Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, the method comprising: receiving first information in a first cell, the first information being used for requesting N second cells to send a common signal; and sending a common signal in M second cells among the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N. According to the described method, when waking up one or more second cells, a network device needs only to receive in the first cell one piece of first information sent by a terminal device, thus saving the energy consumption of the network device.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410179157.9 and invention name “A Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] As communication systems evolve, network devices can reduce power consumption by shutting down some components (e.g., radio frequency channels, intermediate frequency channels, baseband chips). During this period, network devices cannot send some common signals.

[0004] When the terminal device needs to receive these signals that cannot be sent temporarily, it can request the network device to send these signals in the corresponding one or more cells. That is, one or more cells generated by the network device can be configured to be woken up based on request. At this time, the cell configured to be woken up based on request will only send a common signal when it receives a wake-up signal. The terminal device can send an uplink wake-up signal to each cell that needs to be awakened to receive these common signals. However, this request method may require the network device to receive many uplink wake-up signals, which consumes a lot of power for the network device. Therefore, how to design an uplink wake-up request method to reduce the power consumption of network equipment when waking up cells on demand is an urgent problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can reduce the power consumption of network equipment when waking up a cell on demand.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a network device or a communication device constituting a network device. The following is a detailed description taking the application to a network device as an example. The method includes: the network device receives first information in a first cell, and the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal; the network device sends a common signal in M ​​second cells out of the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device can request to wake up one or more second cells by sending a first message to a network device in a first cell. This uplink wake-up request method aggregates the uplink wake-up signal into a first message, which saves energy consumption of the terminal device compared to a request method of directly sending an uplink wake-up signal to each second cell configured to send a public signal based on a request. At the same time, when the network device receives a first message sent by the terminal device in the first cell, it can learn that the terminal device requests to wake up one or more second cells. Compared to the network device receiving a wake-up signal in each second cell configured to send a public signal based on a request, the network device saves energy consumption.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, M is equal to N. In this manner, the number of second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device is the same as the number of second cells actually sent for awakening by the network device. The network device directly awakens all second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device. This manner is relatively simple to implement.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, M is less than N. In this manner, the number of second cells to which the network device actually sends wake-up signals is less than the number of second cells requested to be woken up by the terminal device. The network device may send a common signal on a portion of the N second cells based on the terminal device's request and actual transmission conditions. This manner enables the network device to wake up cells more flexibly, thereby improving the flexibility of the communication system.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends second information in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive a common signal in M ​​second cells.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information is further used to request activation of N second cells.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information sent by the terminal device to the network device is not only used to request at least one second cell to send a common signal, but also used to request activation of these second cells. The terminal device simultaneously requests to wake up and activate the second cell through the first information. After being woken up and activated, the second cell can directly transmit data with the terminal device, saving the signaling overhead of the communication system and improving the efficiency of the communication system.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the N second cells are N second cells among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the transmission of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on a request, which can also be understood as the K second cells being woken up based on a request. The terminal device directly selects N cells to request wake-up from the K second cells configured to be woken up based on a request through the first information. Compared with the terminal device indicating N second cells from all cells, the signaling indication overhead of the terminal device sending the first information is saved. Similarly, for the network device, the network device determines N second cells from the second cells configured to be woken up based on a request, which can also reduce the internal processing work of the network device and the detection overhead of the first information compared to determining N cells from all cells.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the L second cells, the L second cells are cells that are not awakened out of the K second cells, and the sending of common signals of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device directly selects N cells from the L second cells that have not been awakened through the first information and requests to be awakened. Compared with the terminal device indicating N second cells from all cells or K second cells configured to be awakened based on request, the signaling indication overhead of the terminal device sending the first information is saved. Similarly, for the network device, the network device determines N second cells from the second cells that have not been awakened, compared with determining N cells from all cells or K second cells configured to be awakened based on request, it can also reduce the internal processing work of the network device and the detection overhead of the first information.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before the network device receives the first information, it also includes: the network device receives a scheduling request in the first cell, the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; the network device sends indication information in the first cell, the indication information is used to indicate uplink resources; the network device receives the first information, including: the network device receives the first information on the uplink resources.

[0019] It should be understood that the method in which the network device receives the scheduling request sent by the terminal device before receiving the first information is mainly applied to the terminal device in the connected state.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can request uplink resources for sending the first information through SR. For example, the uplink resources can be PUSCH resources. Compared with sending the first information directly through PUCCH resources, PUSCH resources can dynamically adjust the resource length. When the network device configures a large number of second cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device only requests to wake up a small part of the second cells through the second information, if the terminal device directly sends the first information through the PUCCH resources, the resource length is fixed and cannot be adjusted. If the terminal device requests PUSCH resources to send the first information through SR, the terminal device can reduce the PUSCH resource length according to the number of second cells actually requested to be woken up by the first information, thereby reducing the uplink signaling overhead and making system resource scheduling more flexible.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system message block 1 SIB1.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the N second cells are in a deactivated state.

[0025] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a terminal device or a communication device in the terminal device. The method is described in detail below using the application to the terminal device as an example. The method includes: the terminal device sending first information in a first cell, the first information being used to request N second cells to send a common signal; and the terminal device receiving the common signal in M ​​of the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

[0026] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, M is equal to N. In this manner, the number of second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device is the same as the number of second cells actually sent for awakening by the network device. The network device directly awakens all second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device. This manner is relatively simple to implement.

[0027] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, M is less than N. In this manner, the number of second cells to which the network device actually sends wake-up signals is less than the number of second cells requested to be woken up by the terminal device. The network device may send a common signal on a portion of the N second cells based on the terminal device's request and actual transmission conditions. This approach enables the network device to wake up cells more flexibly, thereby improving the flexibility of the communication system.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device receives second information in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive common signals in M ​​second cells.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is further used to request activation of N second cells.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the N second cells are N second cells among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the L second cells, the L second cells are cells that are not awakened out of the K second cells, and the sending of common signals of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, before the terminal device sends the first information, it also includes: the terminal device sends a scheduling request in the first cell, the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; the terminal device receives indication information in the first cell, the indication information is used to indicate uplink resources; the terminal device sends the first information, including: sending the first information on uplink resources.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system information block 1.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the N second cells are in a deactivated state.

[0038] Some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects of the second aspect can be referred to the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0039] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a network device or a communication apparatus constituting the network device, the method comprising: receiving first information in a first cell, the first information being used to request activation of N second cells; and sending second information, the second information being used to instruct a terminal device to activate M second cells among the N second cells.

