Communication method and apparatus, and readable storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first communication device or a chip of the first communication device receiving first information, determining a first duration on the basis of the first information, and sleeping for the first duration, wherein the first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; and receiving second information, determining a second duration on the basis of the second information, and sleeping for the second duration, wherein the second duration is greater than or equal to the first duration. In this way, a first communication device can avoid, by means of sleep, additional power consumption caused by continuously or persistently listening for information to wait for an access opportunity thereof, thereby reducing power consumption and saving on energy; in addition, the first communication device can also flexibly switch between sleep durations, so as to solve the problems of the first communication device being unable to directly enter a sleep state and the subsequent communication device being unable to obtain a trigger access opportunity in a timely manner when the first communication device has easily completed access earlier due to a fixed duration, thereby improving the success rate of communication device access, and further improving the efficiency of system service processing.

Description

A communication method and apparatus, readable storage medium, and computer program product

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411050840.9, filed on July 31, 2024, with the State Intellectual Property Office of China, and entitled "A communication method and apparatus, readable storage medium, and computer program product", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus, computer readable storage medium, computer program product, and chip. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the development of communication technology, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) defines ambient internet of things (A-IoT) technology.

[0004] The A-IoT in the A-IoT technology includes a network device and a first type of terminal device, or in other words, a communication system based on the A-IoT includes a network device and a first type of terminal device. The first type of terminal device can be a device with the function of an A-IoT terminal device. In this case, both the reader / writer and the A-IoT terminal device can be implemented based on the infrastructure in the cellular network. In other words, both the reader / writer and the A-IoT terminal device can be devices in the cellular network. For example, the function of the reader / writer can be implemented by a network device, such as a base station. The A-IoT terminal device can be implemented by a terminal in the cellular network, such as an extremely low power consumption, extremely low complexity internet of things terminal, i.e., a first type of terminal device. Non-contact data communication can be performed between the network device and the first type of terminal, so as to read information from the first type of terminal and / or write information to be stored into the first type of terminal device.

[0005] 3GPP plenary defines a kind of extremely low power consumption, extremely low complexity of Internet of Things technology, more value scenarios can be introduced in 3GPP. Based on the communication system of A-IoT, based on the infrastructure in cellular network, it can be composed of reader (such as base station) and passive / semi-passive / active A-IoT terminal (A-IoT terminal is the terminal in cellular network, which can be understood as the terminal of Internet of Things with extremely low power consumption and extremely low complexity). It can be used to implement one or more services: inventory, positioning, sensing, command. It can be understood that the command service can be a service that implements write flow or lock flow; typical application scenarios include logistics, warehousing, industrial manufacturing, identity recognition, environmental monitoring, etc.

[0006] Among them, for passive / semi-passive A-IoT terminal, researchers pay much attention to power consumption. In the inventory process (waiting for access and listening in the data transmission process), if the power is exhausted, it needs to be recharged, which is easy to miss the access opportunity of itself. SUMMARY

[0007] The application provides a communication method and device, computer readable storage medium, computer program product and chip, which can reduce the power consumption of A-IoT terminal device and realize the energy saving of A-IoT terminal device.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first communication device or applied to a module (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.) of the first communication device, and can also be realized by a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the terminal device function. In the communication method, the first communication device receives first information from a second communication device, determines a first time length based on the first information, and sleeps for the first time length; the first information can be information used to indicate that the first communication device sleeps for the first time length after receiving the information based on the negotiation of the two communication parties, and the start time of the first time length of the sleep can be determined based on the time of receiving the first information; the first communication device receives second information from the second communication device, determines a second time length based on the second information, and sleeps for the second time length; the second information can be information used to indicate that the first communication device sleeps for the second time length after receiving the information based on the negotiation of the two communication parties, and the start time of the second time length of the sleep can be determined based on the time of receiving the second information; and the second time length is greater than or equal to the first time length.

[0009] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, the first communication device can determine the first duration or the second duration for dormancy based on the received information. In the random access or the waiting access process, the first communication device often needs to listen to multiple information to complete the access, that is, the first communication device can also switch from the first duration for dormancy to the second duration for dormancy, or from the second duration for dormancy to the first duration for dormancy based on the received different information. In this way, the first communication device not only can avoid the extra power consumption caused by always or continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity by dormancy, reduce power consumption and achieve energy saving, but also can flexibly switch the duration for dormancy, solve the problem that the first communication device cannot directly enter the dormancy state in the case that the first communication device completes the access at an earlier time according to the fixed duration, and the next communication device cannot timely obtain the triggered access opportunity, improve the success rate of the communication device access, and further improve the efficiency of system service processing.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first information includes information for paging or triggering an access opportunity; the second information includes information for a contention resolution response or carrying downlink data; and the first communication device determines the second duration based on the second information includes: determining the second duration in a case that the second information is failed to be parsed.

[0011] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, the second information can be information for a contention resolution response or carrying downlink data, that is, indicating that a communication device successfully triggers an access opportunity in the current random access or waiting access process, or an access successful communication device receives downlink data carrying information sent by the second communication device. Then, after the first communication device receives the second information from the second communication device, if the second information is failed to be parsed, it indicates that the first communication device does not trigger an access opportunity or the downlink data carrying information is not sent to the first communication device, and then the first communication device can determine the second duration for dormancy to avoid the extra power consumption caused by always or continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the second information is for a contention resolution response; and the first communication device sends a first identifier for contention resolution before receiving the second information. Then, when the first communication device listens to the received second information immediately after sending the first identifier, the first communication device determines the second duration based on the second information includes: determining the second duration in a case that a second identifier in the second information does not match the first identifier.

[0013] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the first communication device initiates the first identifier of the contention resolution, waits for the second communication device to feed back whether the contention resolution is successful, and when it is found that the second identifier in the second information does not match the first identifier, it is indicated that the contention resolution fails, and other communication devices successfully contend for the resolution. The second time length can be determined to avoid the extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the communication method further includes: the first communication device receives first indication information; and the first indication information is used for frequency calibration of the communication device, i.e., the first communication device can perform frequency calibration based on the first indication information.

[0015] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the first communication device can receive the first indication information for frequency calibration sent by the second communication device, and the frequency calibration can solve the problem of frequency offset caused by the low precision of the crystal oscillator of the first communication device, thereby improving the success rate of the first communication device in receiving the information sent by the second communication device, improving the success rate of the communication device in accessing, and further improving the efficiency of system service processing. In addition, in the case that the second communication device encounters some abnormal situations and fails to send the next information at the specified period, the first indication information can also enable the first communication device to receive the information sent by the second communication device after normal sleep, thereby avoiding the extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to the information sent by the second communication device after wake-up.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first time length or the second time length is configured through third information, and the third information is used for paging or indicating access resources.

[0017] It can be seen that in the above embodiment, the second communication device can configure the first time length and the second time length to the first communication device in the paging (such as Paging information) or the indication of the access resources (such as Query information). Then, the first communication device can obtain the first time length and the second time length after receiving the third information, and can confirm to sleep for the first time length when receiving the first information and to sleep for the second time length when receiving the second information, so as to save power consumption by sleep and avoid the extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity. In addition, the sleep time length can be flexibly switched, which solves the problem that the first communication device cannot directly enter the sleep state in the case that it completes the access at an earlier time according to the fixed time length, and the next communication device cannot be triggered to obtain the access opportunity in time, thereby improving the success rate of the communication device in accessing and further improving the efficiency of system service processing.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first time length or the second time length is a time length determined by a transmission parameter; the transmission parameter includes at least one of the following: bit repetition times, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transport block, buffer status report, or code rate.

