Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus, which relate to the technical field of communications. In the method, a first network device comprises a first module and a second module; the first network device receives, by means of the first module, a low power consumption signal related to state switching of the second module (for example, switching from a dormant state to a wake-up state, or switching from the wake-up state to the dormant state); and the first network device executes the state switching of the second module in response to the low power consumption signal. For example, when the second module is in a high-energy-consumption mode (for example, in the wake-up state), the low-power-consumption signal triggers the second module to switch from the high-energy-consumption mode to a low-power-consumption mode (for example, in the dormant state), thereby helping to reduce the energy consumption of the first network device. In addition, the second module can be in the dormant state for a long time, and the low power consumption signal triggers the second module to enter the wake-up state from the dormant state, which can also support the reduction in energy consumption of the first network device.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410891689.5, filed on July 3, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In order to meet the increasing demand for traffic, wireless networks are in a rapid construction rhythm. As the network size of wireless networks continues to grow, the energy consumption of wireless networks also continues to increase. In order to reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks, many energy-saving means are currently adopted, such as researching hardware energy-saving schemes from the aspects of devices, hardware design, etc.; researching software energy-saving schemes from the aspects of symbol shutdown, channel shutdown, carrier shutdown, and deep sleep; researching intelligent energy-saving schemes from the aspects of multi-network coordination, etc.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned schemes still cannot effectively reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks. For example, the deep shutdown of network devices cannot be achieved, and thus the maximum energy saving cannot be achieved. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks is a technical problem to be solved at present. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can support effectively reducing the energy consumption of wireless networks.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first network side apparatus, the first network side apparatus comprising a first module and a second module, comprising: receiving, by the first module, a low-power signal, the low-power signal being related to a state switching of the second module, the state switching comprising: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from the sleep state to the wake-up state; and performing the state switching in response to the low-power signal.

[0007] The scheme of the first aspect can be executed by the first network side apparatus, which can be a first network device, a functional module (such as a chip system or an integrated circuit, etc.), or a logic node, a logic module, or software, etc. that can realize all or part of the functions of the first network device. For ease of description, the first network device is described below as an example.

[0008] Optionally, when the low-power signal is used to turn off the second module, the first network device can receive the low-power signal through the second module.

[0009] In the above solution, the first network device comprises a first module and a second module, the first module is configured to receive a low-power signal related to the state switching of the second module, and the first network device can perform the state switching of the second module in response to the low-power signal. In this way, the energy consumption of the first network device can be flexibly controlled, thereby facilitating the reduction of the energy consumption of the first network device (i.e., the wireless network).

[0010] For example, when the second module is in a high-energy consumption mode (e.g., the second module is in an awake state), the low-power signal triggers the second module to perform the state switching, i.e., triggers the second module to switch from the high-energy consumption mode to the low-energy consumption mode (e.g., the second module is in a sleep state), which facilitates the reduction of the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0011] For another example, the second module can be in the low-energy consumption mode for a long time, and the second module can be triggered to switch from the low-energy consumption mode to the high-energy consumption mode by the low-power signal. Since the second module can be in the low-energy consumption mode, this can also support the reduction of the energy consumption of the first network device, while also meeting the data transmission between the first network device serving the first terminal device and the second network device.

[0012] In summary, by receiving the low-power signal related to the state switching of the second module, the first network device responds to the low-power signal, which can effectively reduce the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0013] In some implementations, performing the state switching comprises turning on or off part or all of the carriers of the second module.

[0014] Alternatively, the above turning on or off part or all of the carriers of the second module can also be understood as turning on or off part or all of the carriers. Wherein, the above carrier can be replaced by a carrier group, i.e., turning on or off part or all of the carrier groups.

[0015] In this way, the control of the energy consumption of the first network device can be realized at the carrier granularity.

[0016] In some implementations, the low-power signal is also related to the state switching of a third module of the first terminal device, and the third module is a module for data transmission between the first terminal device and the second module.

[0017] When the low-power signal is related to the state switching of both the second module and the third module, this can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of the two devices, thereby reducing the latency and better controlling the energy consumption of the two devices.

[0018] In some embodiments, the low-power signal comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify a device group, the device group comprising at least one of the following: the first network device and the first terminal device, the first network device and a terminal group, or a network device group and a terminal group, the network device group comprising the first network device, and the terminal group comprising the first terminal device.

[0019] In this way, the indication or control of the state switching of the plurality of devices in the device group can be realized through the first identifier, thereby reducing the latency and better controlling the energy consumption of the devices in the device group.

[0020] In some embodiments, the first identifier is determined according to area information of the device group, or the first identifier is determined according to a parameter sent by the first network device.

[0021] In this way, based on the above scheme, the embodiments of the present application can support determining the first identifier, thereby realizing the indication or control of the state switching of the plurality of devices in the device group, thereby reducing the latency and better controlling the energy consumption of the devices in the device group.

[0022] In some embodiments, the low-power signal is related to the state switching of the second module, comprising: the low-power signal indicates to perform the state switching; or a quality of service parameter of a service associated with the low-power signal is related to the state switching; or the low-power signal comprises at least one low-power measurement signal, a measurement result of the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the at least one low-power measurement signal is from one or more terminal devices.

[0023] In this way, it can be determined whether to perform the state switching of the second module based on one or more of the above, thereby being able to realize the control of the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0024] In some embodiments, the measurement result of the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the performing the state switching comprises: sending, by the first module, the measurement result of the low-power signal to the second network device; receiving, by the first module, first low-power information from the second network device, the first low-power information indicating to perform the state switching, the first low-power information being determined according to the measurement result of the low-power signal; and performing the state switching according to the first low-power information.

[0025] In this way, the first network device does not need to determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low-power signal, and can directly determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the indication of the second network device, which can reduce the processing power consumption and processing complexity of the first network device.

[0026] In addition, this can also support enhancing the control of the energy consumption of the first network device by the second network device.

[0027] In some embodiments, the measurement result of the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the performing the state switching comprises: determining the measurement result of the low-power signal; and performing the state switching according to the measurement result of the low-power signal.

[0028] When the first network device determines whether to perform the state switching of the second module by itself, the signaling interaction cost between the first network device and the second network device can be reduced.

[0029] In some embodiments, the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the performing the state switching comprises: sending, by the first module, second low-power information to the second network device, the second low-power information requesting to perform the state switching, the second low-power information being determined according to the service quality parameter of the service; receiving, by the first module, third low-power information from the second network device, the third low-power information indicating to perform the state switching; and performing the state switching according to the third low-power information.

[0030] In this way, the second network device can determine whether the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, and the control of the second network device over the first network device can be enhanced.

[0031] In some embodiments, the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the performing the state switching comprises: determining the service quality parameter of the service; and performing the state switching according to the service quality parameter of the service.

[0032] When the first network device determines whether to perform the state switching of the second module by itself, the signaling interaction cost between the first network device and the second network device can be reduced.

[0033] In some embodiments, the low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service, which comprises: the number of times of sending the low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or the transmission resource of the low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or the low-power signal indicates the service quality parameter of the service.

[0034] In this way, the number of times of sending the low-power signal and the transmission resource of the low-power signal can be used to indicate the service quality parameter of the service.

[0035] In some embodiments, the service quality parameter of the service comprises at least one of the following: a service type, a service data size, a terminal type, or a service priority.

[0036] In this way, whether the second module needs to perform the state switching can be determined according to one or more of the above parameters.

[0037] In some embodiments, the service quality parameter of the service is further used to determine at least one of the following: the number of sub-modules in the second module in an awake state, the working mode of the second module, the number of sub-modules in the second module in a sleep state, or the energy consumption level of the second module.

[0038] In this way, the energy consumption of the second module can be controlled according to the service quality parameter of the service, thereby supporting effective reduction of the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0039] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first terminal-side device and includes: receiving a low-power consumption signal from a network-side device, the low-power consumption signal indicating whether to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection in a first time period; and determining, in response to the low-power consumption signal, whether to perform PDCCH blind detection in the first time period.

[0040] The solution of the second aspect can be executed by a first terminal-side device, which can be a first terminal device, a functional module (such as a chip system, etc.), or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. For ease of description, the first terminal device is taken as an example in the following description.

