Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and discloses a communication method and apparatus, used for improving the power consumption gain of waking up a terminal device. First, a terminal device sends to a network device first indication information for indicating auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device, wherein the auxiliary information may comprise an expected efficient paging probability of the terminal device; and the terminal device receives from the network device second indication information used for indicating group information of the terminal device, and receives a signal on the basis of the group information.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on March 18, 2024, with application number 202410310524.4 and application name “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] Low Power Wake-up Signal (LP-WUS) technology uses a low-power wake-up signal to replace the traditional wake-up method to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. In LP-WUS technology, a low-power wake-up receiver (Low Power WUR, LP-WUR) is provided on the terminal device, which can receive the LP-WUS sent by the base station. When the terminal device is in sleep state, the LP-WUR in the terminal device is in wake-up / working state, and the main receiver in the terminal device is in sleep state. When the LP-WUR detects the LP-WUS sent by the base station, the terminal device wakes up the main receiver and starts receiving and sending data. In this wake-up method, the main receiver of the terminal device only needs to be awakened when it receives the LP-WUS, instead of being in the awake state all the time, which is more energy-efficient than the traditional method.

[0004] The base station sends LP-WUS to the terminal device in packet mode. When the base station needs to send downlink data to the terminal device, the base station will transmit the LP-WUS signal to indicate that the group where the terminal device is located needs to receive downlink data, triggering all terminal devices in the group where the terminal device is located to wake up the main receiver to try to receive downlink data, so that the main receiver of the terminal device that originally does not need to receive downlink data is also woken up, resulting in low power consumption benefits of waking up the terminal device based on the current packet mode. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the power consumption benefit of waking up a terminal device.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method includes: sending first indication information for indicating auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices, where the auxiliary information may include a desired effective paging probability for the terminal device; receiving second indication information for indicating grouping information for the terminal device; and receiving a signal based on the grouping information.

[0008] Based on this solution, the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. This application groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0010] In this implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, that is, the network device directly indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device does not need to determine the group to which it belongs, and the efficiency of signal transmission is higher.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0012] In this implementation, the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, reducing the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal devices.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the group information is a group set to which the terminal device belongs; in this case, receiving a signal according to the group information may include: receiving a signal according to a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs that matches an identifier of the terminal device.

[0014] In this implementation, the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs. For the network device, all terminal devices in the same group set can indicate the same group set. There is no need to indicate different group information to each terminal device, thereby reducing the computing load of the network device.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. In this implementation, the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages is reduced, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the group information is a correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability; receiving a signal based on the group information includes: determining the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and matching the valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs with the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device; receiving a signal based on a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and matching the first group with an identifier of the terminal device.

[0017] In this implementation, the grouping information is the correspondence between at least one grouping set and at least one valid paging probability. For the network device, all terminal devices served can indicate the same above-mentioned grouping information, and there is no need to indicate different grouping information to each terminal device, thereby reducing the computing load of the network device.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the auxiliary information further includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0019] In this implementation, the paging probability may be used to determine the group paging probability when grouping terminal devices.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate updated grouping information.

[0021] In this implementation, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the group information is updated in a timely manner, which can continuously reduce the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being woken up and not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0022] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a network device, or by a component of the network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the network device's functions. The method includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices, the auxiliary information including a desired effective paging probability of the terminal device; determining grouping information for the terminal device based on the first indication information; sending second indication information to the terminal device, the second indication information being used to indicate the grouping information; and sending a signal to the terminal device based on the grouping information.

[0023] Based on this solution, the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. This application groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, and the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0025] In this implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, that is, the network device directly indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device does not need to determine the group to which it belongs, and the efficiency of signal transmission is higher.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the group to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple groups, the first group is any group among the multiple groups, and the first group satisfies the following conditions: the effective paging probability expected by all terminal devices in the first group is the same, and the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices in the first group; or, the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the effective paging probability expected by any terminal device in the first group; wherein, the group paging probability of the first group is determined based on the paging probability of all terminal devices in the first group.

[0027] In this implementation, several grouping methods for terminal devices are designed. The grouping is based on the expected effective paging probability of the terminal devices, ensuring that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are grouped together. This reduces the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the main receiver of the terminal devices in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs, or the group information is the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability; sending a signal to the terminal device according to the group information includes: sending a signal to the terminal device according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, the first group matching the identifier of the terminal device; wherein the valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0029] In this implementation, two methods are designed to indicate the group set to which a terminal device group belongs. Group sets are divided based on the terminal device's expected effective paging probability. This ensures that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are more likely to be grouped together. This reduces the probability of terminal devices within the group waking up their main receivers and not receiving downlink messages, resulting in low power consumption, thereby improving the power consumption of the terminal devices. Furthermore, the group set is indicated to the terminal device, which determines the group to which it belongs based on the group set. The group set has a smaller data volume, and the communication resources used to transmit the group set are also reduced.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the group set to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple group sets, each of the multiple group sets includes multiple groups, the first group set is any one of the multiple group sets, the effective paging probability corresponding to the first group set matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device in the first group set, and the number of the multiple group sets is determined based on the number of effective paging probabilities expected by at least one terminal device received.

[0031] In this implementation, the group information is the collective information of the group set to which the terminal device belongs. The network device and the terminal device can transmit signals based on the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs. Since the group set is divided based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, the probability of terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities being grouped together is higher, which reduces the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the main receiver of the terminal device in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal device.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the auxiliary information further includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0033] In this implementation, the paging probability may be used to determine the group paging probability when grouping terminal devices.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: when the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device based on the group information meets the first preset condition, determining the updated group information based on the first indication information; sending third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the updated group information, optionally, the first preset condition is that the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device based on the group information is higher than the first threshold.

[0035] In this implementation, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the group information is updated in a timely manner, which can continuously reduce the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being woken up and not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a function of the terminal device to receive signals is turned off.

[0037] In this implementation, the terminal device notifies the network device that the function of the terminal device to receive low-power wake-up signals is turned off, which can avoid the network device sending a wake-up signal to the terminal device and instead directly sends downlink data, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0038] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. The method includes: receiving a signal based on packet information; and disabling a function of receiving the signal when a paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal based on the packet information meets a first preset condition, wherein the signal is a low-power wake-up signal, and the first preset condition is that the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal based on the packet information is greater than a second threshold.