[0019] It can be seen that, in the above embodiments, the transmission parameter can be dynamically changed according to the communication requirement, that is, the first communication device dynamically confirms the first time length or the second time length based on the transmission parameter, so that the sleep time length of the first communication device can be more suitable for the communication state of the current communication system, thereby further improving the success rate of the first communication device accessing, and further improving the efficiency of system service processing.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first communication device wakes up in advance by a first time length during the sleep of the first time length; the first time length is less than the first time length. The first time length is related to the frequency offset of the first communication device, for example, a percentage of the frequency offset can be used to correspondingly take a percentage of the first time length as the first time length.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first communication device wakes up in advance by a second time length during the sleep of the second time length; the second time length is less than the second time length. The second time length is related to the frequency offset of the first communication device, for example, a percentage of the frequency offset can be used to correspondingly take a percentage of the second time length as the second time length.

[0022] It can be seen that, in the above embodiments, the first communication device wakes up in advance by a first time length or a second time length during the sleep, which can solve the problem of frequency offset caused by low precision of the crystal oscillator of the first communication device, improve the probability of detecting information, thereby improving the success rate of the first communication device receiving information sent by the second communication device, improving the success rate of the communication device accessing, and further improving the efficiency of system service processing.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the communication method of the present application further includes: in the case that the first communication device does not receive information after waking up after sleeping for the first time length or the second time length, continuously detecting information.

[0024] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, the first communication device does not receive information after sleeping for the first duration or waking up after sleeping for the second duration, indicating that the first communication device abnormally does not receive information, or the second communication device abnormally does not send information, or information abnormally occurs in the transmission process. Then, the first communication device can continuously listen to information until the information sent by the second communication device is received, and then determine the sleep duration or whether there is a trigger access opportunity based on the received information. In this way, the success rate of the first communication device receiving the information sent by the second communication device can be improved, the success rate of the communication device accessing can be improved, and the efficiency of system service processing can be improved.

[0025] In addition, after the first communication device sends the first identifier for contention resolution before analyzing the received second information, and then listens to the received second information, if the second identifier in the second information does not match the first identifier, and if the first communication device determines that the collision time slot, i.e., the contention resolution fails, and the determined second duration is equal to the first duration, when the first communication device does not receive information after sleeping for the first duration, the first communication device can continuously listen to information until the information sent by the second communication device is received, and then determine the sleep duration or whether there is a trigger access opportunity based on the received information. In this way, the success rate of the first communication device receiving the information sent by the second communication device can be improved, the success rate of the communication device accessing can be improved, and the efficiency of system service processing can be improved.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the communication method of the present application further includes: before receiving the first information, the first communication device receives fifth information for triggering the communication devices of a target group to access; and the first communication device is in the communication devices of the target group. If the first communication device receives fourth information for triggering the communication devices of a first group to access, and the first communication device is not in the communication devices of the first group, then sleep for a fourth duration, and then listen to information after waking up.

[0027] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, based on the sleep mechanism of group access, the communication devices of other groups can sleep to save power consumption during the access of the communication devices of the current group.

[0028] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first communication device or a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the first communication device. The method can also be implemented by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. In the method, first information or first indication information is received from a second communication device. The first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity. The first indication information is used for frequency calibration of the communication device. The first communication device sleeps for a third time period based on the time of receiving the first information or the calibration information.

[0029] As can be seen, in the above embodiments, the first communication device can avoid extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity by sleeping, thereby reducing power consumption and achieving energy saving. In addition, the first communication device can receive the first indication information for frequency calibration sent by the second communication device, and perform frequency calibration to solve the problem of frequency offset caused by low precision of the crystal oscillator of the first communication device, thereby improving the success rate of the first communication device receiving information sent by the second communication device, improving the success rate of the communication device accessing, and further improving the efficiency of system service processing. In addition, in the case where the second communication device encounters some abnormal situations and fails to send the next information at the specified period, sending the first indication information can also enable the first communication device to receive the information sent by the second communication device after normal sleep, thereby avoiding extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to information sent by the second communication device after waking up.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the third time period is determined by a transmission parameter. The transmission parameter includes at least one of the following: bit repetition number, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transmission block, buffer status report, or code rate.

[0031] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second communication device or a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the second communication device. In the method, the second communication device sends first information and second information. The first information includes information used for paging or triggering an access opportunity. The second information includes information used for contention resolution response or carrying downlink data. The second communication device sends the second information or the next first information at a first time period after sending the first information. The second communication device sends the first information or the next second information at a second time period after sending the second information.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the first time period or the second time period is configured by third information. The third information is used for paging or indicating access resources.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the first time length or the second time length is a time length determined by a transmission parameter; the transmission parameter includes at least one of the following: bit repetition number, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transport block, buffer status report, or code rate.

[0034] In a possible implementation, in the case where the second time length is equal to the first time length, the method further includes:

[0035] sending first indication information; the first indication information is used for frequency calibration of the communication device; and a time interval of the first indication information and adjacent information is the first time length.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first communication device or a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the first communication device, and can also be implemented by a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. In the communication method, fourth information is received from a second communication device; the fourth information is used to trigger a first group of communication devices to access; and in the case where the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, the first communication device sleeps for a fourth time length.

[0037] It can be seen that in the above embodiments, a plurality of first communication devices can be grouped, and different groups are triggered to access by indication, and the groups that are not indicated or triggered can sleep for a fourth time length, and can wake up to listen to information sent by the second communication device after sleeping for the fourth time length to see if it is the turn of the group to access. In this way, the first communication device can avoid the extra power consumption caused by continuously listening to information to wait for its own access opportunity by sleeping, thereby reducing power consumption and achieving energy saving.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the fourth time length is configured by third information, and the third information is used to page or indicate an access resource.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the fourth information carries a first group identifier; and in the case where the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, sleeping for the fourth time length includes:

[0040] In the case where the first group identifier does not match a group identifier of the first communication device, sleeping for the fourth time length.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a second communication device or a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the second communication device. In the communication method, the second communication device generates fourth information, the fourth information is used to trigger a first group of communication devices to access; and the fourth information is sent. In a possible implementation, the fourth information carries a first group identifier; and in the case where the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, sleeping for the fourth time length includes:

[0042] In a possible implementation, in the communication method, the second communication device can further transmit first information and transmit second information; the first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; and the second information is used for a contention resolution response or a downlink data bearer.

[0043] The technical effects of the communication method in the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, and the fifth aspect can correspond to the related description of the communication method in the first aspect. Here, the description is not repeated.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes units or modules for implementing any of the methods in any of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. The communication apparatus can be a terminal device or a network device, for example, can correspond to the first communication device or the second communication device, or a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) of the first communication device or the second communication device, and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute any of the methods in any of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. The communication apparatus can be a terminal device or a network device, for example, can correspond to the first communication device or the second communication device, or a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) of the first communication device or the second communication device, and can also be a logic node, a logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device. The at least one processor can execute a computer program or instructions in a memory, so that the above method is executed. The memory can be included in the communication apparatus, or can be located outside the communication apparatus. In addition, the communication apparatus can further include an interface.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is configured to execute any of the methods in the first aspect or the second aspect or the fourth aspect; and the second communication device is configured to execute any of the methods in the third aspect or the fifth aspect.