[0041] Through the above method, the first terminal device can determine whether to perform PDCCH blind detection according to the indication of the low-power consumption signal, which can support reduction of the complexity of PDCCH blind detection of the first terminal device, and in addition, can make the first terminal device not need to perform invalid blind detection, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the first terminal device.

[0042] In some embodiments, the low-power consumption signal indicates to perform PDCCH blind detection in the first time period, and the low-power consumption signal further indicates a range of performing PDCCH blind detection in the first time period.

[0043] Optionally, when the low-power consumption signal indicates the range of performing PDCCH blind detection in the first time period, it can implicitly indicate to perform PDCCH blind detection in the first time period.

[0044] When the low-power consumption signal indicates the range of performing PDCCH blind detection in the first time period, the first terminal device can perform PDCCH blind detection in the range according to the indication of the low-power consumption signal. In this way, this can reduce the complexity of PDCCH blind detection of the first terminal device.

[0045] In some embodiments, the first time period includes at least one of the following: a time slot, a mini-slot, a symbol, a pre-configured time period, or an indicated time period.

[0046] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first terminal-side device and includes: receiving a first low-power signal and a second low-power signal from a network-side device, the first low-power signal including a second identifier, the second low-power signal including a third identifier, the second identifier being used to identify a terminal group, the terminal group including the first terminal-side device, the third identifier being used to identify the first terminal-side device; or the second identifier being used to identify a terminal group and a network device group, the terminal group including the first terminal-side device, the network device group including at least one network device, the third identifier being used to identify the first terminal-side device; or the second identifier being used to identify a terminal group and a first network-side device, the terminal group including the first terminal-side device, the third identifier being used to identify the first terminal-side device; and performing a state switching of the first terminal device in response to the first low-power signal and the second low-power signal, the state switching including: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0047] The solution of the third aspect can be implemented by a first terminal-side device, which can be a first terminal device, a module (such as a chip system) in the first terminal device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. For ease of description, the first terminal device is used as an example in the following description.

[0048] Through the above method, the first terminal device can control the state switching of the first terminal device according to the two-level low-power signals, which can support the state switching of the specified terminal device without the state switching of other terminal devices.

[0049] In some implementations, the second identifier is used to identify the terminal group and the network device group, and the third identifier is also used to identify the first network device.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first terminal-side device and includes: receiving a low-power signal, the low-power signal being related to a state switching of a second module of a first network device and a state switching of a third module of the first terminal device, the state switching including: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from the sleep state to the wake-up state; and performing the state switching in response to the low-power signal.

[0051] The solution of the fourth aspect can be implemented by a first terminal-side device, which can be a first terminal device, a module (such as a chip system) in the first terminal device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. For ease of description, the first terminal device is used as an example in the following description.

[0052] By the above method, the embodiment of the application can support a low-power signal to be related to the state switching of the second module and the state switching of the third module at the same time, which can realize the state switching of the two devices at the same time, and thus can better control the energy consumption of the two devices.

[0053] In some implementations, the low-power signal comprises a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify a device group, and the device group comprises at least one of the following: the first network device and the first terminal device, the first network device and a terminal group, or a network device group and a terminal group, the network device group comprising the first network device, and the terminal group comprising the first terminal device.

[0054] In this way, the indication or control of the state switching of the plurality of devices in the device group can be realized by the first identifier, and thus the energy consumption of the devices in the device group can be better controlled.

[0055] In some implementations, the first identifier is determined according to area information of the device group, or the first identifier is determined according to a parameter sent by the first network device.

[0056] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first network device, or a device or module used to perform the function of the first network device.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can comprise a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0058] For example, the communication apparatus comprises a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first terminal device, or a device or module used to perform the function of the first terminal device.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can comprise a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can comprise a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the third aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0062] In a possible implementation form, the communication apparatus can comprise a module or unit for performing the method / operation / step / action described in the fourth aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0063] For example, the communication apparatus comprises a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0064] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; or to perform the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect; or to perform the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect; or to perform the method described in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, by executing computer program or instructions, or by a logic circuit.

[0065] In a possible implementation form, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory configured to store the computer program or instructions.

[0066] In a possible implementation form, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface configured to input and / or output signals.

[0067] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising a logic circuit and an input / output interface configured to input and / or output signals, and the logic circuit is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; or to perform the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect; or to perform the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect; or to perform the method described in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0068] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer programs or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to be performed; or cause the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect to be performed; or cause the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect to be performed; or cause the method described in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect to be performed.

[0069] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation mode of the first aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation mode of the second aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation mode of the third aspect to be performed; or cause the method of the fourth aspect and any possible implementation mode of the fourth aspect to be performed.

[0070] In an eleventh aspect, a chip or chip system is provided, comprising: one or more processors configured to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory, so that the chip or chip system implements the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation mode of the first aspect; or so that the chip or chip system implements the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation mode of the second aspect; or so that the chip or chip system implements the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation mode of the third aspect; or so that the chip or chip system implements the method of the fourth aspect and any possible implementation mode of the fourth aspect.

[0071] The beneficial effects of any of the fifth aspect to the eleventh aspect can be referred to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0072] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0073] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 200 of embodiments of the present application.

[0074] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a framework 300 of a first network device according to embodiments of the present application.

[0075] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 400 according to embodiments of the present application.

[0076] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 500 according to embodiments of the present application.

[0077] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 600 according to embodiments of the present application.

[0078] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 700 according to embodiments of the present application.

[0079] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 800 according to embodiments of the present application.

[0080] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 900 according to embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0082] I. Unless otherwise stated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more. "At least one" means "one or more".

[0083] II. If there is no special statement and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments of the present application are consistent and can be mutually referred to. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0084] III. The various digital numbers involved in the present application are only used for differentiation for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present application. The size of the serial number involved in the present application does not mean the execution order. The execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic. For example, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and other various term labels in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings (if any) are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not have to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. Among them, the data thus used can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0085] At the same time, any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. On the contrary, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" and the like is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner, so as to facilitate understanding.

[0086] IV. The terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but can include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0087] V. In the present application, "for indicating" can be understood as "enabling", and "enabling" includes direct enabling and indirect enabling. When describing that a certain information is used to enable A, it can include that the information directly enables A or indirectly enables A, and it does not mean that A must be carried in the information.

[0088] If the information enabled by the information is referred to as to-be-enabled information, there are many ways to enable the to-be-enabled information in the implementation process, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-enabled information can be directly enabled, such as the to-be-enabled information itself or an index of the to-be-enabled information. The to-be-enabled information can also be indirectly enabled by enabling other information, where the other information and the to-be-enabled information have an association relationship. Only a part of the to-be-enabled information can be enabled, and the other part of the to-be-enabled information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the enabling of specific information can also be achieved by means of the pre-agreed (for example, the protocol stipulates) arrangement order of each information, thereby reducing the enabling overhead to a certain extent. Meanwhile, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly enabled to reduce the enabling overhead caused by separately enabling the same information.

[0089] In addition, the indication can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0090] In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. Only a part of the to-be-indicated information can be indicated, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the pre-agreed (for example, the protocol stipulates) arrangement order of each information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately in multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending time of the sub-information can be the same or different.

[0091] Sixthly, in the present application, "pre-configuration" can include pre-definition, for example, protocol definition. The "pre-definition" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other information indicating methods in devices (for example, including various network elements), and the present application does not limit the specific implementation method thereof.

[0092] VII. The term "storage" or "preservation" in this application can refer to storage in one or more memory devices. These memory devices can be separately configured or integrated into an encoder, decoder, processor, or communication device. Alternatively, some memory devices can be separately configured, while others can be integrated into a decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this is not limited.

[0093] 8. The term "protocol" in this application may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, for example, it may include fourth-generation (4G) protocols. th Generation 4G network, fifth generation (5G) network th This application does not limit the scope to network protocols such as 5G (generation, 5G), New Radio (NR), 5.5G, and related protocols applied in future communication networks.

[0094] 9. The arrows or boxes indicated by dashed lines in the schematic diagrams in the accompanying drawings of this application represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0095] 10. Unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. In this application, "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between the related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0096] XI. In this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0097] First, the communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable will be described.