[0039] Based on this solution, a grouping information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the function of receiving low-power wake-up signals is turned off to avoid high-frequency wake-up of the main receiver, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal device.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0041] Send fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the function of receiving signals is disabled.

[0042] In this implementation, the terminal device notifies the network device that the function of the terminal device to receive low-power wake-up signals is turned off, which can avoid the network device sending a wake-up signal to the terminal device and instead directly sends downlink data, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first or third aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; alternatively, the communication device may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or a chip system. When the device is a chip system, it may be composed solely of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0044] The communication device includes modules, units, means, etc. corresponding to the implementation method, which can be implemented by hardware or software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0045] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0046] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, each configured to implement the transmitting or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver. When the communication device is a terminal device or a network device, the transceiver may be a radio frequency module. When the communication device is a device included in a terminal device or a network device, the transceiver may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit.

[0047] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the aspects. Specifically, the processor can be configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the aspects. The memory can be coupled to the processor, or the memory can exist independently of the processor, for example, the memory and the processor are two independent modules. The memory can be located externally or internally of the communication device.

[0048] The communication device may further include: a communication interface; the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0049] The communication device may be the terminal device described in the first or third aspect, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system; or the communication device may be the network device described in the second aspect, or a device included in the network device, such as a chip or a chip system. When the device is a chip system, it may be composed of a chip alone, or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any one of the aspects.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the aspects.

[0052] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to seventh aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as output information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as input information.

[0053] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fourth to seventh aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first to third aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the network device described in the above aspect and the terminal device described in the above aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the working state of a low-power wake-up receiver provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a process flow of a core network control packet provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a process of grouping based on terminal device IDs provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG4 is a power consumption benefit trend chart of a low-power wake-up signal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG5 is a power consumption benefit trend chart of another low-power wake-up signal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a grouping set provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG9 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG11 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG12 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG13 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0072] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0073] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and / or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a, b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple. It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A. For example, B can be determined based on A. It should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. In addition, the "connection" in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection methods, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitation on this.

[0074] Unless otherwise specified, the "transmission" (transmit / transmission) appearing in the embodiments of the present application refers to bidirectional transmission, including the actions of sending and / or receiving. Specifically, the "transmission" in the embodiments of the present application includes the sending of data, the receiving of data, or the sending of data and the receiving of data. In other words, the data transmission here includes uplink and / or downlink data transmission. Data may include channels and / or signals, uplink data transmission is uplink channel and / or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission is downlink channel and / or downlink signal transmission. The "network" and "system" appearing in the embodiments of the present application express the same concept, and the communication system is the communication network.

[0075] Before introducing the embodiments of the present application, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained.

[0076] Paging probability: also known as paging rate, refers to the probability that a terminal device will be paged due to its own services within a paging cycle.

[0077] Wake-up radio: The concept of wake-up radio refers to a wireless communication station that only turns on a low-power wake-up receiver LP-WUR to monitor wake-up instructions when the communication main module is in deep sleep. The wake-up instructions are generally carried by the low-power wake-up signal LP-WUS. The LP-WUR has two working states: State 1 and State 2. As shown in Figure 1, the two states are:

[0078] State 1: LP-WUR is powered on and receiving or monitoring LP-WUS.

[0079] State 2: The LP-WUR is in sleep mode and does not monitor or receive LP-WUS signals.

[0080] For example, taking the wireless communication station as the terminal device and the communication main module as the main receiver in the terminal device, when the main receiver of the terminal device returns to the idle state after completing data transmission and reception, the main receiver can enter the ultra-low power consumption state (also known as ultra-deep sleep mode) or completely shut down to reduce power consumption. At this time, the LP-WUR can continue to work in state 1 or periodically work in state 1. When the LP-WUR detects that the LP-WUS carries the wake-up indication corresponding to the terminal, the terminal device will wake up the main receiver to work. When the main receiver of the terminal device starts working, the terminal device can optionally turn off the LP-WUR (LP-WUR is in state 2).

[0081] For another example, when the main receiver of the terminal device is turned on, LP-WUR can also be turned on to monitor LP-WUS. At this time, the main receiver usually does not detect other channels or signals with higher monitoring power consumption, such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). When LP-WUR detects that the wake-up indication of the terminal device is carried on LP-WUS, the main receiver starts to monitor the channels or signals with higher power consumption, such as PDCCH.

[0082] In this application, the main receiver (main receiver), which can also be referred to as the main radio, main communication module, main circuit, etc., is a traditional receiver of a terminal device (referred to as a terminal device) in a New Radio (NR) or other communication system, used to receive NR downlink signaling, signals, data, etc. The LP-WUR can also be referred to as a wake-up circuit, communication auxiliary module, auxiliary circuit, etc. The main receiver includes both a mid-RF module and a baseband processing module, while the LP-WUR may only include a simple receiver consisting of a mid-RF module, or the LP-WUR may use a lower-power module (the rate and bandwidth of the LP-WUR signal are much lower than that of ordinary data and can be replaced with a low-power module). This makes the operating power consumption of the LP-WUR much lower than that of the main receiver. For example, the LP-WUR's operating power consumption is less than one-tenth of the average power consumption of the main receiver in idle mode. The main receiver and LP-WUR can be different chips; or the main receiver and LP-WUR can be different parts of the same chip; or the main receiver and LP-WUR can reuse some modules within the same chip, without limitation.

[0083] The base station sends LP-WUS to the terminal device in packet mode (also known as group mode). When the base station needs to send downlink data to the terminal device, the base station will transmit the LP-WUS signal to indicate that the group where the terminal device is located needs to receive downlink data, triggering all terminal devices in the group where the terminal device is located to wake up the main receiver to try to receive downlink data, so that the main receiver of the terminal device that originally does not need to receive downlink data is also woken up.

[0084] There are two main ways to group terminal devices. The first is grouping controlled by the core network (CN), and the other is grouping based on the terminal device identity (ID).

[0085] First, let's introduce the core network control group. For example, the process of the core network control group can be shown in Figure 2, including:

[0086] S210, the terminal device sends signaling A to the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element to indicate that the terminal device supports the sub-group controlled by the core network.

