Communication methods and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are communication methods and an apparatus. A method comprises: when paging within one paging cycle is wholly or partially within an inactive time, determining that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid. In this way, for a paging cycle wholly or partially within the inactive time, a network device does not need to send the paging within the paging cycle, and a terminal device completely does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of a communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying the implementation of the network device or the terminal device, and enhancing paging configuration.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This invention claims priority to the prior application No. 202311870388.6 filed on December 29, 2023, entitled “Communication Method and Device.” The contents of the prior application are incorporated into this text by introduction. Technical Field

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

[0003] In a communication system, the network needs to broadcast common downlink signals / channels, which may include synchronization signal block (synchronization signal / PBCH block, SSB), system information block 1 (system information block 1, SIB1), system information block x (system information block x, SIBx), paging, random access response (random access response, RAR), etc.

[0004] Network devices can limit transmission of public downlink signals / channels to a certain period of time, allowing them to enter a sleep state as much as possible and thus save energy. However, how to restrict network devices to only transmit public downlink signals / channels during certain periods of time, or how to control terminal devices to only receive public downlink signals / channels during certain periods of time, in order to enhance the communication process of public downlink signals / channels, remains a challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, in the hope of enhancing a communication process in which a network device needs to send a common downlink signal / channel or a terminal device needs to receive a common downlink signal / channel.

[0006] The first aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0007] When all or part of the paging in a paging cycle is within the inactive time, it is determined that the paging in the paging cycle is invalid.

[0008] In this way, for paging cycles that are entirely or partially in the inactive time, the network equipment does not need to send paging within the paging cycle, and the terminal equipment does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle at all, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying network equipment / terminal equipment implementation, and realizing enhanced paging configuration.

[0009] The second aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0010] When a paging portion in a paging cycle is within an inactive time, it is determined that the paging in the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid.

[0011] In this way, for some paging cycles within the inactive time, the network device only discards the paging within the inactive time, and the terminal device does not need to monitor this part of the paging, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying network device / terminal device implementation, realizing enhanced paging configuration, and retaining the paging within the active time.

[0012] The third aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0013] When the target PF is within the inactive time, the PF within the active time is determined as the target PF.

[0014] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the PF within the activation time is the target PF, the network device can merge the target PF of some terminal devices into the PF within the activation time in advance, and these terminal devices can merge the target PF into the PF within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that the target PFs of these terminal devices are all within the activation time, realizing the enhancement of paging configuration and avoiding the increase of paging delay.

[0015] A fourth aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0016] When the target PO is within the non-activation time, a PO within the activation time is determined as the target PO.

[0017] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the PO within the activation time is the target PO, the network equipment can merge the target POs of some terminal devices into the PO within the activation time in advance, and these terminal devices can merge the target POs into the PO within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that these target POs are all within the activation time, realizing the enhancement of paging configuration and avoiding the increase of paging delay.

[0018] A fifth aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0019] When the target paging is within the inactive time, the target paging is determined to be valid, or the target paging is determined to be invalid.

[0020] It can be seen that for a portion of the paging cycle within the inactive time, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device can extend the activation time before or after the inactive time. In this way, the target paging is changed from the original inactive time to within the extended activation time, thereby determining that the target paging is valid, avoiding an increase in the paging delay. Or,

[0021] For paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target page falls within the inactive time, the network device can discard or not send the target PF directly, rather than extending the activation time before or after the inactive time. This eliminates the need for some terminal devices to receive the target PF and, therefore, determine that the target page is invalid, saving power. Furthermore, since other paging cycles still fall within the active time, some terminal devices will not be unable to receive a page. This simplifies system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation, though paging latency may increase.

[0022] A sixth aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0023] Determine the temporal location of the target PF group.

[0024] In this way, by determining the time position of the target PF group, the target PF group can be evenly distributed in multiple activation times within the paging cycle, solving the problem of evenly distributed PFs (all PFs have the same interval) falling in the inactive time.

[0025] A seventh aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0026] When the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the start point of the inactive time or the closest active time after the start point of the RAR window is determined as the start point of the RAR window.

[0027] As can be seen, by using the start point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the start point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window, the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the start point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR until the most recent activation time.

[0028] An eighth aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0029] When the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the end point of the inactive time or the closest active time after the end point of the RAR window is determined as the start point of the RAR window.

[0030] As can be seen, by using the end point of the activation time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window, the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the end point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR until the next activation time.

[0031] A ninth aspect is a communication method of the present application, comprising:

[0032] When the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, determining that the RAR in the RAR window is valid; or,

[0033] When the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, it is determined that the RAR within the RAR window is valid.

[0034] It can be seen that when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can advance the start point of the nearest active time after the inactive time to the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can advance the activation time, so that the network device / terminal device can determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid. Or,

[0035] When the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can postpone the end point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can advance the activation time, so that the network device / terminal device can determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0036] A tenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0037] The determining unit is configured to determine that the paging in a paging cycle is invalid when all or part of the paging in the paging cycle is within the inactive time.

[0038] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device of the present application includes:

[0039] The determining unit is configured to determine that the paging in a paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid when a paging portion in the paging cycle is within the inactive time.

[0040] A twelfth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0041] The determining unit is configured to determine a PF within an activation time as the target PF when the target PF is within an inactivation time.

[0042] A thirteenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0043] The determining unit is configured to determine a PO within an activation time as the target PO when the target PO is within an inactivation time.

[0044] A fourteenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0045] The determining unit is configured to determine that the target paging is valid or invalid when the target paging is within the inactive time.

[0046] A fifteenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0047] The determining unit is configured to determine the time position of the target PF group.

[0048] A sixteenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0049] The determining unit is configured to, when the starting point of the random access response RAR window is within the inactive time, determine the starting point of the inactive time or the closest active time after the starting point of the RAR window as the starting point of the RAR window.

[0050] A seventeenth aspect is a communication device of the present application, comprising:

[0051] The determining unit is configured to, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, determine the end point of the inactive time or the end point of the activation time closest to the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

[0052] In an eighteenth aspect, a communication device of the present application includes:

[0053] A determining unit is configured to determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time; or to determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time.

[0054] In the nineteenth aspect, the steps in any one of the methods designed in the above-mentioned first to ninth aspects are applied to a terminal device.

[0055] In the twentieth aspect, the steps in any one of the methods designed in the first to ninth aspects are applied to a network device.

[0056] The twenty-first aspect is a terminal device of the present application, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored on the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps in the method designed in any one of the first to ninth aspects above.

[0057] The twenty-second aspect is a network device of the present application, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored on the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps in the method designed in any one of the above-mentioned first to ninth aspects.

[0058] The twenty-third aspect is a chip of the present application, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor executes the steps of the method designed in any one of the first to ninth aspects above.

[0059] The twenty-fourth aspect is a chip module of the present application, comprising a transceiver component and a chip, wherein the chip comprises a processor, wherein the processor executes the steps in the method designed in any one of the above-mentioned first to ninth aspects.

[0060] A twenty-fifth aspect is a computer-readable storage medium of the present application, wherein the computer program or instructions are stored therein, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the steps of the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9 are implemented. For example, the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor.

[0061] A twenty-sixth aspect is a computer program product of the present application, comprising a computer program or instructions, wherein when the computer program or instructions are executed, the steps of the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9 are implemented. For example, the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] 2 to 12 are flowcharts of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG13 is a block diagram of functional units of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] It should be understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including," "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, software, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may also include steps or units that are not listed, or may include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0068] The term "embodiment" as used in the embodiments of this application means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it refer to independent or alternative embodiments that are mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0069] In the embodiments of this application, "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects and indicates that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent the following three situations: A exists alone; A and B exist simultaneously; and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the symbol " / " can indicate that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, the symbol " / " can also represent a division sign, that is, performing a division operation. For example, A / B can mean A divided by B.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one item" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items, and refers to one or more, and multiple refers to two or more. For example, at least one item (item) of a, b, or c can represent the following seven situations: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, a, b, and c. Among them, each of a, b, and c can be an element or a set containing one or more elements.

[0072] In the embodiments of this application, "equal to" can be used in conjunction with "greater than" and is applicable to the technical solution adopted when "greater than" is used, and can also be used in conjunction with "less than" and is applicable to the technical solution adopted when "less than" is used. When "equal to" is used in conjunction with "greater than", it should not be used in conjunction with "less than"; when "equal to" is used in conjunction with "less than", it should not be used in conjunction with "greater than".

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "of", "corresponding / relevant", "corresponding", and "indicated" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent.

[0074] The "connection" in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection methods such as direct connection or indirect connection to achieve communication between devices, and there is no limitation on this.