[0098] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 can further include other RAN nodes, such as a wireless relay device and / or a wireless backhaul device (not shown in FIG. 1), etc. The terminal devices 120 are wirelessly connected to the RAN nodes 110. The RAN nodes 110 are connected to the CN 200 by wire or wirelessly. The core network devices in the CN 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the CN and the RAN respectively.

[0099] The RAN 100 can be a third generation partnership project (3 rd The RAN 100 can be a third generation partnership project (3

[0100] The RAN nodes 110, which can also be referred to as access network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes, etc., are configured to help terminal devices to access wirelessly. The RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 100 can be of the same type or of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN nodes 110 and the terminal devices 120 are relative, for example, the network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For a terminal device 120j that accesses the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal device. The RAN nodes 110 and the terminal devices 120 are sometimes referred to as communication apparatuses, for example, the network elements 110a and 110b can be understood as communication apparatuses with base station functions, and the network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication apparatuses with terminal functions.

[0101] In one possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station (BS), an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point (AP), a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a central node or access node in a future communications network, or an access node in a Wi-Fi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario.

[0102] The RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform such as a cloud platform. The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0103] In another possible scenario, a plurality of RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal device to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, e.g., a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, e.g., a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0104] The CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names in different communication systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the 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.

[0105] The number of devices in the above communication system is only illustrative and is not limited thereto. In actual applications, the communication system can further include more terminal devices, more RAN devices, and can further include other devices.

[0106] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiving function, which can be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a user station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user apparatus.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a communication device carried on an aerial vehicle, a wearable device, a drone, a robot, a terminal in device-to-device (D2D) communication, a terminal in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine or telehealth services, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, or a terminal device in a communication network evolved after 5G, etc., without limitation.

[0108] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a device with communication function in a future communication network, without limitation to the form or type of the terminal device in the future communication network, etc.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The apparatus can be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device is a device with wireless transceiving function, used for communicating with the terminal device. The network device can be a node in the RAN, also can be called a base station, and also can be called a RAN node, which can be an eNB of long term evolution (LTE), or a base station of 5G network such as gNB, or a base station in a public land mobile network (PLMN) evolved after 5G, a broadband network gateway (BNG), a convergence switch, or a network device in 3GPP, etc.

[0111] The network device can also include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, TRPs, transmission points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and devices that perform base station functions in D2D, V2X, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, network devices in non-terrestrial networks (NTN), etc., without specific limitation.

[0112] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device, or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device. The chip system in the embodiments of the present application can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0113] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of communication network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems. For example, the present application can be applicable to V2X scenarios.

[0114] Based on the communication system 100, the embodiments of the present application also provide an application scenario, which can be referred to FIG. 2.

[0115] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the second network device communicates with at least one first network device, and the first network device serves at least one terminal device (for example, a first terminal device). In other words, there is communication among the first network device, the first terminal device, and the second network device. In still another way, the first network device is within the coverage of the second network device, the first terminal device is within the coverage of the corresponding first network device, and the second network device provides communication services for the first terminal device through the first network device. The first network device can be used to connect the second network device and the first terminal device. In addition, there can also be direct communication between the first terminal device and the second network device.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network device and the first network device can both be TRPs, can both be base stations, or one can be a base station (for example, the second network device) and the other can be a TRP (for example, the first network device), and the present application is not limited in this regard. In addition, the first network device and / or the second network device can be a hot air balloon, a drone, a satellite, a high-altitude platform station, a high-power high-tower (HPMT) / medium-power medium-tower (MPMT), etc.

[0117] Based on the application scenario 200, in order to effectively reduce the energy consumption of the first network device, the present application supports a new design of the structure of the first network device, which can be seen from FIG. 3.

[0118] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a framework 300 of the first network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the first network device includes a first module and a second module. It can be understood that the first module and the second module are only named for distinction, and the specific naming thereof does not limit the protection scope of the present application, for example, the first module can also be a first circuit or a wake-up circuit or a low-power-consumption circuit or a low-power-consumption module, etc., and the second module can also be a second circuit or a main circuit or a high-power-consumption circuit or a high-power-consumption module, etc. For ease of description, the first module and the second module are uniformly described below.

[0119] The first module has the following functions: maintaining the connection between the second network device and the first terminal device, small packet transmission (measurement, data transmission, etc.), turning on or off the second module, etc. The second module has the following functions: data transmission between the first terminal device and the second network device, etc.

[0120] The first terminal device can also include a third module and a fourth module. It can be understood that the third module and the fourth module are only named for distinction, and the specific naming does not limit the protection scope of the present application. For example, the fourth module can also be a fourth circuit or a wake-up circuit or a low-power consumption circuit or a low-power consumption module, etc., and the third module can also be a third circuit or a main circuit or a high-power consumption circuit or a high-power consumption module, etc. For ease of description, the following are uniformly described as the third module and the fourth module.

[0121] The fourth module can have the following functions: maintaining the connection between the first network device and the second network device, small packet transmission (measurement + data transmission), turning on or off the third module, etc. The third module can have the following functions: for data transmission between the first network device and the second network device, etc.

[0122] In a specific application, the first network device can determine the state of the second module according to the load condition of the first network device. For example, when the first network device is in a high load condition, the second module is in a wake-up state; when the first network device is in a low load condition, the second module is in a sleep state (or a dormant state). When the load condition of the first network device changes from a high load condition to a low load condition, the second module switches from a wake-up state to a sleep state, and when the load condition of the first network device changes from a low load condition to a high load condition, the second module switches from a sleep state to a wake-up state.

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, the execution of the state switching of the second module can be triggered or started by the first module, or the state switching of the second module can be indicated by the second network device or the first terminal device, or the state switching of the second module can be triggered by the second module itself (from the wake-up state to the sleep state), etc. In this way, the energy consumption of the first network device can be effectively reduced.

[0124] The process of the state switching of the second module is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0125] For ease of understanding and description, the communication method of the embodiments of the present application is described below by taking a network side device, for example, a first network device, as an example, but this should not constitute any limitation on the execution subject of the communication method of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the network side device can be a network device, or a functional module (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or a logic node, a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network side device.

[0126] When the steps of sending or receiving are performed by a module (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.), a logic node, a logic module or software, etc. in the network side device, the sending / receiving can be understood as communication through a communication interface, an input / output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc.

[0127] FIG. 4 is an interaction flow diagram of a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes the following steps.

[0128] S401, the first network device receives a low power signal 1 through a first module. The low power signal 1 is related to the state switching (or state change, etc.) of the second module.

[0129] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network device receiving the low power signal 1 through the first module can also be replaced by the first network device receiving the low power signal 1. For example, when the low power signal 1 is used to trigger the second module to switch from the wake-up state to the sleep state, the first network device can receive the low power signal 1 through the second module. In summary, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the way in which the first network device receives the low power signal 1.

[0130] The low power signal 1 can be one or more of an on-off keying (OOK) signal (such as OOK-1, OOK-2, OOK-3, OOK-4, etc.), a sequence signal (such as a Gold sequence signal, an M sequence signal, a ZC sequence signal, a Chirp sequence signal, a Walsh sequence signal, a Golay sequence signal, a Kasami sequence signal, a low density sequence signal, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) / fast Fourier transform (FFT) sequence signal, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) symbol-based sequence signal, etc.), an amplitude shift keying (ASK) signal, a frequency shift keying (FSK) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, a chirp signal, etc., or the low power signal 1 can also be a signal obtained by optimizing the above signals, etc., which is not limited. The low power signal 1 can also be a low power wake up signal (WUS) and the like.

[0131] It needs to be uniformly explained that the description about the low-power signal 1 is also applicable to the low-power signal 2, the low-power signal 3, the first low-power information, the second low-power information, the low-power measurement signal and the like in the following. Or, the related description of the signal received or transmitted by the first module or the fourth module can be referred to the foregoing description of the low-power signal 1, and the following will not be described in detail.

[0132] For example, the first network device can receive the low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device or the second network device through the first module.

[0133] The low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, including but not limited to:

[0134] The occurrence or execution of the state switching of the second module is related to the low-power signal 1, or,

[0135] The low-power signal 1 triggers the state switching of the second module, or,

[0136] The low-power signal 1 activates the state switching of the second module, or,

[0137] The low-power signal 1 enables the state switching of the second module, or,

[0138] The low-power signal 1 indicates the state switching of the second module, or,

[0139] The low-power signal 1 changes the state of the second module, or,

[0140] The low-power signal 1 prompts or activates or triggers the second module to enter from one state (for example, a sleep state) to another state (for example, a wake-up state) and the like.

