Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, applied to a first network device. The method comprises: a first network device receives a low-power signal, wherein the low-power signal is used for instructing to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group; and on the basis of the low-power signal, the first network device turns on or turns off the carrier or the carrier group of the first network device. On the basis of the technical solution, a deeply dormant TRP can be woken up on demand, thereby achieving maximized power saving and reducing a wake-up delay and a shutdown delay of the TRP.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410891866.X, filed on July 3, 2024, and titled "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 traffic demand of people, wireless networks are always in the rhythm of rapid construction. As the network size of wireless networks is getting larger and larger, the energy consumption of wireless networks is also increasing. In order to reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks, many energy-saving technologies are currently used, such as researching hardware energy-saving solutions from the aspects of devices, hardware design, etc.; researching software energy-saving solutions from the aspects of symbol shutdown, channel shutdown, carrier shutdown, and deep sleep; researching intelligent energy-saving solutions from the aspects of multi-network coordination, etc.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned energy-saving technologies cannot achieve maximum energy saving, for example, cannot achieve deep shutdown, etc. Moreover, the above-mentioned energy-saving technologies are based on statistical traffic (such as data traffic) rules, and whether to start or shut down a transmission reception point (TRP) is decided by network management, resulting in a large wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0005] Therefore, the present application aims to provide a communication method which can wake up a deep sleep TRP on demand, achieve maximum energy saving, and reduce the wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method which can wake up a deep sleep TRP on demand, achieve maximum energy saving, and reduce the wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first network device, and the method comprises: receiving a low-power signal, the low-power signal being used to indicate to start or close a carrier or a carrier group; starting or closing the carrier or the carrier group according to the low-power signal.

[0008] The first aspect can be implemented by a device at the first network device side. The device at the first network device side can be the first network device, a module (such as a chip system or an integrated circuit) in the first network device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. For ease of description, the first network device is used as an example in the following description.

[0009] In the solution, the first network device includes a first module and a second module. The first module is configured to receive a low-power signal. That is, the first network device receives the low-power signal through the first module. Alternatively, the first network device receives the low-power signal in a first state.

[0010] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the first network device through the first module can be replaced by the first network device in the first state. For simplicity, the following description will not be repeated.

[0011] The first state can be understood as a state of the first network device when the first module is turned on, or the first state can be understood as a state of the first network device when the first module and part of the second module are turned on, or the first state can be understood as a state of the first network device when the first module and all of the second module are turned on. It should be understood that the present application does not limit this.

[0012] It can be understood that the first module and the second module are only named for distinction, and their specific names do not limit the protection scope of the present application. For example, the first module can also be called a low-power module (LP-R), and the second module can also be called a main module (MR). The related description of the low-power module and the main module can be referred to in the following description, which will not be repeated here.

[0013] Optionally, in one case, the low-power signal is sent by the second network device to the first network device, that is, the first network device receives the low-power signal sent by the second network device.

[0014] Optionally, in another case, the low-power signal is sent by the terminal device to the first network device, that is, the first network device receives the low-power signal sent by the terminal device.

[0015] The turning on or turning off of the carrier or the carrier group can be understood as the turning on or turning off of the carrier or the carrier group of the first network device, or can also be understood as the turning on or turning off of the carrier or the carrier group of the main module of the first network device.

[0016] In the technical solution of the present application, the first network device receives a low-power signal, and turns on or turns off a carrier or a carrier group of the first network device according to the low-power signal, which can wake up a deeply sleeping TRP on demand, maximizes energy saving, and reduces the wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all the carriers; or, turning on or turning off part of the carrier groups or all the carrier groups. Based on the above technical solution, part of the carriers or all the carriers of the first network device can be more dynamically instructed to be turned on or turned off, and the instruction is more flexible, and the network side saves energy on demand.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further comprises: sending a feedback signal to the second network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received; wherein the feedback signal is of a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power feedback signal; and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power feedback signal. Based on the above technical solution, after receiving the feedback signal, the second network device can ensure the successful wake-up (or turning on) of the first network device, and the second network device will not continue to send the low-power signal, which can save signaling overhead and avoid resource waste.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the time interval between the sending time of the feedback signal of the first type and the receiving time of the low-power signal is a first time length, and the time interval between the sending time of the feedback signal of the second type and the receiving time of the low-power signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length. Based on the above technical solution, different types of feedback signals for receiving low-power signals can be provided, and the successful wake-up (or turning on) of the first network device can be ensured.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: time-domain resources for sending the feedback signal; frequency-domain resources for sending the feedback signal; space-domain resources for sending the feedback signal; information indicated by the low-power signal; and protocol predefined information. Based on the above technical solution, different types of feedback signals for receiving low-power signals can be provided, and the successful wake-up (or turning on) of the first network device can be ensured.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises at least one of the following: turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group, and turning on or turning off a main module of the first network device.

[0022] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the type of the feedback signal is the first type in a case that the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning off the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the master module; or the type of the feedback signal is the second type in a case that the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the master module.

[0023] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the receiving the low-power signal comprises: receiving the low-power signal at a first occasion, the first occasion comprising N*K sub-occasions, where N represents a number of beams used for transmitting the low-power signal, and K represents a number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams. Based on the above technical solution, the low-power signal is monitored at the first occasion in a preconfigured manner, which can reduce the power consumption of detecting the low-power signal.

[0024] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further comprises: receiving indication information transmitted by the second network device, the indication information being used to indicate the first occasion. Based on the above technical solution, the low-power signal is monitored at the first occasion in a manner indicated by the indication information, which can reduce the power consumption of detecting the low-power signal.

[0025] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the low-power signal and the low-power feedback signal comprise at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, and an ASK signal.

[0026] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the turning on or turning off the partial carrier or the full carrier comprises at least one of the following: turning on or turning off the partial downlink carrier or the full downlink carrier; turning on or turning off the partial uplink carrier or the full uplink carrier; turning on or turning off the partial uplink and downlink carrier or the full uplink and downlink carrier; turning on or turning off the partial protocol pre-defined carrier or the full protocol pre-defined carrier; turning on or turning off the partial high-layer signaling configured carrier or the full high-layer signaling configured carrier; and turning on or turning off the partial carrier or the full carrier indicated by the low-power signal.

[0027] In some implementations of the first aspect, the turning on or off of the partial or all carrier groups comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off of partial or all power amplifier (PA) level carrier groups; turning on or off of partial or all band level carrier groups; turning on or off of partial or all protocol pre-defined carrier groups; turning on or off of partial or all high layer signaling configured carrier groups; and turning on or off of partial or all low power consumption signal indicated carrier groups.

[0028] In some implementations of the first aspect, the low power consumption signal comprises at least one of the following: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, and beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with the second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam. Based on the above technical solution, the low power consumption signal can indicate partial information using the air interface, thereby reducing the indication delay.

[0029] In some implementations of the first aspect, the low power consumption signal further comprises a first identifier, which is used to identify the first network device or a network device group comprising a plurality of first network devices. Based on the above technical solution, the low power consumption signal adopts a groupcast manner, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0030] In some implementations of the first aspect, when the first identifier is used to identify the network device group, the turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group comprises turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group of the plurality of first network devices. Based on the above technical solution, the low power consumption signal adopts a groupcast manner, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0031] In some implementations of the first aspect, the receiving of the low power consumption signal comprises:

[0032] In some implementations of the first aspect, the low power consumption signal is received on a first resource corresponding to the first network device or the network device group, and the first resource comprises at least one of the following: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a space domain resource. Based on the above technical solution, the correspondence between the first resource and the first network device or the network device group is preconfigured, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0033] In some implementations of the first aspect, the receiving of the low power consumption signal comprises: receiving a low power consumption signal sent by a second network device, or receiving a low power consumption signal sent by a terminal device. Based on the above technical solution, a flexible scheme for waking up (or turning on) the first network device can be provided.

[0034] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a second network device, and includes: sending, to a first network device, a low-power signal, the low-power signal being used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group.

[0035] The solution of the second aspect can be executed by a device at the second network device side. The device at the second network device side can be the second network device, a module (such as a chip system or an integrated circuit, etc.) in the second network device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software, etc. that can realize all or part of the functions of the second network device. For the convenience of description, the second network device is taken as an example for description hereinafter.