[0075] The “network” in the embodiments of the present application can be expressed as the same concept as the “system”, and the communication system is the communication network.

[0076] The following describes the relevant contents, concepts, meanings, technical issues, technical solutions, beneficial effects, etc. involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0077] 1. Communication systems, terminal equipment, and network equipment

[0078] 1. Communication system

[0079] This application can be applied to various communication systems to meet the needs of different communication scenarios.

[0080] Optionally, the present application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) systems, new radio (NR) systems, evolved systems of NR systems, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) systems, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) systems, universal mobile telecommunication systems (UMTS), 6th generation (6G) communication systems, etc.

[0081] Optionally, the present application can be applied to communication scenarios such as device to device (D2D) system, machine to machine (M2M) system, machine type communication (MTC), vehicle to vehicle (V2V) system, vehicle to everything (V2X) system, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, and passive Internet of Things communication.

[0082] Optionally, the present application can be applied to beamforming (beamforming), carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC) or standalone (SA) deployment scenarios, etc.

[0083] Since the embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with terminal devices and network devices, the terminal devices and network devices involved will be described in detail below.

[0084] 2. Terminal equipment

[0085] A terminal device may be a device with transceiver functions, and may also be referred to as a terminal, passive device, Internet of Things device, user equipment (UE), remote terminal equipment (remote UE), relay equipment (relay UE), access terminal equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, mobile device, user terminal equipment, intelligent terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device.

[0086] For example, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in unmanned autonomous driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0087] For another example, the terminal device may also 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, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system (such as an NR communication system, a 6G communication system), or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (PLMN), etc., without specific limitation.

[0088] Optionally, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); can be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0089] Optionally, the terminal device may include a device with wireless communication function, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0090] Optionally, the terminal device may be a chip, a chip module, a device, a unit, etc., without specific limitation.

[0091] 3. Network equipment

[0092] A network device may be a device with transceiver functions and may be used to communicate with a terminal device.

[0093] Optionally, the network device may be responsible for radio resource management (RRM), quality of service (QoS) management, data compression and encryption, data transmission and reception, etc. on the air interface side.

[0094] Optionally, the network device may include a base station (BS) in a communication system or a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) for providing wireless communication functions, that is, the network device may include a device in the RAN.

[0095] For example, the devices in the RAN may include an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE communication system, a next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) in an NR communication system, a next generation node B (gNB) in an NR communication system, a master node (MN) in a dual-connection architecture, a second node or secondary node (SN) in a dual-connection architecture, etc., without specific limitation.

[0096] Optionally, the network device may include a device in a core network (CN).

[0097] For example, the equipment in the CN may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), etc.

[0098] Optionally, the network device may also be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, a relay station, a communication device in a future evolved PLMN network, a communication device in an NTN network, etc.

[0099] Optionally, the network device may include a device that provides wireless communication functionality for the terminal device, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip, or may include other discrete devices.

[0100] Optionally, the network device may be a transmission and reception point (TRP).

[0101] Optionally, the network device can communicate with an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.

[0102] Optionally, the network device may include an independent node to implement the functions of the above-mentioned base station, or may include two or more independent nodes to implement the functions of the above-mentioned base station. For example, the network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), such as a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU. Furthermore, in other embodiments of the present application, the network device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements part of the functions of the network device, and the DU implements another part of the functions of the network device. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. In addition, the AAU can implement some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this network deployment, high-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling) can be considered to be generated by the CU and sent by the DU, or sent jointly by the DU and AAU. It is understood that network devices may include at least one of the CU, DU, and AAU. Furthermore, the CU may be classified as a RAN device, or as a core network device, without specific limitation.

[0103] Optionally, the network device can be any site in the multi-site coherent joint transmission (CJT) with the terminal device, or other sites outside the multi-site, or other network devices that communicate with the terminal device over the network, and there is no specific limitation on this. Among them, multi-site coherent joint transmission can be multiple sites coherent transmission, or different data belonging to the same physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are sent from different sites to the terminal device, or multiple sites are virtualized into one site for transmission. Names with the same meaning specified in other standards also apply to this application, that is, this application does not limit the names of these parameters. The sites in multi-site coherent joint transmission can be remote radio heads (RRHs), TRPs, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0104] Optionally, the network device may be any site in the multi-site non-coherent joint transmission with the terminal device, or other sites outside the multi-site, or other network devices that perform network communication with the terminal device, and there is no specific limitation on this. Among them, multi-site non-coherent joint transmission can be multiple sites joint non-coherent transmission, or different data belonging to the same PDSCH are sent from different sites to the terminal device. The names with the same meaning specified in other standards are also applicable to this application, that is, this application does not limit the names of these parameters. The sites in the multi-site non-coherent joint transmission can be RRH, TRP, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this. The transmission scheme of multiple TRPs may include an S-DCI based M-TRP transmission scheme, and may also include an M-DCI based M-TRP transmission scheme.

[0105] It should be noted that the TRP of the present application is not limited to coherent joint transmission or incoherent joint transmission scenarios, but can also be applied to other scenarios without specific restrictions.

[0106] Optionally, the network device may be mobile, for example, a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Alternatively, the network device may be a base station located on land or in water.

[0107] Optionally, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device in the cell can communicate with the network device using transmission resources (such as spectrum resources). The cell can be a macro cell, a small cell, a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, or a femto cell.

[0108] Optionally, the network device of the embodiment of the present application may be a chip, a chip module, a device, a unit, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0109] 4. Example

[0110] The following is an exemplary description of the communication system in an embodiment of the present application.

[0111] For example, a network architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application may be referred to in FIG1 . As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 10 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 .

[0112] It should be noted that FIG1 is merely an example of a network architecture of a communication system and does not constitute a limitation on the network architecture of the communication system of the embodiment of the present application.

[0113] For example, the communication system 10 may also include a server or other devices.

[0114] For another example, the communication system 10 may include other network devices in addition to the network device 110 .

[0115] For another example, the communication system 10 may include other terminal devices in addition to the terminal device 120 .

[0116] 2. Enhancement of the Communication Process

[0117] 1. Description

[0118] Network energy savings (network power saving) is a major concern for operators and equipment manufacturers. Network energy saving is beneficial for reducing operating costs and protecting the environment.

[0119] Generally speaking, when network load is zero or low, common downlink signal / channel transmission accounts for a large proportion of base station transmission energy consumption. Common downlink signals / channels can include SSB, SIB1, SIBx, paging, RAR, etc. Among them, SIB1 is also called remaining main system information (RMSI), and SIBx is also called other system information (OSI).

[0120] In order to save energy consumption of the communication system, this embodiment may restrict the network device to send the common downlink signal / channel only within a period of time, or restrict the network device to not send the common downlink signal / channel within a period of time.

[0121] It should be noted that the period during which the network device can send a public downlink signal / channel can be called the "active period (or active time)", and the period during which the network device may not send a public downlink signal / channel can be called the "non-active period (or non-active time)".

[0122] Of course, the active time can also be called the "active window", and the inactive time can also be called the "non-active window".

[0123] In addition, since the common downlink signal / channel can be periodically transmitted by the network device (and correspondingly, monitored periodically by the terminal device), this embodiment can restrict the network device to transmit the common downlink signal / channel only during a periodic time. That is, the periodic time can be called the activation time. In this way, the activation time can be periodic; correspondingly, the inactivity time can be periodic.

[0124] Optionally, the time of periodic occurrence can be defined in terms of discontinuous transmission (DTX). DTX can be composed of repeated DTX cycles, and a DTX cycle can include DTX activation time and DTX inactivation time. In this way, the activation time can be the DTX activation time. Of course, DTX can also be called cell DTX. Since network equipment mainly broadcasts public downlink signals / channels to terminal devices in idle state / inactive state, DTX can also be called cell DTX for terminal devices in idle state / inactive state.

[0125] Optionally, the periodic time can be defined by a periodic time window. Thus, the active time can be the periodic time window, and the inactive time can be the time outside the time window.

[0126] In addition, network devices transmitting common downlink signals / channels during the active time period are not affected. However, these signals may be affected during the inactive time period, as some common downlink signals / channels are not transmitted during the inactive time period. The following describes how SSB, SIB1, SIBx, paging, or RAR are combined with the active / inactive time period.

[0127]

SSB

[0128] SSBs may not be sent during the inactive time. In addition, for cell search, if the network device does not send SSBs during the inactive time, then the terminal device will not combine and receive the unsent SSBs because it can blindly detect whether the SSBs are sent. The cell search here can include cell initial selection, cell selection, and cell reselection.