[0047] In a ninth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer instructions, when the computer instructions are executed, causing a computer to execute any of the methods in any of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the first to fifth aspects.

[0049] In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, the chip comprising at least one processor and an interface, the processor being configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, the instructions, when executed, causing the chip to perform the method of any of the first to fifth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0050] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 1D is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an RIC and AI architecture in an O-RAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a CU, DU, and RU architecture in an O-RAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 4A is a flowchart of an access procedure based on Slotted Aloha according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication method according to the present application;

[0059] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a communication method according to the present application;

[0060] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a communication method according to the present application;

[0061] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a communication method according to the present application;

[0062] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of information transmitted by a second communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a principle of another embodiment of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0064] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a principle of another embodiment of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0065] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a principle of an uplink carrier partial bandwidth provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise specified, " / " represents an "or" relationship between the objects before and after the " / ", for example, A / B can represent A or B; in the present application, "and / or" is only used to describe the relationship between the objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two, unless otherwise specified. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be one or more. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions are distinguished by "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", etc. do not limit the number and execution order, and "first", "second", etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0069] Reference within the specification to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in some embodiments" in various places within specified

[0070] "Transmitting" and "receiving" in this application refer to the direction of signal transmission. For example, "transmitting information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, or indirect transmission 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 reception from YY through the air interface, or indirect reception from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Transmitting" can also be understood as "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of the chip interface. In other words, transmitting and receiving can be between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within devices, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within devices through buses, wires or interfaces. It can be understood that the information between the source and the destination of the information transmission can be processed as necessary, such as encoding and modulation, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be similarly understood and will not be repeated.

[0071] The "indication" in the present application can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by certain information (indication information, etc. described below) 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 the 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. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part of the to-be-indicated information, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, protocol predefined), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The specific manner of indication is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that the indication information can be used to indicate the to-be-indicated information for the sender of the indication information, and the indication information can be used to determine the to-be-indicated information for the receiver of the indication information.

[0072] The following detailed description further illustrates the objects, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the following is only a specific embodiment of the present application and does not limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0073] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to 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.

[0074] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) architecture, 5th generation mobile networks (5G) or 5G new radio (NR), wireless local area networks (WLAN) system, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, LTE-vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), Internet of Vehicles, machine type communications (MTC) and the like. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to future other communication systems, such as 6G communication system, etc. In future communication systems, the functions may remain the same, but the names may change.

[0075] A-IoT is based on cellular network communication infrastructure, composed of readers (such as base stations) and passive / semi-passive / active A-IoT terminals (A-IoT terminals, i.e. terminals in the cellular network, understood as extremely low power consumption, extremely low complexity Internet of Things terminals), and the main businesses include: inventory, positioning, sensing, Command, etc.; Typical application scenarios include logistics, warehousing, industrial manufacturing, identity recognition, environmental monitoring, etc.

[0076] Exemplarily:

[0077] Inventory business is to use the reader (which can be a base station / terminal) to access the A-IoT terminal (A-IoT terminal device) in the coverage range, and the device that successfully accesses needs to send its own unique identifier (which can be identified by the network, such as device ID in Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)) to the reader.

[0078] Positioning is to use some positioning signals to position the position of the A-IoT terminal.

[0079] Sensing is to report the sensing data of the A-IoT terminal to the base station, such as temperature data, etc.

[0080] The command can be some operation instructions, such as write, lock, write flow: that is, the BS sends a downlink instruction and data, instructing the A-IoT terminal to write data into its own memory area; lock flow: send a downlink instruction, let the A-IoT terminal lock the position of the specified address address of the memory area, the content of the memory area cannot be changed and / or cannot be read. The command can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following commands / service requests: read, write, inventory, lock, sensing, positioning, inactivation, security activation, authentication, registration, perception, etc.

[0081] The communication system provided by the present application can include one or more first communication devices and one or more second communication devices. The first communication device is the A-IoT terminal (A-IoT terminal device) described above, and the second communication device is the reader / writer (which can be a base station / terminal) described above.

[0082] The following describes the architecture of the communication system provided by the five embodiments of the present application shown in FIGS. 1A-1D:

[0083] As shown in FIG. 1A, the second communication device can be a network device (such as a base station). The first communication device and the second communication device directly communicate with each other. The communication between the second communication device and the first communication device (ambient IoT device) includes ambient IoT data and / or signaling. This topology includes the second communication device (base station BS) sending to the first communication device and receiving from the first communication device, that is, there is uplink / downlink data / signaling between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 1B, the communication system can also include an intermediate node. The second communication device can be a network device. The intermediate node between the first communication device and the second communication device communicates bidirectionally. In this topology, the intermediate node can be a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a user equipment (UE), a repeater, etc., which can implement ambient IoT. The intermediate node transmits ambient IoT data and / or signaling between the second communication device and the first communication device.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 1C, the communication system can also include an auxiliary node. The second communication device can be a network device. The first communication device sends data / signaling to the second communication device and receives data / signaling from the auxiliary node; or the first communication device receives data / signaling from the second communication device and sends data / signaling to the auxiliary node. In this topology, the auxiliary node can be a repeater, an IAB, a UE, a repeater, etc., which can implement IoT.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 1D, the second communication device can be a terminal device. For example, the environmental IoT device communicates with the UE in a bidirectional manner. The communication between the UE and the environmental IoT device includes environmental IoT data and / or signaling.

[0087] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to an O-RAN (Open RAN) architecture, which includes:

[0088] The access network device (RAN, which can be an eNB or a gNB or a next-generation access network device) communicates with the core network (CN) through a backhaul link and communicates with the UE through an air interface.

[0089] Specifically, the baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device communicates with the core network (Core Network) through the backhaul link, and the radio unit (RU) in the access network device communicates with at least one UE through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through a fronthaul link, and the BBU and the RU can be co-located or not.

[0090] The BBU includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one midhaul link.

[0091] Specifically, the O-RAN RAN intelligent controller (RIC) and AI architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application are shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2.

[0092] The architecture system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). The RIC includes a near-real-time RIC (near-RT RIC) and a non-real-time RIC (Non-RT RIC).

[0093] The near real-time RIC is used for model training and inference. For example, it is used for training an AI model, and inference with the AI model. The near real-time RIC can obtain network side and / or terminal side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and / or RU) and / or terminals. The information can be used as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near real-time RIC can deliver inference results to RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CUs and DUs, and / or between DUs and RUs. For example, the near real-time RIC delivers inference results to a DU, which then delivers them to RUs.

[0094] The non-real-time RIC is used for model training and inference. For example, it is used for training an AI model, and inference with the AI model. The non-real-time RIC can obtain network side and / or terminal side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and / or RU) and / or terminals. The information can be used as training data or inference data, and the inference results can be delivered to RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CUs and DUs, and / or between DUs and RUs. For example, the non-real-time RIC delivers inference results to a DU, which then delivers them to RUs.