[0087] The signaling A may be non-access stratum (NAS) signaling.

[0088] S220: If the terminal device supports sub-grouping controlled by the core network, the AMF network element determines the sub-group ID of the terminal device.

[0089] S230, the AMF network element sends the sub-group ID to the terminal device.

[0090] The subgroup ID may be sent via NAS signaling.

[0091] S240, the AMF network element notifies the next generation NodeB (gNB) of the sub-group ID allocated by the core network for paging terminal devices in a specific state.

[0092] The specific state may be a radio resource control (RRC) idle (IDLE) state or an RRC inactive (INACTIVE) state.

[0093] S250: When the gNB receives a paging message for paging / waking up the terminal device from the AMF network element or generates a paging message for paging / waking up the terminal device by the gNB, the gNB determines the paging occasion (PO) of the terminal device and the permanent equipment identifier (PEI) associated with the terminal device.

[0094] At step S260, before the terminal device is paged in the PO, the gNB sends a PEI to the terminal device, indicating the subgroup to which the paged terminal device belongs. After receiving the PEI, the terminal determines its own subgroup based on the PEI and receives an LP-WUS on the PO corresponding to its subgroup. Based on the LP-WUS, the terminal determines whether it is awakened. If so, it wakes up the main receiver to transmit and receive data.

[0095] It should be understood that the specific description of the above-mentioned core network control grouping process can be referred to the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0096] Having introduced core network control grouping above, the following describes grouping based on device ID. For grouping based on device ID: For grouping based on device ID, the gNB and the device can determine the subgroup ID based on the device ID and the total number of subgroups grouped based on device ID in the cell. The total number of subgroups based on device ID is determined by the gNB in ​​each cell and may vary in different cells. For example, the process for grouping based on device ID may be as shown in Figure 3, including:

[0097] S310, the gNB determines the total number of subgroups of the subgroups determined based on the terminal device ID in the cell.

[0098] S320, the total number of subgroups of the subgroups determined based on the terminal device ID in the gNB broadcast cell.

[0099] S330: The terminal device determines its subgroup in the cell.

[0100] S340, when a paging message for a terminal device with PEI capability is received from the core network or generated by the gNB, the gNB determines the PO of the terminal device and the PEI associated with the terminal device.

[0101] S350, before paging the terminal device in the PO, the gNB sends PEI to the terminal device; after receiving the PEI, the terminal indicates on the PEI that there is a paging message for the terminal device on the PO, and based on the subgroup determined in S330, receives LP-WUS on the PO corresponding to its own subgroup, and then determines whether it is awakened based on the LP-WUS. If it is awakened, it wakes up the main receiver to send and receive data subgroups.

[0102] It should be understood that the specific description of grouping based on terminal device ID can be referred to the relevant technology and will not be repeated here.

[0103] By simulating the wake-up radio for the two packet flows above, we found that the power consumption benefit of LP-WUS (also known as the power consumption benefit of the terminal device) is mainly related to the following factors:

[0104] 1. Transition energy, which refers to the power consumption of the terminal device when switching from LP-WUR to MR;

[0105] 2. MR radio resource management (RRM) measurement frequency, which refers to the interval between MR RRM measurements;

[0106] 3. Duty cycle refers to the ratio of the receiver's working time to the total working time.

[0107] The power consumption gain of LP-WUS refers to the power consumption gain of a terminal device when the LP-WUS function is enabled compared to when the LP-WUS function is disabled. The power consumption gain is also called the power saving gain.

[0108] For example, the impact of the MR RRM measurement frequency factor on the power consumption benefit of LP-WUS is explained below. As shown in Figure 4, the vertical axis in Figure 4 represents the effective paging probability, which is defined as the paging probability (paging probability) of the group to which the terminal device belongs after grouping. The horizontal axis represents the power consumption benefit of LP-WUS. The three trend lines from top to bottom correspond to terminal devices that do not use MR for measurement, terminal devices that perform MR measurement once every 20 cycles, and terminal devices that perform MR measurement once every 10 cycles.

[0109] Combined with Figure 4, it can be seen that regardless of the type of terminal equipment, the power consumption of LP-WUS may show a clear negative benefit.

[0110] In combination with a specific example, it is assumed that there are two types of terminal devices in a tracking area (TA): type 1 terminal devices and type 2 terminal devices. A TA supports 512 groups. The specific scenario is shown in Table 1, which introduces the various dimensional parameters of the two types of terminal devices.

[0111] Table 1

[0112] Based on the example shown in Table 1, with power consumption benefit as the horizontal axis and the probability density function (PDF) of the terminal device type as the vertical axis, type 1 terminal devices and type 2 terminal devices are plotted as shown in Figure 5. It can be seen that in the scenario of the example in Table 1, 49.48% of the type 1 terminal devices have negative power consumption benefits, and 0.5% of the type 2 terminal devices have negative power consumption benefits.

[0113] Combined with the above description, it is not difficult to see that the current grouping mode of terminal devices does not take into account the power consumption benefits of terminal devices, which may result in low power consumption benefits of waking up terminal devices based on the current grouping mode, or even negative power consumption benefits.

[0114] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. The present application performs grouping based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, reduces the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not sending or receiving data, and improves the power consumption benefit of the terminal devices.

[0115] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be a fourth generation (4G) communication system (such as a long term evolution (LTE) system), a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, or a fusion system of multiple systems, or a future communication system, such as a 6G communication system. Among them, the 5G communication system can also be called a new radio (NR) system.

[0116] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication scenarios, for example, it can be applied to one or more of the following communication scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), machine type communication (MTC), massive machine type communication (mMTC), device to device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

[0117] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting communication system. As shown in Figure 6, communication system 1000 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 6, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 6, collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 6). Terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 200. The core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be separate physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0118] The terminal device 120 may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device 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), ambient IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc.

[0119] The core network is responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network and providing functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for the terminal device 120. The core network may include the following network elements (not shown in Figure 6): user plane function (UPF), authentication server function (AUSF), AMF, session management function (SMF), network exposure function (NEF), network function repository function (NRF), policy control function (PCF) and unified data management (UDM). Optionally, it may also include application function (AF) and unified data repository (UDR). In the embodiment of the present application, UDM and UDR are collectively referred to as data management network elements.

