

[0313] This implementation means that the first indication information directly indicates the first paging method. Exemplarily, for example, the first indication information may include identification information of the first paging method, thereby directly indicating the first paging method.

[0314] The identification information of each paging method may be pre-negotiated or dynamically configured, and this embodiment does not impose any limitation on this.

[0315] 2. The first indication information is paging configuration information

[0316] In order to achieve smooth transmission of paging messages, the network device usually needs to send paging configuration information to the terminal device. The paging configuration information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources, scrambling method, and other configurations of downlink messages related to paging (such as PEI, WUS, etc.), so that the terminal device can determine the configuration of the downlink messages related to paging and successfully receive the paging message. The specific configuration included in the paging configuration message can be selected according to actual needs and is not limited in this embodiment.

[0317] On this basis, because the paging configuration message is used to indicate the configuration of downlink messages related to paging, when the network device sends a paging configuration message for certain downlink messages to the terminal device, it can implicitly indicate that the network device supports the paging methods corresponding to these downlink messages. Therefore, in the current implementation, the paging configuration information can be used as the first indication information.

[0318] When the network device supports multiple paging modes, the network device can send multiple pieces of paging configuration information to the terminal device. Therefore, the first indication information can include at least one piece of paging configuration information.

[0319] If the first indication information includes WUS paging configuration information, that is, the network device sends WUR paging configuration information to the terminal device, it also implicitly indicates that the network device supports WUS-based paging method, so it can be determined that the first paging method includes WUS-based paging method.

[0320] Also, if the first indication information includes PEI paging configuration information, that is, the network device sends PEI paging configuration information to the terminal device, it also implicitly indicates that the network device supports PEI-based paging method, so it can be determined that the first paging method includes PEI-based paging method.

[0321] The first indication information may include both WUS paging configuration information and PEI paging configuration information, so the first paging method may include, for example, both a WUS-based paging method and a PEI-based paging method.

[0322] Regarding the implementation of indirectly indicating the first paging method through the paging configuration information, whether the first paging method includes the paging method of "decoding PDCCH in PO periodically" can be implemented in the following manner.

[0323] In one implementation, it can be pre-configured that the network device supports the paging mode of decoding the PDCCH in the PO periodically by default. In other words, the first paging mode fixedly includes the paging mode of decoding the PDCCH in the PO periodically.

[0324] In another implementation, if the terminal device receives neither the PEI paging configuration information nor the WUS paging configuration information from the network device, the terminal device can confirm that the network device supports the paging method of decoding the PDCCH in the PO periodically. That is, in this case, the first paging method includes the paging method of decoding the PDCCH in the PO periodically.

[0325] Alternatively, a specific downlink information can be determined for the paging method of "decoding PDCCH in PO on a periodic basis". When the first indication information includes the paging configuration information of this specific downlink information, that is, when the network device sends the paging configuration message of this specific downlink information to the terminal device, it also implicitly indicates that the network device supports the paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO on a periodic basis.

[0326] In this embodiment, the first indication information can be used to quickly and accurately indicate the first paging method through direct indication. Alternatively, the paging configuration information can be determined as the first indication information, thereby indicating the first paging method through indirect indication. At the same time, this implementation method can reuse the paging configuration information sent by the network device to indicate the first paging method, thereby effectively saving signaling overhead.

[0327] The above embodiment introduces the implementation manner in which the first indication information indicates the first paging mode. Actually, the implementation manner in which the second indication information indicates the second paging mode is similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0328] The following is a brief introduction to the implementation method of the third indication information in this application.

[0329] The third indication information is used to indicate the third paging mode supported by the terminal device. The third indication information may indicate the third paging mode in the following two ways:

[0330] 1. The third indication information includes the third paging method

[0331] This implementation means that the third indication information directly indicates the third paging method. For example, the third indication information may include identification information of the third paging method, thereby directly indicating the third paging method.

[0332] The identification information of each paging method may be pre-negotiated or dynamically configured, and this embodiment does not impose any limitation on this.

[0333] 2. The third indication information includes the receiver type

[0334] Regarding the several paging methods described above, it is understood that the receivers used for different paging methods may differ to some extent. Therefore, the correspondence between receivers and paging methods can be determined. Therefore, the third paging method can be indicated by including the receiver type in the third indication information. The receiver type in this embodiment can include at least one of the following: a low-power receiver (LR) and a main receiver (MR).