[0040] Specifically, compared to the first aspect, in the third aspect and its implementation, the first information completes both activation and public signal transmission by requesting activation of N secondary cells. When a terminal device requires data transmission, if the secondary cell is in a deactivated state, the terminal device needs to request activation of the secondary cell. The secondary cell activation process requires a public signal, so the terminal device can directly complete both activation and public signal transmission through activation request signaling.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, before sending the second information, no common signal is sent in the M second cells.

[0042] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, after the second information is sent, a common signal is sent in the M second cells.

[0043] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system information block 1.

[0044] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0045] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second information is carried in a secondary cell activation / deactivation MAC CE (SCell Activation / Deactivation MAC CE).

[0046] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is applied to a terminal device or a communication device in the terminal device, the method comprising: sending first information in a first cell, the first information being used to request activation of N second cells; and receiving second information, the second information being used to instruct activation of M second cells among the N second cells. The terminal device activates the M second cells and receives common signals in the M second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0047] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, before receiving the second information, no common signal is received in the M second cells.

[0048] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system information block 1.

[0049] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell, and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0050] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the second information is carried in a secondary cell activation / deactivation MAC CE (SCell Activation / Deactivation MAC CE).

[0051] In the fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is used to receive first information in a first cell, the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal; the transceiver unit is also used to send a common signal in M ​​second cells out of the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0052] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send second information in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive a common signal in M ​​second cells.

[0053] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information is further used to request activation of N second cells.

[0054] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

[0055] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the L second cells, the L second cells are the cells that are not awakened out of the K second cells, and the sending of common signals of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

[0056] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

[0057] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive a scheduling request in the first cell, the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; the transceiver unit is further used to send indication information in the first cell, the indication information is used to indicate uplink resources; receiving the first information includes: receiving the first information on the uplink resources.

[0058] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

[0059] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system message block 1 SIB1.

[0060] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0061] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the N second cells are in a deactivated state.

[0062] In the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is used to send first information in a first cell, the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal; the transceiver unit is also used to receive the common signal in M ​​second cells out of the N second cells, wherein M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0063] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive second information in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive a common signal in M ​​second cells.

[0064] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information is further used to request activation of N second cells.

[0065] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

[0066] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the N second cells are N second cells out of the L second cells, the L second cells are the cells that are not awakened out of the K second cells, and the sending of common signals of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

[0067] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

[0068] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send a scheduling request in the first cell, the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; the transceiver unit is further used to receive indication information in the first cell, the indication information is used to indicate uplink resources; sending the first information includes: sending the first information on the uplink resources.

[0069] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

[0070] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system information block 1.

[0071] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

[0072] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the N second cells are in a deactivated state.

[0073] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is used to receive first information in a first cell, the first information is used to request activation of N second cells; the transceiver unit is also used to send second information, the second information is used to indicate the activation of M second cells among the N second cells.

[0074] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a transceiver unit configured to send first information in a first cell, the first information being used to request activation of N second cells; and the transceiver unit being further configured to receive second information, the second information being used to instruct activation of M second cells among the N second cells. A terminal device activates the M second cells and receives common signals in the M second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

[0075] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor for executing the methods provided in the above aspects.

[0076] For the operations such as sending and acquiring / receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna. This application does not limit this.

[0077] Optionally, the communication device further includes: a memory for storing programs; and a processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to perform the method provided by any one of the above aspects or its implementation.

[0078] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device.

[0079] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the third aspect and the communication device of the fourth aspect.

[0080] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, the method provided by any one of the above aspects or its implementation method is executed.

[0081] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the method provided by any one of the above aspects or its implementation method is executed.

[0082] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in the memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any one of the above aspects or its implementation method.

[0083] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip also includes a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided by any of the above aspects or its implementation methods.

[0084] The chip may include an input circuit or interface for sending information or data, and an output circuit or interface for receiving information or data.

[0085] In the fifteenth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a terminal device sends first information to a network device, the first information being used to request N second cells to send a common signal; the network device sends a common signal in M ​​second cells out of the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0086] Some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects of the fifteenth aspect can be referred to the first aspect or the second aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0087] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application.

[0088] FIG2 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0089] FIG3 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0090] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE design provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0092] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0094] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application.

[0095] As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and may also include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (not shown in Figure 1 ). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes may be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. RAN node 110 is wirelessly connected to core network 200. Core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device integrating the logical functions of a core network device and a RAN node. Communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300.

[0096] RAN100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), or a WiFi system. RAN100 can also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0097] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by a terminal. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station, an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node, or a donor node.

[0098] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0099] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0100] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0101] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0102] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0103] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0104] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0105] In this application, a base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. The terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal.

[0106] With the gradual evolution of communication systems, "low carbon" has received increasing attention in communication networks. Among these, reducing the energy consumption of base stations (network equipment) has received particular attention. Base stations can reduce power consumption by shutting down certain components (e.g., radio frequency channels, intermediate frequency channels, and baseband chips). While these components are shut down, the base station cannot transmit certain signals, such as the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and / or system information block 1 (SIB1).

[0107] Terminal devices sometimes need to receive signals that network devices cannot send due to component shutdown. For example, before initial access, users need to receive SSB and SIB1. Therefore, when the base station shuts down some components, users cannot receive SSB and / or SIB1, which affects their network access. To address this situation, an on-demand wake-up method can be used. The terminal sends an uplink wake-up signal to wake up / trigger / request the base station to send SSB and / or SIB1.

[0108] It should be understood that after the base station shuts down some components, it may not send SSB and SIB1 at the same time, it may still send SSB but not SIB1, or it may still send SIB1 but not SSB. Therefore, the uplink wake-up signal sent by the terminal can wake up / trigger / request the base station to send SSB and / or SIB1.

[0109] On-demand wake-up can be used to wake up other system information. The terminal device sends Msg1 dedicated to requesting other system information (OSI) on a cell, requesting the cell's OSI transmission, and receives feedback Msg2 within the subsequent random access response time window. If the feedback Msg2 is received, it is considered that the OSI has been successfully triggered, and the terminal then starts receiving OSI. If Msg2 is not received within the random reception response time window or the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling Msg2 is not detected, it is considered that the OSI has not been successfully triggered, and the terminal device then sends Msg1 again to request OSI.