[0141] Optionally, the first network device can receive the low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device or the second network device through the first module, which can also be understood that the first network device receives the low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device or the second network device.

[0142] Optionally, when the second module has the function of receiving the low-power signal, and / or the second module has part or all of the modules without being completely closed, the first network device receives the low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device or the second network device, which can also be understood that the first network device can receive the low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device or the second network device through the second module.

[0143] In the embodiments of the present application, the state switching includes: switching from the wake-up state to the sleep state, or switching from the sleep state to the wake-up state. The wake-up state can also be understood as an open state, and the sleep state can also be understood as a closed state. Alternatively, the state switching of the second module refers to switching between the open state and the closed state of the second module, i.e., switching from opening the second module to closing the second module, or switching from closing the second module to opening the second module. Alternatively, the low-power signal 1 can be used to wake up or close the second module.

[0144] In a possible implementation, the state switching of the second module can also be understood as state switching of a sub-module in the second module.

[0145] For example, the second module includes a plurality of sub-modules, and the state switching of the second module refers to state switching of part or all of the sub-modules.

[0146] For example, the second module includes a plurality of sub-modules, and the state switching of the second module refers to state switching of part or all of the sub-modules.

[0147] The sub-module 1 switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, and the sub-module 2 switches from the wake-up state to the sleep state; or

[0148] The sub-module 2 switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, and the sub-module 1 switches from the wake-up state to the sleep state; or

[0149] The sub-module 1 and the sub-module 2 both switch from the sleep state to the wake-up state; or

[0150] The sub-module 1 and the sub-module 2 both switch from the wake-up state to the sleep state; or

[0151] The sub-module 1 switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, and the state of the sub-module 2 remains unchanged; or

[0152] The sub-module 1 switches from the wake-up state to the sleep state, and the state of the sub-module 2 remains unchanged, and the like.

[0153] In summary, the directions of the state switching of different sub-modules can be consistent or inconsistent. In this way, the energy consumption of the first network device can be more accurately controlled from the granularity of the sub-modules, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0154] In a possible implementation, the state switching of the second module can also be understood as state switching between opening and closing of a carrier in the second module.

[0155] Optionally, the state change between the turning on and turning off of the carrier in the second module can also be understood as the state change between the turning on and turning off of the carrier. The carrier can be replaced by a subcarrier or a carrier group, that is, the state change between the turning on and turning off of the subcarrier or the carrier group. For ease of description, the carrier is taken as an example in the embodiments of the present application, but the scenario of the carrier group is not limited.

[0156] For example, the second module manages multiple carriers (or carrier groups), and the state switching of the second module refers to the change of the turning on or turning off of part or all of the carriers (or carrier groups).

[0157] For example, the second module manages carrier 1 (which can also be carrier group 1) and carrier 2 (which can also be carrier group 2), and the type of the carrier 1 and the type of the carrier 2 can be the same, such as both being downlink carriers or both being uplink carriers, or the type of the carrier 1 and the type of the carrier 2 can be different, such as one being a downlink carrier and the other being an uplink carrier, or the carrier 1 is a 3.5G carrier and the carrier 2 is a 2.6G carrier. The state switching of the second module refers to:

[0158] the carrier 1 is switched from turning on to turning off and the carrier 2 is switched from turning off to turning on; or

[0159] the carrier 2 is switched from turning on to turning off and the carrier 1 is switched from turning off to turning on; or

[0160] the carrier 1 and the carrier 2 are both switched from turning on to turning off; or

[0161] the carrier 1 and the carrier 2 are both switched from turning off to turning on; or

[0162] the carrier 1 is switched from turning on to turning off and the state of the carrier 2 remains unchanged; or

[0163] the carrier 1 is switched from turning off to turning on and the state of the carrier 2 remains unchanged, and the like.

[0164] In summary, the direction of the state change of different carriers (or carrier groups) can be consistent or inconsistent. In this way, the energy consumption of the first network device can be more accurately controlled from the carrier granularity, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal 1 is also related to the state switching of the third module.

[0166] The description of the low-power signal 1 related to the state switching of the third module can refer to the foregoing description of the low-power signal 1 related to the state switching of the second module, and will not be repeated here.

[0167] When the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module and the state switching of the third module at the same time, this can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of two devices, thereby reducing the delay and better controlling the energy consumption of the two devices.

[0168] Optionally, the low-power signal 1 is also related to the state switching of the third module, which can also be understood as that the low-power signal 1 is also related to the state switching of the first terminal device.

[0169] In one possible implementation, the low-power signal 1 includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify a device group 1, and the device group 1 includes at least one of the following:

[0170] the first network device and the first terminal device;

[0171] the first network device and a terminal group 1, and the terminal group 1 includes the first terminal device;

[0172] a network device group 1 and the terminal group 1, and the network device group 1 includes the first network device.

[0173] When the device group 1 includes the first network device and the first terminal device, the embodiment of the present application can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of the first network device and the first terminal device through the first identifier in the low-power signal 1.

[0174] When the device group 1 includes the first network device and the terminal group 1, the embodiment of the present application can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of the first network device and the terminal device in the terminal group 1 through the first identifier in the low-power signal 1.

[0175] When the device group 1 includes the network device group 1 and the terminal group 1, the embodiment of the present application can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of the network device in the network device group 1 and the terminal device in the terminal group 1 through the first identifier in the low-power signal 1.

[0176] In this way, the indication or control of the state switching of multiple devices in the device group can be realized through the first identifier, thereby reducing the delay and better controlling the energy consumption of the devices in the device group.

[0177] In one possible implementation, the first identifier is determined according to the area information of the device group 1, or the first identifier is determined according to the parameters sent by the first network device.

[0178] For example, the second network device can configure the corresponding identifier according to the area where each device group is located, which can support on-demand control of the state switching of the devices in the corresponding device group.

[0179] For another example, the first network device sends parameters for determining the first identifier to the second network device or the terminal device, such as the area information of the device group, or the related parameters of the first network device, etc. The second network device or the terminal device can determine the identifier of the corresponding device group according to the identifier of the first network device, and then determine the first identifier. When the terminal device determines the first identifier, the terminal device can send the first identifier to the second network device.

[0180] In this way, based on the above scheme, the embodiments of the present application can support determining the first identifier, and then can realize the indication or control of the state switching of the multiple devices in the device group, thereby reducing the delay and better controlling the energy consumption of the devices in the device group.

[0181] One possible implementation, the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, which can include:

[0182] The low-power signal 1 indicates to perform the state switching of the second module; or,

[0183] The quality of service parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module; or,

[0184] The low-power signal 1 includes at least one low-power measurement signal, and the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module. The at least one low-power measurement signal is from one or more terminal devices.

[0185] In this way, it can be determined whether to perform the state switching of the second module based on one or more of the above, thereby being able to realize the control of the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0186] Optionally, the low-power signal 1 related to the state switching of the second module described above can also be understood as the low-power signal 1 related to the state switching of the first network device.

[0187] o Regarding feature 1 - the low-power signal 1 indicates to perform the state switching of the second module:

[0188] For example, the first network device receives a low-power signal 1 from the second network device or the terminal device through the first module, the low-power signal 1 carries information for indicating execution of the state switching of the second module, for example, the low-power signal 1 carries one bit, different values of the bit respectively represent different meanings, for example, when the bit is 1, it represents execution of the state switching of the second module, when the bit is 0, it represents non-execution of the state switching of the second module, and the like.

[0189] Optionally, the low-power signal 1 can carry multiple bits, different values of the multiple bits respectively represent different meanings, for example, a first value of the multiple bits represents activation of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) 1, a second value of the multiple bits represents activation of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) 2, and the like.

[0190] Optionally, the low-power signal 1 can carry a bit map, each bit position in the bit map respectively corresponds to a sub-module (or carrier / carrier group), when a bit in a bit position is 1, it represents activation or triggering of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) corresponding to the bit position; when a bit in a bit position is 0, it represents non-activation or non-triggering of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) corresponding to the bit position. Or conversely, when a bit in a bit position is 0, it represents activation or triggering of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) corresponding to the bit position; when a bit in a bit position is 1, it represents non-activation or non-triggering of the state switching of the sub-module (or carrier / carrier group) corresponding to the bit position.