[0129] For measurement, the network device can "limit" the terminal device's SSB location by configuring the synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration (SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration, SMTC). If the network device does not send SSBs during the inactive time, the network device can use SMTC to limit the terminal device's measurement to the location where the SSB is sent. Therefore, the inactive time may not affect the terminal device's measurement.

[0130]

SIB1 / SIBx

[0131] Since SIB1 / SIBx can be transmitted discontinuously, SIB1 / SIBx may not be transmitted during the inactive time. In addition, since SIB1 / SIBx itself is transmitted within a configured window, the inactive time may not affect the cell search of the terminal device.

[0132]

Paging

[0133] Terminals in idle / inactive states need to monitor the paging-related PDCCH, also known as Type 2-PDCCH. The radio network temporary identity (RNTI) of the paging-related PDCCH is P-RNTI, and the downlink control information (DCI) format used is DCI format 1-0.

[0134] When the terminal device detects the paging-related PDCCH (CRC is successfully descrambled using the P-RNTI), it can parse the DCI. The DCI may contain a short message to enable the terminal device to obtain warning information or perform system information updates. In addition, the DCI may also contain scheduling information to enable the terminal device to receive the paging-related physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), thereby obtaining the paging message and further initiating the random access process to enter the connected state.

[0135] The monitoring timing of the paging-related PDCCH may be configured by a search space set (SSS).

[0136] The time domain location of paging is evenly distributed. The time domain location of paging includes paging frame (PF), paging occasion (PO) and paging monitoring occasion (PMO).

[0137] PF is a paging cycle. There are N (N is a positive integer) PFs in a paging cycle. These N PFs are evenly distributed in the paging cycle. Among them, the paging cycle is time-continuous, that is, two consecutive paging cycles are connected end to end. In addition, a PF can be a radio frame or a system frame.

[0138] The PO is within the PF. There are Ns (Ns is a positive integer) POs within a PF. These Ns POs are concentrated at the beginning of the PF. The PO can be used to determine the starting point of the monitoring opportunity within the PF, can indicate the time domain position of the paging-related PDCCH, can be used to transmit paging downlink control information (paging downlink control information, paging DCI), can be composed of multiple subframes, multiple time slots or multiple OFDM symbols, and can be composed of multiple paging-related PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The paging-related PDCCH monitoring opportunity can also be called PMO or paging PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

[0139] PMO is within the PO. There are X (X is a positive integer) PMOs in a PO. These X PMOs are concentrated at the beginning of the PO. One PMO corresponds to one beam (associated with one SSB). One PMO is a PDCCH monitoring opportunity. PMO is sent periodically according to the paging search space configuration (i.e., configured by the parameter pagingSearchSpace). The paging search space is also called the third type of common search space set (Type3-PDCCH common search space set, Type3-PDCCH CSS set).

[0140] In summary, since the time domain positions of paging are evenly distributed, paging may occur during the inactive time. To prevent the terminal device from not receiving paging, this embodiment needs to enhance the paging configuration to ensure that paging is not during the inactive time, but as much as possible during the active time.

[0141]

RAR

[0142] The time domain position of RAR is a window. Generally, the window can be called RAR window, and the position of RAR window starts a preset or configured time after the terminal device sends a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0143] Since the RAR window or part of the RAR window may be within the inactive time, in order to prevent the terminal device from not receiving the RAR, this embodiment needs to enhance the RAR window configuration to ensure that the RAR window or part of the RAR window is not within the inactive time, but within the active time as much as possible.

[0144] 2. Specific implementation methods

[0145] [Scheme 1]

[0146] In "Solution 1," this embodiment considers how to enhance paging configuration to ensure that paging occurs within the active time, rather than within the inactive time. Furthermore, this embodiment assumes that the network can configure the start of the active time to coincide with or be sufficiently close to the start of the paging cycle.

[0147] Optionally, for at least one activation time including a complete paging cycle, if a paging cycle is entirely or partially within the inactivation time, the paging cycle is discarded.

[0148] Optionally, for at least one active time including a complete paging cycle, if a portion of a paging cycle is within the inactive time, paging within the paging cycle and within the inactive time is discarded.

[0149] The present embodiment will now specifically describe the above contents in the following various ways, wherein the various ways may be related to each other or independent of each other, and the same contents between the various ways may be referenced to each other, which will not be described in detail.

[0150]

Method 1-1

[0151] In "Method 1-1", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0152] S210: When all or part of the paging in a paging cycle is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines that the paging in the paging cycle is invalid.

[0153] In this way, for a paging cycle that is entirely or partially within the inactive time, the terminal device does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle in order to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying terminal device implementation, and achieving enhanced paging configuration.

[0154] Optionally, the paging is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor / do not receive / ignore the paging. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device can be clarified.

[0155] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device with respect to PFs, POs, and / or PMOs can be further clarified, that is, the terminal device does not monitor / does not receive / ignore all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle.

[0156] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle. In this way, although the paging cycle is completely discarded, it does not cause a terminal device to be completely unable to find a valid PF / PO, because at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0157] Optionally, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time. Thus, when the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time, for multiple activation times, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0158] The above description uses a terminal device as an example to illustrate the enhancement of the paging configuration. The following description will be given using a network device as an example.

[0159] Taking a network device as an example, when all or part of the paging in a paging cycle is within the inactive time, the network device determines that the paging in the paging cycle is invalid.

[0160] In this way, for paging cycles that are entirely or partially within the inactive time, the network device can completely discard the paging within the paging cycle, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying network device implementation, and achieving enhanced paging configuration.

[0161] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle is invalid, which means that the network device discards / does not send paging within the paging cycle. In this way, the behavior of the network device can be clarified.

[0162] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle. In this way, the behavior of the network device with respect to PFs, POs, and / or PMOs can be further clarified, i.e., the network device discards / does not send all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle.

[0163] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle. In this way, although the paging cycle is completely discarded, it does not cause the network device to completely fail to send a valid PF / PO, because at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0164] Optionally, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time. Thus, when the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time, for multiple activation times, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0165] [Method 1-2]

[0166] In "Method 1-2", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG3 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0167] S310: When a paging portion in a paging cycle is within an inactive time, the terminal device determines that the paging in the paging cycle and within the inactive time is invalid.

[0168] In this way, for some paging cycles within the inactive time, the terminal device does not need to monitor this part of the paging, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying terminal device implementation, and enhancing paging configuration, while retaining the paging within the active time.

[0169] Optionally, the paging is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor / do not receive / ignore the paging. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device can be clarified.

[0170] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device with respect to PFs, POs, and / or PMOs can be further clarified, i.e., the terminal device does not monitor / receive / ignore some PFs, some POs, and / or some PMOs within the paging cycle and the inactive time.

[0171] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle. In this way, although the paging cycle is completely discarded, it does not cause a terminal device to be completely unable to find a valid PF / PO, because at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0172] Optionally, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time. Thus, when the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time, for multiple activation times, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0173] The above description uses a terminal device as an example to illustrate the enhancement of the paging configuration. The following description will be given using a network device as an example.

[0174] Taking a network device as an example, when a paging portion in a paging cycle is within an inactive time, the network device determines that the paging in the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid.

[0175] In this way, for some paging cycles within the inactive time, the network device only discards the paging within the inactive time, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid, thereby simplifying the signaling, simplifying the network device implementation, and enhancing the paging configuration, while retaining the paging within the active time.

[0176] Optionally, the paging is invalid, which means that the network device discards / does not send the paging. In this way, the behavior of the network device can be clarified.

[0177] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all PFs, all POs, and / or all PMOs within the paging cycle. In this way, the network device's behavior with respect to PFs, POs, and / or PMOs can be further clarified, i.e., the network device discards / does not send some PFs, some POs, and / or some PMOs within the paging cycle and the inactive time.

[0178] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle. In this way, although the paging cycle is completely discarded, it does not cause the network device to completely fail to send a valid PF / PO, because at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0179] Optionally, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time. Thus, when the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time, for multiple activation times, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle.

[0180] [Scheme 2]

[0181] In "Solution 2," this embodiment considers how to enhance paging configuration to ensure that paging occurs within the active time period, rather than the inactive time period. Furthermore, this embodiment assumes that the network can configure the start of the active time period to coincide with or be sufficiently close to the start of the paging cycle.

[0182] Optionally, when the paging cycle is greater than the activation time, generally speaking, any activation time cannot include a complete paging cycle, that is, all or part of the POs of at least one PF fall within an inactive time. If all the POs of a PF fall within an inactive time, by formulating rules, the PF can be advanced to the activation time before the inactive time.

[0183] Optionally, when the paging cycle is greater than the activation time, if some POs of a PF fall within an inactive time, rules can be formulated to advance these POs to the active time before the inactive time.