[0110] When the terminal device needs to receive these signals that cannot be sent temporarily, it can request the network device to send these signals by waking up on demand. The cell generated by the network device can be configured to be woken up based on the request. In this case, the cell will only send a specific signal when it receives the wake-up signal. The terminal device can send an uplink wake-up signal to each cell that needs to be awakened to receive these specific signals. However, this request method may require the network device to receive many uplink wake-up signals, which consumes a lot of power for the network device. Therefore, how to design an uplink wake-up request method to reduce the power consumption of the network device when waking up the cell on demand is an urgent problem to be solved in this field.

[0111] In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device, which can reduce the power consumption of network equipment when waking up a cell on demand.

[0112] Before introducing specific embodiments, some terms that may be involved in this application are first explained in detail.

[0113] (1) Public signal

[0114] It can also be called public information, or non-dedicated information, or be understood as information sent by one communication device to multiple communication devices. Taking downlink communication as an example, public information can be understood as information sent by a network device to multiple terminals or a terminal group in a cell, or understood as information that a network device does not specifically send to a terminal or a terminal group in a cell, or understood as information that can be used together by multiple terminals or a terminal group in a cell. Exemplarily, the public signal can be system information, a synchronization signal or a paging message, etc. It should also be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the public signal can be interpreted as a signal used for the terminal to identify the cell, the terminal to initially access the cell, the neighboring cell measurement or the cell switching. The above-mentioned SSB and / or SIB1 are examples of public signals. The following description of SSB and SIB1 is provided to help understand the meaning of the public signal in this application.

[0115] Synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB). SSB includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and physical broadcast channel (PBCH). SSB is mainly used for cell search, cell synchronization, carrying cell identity number (CI), downlink timing, and obtaining system messages. SSB has two main functions: (1) cell synchronization and master information block (MIB) acquisition; (2) network equipment transmission beam training.

[0116] Specifically, for cell synchronization and MIB acquisition: the PSS and SSS carry the cell physical identifier (PCI), and the terminal obtains the PCI by detecting the PSS and SSS. Different SSBs within a cell are identified by SSB indexes, which are carried in the PBCH of the SSB. Each SSB index corresponds to a transmission position, and the terminal completes downlink timing synchronization by detecting the SSB index and detection time.

[0117] Specifically, for beam training, since the width of the beam for transmitting SSB is wider than the width of the beam used for communication after the terminal establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection, the transmission beam of SSB can also be called a wide beam. The transmission of SSB follows an SSB pattern, and the SSB pattern includes at least one SSB. Different SSBs in the SSB pattern correspond to different SSB indexes, and different SSB indexes correspond to different time-frequency positions, that is, they can correspond to different time domain positions and the same frequency domain positions, or different frequency domain positions and the same time domain positions, or different time domain positions and different frequency domain positions. Different SSB indices correspond to different transmission beams on the network device side. The terminal can complete the training of the transmission beam on the network device side by detecting the SSB and selecting the SSB index with the strongest received signal. The functions of beam training on the network device side include: 1) the terminal receives the SIB1 and paging messages (SIB1 / Paging for short) sent by the network device using the same beam at the time-frequency position corresponding to the strongest SSB index, thereby improving the coverage of SIB1 / Paging; 2) the terminal sends the physical random access channel (PRACH) at the position corresponding to the SSB index, and the network device can use the same beam to receive PRACH, thereby increasing the probability of successful PRACH reception; 3) after the terminal completes the initial access and establishes an RRC connection with the network device, the network device can perform narrow beam training based on the wide beam, that is, only train the narrow beam within the wide beam range, thereby reducing the overhead of narrow beam training.

[0118] Through the above-mentioned SSB detection, the UE obtains the MIB. The MIB indicates the candidate time-frequency position for receiving the PDCCH that schedules SIB1. The UE blindly detects the PDCCH at the candidate time-frequency position. If the PDCCH is detected, it can receive the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the specified manner on the time-frequency resources indicated by the downlink control information (DCI) in the PDCCH, thereby obtaining the SIB1 carried in the PDSCH. SIB1 contains a lot of information, but its most important function is to complete the configuration of the primary cell (PCell), so that the UE in the idle state can monitor paging messages, or complete uplink timing synchronization through random access, thereby transforming the UE into a connected state.

[0119] (2) The transmission of public signals is configured as a cell based on request transmission

[0120] It can also be called a cell that wakes up on demand, or a cell that wakes up on request. Taking cell A as an example, the transmission of the public signal of cell A in this application is configured to be sent based on request. It can be understood that before the terminal device requests the transmission of the public signal of cell A, cell A does not transmit the public signal; or it can be understood that before the terminal device requests the transmission of the public signal of cell A, cell A does not transmit the public signal in the form of broadcast.

[0121] (3) Activated secondary cells and deactivated secondary cells

[0122] For a terminal device in a connected state, multiple secondary cells (SCells) can be configured. The network device can activate the secondary cell through activation signaling (such as secondary cell activation MAC CE), and the terminal device can perform normal secondary cell operation (normal SCell operation) on the activated secondary cell (i.e., a secondary cell in an activated state). For an unactivated secondary cell (i.e., a secondary cell in a deactivated state), the terminal device does not perform normal secondary cell operation, including: not sending a sounding reference signal (SRS), not feeding back channel state information (CSI), not sending an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), not sending a random access channel (RACH), not detecting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and not sending a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0123] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0124] FIG2 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 2 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 2000 includes:

[0126] S2010, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information sent by the network device.

[0127] Specifically, the configuration information may include a first cell set, and the common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured to be sent based on a request, and the configuration information may be sent through the first cell to which the terminal device is connected. The common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured to be sent based on a request, which can be understood as follows: before the terminal device requests the common signal of a certain cell in the first cell set to be sent, the cell may not send the common signal; or it can be understood as follows: before the terminal device requests the common signal of a certain cell in the first cell set to be sent, the cell may not send the common signal in the form of broadcast. Therefore, it can also be said that the common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured not to be sent by broadcast.

[0128] It should be understood that S2010 is an optional step, and the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device in S2010 may also be pre-negotiated or predefined configuration information, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0129] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the first cell set may include one or more cells, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of cells in the first cell set.

[0130] Optionally, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device may indicate information of the cells included in the first cell set in the form of a physical cell identifier (PCI).

[0131] Exemplarily, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device indicates that the PCIs of the cells included in the three first cell sets are 300, 400 and 500 respectively.

[0132] Optionally, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device may indicate information of the cells included in the first cell set in the form of numbers.