[0120] The AMF is mainly responsible for mobility management in mobile networks, such as user location updates, user network registration, user handover, etc. For example, it groups terminal devices.

[0121] For descriptions of other network elements in the core network, please refer to relevant technologies and will not be repeated here.

[0122] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0123] RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, access node, etc., constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminal devices. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 1000 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 6 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal device 120j accessing RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 6 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0124] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a gNB in ​​a NR system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, etc. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 6 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 6 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, a RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0125] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0126] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0127] The above introduces the communication system to which the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied. The following introduces the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of process implementation. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is executed by a terminal device and a network device, and can also be executed by a component of the terminal device or the network device, such as a processor, chip or chip system of the terminal device or the network device. The following is an introduction to the execution by the terminal device and the network device. When the communication method is implemented by a component in an access network device, a first terminal device or a core network device, receiving / sending can be understood as input / output, that is, the component communicates with other components. In the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the processing performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be divided into executions by at least one of the CU, DU and RU.

[0128] FIG7 shows a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the method may include the following steps:

[0129] S710, the terminal device sends first indication information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the first indication information from the terminal device.

[0130] The first indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices. The auxiliary information may include the expected effective paging probability (R) of the terminal device. req In possible interpretations, the expected effective paging probability may also be referred to as the requested effective paging probability, the effective paging probability upper limit, the maximum effective paging probability, etc., or simply referred to as the effective paging probability. In the aforementioned expressions, "effective paging probability" may also be replaced by "group paging probability" or "paging probability", and "paging probability" may be replaced by "paging rate" without limitation.

[0131] Optionally, the auxiliary information may also include the paging probability of the terminal device. The paging probability of the terminal device is used to indicate the actual paging probability of the terminal device. For example, the paging probability of the terminal device can be used to indicate the paging probability of the terminal device calculated for a period of time before the current moment, which can also be called the paging rate. The effective paging probability requested by the terminal device and the paging probability of the terminal device can be reported together in a single signaling or separately.

[0132] “The terminal device sends first indication information to the network device, and the first indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device” can also be replaced with “the terminal device sends auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device to the network device”. In this case, the “paging probability expected by the terminal device” and “paging probability of the terminal device” can be replaced with “paging probability information” or “paging rate information”. It can be understood that the indication information of the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device is expressed as “effective paging probability information expected by the terminal device”, and the indication information of the paging probability of the terminal device is expressed as “paging probability information of the terminal device”.

[0133] Both the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device and the paging probability of the terminal device can be indicated in the form of a value range (also known as a value interval). For example, indication information 1 indicates that the paging probability falls within the first value range, indication information 2 indicates that the paging probability falls within the second value range, and so on.

[0134] The effective paging probability expected by the terminal device may also not be reported as auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device, that is, "the first indication information is used to indicate the auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device, and the auxiliary information includes the effective paging probability requested by the terminal device" can be replaced by "the first indication information is used to indicate the effective paging probability requested by the terminal device".

[0135] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a core network device having the function of grouping terminal devices, such as an AMF. As shown in the description of the communication system in Figure 6, the core network device can transmit information with the terminal device through an access network device (the access network device is not shown in Figure 7), such as transmitting the first indication information, which will not be described in detail. If the function of grouping terminal devices in a future communication system is assumed by other network devices, such network devices are also applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0136] It should be understood that when a terminal device sends the first indication information to a network device, multiple terminal devices served by the network device (for example, all terminal devices within a TA) may all send their respective corresponding first indication information to the network device. This application explains the solution from the perspective of information transmission between a terminal device and a network device. In specific implementation, any terminal device served by the network device may adopt the communication method provided in this application to achieve the same purpose, and no further explanation will be given.

[0137] S720: The network device determines the grouping information of the terminal device according to the first indication information.

[0138] The group information of the terminal device can be used to indicate the group to which the terminal device belongs, and the group paging probability R of the group to which the terminal device belongs is G The effective paging probability R expected by the terminal device req match.

[0139] Optionally, the first indication information indicates auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device can determine a group based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device and the paging probabilities of multiple terminal devices served by the network device, so that the group paging probability R G The effective paging probability R expected by the terminal device req Match, and take the group as the group to which the terminal device belongs, so as to ensure the group paging probability R of the group to which the terminal device belongs G The effective paging probability R expected by the terminal device req The group paging probability of a group can be determined based on the paging probabilities of all terminal devices in the group.

[0140] For example, R G With R req A match can mean that the two are equal, or, R G Less than R req This application will specifically introduce how the network device determines the grouping information of the terminal device in the embodiments following the embodiment shown in FIG7 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0141] S730, the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device.

[0142] After determining the grouping information of the terminal device, the network device may send second indication information indicating the grouping information to the terminal device.

[0143] The terminal device can receive the second indication information through the main receiver, at which time the main receiver is in the on state. After receiving the second indication information, the main receiver can enter the off state or the sleep state, at which time the LP-WUR is in the on state.

[0144] S740: The network device sends a signal to the terminal device according to the grouping information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the signal from the network device.

[0145] When sending a signal, the network device sends the signal in groups. For example, if the network device needs to transmit data with terminal device 1 in group A, it sends a signal to all terminal devices in group A.

[0146] The terminal device can receive a signal from the network device through LP-WUR, and after receiving the signal from the network device, wake up the main receiver to receive downlink data through the main receiver.

[0147] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. The present application groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0148] In one embodiment, when executing S720, the network device can divide the multiple terminal devices being served into multiple groups according to the first indication information, and the group to which the terminal device belongs is one of the multiple groups, that is, the group information of the terminal device is determined. In other words, the group information of the terminal device is the group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0149] When dividing into multiple groups, any group in the multiple groups (referred to as the first group) can meet the following conditions: the expected effective paging probability (R req ) are the same, and the group paging probability of the first group (R G ) is not greater than the expected effective paging probability of the terminal equipment in the first group; in other words, R req The same terminal devices are placed in the same group and the R G No greater than R req , which can be expressed as: R G ≤R req

[0150] Among them, the grouped R G It can be determined based on the paging probability R of all terminal devices in the group. For example, R G The relationship with R can be shown as follows:

[0151] In this formula, R i is the R of the i-th terminal device in the group, and N is the total number of terminal devices in the group. G The relationship between R and R is an exemplary description. In the specific implementation, other relationships can also be designed to determine R G , without restriction.

