Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. In the method, a terminal can acquire first configuration information used for configuring at least one measurement time period for measurement, send, to a wireless access network node, first information used for indicating whether a first measurement time period can be skipped, and receive first indication information from the wireless access network node, wherein the at least one measurement time period comprises the first measurement time period, and the first indication information is used for indicating whether the first measurement time period is skipped. By means of the method, a terminal can skip one or more measurement time periods among at least one measurement time period, so as to reduce data packet loss caused by scheduling conflicts between measurement and data transmission, thereby ensuring the service reliability to the greatest extent possible and improving the user experience.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on April 3, 2024, with application number 202410417231.6 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 communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] With the rapid advancement of communication technologies, transmission rates are increasing rapidly, enabling wireless communications to carry a growing number of real-time, data-intensive multimedia services, such as video, cloud gaming (CG), and extended reality (XR). During the data transmission of these services, data packet transmission is likely to conflict with radio resource management (RRM) measurements, leading to packet loss. This compromises service reliability and reduces user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and device that can ensure service reliability and improve user experience.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal. The terminal here can refer to the terminal itself or a processor, circuit, module, logical node, chip, or chip system that implements the method in the terminal.

[0007] The method includes: a terminal obtaining first configuration information for configuration, sending the first information to a wireless access network node, and receiving first indication information from the wireless access network node. The at least one measurement period includes a first measurement period, the first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement, the first information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period can be skipped, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped. Skipping a measurement period can be understood as not performing measurements during the measurement period, and operations other than measurements can be performed as needed, such as data transmission. Not skipping a measurement period can be understood as performing measurements during the measurement period.

[0008] Based on the method provided in the first aspect above, since the terminal (and the wireless access network node) can determine whether the first measurement period is skipped, this method can reduce the data packet loss caused by the scheduling conflict between the measurement period and the data packet transmission, and can also have more time domain resources to transmit data, so that this method can improve the reliability of data transmission, ensure the reliability of the service, and improve the user experience.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, receiving first indication information from a radio access network node includes: when the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, receiving the first indication information from the radio access network node.

[0010] Based on the above possible implementation, when the radio access network node confirms that the first measurement period can be skipped, the first indication information may be sent to the terminal. However, when the radio access network node confirms that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the first indication information may not be sent to the terminal. This can reduce signaling overhead while ensuring service reliability.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first measurement period is the earliest measurement period in the time domain among the at least one measurement period, where “earliest measurement period in the time domain” can be understood as the first measurement period that occurs after the time point of sending the first information.

[0012] Based on the possible implementation manner described above, the terminal may sequentially confirm whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0014] Based on the possible implementation manner described above, the terminal may indicate whether each measurement period can be skipped through the first indication information.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

[0016] Based on the possible implementation manner described above, the radio access network node can flexibly indicate to the terminal whether to skip the first measurement period.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is determined based on at least one of the following: signal strength at the location of the terminal, size of the data packet to be transmitted, or data packet delay budget.

[0018] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the terminal may determine the first information according to its own signal strength and data transmission status, thereby determining whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period is skipped.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first information includes data packet delay budget information.

[0020] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the terminal may provide the data packet delay budget information to the radio access network node, so that the radio access network node determines whether to skip the first measurement period.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to the first threshold. The delay budget information may refer to the remaining transmission time corresponding to the data packet to be transmitted in the current buffer, after which the data packet will become invalid.

[0022] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the radio access network node can determine whether to skip the first measurement period according to the delay budget information of the data packet to be transmitted.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the number of at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the above method also includes: receiving second indication information from the wireless access network node, the second indication information indicating whether the second measurement period is skipped, at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and the time domain position of the second measurement period is later than the time domain position of the first measurement period.

[0024] Based on the foregoing possible implementation manner, the terminal may determine whether to skip the second measurement period according to the second indication information.

[0025] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a radio access network node. The radio access network node here can refer to the radio access network node itself, or a processor, circuit, module, logical node, chip, or chip system in the radio access network node that implements the method.

[0026] The method includes: a wireless access network node sending first configuration information, receiving the first information, and sending first indication information. The first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement, the first information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period can be skipped, the at least one measurement period includes the first measurement period, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped. Skipping a measurement period can be understood as not performing measurements during the measurement period, and operations other than measurements can be performed as needed, such as data transmission. Not skipping a measurement period can be understood as performing measurements during the measurement period.

[0027] Based on the method provided in the second aspect above, since the wireless access network node (and the terminal) can determine whether the first measurement period is skipped, this method can reduce the data packet loss caused by the scheduling conflict between the measurement period and the data packet transmission, and can also have more time domain resources to transmit data, so that this method can improve the reliability of data transmission, ensure the reliability of the service, and improve the user experience.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, sending the first indication information includes: sending the first indication information when the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped.

[0029] Based on the above possible implementation, the radio access network node may send the first indication information when the confirmation indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped. In other words, the first indication information may not be sent when the first indication information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. This can reduce the overhead of control information (referring to the first indication information) while ensuring service reliability.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the first measurement period is the earliest measurement period in the time domain among the at least one measurement period, where “earliest measurement period in the time domain” can be understood as the first measurement period that occurs after the time point of sending the first information.

[0031] Based on the possible implementation manner described above, the terminal may sequentially confirm whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner, the first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0033] Based on the foregoing possible implementation manner, the radio access network node may indicate, through the first indication information, whether each measurement period can be skipped.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

[0035] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the radio access network node can more flexibly indicate to the terminal whether to skip the subsequent measurement period.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the first information includes data packet delay budget information.

[0037] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the radio access network node can obtain data packet delay budget information to facilitate determining whether to skip the first measurement period.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the first information includes data packet delay budget information; and sending the first indication information includes sending the first indication information when the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to a first threshold. The delay budget information may refer to a remaining transmission time corresponding to a data packet to be transmitted in a current buffer, after which the data packet becomes invalid.

[0039] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the radio access network node may determine whether to skip the first measurement period according to the delay budget information of the data packet to be transmitted.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the number of at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the above method also includes: sending a second indication information, the second indication information indicating whether the second measurement period is skipped, at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and the time domain position of the second measurement period is later than the time domain position of the first measurement period.

[0041] Based on the foregoing possible implementation manner, the radio access network node may indicate to the terminal through the second indication information whether the second measurement period is skipped.

[0042] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the aforementioned method. The communication device may be the terminal described in the first aspect; alternatively, the communication device may be the wireless access network node described in the second aspect. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to implementing the aforementioned method. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a processing module and an interface module. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The processing module may, for example, be a processor. The interface module, also referred to as an interface unit, may be configured to implement the sending and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The interface module may be comprised of an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the interface module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0045] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor configured to execute a computer program (or computer-executable instructions) stored in a memory and / or a logic circuit, causing the communication device to perform the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the terminal described in the first aspect; or the communication device may be the radio access network node described in the second aspect. Optionally, the number of the processors may be one or more.

[0046] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes a memory.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the processor and the memory are integrated together; or the memory is independent of the processor.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices, such as sending or receiving data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the processor and / or memory further includes an artificial intelligence (AI) module for implementing AI-related functions. The AI ​​module can implement AI functions through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module includes a radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, the AI ​​module can be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0051] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit; the interface circuit being configured to receive a computer program or instruction and transmit it to the processor; and the processor being configured to execute the computer program or instruction, thereby causing the communication device to perform the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the terminal described in the first aspect; or the communication device may be the wireless access network node described in the second aspect. Optionally, the number of the processors may be one or more.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the processor further includes an AI module for implementing AI-related functions. The AI ​​module can implement AI functions through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module includes a RIC module. For example, the AI ​​module can be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0054] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer can execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0055] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0056] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a terminal for executing the method described in the first aspect and a wireless access network node for executing the method described in the second aspect.