[0036] In the technical solution of the present application, the second network device sends a low-power signal to the first network device, the low-power signal being used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group of the first network device, so as to wake up a deeply sleeping TRP on demand, to maximize energy saving, and to reduce the wake-up delay and the shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0037] For related explanations and beneficial effects of the second aspect, reference can be made to the related explanations and beneficial effects of the first aspect, which are not repeated here.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation forms of the second aspect, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group includes: turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all the carriers; or turning on or turning off part of the carrier groups or all the carrier groups.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation forms of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a feedback signal sent by the first network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received; wherein the feedback signal is of a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power feedback signal.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation forms of the second aspect, the time interval between the sending time of the feedback signal of the first type and the time of receiving the low-power signal is a first time length, and the time interval between the sending time of the feedback signal of the second type and the time of receiving the low-power signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation forms of the second aspect, the type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: a time domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a space domain resource for sending the feedback signal; information indicated by the low-power signal; and protocol predefined information.

[0042] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off a carrier or a carrier group, turning on or off a main module of the first network device.

[0043] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type; or in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

[0044] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the method further comprises: sending, to the first network device, indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a first time, the first time being used for the first network device to receive the low-power signal.

[0045] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the first time comprises N*K sub-times, where N represents a number of beams, the beams being used to send the low-power signal, and K represents a number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

[0046] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the low-power signal and the low-power feedback signal comprise at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, an ASK signal.

[0047] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the turning on or off of the partial carrier or the full carrier comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off partial downlink carriers or full downlink carriers; turning on or off partial uplink carriers or full uplink carriers; turning on or off partial uplink and downlink carriers or full uplink and downlink carriers; turning on or off partial protocol pre-defined carriers or full protocol pre-defined carriers; turning on or off partial high-layer signaling configured carriers or full high-layer signaling configured carriers; turning on or off partial carriers or full carriers indicated by the low-power signal.

[0048] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the turning on or turning off of the partial carrier group or the full carrier group comprises at least one of the following: turning on or turning off of a partial power amplifier (PA) level carrier group or a full PA level carrier group; turning on or turning off of a partial band level carrier group or a full band level carrier group; turning on or turning off of a partial protocol pre-defined carrier group or a full protocol pre-defined carrier group; turning on or turning off of a partial high layer signaling configured carrier group or a full high layer signaling configured carrier group; and turning on or turning off of a partial low power consumption signal indicated carrier group or a full low power consumption signal indicated carrier group.

[0049] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the low power consumption signal comprises at least one of the following: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, and beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with the second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

[0050] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the low power consumption signal further comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first network device or a network device group, the network device group comprising a plurality of the first network devices.

[0051] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, when the first identifier is used for identifying the network device group, the turning on or turning off of the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or turning off of a carrier or a carrier group of the plurality of the first network devices.

[0052] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the receiving of the low power consumption signal comprises:

[0053] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the receiving of the low power consumption signal comprises:

[0054] In some implementations of the third aspect, in combination with the third aspect, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal device, a low power consumption signal from a first network device, the low power consumption signal being used for indicating turning on or turning off of a carrier or a carrier group.

[0055] The solution of the third aspect can be executed by a device at a terminal device side. The device at the terminal device side can be a terminal device, a module (such as a chip system or an integrated circuit, etc.) in the terminal device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software, etc. that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. For the convenience of description, the terminal device is taken as an example for description hereinafter.

[0056] In the technical solution of the present application, the terminal device sends a low-power signal to the first network device, and the low-power signal is used to instruct to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group of the first network device, so as to wake up a deeply sleeping TRP on demand, maximize energy saving, and reduce the wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0057] The related explanations and beneficial effects of the third aspect can refer to the related explanations and beneficial effects of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the low-power signal includes at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, and an ASK signal.

[0059] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group includes: turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all of the carriers; or, turning on or turning off part of the carrier groups or all of the carrier groups.

[0060] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all of the carriers includes at least one of the following: turning on or turning off part of the downlink carriers or all of the downlink carriers; turning on or turning off part of the uplink carriers or all of the uplink carriers; turning on or turning off part of the uplink and downlink carriers or all of the uplink and downlink carriers; turning on or turning off part of the protocol predefined carriers or all of the protocol predefined carriers; turning on or turning off part of the high-layer signaling configured carriers or all of the high-layer signaling configured carriers; and turning on or turning off part of the carriers indicated by the low-power signal or all of the carriers.

[0061] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the turning on or turning off part of the carrier groups or all of the carrier groups includes at least one of the following: turning on or turning off part of the PA level carrier groups or all of the PA level carrier groups; turning on or turning off part of the band level carrier groups or all of the band level carrier groups; turning on or turning off part of the protocol predefined carrier groups or all of the protocol predefined carrier groups; turning on or turning off part of the high-layer signaling configured carrier groups or all of the high-layer signaling configured carrier groups; and turning on or turning off part of the carrier groups indicated by the low-power signal or all of the carrier groups.

[0062] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the low-power signal includes at least one of the following: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, and beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with the second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

[0063] In some implementations of the third aspect, in a case where the first identifier is used to identify the network device group, the turning on or off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or off carriers or carrier groups of the plurality of first network devices.

[0064] In some implementations of the third aspect, in a case where the first identifier is used to identify the network device group, the turning on or off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or off carriers or carrier groups of the plurality of first network devices.

[0065] In some implementations of the third aspect, the receiving the low-power consumption signal comprises:

[0066] In some implementations of the third aspect, the receiving the low-power consumption signal comprises:

[0067] In some implementations of the third aspect, the receiving the low-power consumption signal comprises:

[0068] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to: turn on or off part of the carriers or all of the carriers; or turn on or off part of the carrier groups or all of the carrier groups.

[0069] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to: send a feedback signal to a second network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power consumption signal has been successfully received; wherein a type of the feedback signal is a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power consumption feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power consumption feedback signal.

[0070] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, a time interval between a sending time of the feedback signal of the first type and a receiving time of the low-power consumption signal is a first time length, and a time interval between a sending time of the feedback signal of the second type and the receiving time of the low-power consumption signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length.

[0071] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: a time domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a space domain resource for sending the feedback signal; information indicated by the low-power consumption signal; and protocol predefined information.

[0072] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off a carrier or a carrier group, turning on or off a main module of the first network device.

[0073] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type; or in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

[0074] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the transceiver is specifically configured to: receive the low-power signal at a first time, the first time comprising N*K sub-times, where N represents a number of beams used to transmit the low-power signal, and K represents a number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

[0075] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to: receive indication information transmitted by the second network device, the indication information being used to indicate the first time.

[0076] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the low-power signal and the low-power feedback signal comprise at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, an ASK signal.

[0077] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the turning on or off of the partial carrier or the full carrier comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off of partial downlink carriers or full downlink carriers; turning on or off of partial uplink carriers or full uplink carriers; turning on or off of partial uplink and downlink carriers or full uplink and downlink carriers; turning on or off of partial protocol pre-defined carriers or full protocol pre-defined carriers; turning on or off of partial high-layer signaling configured carriers or full high-layer signaling configured carriers; turning on or off of partial carriers indicated by the low-power signal or full carriers indicated by the low-power signal.

[0078] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the turning on or turning off the partial carrier group or the full carrier group comprises at least one of the following: turning on or turning off the partial power amplifier (PA) level carrier group or the full PA level carrier group; turning on or turning off the partial band level carrier group or the full band level carrier group; turning on or turning off the partial protocol pre-defined carrier group or the full protocol pre-defined carrier group; turning on or turning off the partial high layer signaling configured carrier group or the full high layer signaling configured carrier group; and turning on or turning off the partial low power consumption signal indicated carrier group or the full low power consumption signal indicated carrier group.

[0079] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the low power consumption signal comprises at least one of the following: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, and beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with a second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

[0080] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the low power consumption signal further comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first network device or a network device group, and the network device group comprising a plurality of the first network devices.

[0081] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, when the first identifier is used for identifying the network device group, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group of the plurality of the first network devices.

[0082] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the transceiver is specifically configured to: receive the low power consumption signal on a first resource, the first resource corresponding to the first network device or the network device group, and the first resource comprising at least one of the following: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a space domain resource.

[0083] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, in combination with the fourth aspect, the transceiver is specifically configured to: receive the low power consumption signal sent by a second network device, or receive the low power consumption signal sent by a terminal device.

[0084] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in combination with the fifth aspect, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or turning off the partial carrier or the full carrier, or turning on or turning off the partial carrier group or the full carrier group.

[0085] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in combination with the fifth aspect, the turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or turning off the partial carrier or the full carrier, or turning on or turning off the partial carrier group or the full carrier group.