[0133] For example, the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device indicates that the cells included in the three first cell sets are numbered 1, 2 and 3, respectively, which can correspond to PCIs respectively. For example, the cells included in the first cell sets numbered 1, 2 and 3 correspond to cells with PCI values ​​of 300, 400 and 500, respectively.

[0134] It should be understood that the specific PCI value or number value of the cell in the embodiment of the present application is only used as an exemplary description and has no limiting effect on the embodiment of the present application.

[0135] 2 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 2000 is applied to a network device or a communication apparatus constituting the network device, or a terminal device or a communication apparatus in the terminal device, and the communication method 2000 further includes:

[0136] S2020, the terminal device sends first information in the first cell, and accordingly, the network device receives the first information in the first cell, where the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal.

[0137] It should be understood that the first information sent by the terminal device to the network device in the first cell can specifically indicate which cell or cells the terminal device requests to send a public signal. The first information can also indicate that the terminal device requires at least one cell to send a public signal, but the first information does not specifically indicate which cells are requested. After receiving the first information, the corresponding network device can enable all surrounding cells to send public signals. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0138] The common signals of the N second cells are configured to be sent based on a request.

[0139] Optionally, the N second cells may be N second cells where the terminal device has data transmission requirements, or the N second cells may be N second cells with better current signal quality. The terminal device may also determine the N second cells by other means or rules, which is not limited in this application.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state. For the terminal device in the connected state, the first cell is a primary cell (PCell) and the second cell is a secondary cell (SCell).

[0141] Specifically, the terminal device may send first information to the network device in the primary cell. Correspondingly, the network device may receive the first information in the primary cell, where the first information is used to request N secondary cells to send a common signal.

[0142] Exemplarily, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the network device configures three secondary cells of PCI=300, PCI=400 and PCI=500 for the terminal device. The terminal device sends a first message to the network device through the primary cell, and the first message is used to request the secondary cell corresponding to PCI=300 to send a public signal.

[0143] Furthermore, in a possible implementation, for a terminal device in a connected state, the N secondary cells may be in a deactivated state. That is, if the N secondary cells are in a deactivated state, the terminal sends a first message in the primary cell, and the first message is used to request the N secondary cells to send a common signal. It should be understood that if the secondary cell in the activated state has already received a common signal (such as SSB), then there is no need for the terminal to request the common signal to be sent again. Therefore, the terminal device only requests the secondary cell in the inactivated state to send a common signal.

[0144] Specifically, in the first information sent by the terminal device from the primary cell to the network device, the N secondary cells requested to be awakened are all secondary cells in a deactivated state, that is, the terminal device will not request the activated secondary cells to send common signals.

[0145] Exemplarily, the network device configures three secondary cells of PCI=300, PCI=400 and PCI=500 for the terminal device, wherein the secondary cells of PCI=300 and PCI=400 are in a deactivated state, and the secondary cell of PCI=500 is in an activated state. The first information can be used to request the secondary cells corresponding to PCI=300 and / or PCI=400 to send a common signal.

[0146] It should be understood that the state of the terminal device is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the terminal device can be in an Idle state, an Inactive state, or a Connected state. When the terminal device is in a Connected state, the first cell in the following text can represent a primary cell, and the second cell in the following text can represent a secondary cell. The embodiments of the present application will not be repeated in the following text. When the terminal device is in an Idle state or an Inactive state, the first cell can be a cell where the terminal device has camped (camp), and the second cell can be a cell to which the terminal device has reselected (cell re-select); or, the first cell can be a cell where the terminal device has camped (camp), and the second cell can be a cell to which the terminal device will perform random access. For example, the terminal device can first camp in the first cell, and then determine to reselect to the second cell in the cell reselection process, and then the terminal device sends an uplink signal in the first cell to request the public signal of the second cell, and then determines to camp in the second cell after receiving the public signal of the second cell. For example, the terminal may first reside in the first cell, and then when initiating random access, determine that random access will be performed on the second cell. Then, the terminal sends an uplink signal in the first cell to request a public signal of the second cell, and then the terminal device accesses the second cell.

[0147] In a possible implementation, when the terminal device is in a connected state, the first information is carried in uplink control information (UCI).

[0148] Specifically, when the terminal device is in a connected state, the first information can be carried on the UCI, and the first information can be carried on the physical uplink control channel (physical uplink control channel, PUCCH).

[0149] Furthermore, before S2020, the terminal device may also receive PUCCH resources sent by the network device through the first cell. The PUCCH resources are specifically used by the terminal device to send the first information, and the format of the PUCCH resources may be PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4.

[0150] In one possible implementation, when the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state, the first information is carried in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used for type 2 random access. During the type 2 random access process, after the terminal sends the physical random access channel (PRACH), the terminal will immediately send a PUSCH. It should be understood that since the amount of information of the first information is relatively large, if the first information is carried by PRACH, a large amount of preamble code resources will be occupied. Therefore, for terminal devices in an idle state or an inactive state, a better way is to use the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of type 2 random access to carry the first information.

[0151] In a possible implementation, the common signal includes SSB and / or SIB1.

[0152] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal. Specifically, the first information includes the PCIs of the N second cells that the terminal device requests to wake up.

[0153] Exemplarily, the first information includes PCI=300 and PCI=500, which is used to instruct the terminal device to request the two second cells corresponding to PCI=300 and PCI=500 to send a common signal.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the N second cells that the first information requests to send a public signal are N second cells out of the K second cells, and the sending of the public signal of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on the request. It can be understood that before the terminal device requests a second cell out of the K second cells to send a public signal, the second cell may not send the public signal; or it can be understood that before the terminal device requests a second cell out of the K second cells to send a public signal, the cell may not broadcast / periodically send the public signal, and therefore, it can also be said that the public signal of the second cell is configured not to be broadcast and sent. Specifically, the K second cells that send a public signal based on a request may be the first cell set in S2010, and the first cell set may include cells that temporarily stop sending the public signal required by the terminal device due to the shutdown of some components (such as radio frequency channels, intermediate frequency channels, baseband chips, etc.).

[0155] For example, in S2010, the network device configures K=4 second cells, namely PCI=300, PCI=400, PCI=500, and PCI=600, for the terminal device, which are configured to send common signals based on requests. The first information specifically requests the two second cells PCI=300 and PCI=400 to send common signals.