[0095] The near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be separately provided as a network element. Optionally, the near real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the near real-time RIC can be provided in a RAN node (e.g., CU, DU), while the non-real-time RIC can be provided in an OAM, a cloud server, a core network device, or other network device.

[0096] The network elements in the architecture system are connected through interfaces (e.g., NG, Xn), or air interfaces. One or more AI modules (only one is shown in the figure for clarity) are provided in one or more of the network elements, such as a core network device, an access network node (RAN node), a terminal, or an OAM. The access network node can be a single RAN node, or can include multiple RAN nodes, such as a CU and a DU. The CU and / or DU can also be provided with one or more AI modules. Optionally, the CU can be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP. One or more AI models are provided in the CU-CP and / or CU-UP.

[0097] The AI module is used to implement corresponding AI functions. The AI modules deployed in different network elements can be the same or different. The AI module can implement different functions according to different parameter configurations. The model of the AI module can be configured based on one or more of the following parameters: a structure parameter (for example, at least one of a neural network layer number, a neural network width, a connection relationship between layers, a neuron weight, a neuron activation function, or a bias in the activation function), an input parameter (for example, a type of input parameter and / or a dimension of the input parameter), or an output parameter (for example, a type of output parameter and / or a dimension of the output parameter). The bias in the activation function can also be referred to as a bias of the neural network.

[0098] One AI module can have one or more models. One model can infer an output including one parameter or multiple parameters. The learning process, the training process, or the inference process of different models can be deployed in different nodes or devices, or can be deployed in the same node or device.

[0099] The CU, DU, and RU architecture in the O-RAN provided by the embodiment of the present application as shown in FIG. 3 is shown in the schematic diagram. The architecture system can also include other components in addition to the components shown in the figure. As shown in FIG. 3, the access network device (RAN, for example, can be an eNB or a gNB or a next-generation access network device) communicates with the core network (Core Network, CN) through a backhaul link and communicates with the user equipment (User Equipment, UE) through an air interface.

[0100] In some examples, the CU is a logical node that carries Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, and other control functions of the access network device. The CU is connected to network nodes such as core network through some interfaces, which can be E2 interface or the like. Optionally, the CU can have part of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to the DU (e.g., RLC layer and lower layers) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interface or the like. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., F1 interface) can provide Control Plane (C-Plane) and User Plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is an application protocol of F1 interface, which defines signaling procedures of F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports control plane F1-C and user plane F1-U.

[0101] In some examples, the CU can be split into a CU-CP (Control Unit-Control Plane) and a CU-UP (Control Unit-User Plane), where the CU-CP is a logical node carrying the RRC layer and the PDCP-C (Control plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the control plane function of the CU. The CU-CP can interact with a network element in the core network used to implement the control plane function. The network element in the core network used to implement the control plane function can be an access and mobility function network element, such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in a 5G system. The AMF network element is used to be responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as location updating of a terminal device, registration of the terminal device to a network, handover of the terminal device, and the like. The CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and the PDCP-U (User plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the user plane function of the CU. The CU-UP can interact with a network element in the core network used to implement the user plane function. The network element in the core network used to implement the user plane function, for example, a User Plane Function (UPF) in a 5G system, is used to be responsible for forwarding and receiving data in a terminal device. The above configuration of the CU and the DU is merely an example, and the CU and the DU can be configured to have functions as needed. For example, the CU or the DU can be configured to have functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or the DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layers. For example, partial functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers below the RLC layer are arranged in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or the DU can be divided according to a service type or other system requirements, for example, according to a delay requirement. Functions that need to meet a relatively low delay requirement in processing time are arranged in the DU, and functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are arranged in the CU.

[0102] In some examples, a DU is a logical node that hosts Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, Higher Physical Layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, a DU can control at least one RU. The DU is connected to the RUs through some interfaces, which can be a fronthaul interface. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes parts of PHY layer processing, such as Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.

[0103] In some examples, an RU is a logical node that hosts Lower Physical Layer (Lower PHY) and Radio Frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, an RU can be a 3GPP Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or a Remote Radio Head (RRH) or other similar functional entity. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes parts of PHY processing, such as fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT), digital beamforming and filtering, etc. An RU communicates with one or more UEs over a wireless link.

[0104] The DU and the RU can be co-located or not. The DU and the RU exchange control plane information and user plane information via a Lower-Layer Split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS) interface over a fronthaul link. The LLS-CUS can include a LLS-C interface and a LLS-U interface that provide a control plane (C-Plane) and a user plane (U-Plane), respectively. In some examples, the control plane (C-Plane) refers to real-time control between the DU and the RU. The DU and the RU exchange management information via a LLS-M interface of the fronthaul link, and the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and the RU.

[0105] The DU and the RU can cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer. One DU can be connected with one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in various ways according to design. For example, the DU is configured to implement baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement radio frequency functions. For another example, the DU is configured to implement high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement low-layer functions in the PHY layer or implement the low-layer functions and radio frequency functions. The high-layer functions in the PHY layer can include a part of functions of the PHY layer that are closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the PHY layer can include another part of functions of the PHY layer that are closer to the radio frequency side.

[0106] The technical terms of the embodiments of the present application are described below:

[0107] 1. A terminal, also referred to as a UE, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. Examples of terminals include handheld devices, vehicles, etc. with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminals are: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0108] 2、Access network device refers to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that accesses a terminal to a wireless network, which can also be referred to as a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes are: a continued evolution of a node B (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved node B, or a home node B (HNB)), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), etc. In addition, in a network structure, the access network device can include a centralized unit (CU) node, or a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node. The RAN device including the CU node and the DU node splits the protocol layers of the eNB in the long term evolution (LTE) system, and the functions of part of the protocol layers are controlled by the CU, and the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU and controlled by the CU. The access network device can also be a reader device.

[0109] 3、Core network device: a general term for various functional entities on the network side for managing users, data transmission, and base station configuration, including access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), session management function (SMF), A-IoT terminal management function / network element (Tag Management Function, TMF), etc.

[0110] 4. A-IoT Terminal: Electronic A-IoT terminals, also known as RFID A-IoT terminals, are a common name for RFID. RFID is an abbreviation for Radio Frequency Identification. RFID technology can be divided into active, passive, and semi-active types. Passive A-IoT terminals can also be called passive IoT, meaning passive Internet of Things devices. Therefore, they can also be considered a type of terminal.

[0111] 5. Reader / writer: A handheld or fixed device that reads (and sometimes writes) information from A-IoT terminals. This is the original definition. It can also be understood as a device that communicates with A-IoT terminals. It can be a terminal, a base station, a headend, a pRU (presumably a proxy unit), a TRP (transmission reception point), or any other node that transmits signals. It can also be an IAB (integrated access and backhaul) node, a smart repeater, or a relay node.

[0112] 6. Helper / Incentive Source: This can be a terminal, a base station, or a small station. This device only has downlink communication with the A-IoT terminal, but has uplink and downlink data transmission with the reader / writer. This may be done through an air interface or through a wired connection.

[0113] 7. Service Management and Orchestration Framework (SMO): Its function is similar to that of a network management system.