[0086] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive a feedback signal sent by the first network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received; wherein the feedback signal is of a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power feedback signal.

[0087] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, a time interval between a sending time of the feedback signal of the first type and a time of receiving the low-power signal is a first time length, and a time interval between a sending time of the feedback signal of the second type and the time of receiving the low-power signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length.

[0088] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: a time domain resource used to send the feedback signal; a frequency domain resource used to send the feedback signal; a space domain resource used to send the feedback signal; information indicated by the low-power signal; and protocol predefined information.

[0089] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises at least one of the following: turning on or off a carrier or a carrier group, and turning on or off a main module of the first network device.

[0090] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, when the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type; or when the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

[0091] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first network device, indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a first time, the first time being used for the first network device to receive the low-power signal.

[0092] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the first time comprises N*K sub-times, wherein N represents a number of beams used to send the low-power signal, and K represents a number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

[0093] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the low-power signal and the low-power feedback signal include at least one of a Chirp signal, an On-Off Keying (OOK) signal, a Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, and an Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) signal.

[0094] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the turning on or off of the partial or all carriers includes at least one of turning on or off of partial or all downlink carriers, turning on or off of partial or all uplink carriers, turning on or off of partial or all uplink and downlink carriers, turning on or off of partial or all protocol pre-defined carriers, turning on or off of partial or all high layer signaling configured carriers, and turning on or off of partial or all carriers indicated by the low-power signal.

[0095] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the turning on or off of the partial or all carrier groups includes at least one of turning on or off of partial or all Power Amplifier (PA) level carrier groups, turning on or off of partial or all band level carrier groups, turning on or off of partial or all protocol pre-defined carrier groups, turning on or off of partial or all high layer signaling configured carrier groups, and turning on or off of partial or all carrier groups indicated by the low-power signal.

[0096] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the low-power signal includes at least one of identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, and beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with a second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

[0097] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, the low-power signal further includes a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first network device or a network device group including a plurality of the first network devices.

[0098] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, in conjunction with the fifth aspect, when the first identifier is used for identifying the network device group, the turning on or off of the carriers or carrier groups includes turning on or off of carriers or carrier groups of the plurality of the first network devices.

[0099] In some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver is specifically configured to: receive the low-power consumption signal on a first resource, the first resource corresponding to the first network device or the group of network devices, the first resource comprising at least one of: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource.

[0100] In the sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a transceiver configured to send a low-power consumption signal to a first network device, the low-power consumption signal being used to indicate turning on or off a carrier or a group of carriers.

[0101] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, the low-power consumption signal comprises at least one of: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power consumption OFDM signal, a low-power consumption sequence signal, an ASK signal.

[0102] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, the turning on or off a carrier or a group of carriers comprises: turning on or off part of carriers or all carriers; or, turning on or off part of carrier groups or all carrier groups.

[0103] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, the turning on or off part of carriers or all carriers comprises at least one of: turning on or off part of downlink carriers or all downlink carriers; turning on or off part of uplink carriers or all uplink carriers; turning on or off part of uplink and downlink carriers or all uplink and downlink carriers; turning on or off part of protocol predefined carriers or all protocol predefined carriers; turning on or off part of high layer signaling configured carriers or all high layer signaling configured carriers; turning on or off part of carriers indicated by the low-power consumption signal or all carriers indicated by the low-power consumption signal.

[0104] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, the turning on or off part of carrier groups or all carrier groups comprises at least one of: turning on or off part of PA level carrier groups or all PA level carrier groups; turning on or off part of band level carrier groups or all band level carrier groups; turning on or off part of protocol predefined carrier groups or all protocol predefined carrier groups; turning on or off part of high layer signaling configured carrier groups or all high layer signaling configured carrier groups; turning on or off part of carrier groups indicated by the low-power consumption signal or all carrier groups indicated by the low-power consumption signal.

[0105] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, the low-power consumption signal comprises at least one of: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam used for communication with a second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

[0106] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in combination with the sixth aspect, the low-power consumption signal further comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify the first network device or a network device group, the network device group comprising a plurality of the first network devices.

[0107] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in combination with the sixth aspect, in a case where the first identifier is used to identify the network device group, the turning on or off the carrier or the carrier group comprises: turning on or off carriers or carrier groups of the plurality of first network devices.

[0108] In some implementations of the sixth aspect, in combination with the sixth aspect, the transceiver is specifically configured to: receive the low-power consumption signal on a first resource, the first resource corresponding to the first network device or the network device group, the first resource comprising at least one of the following: a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource.

[0109] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory for storing the computer program or the instructions.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signals.

[0111] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signals.

[0112] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signals.

[0113] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signals.

[0114] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which contains 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.

[0115] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the first network device described above and / or the terminal device described above and / or the second network device described above, the first network device being configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the terminal device being configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the second network device being configured to perform the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0116] The explanations and beneficial effects related to the fourth aspect to the eleventh aspect can be referred to the descriptions of the first aspect to the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0117] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0118] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 200 of embodiments of the present application.

[0119] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a framework 300 of a first network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0120] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0121] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0122] FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0123] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0124] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0125] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0127] I. Unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0128] II. The terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments of the present application are consistent and can be referenced to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0129] III. The various digital numbers involved in the present application are only used for differentiation for 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.

[0130] 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 for ease of understanding.

[0131] 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 including a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those clearly listed steps or units, but can include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0132] 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.

[0133] 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.

[0134] 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.

[0135] 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.

[0136] 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.

[0137] Seven, the "storage" or "save" involved in the present application can refer to saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately arranged or integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially separately arranged and partially integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited.

[0138] Eight, the "protocol" involved in the present application can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, which can include, for example, a fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) network, a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) network protocol, an NR protocol, a 5.5G network protocol, and a related protocol applied to a future communication network, which is not limited in the present application.

[0139] Nine, the arrows or blocks shown by dashed lines in the schematic diagrams in the drawing part of the specification of the present application represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0140] Ten, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0141] Eleven, in the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, or indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, or indirect receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of a chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between network devices and terminal devices, or can be carried out within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within a device through a bus, wire or interface.

[0142] First, the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable is described.

[0143] 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 connected to the RAN nodes 110 wirelessly. The RAN nodes 110 are connected to the CN 200 wirelessly or wiredly. 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.

[0144] The RAN 100 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G communication system or a future-oriented evolved system. The RAN 100 can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (C-RAN or CRAN), a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. The RAN 100 can also be a communication system in which two or more of the above systems are fused.

[0145] 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.

[0146] 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 base station (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.

[0147] 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.

[0148] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist terminal devices to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes 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).

[0149] 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.

[0150] The number of each device 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] 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.

[0155] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device is a device with wireless transceiving function, which is used for communication 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.

[0156] 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.

[0157] 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 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] Based on the communication system 100, the embodiments of the present application also provide an application scenario, which can be referred to FIG. 2.

[0160] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 200 of embodiments 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). Or, there is communication among the first network device, the first terminal device, and the second network device. Or, the first network device is in the coverage range of the second network device, the first terminal device is in the coverage range of the corresponding first network device, and the second network device provides communication services for the first terminal device through the first network device. Wherein, 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.

[0161] In a possible scenario, the first network device and the second network device can both be base stations (BSs).

[0162] Or, in a possible scenario, the first network device and the second network device can both be TRP nodes.

[0163] Or, in a possible scenario, the first network device can be various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, TRPs, etc., and the second network device can be satellites, air balloon stations (such as hot air balloon stations), unmanned aerial vehicle stations, high-altitude platform stations, high-power high-tower (HPMT), medium-power medium-tower (MPMT), etc.

[0164] Or, in a possible scenario, the first network device and the second network device can both be satellites, air balloon stations (such as hot air balloon stations), unmanned aerial vehicle stations, high-altitude platform stations, HPMT, MPMT, etc.

[0165] It should be understood that the above scenarios are only illustrative, that is, embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to scenarios in which network devices of different forms are composed in future communication system networks, and the present application does not limit this.

[0166] Currently, many energy-saving technologies are used in the industry to reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks, however, these energy-saving technologies cannot achieve maximum energy saving. Based on this, the present application aims to provide a communication method that can wake up a deeply sleeping TRP on demand, achieve maximum energy saving, and reduce the latency of waking up the TRP.