[0335] In one implementation, if the receiver type in the third indication information only includes a low-power receiver, since a low-power receiver is required to receive WUS, it can be confirmed that the third paging method includes: a WUS-based paging method.

[0336] Alternatively, if the third indication information only includes the primary receiver, since the primary receiver is required to receive PEI and PDCCH during the PO period, it can be confirmed that the third paging method includes: a paging method based on PEI and a paging method for decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0337] Alternatively, if the receiver type in the third indication information includes both a low-power receiver and a main receiver, then combined with the two situations described above, it can be confirmed that the third paging method includes: a WUS-based paging method, a PEI-based paging method, and a paging method that periodically decodes PDCCH in PO.

[0338] 3. The third indication information includes parameters associated with the paging method

[0339] Similar to the above embodiment, to ensure smooth transmission of paging messages, the terminal device typically needs to report paging-related parameters to the network device. Furthermore, some of the parameters that the terminal device needs to report are associated with specific paging methods. Therefore, when the terminal device sends certain parameters to the network device, it can implicitly indicate that the terminal device supports the paging method corresponding to these parameters. Therefore, in the current implementation, the parameters associated with the paging method can be used as the first indication information.

[0340] In this embodiment, the parameters associated with the paging mode may be collectively referred to as first parameters. When the terminal device supports multiple paging modes, the terminal device may send multiple first parameters to the network device. Therefore, the third indication information may include at least one first parameter.

[0341] For example, the first parameter, MR wake-up time, is associated with the WUS-based paging method. Therefore, when the third indication information includes the MR wake-up time, that is, the terminal device sends the MR wake-up time to the network device, it implicitly indicates that the terminal device supports the WUS-based paging method. Therefore, it can be determined that the third paging method includes the WUS-based paging method.

[0342] In this embodiment, the third indication information can quickly and accurately indicate the third paging method by direct indication. Alternatively, the third indication information can include the receiver type, thereby implementing at least the third paging method by indirect indication. Alternatively, the first parameter sent by the terminal device can be determined as the third indication information, thereby implementing the indication of the third paging method by indirect indication. At the same time, this implementation method can reuse the first parameter sent by the terminal device to implement the indication of the third paging method, thereby effectively saving signaling overhead.

[0343] Furthermore, when sending the third indication information, the terminal device may send it, for example, through UE capability information, or may use any other possible signaling to send the third indication information, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

[0344] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment, additional explanation is required for the paging method of "decoding PDCCH in PO periodically".

[0345] Because the paging method of "decoding PDCCH in PO periodically" is a relatively traditional paging method, for example, the network device (or terminal device) can be set to support this paging method by default, so this paging method does not need to be additionally indicated in the first indication information (or second indication information, third indication information). The network device can also determine that the terminal device supports this paging method, and accordingly, the terminal device can also determine that the network device supports this paging method. Based on this implementation method, signaling overhead can be effectively saved.

[0346] Alternatively, the default configuration introduced above may not be set. In this case, the first indication information (or the second indication information, the third indication information) may indicate whether the network device (or terminal device) can adopt this paging method. Based on this implementation method, flexible configuration of whether the network device (or terminal device) supports the traditional paging method can be achieved.

[0347] This embodiment does not impose any special restrictions on the indication method of the traditional paging method, which can be selected according to actual needs.

[0348] The above introduces the relevant implementation of the third indication information indicating the third paging method. In fact, the fourth indication information indicating the fourth paging method introduced above, and when the core network specifies the terminal device to adopt certain paging methods, the implementation of the first configuration information indicating the third paging method is also similar to the implementation of the third indication information. Therefore, the implementation of the fourth indication information and the first configuration information will no longer be repeated in this application, and it can refer to the content introduced in the above embodiment.

[0349] Based on the above introduction, the following further introduces the implementation methods of determining the target paging method by the terminal device, the first network device and the second network device.

[0350] Part 1: Implementation of the target paging method determined by the first network device

[0351] In one implementation, the target paging mode may be determined according to the priority of the paging mode.