[0057] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any possible implementation method in the third to eighth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought about by any aspect in the first to second aspects or different possible implementation methods in any aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0058] It is understandable that, provided that the solutions are not contradictory, the solutions in each aspect can be combined. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] FIG1a is a schematic diagram of an example of configuring measurement gap time domain resources provided by this application;

[0060] FIG1b is a schematic diagram of time-frequency resources for synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) beam scanning provided by the present application;

[0061] FIG1c is a schematic diagram of a conflict between an XR service and a measurement gap provided by this application;

[0062] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the communication system architecture provided by this application;

[0063] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the communication device provided in this application;

[0064] FIG4 is a flow chart of the communication method provided by this application;

[0065] FIG5 is a schematic diagram 1 of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0066] FIG6 is a second schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0067] FIG7 is a third schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0068] FIG8 is a fourth schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0069] FIG9 is a fifth schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0070] FIG10 is a sixth schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0071] FIG11 is a seventh schematic diagram of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0072] FIG12 is a schematic diagram eight of time domain scheduling provided by this application;

[0073] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] Before introducing the technical solution of this application, the relevant technical terms involved in this application are explained. It is understood that these explanations are intended to make this application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0075] 1. RRM measurement

[0076] In new radio (NR), RRM measurements can be performed by terminals on radio resources. The terminals report the measurement results to the RAN node, enabling the RAN node to flexibly allocate or dynamically adjust radio resources for the terminals, thereby ensuring service quality for the terminals. Due to radio resource limitations, terminals often cannot perform measurements and transmit data simultaneously. The RAN node can configure measurement gaps or synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) for the terminals, allowing them to measure radio resources using these gaps or SMTCs. The following describes measurement gaps and SMTCs, respectively.

[0077] (1) Measuring gap

[0078] When the terminal is in a connected state, when the center frequency of the cell to be measured by the terminal is not included in the bandwidth part (BWP) activated by the terminal, the RAN node can configure multiple measurement gaps for the terminal. The measurement gap can be understood as a time period (for example, 2 subframes, etc.) reserved during the terminal's data transmission process, which can be used to measure reference signals. Therefore, the terminal can use other frequency domain resources other than the above-mentioned activated BWP for RRM measurement within the measurement gap. Among them, BWP is a set of frequency domain resources corresponding to different parameter sets, bandwidths, subcarrier spacing (SCS) or control parameters. It should be understood that the time period corresponding to the measurement gap is reserved for measuring signals (for example, measuring reference signals of neighboring cells or other radio access technologies (RAT)), rather than for transmitting (i.e. sending or receiving) data between the terminal and the RAN node.

[0079] The RAN node can configure time domain resources for the measurement gap by configuring the system frame number (SFN) (hereinafter referred to as the "frame number", which can be understood as the frame index), gap offset (gap offset), measurement gap length (MGL) and measurement gap repetition period (MGRP).

[0080] The gap offset is the offset of the measurement gap. The offset can be a number of predefined values ​​that apply to different MGRPs. The offset indicates the index of the starting subframe of the measurement gap and has a value range of [0, MGRP-1]. For example, when MGRP = 20 ms, the offset range is 0 to 19.

[0081] The above MGL represents the duration of a measurement gap, also in ms, and can be 1.5ms, 3ms, 3.5ms, 4ms, 5.5ms, or 6ms.

[0082] The MGRP represents the period of the measurement gap, which can be 20ms, 40ms, 80ms or 160ms, etc. For example, when MGRP=40ms, since a frame length is 10ms, the period of the measurement gap is 4 (40ms / 10ms=4) frames.

[0083] These parameters can satisfy formulas (1) to (3). SFN mod T = FLOOR (gapOffset / 10) (1) subframe = gapOffset mod 10 (2) T = MGRP / 10 (3)

[0084] In the above formulas (1) to (3), SFN represents the frame number, T represents the starting position of the measurement gap (indicated by the subframe number index), gapOffset represents the gap offset, and subframe represents the subframe number. Since a frame includes 10 subframes, the value of subframe ranges from 0 to 9. The operator mod can represent remainder or modulo, etc.

[0085] Illustratively, FIG1a provides an example of configuring measurement gap time domain resources.

[0086] In Figure 1a, the gap offset gapOffset = 24, MGRP = 40ms, and measurement gap length MGL = 4ms are used as an example to illustrate how to determine the time domain resource of the measurement gap. First, according to formula (3), we can get According to formula (1), we can get Therefore, the frame number SFN of the measurement gap is 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, etc., which are integers satisfying SFN mod 4 = 2. Since T = 4, the measurement gap starts from the 5th subframe in a frame. Since a subframe is 1ms, MGL = 4ms means that a measurement gap lasts for 4 subframes. Therefore, it can be determined that the time domain position of the measurement gap is in each frame with SFN of 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, etc., starting from the 5th subframe and lasting for 4 subframes. The period of the measurement gap is MGRP = 40ms. The time domain resources of the measurement gap corresponding to the above configuration can be shown in Figure 1a. It should be understood that Figure 1a does not show all measurement gaps that meet the above configuration. After determining the starting measurement gap position, the time domain positions of all subsequent measurement gaps can be deduced in accordance with the period of MGRP = 40ms.

[0087] In addition to indicating the time domain resources for measurement gaps to the terminal through the above configuration method, the RAN node can also configure the time domain resources for measurement gaps by indicating a gap pattern to the terminal. For example, the RAN node can issue a gap pattern identifier (ID). Each gap pattern ID corresponds to a different configuration of parameters such as MGL and MGRP. For details, see Table 1.

[0088] Table 1

[0089] In Table 1, the terminal can support gap pattern 0 and gap pattern 1, and can also support other gap patterns without limitation. For example, when the RAN node indicates gap pattern 1 to the terminal, it indicates that a measurement gap of MGL = 6ms and MGRP = 80ms is configured for the terminal. The gap offset can be specified by a pre-configuration method. According to formulas (1) to (3) and the above parameters, the frame number, subframe number, and measurement gap length can be determined, thereby obtaining the specific time domain resource location of the measurement gap.

[0090] (2)SMTC

[0091] When the terminal is in the connected state, it can receive the target cell's SSB to obtain synchronization information. To obtain accurate SSB measurement results, the terminal should try to measure all SSBs in the cell. The time domain position of the SSB (for example, the number of SSBs and the position of the SSB symbol) is related to the SSB frequency or SCS (sub-carrier spacing).

[0092] For example, an SSB occupies four consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the time domain and 20 resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain. The RAN node can send SSBs through periodic scanning, and all SSBs are sent in one round of scanning (all SSBs can be understood as including the content of all system messages). The scanning period can be configured by the RAN node (for example, 20ms, 40ms, or 80ms, etc.), and each round of scanning is completed within half a frame (5ms). Specifically, the SSB time-frequency resources can be shown in Figure 1b.

[0093] As will be appreciated, Figure 1b is a schematic diagram of the time-frequency resources for SSB beam scanning, where time domain resources 101 to 104 are described using the example of a cell including one SSB, the SSB being scanned within eight frames, and the SSB scanning period (hereinafter referred to as the "period") being 20ms (i.e., two frames). In Figure 1b, the multiple small rectangles included in time-frequency resources 101 to 104 or patterns 105 to 111 represent one OFDM symbol, and four consecutive OFDM symbols can be used to transmit one SSB. In other words, one or more SSBs can be transmitted per period. As will be appreciated, time domain resources 101 to 104 in Figure 1b are described using the example of a cell including one SSB, but in specific applications, a cell may include more SSBs. If a cell includes N SSBs (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1), then the number of OFDM symbols occupied by all SSBs corresponding to one round of scanning is 4N. Optionally, one SSB can occupy 20 RBs in the frequency domain and half a frame in the time domain.