[0167] Based on the application scenario 200, in order to effectively reduce the energy consumption of the first network device, the present application supports new design of the structure of the first network device, which can be seen in FIG. 3.

[0168] 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 merely named for distinction, and the specific naming does not limit the protection scope of the present application, for example, the first module can also be a first circuit or an on circuit or a wake-up circuit or a low-power circuit or a low-power module (LP-R module) and the like, and the second module can also be a second circuit or a main circuit or a high-power circuit or a main module (MR module) or a high-power module and the like. It should be understood that the LP-R module can also be referred to as LR module.

[0169] The low-power module can also be referred to as low-power radio, wake-up receiver (WUR), low-power WUR (LP-WUR), wake-up circuit, communication auxiliary module or auxiliary circuit and the like. The main module can also be referred to as main radio, main receiver, communication main module or main circuit and the like. It should be understood that the present application does not limit this.

[0170] The low-power module is used to receive or send low-power signals (such as low-power wake-up signals, low-power synchronization signals, low-power measurement signals and the like), or to notify the wake-up or sleep of the main module and the like. The main module can be used to receive or send signaling, data, measurement signals and the like. Moreover, the working power consumption of the low-power module is much lower than that of the main module.

[0171] For ease of description, the first module and the second module are uniformly described below.

[0172] The first module has the following functions: maintaining the connection between the first terminal device and the second network device, small packet transmission (measurement, data transmission and the like), turning on or turning off the second module and the like. The second module has the following functions: data transmission between the first terminal device and the second network device and the like. The turning on of the second module can also be understood as waking up the second module, and the turning off of the second module can also be understood as sleeping the second module. For ease of understanding, the turning on of the second module is uniformly used instead of the waking up of the second module in the following description.

[0173] Optionally, the turning on of the second module can also be understood as turning on a carrier or a carrier group, wherein the turning on of the carrier can be understood as turning on part of the carriers or all the carriers, the turning on of the carrier group can be understood as turning on part of the carrier groups or all the carrier groups, and the carrier group includes one or more carriers.

[0174] 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 an on circuit or a wake-up circuit or a low-power circuit or a low-power module (LP-R module), etc., and the third module can also be a third circuit or a main circuit or a main module (MR module) or a high-power circuit or a high-power module, etc. For ease of description, the following are uniformly described as the third module and the fourth module.

[0175] 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 turning 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. Wherein, turning on the third module can also be understood as waking up the third module, and turning off the third module can also be understood as hibernating the third module.

[0176] 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 (or an on state); when the first network device is in a low load condition, the second module is in a hibernation state (or an off 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 hibernation state, at this time, it can be understood that the second module is turned off; 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 hibernation state to a wake-up state, at this time, it can be understood that the second module is turned on.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present application, the turning on or turning off of the second module can be triggered or started by the first module, or the turning on or turning off of the second module can also be triggered by the second module itself, that is, the turning on or turning off of the second module can be determined by the first network device; or the turning on or turning off of the second module can also be indicated by the second network device or the terminal device (such as the first terminal device), etc. It should be understood that the present application limits this.

[0178] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the specific drawings.

[0179] FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 400 provided by an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 4, the method at least includes the following steps.

[0180] S410, the first network device receives a low-power signal.

[0181] S420, the first network device turns on or turns off the carrier or the carrier group according to the low-power signal.

[0182] The low-power signal can be one or more of a low-power wake up signal (WUS), a Chirp signal, an on-off keying (OOK) signal (such as OOK-1, OOK-2, OOK-3, OOK-4, etc.), a low-power 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, etc., or can be a signal obtained by optimizing the above signals, etc., which are not limited in the present application.

[0183] It should be noted that in step S410, the first network device receiving the low-power signal can be divided into two cases:

[0184] One case: as shown in step S410a, the low-power signal is sent by the terminal device to the first network device, that is, the first network device receives the low-power signal sent by the terminal device.

[0185] Another case: as shown in step S410b, the low-power signal is sent by the second network device to the first network device, that is, the first network device receives the low-power signal sent by the second network device.

[0186] The first network device includes a first module and a second module, and correspondingly, the terminal device includes a third module and a fourth module. The related description of the first module, the second module, the third module and the fourth module can be referred to the description of the first module, the second module, the third module and the fourth module in the foregoing FIG. 3, which is not repeated here.

[0187] Specifically, in step S410, the first network device receives the low-power consumption signal. It can be understood that the first network device receives the low-power consumption signal through the first module, or it can also be understood that the first network device receives the low-power consumption signal in the first state. The first state can be understood as the state of the first network device when the first module is turned on, or the first state can also be understood as the state of the first network device when the first module and part of the second module are turned on, or the first state can also be understood as the state of the first network device when the first module and all the second modules are turned on. It should be understood that the present application does not limit this.

[0188] Correspondingly, for the case that the terminal device sends the low-power consumption signal to the first network device, it can also be understood that the terminal device sends the low-power consumption signal to the first network device through the third module, or it can also be understood that the terminal device sends the low-power consumption signal to the first network device in the second state. The second state is the state of the terminal device when the third module is turned on, or the second state can also be understood as the state of the terminal device when the third module and part of the fourth module are turned on, or the second state can also be understood as the state of the terminal device when the third module and all the fourth modules are turned on. It should be understood that the present application does not limit this.

[0189] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, "the first network device through the first module" can be replaced by "the first network device in the first state". For the sake of simplicity, the following will not be described again.

[0190] It should also be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, as long as the information or signal related to low power consumption is concerned, for the first network device, it can be received or sent through the first module, and for the terminal device, it can be received or sent through the third module. For the sake of simplicity, the following description of receiving or sending through the first module and receiving or sending through the third module can be omitted.

[0191] Optionally, when the fourth module has the function of receiving or sending the low-power consumption signal, and / or when part or all of the fourth module is not completely turned off, the above-mentioned terminal device sending the low-power consumption signal to the first network device can also be understood as the terminal device sending the low-power consumption signal to the first network device through the fourth module.

[0192] Optionally, when the second module has the function of receiving or sending the low-power consumption signal, and / or the second module is partially or totally not shut down, the first network device receiving the low-power consumption signal can also be understood as that the first network device receives the low-power consumption signal through the second module. It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the first network device can cover one or more terminal devices, in which case, the first network device can receive the low-power consumption signal sent by the one or more terminal devices.

[0193] Further, in the embodiments of the present application, the low-power consumption signal is used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group, and the first network device turns on or turns off the carrier or the carrier group according to the specific indication of the low-power consumption signal after receiving the low-power consumption signal. Wherein, the low-power consumption signal used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group can be understood as that the low-power consumption signal is used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group of the first network device or a carrier or a carrier group of the main module of the first network device.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal indicates to turn on or turn off a carrier, which can be understood as that the low-power consumption signal indicates to turn off part of the carriers or all the carriers.

[0195] Wherein, turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all the carriers includes at least one of the following:

[0196] Turning on or turning off part of the downlink carriers or all the downlink carriers;

[0197] Turning on or turning off part of the uplink carriers or all the uplink carriers;

[0198] Turning on or turning off part of the uplink and downlink carriers or all the uplink and downlink carriers;

[0199] Turning on or turning off part of the protocol pre-defined carriers or all the protocol pre-defined carriers;

[0200] Turning on or turning off part of the high-layer signaling configured carriers or all the high-layer signaling configured carriers

[0201] Turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all the carriers indicated by the low-power consumption signal.

[0202] It should be noted that turning on or turning off part of the carriers or all the carriers indicated by the low-power consumption signal can be understood as that the low-power consumption signal can indicate to turn on or turn off part of the carriers or all the carriers of the main module of the first network device. Optionally, the low-power consumption signal can include indication information #1, which is used to indicate to turn on or turn off part of the carriers or all the carriers of the main module of the first network device.

[0203] Suppose the total number of carriers of the first network device is 2, the following will introduce different contents indicated by the indication information #1 in combination with specific examples.

[0204] Example 1,

[0205] Content indicated by indication information #1 in Table 1

[0206] As shown in Table 1, when the value of indication information #1 is 0, it indicates to turn on carrier 1 of the first network device and turn off carrier 2 of the first network device; when the value of indication information #1 is 1, it indicates to turn on carrier 2 of the first network device and turn off carrier 1 of the first network device; that is, when the value of indication information #1 is 0 and 1, it indicates to turn on or turn off part of the carriers. When the value of indication information #1 is 2, it indicates to turn on carrier 1 and carrier 2 of the first network device, that is, at this time, indication information #1 indicates to turn on all carriers; when the value of indication information #1 is 3, it indicates to turn off carrier 1 and carrier 2 of the first network device, that is, at this time, indication information #1 indicates to turn off all carriers.