[0184] Optionally, when the paging cycle is greater than the activation time, the activation time before the inactivity time is extended so that the PFs fall within the activation time.

[0185] Optionally, when the paging cycle is greater than the activation time, extend the activation time before the inactivity time so that these POs fall within the activation time.

[0186] Optionally, when the paging cycle is greater than the activation time, the PF formula is modified and the concept of PF group is introduced so that all PF groups are within the activation time.

[0187] The present embodiment will now specifically describe the above contents in the following various ways, wherein the various ways may be related to each other or independent of each other, and the same contents between the various ways may be referenced to each other, which will not be described in detail.

[0188]

Method 2-1

[0189] In "Method 2-1", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0190] S410: When the target PF is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines the PF within the active time as the target PF.

[0191] The target PF may refer to the PF of the terminal device itself.

[0192] The PF within the activation time is used as the target PF, which may mean that the target PF is merged in advance into the PF within the activation time before the inactivation time.

[0193] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since some terminal devices can determine the PF within the activation time as the target PF, these terminal devices can merge the target PF into the PF within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that the target PFs of these terminal devices are all within the activation time, achieving enhanced paging configuration and avoiding increased paging delays.

[0194] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the target PF is within the inactive time, the network device determines the PF within the active time as the target PF.

[0195] The target PF may refer to the PF of the terminal device.

[0196] The PF within the activation time is used as the target PF, which may mean that the target PF is merged in advance into the PF within the activation time before the inactivation time.

[0197] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the network device can determine the PF within the activation time as the target PF, the network device can merge the target PF of certain terminal devices into the PF within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that the target PFs of these terminal devices are all within the activation time, achieving enhanced paging configuration and avoiding increased paging delays.

[0198] Optionally, determining a PF within the activation period as the target PF includes:

[0199] If the target PF is the kth PF within the inactive time, then the kth PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time is used as the target PF, where k is a positive integer.

[0200] Thus, for a paging cycle that is partially within the inactive time, since some PFs (i.e., one or more PFs) in the paging cycle are within the inactive time, this embodiment can advance the entire portion of PFs, and "align" the PFs that need to be advanced to a PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time. This rule simplifies system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation. Furthermore, it is applicable to the scenario where "when there are P (P is an integer greater than 1) PFs within the inactive time, there are at least P PFs within the active time."

[0201] Optionally, determining a PF within the activation period as the target PF includes:

[0202] If the target PF is the kth PF within the inactive time, then the k1th PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time is used as the target PF, where k and k1 are both positive integers; wherein k1 = k mod K, mod represents a modulo operation, K represents the number of PFs within the active time, and k mod K represents the remainder of k divided by K.

[0203] In this way, for the situation where there are P (P>K) PFs in the non-activation time, but there are only K PFs instead of P PFs in the activation time, since there are no P PFs in the activation time, this embodiment can use the modulo operation to make multiple PFs in the non-activation time simultaneously and "alignedly" merged in advance into a PF in the activation time most recently before the non-activation time, thereby simplifying the system design, signaling, and network equipment / terminal equipment implementation through this rule.

[0204] Optionally, the target PF is within the inactive time, and all POs including the target PF are within the inactive time.

[0205] In this way, for all POs of the target PF during the inactive time, this embodiment can simplify system design, signaling, and terminal device implementation.

[0206] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, all or part of the POs of at least one PF in the paging cycle will be in an inactive time, so that the target PF is in the inactive time.

[0207] Optionally, the activation time is less than the paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time is less than the paging cycle, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle.

[0208]

Method 2-2

[0209] In "Method 2-2", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0210] S510: When the target PO is within the non-activation time, the terminal device determines the PO within the activation time as the target PO.

[0211] The target PO refers to the PO of the terminal device itself.

[0212] The PO within the activation time being the target PO may mean that the target PO is merged in advance into the PO within the activation time before the inactivation time.

[0213] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since some terminal devices determine the PO within the activation time as the target PO, these terminal devices can merge the target PO into the PO within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that these target POs are all within the activation time, realizing the enhancement of paging configuration and avoiding the increase of paging delay.

[0214] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the target PO is within the non-activation time, the network device determines a PO within the activation time as the target PO.

[0215] The target PO may refer to the PO of the terminal device.

[0216] The PO within the activation time being the target PO may mean that the target PO is merged in advance into the PO within the activation time before the inactivation time.

[0217] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the network device can determine the PO within the activation time as the target PO, the network device can merge the target PO of certain terminal devices into the PO within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that the target POs of these terminal devices are all within the activation time, achieving enhanced paging configuration and avoiding increased paging delays.

[0218] Optionally, determine the PO within the activation period as the target PO, including:

[0219] If the target PO is the mth PO of the target PF within the inactive time, then the mth PO of the target PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time is used as the target PO, where m is a positive integer.

[0220] Thus, for a paging cycle that is partially within the inactive time, since the target PF within the paging cycle has some POs (i.e., one or more POs) within the inactive time, this embodiment can advance the entire portion of POs, and "align" the POs that need to be advanced to a PO within the target PF's most recent active time before the inactive time. This rule simplifies system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation. At the same time, it is applicable to the scenario where "when the target PF has Q (Q is an integer greater than 1) POs within the inactive time, the target PF has at least Q POs within the active time."

[0221] Optionally, determine the PO within the activation period as the target PO, including:

[0222] If the target PO is the mth PO of the target PF during the inactive time, then the m1th PO of the target PF during the most recent active time before the inactive time is taken as the target PO, where m and m1 are both positive integers; wherein, m1 = m mod M, mod represents the modulo operation, M is the number of POs of the target PF during the active time, and m mod M represents the remainder of m divided by M.

[0223] In this way, for the case where the target PF has Q (Q>M) POs during the non-activation time, but only M POs instead of Q POs during the activation time, since there are no Q POs during the activation time, this embodiment can use the modulo operation to make multiple POs during the non-activation time simultaneously and "alignedly" merged in advance into a PO of the target PF during the most recent activation time before the non-activation time, thereby simplifying the system design, signaling, and network equipment / terminal equipment implementation through this rule.

[0224] Optionally, part of the PO of the target PF is within the inactive time. In this way, since part of the PO of the target PF is within the inactive time, there is a target PO within the inactive time, so this embodiment can fine-tune the processing of part of the PO within the inactive time to minimize the increase of the paging delay.

[0225] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, part of the PO of the target PF in the paging cycle will be in an inactive time, so that the target PO exists in the inactive time.

[0226] Optionally, the activation time is less than the paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time is less than the paging cycle, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle.

[0227] [Method 2-3]

[0228] In "Method 2-3", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG6 is a flowchart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0229] S610: When the target paging is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines that the target paging is valid.

[0230] Target paging refers to the paging of the terminal device itself.

[0231] As can be seen, for some paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device can extend the activation time before or after the inactive time. In this way, the target paging is changed from the original inactive time to within the extended activation time, so that the terminal device determines that the target paging is valid, avoiding an increase in paging delay.

[0232] Correspondingly, taking the network device as an example, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device determines that the target paging is valid.

[0233] As can be seen, for a portion of the paging cycle that falls within the inactive time, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device extends the active time before or after the inactive time. In this way, the target paging is moved from the original inactive time to within the extended active time, so the network device determines that the target paging is valid, thus avoiding an increase in paging delay.

[0234] Optionally, target paging is enabled, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor / receive target paging, or the network device needs to send target paging. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be clarified.

[0235] Optionally, the target paging includes a target PF, a target PO and / or a target PMO. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be further clarified with respect to the target PF, the target PO and / or the target PMO.

[0236] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, the target paging exists within the inactive time within the paging cycle.

[0237] Optionally, the activation time is less than the paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time is less than the paging cycle, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle.

[0238] [Method 2-4]

[0239] In "Method 2-4", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0240] S710: When the target paging is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines that the target paging is invalid.

[0241] Target paging refers to the paging of the terminal device itself.

[0242] As can be seen, for some paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target page falls within the inactive time, the network device can directly discard / not send the target PF, rather than extending the activation time before or after the inactive time. This eliminates the need for some terminal devices to receive the target PF, thereby determining that the target page is invalid, saving energy in the communication system. Furthermore, since other paging cycles still fall within the active time, some terminal devices will not be unable to receive a page. This simplifies system design, signaling, and terminal device implementation, though paging latency may increase.

[0243] Correspondingly, taking the network device as an example, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device determines that the target paging is invalid.