[0152] In a possible implementation, the condition satisfied by the first group may also be: the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the expected effective paging probability of any terminal device in the first group. In other words, when grouping, it is necessary to ensure that the RG No more than the terminal device R in the group req The minimum value of . It can be expressed as:

[0153] In an embodiment of the present application, several grouping methods for grouping terminal devices are designed, and the grouping is based on the expected effective paging probability of the terminal devices, ensuring that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are grouped together, reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the main receiver of the terminal devices in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0154] In one embodiment, when executing S720, the network device may divide the multiple terminal devices being served into multiple group sets based on the first indication information, and indicate the group set to which the terminal device belongs or the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability to the terminal device through the second indication information. In other words, in this scenario, the group information may be the group set to which the terminal device belongs, that is, the second indication information indicates the group set to which the terminal device belongs, or the group information may also be interpreted as the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability, that is, the second indication information indicates the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability.

[0155] In one possible explanation, a grouping set may include multiple groups. The grouping set may also be called a grouping set, a grouping interval, a grouping aggregation, etc., without limitation.

[0156] When dividing the group sets, the network device can determine the number K of group sets based on the number of effective paging probabilities expected by at least one terminal device of the received service, and divide them into K group sets, each of the K group sets including multiple groups. The effective paging probability corresponding to any one of the K group sets (referred to as the first group set) matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices in the first group set. In other words, the first group set can correspond to one or more effective paging probabilities, and accordingly, the first group set can include one or more terminal devices corresponding to the effective paging probabilities. The group sets are divided in this way so that the group set to which any terminal device belongs is one of the K group sets.

[0157] For example, as shown in FIG8 , the network device may receive at least one terminal device and the number of expected effective paging probabilities is 2, which are R req 1 and R req2. It should be understood that the number of valid paging probabilities refers to the number of different valid paging probabilities, and the number of the same multiple valid paging probabilities is recorded as 1. The first group set is divided in a manner that includes a terminal device corresponding to a valid paging probability, and is divided into two group sets: group set 1 and group set 2. The groups of each group set can be mapped to a group identifier (referred to as a group number for short). For example, the group number range of group set 1 can be 0 to 255, and the group number range of group set 2 can be 256 to 511. It should be understood that the above group number division is an example. In actual implementation, the number of group numbers of different group sets may be different or discontinuous. For example, the group number range of group set 1 can be 0 to 100, and the group number range of group set 2 can be 101 to 511, without limitation.

[0158] In the embodiments of the present application, two methods are designed to indicate the group set to which a terminal device group belongs. The group sets are divided based on the terminal device's expected effective paging probability. This ensures that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are more likely to be grouped together. This reduces the probability of low power consumption efficiency resulting from the main receiver of the terminal device within the group being awakened and not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption efficiency of the terminal device. Furthermore, the group set is indicated to the terminal device, which determines the group to which it belongs based on the group set. The group set has a smaller data volume, and the communication resources occupied by transmitting the group set are also reduced.

[0159] For scenarios where the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, signal transmission can be performed directly between the terminal device and the network device based on the group to which the terminal device belongs, and no further details will be given. The following describes how to implement signal transmission in scenarios where the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs and the group information is the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability.

[0160] In one embodiment, the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs. In other words, the group information is set information of the group set to which the terminal device belongs. In this case, as shown in FIG9 , S740 may include:

[0161] S7401, the network device sends a signal according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives a signal according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs.

[0162] When the network device sends a signal, it sends the signal in units of groups in the group set. For example, if the network device needs to transmit data with terminal device 1 in group A, it sends a signal to all terminal devices in group A.

[0163] In the present application, the set information of the group set to which the terminal device belongs includes the group identifier of each group in the group set, and the group identifier of the first group matches the identifier of the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device may search the set information using the terminal device identifier as an index, find a group whose group identifier matches the terminal device identifier, and determine that group as the first group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0164] In the present application, the identifier of the terminal device can uniquely indicate the terminal device. Exemplarily, the identifier of the terminal device can be a 5G shortened temporary mobile user identity (S-TMSI). For the description of 5G-S-TMSI, please refer to the relevant technology and will not be repeated here. As an example, the following describes the matching of the group identifier and the terminal device identifier in combination with the 5G-S-TMSI of the terminal device in which the identifier of the terminal device is the terminal device. The 5G-S-TMSI includes a string of 48-bit numbers, and a segment of X bits of numbers can be intercepted from a fixed position in the 48 bits for comparison with the group identifier, and X can be equal to the maximum number of bits of the group identifier. For example, the group number range of group set 1 can be 0 to 255, then X can be 3. Assuming that the segment of numbers intercepted from the 5G-S-TMSI of terminal A is 018, terminal A matches the group with the group number 018 of group set 1.

[0165] Optionally, the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. The effective paging probability corresponding to the group set includes the effective paging probability of the terminal device in each group in the group set. If the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device is within the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set, it can be considered that the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present application, the group information of the terminal device is the collective information of the group set to which the terminal device belongs. The network device and the terminal device can transmit signals based on the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs. Since the group set is divided based on the expected effective paging probability of the terminal device, the probability of terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities being grouped together is higher, which reduces the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the main receiver of the terminal device in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal device.

[0167] In one embodiment, in a scenario where the grouping information of the terminal device is a correspondence between at least one grouping set and at least one valid paging probability, in other words, in a scenario where the grouping information of the terminal device includes set information of each grouping set and the corresponding valid paging probability, as shown in FIG10 , S740 may include:

[0168] S7402: The terminal device determines the group set to which the terminal device belongs based on the group information.

[0169] Among them, the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device; the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set includes the effective paging probability of the terminal device in each group in the group set. If the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device is within the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set, it can be regarded as that the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0170] In one possible interpretation, S7402 can also be interpreted as determining the group set to which the terminal device belongs based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device and the corresponding relationship between the group set and the effective paging probability. Optionally, the terminal device can use its own expected effective paging probability as an index to search for group information, find the target effective paging probability that matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device in the corresponding relationship between the group set and the effective paging probability, find the set information of the group set corresponding to the target paging probability, and then use the terminal device identifier as an index to search for a group in the set information whose group identifier matches the terminal device identifier, and use the found group as the first group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0171] S7403, the network device sends a signal according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives a signal according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs.