[0191] o Regarding feature 2 - the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module:

[0192] For example, the first network device receives a low-power signal 1 from the first terminal device (or from the second network device) through the first module, the low-power signal 1 is associated with a service, and the service quality parameter of the service is related to the state switching of the second module.

[0193] For example, the service quality parameter of the service represents that the service is a low-reliability service, and the second module can not perform the state switching. For example, the state switching is from the wake-up state to the sleep state. The state switching can be that part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups in the second module are switched from the wake-up state to the sleep state, and all of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups in the second module do not need to be in the wake-up state, which can reduce the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0194] For example, the service quality parameter of the service indicates that the service is a low-latency and high-reliability service, and the second module can perform state switching. For example, the state switching is from the sleep state to the wake-up state. The state switching can refer to that all or more than a threshold number of sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups in the second module are switched from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0195] In one possible implementation, the low-power signal 1 is associated with the service quality parameter of the service, including:

[0196] The number of times of sending the low-power signal 1 is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or

[0197] The transmission resource of the low-power signal 1 is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or

[0198] The low-power signal 1 indicates the service quality parameter of the service. For example, the low-power signal 1 carries the service quality parameter of the service.

[0199] For example, the number of times of sending the low-power signal 1 is a first value, and the service quality parameter of the service is a first parameter; the number of times of sending the low-power signal 1 is a second value, and the service quality parameter of the service is a second parameter. The association between the number of times of sending the low-power signal 1 and the service quality parameter of the service can exist in the form of a table, a function, a text, or a string, such as storage or transmission.

[0200] For example, the transmission resource of the low-power signal 1 is a first resource (such as a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource), and the service quality parameter of the service is a first parameter; the transmission resource of the low-power signal 1 is a second resource (such as a non-PRACH resource), and the service quality parameter of the service is a second parameter. The association between the transmission resource of the low-power signal 1 and the service quality parameter of the service can exist in the form of a table, a function, a text, or a string, such as storage or transmission.

[0201] In this way, the embodiments of the present application can support indicating the service quality parameter of the service through the number of times of sending the low-power signal and the transmission resource of the low-power signal.

[0202] In one possible implementation, the service quality parameter of the service can include at least one of the following:

[0203] a type of the service;

[0204] a size of service data of the service;

[0205] a type of a terminal; or.

[0206] a priority of the service.

[0207] For example, when the quality of service parameter of the service includes the type of the service, embodiments of the present application can support determining whether the state of the second module needs to be switched according to the type of the service. For example, for a low-latency service, all sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state; for a high-latency service, part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a sleep state, and the other part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state, and so on.

[0208] For example, when the quality of service parameter of the service includes the size of service data of the service, embodiments of the present application can support determining whether the state of the second module needs to be switched according to the size of service data of the service. For example, for large file transmission, all sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state; for small file transmission, part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state, and the other part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a sleep state, and so on.

[0209] For example, when the quality of service parameter of the service includes the type of the terminal, embodiments of the present application can support determining whether the state of the second module needs to be switched according to the type of the terminal. For example, for a first terminal device of a low-capability terminal (such as a redcap UE), part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module need to be in a wake-up state, and the other part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module need to be in a wake-up state; for a first terminal device of a normal terminal (normal UE), all sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state.

[0210] For example, when the quality of service parameter of the service includes the priority of the service, embodiments of the present application can support determining whether the state of the second module needs to be switched according to the priority of the service. For example, for a high-priority service, all sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state; for a low-priority service, part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a sleep state, and the other part of the sub-modules / carriers / carrier groups of the second module can be in a wake-up state, and so on.

[0211] In this way, whether the second module needs to perform state switching can be determined according to one or more of the above parameters.

[0212] In one possible implementation, the service quality parameter of the service is further used to determine at least one of:

[0213] the number of sub-modules in the second module in the wake-up state;

[0214] the working mode of the second module;

[0215] the number of sub-modules in the second module in the sleep state; or

[0216] the energy consumption level of the second module.

[0217] For example, when the low-power signal 1 is received, the number of sub-modules in the second module in the wake-up state is 3, the service quality parameter of the service is used to determine that the number of sub-modules in the second module in the wake-up state needs to be 5, and two sub-modules in the second module need to be switched from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0218] For example, when the low-power signal 1 is received, the working mode of the second module is the low-power mode, the service quality parameter of the service is used to determine that the working mode of the second module needs to be the high-power mode, and the second module needs to be switched, for example, all sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module are switched from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0219] For example, when the low-power signal 1 is received, the number of sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module in the sleep state is 5, the service quality parameter of the service is used to determine that the number of sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module in the sleep state needs to be 10, and two sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module need to be switched from the wake-up state to the sleep state.

[0220] For example, when the low-power signal 1 is received, the energy consumption level of the second module is the high-energy consumption level, the service quality parameter of the service is used to determine that the energy consumption level of the second module needs to be the low-energy consumption level, and the second module needs to be switched, for example, all sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module are switched from the wake-up state to the sleep state.

[0221] In this way, the energy consumption of the second module can be controlled according to the service quality parameter of the service, the service quality is guaranteed, and the energy consumption of the first network device is effectively reduced.

[0222] o Regarding feature 3 - the low-power signal 1 includes at least one low-power measurement signal:

[0223] For example, the first network device receives the one or more low-power measurement signals from one or more terminal devices through the first module, such as that one terminal device sends one low-power measurement signal to the first network device, or one terminal device sends multiple low-power measurement signals to the first network device, etc., which is not limited. The measurement result of the low-power signal 1 can be used to determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module.

[0224] The overall signal strength corresponding to the at least one low-power measurement signal or / and the number of low-power measurement signals in the at least one low-power measurement signal can be used to determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module.

[0225] For example, the larger the overall signal strength corresponding to the at least one low-power measurement signal is, the more the number of sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module that need to be in the wake-up state.

[0226] For example, the more the number of low-power measurement signals is, the more the number of sub-modules (or carriers / carrier groups) in the second module that need to be in the wake-up state.

[0227] S402, in response to the low-power signal 1, the first network device performs the state switching of the second module.

[0228] The "in response to the low-power signal 1" can be understood as: the first network device responds to the low-power signal 1 itself (such as the low-power signal 1 indicating to perform the state switching of the second module, etc.); or the first network device responds to the indication information related to the low-power signal 1, such as that the first network device sends the information related to the low-power signal 1 (such as the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 or the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1 or the request information for requesting to perform the state switching of the second module determined by the first network device based on the low-power signal 1, etc.) to the second network device after receiving the low-power signal 1, the second network device sends the indication information for indicating to perform the state switching of the second module to the first network device, and the first network device performs the state switching of the second module according to the indication information.

[0229] In summary, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the way in which the first network device responds to the low-power signal 1. Or in other words, the state switching of the second module is related to the low-power signal 1.

[0230] The "the first network device performs the state switching of the second module" can be understood as: the first network device determines to perform the state switching of the second module, or the first network device determines the way of the state switching of the second module, such as switching from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or switching from the wake-up state to the sleep state, etc.

[0231] Optionally, the "first network device performing state switching of the second module" described above can include one or more of the following:

[0232] The first network device determines to perform state switching of the second module, that is, the first network device determines that state switching of the second module needs to be performed;

[0233] The first network device determines the direction of state switching of the second module, that is, the first network device can determine the current state of the second module and determine the target state, such as the current state of the second module being the wake-up state, the target state of the second module being the sleep state, or such as the current state of the second module being the sleep state, the target state of the second module being the wake-up state, and the like;

[0234] The first network device performs state switching of the second module, that is, the first network device switches the current state of the second module to the target state.

[0235] It should be noted that when the first network device receives the low-power signal 1, the first network device can perform state switching of the second module immediately after receiving information related to the low-power signal 1, or can perform state switching of the second module within a period of time after receiving information related to the low-power signal 1, and the like.