[0207] Example 2,

[0208] Content indicated by indication information #1 in Table 2

[0209] As shown in Table 2, when the value of indication information #1 is 0, it indicates to turn on carrier 1 of the first network device, or indicates to turn off carrier 1 of the first network device; when the value of indication information #1 is 1, it indicates to turn on carrier 2 of the first network device, or indicates to turn off carrier 2 of the first network device; that is, in this example, indication information #1 indicates to turn on or turn off part of the carriers of the first network device.

[0210] Example 3,

[0211] Content indicated by indication information #1 in Table 3

[0212] As shown in Table 3, when the value of indication information #1 is 0, it indicates to turn on carrier 1 of the first network device; when the value of indication information #1 is 1, it indicates to turn off carrier 1 of the first network device; when the value of indication information #1 is 2, it indicates to turn on carrier 2 of the first network device; when the value of indication information #1 is 3, it indicates to turn off carrier 1 of the first network device. That is, in this example, indication information #1 indicates to turn on part of the carriers of the first network device or turn off part of the carriers of the first network device.

[0213] Optionally, the carrier 1 or the carrier 2 can be an uplink carrier or a downlink carrier, and the present application does not limit this.

[0214] Optionally, the carrier 1 or the carrier 2 described above can be a 3.5G carrier, a 4.9G carrier, a 1.8G carrier, a 2.1G carrier, a 2.6G carrier, a 700M carrier, a 900M carrier, an 800M carrier, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0215] Optionally, the carrier 1 or the carrier 2 described above can be a primary carrier or a secondary carrier.

[0216] In another possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal indicates to turn on or turn off a carrier group, which can be understood as the low-power consumption signal indicating to turn off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group.

[0217] The turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group includes at least one of the following:

[0218] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the power amplifier (PA) level;

[0219] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the frequency band (band) level;

[0220] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the frequency band level;

[0221] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the radio access technology (RAT) level;

[0222] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the protocol predefinition;

[0223] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group of the high-layer signaling configuration;

[0224] Turning on or turning off part of the carrier group or all the carrier group indicated by the low-power consumption signal.

[0225] It should be understood that the carrier group of the band level described above can be, for example, a carrier group containing the band n1, the band n2, …, and the band n14 level, or can also be, for example, a carrier group containing the band 1, the band 2, …, and the band 14 level. It can also be a carrier group of other band number levels. The present application does not limit this.

[0226] For example, Table 4 and Table 5 respectively show the operating frequency bands of different band levels in NR.

[0227] Table 4 Operating frequency bands of different band levels in NR

[0228] Table 5: Operating frequency bands of different band levels in NR

[0229] The frequency band level carrier group can include, for example, a low frequency (such as 700M / 900M, 800M), a medium frequency (such as 1.8G / 2.1G / 2.6G), and a high frequency (3.5G / 4.9G) carrier group. The PA level carrier group can include PA1 and PA2, for example, the PA1 level carrier group can include 1-2 carriers, and the PA2 level carrier group can include 3-4 carriers. A PA level carrier group can also include multiple band level carriers. The RAT level carrier group can include, for example, an NR carrier group, an E-UTRAN carrier group, and a 6G carrier group. The present application does not limit this.

[0230] It should be noted that the above opening or closing of the low-power signal indicates part of the carrier group or all the carrier groups. It can be understood that the low-power signal can indicate the opening or closing of part of the carrier group or all the carrier groups of the main module of the first network device. Optionally, the low-power signal can include indication information #2, which is used to indicate the opening or closing of part of the carrier group or all the carrier groups of the main module of the first network device. It should be understood that the indication information #2 can be the same indication information as the indication information #1, or the indication information #2 can also be different from the indication information #1.

[0231] Assuming that the total number of carrier groups of the first network device is 2, the following describes different contents indicated by the indication information #1 in combination with specific examples.

[0232] Example 1,

[0233] Table 6: Contents indicated by the indication information #2

[0234] As shown in Table 6, when the value of the indication information #2 is 0, it indicates the opening of the carrier group 1 of the first network device and the closing of the carrier group 2 of the first network device; when the value of the indication information #2 is 1, it indicates the opening of the carrier group 2 of the first network device and the closing of the carrier group 1 of the first network device; that is, when the value of the indication information #2 is 0 and 1, it indicates the opening or closing of part of the carrier group. When the value of the indication information #2 is 2, it indicates the opening of the carrier group 1 and the carrier group 2 of the first network device, that is, the indication information #2 indicates the opening of all the carrier groups at this time; when the value of the indication information #2 is 3, it indicates the closing of the carrier group 1 and the carrier group 2 of the first network device, that is, the indication information #2 indicates the closing of all the carrier groups at this time.

[0235] Example 2,

[0236] Table 7: Contents indicated by the indication information #2

[0237] As shown in Table 7, when the value of the indication information #2 is 0, it indicates to turn on the carrier group 1 of the first network device, or it indicates to turn off the carrier group 1 of the first network device; when the value of the indication information #2 is 1, it indicates to turn on the carrier group 2 of the first network device, or it indicates to turn off the carrier group 2 of the first network device; that is to say, in this example, the indication information #2 indicates to turn on or turn off part of the carrier groups of the first network device.

[0238] Example 3,

[0239] Table 8: Contents indicated by the indication information #2

[0240] As shown in Table 8, when the value of the indication information #2 is 0, it indicates to turn on the carrier group 1 of the first network device; when the value of the indication information #2 is 1, it indicates to turn off the carrier group 1 of the first network device; when the value of the indication information #2 is 2, it indicates to turn on the carrier group 2 of the first network device; when the value of the indication information #2 is 3, it indicates to turn off the carrier group 1 of the first network device. That is to say, in this example, the indication information #2 indicates to turn on part of the carrier groups of the first network device or turn off part of the carrier groups of the first network device.

[0241] It should be noted that the above carrier group 1 and carrier group 2 can be an uplink carrier group or a downlink carrier group, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0242] It should be understood that the above Tables 1 to 8 are only examples, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0243] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can also be used to indicate to turn on or turn off the main module of the first network device.

[0244] The low-power consumption signal used to indicate to turn on or turn off the main module of the first network device can be understood as the low-power consumption signal used to indicate to turn on or turn off the uplink main module (UL MR), or it can also be understood as the low-power consumption signal used to indicate to turn on or turn off the downlink main module (DL MR), or it can also be understood as the low-power consumption signal used to indicate to turn on or turn off the uplink main module and the downlink main module (UL MR+DL MR). It should be understood that the present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0245] Optionally, the low-power consumption signal can include indication information #3, which is used to indicate to turn on or turn off the main module of the first network device. The different contents indicated by the indication information #3 will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific examples.

[0246] Example 1:

[0247] Table 9 indicates different contents indicated by indication information #3

[0248] As shown in Table 9, when the value of indication information #3 is 00, it indicates to turn on the DL MR and turn off the UL MR; when the value of indication information #3 is 01, it indicates to turn on the UL MR and turn off the DL MR; when the value of indication information #3 is 10, it indicates to turn on the DL MR and the UL MR; and when the value of indication information #3 is 11, it indicates to turn off the DL MR and the UL MR.

[0249] Example 2

[0250] Table 10 indicates different contents indicated by indication information #3

[0251] As shown in Table 10, when the value of indication information #3 is 00, it indicates to turn on the DL MR; when the value of indication information #3 is 01, it indicates to turn on the UL MR; when the value of indication information #3 is 10, it indicates to turn on the DL MR and the UL MR; and when the value of indication information #3 is 11, it indicates to turn off any one of the following: the DL MR and the UL MR, the DL MR, and the UL MR.

[0252] It should be understood that the above Tables 9 and 10 are only examples, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0253] Based on the above technical solution, the first network device receives the low-power signal and turns on or turns off the carrier or carrier group of the first network device according to the low-power signal, which can wake up the deeply sleeping TRP on demand, maximizes energy saving, and reduces the wake-up delay and shutdown delay of the TRP.

[0254] Further, after the first network device receives the low-power signal, the first network device will send a feedback signal to the second network device, and the feedback signal is used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received. Otherwise, the second network device will repeatedly send the low-power signal to the first network device, causing waste of signaling resources.