[0244] As can be seen, for some paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target page falls within the inactive time, the network device can directly discard / not send the target PF, rather than extending the activation time before or after the inactive time. This determines that the target page is invalid, saving energy consumption in the communication system. In addition, because other paging cycles still fall within the active time, some terminal devices will not be unable to be paged. This simplifies system design, signaling, and network device implementation, although paging latency may increase.

[0245] Optionally, the target paging is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor / do not receive the target paging, or the network device does not need to send / ignore the target paging. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be clarified.

[0246] Optionally, the target paging includes a target PF, a target PO and / or a target PMO. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be further clarified with respect to the target PF, the target PO and / or the target PMO.

[0247] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, the target paging exists within the inactive time within the paging cycle.

[0248] Optionally, the activation time is less than the paging cycle. Thus, since the activation time is less than the paging cycle, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle.

[0249] [Method 2-5]

[0250] In "Method 2-5", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0251] S810. The terminal device determines the time position of the target PF group.

[0252] The target PF group refers to the terminal device's own PF group.

[0253] The PF interval within the target PF group (also referred to as the intra-group interval of the target PF group) is small enough, and the interval between the target PF group and the adjacent PF group (ie, the inter-group interval of the adjacent PF groups) is large enough.

[0254] It should be noted that this embodiment may introduce the concept of PF group or PF subset, so that the PF interval within a PF group (also referred to as the intra-group interval of a PF group) is sufficiently small and the inter-group interval between adjacent PF groups is sufficiently large.

[0255] In this way, the time position of the target PF group is determined by the terminal device, so that the target PF group can be evenly distributed in multiple activation times within the paging cycle, solving the problem of evenly distributed PFs (all PFs have the same interval) falling in the inactive time.

[0256] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, the network device determines the time position of the target PF group.

[0257] In this way, the time position of the target PF group is determined by the network device, so that the target PF group can be evenly distributed in multiple activation times within the paging cycle, solving the problem of evenly distributed PFs (all PFs have the same interval) falling in the inactive time.

[0258] Optionally, the time position of the target PF group is the start position of the target PF group, wherein the start position of the target PF group may represent the interval between the target PF group and an adjacent PF group (the distance between the start positions of adjacent PF groups).

[0259] In this way, the terminal device / network device can first determine the interval between adjacent PF groups, and then determine the PF interval within the target PF group.

[0260] Optionally, the starting position of the target PF group is the starting system frame number (SFN) of the target PF group. Thus, the starting position of the target PF group is the starting position in frames. Furthermore, the SFN represents absolute time for a cell. Using the SFN allows both network devices and terminal devices to determine the absolute start time.

[0261] Optionally, determining the time position of the target PF group includes: calculating the time position of the target PF group according to a predefined formula.

[0262] In this way, the terminal device / network device can calculate the time position of the target PF group by substituting the values ​​of the high-level parameter configuration into the predefined formula.

[0263] Optional, predefined formulas are:

[0264] (A+offset)mod T=(T / W)*(UE_ID mod W);

[0265] Among them, A represents the time position of the target PF group, offset represents an offset, T represents the length of the paging cycle, W represents the number of PF groups in the paging cycle, and UE_ID represents the terminal equipment identifier.

[0266] In this way, through the predefined formula, W PF groups are evenly distributed in the paging cycle, and (UE_ID mod M) can map log2(M) least significant bits (LSBs) of the terminal device identifier to these W PF groups or W time positions.

[0267] [Scheme 3]

[0268] In "Solution 3", this embodiment considers how to enhance the RAR window configuration to ensure that the RAR window or part of the RAR window is not in the inactive time, but in the active time as much as possible.

[0269] Optionally, when the start point of the RAR window is within an inactive time, the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the nearest active time after the inactive time.

[0270] Optionally, when the start point of the RAR window is within an inactive time, the start point of the nearest active time after the inactive time is advanced to the start point of the RAR window.

[0271] The present embodiment will now specifically describe the above contents in the following various ways, wherein the various ways may be related to each other or independent of each other, and the same contents between the various ways may be referenced to each other, which will not be described in detail.

[0272]

Method 3-1

[0273] In "Method 3-1", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0274] S910. When the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines the inactive time or the starting point of the most recent active time after the starting point of the RAR window as the starting point of the RAR window.

[0275] Among them, the starting point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the starting point of the RAR window is used as the starting point of the RAR window, which may mean that the starting point of the RAR window is postponed to the starting point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the starting point of the RAR window.

[0276] It can be seen that by postponing the start point of the RAR window to the inactive time or the start point of the most recent active time after the start point of the RAR window, the terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR to the most recent active time.

[0277] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device determines the starting point of the inactive time or the nearest active time after the starting point of the RAR window as the starting point of the RAR window.

[0278] It can be seen that by postponing the start point of the RAR window to the inactive time or the start point of the most recent active time after the start point of the RAR window, the network device can postpone sending the RAR to the most recent active time.

[0279] Optionally, the starting point of the RAR window includes the starting frame of the RAR window; and the starting point of the activation time includes the starting frame of the activation time.

[0280] In this way, by clearly defining the starting point as the start frame, system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation can be simplified.

[0281] Optionally, the starting point of the RAR window includes the starting timeslot of the RAR window; and the starting point of the activation time includes the starting timeslot of the activation time.

[0282] In this way, by specifying the starting point as the starting time slot, the system design, signaling, and network equipment / terminal equipment implementation can be simplified, and the time slot can be refined to reduce latency.

[0283] Optionally, the starting point of the RAR window includes the starting symbol of the RAR window; the starting point of the activation time includes the starting symbol of the activation time.

[0284] In this way, by specifying the starting point as the starting symbol, the symbol can be refined to reduce the delay.

[0285]

Method 3-2

[0286] In "Method 3-2", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0287] S1010: When the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0288] As can be seen, when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can advance the start point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the terminal device can advance the activation time, so that the terminal device can determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0289] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the starting point of a RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0290] As can be seen, when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can advance the start point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device can advance the activation time, so that the network device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0291] Optionally, the RAR in the RAR window is valid, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor / receive the RAR in the RAR window, or the network device needs to send the RAR in the RAR window. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be clarified.

[0292] [Scheme 4]

[0293] In "Solution 4", this embodiment considers how to enhance the RAR window configuration to ensure that the RAR window or part of the RAR window is not within the inactive time, but within the active time as much as possible.

[0294] Optionally, when the end point of the RAR window is within an inactive time, the end point of the RAR window is advanced to the end point of the most recent active time before the inactive time.

[0295] Optionally, when the end point of the RAR window is within an inactive time, the end point of the most recent active time before the inactive time is postponed to the end point of the RAR window.

[0296] The present embodiment will now specifically describe the above contents in the following various ways, wherein the various ways may be related to each other or independent of each other, and the same contents between the various ways may be referenced to each other, which will not be described in detail.

[0297]

Method 4-1

[0298] In "Method 4-1", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0299] S1110. When the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines the end point of the inactive time or the most recent active time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

[0300] Among them, the end point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window is used as the starting point of the RAR window, which may mean that the starting point of the RAR window is postponed to the end point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window.

[0301] It can be seen that by postponing the start point of the RAR window to the end point of the nearest activation time after the inactive time or the end point of the RAR window, the terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR in the next activation time.

[0302] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device determines the end point of the inactive time or the most recent active time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

[0303] In this way, since the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the end point of the activation time closest to the inactive time or the end point of the RAR window, the network device can postpone sending the RAR in the next activation time.

[0304] Optionally, the start point of the RAR window includes the start frame of the RAR window; the end point of the RAR window includes the end frame of the RAR window; and the end point of the activation time includes the end frame of the activation time.

[0305] In this way, by clearly defining the start point as the start frame and the end point as the end frame, system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation can be simplified.

[0306] Optionally, the start point of the RAR window includes the start time slot of the RAR window; the end point of the RAR window includes the end time slot of the RAR window; and the end point of the activation time includes the end time slot of the activation time.

[0307] In this way, by clearly defining the starting point as the start time slot and the ending point as the end time slot, it is possible to simplify system design, simplify signaling, simplify network equipment / terminal equipment implementation, and refine it to the time slot to reduce latency.

[0308] Optionally, the start point of the RAR window includes the start symbol of the RAR window; the end point of the RAR window includes the end symbol of the RAR window; and the end point of the activation time includes the end symbol of the activation time.

[0309] In this way, the starting point is clearly defined as the starting symbol, which can be refined to the symbol to reduce latency.