[0172] Among them, the description of step S7403 can refer to the description of step S7401 in the embodiment shown in Figure 9, and will not be repeated here.

[0173] In an embodiment of the present application, the group information is a correspondence between at least one group set and at least one effective paging probability. The network device and the terminal device can transmit signals based on the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs. Since the group set is divided based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, the probability of terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities being grouped together is higher, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the main receiver of the terminal device in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal device.

[0174] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG11 , the method may further include:

[0175] S750: When the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device according to the group information meets the first preset condition, the network device determines the updated group information according to the first indication information.

[0176] Among them, the first preset condition is a type of condition for judging whether the power consumption benefit of the terminal device is low. Exemplarily, the first preset condition can be set to that the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device according to the group information is higher than the second threshold. In other words, the network device can monitor the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device (that is, to the group where the terminal device is located) according to the group information over a period of time. If the monitored paging probability is higher than the second threshold, the group is adjusted, that is, the updated group information is determined according to the first indication information. The second threshold can be determined according to the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. For example, the second threshold is set to the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, or the second threshold is set to a value close to the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, without restriction.

[0177] For the description of how the network device determines the updated grouping information according to the first indication information, reference may be made to the description of step S720 in the embodiment shown in FIG7 , and details thereof will not be repeated here.

[0178] S760, the network device sends third indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device.

[0179] The third indication information is used to indicate the updated grouping information. After the terminal device receives the updated grouping information, the network device can transmit signals with the terminal device based on the updated grouping information.

[0180] In an embodiment of the present application, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the group information is updated in a timely manner, which can continuously reduce the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0181] Based on the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, a simulation test was performed in the scenario shown in Table 1. The simulation test results are shown in Table 2. It can be seen that the power consumption benefit of the terminal has been significantly improved.

[0182] Table 2

[0183] Combined with the above description, it is not difficult to see that the present application indicates to the network device through the terminal device the auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. The present application groups based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, which reduces the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal devices.

[0184] The above describes the implementation of the communication method for improving the power consumption efficiency of terminal devices by optimizing grouping in an embodiment of the present application. This application also designs a communication method for improving power consumption efficiency by disabling the low-power wake-up signal function of the terminal device when it is determined that the terminal devices in the group to which the terminal device belongs may have a tendency to have low power consumption efficiency. Figure 12 shows a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0185] As shown in FIG12 , the method may include the following steps:

[0186] S121, the network device sends a signal to the terminal device according to the grouping information, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the signal from the network device.

[0187] The grouping information may be the grouping information determined in step S720 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 of the present application, or the grouping information determined by other means, without limitation.

[0188] When sending a signal, the network device sends the signal in groups. For example, if the network device needs to transmit data with terminal device 1 in group A, it sends a signal to all terminal devices in group A.

[0189] S122: When the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal according to the group information meets the second preset condition, the terminal device turns off the function of receiving the low-power wake-up signal.

[0190] The second preset condition is that the probability of the terminal device receiving a paging signal based on the group information is higher than a second threshold. In other words, the terminal device can monitor its own probability of receiving a paging signal based on the group information over a period of time. If the paging probability is too high (for example, higher than the second threshold), the terminals in the group to which the terminal belongs may have a tendency to have low power consumption. In this case, the energy consumption of switching between the low-power wake-up receiver and the main receiver is likely to be greater than the power consumption of the main receiver being normally on. In this case, the function of receiving the low-power wake-up signal is turned off. In other words, the low-power wake-up receiver is turned off and the main receiver is turned on.

[0191] In an embodiment of the present application, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the function of receiving low-power wake-up signals is turned off to avoid high-frequency wake-up of the main receiver, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal device.

[0192] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG13 , the method may further include:

[0193] S123, the terminal device sends fourth indication information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the fourth indication information from the terminal device.

[0194] The fourth indication information is used to indicate that the function of the terminal device to receive the low-power wake-up signal is turned off. In other words, the fourth indication information indicates that the terminal device has disabled the low-power wake-up signal function.

[0195] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device notifies the network device that the function of the terminal device to receive low-power wake-up signals is turned off, which can avoid the network device sending a wake-up signal to the terminal device and replace it with directly sending a paging message to transmit downlink data, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0196] The various embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. For example, the embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 11 can be combined with the embodiments shown in Figures 12 to 13, that is, the network device groups based on the expected effective paging probability reported by the terminal device, and the terminal device can automatically disable the function of receiving the low-power wake-up signal.

[0197] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of the execution logic of each step. It is understandable that each node, such as a network device or a terminal device, includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function in order to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiment disclosed herein, the method of the embodiment of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0198] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device or terminal device can be divided into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0199] In a specific implementation, a terminal device or network device may adopt the structure shown in Figure 14 or include the components shown in Figure 14. Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. When the communication device has the terminal-side functions described in an embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be a chip or system-on-chip on the terminal side or in the terminal side. When the communication device has the network-side functions described in an embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be a chip or system-on-chip on the network side or in the network side.

[0200] For example, FIG14 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a possible communication device. It is understandable that the communication device 140 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, interfaces, etc., which are appropriately configured together to implement this solution. The communication device 140 can be the RAN node, terminal equipment, core network equipment or other network equipment in FIG6, or a component (such as a chip) in these devices, used to implement the method described in the following method embodiment. The communication device 140 includes one or more processors 141. The processor 141 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a RAN node, terminal equipment, chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process software program data.

[0201] Optionally, in one design, the processor 141 may include a program 143 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on the processor 141 to cause the communication device 140 to perform the methods described in the following embodiments. In yet another possible design, the communication device 140 includes a circuit (not shown in FIG. 14 ) configured to implement the signal processing functionality described in the above embodiments.

[0202] Optionally, the communication device 140 may include one or more memories 142 on which a program 144 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions) is stored. The program 144 can be run on the processor 141 so that the communication device 140 performs the method described in the following method embodiment.