[0352] Specifically, the first network device may determine the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the first paging method and the third paging method as the target paging method.

[0353] The presence of the first paging method and the third paging method ensures that the selected paging method is supported by both the first network device and the terminal device. Furthermore, because the priority of the paging methods is usually set based on certain considerations, based on this rule, the optimal paging method based on certain considerations can be determined as the target paging method, while ensuring support by both parties, thereby improving the paging effect to a certain extent.

[0354] In one implementation, the priorities of multiple paging methods may be understood with reference to FIG. 9 , which is a first schematic diagram of an implementation of determining a target paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0355] As shown in FIG9 , the priorities of the various paging methods may be: priority of the WUS-based paging method > priority of the PEI-based paging method > priority of the paging method of decoding the PDCCH in the PO periodically.

[0356] 9 , it is assumed that the first paging method includes a WUS-based paging method and a periodic PDCCH decoding method in the PO, that is, the network device supports these two paging methods.

[0357] And it is assumed that the third paging method includes: a paging method based on WUS, a paging method based on PEI and a paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically, that is, the terminal device can adopt these three paging methods.

[0358] Then in the diagram of Figure 9, it can be determined that the "paging method based on WUS" and the "paging method of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically" are paging methods that exist in both the first paging method and the third paging method, and the paging method with the highest priority among these two paging methods is the "paging method based on WUS", so it can be confirmed that the target paging method is the "paging method based on WUS".

[0359] The paging method priority shown in FIG9 is only one possible implementation method. In actual implementation, the paging method priority can be selected and set according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not limit this. For example, the priority of multiple paging methods can also be any of the following:

[0360] The priority of the paging method based on WUS> the priority of the paging method that decodes PDCCH in PO periodically> the priority of the paging method based on PEI;

[0361] The priority of the paging method for decoding PDCCH in PO periodically>the priority of the paging method based on WUS>the priority of the paging method based on PEI;

[0362] The priority of the paging method based on PEI > the priority of the paging method based on WUS > the priority of the paging method that decodes PDCCH in PO periodically;

[0363] The priority of the PEI-based paging method is higher than the priority of the periodic PDCCH decoding method in the PO. The priority of the WUS-based paging method is higher than the priority of the WUS-based paging method.

[0364] The priority of the paging method for decoding the PDCCH periodically in the PO>the priority of the paging method based on the PEI>the priority of the paging method based on the WUS.

[0365] Here we briefly introduce the configuration method of priority.

[0366] In one implementation, the priority of the paging method may be preset, for example. In this implementation, the terminal device and the network device will synchronize the preset priority of the paging method to ensure that the priorities of both parties are aligned.

[0367] Alternatively, the priority of the paging mode may be determined by the network device and then dynamically configured to the terminal device. For example, the network device may send second configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the second configuration information is used to indicate the priority of each paging mode.

[0368] Furthermore, whether it's the pre-set priorities described above or the dynamically configured priorities, the priorities are often relatively fixed after configuration. However, there are situations where it's necessary to change the fixed priorities, which we'll discuss below.

[0369] In one possible implementation, in addition to informing the terminal device of the first paging method it supports through the first indication information described above, the first network device may also send fifth indication information to the terminal device through unicast signaling, wherein the fifth indication information is the fifth paging method used by the first network device to instruct the terminal device to receive paging messages. Exemplarily, the unicast signaling may be an RRC release message that the first network device uses to transfer the terminal device to an inactive state.

[0370] That is, the first network device can specify to the terminal device via unicast signaling that the terminal device needs to use the fifth paging method to receive paging messages. When the first network device issues a targeted instruction to the terminal device via unicast signaling, it typically considers the actual conditions of the terminal device, the actual conditions of the network device, and the actual conditions of the link, and selects the terminal device to use the fifth paging method to receive paging messages.

[0371] Because the network device specifically instructs the terminal device to use the fifth paging method to receive paging messages through unicast signaling for certain reasons, the fifth paging method can be set to have the highest priority. In other words, when the fifth indication information is sent through unicast signaling, the priority of the paging method needs to be updated, and the fifth paging method is determined to be the paging method with the highest priority.