[0255] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 5, after step S420, the method can further include: S430, the first network device sends a feedback signal to the second network device, and correspondingly, the second network device receives the feedback signal. FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 400 provided by another embodiment of the present application.

[0256] Wherein, the first network device sends a feedback signal to the second network device, which can be understood as that the first network device sends the feedback signal to the second network device through the first module.

[0257] The feedback signal is used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received, that is, the second network device determines that the first network device has successfully received the low-power signal after receiving the feedback signal. The feedback signal is of a first type or a second type. The feedback signal of the first type is a low-power feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type is a non-low-power feedback signal.

[0258] The low-power feedback signal can be one or more of a Chirp signal, an OOK signal (such as OOK-1, OOK-2, OOK-3, OOK-4, etc.), a low-power 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 DFT / FFT sequence signal, a QAM symbol-based sequence signal, etc.), an ASK signal, an FSK signal, an OFDM signal, etc., or a signal obtained by optimizing the above signals, etc. The present application is not limited in this regard.

[0259] The non-low-power feedback signal can be a normal signal, such as a non-low-power sequence (such as a ZC sequence, an M sequence, a Gold sequence, etc.), a polar code, etc.

[0260] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the type of the feedback signal can be determined in the following ways:

[0261] Method one: The type of the feedback signal can be determined by the information indicated by the low-power signal.

[0262] Optionally, in a possible implementation, when the information indicated by the low-power signal includes turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or a master module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type.

[0263] It should be understood that turning off the uplink carrier includes turning off all uplink carriers, and turning off the uplink carrier group includes turning off all uplink carrier groups.

[0264] It should also be understood that, in one case, turning off the master module includes turning off the uplink master module, that is, the downlink master module can be in an open state; or, in another case, turning off the master module includes turning off the uplink master module and the downlink master module.

[0265] Specifically, when the low-power signal indicates turning off the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the master module, the feedback signal is sent by the first module (for example, the LP-R module) of the first network device, and at this time, the feedback signal is the feedback signal of the first type.

[0266] Optionally, in a possible implementation, when the information indicated by the low-power consumption signal includes turning on an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or a master module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

[0267] It should be understood that the turned-on uplink carrier includes a turned-on partial uplink carrier or a turned-on full uplink carrier, and the turned-on uplink carrier group includes a turned-on partial uplink carrier group or a turned-on full uplink carrier group.

[0268] It should also be understood that, in one case, turning on the master module includes turning on the uplink master module, that is, the downlink master module can be in an off state; or, in another case, turning on the master module includes turning on the uplink master module and the downlink master module.

[0269] Specifically, when the low-power consumption signal indicates turning on an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or a master module, the feedback signal is sent by a second module (for example, an MR module) of the first network device, and at this time, the feedback signal is a feedback signal of the second type.

[0270] Method two: determining whether the type of the feedback signal is the first type or the second type in a manner predefined by a protocol.

[0271] Method three: determining the type of the feedback signal based on a time domain resource for sending the feedback signal.

[0272] Specifically, the time domain resource for sending the feedback signal has a corresponding relationship with the type of the feedback signal, for example, a feedback signal of the first type is sent on time domain resource 1, and a feedback signal of the second type is sent on time domain resource 2.

[0273] It should be noted that the corresponding relationship between the time domain resource for sending the feedback signal and the type of the feedback signal can be preconfigured or can be indicated by indication information, for example, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can include indication information #a, which is used to indicate the above-mentioned corresponding relationship (that is, the corresponding relationship between the time domain resource and the type of the feedback signal). Optionally, the indication information #a can also be separate indication information. It should be understood that the above is only an example for illustration, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0274] Method four: determining the type of the feedback signal based on a frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal.

[0275] Specifically, the frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal has a corresponding relationship with the type of the feedback signal, for example, a feedback signal of the first type is sent on frequency domain resource 1, and a feedback signal of the second type is sent on frequency domain resource 2.

[0276] It should be noted that the correspondence between the frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal and the type of the feedback signal can be preconfigured or indicated by indication information. For example, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can include indication information #b, which is used to indicate the correspondence (i.e., the correspondence between the frequency domain resource and the type of the feedback signal). Alternatively, the indication information #b can also be separate indication information. It should be understood that the above is only an example, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0277] Option 5: determining the type of the feedback signal based on the spatial domain resource for sending the feedback signal.

[0278] Specifically, the spatial domain resource for sending the feedback signal and the type of the feedback signal have a correspondence, for example, the first type of feedback signal is sent on the spatial domain resource 1, and the second type of feedback signal is sent on the spatial domain resource 2.

[0279] It should be noted that the correspondence between the spatial domain resource for sending the feedback signal and the type of the feedback signal can be preconfigured or indicated by indication information. For example, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can include indication information #c, which is used to indicate the correspondence (i.e., the correspondence between the spatial domain resource and the type of the feedback signal). Alternatively, the indication information #c can also be separate indication information. It should be understood that the above is only an example, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0280] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, preconfiguration can be understood as protocol predefinition or high-layer signaling (such as radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control control element (MAC CE)) configuration. Indication information indication can be understood as high-layer signaling (such as RRC or MAC CE) indication or physical layer signaling (such as downlink control information (DCI)) indication.

[0281] Alternatively, in the embodiments of the present application, the time interval between the sending time of the first type of feedback signal and the time of receiving the low-power consumption signal is a first time length, and the time interval between the sending time of the second type of feedback signal and the time of receiving the low-power consumption signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length.

[0282] Exemplarily, in a case where it is determined that the feedback signal is the first type of feedback signal, assuming that the first time at which the first network device receives the low-power signal is a first time, then the first network device sends the first type of feedback signal to the second network device through the first module at a second time, wherein the time interval between the second time and the first time is K1, that is, the first time length is K1. The time unit of K1 can be a symbol or a time slot (for example, slot, mini-slot), etc.

[0283] Exemplarily, in a case where it is determined that the feedback signal is the second type of feedback signal, assuming that the first time at which the first network device receives the low-power signal is a third time, then the first network device sends the second type of feedback signal to the second network device through the second module at a fourth time, wherein the time interval between the fourth time and the third time is K2, that is, the second time length is K2, wherein K2 = K1 + offset, and the time unit of K2 can be a symbol or a time slot (for example, slot, mini-slot), etc.

[0284] Based on the above technical solution, after receiving the feedback signal, the second network device can guarantee the successful wake-up (or start) of the first network device, and the second network device will not continue to repeatedly send the low-power signal, thereby saving signaling overhead and avoiding resource waste.

[0285] Further, in the embodiments of the present application, the resource for sending the feedback signal and the transmission power of the feedback signal can be determined in the following ways:

[0286] Method one: The low-power signal can indicate the resource for sending the feedback signal and / or the transmission power of the feedback signal.

[0287] For example, the low-power signal can include indication information #5, which is used to indicate that the resource for sending the feedback signal is resource #1, or the indication information #5 is also used to indicate that the transmission power for sending the feedback signal is the first power.

[0288] It should be understood that the above-mentioned indication information #5 can also be separate indication information, that is, the indication information #5 is not carried in the low-power signal.

[0289] It should also be understood that the indication information indicating the resource for sending the feedback signal and the indication information indicating the transmission power for sending the feedback signal can also be different indication information. For example, indication information #5 is used to indicate that the resource for sending the feedback signal is resource #1, and indication information #6 is used to indicate that the transmission power for sending the feedback signal is the first power, and the indication information #5 and the indication information #6 are different indication information.

[0290] Manner two: the resource for sending the feedback signal and / or the sending power of the feedback signal is indicated in a manner predefined or preconfigured by a protocol.

[0291] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, in step S410, the resource of the low-power signal sent by the second network device corresponds to the following examples. For example, taking the Chirp signal as the low-power signal, the relevant description of other low-power signals can refer to the relevant examples and description of the Chirp signal below, which will not be repeated here.

[0292] Example one: the Chirp signal can be repeatedly sent on different time domain resources or different frequency domain resources.

[0293] For example, the Chirp signal can be sent on time domain resource 1, can also be sent on time domain resource 2, and can also be sent on time domain resource 3, wherein the time domain resource 1, the time domain resource 2, and the time domain resource 3 are different time domain resources.

[0294] For example, the Chirp signal can be sent on frequency domain resource 1, can also be sent on frequency domain resource 2, and can also be sent on frequency domain resource 3, wherein the frequency domain resource 1, the frequency domain resource 2, and the frequency domain resource 3 are different frequency domain resources.