[0114] 8. Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC): Used for non-real-time intelligent management of RAN functions. It enables AI / ML workflows including model training and updates, and guides applications / functions within the Near-RT RIC based on policies. The Non-RT RIC is located within the SMO module.

[0115] 9. Near-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Near-RT RIC): Used to achieve near-real-time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, it enables near-real-time control and optimization of O-RAN modules and resources.

[0116] 10. O-RAN Central Unit (O-CU): Used to implement the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and other control functions in the 3GPP standard.

[0117] 11. O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP): Similar to the CU-CP in the NR system, it is used to implement the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of the O-CU.

[0118] 12. O-RAN Central Unit User Plane (O-CU-UP): Similar to the CU-UP in the NR system, it is used to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of the O-CU.

[0119] 13. O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU): Based on lower-layer function partitioning, it is used to implement the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and Higher Physical Layer (Higher PHY) layer in the 3GPP standard. The Higher Physical Layer functions include one or more of the following: Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, or modulation / demodulation.

[0120] 14. O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU): Based on low-layer function segmentation, it is used to implement the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) functions and radio frequency (RF) functions in the 3GPP standard. The lower physical layer functions include one or more of the following: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) / Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (iFFT) transformation, digital beamforming, or extraction and filtering of the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). It is similar to the Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or Remote Radio Head (RRH) in 3GPP, but includes lower physical layer functions such as FFT / iFFT or PRACH extraction.

[0121] 15. O-RAN Cloud (O-Cloud): As a cloud computing platform, it includes physical infrastructure nodes for hosting O-RAN functions such as RIC and O-DU; it supports software components (such as operating systems, virtual machine monitoring, container runtimes), management and orchestration functions.

[0122] 16. A1 Interface: The interface between the Non-RT RIC and the Near-RT RIC, used for intelligent and dynamic control of radio resources within the O-RAN. The Non-RT RIC provides policies, rich information, and ML model updates to the Near-RT RIC through the A1 interface, while the Near-RT RIC provides policy feedback to the Non-RT RIC through the A1 interface.

[0123] 17. E2 Interface: The E2 interface is an open interface between two endpoints used to connect the Near-RT RIC and the RAN node. RAN nodes include, for example, CU and DU in 5G, O-RAN compatible eNB in ​​4G, O-CU (O-CU-CP and / or O-CU-UP) and / or O-DU in O-RAN, etc. The RIC can obtain data collection and feedback from the RAN node through the E2 node, and the RAN node can obtain control feedback from the Near-RT RIC through the E2 node.

[0124] 18. O1 Interface: The interface between the management entity in the SMO and the O-RAN module, used for operation management. FCAPS management, software management, and file management are implemented through this interface.

[0125] 19. O2 interface: interface between SMO and infrastructure management framework supporting O-RAN virtual network functions.

[0126] 20. Open Fronthaul CUS-Plane interface: including control plane C-Plane, user plane U-Plane, and synchronization plane S-Plane interface. Control plane is used for real-time control between O-DU and O-RU, such as for O-DU to transmit weight values to O-RU for beamforming, or for O-DU to perform power control on O-RU, etc. User plane is used for transmitting communication data between access network equipment and terminals between DU and RU. Synchronization plane is used for O-DU to provide clock synchronization to O-RU.

[0127] 21. NG interface: interface between NR RAN equipment (such as base station, CU, CU-CP or CU-UP) and NR core network; wherein NG-u is user plane NG interface, and NG-c is control plane NG interface.

[0128] 22. Xn interface: interface between NR RAN equipment (such as base station, CU, CU-CP or CU-UP); wherein Xn-u is user plane Xn interface, and Xn-c is control plane Xn interface.

[0129] 23. X2 interface: interface between LTE RAN equipment; wherein X2-u is user plane X2 interface, and X2-c is control plane X2 interface. In NR, X2 interface is mainly used in E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) scenario, wherein the master station is LTE RAN equipment, which is connected to LTE core network through X2 interface.

[0130] 24. E1 interface: interface between CU-CP and CU-UP.

[0131] 25. F1-C interface: interface between CU-CP and DU.

[0132] 26. F1-U interface: interface between CU-UP and DU.

[0133] 27. Query, or access round indication / trigger name is not limited, is used to trigger / indicate at least one access opportunity, such as directly or indirectly indicating the total number of access opportunities, and can also be used to trigger the first access opportunity.

[0134] 28、QueyRep, or Access round indication / trigger, is not limited to trigger / indicate the next access opportunity, but also can be understood as indicating / associating with the boundary (start or end) of an access opportunity.

[0135] The access opportunity of the embodiments of the present application can also be described as access occasion, access slot, etc., and each access opportunity can allow the first device to send access (request), and / or contention resolution, and / or data transmission, etc.

[0136] 29、Paging can be used to indicate that the AIOT device device accesses the reader, such as:

[0137] When the reader is a base station / access network device, the Paging can be used to indicate that the device accesses the network.

[0138] When the reader is a terminal device, the Paging can be used to indicate that the device accesses the terminal device, and optionally, the device can access the network through the terminal device.

[0139] Paging can also be used to trigger / indicate the device to send uplink data, or to trigger / indicate / request the device to perform first service, wherein the first service can include at least one of the following: paging service, inventory service, command service (such as read, write, deactivate, lock, etc.), positioning service, sensing service.

[0140] Paging can also be called (initial) DL trigger message, which can be triggered by a core network element (such as AMF, or AIoTMF (ambient IoT management function), AIoTF (ambient IoT function)) etc.), such as the core network element sending a first service request message or a paging message to the network device, wherein the first service can be inventory service, or command service, or positioning service, etc., the network device confirming the first service (request) message or the paging (request) message, and sending first indication information.

[0141] 30、RN is used for contention resolution, or for distinguishing different UEs in the random access / contention resolution process.

[0142] 31、ACK is used to indicate whether the contention resolution is successful, and optionally, the ACK is used to associate the device by carrying the contention resolution identifier.

[0143] The signaling of 27 to 31 can be carried in a MAC layer, such as a MAC CE (Control Element), a MAC SDU (service data unit), or a MAC PDU (protocol data unit), or the MAC layer can be replaced by an "AIOT AS (access stratum) layer".

[0144] In addition, "downlink" in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by "reader-to-device (R2D)" or "reader device (RD)", and "uplink" in the present application can be replaced by "device-to-reader (D2R)" or "device reader (DR)". For example, the transmission of the second communication device to the first communication device is downlink transmission or R2D transmission, and the transmission of the first communication device to the second communication device is uplink transmission or D2R transmission.

[0145] The "data" in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by a data packet, a protocol data unit (PDU), a message, signaling, etc.

[0146] The following describes the basic inventory / access procedure based on the Slotted Aloha access flowchart shown in FIG. 4A, with the interaction process between the reader (i.e., the second communication device) and one A-IoT terminal (i.e., the first communication device) as an example, including but not limited to the following steps. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are only described by taking the execution of all the steps included therein as an example, and should not be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. That is, the steps included in the embodiments of the present application can be partially executed or totally executed without logical conflicts.

[0147] 401. The reader sends a Select to the A-IoT terminal.

[0148] Specifically, the reader can broadcast the Select for selecting a group of A-IoT terminals. Correspondingly, the A-IoT terminal receives the Select sent by the reader, matches based on the information carried in the Select, and if the matching is successful, it means that the A-IoT terminal is selected and can listen to the paging information (Paging information or Query information) sent by the reader subsequently.