[0372] For example, this can be understood with reference to Figure 10. Figure 10 is a second schematic diagram of an implementation of determining a target paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0373] For example, it is assumed that the pre-set or dynamically configured priority is the case shown as 1001 in Figure 10, that is, the priority of the paging method is: the priority of the paging method based on WUS > the priority of the paging method based on PEI > the priority of the paging method for decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

[0374] At the same time, assuming that there is currently a fifth paging method sent by the first network device through unicast signaling, the fifth paging method can be determined as the paging method with the highest priority. There are two implementations of determining the fifth paging method as the paging method with the highest priority:

[0375] In one implementation, the fifth paging method can be determined as the paging method with the highest priority by increasing the priority of the fifth paging method on the basis of the original priority. For example, referring to 1002, the priority of the "PEI-based paging method" can be increased on the basis of the original priority: "Priority of the WUS-based paging method > Priority of the PEI-based paging method > Priority of the paging method that decodes the PDCCH in the PO on a periodic basis", thereby obtaining the priority shown in 1002: Priority of the PEI-based paging method > Priority of the WUS-based paging method > Priority of the PEI-based paging method > Priority of the paging method that decodes the PDCCH in the PO on a periodic basis.

[0376] Continuing with the example of FIG10 , it can be determined that the "WUS-based paging method" and the "periodic PDCCH decoding in PO paging method" are paging methods that exist in both the first paging method and the third paging method. Furthermore, for the updated paging method shown in 1002 , the paging method with the highest priority among the two paging methods is still the "WUS-based paging method," so it can be determined that the target paging method is the "WUS-based paging method."

[0377] In another implementation, the fifth paging method can be determined as the paging method with the highest priority by moving the priority of the fifth paging method on the basis of the original priority. For example, referring to 1003, the priority of the "PEI-based paging method" can be moved on the basis of the original priority: "Priority of the WUS-based paging method > Priority of the PEI-based paging method > Priority of the paging method that decodes the PDCCH in the PO on a periodic basis", and it can be determined as the paging method with the highest priority, thereby obtaining the priority shown in 1003: Priority of the PEI-based paging method > Priority of the WUS-based paging method > Priority of the paging method that decodes the PDCCH in the PO on a periodic basis.

[0378] Continuing with the example of FIG10 , it can be determined that the "WUS-based paging method" and the "paging method for decoding PDCCH periodically in the PO" are paging methods that exist in both the first paging method and the third paging method. Furthermore, for the updated paging method shown in 1002, the paging method with the highest priority among the two paging methods is the "paging method for decoding PDCCH periodically in the PO." Therefore, it can be confirmed that the target paging method is the "paging method for decoding PDCCH periodically in the PO."

[0379] Comparing the two priority update methods introduced above, it can be determined that the first method (that is, the implementation method in the form of addition) can, when the terminal device and the first network device do not both support the fifth paging method, still try to determine the paging method with a higher priority in the original priority as the target paging method to improve the paging effect.

[0380] Part 2: Implementation of the target paging method determined by the second network device

[0381] In one implementation, the target paging mode may be determined according to the priority of the paging mode.

[0382] Specifically, the second network device may determine the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the second paging method and the third paging method as the target paging method.

[0383] The presence of the second paging method and the third paging method ensures that the selected paging method is supported by both the second network device and the terminal device. Furthermore, because the priority of the paging methods is usually set based on certain considerations, based on this rule, the optimal paging method based on certain considerations can be determined as the target paging method, while ensuring support by both parties, thereby improving the paging effect to a certain extent.

[0384] The relevant implementation of the priority of the paging method and the implementation of the second network device determining the target paging method according to the priority of the paging method are similar to the implementation of the first network device introduced above. The difference is that the first paging method of the first network device is replaced by the second paging method of the second network device. They will not be repeated here.

[0385] Part III: Implementation of target paging method determined by terminal equipment

[0386] Because the terminal device in the technical solution of this application involves mobility, the terminal device needs to distinguish between the following two situations when determining the target paging method: the first situation is when the terminal device is within the coverage area of ​​a first network device, and the second situation is when the terminal device is within the coverage area of ​​a second network device. The following describes the implementation methods for determining the target paging method in each of these two situations.

[0387] Case 1: The terminal device is located within the coverage area of ​​the first network device.