[0310]

Method 4-2

[0311] In "Method 4-2", taking a terminal device as an example, FIG12 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0312] S1210: When the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the terminal device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0313] As can be seen, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can postpone the end point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the terminal device can advance the activation time, so that the terminal device can determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0314] Correspondingly, taking a network device as an example, when the starting point of a RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0315] As can be seen, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can postpone the end point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device can advance the activation time, so that the network device determines that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0316] Optionally, the RAR in the RAR window is valid, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor / receive the RAR in the RAR window, or the network device needs to send the RAR in the RAR window. In this way, the behavior of the terminal device / network device can be clarified.

[0317] [Scheme 5]

[0318] In "Solution 5", this embodiment considers how to reduce the impact of the above-mentioned network energy saving, paging enhancement and / or RAR enhancement on existing (stock) terminal devices.

[0319] Specifically, this embodiment can restrict existing (stock) terminal devices from accessing cells supporting network energy saving, paging enhancement, and / or RAR enhancement by formulating rules.

[0320] Optionally, a terminal device that does not have network energy-saving capabilities determines not to access the cell used to send the MIB based on one or more bits in the MIB. Accordingly, the network device sets one or more bits in the MIB to restrict terminal devices that do not have network energy-saving capabilities from accessing the cell used to send the MIB. In this way, a terminal device that has network energy-saving capabilities can ignore the one or more bits in the MIB and receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB; a terminal device that does not have network energy-saving capabilities can determine not to receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB based on this one bit in the MIB.

[0321] Optionally, a terminal device that does not have the paging enhancement capability determines not to access the cell used to send the MIB based on one or more bits in the MIB. Accordingly, the network device sets one or more bits in the MIB to restrict the terminal device that does not have the paging enhancement capability from accessing the cell used to send the MIB. Here, paging enhancement includes paging enhancement for network energy saving. In this way, a terminal device with the paging enhancement capability can receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB regardless of the one or more bits in the MIB; a terminal device that does not have the paging enhancement capability can determine not to receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB based on the one or more bits in the MIB.

[0322] Optionally, a terminal device that does not have the RAR enhancement capability determines not to access the cell used to send the MIB based on one or more bits in the MIB. Accordingly, the network device sets one or more bits in the MIB to restrict the terminal device that does not have the RAR enhancement capability from accessing the cell used to send the MIB. Here, RAR enhancement includes RAR enhancement for network energy saving. In this way, a terminal device with the RAR enhancement capability can receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB regardless of the one or more bits in the MIB; a terminal device that does not have the RAR enhancement capability determines not to receive SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB based on the one or more bits in the MIB.

[0323] The present embodiment will now specifically describe the above contents in the following various ways, wherein the various ways may be related to each other or independent of each other, and the same contents between the various ways may be referenced to each other, which will not be described in detail.

[0324]

Method 5-1

[0325] In "Method 5-1", the terminal device can determine whether the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement based on SIB1 or SIBx. Here, the terminal device is a terminal device with paging enhancement capability. Regardless of the one or more bits in the MIB, it receives the SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to send the MIB. The higher-layer parameters in the SIB1 or SIBx indicate whether the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement. The terminal device determines whether the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement based on the higher-layer parameters.

[0326] If the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx does not support paging enhancement, the terminal device receives paging in the original manner.

[0327] Alternatively, if the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement, the terminal device determines to adopt the paging enhancement method described in the above "Solution 1" or "Solution 2" to receive paging.

[0328] Alternatively, if the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement, and its target PF or PO is within the inactive time, that is, not within the active time, then the terminal device determines to receive the paging using the paging enhancement method described in "Solution 1" or "Solution 2" above. Here, the location of the target PF or PO can be semi-statically determined.

[0329]

Method 5-2

[0330] In "Method 5-2", the terminal device can determine whether the cell used to transmit the SIB1 or SIBx supports RAR enhancement based on SIB1 or SIBx. Here, the terminal device is a terminal device with RAR enhancement capability. It receives SIB1 and / or SIBx of the cell used to transmit the MIB, regardless of the one or more bits in the MIB. The higher-layer parameters in the SIB1 or SIBx indicate whether the cell used to transmit the SIB1 or SIBx supports RAR enhancement. The terminal device determines whether the cell used to transmit the SIB1 or SIBx supports RAR enhancement based on the higher-layer parameters.

[0331] If the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx does not support RAR enhancement, the terminal device receives RAR in the original manner.

[0332] Alternatively, if the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports RAR enhancement, the terminal device determines to receive RAR using the above-mentioned RAR enhancement method.

[0333] Alternatively, if the cell used to send the SIB1 or SIBx supports paging enhancement, and the RAR window is within the inactive time, that is, not within the active time, then the terminal device determines to receive the RAR using the RAR enhancement method described in "Solution 3" or "Solution 4" above. Here, the position of the RAR window is related to the transmission time of the preamble, and the transmission time of the preamble can be semi-statically determined.

[0334] 3. Example of a communication device

[0335] The above mainly introduces the solution of the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of the method side. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the network device / terminal device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0336] The embodiments of the present application can divide the network device / terminal device into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into a processing unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software program module. It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods can be used.

[0337] In the case of using integrated units, FIG13 is a block diagram of functional units of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1300 includes: a determining unit 1301 .

[0338] Optionally, the determining unit 1301 may be a module unit for processing signals, data, information, sequences, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0339] Optionally, the determining unit 1301 may be integrated into the processing unit.

[0340] It should be noted that the processing unit can be a processor or controller, for example, a baseband processor, a baseband chip, a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processing unit can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0341] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a storage unit for storing computer program codes or instructions executed by the communication device 1300. The storage unit may be a memory.

[0342] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may be a chip or a chip module.

[0343] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a communication unit. It should be noted that the communication unit may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc.

[0344] Optionally, the determining unit 1301 is configured to execute any step executed by the chip / chip module / terminal device / network device, etc. in the above method embodiment, which will be described in detail below.

[0345] In a specific implementation, the determining unit 1301 is used to execute the steps in the above method embodiment, and when performing an action such as sending, other units may be selectively called to complete the corresponding operation. Since the above application involves multiple methods, each method will be described in detail below.

[0346] In "Mode 1-1", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine that the paging in a paging cycle is invalid when all or part of the paging in the paging cycle is within the inactive time.

[0347] In this way, for paging cycles that are entirely or partially in the inactive time, the network equipment does not need to send paging within the paging cycle, and the terminal equipment does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle at all, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying network equipment / terminal equipment implementation, and realizing enhanced paging configuration.

[0348] Optionally, paging within the paging cycle is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle.

[0349] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all paging frames PF, all paging occasions PO and / or all paging monitoring occasions PMO within the paging cycle.

[0350] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle; or the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time. In "Method 1-2", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine that paging within a paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid when a paging portion within the paging cycle falls within the inactive time.

[0351] In this way, for some paging cycles within the inactive time, the network device only discards the paging within the inactive time, and the terminal device does not need to monitor this part of the paging, so as to determine that the paging within the paging cycle and the inactive time is invalid, thereby saving energy consumption of the communication system, simplifying system design, simplifying signaling, simplifying network device / terminal device implementation, realizing enhanced paging configuration, and retaining the paging within the active time.

[0352] Optionally, paging within the paging cycle is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle.

[0353] Optionally, paging within a paging cycle refers to all paging frames PF, all paging occasions PO and / or all paging monitoring occasions PMO within the paging cycle.

[0354] Optionally, at least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle; or, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time.

[0355] In "Mode 2-1", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine a PF within an active time as the target PF when the target PF is within an inactive time.

[0356] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the PF within the activation time is the target PF, the network device can merge the target PF of some terminal devices into the PF within the activation time in advance, and these terminal devices can merge the target PF into the PF within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that the target PFs of these terminal devices are all within the activation time, realizing the enhancement of paging configuration and avoiding the increase of paging delay.

[0357] Optionally, in determining the PF within the activation time as the target PF, the determining unit 1301 is configured to:

[0358] If the target PF is the kth PF within the inactive time, then the kth PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time is used as the target PF, where k is a positive integer.

[0359] Optionally, in determining the PF within the activation time as the target PF, the determining unit 1301 is configured to:

[0360] If the target PF is the kth PF within the inactive time, then the k1th PF within the most recent active time before the inactive time is used as the target PF, where k and k1 are both positive integers;

[0361] Wherein, k1=k mod K, mod represents a modulo operation, and K represents the number of PFs within the activation time.

[0362] Optionally, the target PF is within the inactive time, and all POs including the target PF are within the inactive time.

[0363] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is smaller than the paging cycle.

[0364] In "Mode 2-2", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine a PO within an active time as a target PO when the target PO is within an inactive time.