[0094] In Figure 1b, different SSB frequencies (denoted by f, for example, f<=3GHz) or different SCSs may correspond to different SSB patterns. For example, on the time-frequency resource 103, the SSB pattern may be as shown in patterns 105 to 111. It can be understood that patterns 105 to 111 respectively show different numbers of OFDM symbols, and due to different frequencies or SCSs, their sparsity in the time domain is also different (the small rectangles in different patterns have different widths in the horizontal direction). For example, pattern 111 is denser than pattern 110, and pattern 110 is denser than pattern 106. It should be understood that patterns 105 to 111 are merely exemplary and do not limit the number of SSBs or the number of OFDM symbols.

[0095] For example, pattern 107 and pattern 105 are used as examples for description. The difference between pattern 107 and pattern 105 is that the SCS of pattern 105 is 15 kHz, while the SCS of pattern 107 is 30 kHz. It appears that pattern 107 is compressed to half of its original value in the time domain. This is because when SCS = 30 kHz, the length of an OFDM symbol is half of the OFDM symbol corresponding to SCS = 15 kHz.

[0096] As described above, RAN nodes do not use all time domain resources to transmit SSBs within a cycle. If a terminal searches and measures SSBs across all time domain resources, significant power waste would result. To effectively indicate the time window for SSB measurement to the terminal and reduce unnecessary power consumption, the RAN node can configure a time window for SSB measurement, known as the SMTC, for the terminal. The terminal can then measure SSBs within the SMTC window and not outside it.

[0097] Specifically, the RAN node can indicate the SMTC time domain resources to the terminal through the SMTC period, SMTC duration, and SMTC offset. The SMTC period can be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms. The SMTC duration can be 1ms, 2ms, 3ms, 4ms, or 5ms. The SMTC offset has a granularity of 1ms and a value range of [0 to (SMTC period minus 1ms)]. For example, taking the SMTC period as 5ms, the SMTC offset can be 0ms, 1ms, 2ms, 3ms, or 4ms, and the SMTC duration can be 1ms, 2ms, 3ms, 4ms, or 5ms.

[0098] 2. Latency-critical services

[0099] Latency-critical services can be understood as those with high real-time requirements and large data volumes, such as cloud gaming, high-definition time-lapse video, or XR services. XR encompasses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Based on this, VR / AR-capable terminals can be connected to the network via base stations or other access points, allowing them to access VR / AR services from the cloud. This is known as Cloud Extended Reality (Cloud XR). Specifically, Cloud XR services include Cloud VR (Cloud VR) and Cloud AR (Cloud AR). They incorporate the concepts and technologies of cloud computing and cloud rendering into VR / AR applications. Leveraging high-speed and stable networks, display and audio output from the cloud are encoded and compressed and transmitted to the terminal, enabling VR / AR content and rendering to be transferred to the cloud. This allows the terminal to meet lightweight and mobile requirements. The following uses Cloud XR as an example to illustrate the strict latency requirements of latency-critical services.

[0100] For example, taking XR services as an example, only when the delay from the user's head moving to the corresponding effect displayed on the display screen (motion to photons, MTP) is less than 20ms, can a partial immersive experience be provided to the user. When XR services adopt asynchronous rendering technology, the end-to-end interaction delay can be relaxed to 70ms. Excluding the encoding and rendering delay on the server side and the decoding processing delay on the terminal, the delay left for network transmission is only 20ms, of which 10ms is for uplink and 10ms for downlink transmission. Moreover, with the evolution of XR services in recent years, including the maturity of tactile Internet technology, the delay requirements for networks have become more stringent. For example, in remote control systems, in order to ensure high fidelity of touch and remote operation, the sampling rate of tactile information should be no less than 1kHz, and the transmission delay requirement for each sample is 5ms, which will bring huge challenges to the communication system.

[0101] Precisely because latency-critical services have high latency requirements and large data volumes, scheduling conflicts may occur with measurements. Specifically, take the XR video service as an example. When the frame transmission frequency corresponding to the XR video service can be 30 frames per second (FPS), 60FPS or 90FPS, the corresponding frame arrival periods of the XR video service are 1 / 30s, 1 / 60s, and 1 / 90s, respectively, while the RRM measurement period is usually non-integer values ​​such as 33.33ms, 16.67ms and 11.11ms. It can be seen that the XR service arrival period cannot match the RRM measurement period, which will cause the RRM measurement (for example, measurement gaps or SMTC, etc.) to conflict with the XR service data transmission.

[0102] For example, as shown in FIG1c, when the measurement gap is configured, taking the XR video service period equal to 1 / 60s (approximately equal to 16.67ms) and the measurement gap using the gap pattern ID 0 shown in Table 1 (i.e., MGL = 6ms, MGRP = 40ms) as an example, the frame arrival situation lists 6 frames, the frame period is 16.67ms, the time for each frame transmission is 10ms, the period corresponding to the measurement gap is 40ms, and the duration of each measurement gap is 6ms. According to FIG1c, it can be seen that frame 112 conflicts with measurement gap 113 in time, and frame 114 conflicts with measurement gap 115 in time (the square filled with diagonal lines indicates that the frame and the measurement gap conflict in time). Since the scheduling priority corresponding to the RRM measurement is higher than the scheduling priority of the data service, there is a scheduling restriction when the XR service frame conflicts with the RRM measurement, that is, RRM measurement will be performed during the conflicting time period instead of data transmission, which will cause data service packet loss on the terminal side. This is because for delay-critical services, the interval between adjacent data packets is very short and the real-time nature is strong. For example, in Figure 1c, the interval between adjacent frames is approximately 6.67ms. Assuming that one frame fails to be transmitted, the time until the next frame arrives is no more than 6.67ms, and the terminal receives a frame in 10ms. In order not to affect the transmission of the next frame, the terminal will discard the frame that failed to be transmitted.

[0103] In summary, when the configuration corresponding to Figure 1c is used for data services and measurement gaps, the transmission of at least two out of every six frames is affected. Therefore, when RRM measurements are activated, latency-critical services with high real-time requirements and large data volumes experience high packet loss and a significant capacity reduction, which compromises service reliability and degrades user experience.

[0104] To address the above-mentioned issues, the present application provides a communication method. In this method, a terminal may obtain first configuration information for configuring at least one measurement period for measurement, send first information to a RAN node, and receive first indication information from the RAN node. The at least one measurement period includes a first measurement period, the first information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period can be skipped, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped. Skipping a measurement period can be understood as not performing measurement, for example, the terminal can transmit data, and not skipping a measurement period can be understood as performing measurement during the measurement period.

[0105] In the above method, the terminal may skip one or more measurement periods in an indicated measurement period to reduce packet loss due to scheduling conflicts between the measurement period and packet transmission, thereby improving data transmission reliability and user experience.

[0106] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0107] The method provided in this application can be used in various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be a long term evolution (LTE) system, a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a communication system related to the third generation partnership project (3GPP), a communication system evolved after 5G (such as a sixth generation (6G) communication system), or a system integrating multiple systems, etc., without limitation. Among them, 5G can also be referred to as NR. The method provided in this application is described below using the communication system 20 shown in Figure 2 as an example. Figure 2 is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the technical solution provided in this application.