[0149] 402. The reader sends paging information.

[0150] Specifically, the paging information can carry a Q value, for the A-IoT terminal to receive the paging information, and according to the Q value, generate a random number between [0, 2^Q-1] as the initial value of the Counter, for example, Q=4, and the UE generates a random number between [0, 15] as the initial Counter value.

[0151] 403, the reader repeats sending 2^Q QueryRep;

[0152] Specifically, the reader can send QueryRep if it does not receive the random value for contention resolution feedback from the A-IoT terminal, or can send QueryRep to trigger the next A-IoT terminal access after completing the inventory / access process of a certain A-IoT terminal. Accordingly, the A-IoT terminal reduces the Counter value by one each time it receives a QueryRep, and initiates access when the Counter value is reduced to 0. Each QueryRep can be regarded as an access slot, and the A-IoT terminal can mean the end of the last slot and the start of the next slot each time it receives a QueryRep. The A-IoT terminal can randomly select an access slot and initiate access or send uplink data or receive downlink data in the corresponding access slot.

[0153] It should be understood that the uplink data or downlink data described in various embodiments of the present application can be for the network side device for the reader, or for the environmental Internet of Things device for the reader; or when the reader is an environmental Internet of Things device, the uplink data means the data sent by the A-IoT terminal to the reader, and the downlink data means the data sent by the reader to the A-IoT terminal.

[0154] 404, when the Counter value of the A-IoT terminal is 0, a random value RN is sent;

[0155] Specifically, the Counter value of the A-IoT terminal being 0 can be receiving the paging information, and the random number generated according to the Q value is 0; or the Counter value can be reduced to 0 after generating the random number. The random value RN can be a 16-bit random number RN16 (which can also be an 8-bit random number), which is used for contention resolution.

[0156] 405, the reader sends ACK to the A-IoT terminal that successfully accesses;

[0157] Specifically, after receiving the random value fed back by the A-IoT terminal, the reader sends an ACK if there is no collision (i.e., only one random value sent by the A-IoT terminal is received), which can carry the received random value sent by the A-IoT terminal to indicate that the A-IoT terminal succeeds in the contention resolution. Accordingly, the A-IoT terminal receives the ACK sent by the reader, and when the random value carried by the ACK matches the random value fed back by the A-IoT terminal, it is indicated that the contention resolution succeeds.

[0158] 406. The A-IoT terminal sends uplink data;

[0159] Specifically, the uplink data can include a device ID. Accordingly, the reader receives the uplink data sent by the A-IoT terminal. The device ID can include an electronic product code (EPC), and can also include a product ID, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a third-party identifier, etc., without limitation in specific forms, and functions to identify the first communication device, for inventory, or for network identification of the first communication device.

[0160] 407. The reader sends or feeds back an ACK if the uplink data is successfully decoded;

[0161] Specifically, the reader can feed back an ACK after successfully decoding the uplink data to indicate that the A-IoT terminal ends the inventory / access process, and then execute step 403 to continue sending QueryRep to trigger the next A-IoT terminal access. The reader can also not feed back an ACK after successfully decoding the uplink data in step 407, but directly continue to send QueryRep to trigger the next A-IoT terminal access. The A-IoT terminal that sends the uplink data can also know that the data transmission succeeds by receiving QueryRep, and end the inventory / access process.

[0162] Further, the reader can send a command (Command) based on business needs after successfully decoding the uplink data in step 407 to indicate a write process or a lock process. Accordingly, the A-IoT terminal receives and parses the Command, and continues to send uplink data as needed, and receives ACK or QueryRep from the reader to know that the data transmission succeeds.

[0163] It should be understood that the RFID inventory is ended at the time slot boundary (QueryRep) each time, and if repeated inventory is needed, re-access is needed, such as in periodic inventory, the tag needs to complete contention resolution after each inventory. Slotted Aloha is used as the baseline for A-IoT random access.

[0164] The additional energy consumption of the tag (device / UE) or A-IoT terminal during the inventory process (listening during access and data transmission) affects the service life of the tag. In the prior art, the A-IoT terminal needs to always listen to the QueryRep update time slot and wait for its access opportunity. The additional listening power consumption may cause the power to be depleted, and thus the A-IoT terminal needs to be recharged.

[0165] For example, according to the analysis, if Energy storage = 0.25 uJ and the continuous listening power consumption RX = 1 uW, the A-IoT terminal can only maintain the listening time for 0.25 s. If the inventory time is long and the access fails, multiple rounds of access may occur, and the tag may run out of energy before successful access. Recharging takes tens of seconds, and then the tag may miss its access opportunity (no power to complete listening when the access opportunity arrives).

[0166] In addition, the existing 3GPP power saving mode (PSM) is to configure each terminal device to sleep after communication by the network. The PSM is a function between the terminal device and the core network, and the base station BS is not aware. The terminal device can only trigger when to enter sleep according to the active timer. For the inventory business of A-IoT, the timing of each UE accessing the BS is uncertain (asynchronous access + random access solution). This results in different access timing for each UE and the BS does not know. If the CN configures a unified active timer, each UE can only enter sleep after the negotiation time. This results in some UEs completing the access and data transmission process early but cannot directly enter the sleep state.

[0167] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can well reduce the power consumption of the A-IoT terminal and realize energy saving of the A-IoT terminal. The following describes the principles of the five communication method embodiments provided by the present application in conjunction with the principle schematic diagrams of the five communication method embodiments provided by the present application shown in FIGS. 5-9. The names of information between network elements in the following embodiments or the names of parameters in the information are only examples, and other names can also be used in specific implementation, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The processing performed by a single execution subject (the first communication device or the second communication device) shown in the embodiments of the present application can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, when the second communication device is a network device in a cellular network, the processing performed by the second communication device can be divided into processing performed by at least one of a CU, a DU and an RU. As shown in FIG. 4B, the flow schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0168] 501. The second communication device sends first information;

[0169] Specifically, the first information can be information for indicating that the first communication device receives the first time length of hibernation based on negotiation or agreement between the two parties of communication (between the first communication device and the second communication device).

[0170] In an implementation manner, the first information can be information for paging or triggering an access opportunity, that is, can be Paging or Query for paging, such as the information (the leftmost) sent by the second communication device in FIG. 5. The first information can also be QueryRep for triggering an access opportunity, such as the information sent by the second communication device from left to right in the second, third, sixth, seventh and the like in FIG. 5.

[0171] 502. The first communication device receives the first information sent by the second communication device;

[0172] Specifically, the first communication device receives the first information in the embodiments of the present application, which can also be described as the first communication device detecting the first information.

[0173] 503. The first communication device determines the first time length based on the first information;

[0174] Specifically, the first communication device receives or detects the first information, and parses to know that the information indicates that the first communication device sleeps for a first time duration after receiving. It can be shown that the first communication device is selected by the second communication device, for example, it can be that the first communication device receives or detects a paging message or information sent by the second communication device in the early stage. If it is determined to be paged / selected / triggered, the first communication device responds to the paging message and performs listening to receive or detect the first information.