[0365] In this way, for some paging cycles within the non-activation time, since the PO within the activation time is the target PO, the network equipment can merge the target POs of some terminal devices into the PO within the activation time in advance, and these terminal devices can merge the target POs into the PO within the activation time in advance, thereby ensuring that these target POs are all within the activation time, realizing the enhancement of paging configuration and avoiding the increase of paging delay.

[0366] Optionally, in determining the PO within the activation time as the target PO, the determining unit 1301 is configured to:

[0367] If the target PO is the mth PO of the target PF during the inactive time, then the mth PO of the target PF during the most recent active time before the inactive time is taken as the target PO, where m is a positive integer.

[0368] Optionally, in determining the PO within the activation time as the target PO, the determining unit 1301 is configured to:

[0369] If the target PO is the mth PO of the target PF during the inactive time, then the m1th PO of the target PF during the most recent active time before the inactive time is taken as the target PO, where m and m1 are both positive integers;

[0370] Wherein, m1=m mod M, mod represents a modulo operation, and M is the number of POs of the target PF within the activation time.

[0371] Optionally, some POs of the target PF are within the inactive time.

[0372] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is smaller than the paging cycle.

[0373] In "Mode 2-3", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine that the target paging is valid when the target paging is within the inactive time.

[0374] As can be seen, for paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target paging is within the inactive time, the network device can extend the active time before or after the inactive time. In this way, the target paging is changed from being within the original inactive time to being within the extended active time, thereby confirming that the target paging is valid and avoiding an increase in paging delay.

[0375] Optionally, target paging is enabled, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor the target paging;

[0376] Target paging is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the target paging.

[0377] Optionally, the target paging includes at least one target PF, at least one target PO and / or at least one target PMO within the paging cycle.

[0378] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is smaller than the paging cycle.

[0379] In "Mode 2-4", the determining unit 1301 is configured to determine that the target paging is invalid when the target paging is within the inactive time.

[0380] As can be seen, for some paging cycles that fall within the inactive time, when the target page falls within the inactive time, the network device can directly discard / not send the target PF, rather than extending the activation time before or after the inactive time. This eliminates the need for certain terminal devices to receive the target PF, thereby determining that the target page is invalid, saving energy in the communication system. Furthermore, since other paging cycles still fall within the active time, some terminal devices will not be unable to receive a page. This simplifies system design, signaling, and network device / terminal device implementation, though paging latency may increase.

[0381] Optionally, target paging is enabled, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor the target paging;

[0382] Target paging is invalid, which means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the target paging.

[0383] Optionally, the target paging includes at least one target PF, at least one target PO and / or at least one target PMO within the paging cycle.

[0384] Optionally, the activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is smaller than the paging cycle.

[0385] In "Mode 2-5", the determination unit 1301 is used to determine the time position of the target PF group.

[0386] In this way, by determining the time position of the target PF group, the target PF group can be evenly distributed in multiple activation times within the paging cycle, solving the problem of evenly distributed PFs (all PFs have the same interval) falling in the inactive time.

[0387] Optionally, the time position of the target PF group is the start position of the target PF group.

[0388] Optionally, the starting position of the target PF group is the starting system frame number of the target PF group.

[0389] Optionally, in determining the time position of the target PF group, the determining unit 1301 is configured to:

[0390] The time position of the target PF group is calculated according to a predefined formula.

[0391] Optionally, the predefined formula is: (A+offset)mod T=(T / W)*(UE_ID mod W);

[0392] Among them, A represents the time position of the target PF group, offset represents an offset, T represents the length of the paging cycle, W represents the number of PF groups in the paging cycle, and UE_ID represents the terminal equipment identifier.

[0393] In "Mode 3-1", the determination unit 1301 is used to determine the starting point of the RAR window as the starting point of the RAR window when the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, or the starting point of the activation time closest to the inactive time or the starting point of the RAR window.

[0394] As can be seen, by using the start point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the start point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window, the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the start point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR until the most recent activation time.

[0395] Optionally, the starting point of the RAR window includes one of a starting frame, a starting time slot, or a starting symbol of the RAR window;

[0396] The start point of the activation time includes one of a start frame, a start slot, or a start symbol of the activation time.

[0397] In "Mode 3-2", the determination unit 1301 is used to determine whether the RAR in the RAR window is valid when the starting point of the RAR window is within the inactive time.

[0398] As can be seen, when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can advance the start point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the start point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can advance the activation time, thereby ensuring that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0399] Optionally, the RAR in the RAR window is valid, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor the RAR in the RAR window.

[0400] In "Mode 4-1", the determination unit 1301 is used to determine, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the end point of the inactive time or the end point of the most recent active time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

[0401] As can be seen, by using the end point of the activation time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window, the start point of the RAR window is postponed to the end point of the inactive time or the most recent activation time after the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can postpone receiving the RAR until the next activation time.

[0402] Optionally, the end point of the RAR window includes one of an end frame, an end slot, or an end symbol of the RAR window;

[0403] The end point of the activation time includes one of an end frame, an end slot, or an end symbol of the activation time;

[0404] The starting point of the RAR window includes one of a starting frame, a starting time slot, or a starting symbol of the RAR window.

[0405] In "Mode 4-2", the determination unit 1301 is used to determine whether the RAR in the RAR window is valid when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time.

[0406] As can be seen, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactive time, the network device can postpone the end point of the activation time closest to the inactive time to the end point of the RAR window. In this way, the network device / terminal device can advance the activation time, so that the network device / terminal device can determine that the RAR in the RAR window is valid.

[0407] Optionally, the RAR in the RAR window is valid, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor the RAR in the RAR window.

[0408] It should be noted that the specific implementation of each operation in the embodiment shown in Figure 13 can be found in the description of the method embodiment shown above, and will not be detailed here.

[0409] 4. Example of a terminal device

[0410] Please refer to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1400 may include a processor 1410, a memory 1420, and a communication bus for connecting the processor 1410 and the memory 1420.

[0411] Optionally, the memory 1420 includes but is not limited to random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 1420 is used to store the program code executed by the terminal device 1400 and the data transmitted.

[0412] Optionally, the terminal device 1400 further includes a communication interface for receiving and sending data.

[0413] Optionally, the processor 1410 may be one or more central processing units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 1410 is a central processing unit (CPU), the central processing unit (CPU) may be a single-core central processing unit (CPU) or a multi-core central processing unit (CPU).

[0414] Optionally, the processor 1410 may be a baseband chip, a chip, a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof.

[0415] In specific implementation, the processor 1410 in the terminal device 1400 is used to execute the computer program or instruction 1421 stored in the memory 1420 and perform the corresponding steps of the method embodiment shown above, which will not be repeated here.

[0416] 5. Example of a network device

[0417] Please refer to Figure 15, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. The network device 1500 may include a processor 1510, a memory 1520, and a communication bus for connecting the processor 1510 and the memory 1520.

[0418] Optionally, the memory 1520 includes but is not limited to random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 1520 is used to store the program code executed by the network device 1500 and the data transmitted.

[0419] Optionally, the network device 1500 further includes a communication interface for receiving and sending data.

[0420] Optionally, the processor 1510 may be one or more central processing units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 1510 is a central processing unit (CPU), the central processing unit (CPU) may be a single-core central processing unit (CPU) or a multi-core central processing unit (CPU).

[0421] Optionally, the processor 1510 may be a baseband chip, a chip, a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof.

[0422] In specific implementation, the processor 1510 in the network device 1500 is used to execute the computer program or instruction 1521 stored in the memory 1520 and perform the corresponding steps of the method embodiment shown above, which will not be repeated here.

[0423] 6. Other related examples

[0424] Optionally, the above method embodiments may be applied to or within a network device. That is, the execution subject of the above method embodiments may be a network device, such as a chip, chip module, module, or transmitter of a network device, without specific limitation.

[0425] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps described in the above method embodiment.

[0426] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, including a transceiver component and a chip, wherein the chip includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored on the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps described in the above method embodiment.

[0427] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions, which implements the steps described in the above method embodiment when executed.

[0428] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions, which implement the steps described in the above method embodiment when executed.

[0429] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the above-mentioned network device and terminal device.

[0430] It should be noted that, for the above-mentioned various embodiments, for the sake of simplicity of description, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations. Those skilled in the art should know that this application is not limited by the order of the actions described, because some steps in the embodiments of the present application can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. In addition, those skilled in the art should also know that the embodiments described in the specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions, steps, modules or units involved are not necessarily required by the embodiments of the present application.

[0431] In the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application have different focuses on the description of each embodiment. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of other embodiments.

[0432] The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a terminal device or a management device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also be present in a terminal device or a management device as discrete components.