[0108] As shown in Figure 2, a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 20 provided in this application is provided. In Figure 2, the communication system 20 includes a RAN 201. Optionally, the communication system 20 also includes a core network (CN) 205 and / or the Internet 204. The RAN 201 includes at least one RAN node (such as 202a and 202b in Figure 2, collectively referred to as 202) and at least one terminal (203a-203j in Figure 2, collectively referred to as 203). The RAN 201 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (not shown in Figure 2). The terminal 203 is connected to the RAN node 202 via wireless means. The RAN node 202 is connected to the core network 205 via wireless or wired means. The core network equipment in the core network 205 and the RAN node 202 in the RAN 201 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates the core network logical functions and the RAN logical functions.

[0109] RAN 201 may be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). RAN 201 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. RAN 201 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0110] RAN node 202, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and is used to facilitate wireless access for terminals. Multiple RAN nodes 202 in the communication system 20 can be of the same type or different types.

[0111] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG2 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 202b in FIG2 ), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, an access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 202 and terminal 203 are opposite. For example, a helicopter or drone, typically configured as a terminal, can also be configured as a mobile base station, and a device accessing the RAN via the helicopter or drone is configured as a terminal.

[0112] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal 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), or a radio unit (RU). 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).

[0113] 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.

[0114] The terminal in this application, for example, terminal 203 is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors, outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal can also be called a terminal device, and the terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc., or a device for providing voice or data connectivity to users. Among them, UE includes handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, vehicle-mounted devices (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed railways, etc.), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.) or computing devices. Exemplarily, UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a satellite terminal or a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities. The UE may also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless modem, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, customer-premises equipment (CPE), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, workshop equipment, smart home equipment (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electric meters, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, an in-vehicle terminal, a roadside unit (RSU) with terminal functions, or an aerial device (e.g., an intelligent robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. The terminal may also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, a terminal may also be a device that functions as a terminal in D2D communication.

[0115] As an example and not a limitation, in this application, the terminal may be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. For example, a wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device that achieves powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include devices that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as devices that focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0116] In this application, a terminal may be a terminal in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network that interconnects humans and machines and things. The terminal in this application may be a terminal in machine type communication (MTC).

[0117] The terminal of the present application can be an on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip, on-board unit (OBU) or telematics box (T-BOX) built into the vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle can implement the method of the present application through the built-in on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip, on-board unit or T-BOX. The terminal can also be a whole vehicle device. Therefore, the present application can be applied to the Internet of Vehicles, such as vehicle to everything (V2X), long-term evolution vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), etc.

[0118] In this application, the form of a RAN node is not limited. The device used to implement the functions of a RAN node can be a RAN node; it can also be a device that supports the RAN node to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in a RAN node or used in conjunction with a RAN node.

[0119] It is understood that the communication system 20 shown in FIG2 is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the technical solutions of this application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in a specific implementation, the communication system 20 may further include other devices, and the number of RAN nodes and terminals may be determined based on specific needs and is not limited.

[0120] Optionally, each network element or device (such as a RAN node or terminal, etc.) in Figure 2 of the present application can also be referred to as a communication device, which can be a general device or a dedicated device. This application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0121] Optionally, the relevant functions of each network element or device (e.g., RAN node 202 or terminal 203) in Figure 2 of the present application can be implemented by a single device, or can be implemented jointly by multiple devices, or can be implemented by one or more functional modules within a single device. This application does not impose specific limitations on this. It is understood that the above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0122] In a specific implementation, each network element or device shown in Figure 2 (e.g., RAN node 202 or terminal 203, etc.) can adopt the structure shown in Figure 3, or include the components shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device applicable to the present application. It is understood that the communication device 30 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to implement the solutions provided by the present application. For example, the communication device 30 includes one or more processors 301 for implementing the methods provided by the present application.

[0123] The processor 301 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, the processor 301 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device 30 (such as a RAN node, terminal, or chip), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. Optionally, in one design, the processor 301 may include a program 305 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on the processor 301 so that the communication device 30 performs the methods described in the following embodiments. In another possible design, the communication device 30 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG. 3 ), which is used to implement the functions of the terminal or RAN node in the following embodiments.

[0124] Optionally, the communication device 30 may include one or more memories 303. The memory 303 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), a cache or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory provided in this application may generally be non-volatile. Optionally, the memory 303 stores a program 307 (sometimes also referred to as code or instruction), and the program 307 can be executed on the processor 301 so that the communication device 30 executes the method described in the following method embodiment.

[0125] Optionally, the processor 301 may include an AI module 306, and / or the memory 303 may include an AI module 308. The AI ​​module is used 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.

[0126] Optionally, data may be stored in the processor 301 and / or the memory 303. The processor 301 and the memory 303 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0127] Optionally, the communication device 30 may further include a transceiver 302 and / or an antenna 304. The processor 301, sometimes also referred to as a processing unit, controls the communication device 30. The transceiver 302, sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device 30 via the antenna 304.

[0128] It is understandable that the composition structure shown in Figure 3 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in Figure 3, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0129] It is understood that in the present application, the time domain symbol can be an OFDM symbol or a Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. Unless otherwise specified, the symbols in the embodiments of the present application refer to time domain symbols.

[0130] It is understandable that in this application, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is only used as an example of a downlink control channel. In different systems and different scenarios, the control channel may have different names, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0131] It can be understood that the message names between network elements or the names of parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations, and the present application does not make any specific limitations on this.

[0132] It is understood that in this application, "sending information to ... (e.g., a RAN node)" can be understood as meaning that the destination of the information is the RAN node. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the RAN node. "Receiving information from ... (e.g., a RAN node)" can be understood as meaning that the source of the information is the RAN node, which can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the RAN node. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can still understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application should be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0133] It is understood that in this application, " / " can indicate that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" can be used to describe that there are three relationships between the associated objects, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, expressions similar to "at least one of A, B and C" or "at least one of A, B or C" are usually used to indicate any of the following: A exists alone; B exists alone; C exists alone; A and B exist at the same time; A and C exist at the same time; B and C exist at the same time; A, B and C exist at the same time. The above uses A, B and C as an example to illustrate the optional items of the item. When there are more elements in the expression, the meaning of the expression can be obtained according to the above rules.

[0134] In order to facilitate the description of the technical solutions of the present application, in the present application, words such as "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish between technical features with the same or similar functions. The words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. In the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0135] It is understood that the "embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It is understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the present application.

[0136] It can be understood that in the present application, "used to indicate" can include direct indications and indirect indications, and can also include explicit indications and implicit indications. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and it does not mean that the indication information must carry A. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the first indication information described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0137] It can be understood that in this application, "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require judgment actions when implementing them, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0138] In this application, "greater than or equal to" can be replaced by "greater than" or "equal to"; "less than or equal to" can be replaced by "less than" or "equal to". For example, "A is greater than or equal to B" can be replaced by "A is greater than B" or "A is equal to B"; "A is less than or equal to B" can be replaced by "A is less than B" or "A is equal to B".

[0139] It is understood that some optional features in this application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the devices provided in this application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0140] It is understandable that the same step or steps or technical features with the same function in different embodiments of the present application can be referenced to each other.

[0141] It is understandable that the methods provided below in this application use a terminal and a RAN node as examples of the execution entities of the interaction diagram to illustrate the methods, but this application does not limit the execution entities of the interaction diagram. For example, the terminal in the methods provided in the following embodiments of this application may also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal to implement the method, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions; the RAN node in the methods provided below in this application may also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the RAN node to implement the method, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the RAN node functions.

[0142] As shown in FIG4 , a communication method provided by the present application may include the following steps:

[0143] S401: The terminal obtains first configuration information.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the terminal obtains the first configuration information from the RAN node. For example, the RAN node sends the first configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first configuration information from the RAN node.