[0388] Similar to the above description, the terminal device can also determine the target paging method according to the priority of the paging method.

[0389] Specifically, the terminal device may determine the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the first paging method and the third paging method as the target paging method.

[0390] The presence of the first paging method and the third paging method ensures that the selected paging method is supported by both the first network device and the terminal device. Furthermore, because the priority of the paging methods is usually set based on certain considerations, based on this rule, the optimal paging method based on certain considerations can be determined as the target paging method, while ensuring support by both parties, thereby improving the paging effect to a certain extent.

[0391] The implementation of the priority of the paging mode and the implementation of the terminal device determining the target paging mode according to the priority of the paging mode are similar to the implementation of the first network device introduced above and will not be repeated here.

[0392] Case 2: The terminal device is located within the coverage area of ​​the second network device.

[0393] Similar to the above description, the terminal device can also determine the target paging method according to the priority of the paging method.

[0394] Specifically, the terminal device may determine the paging method with the highest priority among at least one paging method existing in both the second paging method and the third paging method as the target paging method.

[0395] The presence of the second paging method and the third paging method ensures that the selected paging method is supported by both the second network device and the terminal device. Furthermore, because the priority of the paging methods is usually set based on certain considerations, based on this rule, the optimal paging method based on certain considerations can be determined as the target paging method, while ensuring support by both parties, thereby improving the paging effect to a certain extent.

[0396] The implementation of the priority of the paging mode and the implementation of the terminal device determining the target paging mode according to the priority of the paging mode are similar to the implementation of the second network device introduced above and will not be repeated here.

[0397] Based on the three parts of determining the target paging method introduced above, it is also necessary to explain that the first paging method supported by the first network device and the second paging method supported by the second network device may not be the same. Therefore, when determining the target paging method according to the implementation method introduced above, the target paging methods determined by the first network device and the second network device may be different.

[0398] However, this will not affect the correctness of the paging, because at the same time, the terminal device will only be within the coverage of a certain terminal device. Therefore, it is only necessary to ensure that the terminal device can correctly receive the paging of the network device within its coverage range.

[0399] When the terminal device is within the coverage of the first network device, based on the implementation described above, the terminal device and the first network device will determine the same target paging method, so the terminal device can correctly receive the paging message. At this time, although the second network device may determine a different target paging method to page the terminal device, because the terminal device will not receive this paging message, it will not affect the accuracy of the paging message.

[0400] Furthermore, when the terminal device is within the coverage area of ​​the second network device, based on the implementation described above, the terminal device and the second network device will determine the same target paging method, so the terminal device can correctly receive the paging message. At this time, although the first network device may determine a different target paging method to page the terminal device, because the terminal device will not receive this paging message, it will not affect the accuracy of the paging.

[0401] FIG11 is a structural diagram of a paging mode determination device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the device 110 includes: a receiving module 1101, a processing module 1102;

[0402] The receiving module 1101 is configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device;

[0403] The receiving module 1101 is further configured to receive second indication information sent by a second network device when the terminal device moves into the coverage area of ​​the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0404] The processing module 1102 is configured to determine a target paging method for receiving a paging message according to the first paging method, the second paging method, and a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device.

[0405] The device provided in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the above method embodiment. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0406] FIG12 is a second structural diagram of a paging mode determination device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the device 120 includes: a sending module 1201, a receiving module 1202, and a processing module 1203;

[0407] A sending module 1201 is configured to send first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging method supported by the first network device;

[0408] The receiving module 1202 is configured to receive a first paging message sent by a core network device, where the first paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device;

[0409] The processing module 1203 is configured to determine a target paging method for sending a paging message according to the first paging method and the third paging method.

[0410] The device provided in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the above method embodiment. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0411] FIG13 is a third structural diagram of the apparatus for determining a paging mode according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG13 , the apparatus 130 includes: a sending module 1301, a receiving module 1302, and a processing module 1303;

[0412] A sending module 1301 is configured to send second indication information to a terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging method supported by the second network device;

[0413] The receiving module 1302 is configured to receive a second paging message sent by the first network device, where the second paging message includes a third paging method corresponding to the terminal device;

[0414] The processing module 1303 is configured to determine a target paging method for sending a paging message according to the second paging method and the third paging method.