[0156] For example, the network device configures K=4 second cells, namely PCI=300, PCI=400, PCI=500 and PCI=600, for the terminal device, which are configured to send common signals based on requests. The first information specifically requests all four second cells, namely PCI=300, PCI=400, PCI=500 and PCI=600, to send common signals.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, the sending of common signals of K second cells is configured to be sent based on a request, which can also be understood as K second cells being woken up based on a request. The terminal device directly selects N cells to request wake-up from the K second cells configured to be woken up based on a request through the first information. Compared with the terminal device indicating N second cells from all cells, the signaling indication overhead of the terminal device sending the first information is saved. Similarly, for the network device, the network device determines N second cells from the second cells configured to be woken up based on a request, which can also reduce the internal processing work of the network device and the detection overhead of the first information compared to determining N cells from all cells. In one possible implementation method, the first information may include the index of the N second cells in the K second cells.

[0158] Exemplarily, the network device configures K=3 second cells for the terminal device, where the indexes of the three second cells are 0, 1, and 2, respectively, corresponding to the three second cells of PCI=300, PCI=400, and PCI=500. The first information includes two indexes 0 and 2, which are used to instruct the terminal device to request that the two second cells of PCI=300 and PCI=500 corresponding to indexes 0 and 2 among the three second cells transmit a common signal.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the first information includes multiple bits, the multiple bits correspond one-to-one to the K second cells, the values ​​carried by the bits corresponding to the N second cells are first values, and the first value indicates a request for a common signal.

[0160] Exemplarily, the network device configures K=3 second cells for the terminal device, and the PCIs of the three second cells are 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The bitmap contained in the first information may include 3 bits, and the 3 bits correspond to the three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The terminal device requests, through the first information, the second cell corresponding to the bit with a value of 1 in the bitmap to send a common signal. The bitmap contained in the first information is 1 0 1, that is, the terminal device requests the two second cells with PCIs of 300 and 500 to send a common signal.

[0161] In one possible implementation, the N second cells that the first information requests to send a common signal are N second cells among the L second cells, the L second cells are the cells that are not awakened among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on the request.

[0162] Specifically, the cell that is not awakened can be understood as a cell that has not received a request to send a common signal; or can be understood as a cell that does not broadcast / periodically send a common signal.

[0163] In a possible implementation, the first information may include indexes of the N second cells among the L second cells that are not awakened among the K cells.

[0164] Exemplarily, the K second cells configured by the network device for the terminal device include L=3 unawakened cells, and the indexes of the L=3 unawakened second cells are 0, 1, and 2, respectively, corresponding to the three second cells with PCI=300, PCI=400, and PCI=500. The first information includes two indexes 0 and 2, which are used to instruct the terminal device to request that the two second cells with PCI=300 and PCI=500 corresponding to indexes 0 and 2 among the three unawakened second cells transmit a common signal.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the first information includes multiple bits, which correspond one-to-one to L second cells that have not been awakened among the K cells, and the value carried by the bits corresponding to the N second cells is a first value, which is used to request awakening.

[0166] Exemplarily, the K second cells configured by the network device for the terminal device include L=3 unawakened cells, and the PCIs of the L=3 unawakened second cells are 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The bitmap contained in the first information may include 3 bits, and the 3 bits correspond to the three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The terminal device requests the second cell corresponding to the bit with a value of 1 in the bitmap through the first information to send a common signal. The bitmap contained in the first information is 1 0 1, that is, the terminal device requests the two unawakened second cells with PCIs of 300 and 500 to send a common signal.

[0167] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device directly selects N cells from the L second cells that have not been awakened through the first information and requests to be awakened. Compared with the terminal device indicating N second cells from all cells or K second cells configured to be awakened based on request, the signaling indication overhead of the terminal device sending the first information is saved. Similarly, for the network device, the network device determines N second cells from the second cells that have not been awakened, compared with determining N cells from all cells or K second cells configured to be awakened based on request, it can also reduce the internal processing work of the network device and the detection overhead of the first information.

[0168] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 2000 further includes:

[0169] S2030, the network device sends second information in the first cell, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information in the first cell. The second information is used to indicate that the terminal device receives a common signal in M ​​second cells, or in other words, the second information is used to indicate that the network device will send a common signal in M ​​second cells.

[0170] Specifically, the M second cells may be all or part of the N second cells, and the network device may actually send the common signal in the M second cells.

[0171] Exemplarily, the terminal device sends first information to the network device in the first cell. The first information requests the network device to send common signals in three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400 and 500 through the first cell. The network device actually sends common signals in the above M=3 second cells. The network device instructs the terminal device to receive common signals in the three second cells with PCIs equal to 300, 400 and 500 through the second information.

[0172] Exemplarily, the terminal device sends first information to the network device in the first cell. The first information requests the network device to send common signals to three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400 and 500 through the first cell. The network device actually sends common signals to M=2 second cells with PCI=300 and PCI=500 among the above three second cells. The network device instructs the terminal device to receive common signals in the two second cells with PCI=300 and PCI=500 through the second information.

[0173] Furthermore, the network device may select one or more second cells among the N second cells that have received wake-up requests from more terminal devices to actually send the common signal.

[0174] Exemplarily, a terminal device sends first information to a network device in a first cell, and the first information requests the network device through the first cell to send a public signal to three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400, and 500, wherein the network device only receives a wake-up request from one terminal device to the second cell with PCI=300 and / or PCI=400, and the network device receives a wake-up request from eight terminal devices to the second cell with PCI=500. At this time, the network device actually sends a public signal only in the second cell with PCI=500, and instructs the terminal device that sends the first information to receive the public signal in the second cell with PCI=500 through the second information. This can enable the network device to send public information in fewer second cells while allowing more terminal devices to receive public signals, which helps to further save energy on the network device overhead.

[0175] Specifically, the second information may include the PCI of the secondary cell to which the network device actually transmits the common signal.

[0176] Exemplarily, the second information includes PCI=300 and PCI=500, which is used to instruct the terminal device to receive the public signal in the two cells corresponding to PCI=300 and PCI=500, and the network device will actually send the public signal in the two cells corresponding to PCI=300 and PCI=500.

[0177] Specifically, the second information may include indexes of the M second cells among the N second cells.

[0178] For example, the first information requests to wake up three second cells, which are numbered 0, 1, and 2, corresponding to the three second cells of PCI=300, PCI=400, and PCI=500. The second information includes the two numbers 0 and 2, which are used to indicate that the network device will actually send the common signal to the two second cells of PCI=300 and PCI=500, which are numbered 0 and 2, among the three second cells, and the terminal device can receive the common signal in the second cells corresponding to the numbers 0 and 2.