[0433] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0434] The modules / units included in the devices and products described in the above embodiments may be software modules / units, hardware modules / units, or partly software modules / units and partly hardware modules / units. For example, for the devices and products applied to or integrated in the chip, the modules / units included therein may all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, or at least part of the modules / units may be implemented in the form of software programs, which run on the processor integrated inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units may be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for the devices and products applied to or integrated in the chip module, the modules / units included therein may all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units may be located in the same component (such as chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least part of the modules / units may be It is implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on the processor integrated inside the chip module, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in the terminal equipment, the various modules / units contained therein can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (for example, chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components in the terminal equipment, or, at least some modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on the processor integrated inside the terminal equipment, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits.

[0435] The specific implementation methods described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation method of the embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When all or part of the paging within a paging cycle is within the inactivity time, determining that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid.

2. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When part of the paging within a paging cycle is within the inactivity time, determining that the paging within the paging cycle and within the inactivity time is invalid.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The paging within the paging cycle being invalid means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the paging within the paging cycle.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The paging within the paging cycle refers to all paging frames (PFs), all paging opportunities (POs), and / or all paging monitoring opportunities (PMOs) within the paging cycle.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, At least one activation time includes a complete paging cycle; or, the paging cycle is less than or equal to the activation time.

6. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the target PF is within the inactivity time, determining the PF within the activation time as the target PF.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The determining the PF within the activation time as the target PF includes: If the target PF is the k-th PF within the inactivity time, then taking the k-th PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PF, where k is a positive integer.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein The determining the PF within the activation time as the target PF includes: If the target PF is the k-th PF within the inactivity time, then taking the k1-th PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PF, where both k and k1 are positive integers; where k1 = k mod K, mod represents the modulo operation, and K represents the number of PFs within the activation time.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 - 8, characterized in that, The target PF being within the inactivity time includes all POs of the target PF being within the inactivity time.

10. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the target PO is within the inactivity time, determining the PO within the activation time as the target PO.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The determining the PO within the activation time as the target PO includes: If the target PO is the m-th PO of the target PF within the inactivity time, then taking the m-th PO of the target PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PO, where m is a positive integer.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein The determining the PO within the activation time as the target PO includes: If the target PO is the m-th PO of the target PF within the inactivity time, then taking the m1-th PO of the target PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PO, where both m and m1 are positive integers; where m1 = m mod M, mod represents the modulo operation, and M is the number of POs of the target PF within the activation time.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, Part of the POs of the target PF are within the inactivity time.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the target paging is within the inactivity time, determining that the target paging is valid or determining that the target paging is invalid.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The target paging being valid means that the terminal device needs to monitor the target paging; The target paging being invalid means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the target paging.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The target paging includes at least one target PF, at least one target PO, and / or at least one target PMO within the paging cycle.

17. The method according to any one of claims 6-16, characterized in that, The activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is less than the paging cycle.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: Determine the time position of the target PF group.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The time position of the target PF group is the start position of the target PF group.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The start position of the target PF group is the start system frame number of the target PF group.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18 - 20, characterized in that, The determining the time position of the target PF group includes: Calculate the time position of the target PF group according to a predefined formula.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The predefined formula is: (A + offset) mod T = (T / W) * (UE_ID mod W); Wherein, A represents the time position of the target PF group, offset represents an offset, T represents the length of the paging cycle, W represents the number of PF groups within the paging cycle, and UE_ID represents the terminal device identifier.

23. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the start point of the random access response (RAR) window is within the non - active time, determine the non - active time or the start point of the nearest activation time after the start point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The start point of the RAR window includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the RAR window; The start point of the activation time includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the activation time.

25. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the end point of the RAR window is within the non - active time, determine the non - active time or the end point of the nearest activation time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The end point of the RAR window includes one of the end frame, end time slot, or end symbol of the RAR window; The end point of the activation time includes one of the end frame, end time slot, or end symbol of the activation time; The start point of the RAR window includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the RAR window.

27. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the start point of the RAR window is within the non - active time, determine that the RAR within the RAR window is valid; Or, When the end point of the RAR window is within the non - active time, determine that the RAR within the RAR window is valid.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein That the RAR within the RAR window is valid means that the terminal device needs to listen to the RAR within the RAR window.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: A determining unit, configured to determine that the paging within the paging cycle is invalid when all or part of the paging within a paging cycle is within the non - active time; or, A determining unit, configured to determine that the paging within the paging cycle and within the non - active time is invalid when part of the paging within a paging cycle is within the non - active time; or, A determining unit, configured to determine the PF within the activation time as the target PF when the target PF is within the non - active time; or, A determining unit, configured to determine the PO within the activation time as the target PO when the target PO is within the non - active time; or, A determining unit, configured to determine that the target paging is valid or determine that the target paging is invalid when the target paging is within the non - active time; or, A determining unit, configured to determine the time position of the target PF group; or, A determination unit, configured to, when a start point of a random access response (RAR) window is within an inactivity time, determine the inactivity time or a start point of the nearest activation time after the start point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window; Or, A determination unit, configured to, when an end point of the RAR window is within the inactivity time, determine the inactivity time or an end point of the nearest activation time after the end point of the RAR window as the start point of the RAR window; Or, A determination unit, configured to, when the start point of the RAR window is within the inactivity time, determine that the RAR within the RAR window is valid; or, A determination unit, configured to, when the end point of the RAR window is within the inactivity time, determine that the RAR within the RAR window is valid.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that, That the paging within the paging period is invalid means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the paging within the paging period.

31. The method according to claim 19 or 30, characterized in that, The paging within the paging period refers to all paging frames (PFs), all paging opportunities (POs), and / or all paging monitoring opportunities (PMOs) within the paging period.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 - 31, characterized in that, At least one activation time includes a complete paging period; or, the paging period is less than or equal to the activation time.

33. The method according to claim 29, wherein In determining the PF within the determined activation time as the target PF, the determination unit is configured to: If the target PF is the k-th PF within the inactivity time, then use the k-th PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PF, where k is a positive integer.

34. The method according to claim 29, wherein In determining the PF within the determined activation time as the target PF, the determination unit is configured to: If the target PF is the k-th PF within the inactivity time, then use the k1-th PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PF, where both k and k1 are positive integers; where k1 = k mod K, mod represents the modulo operation, and K represents the number of PFs within the activation time.

35. The method according to any one of claims 29, 33, and 34, characterized in that, That the target PF is within the inactivity time includes that all POs of the target PF are within the inactivity time.

36. The method according to claim 29, wherein In determining the PO within the determined activation time as the target PO, the determination unit is configured to: If the target PO is the m-th PO of the target PF within the inactivity time, then use the m-th PO of the target PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PO, where m is a positive integer.

37. The device according to claim 29, wherein In determining the PO within the determined activation time as the target PO, the determination unit is configured to: If the target PO is the m-th PO of the target PF within the inactivity time, then use the m1-th PO of the target PF within the nearest activation time before the inactivity time as the target PO, where both m and m1 are positive integers; where m1 = m mod M, mod represents the modulo operation, and M is the number of POs of the target PF within the activation time.

38. The device according to claim 36 or 37, characterized in that, Some POs of the target PF are within the inactivity time.

39. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that, That the target paging is valid means that the terminal device needs to monitor the target paging; That the target paging is invalid means that the terminal device does not need to monitor the target paging.

40. The device according to claim 29 or 39, characterized in that, The target paging includes at least one target PF, at least one target PO, and / or at least one target PMO within a paging cycle.

41. The device according to any one of claims 29, 33 - 40, characterized in that, The activation time does not include a complete paging cycle, or the activation time is less than the paging cycle.

42. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that, The time position of the target PF group is the start position of the target PF group.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The start position of the target PF group is the start system frame number of the target PF group.

44. The device according to any one of claims 29, 42, and 43, characterized in that, Determining the time position of the target PF group includes: Calculating the time position of the target PF group according to a predefined formula.

45. The device according to claim 44, characterized in that, The predefined formula is: (A + offset) mod T = (T / W) * (UE_ID mod W); Wherein, A represents the time position of the target PF group, offset represents an offset, T represents the length of the paging cycle, W represents the number of PF groups within the paging cycle, and UE_ID represents the terminal device identifier.

46. The device according to claim 29, wherein, The start point of the RAR window includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the RAR window; The start point of the activation time includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the activation time.

47. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The end point of the RAR window includes one of the end frame, end time slot, or end symbol of the RAR window; The end point of the activation time includes one of the end frame, end time slot, or end symbol of the activation time. The start point of the RAR window includes one of the start frame, start time slot, or start symbol of the RAR window.

48. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that, The RAR within the RAR window is valid, which means that the terminal device needs to monitor the RAR within the RAR window.

49. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, it implements the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-28.

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