[0415] The device provided in this embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the above method embodiment. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0416] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the electronic device may be the terminal device, network device or core network device described above.

[0417] Referring to Figure 14 , electronic device 140 may include a transceiver 21, memory 22, and processor 23. Transceiver 21 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transmitter may also be referred to as a transmitter, transmitter, transmission port, transmission interface, or similar descriptions, and the receiver may also be referred to as a receiver, receiver, reception port, reception interface, or similar descriptions. For example, transceiver 21, memory 22, and processor 23 are interconnected via bus 24.

[0418] The memory 22 is used to store program instructions; the processor 23 is used to execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so as to enable the electronic device to perform any of the above-mentioned paging mode determination methods. Among them, the receiver of the transceiver 21 can be used to perform the receiving function of the electronic device in the above-mentioned paging mode determination method.

[0419] The present embodiment provides a chip. The chip includes a processor configured to invoke a computer program stored in a memory to execute the technical solution of the above embodiment. The implementation principles and technical effects are similar to those of the above-mentioned related embodiments and will not be further described here.

[0420] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned method is implemented. The methods described in the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or transmitted on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media can include computer storage media and communication media, and can also include any medium that can transfer a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any target medium that can be accessed by a computer.

[0421] In one possible implementation, a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium intended to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer. Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio and microwave) is used to transmit software from a website, server or other remote source, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and optical disc as used herein include optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks generally reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0422] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the computer executes the above method.

[0423] The present application embodiment is described with reference to the flow chart and / or block diagram of the method, device (system) and computer program product according to the embodiment of the present application.It should be understood that each flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram and the combination of the flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram can be realized by computer program instructions.These computer program instructions can be provided to the processing unit of general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processing machine or other programmable device to produce a machine, so that the instruction executed by the processing unit of computer or other programmable data processing device produces the device for realizing the function specified in one flow chart flow or multiple flows and / or one block or multiple blocks of block diagram.

[0424] The above specific implementation methods further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the above are only specific implementation methods of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for determining a paging mode, characterized in that Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Receiving first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging mode supported by the first network device; When the terminal device moves into the coverage area of a second network device, receiving second indication information sent by the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging mode supported by the second network device; Determining a target paging mode for receiving a paging message according to the first paging mode, the second paging mode, and a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The third paging mode is a paging mode supported by the terminal device, and the method further includes: Sending third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate the third paging mode.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The third paging mode is a paging mode negotiated between the terminal device and a core network device, and the method further includes: Sending fourth indication information to the core network device, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate a fourth paging mode supported by the terminal device; and Receiving first configuration information sent by the core network device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate the third paging mode, and where the third paging mode is determined by the core network device from the fourth paging mode.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The third indication information includes a receiver type, and the receiver type includes at least one of the following: a low-power receiver and a main receiver; Wherein, the receiver type is used to indicate the third paging mode.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein If the receiver type only includes the low-power receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on a wake-up signal WUS; If the receiver type only includes the main receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on a paging early indication PEI and a paging mode of decoding a physical downlink shared channel PDCCH in a paging occasion PO periodically; If the receiver type includes the low-power receiver and the main receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on WUS, a paging mode based on PEI, and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The third indication information includes the third paging mode, and the third paging mode includes at least one of the following: a paging mode based on WUS, a paging mode based on PEI, and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in PO periodically.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2-6, characterized in that, The third indication information includes a first parameter associated with the paging mode, and the paging mode associated with the first parameter is the third paging mode.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The third indication information is sent through UE capability information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When the terminal device is within the coverage area of the first network device, the target paging mode is the paging mode with the highest priority among at least one paging mode that exists in both the first paging mode and the third paging mode.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that When the terminal device is within the coverage of the second network device, the target paging mode is the paging mode with the highest priority among at least one paging mode that exists in both the second paging mode and the third paging mode.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The priority of the paging mode is pre-configured; or, the priority of the paging mode is indicated by the second configuration information sent by the first network device or the second network device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The first indication information is sent by the first network device through a broadcast signaling; and, The second indication information is sent by the second network device through a broadcast signaling.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving fifth indication information sent by the first network device through a unicast signaling, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate a fifth paging mode used by the terminal device to receive a paging message.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein If there is the fifth indication information sent through a unicast signaling, determining the fifth paging mode as the paging mode with the highest priority.