[0179] Specifically, the second information may include a bit map, and the multiple bits contained in the bit map may correspond one-to-one to N second cells. The network device informs the terminal device through the second information that the network device will actually send a public signal to the second cell corresponding to the bit whose value is the first value carried in the bit map.

[0180] Exemplarily, the first information indicates three second cells, and the PCIs of the three second cells are 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The bitmap contained in the second information may include three bits, and the three bits correspond to the three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400, and 500, respectively. The network device informs the terminal device through the second information that the second cells corresponding to the bits with a value of 1 in the bitmap will actually send common signals. The bitmap contained in the second information is 1 0 1, that is, the network device will actually send common signals in the two second cells with PCIs of 300 and 500, and the terminal device can receive the common signal in the second cell corresponding to PCI=300 or PCI=500.

[0181] It should be understood that S2030 is an optional step, and the network device may also wake up all N second cells to send a common signal, so that the network device does not need to send the second information to the terminal device.

[0182] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device sends second information to the terminal device to indicate which second cells the terminal device receives the public signal, and actually sends the public signal in the second cells indicated by the second information. By indicating to the terminal device the cells that actually send the public signal, the network device can wake up some of the cells requested by the terminal device according to its own situation. For example, the network device actually wakes up the second cell that receives more requests from terminal devices, allowing the network device to wake up the cells more flexibly, thereby improving the flexibility of the communication system.

[0183] In a possible implementation, for a terminal device in a connected state, the second information is carried in a secondary cell activation / deactivation MAC CE (SCell Activation / Deactivation MAC CE).

[0184] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 2000 further includes:

[0185] S2040, the network device sends a common signal in M ​​second cells among N second cells, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the common signal in M ​​second cells among N second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0186] Specifically, please refer to S2030. When the network device selects M second cells from the N second cells in the first information to actually send public signals, and instructs the terminal device to receive public signals in the M second cells through the second information, the number of second cells to which the network device actually sends public signals may be less than the number of second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device, that is, M is less than or equal to N.

[0187] Specifically, when S2030 is not executed, that is, the network device does not make a selection after receiving the first information, the number of second cells to which the network device actually sends the public signal is equal to the number of second cells requested to be awakened by the terminal device, that is, M is equal to N.

[0188] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device only needs to send a first message to the network device in the first cell to request to wake up one or more second cells. This uplink wake-up request method aggregates the uplink wake-up signal into a first message, which saves energy consumption of the terminal device compared to the request method of directly sending an uplink wake-up signal to each second cell configured to send a common signal based on a request. At the same time, when waking up one or more second cells, the network device only needs to receive a first message sent by the terminal device in the first cell, which saves energy consumption of the network device compared to receiving a wake-up signal in each second cell configured to send a common signal based on a request.

[0189] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 300 is mainly applied to a terminal device in a connected state.

[0190] Referring to FIG. 3 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 300 includes:

[0191] S3010, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information sent by the network device.

[0192] Specifically, the configuration information may include a first cell set, and the common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured to be sent based on a request, and the configuration information may be sent through the first cell to which the terminal device is connected. The common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured to be sent based on a request, which can be understood as follows: before the terminal device requests the common signal of a certain cell in the first cell set to be sent, the cell may not send the common signal; or it can be understood as follows: before the terminal device requests the common signal of a certain cell in the first cell set to be sent, the cell may not send the common signal in the form of broadcast. Therefore, it can also be said that the common signals of the cells included in the first cell set are configured not to be sent by broadcast.

[0193] It should be understood that S3010 is an optional step, and the configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device in S3010 may also be pre-negotiated or predefined configuration information, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0194] Continuing to refer to FIG3 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 300 further includes:

[0195] S3020, the terminal device sends a scheduling request (SR) in the first cell, and accordingly, the network device receives the scheduling request in the first cell, where the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources.

[0196] Specifically, the terminal device may request a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource by sending an uplink scheduling request, and the terminal device may send information on the requested uplink resource.

[0197] Continuing to refer to FIG3 , in one possible implementation, the communication method 300 further includes:

[0198] S3030, the network device sends indication information in the first cell, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the indication information in the first cell, where the indication information is used to indicate uplink resources.

[0199] Specifically, the indication information may be downlink control information (DCI), that is, the network device may send the indication information to the terminal device via DCI.

[0200] S3040, the terminal device sends first information on the uplink resources indicated by the indication information in the first cell, and accordingly, the network device receives first information on the uplink resources indicated by the indication information in the first cell, and the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal.

[0201] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a medium access control element (MAC CE).

[0202] Specifically, after the terminal device requests and obtains uplink resources through SR, the terminal device can send the first information on the uplink resources requested by SR. The uplink resources requested by SR may include PUSCH resources. At this time, the first information can be carried in the MAC CE.

[0203] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE design provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0204] Specifically, the first information can be carried in the MAC CE shown in Figure 4. Taking the first information indicating N second cells out of K second cells or indicating N second cells out of L non-awakened second cells in the form of a bit map as an example, the MAC CE includes 1 byte, and 1 byte includes 8 bits. The first information carried by the terminal device in the MAC CE can indicate the cell that the terminal device requests to wake up through K bits or L bits out of the 8 bits.

[0205] For example, please continue to refer to Figure 4. Among the second cells configured by the network device for the terminal device, there are 5 second cells in the non-awakened state, and the PCIs of these cells are 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700, corresponding to C7, C6, C5, C4 and C3 in the MAC CE shown in Figure 4; the first information requests to wake up the two second cells with PCI=400 and PCI=700 to send a broadcast signal. At this time, the bits C6 and C3 in the MAC CE shown in Figure 4 are set to 1, and C7, C5 and C4 are set to 0.

[0206] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can request uplink resources for sending the first information through SR. For example, the uplink resources can be PUSCH resources. Compared with sending the first information directly through PUCCH resources, PUSCH resources can dynamically adjust the resource length. When the network device configures a large number of second cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device only requests to wake up a small part of the second cells through the second information, if the terminal device directly sends the first information through the PUCCH resources, the resource length is fixed and cannot be adjusted. If the terminal device requests PUSCH resources to send the first information through SR, the terminal device can reduce the PUSCH resource length according to the number of second cells actually requested to be woken up by the first information, thereby reducing the uplink signaling overhead and making system resource scheduling more flexible.