[0145] In the present application, the RAN node may be the RAN node 202 in the communication system 20 shown in FIG. 2 , and the terminal may be the terminal 203 in the communication system 20 that communicates with the RAN node 202 .

[0146] In the present application, the first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement.

[0147] Optionally, the first configuration information may be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

[0148] In this application, measurement may refer to the RRM measurement introduced above, such as measurement processes such as measurement gap measurement or SMTC measurement of reference signals (e.g., SSB), or measurement of other reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS) and other reference signals), without limitation.

[0149] In this application, the measurement period may refer to a time window opened for performing the above-mentioned measurement, or a reserved time domain resource, etc. A measurement period corresponds to a time range. For example, the measurement period is the measurement gap or SMTC introduced above. The introduction of the measurement gap and SMTC can refer to the above description of the measurement gap or SMTC and will not be repeated here.

[0150] It will be appreciated that after receiving the first configuration information, the terminal may deem that at least one measurement period configured in the first configuration information has been activated. Alternatively, after S401, the RAN node may send corresponding information to the terminal to activate all or part of the at least one measurement period. For ease of description, the following embodiments of this application are described using the example of activating at least one measurement period.

[0151] S402: The terminal sends first information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the first information from the terminal.

[0152] In one possible design, the first information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period can be skipped, so that the RAN node determines whether the first measurement period can be skipped. The at least one measurement period includes the first measurement period.

[0153] Optionally, the first measurement period is a measurement period with the earliest time domain position among at least one measurement period.

[0154] It is understood that the "earliest time domain position" mentioned above can be understood as the first measurement period that occurs after the time point when the first information is sent. Therefore, the earliest time domain measurement period may not always refer to a fixed measurement period, but may point to a new measurement period over time. For example, when the terminal sends the first information next time, the first measurement period is the first measurement period that occurs after the time point when the first information is next sent.

[0155] Optionally, the first information can be carried by an RRC message, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), uplink control information (UCI), or other control information, without limitation.

[0156] Optionally, the first information may further indicate whether N consecutive measurement periods after the first measurement period can be skipped, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the specific value of N may be predefined or configured by the RAN node for the terminal (for example, via control information such as downlink control information (DCI)).

[0157] Optionally, the first information may be sent periodically, and the period may be configured by the RAN node, or predefined, or the terminal may determine the period and indicate the period to the RAN node.

[0158] Two possible implementation methods of the first information are introduced below: Method 1 and Method 2.

[0159] Method 1: The first information may be in a format similar to a bitmap, and the first information includes at least one bit, where one bit corresponds to one measurement period. The terminal may indicate to the RAN node whether the terminal can skip subsequent measurement periods through the information carried by the bit (for example, 0 or 1). For example, a bit of 1 indicates that the terminal can skip the first measurement period, and a bit of 0 indicates that the terminal cannot skip the first measurement period, and vice versa, which is not limited in this application. When the first information includes multiple bits, the multiple bits may indicate subsequent measurement periods in order from left to right (the subsequent measurement periods include the first measurement period).

[0160] Optionally, the first information indicates whether each measurement period in at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0161] Exemplarily, the number of at least one measurement period is 1. In this case, the first information includes 1 bit. When the value of the 1 bit is "0", it indicates that the terminal indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped; when the value of the 1 bit is "1", it indicates that the terminal indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped.

[0162] For example, the number of at least one measurement period is three, namely measurement period #0, measurement period #1, and measurement period #2. In this case, the first information includes three bits. When the value of the three bits is "001", it indicates that the terminal indicates that measurement period #0 cannot be skipped, measurement period #1 cannot be skipped, and measurement period #2 can be skipped. It is understood that the first measurement period can be any one of measurement period #0, measurement period #1, and measurement period #2.

[0163] It is understood that the aforementioned "terminal skipping a measurement period" can be understood as meaning that the terminal does not perform measurements during that measurement period and can perform operations other than measurements as needed, such as transmitting data (i.e., transmitting data corresponding to a service) or performing other tasks as scheduled by the RAN node. Conversely, "terminal not skipping a measurement period" can be understood as meaning that the terminal performs measurements during that measurement period, that is, the terminal does not transmit data during that measurement period. Specifically, to determine whether to skip a measurement period, the terminal can use the following method.

[0164] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is determined (by the terminal) according to at least one of the following: signal strength at the location of the terminal, size of the data packet to be transmitted, or data packet delay budget.

[0165] The "signal strength at the terminal's location" may be understood as the strength of the signal received by the terminal at the location from the serving cell to which the terminal is connected. For example, the terminal may determine the signal strength at the terminal's location based on at least one of reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other parameters, without limitation.

[0166] It is understandable that, taking the example of a terminal determining the first information based on the signal strength at the terminal's location, when the signal strength is greater than or equal to the second threshold, the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. For example, the terminal can set the bit of the first information to "0." When the signal strength is less than the second threshold, the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped. For example, the terminal can set the bit of the first information to "1." This is because the higher the signal strength, the better the signal transmission quality, which can ensure that the cached data packets to be transmitted can be sent in the current channel environment. In other words, the terminal can transmit the data packets to be transmitted without additionally utilizing the time corresponding to the measurement opportunity. Therefore, the terminal will indicate that the subsequent first measurement opportunity will not be skipped. Conversely, when the signal strength is low, it indicates that the signal transmission quality is poor, and it cannot be guaranteed that the data packets to be transmitted can be transmitted before being discarded. To ensure user experience, the time corresponding to the measurement opportunity can be used to transmit the data packets.

[0167] The data packet mentioned above may be a data packet of the NR user plane (UP), such as a MAC protocol data unit (PDU). The MAC PDU is a string arranged in bytes (expressed as byte, 1 byte = 8 bits). The "size of the data packet to be transmitted" can be understood as the amount of data contained in the data packet, etc., and is not limited.

[0168] It is understandable that the larger the size of the data packet to be transmitted, the longer it takes to transmit a data packet. Generally, different data packets correspond to different services with different data volumes. Services with larger data volumes also correspond to larger data packets. For example, data packets for standard-quality voice services are smaller than data packets for high-definition video services. When determining the first information based on the size of the data packet to be transmitted, the terminal may, if the size of the data packet to be transmitted is greater than or equal to a third threshold, indicate that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. For example, the terminal may set a bit of the first information to "0." If the size of the data packet to be transmitted is less than the third threshold, the terminal may set the first information to "1." Optionally, when the data packet is a MAC PDU, the first information may indicate that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. For example, the terminal may set a bit of the first information to "0." If the average size of multiple data packets to be transmitted in the buffer is greater than or equal to the third threshold (in bytes), the first information may indicate that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. For example, the terminal may set the first information to "0." If the average size of multiple data packets to be transmitted in the buffer is less than the third threshold, the first information may indicate that the first measurement period can be skipped. For example, the terminal may set the first information to "1."

[0169] The packet delay budget described above can be derived from Delay State Reporting (DSR) signaling, a type of MAC CE. Specifically, the DSR includes information related to data transmission delay, namely the remaining time corresponding to the pending data packets in the cache. This means that after this remaining time has elapsed, the pending data packets in the cache will become invalid. The remaining time refers to the remaining runtime of the discard timer of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) corresponding to the pending data packets. This timer specifies the validity period of the remaining data packets; upon expiration of the timer, the corresponding data packets will be discarded.