[0295] It should be understood that the number of times of repeating sending of the Chirp signal can be predefined or preconfigured by a protocol, or can be indicated by indication information, which is not limited in the present application.

[0296] Example two: the Chirp signal is sent on one symbol.

[0297] For example, the Chirp signal is sent on symbol 1, at this time, symbol 1 carries 3 bits, and the Chirp signal is repeatedly sent X times on the symbol 1, wherein X can be an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0298] Example three: the Chirp signal is sent on three symbols.

[0299] For example, the Chirp signal is sent on symbol 1, symbol 2, and symbol 3, at this time, each symbol carries 1 bit.

[0300] Further, in step S410, the first network device can receive the low-power signal in the following manners:

[0301] Manner one: the first network device continuously and periodically monitors the low-power signal.

[0302] Manner two: the first network device monitors the low-power signal at a first time.

[0303] Specifically, the first time can include N*K sub-times, where N represents the number of beams used to receive the low-power signal, and K represents the number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

[0304] It should be understood that the first time can be pre-configured, or the first time can also be indicated by dynamic signaling.

[0305] For example, in a possible implementation, before step S410, the method can further include: the second network device sending indication information to the first network device, the indication information being used to indicate the first time. The first network device monitors the low-power signal at the first time after receiving the indication information.

[0306] Optionally, the indication information can also indicate that the first network device receives the low-power signal at the first time. At this time, the first time can be pre-configured, or the first time can also be indicated by the indication information. It should be understood that the present application does not limit this.

[0307] It should be noted that the manner in which the first network device receives the low-power signal can also be determined in the following manner:

[0308] Manner one: the second network device indicates the manner in which the first network device receives the low-power signal by pre-configuration or indication.

[0309] For example, the second network device indicates whether the first network device periodically monitors the low-power signal or receives the low-power signal at the first time by pre-configuration.

[0310] For example, the second network device sends indication information #7, which indicates whether the first network device periodically monitors the low-power signal or receives the low-power signal at the first time. Optionally, in a possible implementation, the indication information #7 can be carried in the low-power signal, in other words, in a possible implementation, the low-power signal can also be used to indicate the manner in which the first network device receives the low-power signal.

[0311] Manner two: the first network device informs the second network device of the manner in which the low-power signal is received.

[0312] The first module in the first network device determines the manner in which the low-power signal is received based on the traffic (UE traffic) of the terminal device, and then the network device informs the second network device of the manner in which the low-power signal is received, so that the second network device indicates the manner in which the first network device receives the low-power signal by pre-configuration or indication.

[0313] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power signal can further include identification information of the first beam.

[0314] The first beam is a beam used for communication between the first network device and the second network device. Specifically, when the first network device communicates with the second network device, the first network device determines, according to the identification information of the first beam, that the second network device sends the low-power consumption signal through the first beam. Then, the first network device continues to monitor the low-power consumption signal or other signals on the first beam subsequently.

[0315] Optionally, the first network device can also send the first type of feedback signal or the second type of feedback signal to the second network device through the first beam.

[0316] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can further include identification information of a second beam.

[0317] The second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam. Specifically, after receiving the identification information of the second beam, the first network device determines that the second beam needs to be used for communication with the second network device. Then, the first network device continues to monitor the low-power consumption signal or other signals on the second beam subsequently.

[0318] Optionally, the first network device can also send the first type of feedback signal or the second type of feedback signal to the second network device through the second beam.

[0319] Optionally, the low-power consumption signal can further include beam switching indication information in addition to the identification information of the second beam, where the beam switching indication information is used to indicate beam switching.

[0320] After receiving the beam switching indication information and the identification information of the second beam, the first network device determines that it needs to switch to a third network device. At this time, the third network device can be understood as a target network device, that is, the first network device switches from communication with the second network device to communication with the third network device.

[0321] Then, the first network device communicates with the third network device using the second beam. Then, the first network device continues to monitor the low-power consumption signal or other signals on the second beam subsequently.

[0322] Optionally, the first network device can also send the first type of feedback signal or the second type of feedback signal to the third network device through the second beam.

[0323] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can further include a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify the first network device, in which case, the foregoing turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be understood as turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group of the first network device. The related description about turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0324] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can further include a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify a network device group, the network device group including a plurality of first network devices. In this case, the foregoing turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be understood as turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group of the plurality of first network devices. The related description about turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0325] For example, two network device groups (network device group 1 and network device group 2) are taken as an example, the network device group 1 includes 3 first network devices (TRP0, TRP1, TRP2), and the network device group 2 includes 3 first network devices (TRP3, TRP4, TRP5). The correspondence between the first identifier and the network device group is shown in Table 11.

[0326] Table 11 Correspondence between first identifier and network device group

[0327] As shown in Table 11, when the first identifier takes a value of 0, the indicated network device group is the network device group 1, and when the first identifier takes a value of 1, the indicated network device group is the network device group 2. It should be understood that the foregoing is only an example, which is not limited by the present application.

[0328] It should be understood that the first identifier can be understood as a group identifier or a group number, etc., which is not limited by the present application.

[0329] Optionally, the correspondence between the first identifier and the network device group is preconfigured.

[0330] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the low-power consumption signal can further include a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify the first network device, in which case, the foregoing turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be understood as turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group of the first network device. The related description about turning on or off of the carrier or carrier group can be referred to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0331] Exemplarily, taking three network device groups (network device group 1, network device group 2, network device group 3) as an example, the network device group 1 includes 2 first network devices (TRP0, TRP1), the network device group 2 includes 3 first network devices (TRP2, TRP3, TRP4), and the network device group 3 includes 3 first network devices (TRP5, TRP6, TRP7). The correspondence between the resources and the network device groups is shown in Table 12.

[0332] Table 12: Correspondence between resources and network device groups

[0333] As can be seen from Table 12, when the low-power consumption signal transmits the low-power consumption signal on resource #1, the network device group 1 receives the low-power consumption signal on resource #1; when the low-power consumption signal transmits the low-power consumption signal on resource #2, the network device group 2 receives the low-power consumption signal on resource #1; and when the low-power consumption signal transmits the low-power consumption signal on resource #3, the network device group 3 receives the low-power consumption signal on resource #3.

[0334] The resource can be at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and an air interface resource.

[0335] It should be understood that the above is only an example, which is not described here.

[0336] Based on the above technical solution, the low-power consumption signal adopts a multicast mode, which can save signaling overhead.

[0337] Finally, the device embodiment of the embodiment of the application is introduced.

[0338] To implement the functions in the method provided in the application, the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device can each include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a certain function in the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application of the technical solution and the design constraint conditions.

[0339] FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the application. The communication device 600 includes a processor 610 and a communication interface 620. Optionally, the processor 610 and the communication interface 620 can be connected to each other through a bus 630. The communication device 600 can be a first network device, a second network device, or a terminal device.

[0340] Optionally, the communication apparatus 600 further includes a memory 640. The memory 640 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 640 is configured to store relevant instructions and data.

[0341] The processor 610 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 610 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0342] When the communication apparatus 600 is a first network device, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving a low-power consumption signal; and turning on or off the carrier or the carrier group according to the low-power consumption signal. The communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: sending a feedback signal to a second network device. The communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving the low-power consumption signal at a first time. The communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving indication information sent by the second network device.

[0343] When the communication apparatus 600 is a second network device, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: sending a low-power consumption signal to a first network device. The communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving a feedback signal sent by the first network device. The communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: sending indication information to the first network device.

[0344] When the communication apparatus 600 is a terminal device, the communication apparatus 600 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: sending a low-power consumption signal to a first network device.

[0345] The above description is only an exemplary description. When the communication apparatus 600 is a first network device, a second network device, or a terminal device, the communication apparatus 600 is responsible for performing the methods or steps related to the first network device, the second network device, or the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0346] The above description is only an exemplary description. The specific content can be referred to the content shown in the foregoing method embodiments. The implementation of each operation in FIG. 6 can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 6.

[0347] FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 700 can be a first network device, a second network device, a terminal device, or a chip or module of the first network device, the second network device, or the terminal device, and is configured to implement the method according to the above embodiments. The communication apparatus 700 includes a transceiver 710 and a processor 720. The transceiver 710 and the processor 720 are exemplarily described as follows.