[0236] In summary, the state switching of the second module is related to the low-power signal 1, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the state switching of the second module is related to the low-power signal 1, such as the first network device performing state switching of the second module according to the low-power signal 1 or the first network device determining that the second module needs to perform state switching according to the low-power signal 1 or the first network device determining the manner or direction of state switching of the second module according to the low-power signal 1, and the like. In summary, the first network device can perform state switching of the second module by itself, or can perform state switching of the second module according to the indication of the second network device, which is not limited.

[0237] In the above scheme, the first network device includes a first module and a second module, the first module is configured to receive a low-power signal 1 related to state switching of the second module, and the first network device can perform state switching of the second module in response to the low-power signal 1. In this way, the energy consumption of the first network device can be flexibly controlled, thereby facilitating reduction of the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0238] For example, when the second module is in the high energy consumption mode (e.g., the second module is in the wake-up state), the low power signal 1 can trigger the second module to switch the state, i.e., the second module can be triggered to switch from the high energy consumption mode to the low energy consumption mode (e.g., the second module is in the sleep state), which is conducive to reducing the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0239] For another example, the second module can be in the low energy consumption mode for a long time, and the second module can be triggered to switch from the low energy consumption mode to the high energy consumption mode by the low power signal. Since the second module can be in the low energy consumption mode, this can also support reducing the energy consumption of the first network device. In addition, after the second module switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, the first network device can serve the data transmission between the first terminal device and the second network device.

[0240] In summary, by receiving the low power signal related to the state switching of the second module by the first module, the first network device responds to the low power signal, which can support reducing the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0241] In one possible implementation, the above-mentioned performing the state switching of the second module can include:

[0242] Turning on or off part or all of the carriers of the second module.

[0243] Optionally, the above-mentioned turning on or off part or all of the carriers of the second module can also be understood as turning on or off part or all of the carriers. Wherein, the above-mentioned carriers can be replaced by subcarriers or carrier groups, i.e., turning on or off part or all of the subcarriers or carrier groups. The following will not be repeated.

[0244] In this way, the control of the energy consumption of the first network device can be realized at the carrier granularity.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the measurement result of the low power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, and the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, including:

[0246] sending, by the first module, the measurement result of the low power signal 1 to the second network device;

[0247] receiving, by the first module, the first low power information from the second network device, the first low power information indicating to perform the state switching of the second module, and the first low power information being determined according to the measurement result of the low power signal 1;

[0248] performing the state switching of the second module according to the first low power information.

[0249] The description of the first low-power information can refer to the description of the low-power signal 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0250] When the first network device determines the measurement result of the low-power signal 1, the first network device sends the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 to the second network device, and the second network device determines whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low-power signal 1. When the second network device determines that the state switching of the second module needs to be performed, the second network device sends the first low-power information to the first network device, and the first network device determines to perform the state switching of the second module according to the indication of the first low-power information.

[0251] In this way, the first network device does not need to determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low-power signal 1, and can directly determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the indication of the second network device, which can reduce the processing power consumption and processing complexity of the first network device. In addition, this can also support enhancing the control of the energy consumption of the first network device by the second network device.

[0252] Optionally, the first network device reports the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 to the second network device only when the low-power signal 1 meets a certain condition.

[0253] For example, when the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 meets a signal strength threshold, the first network device reports the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 to the second network device.

[0254] For another example, when the number of low-power measurement signals included in the low-power signal 1 is greater than a number threshold, the first network device reports the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 to the second network device.

[0255] In this way, this can reduce the signaling interaction overhead between the first network device and the second network device.

[0256] In one possible implementation, the measurement result of the low-power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, and the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, including:

[0257] determining the measurement result of the low-power signal 1;

[0258] performing the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low-power signal 1.

[0259] When the first network device determines the measurement result of the low power signal 1, the first network device can determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low power signal 1. When the first network device determines to perform the state switching of the second module according to the measurement result of the low power signal 1, the first network device can perform the state switching of the second module. In this way, when it is determined by the first network device whether to perform the state switching of the second module, this can reduce the signaling interaction cost between the first network device and the second network device.

[0260] In one possible implementation, the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, and the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, including:

[0261] sending, by the first module, second low power information to the second network device, the second low power information requesting to perform the state switching of the second module, the second low power information being determined according to the service quality parameter of the service;

[0262] receiving, by the first module, third low power information from the second network device, the third low power information indicating to perform the state switching of the second module;

[0263] performing, according to the third low power information, the state switching of the second module.

[0264] The description of the second low power information and the third low power information can be referred to the description of the low power signal 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0265] When the first network device determines the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low power signal 1, the first network device can determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low power signal 1. When the first network device determines to perform the state switching of the second module, the first network device can request the second network device to perform the state switching of the second module, and the second network device can indicate the first network device to perform the state switching of the second module according to the request of the first network device. In this way, this can support the second network device to determine whether the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, thereby being capable of enhancing the control of the second network device on the first network device.

[0266] In one possible implementation, the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low power signal 1 is related to the state switching of the second module, and the first network device performs the state switching of the second module, including:

[0267] determining the service quality parameter of the service;

[0268] According to the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1, the state switching of the second module is performed.

[0269] When the first network device determines the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1, the first network device can determine whether to perform the state switching of the second module according to the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1. When the first network device determines to perform the state switching of the second module according to the service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal 1, the first network device can perform the state switching of the second module. In this way, the signaling interaction cost between the first network device and the second network device can be reduced.

[0270] FIG. 4 is described taking the first network device as an example, and the following describes another communication method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0271] For the convenience of understanding and description, the following describes another communication method of the embodiments of the present application taking a terminal-side device, such as the first terminal device, as an example, but this should not constitute any limitation on the execution subject of the communication method of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the terminal-side device can be a terminal device, such as the first terminal device, the terminal-side device can be a functional module (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. When the steps of sending or receiving are performed by a module (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), a logic node, a logic module, or software in the first terminal device, the sending / receiving can be understood as communication through a communication interface, an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc.

[0272] FIG. 5 is an interaction flow diagram of a communication method 500 of the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the method 500 includes:

[0273] S501, the first terminal device receives a low-power signal 2 from a network device.

[0274] When the first terminal device includes a third module and a fourth module, the first terminal device can receive the low-power signal 2 from the first network device or the second network device through the third module or the fourth module, and the low-power signal 2 indicates whether to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period.

[0275] The description of the low-power signal 2 can refer to the foregoing description of the low-power signal 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0276] In one possible implementation, the first time period includes at least one of the following:

[0277] a slot;

[0278] a mini-slot;

[0279] a symbol;

[0280] a pre-configured time period; or

[0281] an indicated time period; or

[0282] a protocol pre-defined time period, or

[0283] a variable time period related to a subcarrier spacing.

[0284] In this way, the first terminal device can perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the time slot or the mini-slot or the symbol or the pre-configured time period or the indicated time period or the protocol pre-defined time period or the variable time period related to the subcarrier spacing.

[0285] S502, in response to the low-power consumption signal 2, the first terminal device determines whether to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period.

[0286] For example, the low-power consumption signal 2 indicates to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period, and the first terminal device can determine to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period according to the low-power consumption signal 2.

[0287] For another example, the low-power consumption signal 2 indicates not to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period, and the first terminal device can determine not to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period according to the low-power consumption signal 2.

[0288] By the method 500, the first terminal device can determine whether to perform blind detection of the PDCCH according to the indication of the low-power consumption signal 2, which can support reducing the complexity of the first terminal device performing blind detection of the PDCCH, and in addition, this can also make the first terminal device not need to perform invalid blind detection, thereby being able to reduce the energy consumption of the first terminal device.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal 2 indicates to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period, and the low-power consumption signal 2 also indicates a range of performing blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period.

[0290] Optionally, when the low-power consumption signal 2 indicates the range of performing blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period, it can implicitly indicate to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period.

[0291] When the low-power signal 2 indicates a range for blind detection of PDCCH in the first time period, the first terminal device can perform blind detection of PDCCH in the range according to the indication of the low-power signal 2. In this way, this can reduce the complexity of the first terminal device performing blind detection of PDCCH.

[0292] It should be noted that the range for blind detection of PDCCH in the first time period described above can include but is not limited to: performing blind detection of PDCCH in a range of specified subcarriers, or performing blind detection of PDCCH in a specified time domain range or frequency domain range, or performing blind detection of PDCCH in a range of specified downlink control information (DCI) payload size, DCI type, PDCCH candidate, partial aggregation level, etc.