[0170] It is understood that when determining the first information based on the packet delay budget, the terminal may, when the delay budget is greater than or equal to a fourth threshold, indicate that the first measurement period can be skipped. For example, the terminal may set the first information to "1." When the delay budget is less than the fourth threshold, the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped. For example, the terminal may set the first information to "0." It should be understood that the delay budget is related to the number of packets ready for transmission in the buffer and represents the remaining time before the packets to be transmitted expire. Therefore, a large delay budget indicates that the buffered packets have sufficient time to transmit, and measurement can be performed. Conversely, if the RAN node is able to allocate time and frequency resources to the terminal, the measurement period can be used for data transmission to ensure service reliability and user experience.

[0171] To sum up, determining the first information through method 1 is actually to find a balance between measurement and data service transmission. Since the terminal has a more accurate grasp of the transmission status of the data packets to be transmitted in the cache, it can also adjust the first information in real time based on information such as the signal quality corresponding to its location, indicating whether the subsequent measurement period is used for measurement or not (for example, data can be transmitted). In this way, more data packets can be transmitted on the basis of ensuring the terminal communication quality by realizing mobility management through measurement, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission and improving user experience.

[0172] Mode 2: The first information includes data packet delay budget information.

[0173] Optionally, the first information may be the aforementioned DSR, or uplink control information including delay budget information.

[0174] As will be appreciated, by sending the first information to the RAN node, the terminal can indicate the validity period of the data packets currently buffered for transmission. Based on this first information and the current scheduling of radio resources on the network side, the RAN can determine whether to skip subsequent measurement periods subject to scheduling restrictions. For example, if the time required to transmit the remaining data packets using the current radio resources is less than the delay budget for the data packets, the RAN node can instruct the terminal to skip subsequent measurement periods subject to scheduling restrictions.

[0175] Optionally, when the delay budget is less than or equal to a first threshold, the terminal may send first information to the RAN node to reduce signaling overhead. In this case, the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to the first threshold. Upon receiving the first information, the RAN node may determine that the terminal wishes to skip the measurement period.

[0176] S403: The RAN node sends first indication information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first indication information from the RAN node.

[0177] The first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped. In other words, whether the first measurement period is ultimately skipped is determined by the RAN node. If the terminal indicates in S402 that the first measurement period can be skipped, but the RAN node indicates through the first indication information that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the terminal cannot skip the first measurement period and instead performs measurements in the first measurement period. Only when the terminal indicates in S402 that the first measurement period can be skipped and the RAN node indicates through the first indication information that the first measurement period can be skipped, can the terminal skip the first measurement period and not perform measurements in the first measurement period. Exemplarily, the first indication information may indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped by means of a "0" or "1" bit.

[0178] Optionally, the first indication information may be carried on PDCCH, DCI, or other types of downlink control information, without limitation.

[0179] Optionally, in response to the first information sent by the terminal through the above-mentioned method 1 or method 2, the RAN node may determine and send the first indication information according to different implementation methods. For example, for method 1, the RAN node may send the first indication information to the terminal through the following methods 3 to 5; for method 2, the RAN node may send the first indication information to the terminal through the following method 6.

[0180] It should be understood that the first information is the terminal's pre-judgment of whether to skip the measurement period based on its own situation, and the final measurement makes whether to skip mainly determined by the RAN node. Then, the terminal can determine whether to skip subsequent measurement periods according to the instructions of the first indication information.

[0181] Specifically, when the first information indicates that the terminal cannot skip the first measurement period, it may be because the terminal's signal strength is low at this time. The measurement period (e.g., the first measurement period) can be used to measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell in order to find a suitable cell for handover and improve communication quality. It is understandable that since the terminal is more aware of the terminal's signal quality or the transmission status of the data packets to be transmitted than the RAN node, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the RAN node may also indicate that the first measurement period cannot be skipped through the first indication information, or the RAN node may not send the first indication information. If the terminal does not receive the first indication information, it can be determined that the first measurement period will not be skipped. When the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, the RAN node can ultimately determine whether the first measurement period can be skipped from the network side. For example, the RAN node can ultimately determine whether the first measurement period can be skipped based on the overall scheduling of radio resources in the cell where the terminal is located.

[0182] The interaction between the terminal and the RAN node is described in detail using Examples 1 through 8 below. In these examples, the measurement period is the measurement gap, and the corresponding configurations for the measurement period are: MGRP = 40 ms, MGL = 6 ms. Furthermore, in Figures 5 through 12 corresponding to these examples, upward arrows indicate information sent from the terminal to the RAN node, and downward arrows indicate information sent from the RAN node to the terminal. The horizontal axis corresponds to time t.

[0183] Mode 3: The RAN node sends the first indication information to the terminal for each measurement period indicated by the first information.

[0184] Example 1: The first information includes 1 bit as an example for description, as shown in FIG5 .

[0185] In Figure 5 , the terminal first sends first information 501 (including bit 0) indicating that measurement period 503 (the first measurement period at the current moment) cannot be skipped. After receiving first information 501, the RAN node sends first indication information 502 (including bit 0) to confirm that measurement period 503 will not be skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 503. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 503 has elapsed, the terminal sends first information 504 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 506 (the first measurement period at the current moment) can be skipped. After receiving first information 504, the RAN node sends first indication information 505 (including bit 1) to confirm that measurement period 506 will be skipped. Therefore, the terminal does not perform measurements during measurement period 506. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 506 has elapsed, the terminal sends first information 507 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 509 (for the current moment, the first measurement period) can be skipped. After receiving first information 507, the RAN node sends first indication information 508 (including bit 0) to determine not to skip measurement period 509. Therefore, the terminal performs measurement in measurement period 509.

[0186] Optionally, if the number of at least one measurement period is greater than 1, the terminal receives second indication information from the RAN node, the second indication information indicates whether the second measurement period is skipped, the at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and the time domain position of the second measurement period is later than the time domain position of the first measurement period.

[0187] Example 2: The first information includes 2 bits as an example for description, as shown in Figure 6. The measurement period 603 is the first measurement period, and the measurement period 605 is the second measurement period.

[0188] In Figure 6 , the terminal first sends first information 601 (including bit 01), indicating that measurement period 603 cannot be skipped and that measurement period 605 can be skipped. After receiving first information 601, the RAN node sends first indication information 602 (including bit 0), indicating that measurement period 603 will not be skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 603. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 603 has elapsed, the RAN node sends second indication information 604 (including bit 1), indicating that measurement period 605 will be skipped. Therefore, the terminal does not perform measurements during measurement period 605.

[0189] It is understandable that when the number of measurement periods is greater, the above example 1 or example 2 can be used for analogy, and no further details will be given.

[0190] Mode 4: When the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, the RAN node sends first indication information to the terminal.

[0191] As previously mentioned, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the RAN node typically does not change the terminal's decision. Therefore, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the RAN node may not send the first indication information to the terminal to save signaling overhead. When the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, the RAN node may send the first indication information to the terminal. See Examples 3 and 4 below for details.

[0192] Example 3: The first information includes 1 bit as an example, as shown in FIG7 .

[0193] In Figure 7 , the terminal first sends first information 701 (including bit 0) indicating that measurement period 702 (the first measurement period at the current moment) cannot be skipped. After receiving first information 701, the RAN node does not send first indication information, and the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 702. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 702 has elapsed, the terminal sends first information 703 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 705 (the first measurement period at the current moment) can be skipped. After receiving first information 703, the RAN node sends first indication information 704 (including bit 1) to confirm that measurement period 705 is skipped. Therefore, the terminal does not perform measurements during measurement period 705. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 705 has elapsed, the terminal sends first information 706 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 708 (the first measurement period at the current moment) can be skipped. After receiving first information 706, the RAN node sends first indication information 707 (including bit 0) to confirm that measurement period 708 is not skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 708.