[0207] In one possible implementation, the terminal device requests an uplink resource through an SR, and the SR is an SR specifically used to request a first uplink resource, and the first uplink resource is an uplink resource used to carry the first information. For example, the network device can be configured with two SRs, and the resources of the two SRs are SR resource 1 and SR resource 2. SR resource 1 is an SR resource for uplink resources for requesting transmission of secondary cell beam failure recovery (BFR) information, and SR resource 2 is an SR resource for uplink resources for requesting transmission of the first information. It should be understood that by pre-configuring SRs with different functions, the network device can determine how to parse the information carried in the subsequently transmitted PUSCH through the received SR. For example, if the network device receives SR resource 2, the network device can determine that the information carried in the subsequently transmitted PUSCH is the first information, and then can parse it according to the parsing method of the first information.

[0208] Optionally, S3050, the network device sends second information to the terminal device in the first cell, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information sent by the network device in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive the common signal in M ​​second cells.

[0209] S3060, the network device sends a common signal in M ​​second cells out of N second cells, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the common signal in M ​​second cells out of N second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

[0210] It should be understood that the embodiments related to the communication method 2000 can also be applied to the communication method 300, so the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here for illustration.

[0211] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is further used to request activation of N second cells.

[0212] Specifically, in order for the second cell to communicate normally with the terminal device, the second cell not only needs to be awakened to send a public signal, but also needs to be in an activated state. Therefore, the first information can be designed to request to wake up the second cell while requesting to activate the second cell.

[0213] For example, the first information includes two second cells of PCI=300 and PCI=400. After receiving the first information, the network device can wake up the two second cells of PCI=300 and PCI=400, and activate the two second cells of PCI=300 and PCI=400. The activated second cells are conditionally connected to communicate with the terminal device.

[0214] Specifically, the network device may select one or more second cells among the N second cells awakened and activated by the first information request, which have received activation requests from more terminal devices, to actually send the common signal and be activated.

[0215] Exemplarily, the terminal device sends first information to the network device in the first cell, and the first information requests the network device to send common signals and activation to three second cells with PCIs of 300, 400 and 500 through the first cell. Among them, the network device only receives a wake-up and activation request from one terminal device to the second cell with PCI=300 and / or PCI=400, and the network device receives wake-up and activation requests from eight terminal devices to the second cell with PCI=500. At this time, the network device actually sends common signals and activation only in the second cell with PCI=500, and sends second information to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device that sent the first information to receive the common signal in the second cell with PCI=500 through the second information.

[0216] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information sent by the terminal device to the network device is not only used to request at least one second cell to send a common signal, but also used to request activation of these second cells. The terminal device simultaneously requests to wake up and activate the second cell through the first information. After being woken up and activated, the second cell can directly transmit data with the terminal device, saving the signaling overhead of the communication system and improving the efficiency of the communication system.

[0217] It should be understood that the first information can also be used directly to request the activation of N second cells, implicitly requesting to wake up N second cells to send broadcast signals. After the network device receives the first information for requesting the activation of N second cells, it can select M second cells from which to actually send broadcast signals and activate them at the same time. The network device can send the second information to the terminal device and indicate through the second information that the terminal device can receive broadcast signals in M ​​second cells.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the terminal device sends first information in the first cell, and accordingly, the network device receives the first information in the first cell, where the first information is used to request activation of N second cells; the network device sends second information, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to activate M second cells out of the N second cells; the terminal device activates the M second cells and receives common signals in the M second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

[0219] Specifically, compared to the terminal device requesting N second cells to send a public signal through the first information, the terminal device requests activation of N second cells through the first information, completing the two functions of activation and requesting the sending of a public signal. For a terminal device in a connected state, when the terminal device has a data transmission requirement, if the secondary cell is in a deactivated state, the terminal device needs to request activation of the secondary cell. The secondary cell activation process requires a public signal, so the terminal device can directly complete the two functions of activation and requesting the sending of a public signal through the signaling requesting activation.

[0220] In a possible implementation, the network device does not send a common signal in the M second cells before sending the second information; and sends the common signal after sending the second information.

[0221] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, different embodiments can be combined with each other. For example, for a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell. After the network device receives the first information for requesting activation of N second cells, it can send the second information carried in the activation / deactivation MAC CE; the common signal sent by the network device after sending the second information may include SSB and / or SIB1.

[0222] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above with reference to Figures 2 to 4 . Below, the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail with reference to Figures 5 to 6 . It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above, and for the sake of brevity, no further description will be given here.

[0223] The device is used to implement the above-mentioned embodiments and related implementation methods, and the details that have been described will not be repeated here. As used below, the term "module" can refer to a combination of software and / or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the devices described in the following embodiments are implemented using software, implementation using hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

[0224] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0225] The communication device 500 includes a transceiver unit 510 and a processing unit 520 , wherein the transceiver unit 510 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 520 can be used to perform data processing.

[0226] Optionally, the transceiver unit 510 may also be referred to as a communication interface or communication unit, and may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit. The transceiver unit 510 may be a transceiver (including a transmitter and / or a receiver), an input / output interface (including an input and / or output interface), a pin, or a circuit. The transceiver unit 510 may be configured to perform the transmitting and / or receiving steps in the above-described method embodiments.

[0227] Optionally, the processing unit 520 may be a processor (may include one or more), a processing circuit with processor functions, etc., and may be used to execute other steps except sending and receiving in the above method embodiment.

[0228] Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes a storage unit, which may be a memory, an internal storage unit (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.), an external storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.), etc. The storage unit is used to store instructions, and the processing unit 520 executes the instructions stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform the above method.

[0229] In one design, the communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in each of the above method embodiments, such as the communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method 2000. In this case, the communication device 500 can be a component of the terminal device, the transceiver unit 510 is used to perform the transceiver-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 520 is used to perform the processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0230] For example, the transceiver unit 510 is configured to send first information in a first cell, where the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal.

[0231] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 510 can also perform other operations performed by the terminal device in any of the above methods 2000, which will not be described in detail here.

[0232] In one design, the communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in each of the above method embodiments, such as the communication device 500 can be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the above method 2000. In this case, the communication device 500 can be a component of the terminal device, the transceiver unit 510 is used to perform the transceiver-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 520 is used to perform the processing-related operations of the network device in the above method embodiments.

[0233] For example, the transceiver unit 510 is configured to receive first information in a first cell, where the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal.

[0234] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 510 and the processing unit 520 can also perform other operations performed by the network device in any of the above methods 2000, which will not be described in detail here.