[0175] In an implementation manner, the step 503 can further specifically include: if the first communication device successfully parses the first information, such as CRC check (such as not using CRC, or using a common check sequence), successful descrambling (such as not scrambling, or using a common scrambling sequence), or logical channel identification (LCID) or message type is specified (one or more) message conditions (indicating access trigger message or paging message), it is confirmed to sleep for the first time duration.

[0176] In an implementation manner, the paging message in the embodiment of the present application can include first identification information for selecting / screening communication devices, such as device ID, mask, group identification, temporary identification, permanent identification (such as not lost because the power is lower than the threshold / depleted), temporary identification (such as only maintained for a period of time, such as lost because the power is lower than the threshold / depleted), access stratum (AS) ID, etc.

[0177] In an implementation manner, determining to be paged / selected / triggered can include: the first communication device matches the first identification information carried by the paging message, such as the device ID of the first communication device matches the mask information.

[0178] In an implementation manner, the unit of the first time duration can be absolute time, such as seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, minutes, etc. The unit of the first time duration can also be relative time, such as the number of time slots, the number of frames, the number of sub-slots, the number of receiving certain messages.

[0179] In an implementation manner, the first communication device determining the first time duration can include at least one of the following ways:

[0180] Way 1: The information of the first time duration can be configured in the paging information / Query information or other downlink information, and then the first communication device receiving these information can parse the configured information of the first time duration, so as to confirm the first time duration.

[0181] Manner 2: The first time length can be specified by a protocol. That is, the first communication device can pre-store the information of the first time length in a storage module, and use the first time length according to the protocol when needed. Specifically, the first communication device knows that the first time length needs to be used based on the reception of the first information, and then triggers the information of the first time length to be called from the storage module, so as to confirm the first time length.

[0182] Manner 3: The first communication device can determine the first time length based on transmission parameters. For example, the transmission parameters include at least one of the following: bit repetition number, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transport block size (TBS), buffer status report (BSR), or code rate. Specifically, the first communication device can trigger the configuration information according to the parameters to calculate the sleep period based on the reception of the first information, so as to confirm the first time length. For example, the time length of the sleep period can be calculated according to the device downlink processing delay (optional) + reader waiting delay + QueryRep (determined according to modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and bit length). For example, the first time length can be equal to (or refer to) the time length of the RN, and optionally, the processing time of the second communication device for the downlink information and / or the processing time of the second communication device.

[0183] Manner 4: The first communication device can confirm the first time length by receiving at least two first information, and the time interval of the two first information (or the average time interval of the two first information) can be confirmed as the first time length.

[0184] In an implementation manner, the two first information are two continuous first information, and if other messages (such as messages that cannot be parsed) are received in between, the two first information are skipped.

[0185] In an implementation manner, the second time length of the embodiment of the present application can also be confirmed by at least one of the above manners. Details are not described hereinafter.

[0186] 504、the first communication device sleeps for the first time length;

[0187] Specifically, after confirming the first time length, the first communication device triggers to sleep for the first time length. The start time of sleeping for the first time length can be determined based on the time of receiving the first information, for example, the first time length can be counted from the time of receiving the first information, or can be counted when the first time length is confirmed based on the first information after receiving the first information. For example, the time T1 between receiving R2D to corresponding D2R transmission can be added, for example, the first communication device starts the first time length after T1 time of receiving the first information. Optionally, the time T1 can include an interval of a processing time, for example, processing the received message, and different time lengths for different service scenarios or data types. The present application does not make any limitation, as long as the specific start time of sleeping for the first time length is considered when configuring or confirming the first time length.

[0188] It should be understood that after the first communication device wakes up after sleeping for the first time length, it performs listening on the information sent by the second communication device. If the received information sent by the second communication device is still the first information, step 503 is re-executed, and if the received second information sent by the second communication device is the second information, step 507 is executed.

[0189] In combination with the examples of FIGS. 5-7 (only three first communication devices, i.e., first communication device 1, first communication device 2, and first communication device 3 are taken as examples for illustration, but not limited to three first communication devices), the first communication device sleeping for the first time length can include but is not limited to the following cases:

[0190] Case A: As shown in FIG. 5, when the first communication device 1, the first communication device 2, and the first communication device 3 receive the first information sent by the first second communication device from the left, none of them triggers the selected or designated (random) access opportunity, then the first communication device 1, the first communication device 2, and the first communication device 3 can directly sleep for the first time length. The "(random) access opportunity" can also be a number of transmission opportunities, and "occasion" can also be a time opportunity. For example, the first communication device 3 selects the nth access opportunity, if the current triggered / indicated access opportunity is not n, then the current access opportunity is not triggered.

[0191] Case B: As shown in FIG. 5, when the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the first information sent by the second second communication device from the left, for example, the first information can be QueryRep, and the selected or designated (random) access opportunity is triggered (for example, the generated random number meets the triggering condition), then the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 can also send the first identifier for contention resolution to the second communication device (for example, the random values RN sent by the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 after receiving the first information sent by the second second communication device from the left), and then sleep for the first time length.

[0192] In an implementation, the first identity for contention resolution in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as contention resolution information, which is used to resolve contention or contend for resources or distinguish different first communication devices. For example, the first communication device 2 sends contention resolution information 2, and the first communication device 3 sends contention resolution information 3.

[0193] In an implementation, the contention resolution information can also be a random access message / request, or AIoT message 1 (msg1), or can be a random sequence, such as RN16 introduced above, but the present application is not limited thereto, and can also be a random sequence of other lengths. Alternatively, the contention resolution information can also be second identity information determined based on a device identifier (ID) or a temporary ID, etc., such as determined based on a device identifier and a hash algorithm, or determined based on a CRC of a device identifier, etc. Alternatively, the first communication device can compress a longer device ID into a shorter ID as contention resolution information, or directly use part of the known identity (such as part of the device ID).

[0194] Case C: Following case B above, in FIG. 5, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 each send a first identity (such as RN) for contention resolution, and after sleeping for the first time length, wake up to receive or detect that the first information sent by the third second communication device from the left is received, such as the first information can be QueryRep, which indicates that the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 have collided, and neither of them has successfully resolved contention, or indicates that the second communication device fails to parse / receive the contention resolution information 2 and the contention resolution information 3, or does not receive the contention resolution information (within a period of time), and then the second communication device feeds back the first information. Then, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 sleep for the first time length after receiving the first information sent by the third second communication device from the left. Subsequently, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 can again attempt to access the group, or wait for the next paging information and re-access, which is not limited by the present application.

[0195] In an implementation, the first information can also indicate whether contention resolution (or message reception / data transmission) is successful, and in case C, the third first information from the left in FIG. 5 can indicate that contention resolution fails. Then, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the first information after sending their respective contention resolution information and determine that contention resolution fails, and then sleep for the first time length.

[0196] Case D: As shown in FIG. 5, when the first communication device 1 receives the first information sent by the third second communication device from the left, for example, the first information can be QueryRep, and the trigger condition for contention resolution is met (for example, the generated random number meets the trigger condition), the first communication device 1 can also send the first identifier for contention resolution (for example, the random value RN sent by the first communication device 1 after receiving the first information sent by the third second communication device from the left in FIG. 5) to the second communication device, and then sleep for the first time length.