[0203] Optionally, the processor 141 and / or the memory 142 may include AI modules 147 and 148, each configured to implement AI-related functions. The AI ​​module may be implemented using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module may include a real-time information processing (RIC) module. For example, the AI ​​module may be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0204] Optionally, data may be stored in the processor 141 and / or the memory 142. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0205] Optionally, the communication device 140 may further include a transceiver 145 and / or an antenna 146. The processor 141 may also be sometimes referred to as a processing unit, and controls the communication device (e.g., a RAN node or terminal device). The transceiver 145 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, etc., and is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device through the antenna 146.

[0206] Figure 15 shows a structural diagram of a communication device 150, which is applied to a terminal device. Each module in the device shown in Figure 15 has the function of implementing the corresponding steps in the communication method of the present application and can achieve its corresponding technical effects. The corresponding beneficial effects of the execution steps of each module can be referred to the description of the corresponding steps in the communication method and will not be repeated here. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device can be a terminal device or a chip or system on chip in the terminal device. For example, the communication device includes: a transceiver module 1501, which is used to send a first indication information for indicating auxiliary information for grouping the terminal device, and the auxiliary information may include the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device; the transceiver module 1501 is used to receive a second indication information for indicating the grouping information of the terminal device, and receive a signal according to the grouping information.

[0207] Based on this solution, the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. This application groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0208] In one embodiment, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0209] In this implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, that is, the network device directly indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device does not need to determine the group to which it belongs, and the efficiency of signal transmission is higher.

[0210] In one embodiment, the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0211] In this implementation, the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, reducing the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal devices.

[0212] In one embodiment, the group information is a group set to which the terminal device belongs; in this case, receiving a signal according to the group information may include:

[0213] A signal is received according to a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs and which matches the identifier of the terminal device.

[0214] In this implementation, the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs. For the network device, all terminal devices in the same group set can indicate the same group set. There is no need to indicate different group information to each terminal device, which reduces the computing load on the network device.

[0215] In one embodiment, the valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0216] In this implementation, the effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, reducing the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal devices.

[0217] In one embodiment, the group information is a correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability; the communication device also includes a processing module 1502, which is used to determine the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and the valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device; the transceiver module 1501 is specifically used to receive a signal based on the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and the first group matches the identifier of the terminal device.

[0218] In this implementation, the grouping information is the correspondence between at least one grouping set and at least one valid paging probability. For the network device, all terminal devices served can indicate the same above-mentioned grouping information. There is no need to indicate different grouping information to each terminal device, which reduces the computational load on the network device.

[0219] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information further includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0220] In this implementation, the paging probability may be used to determine the group paging probability when grouping terminal devices.

[0221] In one embodiment, the transceiver module 1501 is further configured to receive third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate updated grouping information.

[0222] In this implementation, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the group information is updated in a timely manner, which can continuously reduce the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being woken up and not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0223] Alternatively, in another possible implementation, the transceiver module 1501 and the processing module 1502 in the communication device may be used to implement the following solution. Specifically,

[0224] The transceiver module 1501 is used to receive signals based on the packet information; the processing module 1502 is used to turn off the function of receiving signals when the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal based on the packet information meets the first preset condition, wherein the signal is a low-power wake-up signal, and the first preset condition is that the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal based on the packet information is higher than the second threshold.

[0225] Based on this solution, a grouping information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the function of receiving low-power wake-up signals is turned off to avoid high-frequency wake-up of the main receiver, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal device.

[0226] In one embodiment, the transceiver module 1501 is further configured to send fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is configured to indicate that the function of receiving signals is disabled.

[0227] In this implementation, the terminal device notifies the network device that the function of the terminal device to receive low-power wake-up signals is turned off, which can avoid the network device sending a wake-up signal to the terminal device and instead directly sends downlink data, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0228] Figure 16 shows a structural diagram of a communication device 160, which is applied to a network device. Each module in the device shown in Figure 16 has the function of implementing the corresponding steps in the communication method of the present application and can achieve its corresponding technical effects. The beneficial effects of the corresponding steps executed by each module can be referred to the description of the corresponding steps in the communication method and will not be repeated here. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. The communication device can be a network device or a chip or system on chip in the network device. For example, the communication device includes: a transceiver module 1601, which is used to receive first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices, the auxiliary information including the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device; a processing module 1602, which is used to determine the grouping information of the terminal device based on the first indication information; the transceiver module 1601 is used to send second indication information to the terminal device, the second indication information is used to indicate the grouping information; and a signal is sent to the terminal device based on the grouping information.

[0229] Based on this solution, the terminal device indicates to the network device auxiliary information for grouping the terminal devices: the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, and the network device then groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device. This application groups the terminal devices based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices, thereby reducing the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being awakened but not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0230] In one embodiment, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, and the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0231] In this implementation, the group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, that is, the network device directly indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device does not need to determine the group to which it belongs, and the efficiency of signal transmission is higher.

[0232] In one embodiment, the group to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple groups, the first group is any group among the multiple groups, and the first group satisfies the following conditions: the effective paging probability expected by all terminal devices in the first group is the same, and the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the effective paging probability expected by the terminal devices in the first group; or, the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the effective paging probability expected by any terminal device in the first group; wherein, the group paging probability of the first group is determined based on the paging probability of all terminal devices in the first group.

[0233] In this implementation, several grouping methods for terminal devices are designed. The grouping is based on the expected effective paging probability of the terminal devices, ensuring that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are grouped together. This reduces the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the main receiver of the terminal devices in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0234] In one embodiment, the group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs, or the group information is the correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability; the transceiver module 1601 is specifically used to send a signal to the terminal device according to the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, and the first group matches the identifier of the terminal device; wherein the valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device.

[0235] In this implementation, two methods are designed to indicate the group set to which a terminal device group belongs. Group sets are divided based on the terminal device's expected effective paging probability. This ensures that terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities are more likely to be grouped together. This reduces the probability of terminal devices within the group waking up their main receivers and not receiving downlink messages, resulting in low power consumption, thereby improving the power consumption of the terminal devices. Furthermore, the group set is indicated to the terminal device, which determines the group to which it belongs based on the group set. The group set has a smaller data volume, and the communication resources used to transmit the group set are also reduced.