[0235] It should also be understood that the communication device 500 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the communication device 500 can be specifically a network device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0236] The communication device 500 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the device in the above-mentioned method, or the communication device 500 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the access network device in the above-mentioned method. The function can be implemented by hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the sending and receiving operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0237] In addition, the transceiver unit 510 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0238] It should be noted that the apparatus in FIG5 may be a network element or device in the aforementioned embodiment, or may be a chip or chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit may be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0239] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0240] The communication device 600 shown in Figure 6 includes a processor 610 and, optionally, one or more of a memory 620 and a transceiver 630. The processor 610 is coupled to the memory 620 and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 620 to control the transceiver 630 to send and / or receive signals.

[0241] It should be understood that the processor 610 and memory 620 can be combined into a single processing device, with the processor 610 configured to execute program code stored in the memory 620 to implement the aforementioned functions. In a specific implementation, the memory 620 can also be integrated into the processor 610 or independent of the processor 610. It should be understood that the processor 610 can also correspond to the various processing units in the aforementioned communication device, and the transceiver 630 can correspond to the various receiving units and transmitting units in the aforementioned communication device.

[0242] It should also be understood that the transceiver 630 may include a receiver (or receiver) and a transmitter (or transmitter). The transceiver may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more. The transceiver may also be a communication interface or interface circuit.

[0243] Specifically, the communication device 600 may correspond to the terminal device in the method 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 may execute the steps performed by the terminal device in the method 2000; the communication device 600 may correspond to the network device in the method 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 may execute the steps performed by the network device in the method 2000. It should be understood that the specific processes of the above-mentioned corresponding steps have been described in detail in the above-mentioned method embodiment and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0244] When the communication device 600 is a chip, the chip includes an interface unit and a processing unit, wherein the interface unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; and the processing unit may be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0245] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0246] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be 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 discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0247] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0248] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0249] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may 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 may 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 may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media 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 high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0250] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0251] It should be understood that references to "embodiments" throughout this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic associated with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0252] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. The names of all nodes and messages in this application are merely names set by this application for the convenience of description. The names in the actual network may be different. It should not be understood that this application limits the names of various nodes and messages. On the contrary, any name with the same or similar function as the node or message used in this application is regarded as the method or equivalent replacement of this application, and is within the scope of protection of this application.

[0253] It should also be understood that in this application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the UE or base station will take corresponding measures under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, and does not require the UE or base station to take judgment actions when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0254] Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. The term "and / or" is simply used to describe an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone.

[0255] As used herein, the term "at least one of" or "at least one of" refers to all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, B and C together, and A, B, and C together. As used herein, "at least one" means one or more. "A plurality" means two or more.

[0256] It should be understood that the terms "include", "comprising", "having" and their variations mean "including but not limited to", unless specifically emphasized otherwise.

[0257] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the first, second, and various numerical numbers are merely distinctions for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0258] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0259] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the description of the corresponding processes and beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0260] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0261] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0262] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0263] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, part of the technical solution of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0264] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Communication devices used in network equipment or constituting network equipment include: receiving, in a first cell, first information for requesting N second cells to transmit a common signal; The common signal is sent in M second cells among the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is sent in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive the common signal in the M second cells.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first information is further used to request activation of the N second cells.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The N second cells are N second cells among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The N second cells are N second cells among the L second cells, the L second cells are cells that are not awakened among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: receiving a scheduling request in the first cell, where the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; sending indication information in the first cell, where the indication information is used to indicate the uplink resource; The receiving of the first information includes: The first information is received on the uplink resource.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system message block 1 SIB1.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that For a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The N second cells are in a deactivated state.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: A communication device applied to a terminal device or in a terminal device, comprising: Sending first information in the first cell, where the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal; M second cells among the N second cells receive the common signal, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information is received in the first cell, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to receive the common signal in the M second cells.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first information is further used to request activation of the N second cells.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The N second cells are N second cells among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be sent based on request.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The N second cells are N second cells among the L second cells, the L second cells are cells that are not awakened among the K second cells, and the sending of the common signal of the K second cells is configured to be request-based sending.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that The first information is carried in uplink control information UCI.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that Before sending the first information, the method further includes: sending a scheduling request in the first cell, where the scheduling request is used to request uplink resources; receiving indication information in the first cell, where the indication information is used to indicate the uplink resource; The sending of the first information includes: The first information is sent on the uplink resource.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first information is carried in a medium access control element MAC CE.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that The common signal includes a synchronization signal block SSB and / or a system information block 1.

21. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 20, characterized in that For the terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The N second cells are in a deactivated state.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: Communication devices used in network equipment or constituting network equipment include: receiving, in a first cell, first information for requesting activation of N second cells; Send second information, where the second information is used to instruct the terminal device to activate M second cells among the N second cells.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein Before sending the second information, the method further includes: In the M second cells, no common signal is transmitted.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that After sending the second information, the method further includes: In the M second cells, a common signal is transmitted.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that The common signal includes SSB and / or SIB1.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, characterized in that For a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

28. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 27, characterized in that The second information is carried in the secondary cell activation / deactivation MAC CE.

29. A communication method, characterized in that: A communication device applied to a terminal device or in a terminal device, comprising: Sending first information in the first cell, where the first information is used to request activation of N second cells; receiving second information, where the second information is used to instruct activation of M second cells among the N second cells; The M second cells are activated, and a common signal is received in the M second cells, where M and N are positive integers, and M is less than or equal to N.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein Before receiving the second information, the method further includes: In the M second cells, no common signal is received.

31. The method according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that The common signal includes SSB and / or SIB1.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 31, characterized in that For a terminal device in a connected state, the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell.

33. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 32, characterized in that The second information is carried in the secondary cell activation / deactivation MAC CE.

34. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device sends first information to the network device, where the first information is used to request N second cells to send a common signal; The network device sends a common signal in M second cells among the N second cells, where M and N are positive integers and M is less than or equal to N.

35. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 or 12 to 22 or 23 to 28 or 29 to 33.

36. A communication device, characterized in that The communication device includes at least one processor, and the at least one processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction so that the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 is executed, or the method of any one of claims 12 to 22 is executed, or the method of any one of claims 23 to 28 is executed, or the method of any one of claims 29 to 33 is executed.

37. The communication device according to claim 36, wherein: The communication device further comprises at least one memory for storing the computer program or instructions.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 28 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 29 to 33 is executed.

39. A computer program product, characterized in that When the computer program product is run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 23 to 28 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 29 to 33 is executed.

40. A communication system, characterized in that include: A network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11 or 23 to 28, and the terminal device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 22 or 29 to 33.

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