15. A method for determining a paging mode, characterized in that Applied to a first network device, the method includes: Sending first indication information to a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging mode supported by the first network device; Receiving a first paging message sent by a core network device, where the first paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device; Determining a target paging mode for sending the paging message according to the first paging mode and the third paging mode.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The third paging mode is a paging mode supported by the terminal device, and the method further includes: Receiving third indication information sent by the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate the third paging mode.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further includes: Sending the third indication information to the core network device.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein The third paging mode is a paging mode negotiated between the terminal device and the core network device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 - 18, characterized in that, The third indication information includes a receiver type, and the receiver type includes at least one of the following: a low-power receiver and a main receiver; Wherein, the receiver type is used to indicate the third paging mode.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein If the receiver type only includes the low-power receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on WUS; If the receiver type only includes the main receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on PEI and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in a PO periodically; If the receiver type includes the low-power receiver and the main receiver, the third paging mode includes: a paging mode based on WUS, a paging mode based on PEI, and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in a PO periodically.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16-20, characterized in that, The third indication information includes the third paging mode, and the third paging mode includes at least one of the following: a paging mode based on WUS, a paging mode based on PEI, and a paging mode of decoding PDCCH in a PO periodically.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 - 21, characterized in that, The third indication information includes a first parameter associated with the paging mode, and the paging mode associated with the first parameter is the third paging mode.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16-22, characterized in that, The third indication information is sent through UE capability information.

24. The method according to any one of claims 15 - 23, characterized in that, The target paging mode is the paging mode with the highest priority among at least one paging mode that exists in both the first paging mode and the third paging mode.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The priority of the paging mode is pre-configured; or, The method further includes: Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the priority of the paging mode.

26. The method according to any one of claims 15-25, characterized in that, The method further includes: Fifth indication information sent to the terminal device through a unicast signaling, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate a fifth paging mode used by the terminal device to receive a paging message.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein If there is the fifth indication information sent through the unicast signaling, then determine the fifth paging mode as the paging mode with the highest priority.

28. The method according to any one of claims 15 - 27, characterized in that, After receiving the first paging message sent by the core network device, the method further includes: Sending a second paging message to a second network device, where the second paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The second paging message further includes the fifth paging mode indicated by the fifth indication information.

30. A method for determining a paging mode, characterized in that Applied to a second network device, the method includes: Sending second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging mode supported by the second network device; Receiving the second paging message sent by the first network device, where the second paging message includes a third paging mode corresponding to the terminal device; Determining a target paging mode for sending a paging message according to the second paging mode and the third paging mode.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The target paging mode is the paging mode with the highest priority among at least one paging mode that exists in both the second paging mode and the third paging mode.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein The priority of the paging mode is pre-configured; or, The method further includes: Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate the priority of the paging mode.

33. The method according to any one of claims 30 - 32, characterized in that, The second paging message further includes a fifth paging mode, where the fifth paging mode is a paging mode that the first network device instructs the terminal device to use through a unicast signaling.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein If the second paging message includes the fifth paging mode, then determine the fifth paging mode as the paging mode with the highest priority.

35. A terminal device, characterized in that, Includes: A processor and a memory; The memory stores computer execution instructions; The processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

36. A network device, characterized in that, Includes: A processor and a memory; The memory stores computer execution instructions; The processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the network device executes the method according to any one of claims 15-34.

37. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that, The computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1-34.

38. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program, when the computer program is run, it causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-34.

39. A paging method determination system, characterized in that, Includes: A terminal device, a first network device, and a second network device; where, The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first paging manner indicated by the first network device; The second network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a second paging manner supported by the second network device; When the terminal device is within the coverage area of the first network device, the terminal device determines a target paging manner for receiving a paging message according to the first paging manner and a third paging manner corresponding to the terminal device; or when the terminal device moves to within the coverage area of the second network device, the terminal device determines the target paging manner according to the second paging manner and the third paging manner.

40. The system according to claim 39, wherein The terminal device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-14; the first network device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 15-29; the second network device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 30-34.

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