[0293] FIG. 6 is an interaction flow diagram of a communication method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes:

[0294] S601, the first terminal device receives a first-level low-power signal and a second-level low-power signal from a network device.

[0295] When the first terminal device includes a third module and a fourth module, the first terminal device can receive the first-level low-power signal and the second-level low-power signal from the network device (such as the first network device or the second network device) through the third module or the fourth module.

[0296] The description of the first-level low-power signal and the second-level low-power signal can refer to the description of the low-power signal 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0297] The first-level low-power signal includes a second identifier, and the second-level low-power signal includes a third identifier. The second identifier and the third identifier can exist in various combinations:

[0298] The second identifier is used to identify a terminal group 1, the terminal group 1 includes the first terminal device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal device; or,

[0299] The second identifier is used to identify a terminal group 1 and a network device group 1, the network device group 1 includes at least one network device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal device; or,

[0300] The second identifier is used to identify a terminal group 1 and a first network device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal device.

[0301] In the embodiments of this application, when the first terminal device receives the first low-power consumption signal, the first terminal device determines whether to continue receiving the second low-power consumption signal according to whether the second identifier included in the first low-power consumption signal is used to identify the terminal group 1. For example, when the second identifier is used to identify the terminal group 1, the first terminal device determines to receive the second low-power consumption signal. For another example, when the second identifier is used to identify the terminal group 2, the first terminal device determines not to continue receiving the second low-power consumption signal.

[0302] When the first terminal device determines to continue receiving the second low-power consumption signal, the first terminal device determines whether to perform state switching according to the third identifier included in the second low-power consumption signal. For example, when the first terminal device determines that the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal device, the first terminal device determines that the first terminal device needs to perform state switching, i.e., the first terminal device determines to perform state switching of the third module. For another example, when the first terminal device determines that the third identifier is used to identify other terminal devices, the first terminal device can not perform state switching.

[0303] It should be noted that when the terminal device in the terminal group 2 (the terminal group 2 does not include the first terminal device) receives the first low-power consumption signal, the terminal device in the terminal group 2 can not receive the second low-power consumption signal when determining that the first low-power consumption signal cannot be parsed. When the terminal device in the terminal group 2 can parse the first low-power consumption signal, the terminal device in the terminal group 2 can determine not to receive the second low-power consumption signal when determining that the second identifier is used to identify the terminal group 1.

[0304] For ease of description, the above describes the first terminal device as belonging to the terminal group 1, but does not limit the behavior of the terminal device in other terminal groups.

[0305] S602, in response to the first low-power consumption signal and the second low-power consumption signal, the first terminal device performs state switching of the first terminal device.

[0306] For example, the first terminal device determines that the first terminal device needs to perform state switching according to the second identifier in the first low-power consumption signal and the third identifier in the second low-power consumption signal, i.e., the first terminal device determines to perform state switching of the third module.

[0307] For example, when the third module is in the wake-up state, the first terminal device performs state switching of the third module according to the second identifier and the third identifier, i.e., the third module switches from the wake-up state to the sleep state.

[0308] For example, when the third module is in the sleep state, the first terminal device performs state switching of the third module according to the second identifier and the third identifier, i.e., the third module switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0309] Through the above method, the first terminal device can control the state switching of the first terminal device according to the two-stage low-power consumption signal, which can support the state switching of the specified terminal device without the state switching of other terminal devices.

[0310] FIG. 7 is an interaction flow diagram of a communication method 700 of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the method 700 includes:

[0311] S701, the first terminal device receives a low-power consumption signal 3.

[0312] The description of the low-power consumption signal 3 can refer to the foregoing description of the low-power consumption signal 1, which will not be repeated.

[0313] Specifically, the first terminal device receives the low-power consumption signal 3 from the first network device or the second network device through the fourth module or the third module, and the low-power consumption signal 3 is related to the state switching of the second module and the state switching of the third module.

[0314] For example, if the low-power consumption signal 3 is used to trigger the third module to switch from the wake-up state to the sleep state, the first terminal device receives the low-power consumption signal 3 through the third module.

[0315] For another example, if the low-power consumption signal 3 is used to trigger the third module to switch from the sleep state to the wake-up state, the first terminal device receives the low-power consumption signal 3 through the fourth module.

[0316] S702, in response to the low-power consumption signal 3, the first terminal device performs the state switching of the third module.

[0317] For example, when the low-power consumption signal 3 indicates to perform the state switching of the third module, the first terminal device performs the state switching of the third module, such as, when the third module is in the wake-up state, the first terminal device switches the third module from the wake-up state to the sleep state; when the third module is in the sleep state, the first terminal device switches the third module from the sleep state to the wake-up state.

[0318] Through the method 700, the embodiment of the present application can support one low-power consumption signal to be related to the state switching of the second module and the state switching of the third module at the same time, which can realize the simultaneous control of the state switching of two devices, and further can better control the energy consumption of the two devices.

[0319] To implement the functions in the method provided in the present application, the first terminal device, the first network device and the second network device can each include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above functions in the form of hardware structure, software module or hardware structure plus software module. Whether a certain function in the above functions is implemented in the form of hardware structure, software module or hardware structure plus software module depends on the specific application of the technical solution and the design constraint conditions.

[0320] Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 800 includes processing circuitry 810 and transceiver circuitry 820, which can be connected or coupled to each other, such as through a bus 830. The communication apparatus 800 can be the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device.

[0321] Optionally, the communication apparatus 800 can further include a memory 840. The memory 840 includes, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The memory 840 is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of realizing a storage function, used for storing computer programs or instructions, and / or data.

[0322] The processing circuitry 810 can be all or part of one or more processors, or be one or more processors. The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU). In the case where the processing circuitry 810 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. The processing circuitry 810 can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuit capable of implementing the method of the present application, or part of the foregoing processor, chip or integrated circuit used for processing functions. In addition, the transceiver circuitry 820 can also be a transceiver, or an input / output interface, which is used for input or output of signals or data, and can also be referred to as an input / output circuit.

[0323] When the communication apparatus 800 is the first terminal device, the processing circuit 810 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: determining the low-power consumption signal 1; sending the low-power consumption signal 1 to the first network device, etc. Further, the processing circuit 810 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving the first level low-power consumption signal and the second level low-power consumption signal from the network device; performing the state switching of the first terminal device in response to the first level low-power consumption signal and the second level low-power consumption signal, etc. Further, the processing circuit 810 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving the low-power consumption signal 3; performing the state switching of the third module in response to the low-power consumption signal 3, etc.

[0324] When the communication apparatus 800 is the first network device, the processing circuit 810 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving the low-power consumption signal 1; performing the state switching of the second module in response to the low-power consumption signal 1, etc.

[0325] When the communication apparatus 800 is the second network device, the processing circuit 810 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: determining the low-power consumption signal 1; sending the low-power consumption signal 1 to the first network device, etc.

[0326] When the communication apparatus 800 is the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device, it will be responsible for performing the methods or steps related to the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0327] When the communication apparatus 800 is the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device, the transceiver circuit 820 can be a transceiver.

[0328] When the communication apparatus 800 is a chip for the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device, the transceiver circuit 820 can be an input / output circuit.

[0329] The foregoing description is only exemplary. The specific content can refer to the content shown in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0330] The implementation of each operation in FIG. 8 can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-7.

[0331] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 900 can be the first terminal device, the first network device or the second network device, and is configured to implement the methods involved in the foregoing embodiments.

[0332] The communication apparatus 900 comprises a transceiver unit 910 and a processing unit 920. The transceiver unit 910 can comprise a transmitter unit and a receiver unit. The transmitter unit is configured to perform the transmitting actions of the communication apparatus, and the receiver unit is configured to perform the receiving actions of the communication apparatus. For the convenience of description, the transmitter unit and the receiver unit are combined into one transceiver unit in the embodiments of the present application. The above is the unified description, and will not be repeated hereinafter.

[0333] When the communication apparatus 900 is the first terminal device, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to transmit the low-power signal 1 to the first network device, and the processing unit 920 is configured to determine the low-power signal 1, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to receive the first-level low-power signal and the second-level low-power signal from the network device, and the processing unit 920 is configured to perform the state switching of the first terminal device in response to the first-level low-power signal and the second-level low-power signal, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to receive the low-power signal 3, and the processing unit 920 is configured to perform the state switching of the third module in response to the low-power signal 3, etc.