[0194] Example 4: The first information includes 2 bits as an example for description, as shown in Figure 8. The measurement period 802 is the first measurement period, and the measurement period 804 is the second measurement period.

[0195] In Figure 8 , the terminal first sends first information 801 (including bit 01) indicating that measurement period 802 cannot be skipped and that measurement period 804 can be skipped. After receiving first information 801, the RAN node does not send first indication information, and the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 802. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 802 has elapsed, the RAN node may send second indication information 803 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 804 should be skipped. Therefore, the terminal does not perform measurements during measurement period 804.

[0196] In addition, when the number of measurement periods is greater, the above-mentioned Example 3 or Example 4 can be used for analogy, and no further details are given.

[0197] It can be understood that according to mode 4, the RAN node can reduce the sending of the first indication information, thereby achieving the effects of simplifying the information processing process, reducing signaling overhead and saving wireless resources.

[0198] Mode 5: The first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, wherein the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

[0199] It will be appreciated that when the RAN node's decision on whether to skip the first measurement period is the same as the decision of the first information on whether to skip the first measurement period, the first indication information includes confirmation information, for example, the confirmation information may be represented by bit 1. Similarly, when the RAN node's decision on whether to skip the first measurement period is different from the decision of the first information on whether to skip the first measurement period, the first indication information includes negative confirmation information, for example, the negative confirmation information may be represented by bit 0. For example, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period is skipped, if the first indication information includes bit 1, the terminal will skip the first measurement period and will not perform measurements in the first measurement period; if the first indication information includes bit 0, the terminal will not skip the first measurement period and will perform measurements in the first measurement period. For another example, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period is not skipped, if the first indication information includes bit 1, the terminal will not skip the first measurement period and will perform measurements in the first measurement period; if the first indication information includes bit 0, the terminal will skip the first measurement period and will not perform measurements in the first measurement period.

[0200] It should be understood that confirmation information or negative confirmation information can also be represented in a manner different from that in the above example of manner 5. For example, confirmation information can be represented by bit 0 and negative confirmation information can be represented by bit 1, without limitation.

[0201] Example 5: The first information includes 3 bits as an example, as shown in FIG9 .

[0202] In Figure 9 , the terminal first transmits first information 901 (including bits 010), indicating that measurement period 903 cannot be skipped, measurement period 905 can be skipped, and measurement period 907 cannot be skipped. At the current moment, measurement period 903 is the first measurement period. After receiving first information 901, the RAN node transmits first indication information 902 (including confirmation information), indicating that measurement period 903 will not be skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 903. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 903 has elapsed, measurement period 905 is the first measurement period at the current moment. The RAN node transmits first indication information 904 (including negative confirmation information), indicating that measurement period 905 will not be skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 905. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 905 has elapsed, measurement period 907 is the first measurement period at the current moment. The RAN node transmits first indication information 906 (including confirmation information), indicating that measurement period 907 will not be skipped. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 907.

[0203] Example 6: In combination with method 4, the first information includes 3 bits as an example for explanation, as shown in FIG10 .

[0204] In Figure 10 , the terminal first sends first information 1001 (including bits 010), indicating that measurement period 1002 cannot be skipped, measurement period 1004 can be skipped, and measurement period 1005 cannot be skipped. At the current moment, measurement period 1002 is the first measurement period. After receiving the first information, the RAN node does not send first indication information. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 1002. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 1002 has elapsed, measurement period 1004 is the first measurement period at the current moment. The RAN node sends first indication information 1003 (including negative acknowledgement information) indicating a denial of skipping measurement period 1004. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 1004. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 1004 has elapsed, measurement period 1005 is the first measurement period at the current moment. The RAN node does not send first indication information. Therefore, the terminal performs measurements during measurement period 1005.

[0205] It can be understood that this approach can be used in the case where the first information indicates multiple measurement periods. In this case, the RAN node can also send second indication information to indicate whether the second measurement period is skipped.

[0206] As mentioned above, when the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped, the RAN will not change the decision of the terminal. Optionally, the RAN node may not send the first indication information when the first information indicates that the first measurement period cannot be skipped.

[0207] Mode 6: When the first information includes data packet delay budget information, the RAN node determines the first indication information according to the data packet delay budget information.

[0208] It will be understood that the first information includes delay budget information corresponding to the data packets to be sent in the cache. The RAN node may determine whether to skip the first measurement period based on the first information and in combination with the current scheduling of radio resources. Specifically, upon receiving the first information, the RAN node may issue first indication information indicating that the first measurement period should be skipped, as described in Example 5 below. Alternatively, when the validity period corresponding to the remaining data packets in the cache indicated by the delay budget information included in the first information is less than a first threshold, the RAN node may issue first indication information indicating that the first measurement period should be skipped, as described in Example 6 below.

[0209] Example 7: The first information includes 1 bit as an example, as shown in FIG11 .

[0210] In Figure 11, the terminal first sends first information 1101 (including delay budget information, corresponding to measurement periods 1103 to 1105). After receiving first information 1101, the RAN node sends first indication information 1102 (including bit 1) indicating that measurement period 1103 (the first measurement period at the current moment) can be skipped. Subsequently, the terminal does not send any further first information including delay budget information to the RAN node, and the terminal performs measurements normally during measurement periods 1104 and 1105.

[0211] Example 8: The first information includes 2 bits as an example, as shown in FIG12 .

[0212] In Figure 12 , first, the terminal sends first information 1201 (including a delay budget), and the value of the delay budget is greater than the fifth threshold. The RAN node will determine that measurement period 1202 cannot be skipped and may not send the first indication information (or may send the first indication information to indicate that measurement period 1202 should not be skipped). Since the terminal did not receive the first indication information before measurement period 1202, the terminal will normally perform measurements in measurement period 1202. After the time period corresponding to measurement period 1202 has passed, the terminal reports first information 1203 (including a delay budget), and the value of the delay budget is less than or equal to the first threshold. The RAN node may send second indication information 1204 (including bit 1) to skip measurement period 1205, and the terminal will not perform measurements in measurement period 1205.

[0213] Optionally, for method 6, the RAN node may further send second indication information to the terminal to indicate whether the second measurement period is skipped. It will be appreciated that the manner in which the RAN node sends the second indication information is similar to the manner in which the RAN node sends the first indication information. For details, reference may be made to the corresponding description above and will not be repeated here.

[0214] Based on the method shown in Figure 4, for example, by combining Method 1 with Method 3 or Method 4, the terminal can indicate to the RAN node via first information whether to skip subsequent measurement periods based on its own circumstances (e.g., signal strength at the terminal's location, or data service transmission status). The RAN node ultimately determines whether to skip subsequent measurement periods and notifies the terminal via first indication information. The terminal can then determine whether to skip subsequent measurement periods based on the RAN node's indication. This maximizes data service reliability while ensuring terminal communication quality, thereby improving user experience. The RAN node can also issue corresponding first indication information for measurement periods indicated by the first information as skippable, thereby reducing signaling overhead. For another example, by combining Method 2 with Method 5, the RAN node can rationally schedule the terminal's time domain resources from a macro perspective based on the delay budget information for remaining data packets in the buffer corresponding to the terminal's data service transmission, combined with the subsequent available radio resources for the terminal, thereby determining whether to skip subsequent measurement periods.

[0215] It can be understood that the terminal or RAN node in the above steps is executed by the processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown in Figure 3 calling the application code stored in the memory 303, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0216] It can be understood that the actions of the terminal or RAN node in the above steps can be executed by the processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown in Figure 3 calling the application code stored in the memory 303, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0217] The various embodiments mentioned above in this application can be combined without limitation if there is no contradiction between the solutions.