[0348] The transceiver 710 can include a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is configured to perform the transmitting action of the communication apparatus 700, and the receiver is configured to perform the receiving action of the communication apparatus 700. For the convenience of description, the transmitter and the receiver are combined into one transceiver in the embodiments of the present application. The combination is described below, and will not be described repeatedly hereinafter.

[0349] When the communication apparatus 700 is a first network device, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: receiving a low-power consumption signal; and the processor 720 is configured to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group according to the low-power consumption signal. Alternatively, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: sending a feedback signal to a second network device. Alternatively, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: receiving the low-power consumption signal at a first time. Alternatively, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: receiving indication information sent by the second network device.

[0350] When the communication apparatus 700 is a second network device, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: sending a low-power consumption signal to a first network device. Alternatively, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: receiving a feedback signal sent by the first network device. Alternatively, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: sending indication information to the first network device.

[0351] When the communication apparatus 700 is a terminal device, the transceiver 710 is configured to perform the following operation: sending a low-power consumption signal to a first network device.

[0352] The above description is only exemplary. When the communication apparatus 700 is a first network device, a second network device, or a terminal device, it is responsible for performing the method or steps related to the first network device, the second network device, or the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0353] Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 further includes a storage unit 730 configured to store programs or codes for implementing the above method.

[0354] The device embodiments shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are used to implement the content described in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6. The specific execution steps of the device shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 can refer to the content described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0355] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 is configured to implement the functions of the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device. The communication device 800 can be a chip in the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device.

[0356] The communication device 800 includes an input / output interface 820 and a processor 810. The input / output interface 820 can be an input / output circuit. The processor 810 can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuits that can implement the method of the present application. The input / output interface 820 is configured to input or output signals or data.

[0357] For example, when the communication device 800 is the first network device, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: receiving a low-power consumption signal; the processor 810 is configured to turn on or turn off the carrier or the carrier group according to the low-power consumption signal. For another example, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: sending a feedback signal to the second network device. For another example, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: receiving the low-power consumption signal at the first time. For another example, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: receiving indication information sent by the second network device.

[0358] For example, when the communication device 800 is the second network device, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: sending a low-power consumption signal to the first network device. For another example, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: receiving a feedback signal sent by the first network device. For another example, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: sending indication information to the first network device.

[0359] For example, when the communication device 800 is the terminal device, the input / output interface 820 is configured to perform the following operations: sending a low-power consumption signal to the first network device.

[0360] In a possible implementation, the processor 810 implements the functions of the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device by executing instructions stored in the memory.

[0361] Optionally, the communication device 800 further includes a memory.

[0362] Optionally, the processor and the memory are integrated.

[0363] Optionally, the memory is outside the communication device 800.

[0364] In one possible implementation, the processor 810 can be a logic circuit, and the processor 810 inputs / outputs messages or signaling through the input / output interface 820. The logic circuit can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuit that can implement the method of the embodiments of the present application.

[0365] The above description of the communication device 800 is only exemplary, and the communication device 800 can be used to execute the method described in the foregoing embodiments. The details can be referred to the description of the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0366] The present application also provides a chip comprising a processor, which is configured to call and run instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device installed with the chip executes the method in any of the examples described above.

[0367] The present application also provides a chip comprising an input interface, an output interface, and a processor, which are connected through internal connection paths. The processor is configured to execute code in a memory, and when the code is executed, the processor is configured to execute the method in any of the examples described above. Optionally, the chip further comprises a memory configured to store a computer program or code.

[0368] The present application also provides a processor configured to be coupled with a memory, and configured to execute the method and functions related to the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device in any of the embodiments described above.

[0369] The present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, implement the method of the foregoing embodiments.

[0370] The present application also provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, implements the method of the foregoing embodiments.

[0371] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed on a computer to implement the method described in the foregoing embodiments.

[0372] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example 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 performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0373] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the 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 repeated here.

[0374] 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 the 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.

[0375] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0376] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0377] If the functions are implemented 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 contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0378] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first network device, and the method comprises: receiving a low-power signal, the low-power signal being used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group; turning on or turning off the carrier or the carrier group according to the low-power signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a feedback signal to a second network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received; wherein the type of the feedback signal is a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power feedback signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: a time interval between a time of sending the feedback signal of the first type and a time of receiving the low-power signal is a first time length, and a time interval between a time of sending the feedback signal of the second type and the time of receiving the low-power signal is a second time length, wherein the second time length is greater than the first time length.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: a time domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal; a space domain resource for sending the feedback signal; information indicated by the low-power signal; protocol predefined information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The information indicated by the low-power signal comprises at least one of the following: turning on or turning off a carrier or a carrier group, and turning on or turning off a main module of the first network device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein: in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type; or in a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal comprises turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The receiving of the low-power signal comprises: receiving the low-power signal at a first time, the first time comprising N*K sub-times, wherein N represents a number of beams, the beams being used to send the low-power signal, and K represents a number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving indication information sent by the second network device, the indication information being used to indicate the first time.

9. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a second network device, and the method comprises: sending a low-power signal to a first network device, the low-power signal being used to indicate to turn on or turn off a carrier or a carrier group.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a feedback signal sent by the first network device, the feedback signal being used to indicate that the low-power signal has been successfully received; wherein the type of the feedback signal is a first type or a second type, the feedback signal of the first type being a low-power feedback signal, and the feedback signal of the second type being a non-low-power feedback signal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein: a time interval between a time of sending the feedback signal of the first type and a time of receiving the low-power signal is a first time length, and a time interval between a time of sending the feedback signal of the second type and the time of receiving the low-power signal is a second time length, The second time length is greater than the first time length.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The type of the feedback signal is determined based on one or more of the following: The time domain resource for sending the feedback signal; The frequency domain resource for sending the feedback signal; The spatial domain resource for sending the feedback signal; The information indicated by the low-power signal; Protocol pre-defined information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein The information indicated by the low-power signal includes at least one of the following: turning on or off a carrier or a carrier group, turning on or off a main module of the first network device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein In a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal includes turning off an uplink carrier or an uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the first type; or In a case where the information indicated by the low-power signal includes turning on the uplink carrier or the uplink carrier group or the main module, the type of the feedback signal is the second type.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: sending, to the first network device, indication information indicating a first occasion for the first network device to receive the low-power signal.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The first occasion includes N*K sub-occasions, wherein the N represents the number of beams used for sending the low-power signal, and the K represents the number of low-power signals corresponding to each of the N beams.

17. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, 10 to 16, characterized in that, The low-power signal and the low-power feedback signal include at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, and an ASK signal.

18. A method of communication, comprising: The method is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: sending, to a first network device, a low-power signal for indicating turning on or off a carrier or a carrier group.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The low-power signal includes at least one of the following: a Chirp signal, an OOK signal, an FSK signal, a low-power OFDM signal, a low-power sequence signal, and an ASK signal.

20. The method of any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein, The turning on or off of the carrier or the carrier group includes: turning on or off part or all of the carriers; or turning on or off part or all of the carrier groups.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The turning on or off of part or all of the carriers includes at least one of the following: turning on or off part or all of the downlink carriers; turning on or off part or all of the uplink carriers; turning on or off part or all of the uplink and downlink carriers; turning on or off part or all of the protocol pre-defined carriers; turning on or off part or all of the high-layer signaling configured carriers; turning on or off part or all of the carriers indicated by the low-power signal.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein, The turning on or off of part or all of the carrier groups includes at least one of the following: turning on or off part or all of the PA level carrier groups; turning on or off part or all of the band level carrier groups; turning on or off part of the protocol predefined carrier groups or all of the protocol predefined carrier groups; turning on or off part of the high layer signaling configured carrier groups or all of the high layer signaling configured carrier groups; turning on or off part of the low power signal indicated carrier groups or all of the low power signal indicated carrier groups.

23. The method of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein, The low power signal comprises at least one of: identification information of a first beam, identification information of a second beam, beam switching indication information, wherein the first beam is a beam for communicating with a second network device, and the second beam is a target beam switched from the first beam.

24. The method of any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein, The low power signal further comprises a first identifier, the first identifier being used for identifying the first network device or a network device group comprising a plurality of the first network devices.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, In the case that the first identifier is used for identifying the network device group, the turning on or off carrier or carrier group comprises: turning on or off carrier or carrier group of the plurality of the first network devices.

26. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor configured to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 25 by executing computer programs or instructions, or by a logic circuit.

27. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises 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 of any one of claims 1 to 25.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 25 to be performed.

29. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 25 to be performed.

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