[0334] When the communication apparatus 900 is the first network device, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to receive the low-power signal 1, and the processing unit 920 is configured to perform the state switching of the second module in response to the low-power signal 1, etc.

[0335] When the communication apparatus 900 is the second network device, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to transmit the low-power signal 1 to the first network device, and the processing unit 920 is configured to determine the low-power signal 1, etc.

[0336] When the communication apparatus 900 performs the state switching of the second module in response to the low-power signal 1, it will be responsible for performing one or more of the methods or steps in the foregoing method embodiments related to performing the state switching of the second module in response to the low-power signal 1.

[0337] Optionally, the communication apparatus 900 further comprises a storage unit 930 configured to store programs or codes for performing the foregoing methods.

[0338] The transceiver unit in FIG. 9 can correspond to the transceiver circuit in FIG. 8, and the processing unit in FIG. 9 can correspond to the processing circuit in FIG. 8.

[0339] The apparatus embodiments shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 8 are used to implement the contents described in FIG. 4 to FIG. 7. The specific execution steps and methods of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 8 can refer to the contents described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0340] The application further provides a chip comprising a processor, which is configured to invoke and run instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device in which the chip is installed performs the method in any of the above examples. The memory can be integrated in the chip, or located outside the chip.

[0341] The application further provides another chip comprising an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit, which are connected through internal connection paths. The processing circuit is configured to execute code in a memory, and when the code is executed, the processing circuit is configured to perform the method in any of the above examples.

[0342] Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory configured to store computer programs or code. The input interface and the output interface can be independent of each other, or can be integrated into an input / output interface.

[0343] The processing circuit can be all or part of one or more processors, or one or more processors.

[0344] The application further provides a processor configured to be coupled with a memory, and configured to perform the method and functions of the network device or the terminal device in any of the above embodiments.

[0345] In another embodiment of the application, a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, causes the method of the above embodiments to be implemented.

[0346] The application further provides a computer program which, when executed on a computer, causes the method of the above embodiments to be implemented.

[0347] In another embodiment of the application, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the method of the above embodiments is implemented.

[0348] It should be appreciated that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor can also be other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0349] In addition, the processor can include one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a baseband processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a micro processing unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural network processor (NPU).

[0350] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be volatile or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or flash memory, among others. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM), among others. It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, among others, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0351] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through a wired or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. containing one or more available medium sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state disk.

[0352] It should be understood that the size of the sequence number of each process described above in various embodiments of the present application does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0353] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here. In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0354] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e. can be located in one place or can be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment according to actual needs. In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. When the above functions are realized in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that make contributions to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of software products, which are stored in a storage medium and include a number of instructions for making a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disk or optical disk, and various program code storage media.

[0355] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on specific applications and design constraints of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first network side device, the first network side device comprises a first module and a second module, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving, by the first module, a low-power consumption signal, the low-power consumption signal being related to state switching of the second module, the state switching comprising: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from a sleep state to a wake-up state; in response to the low-power consumption signal, performing the state switching.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The performing of the state switching comprises: turning on or off part or all carriers of the second module.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The low-power consumption signal is also related to the state switching of a third module of a first terminal side device, the third module being a module for data transmission between the first terminal device and the second module.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The low-power consumption signal comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify a device group, the device group comprising at least one of the following: The first network side device and the first terminal side device, the first network side device and a terminal group, or a network side device group and a terminal group, the network device group comprising the first network side device, and the terminal group comprising the first terminal side device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The first identifier is determined according to area information of the device group, or the first identifier is determined according to a parameter sent by the first network side device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The low-power consumption signal is related to the state switching of the second module, comprising: The low-power consumption signal indicates the performance of the state switching; or A quality of service parameter of a service associated with the low-power consumption signal is related to the state switching; or The low-power consumption signal comprises at least one low-power consumption measurement signal, a measurement result of the low-power consumption signal being related to the state switching, and the at least one low-power consumption measurement signal being from one or more terminal side devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The measurement result of the low-power consumption signal is related to the state switching, and the performing of the state switching comprises: sending, by the first module, the measurement result of the low-power consumption signal to a second network side device; receiving, by the first module, first low-power consumption information from the second network device, the first low-power consumption information indicating the performance of the state switching, and the first low-power consumption information being determined according to the measurement result of the low-power consumption signal; performing the state switching according to the first low-power consumption information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The measurement result of the low-power consumption signal is related to the state switching, and the performing of the state switching comprises: determining the measurement result of the low-power consumption signal; performing the state switching according to the measurement result of the low-power consumption signal.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein, The quality of service parameter of the service associated with the low-power consumption signal is related to the state switching, and the performing of the state switching comprises: sending, by the first module, second low-power consumption information to a second network device, the second low-power consumption information requesting the performance of the state switching, and the second low-power consumption information being determined according to the quality of service parameter of the service; receiving, by the first module, third low-power consumption information from the second network device, the third low-power consumption information indicating the performance of the state switching; performing the state switching according to the third low-power consumption information.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein, The service quality parameter of the service associated with the low-power signal is related to the state switching, and the execution of the state switching comprises: determining the service quality parameter of the service; executing the state switching according to the service quality parameter of the service.

11. The method of claim 6, 9 or 10, wherein, The low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service, comprising: the number of transmissions of the low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or, the transmission resource of the low-power signal is associated with the service quality parameter of the service; or, the low-power signal indicates the service quality parameter of the service.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The service quality parameter of the service comprises at least one of: service type, service data size, terminal type or service priority.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that, The service quality parameter of the service is also used to determine at least one of: the number of sub-modules in the wake-up state in the second module, the working mode of the second module, the number of sub-modules in the sleep state in the second module, or the energy consumption level of the second module.

14. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a first terminal side device, comprising: receiving a low-power signal from a network side device, the low-power signal indicating whether to perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection in a first time period; in response to the low-power signal, determining whether to perform blind detection of the PDCCH in the first time period.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The low-power signal indicates that the PDCCH blind detection is performed in the first time period, and the low-power signal further indicates the range of the PDCCH blind detection in the first time period.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first time period comprises at least one of: time slot, mini-slot, symbol, pre-configuration or indicated time period.

17. A method of communication, comprising: Applied to a first terminal side device, comprising: receiving a first level low-power signal and a second level low-power signal from a network side device, the first level low-power signal comprising a second identifier, and the second level low-power signal comprising a third identifier; the second identifier is used to identify a terminal group, the terminal group comprising the first terminal side device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal side device; or, the second identifier is used to identify a terminal group and a network device group, the terminal group comprising the first terminal side device, the network device group comprising at least one network side device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal side device; or, the second identifier is used to identify a terminal group and the first network side device, the terminal group comprising the first terminal side device, and the third identifier is used to identify the first terminal side device; in response to the first level low-power signal and the second level low-power signal, performing state switching of the first terminal side device, the state switching comprising: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from a sleep state to a wake-up state.

18. A method of communication, comprising: Applied to a first terminal side device, comprising: receiving a low-power signal, the low-power signal being related to state switching of a second module of a first network side device and state switching of a third module of the first terminal side device, the state switching comprising: switching from a wake-up state to a sleep state, or switching from a sleep state to a wake-up state; in response to the low-power signal, performing the state switching.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The low-power consumption signal comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify a device group, the device group comprising at least one of the following: The first network device and the first terminal device, the first network device and a terminal group, or a network device group and a terminal group, the network device group comprising the first network-side apparatus, and the terminal group comprising the first terminal-side apparatus.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The first identifier is determined according to area information of the device group, or the first identifier is determined according to a parameter sent by the first network device.

21. A communications device, characterized by The communication apparatus comprises a processor, the processor being configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 by executing computer programs or instructions, or by a logic circuit.

22. The communication apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The communication apparatus further comprises a memory, the memory being configured to store the computer programs or instructions.

23. The communication apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein, The communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface, the communication interface being configured to input and / or output signals.

24. A communications device, characterized by The logic circuit is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, and the input / output interface is configured to input and / or output signals.

25. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed.

26. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed.

27. A chip, characterized by The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed. The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed.

28. A chip system, characterized by The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed. The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed. The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions run on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed.

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