[0218] The above primarily describes the solutions provided by this application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, this application also provides a communications device, which may be a terminal in the above-described method embodiments, or a device including such a terminal, or a component usable for a terminal; or, alternatively, the communications device may be a RAN node in the above-described method embodiments, or a device including such a RAN node, or a component usable for a RAN node. It will be understood that, in order to implement the above-described functions, the above-described terminal or RAN node, etc., includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithmic operations described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0219] This application can divide the terminal or RAN node into functional modules based on the above-mentioned method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to its function, or two or more functions can be integrated into a single processing module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be understood that the module division in this application is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used.

[0220] For example, FIG13 illustrates a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 130, where the functional modules are integrated. Communication device 130 includes an interface module 1301 and a processing module 1302. Interface module 1301, also known as an interface unit, performs transceiver operations and may be, for example, an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. Processing module 1302, also known as a processing unit, performs operations other than transceiver operations and may be, for example, a processing circuit or a processor.

[0221] In some embodiments, the communication device 130 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 13 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0222] In some embodiments, the communication device 130 may further include an AI module (not shown in FIG. 13 ) for implementing AI-related functions. The AI ​​module may implement AI functions through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module includes an RIC module. Optionally, the AI ​​module and the storage module are integrated into a single module, or the AI ​​module and the processing module 1302 are integrated into a single module.

[0223] Exemplarily, the communication device 130 is used to implement the functions of a terminal. The communication device 130 is, for example, the terminal described in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0224] The processing module 1302 is configured to obtain first configuration information. The first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement. For example, the processing module 1302 may be configured to execute S401.

[0225] The interface module 1301 is further configured to send first information to the RAN node. The first information is used to indicate whether a first measurement period can be skipped, and the at least one measurement period includes the first measurement period. For example, the interface module 1301 can be configured to execute S402.

[0226] The interface module 1301 is configured to receive first indication information from a RAN node, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate whether to skip the first measurement period. For example, the interface module 1301 may be configured to execute S403.

[0227] In a possible implementation manner, the interface module 1301 is specifically configured to: when the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, receive first indication information from the RAN node.

[0228] In a possible implementation manner, the first measurement period is a measurement period with the earliest time domain position among the at least one measurement period.

[0229] In a possible implementation manner, the first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0230] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

[0231] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is determined based on at least one of the following: signal strength at the location of the terminal, size of the data packet to be transmitted, or data packet delay budget.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the first information includes data packet delay budget information.

[0233] In a possible implementation, the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0234] In one possible implementation, the number of at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the interface module 1301 is further used to: receive second indication information from the RAN node, where the second indication information indicates whether the second measurement period is skipped, the at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and a time domain position of the second measurement period is later than a time domain position of the first measurement period.

[0235] When used to implement the functions of the terminal, for other functions that the communication device 130 can implement, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the embodiment shown in FIG4 , and no further details will be given.

[0236] Alternatively, illustratively, the communication device 130 is configured to implement the functions of a RAN node. The communication device 130 is, for example, the RAN node described in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0237] The interface module 1301 is configured to send first configuration information. The first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement. For example, the interface module 1301 may be configured to execute S401.

[0238] The interface module 1301 is configured to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate whether a first measurement period can be skipped, and the at least one measurement period includes the first measurement period. For example, the interface module 1301 may be configured to execute S402.

[0239] The interface module 1301 is configured to send first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped. For example, the interface module 1301 may be configured to execute S403.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the interface module 1301 is specifically configured to: send first indication information when the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped.

[0241] In a possible implementation manner, the first measurement period is a measurement period with the earliest time domain position among the at least one measurement period.

[0242] In a possible implementation manner, the first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

[0243] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the first information includes data packet delay budget information.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the interface module 1301 is further configured to: send first indication information when the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0246] In one possible implementation, the number of at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the interface module 1301 is further used to: send a second indication information, the second indication information indicates whether the second measurement period is skipped, at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and the time domain position of the second measurement period is later than the time domain position of the first measurement period.

[0247] When used to implement the function of a RAN node, for other functions that the communication device 130 can implement, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the embodiment shown in FIG4 , and no further details will be given.

[0248] In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art may appreciate that the communication device 130 may be in the form shown in Figure 3. For example, the processor 301 in Figure 3 may call computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303 to enable the communication device 130 to execute the method described in the above embodiment.

[0249] Exemplarily, the functions / implementation processes of the interface module 1301 and the processing module 1302 in FIG13 may be implemented by the processor 301 in FIG3 invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1302 in FIG13 may be implemented by the processor 301 in FIG3 invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 303, and the functions / implementation processes of the interface module 1301 in FIG13 may be implemented by the transceiver 302 in FIG3.

[0250] It is understandable that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of the two. When any of the above modules or units is implemented in software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing within the processor, it can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0251] When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0252] Optionally, the present application also provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the method in any of the above method embodiments is executed. In one possible implementation, the chip system also includes a memory. Optionally, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0253] Optionally, 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 an internal storage unit of the communication device of any of the above-mentioned embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the communication device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above-mentioned communication 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 communication device. Furthermore, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above-mentioned communication 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 communication 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.

[0254] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer program product. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments may be completed by a computer program instructing related hardware. The program may be stored in the above computer program product, and when executed, the program may include the processes in the above method embodiments.

[0255] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer instruction. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by computer instructions to instruct related hardware (such as a computer, processor, terminal or RAN node, etc.). The program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium or in the above computer program product.

[0256] Optionally, the present application also provides a communication system, including: the RAN node and terminal in the above embodiment.

[0257] 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.

[0258] 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 only 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.

[0259] 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 places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0260] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0261] 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: The method comprises: Acquire first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement; Sending first information to a radio access network node, where the first information is used to indicate whether a first measurement period can be skipped, the at least one measurement period including the first measurement period; First indication information is received from the radio access network node, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The receiving first indication information from the radio access network node includes: When the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, first indication information is received from the radio access network node.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first measurement period is a measurement period with the earliest time domain position among the at least one measurement period.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, wherein the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first information is determined based on at least one of the following: signal strength at the location of the terminal, size of the data packet to be transmitted, or data packet delay budget.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first information includes data packet delay budget information.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to a first threshold.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The number of the at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the wireless access network node, where the second indication information indicates whether a second measurement period is skipped, the at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and a time domain position of the second measurement period is later than a time domain position of the first measurement period.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure at least one measurement period for measurement; receiving first information, where the first information is used to indicate whether a first measurement period can be skipped, the at least one measurement period including the first measurement period; First indication information is sent, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first measurement period is skipped.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The sending of the first indication information includes: When the first information indicates that the first measurement period can be skipped, first indication information is sent.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The first measurement period is a measurement period with the earliest time domain position among the at least one measurement period.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The first information indicates whether each measurement period in the at least one measurement period can be skipped.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The first indication information includes confirmation information or negative confirmation information, wherein the confirmation information indicates an indication of confirming the first information, and the negative confirmation information indicates an indication of negating the first information.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The first information includes data packet delay budget information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The sending of the first indication information includes: When the delay indicated by the data packet delay budget information is less than or equal to a first threshold, the first indication information is sent.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that The number of the at least one measurement period is greater than 1, and the method further comprises: Second indication information is sent, where the second indication information indicates whether a second measurement period is skipped, the at least one measurement period includes the second measurement period, and a time domain position of the second measurement period is later than a time domain position of the first measurement period.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store programs or instructions, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, causing the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program or instructions are executed, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

21. A computer program product, comprising computer program code, characterized in that: When the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

22. A communication system, characterized in that: include: An apparatus for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and / or an apparatus for performing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

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