[0236] In one embodiment, the group set to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple group sets, each of the multiple group sets includes multiple groups, the first group set is any one of the multiple group sets, the effective paging probability corresponding to the first group set matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device in the first group set, and the number of the multiple group sets is determined based on the number of effective paging probabilities expected by at least one terminal device received.

[0237] In this implementation, the group information is the collective information of the group set to which the terminal device belongs. The network device and the terminal device can transmit signals based on the first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs. Since the group set is divided based on the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device, the probability of terminal devices with similar expected effective paging probabilities being grouped together is higher, which reduces the probability of low power consumption benefit caused by the main receiver of the terminal device in the group being awakened instead of receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefit of the terminal device.

[0238] In one embodiment, the auxiliary information further includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0239] In this implementation, the paging probability may be used to determine the group paging probability when grouping terminal devices.

[0240] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1602 is also used to determine the updated group information based on the first indication information when the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device based on the group information meets the first preset condition; the transceiver module 1601 is also used to send a third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the updated group information. Optionally, the first preset condition is that the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device based on the group information is higher than the first threshold.

[0241] In this implementation, a group information update mechanism is designed when the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits. When the terminal device may have a tendency to have low power consumption benefits, the group information is updated in a timely manner, which can continuously reduce the probability of low power consumption benefits caused by the terminal devices in the group being woken up and not receiving downlink messages, thereby improving the power consumption benefits of the terminal devices.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 1601 is further used to receive fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the function of the terminal device to receive signals is turned off.

[0243] In this implementation, the terminal device notifies the network device that the function of the terminal device to receive low-power wake-up signals is turned off, which can avoid the network device sending a wake-up signal to the terminal device and instead directly sends downlink data, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of downlink data.

[0244] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware. The program can be stored in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be a terminal device of any of the above-mentioned embodiments, such as: an internal storage unit including a data sending end and / or a data receiving end, such as a hard disk or memory of the terminal device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above-mentioned terminal device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. equipped on the above-mentioned terminal device. Furthermore, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above-mentioned terminal device and an external storage device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above-mentioned computer program and other programs and data required by the above-mentioned terminal device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0245] The present application also provides a computer instruction. All or part of the process in the above method embodiment can be completed by the computer instruction to instruct the relevant hardware (such as a computer, processor, network device, terminal, etc.). The program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium.

[0246] The present application also provides a chip system. This chip system can be composed of a chip or include chips and other discrete components, without limitation. The chip system includes a processor and a transceiver. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be performed by the chip system. For example, the chip system can be used to implement the functions performed by a terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0247] In one possible design, the above-mentioned chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and / or data. When the chip system is running, the processor executes the program instructions stored in the memory to enable the chip system to perform the functions performed by the terminal device or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0248] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0249] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in an embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing instructions and / or data.

[0250] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0251] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed 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 modules or 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 device, 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.

[0252] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0253] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for making a device, such as a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc., or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.

[0254] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions 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: include: Sending first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices, the auxiliary information including a valid paging probability expected by the terminal device; receiving second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate grouping information of the terminal device; A signal is received according to the grouping information.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein: The group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

4. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs; The receiving a signal according to the grouping information includes: The signal is received according to a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, the first group matching the identifier of the terminal device.

5. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein: The valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the valid paging probability expected by the terminal device. The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein: The grouping information is a correspondence between at least one grouping set and at least one valid paging probability; The receiving a signal according to the grouping information includes: Determining a group set to which the terminal device belongs, where a valid paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches a valid paging probability expected by the terminal device; The signal is received according to a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, the first group matching the identifier of the terminal device.

7. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The auxiliary information also includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

8. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Third indication information is received, where the third indication information is used to indicate updated grouping information.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate auxiliary information for grouping terminal devices, the auxiliary information including a valid paging probability expected by the terminal device; determining grouping information of the terminal device according to the first indication information; Sending second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the grouping information; A signal is sent to the terminal device according to the grouping information.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein: The group information is the group to which the terminal device belongs, and the group paging probability of the group to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

11. The communication method according to claim 10, wherein: The group to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple groups, the first group is any group among the multiple groups, and the first group satisfies the following conditions: All terminal devices in the first group have the same expected valid paging probability, and the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the expected valid paging probability of the terminal devices in the first group; Alternatively, the group paging probability of the first group is not greater than the effective paging probability expected by any terminal device in the first group; The group paging probability of the first group is determined according to the paging probabilities of all terminal devices in the first group.

12. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein: The group information is the group set to which the terminal device belongs, or the group information is a correspondence between at least one group set and at least one valid paging probability; The sending a signal to the terminal device according to the grouping information includes: sending the signal to the terminal device according to a first group in the group set to which the terminal device belongs, the first group matching the identifier of the terminal device; The effective paging probability corresponding to the group set to which the terminal device belongs matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, wherein: The group set to which the terminal device belongs is one of multiple group sets, each of the multiple group sets includes multiple groups, the first group set is any one of the multiple group sets, the effective paging probability corresponding to the first group set matches the effective paging probability expected by the terminal device in the first group set, and the number of the multiple group sets is determined based on the number of effective paging probabilities expected by at least one terminal device received.

14. The communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that: The auxiliary information also includes a paging probability of the terminal device, and the paging probability of the terminal device is used to determine a group paging probability of a group to which the terminal device belongs.

15. The communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the paging probability of sending a signal to the terminal device according to the group information meets a first preset condition, determining updated group information according to the first indication information; Send third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate the updated grouping information.

16. The communication method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The first preset condition is that the paging probability of sending the signal to the terminal device according to the grouping information is higher than a first threshold.

17. The communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the function of the terminal device to receive the signal is turned off.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a signal according to the packet information; When the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal according to the group information meets the second preset condition, the function of receiving the signal is turned off, wherein the signal is a low-power wake-up signal, and the second preset condition is that the paging probability of the terminal device receiving the signal according to the group information is higher than a second threshold.

19. The communication method according to claim 18, wherein: The method further comprises: Send fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that a function of receiving the signal is disabled.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17, or a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 18 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17, or to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is implemented, or the communication device is implemented to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17, or the communication device is implemented to execute the method according to any one of claims 18 to 19.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to be implemented, or enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 17 to be implemented, or enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 18 to 19 to be implemented.

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