[0197] Case E: As shown in FIG. 5, when the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the first information sent by the sixth second communication device from the left, for example, the first information can be QueryRep, indicating that the first communication device 1 sends uplink data successfully, triggering the next access opportunity, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 can determine whether the trigger condition for contention resolution is met, and sleep for the first time length. When the first communication device 1 receives the first information sent by the sixth second communication device from the left, that is, the first information can be QueryRep, it knows that the uplink data is sent successfully, and then it can sleep for the first time length, and after waking up, it can perform processing of other services; or it can sleep according to other requirements, which is not limited in the present application.

[0198] Case F: As shown in FIG. 6, when the first communication device 1 receives the first information sent by the first second communication device from the left, for example, the first information is Paging or Query for paging, and the trigger condition for contention resolution is met (for example, the generated random number meets the trigger condition), the first communication device can also send the first identifier for contention resolution (for example, the random value RN in FIG. 6) to the second communication device, and then sleep for the first time length. Specifically, the start calculation time of the first communication device 1 for sleeping for the first time length can be calculated from receiving the first information, not from sending the RN.

[0199] In an implementation manner, after the first communication device 1 sends the first identifier for contention resolution (or contention resolution information), it can also not enter the sleep state, for example, it can continuously listen to the information sent by the next second communication device.

[0200] Case G: As shown in FIG. 7, after the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the first information sent by the second second communication device from the left, they respectively send the random value RN, and then sleep for the first time length. When the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 wake up and receive or detect the first information sent by the third second communication device from the left, the first information is the information for contention resolution response (for example, ACK in FIG. 7), indicating that the first communication device 2 succeeds in contention resolution. Then, after the first communication device 3 receives and analyzes the first information and knows that the contention resolution fails, it can sleep for the first time length.

[0201] In one implementation, in case G, if the first communication device 3 wakes up to listen to information after sleeping for the first time duration, and no information sent by the second communication device is received or detected (because the first time duration for which the first communication device 3 sleeps is actually an abnormal case, in which case the second communication device should send information in the second time duration, and the second communication device 3 should also sleep for the second time duration), it indicates that the sleep cycle of the first communication device 3, which is determined as the case of contention resolution failure, is not aligned with the second communication device, and the first communication device 3 can continue to listen until information sent by the second communication device is detected.

[0202] The continuous listening in various embodiments of the present application can include, but is not limited to, for example, continuously listening until information sent by the second communication device is detected (such as the first information or the second information or any downlink information) if the first information or the second information is not received or any downlink information or message (such as physical reader-to-device channel (PRDCH) information) is not received; or continuously listening for a period of time until information sent by the second communication device is detected; or discontinuously listening for a period of time until information sent by the second communication device (the first information or the second information or any downlink information) is detected. After information sent by the second communication device is detected, the sleep time duration can be determined based on whether the detected information is the first information or the second information.

[0203] 505, the second communication device sends the second information;

[0204] Specifically, the second information can be information for indicating that the second communication device receives and sleeps for the second time duration, which is based on negotiation or agreement between the two communication devices (between the first communication device and the second communication device).

[0205] It should be understood that the flow of the communication method in FIG. 4B of the embodiments of the present application does not necessarily perform the step 505 after the first communication device sleeps for the first time duration in the step 504, that is, the second communication device does not necessarily send the second information after the first communication device sleeps for the first time duration in the step 504, but can continue to send the first information (that is, the step 501 is performed again). That is, after the first communication device wakes up after sleeping for the first time duration in the step 504, the second information can not be received, and the first information can be continuously received.

[0206] What information the second communication device needs to send to the first communication device in the next time slot needs to be determined according to the specific state node in which the first communication device and the second communication device are in during the entire interaction process. For example, reference can be made to the examples illustrated in FIGS. 5-8.

[0207] In an implementation, the second information can be information for contention resolution response or information for carrying downlink data, such as the information (ACK) sent by the second communication device from the fourth one from the left in FIG. 5. The information for carrying downlink data, such as the information (Command) sent by the second communication device from the fifth one from the left in FIG. 5.

[0208] In an implementation, the first communication device corresponds to the listening for information sent by the second communication device in the sleep-wake mode, and the second communication device sends the first information and the second information, and sends the second information after the first information with a first time interval, or sends the first information after the second information with a second time interval.

[0209] Specifically, in combination with the examples in FIGS. 5-7, the sending of the second information by the second communication device can include but is not limited to the following cases:

[0210] Case H: In FIG. 5, after receiving the first identifier for contention resolution sent by the first communication device 1 (such as the random value RN sent by the first communication device 1 in FIG. 5 after receiving the first information sent by the second communication device from the third one from the left), the second communication device determines that the first communication device 1 succeeds in contention resolution, and then sends information for contention resolution response (i.e., the information sent from the fourth one from the left) after a first time interval from the sending of the last information (i.e., the information sent from the third one from the left).

[0211] Or, in FIG. 6, after receiving the first identifier for contention resolution sent by the first communication device 1 (such as the random value RN sent by the first communication device 1 in FIG. 6 after receiving the first information sent by the second communication device from the first one from the left), the second communication device determines that the first communication device 1 succeeds in contention resolution, and then sends information for contention resolution response (i.e., the information sent from the second one from the left) after a first time interval from the sending of the last information (i.e., the information sent from the first one from the left).

[0212] Case I: In FIG. 5, after receiving the tag identifier sent by the first communication device 1, if the second communication device still needs to send a command Command according to the service, the second communication device sends the Command (i.e., the information sent from the fifth one from the left) after a second time interval from the sending of the ACK.

[0213] Or, in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, after receiving the tag identifier sent by the first communication device 1, if the second communication device still needs to send a command Command according to the service, the second communication device sends the Command after a second time interval from the sending of the ACK.

[0214] Case J: In FIG. 7, after the second communication device receives the random values RN respectively sent by the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3, the RN of one of the communication devices is solved by the second communication device (for example, the first communication device 2 is far away from or close to the second communication device, and is solved first), and then the second communication device sends information for contention resolution response (i.e., the third information from the left) after a first time interval from the last information (i.e., the second information from the left), to indicate that the first communication device 2 succeeds in contention resolution.

[0215] In an implementation manner, the second information can be associated with the third identification information, and the association manner can be as follows:

[0216] 1. The third identification information is used to determine a scrambling sequence, a CRC sequence, and an RNTI identifier of the second information.

[0217] Optionally, the third identification information is used to determine scrambling information of data.

[0218] The first communication device and the second communication device can generate the scrambling information of the data based on the third identification information. For example, the third identification information can be used as initialization information for generating the scrambling information, or the third identification information can be used as the scrambling information, which is not limited in the present application.

[0219] For example, the second communication device scrambles the data by using the scrambling information, and then generates the second information. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second information, and can also determine the scrambling information of the data based on the third identification information, and descrambles the data by using the scrambling information to obtain the data.

[0220] For another example, the second information includes data and check information of the data, and the third identification information is used to determine scrambling information of the check information. For example, the check information can be cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information, and the third identification information is used to determine the scrambling information of the check information.

[0221] The first communication device and the second communication device can generate the scrambling information of the check information based on the third identification information. The third identification information can be used as initialization information for generating the scrambling information, or the third identification information can be used as the scrambling information, which is not limited in the present application.

[0222] The second communication device scrambles the check information by using the scrambling information, and then generates and sends the second information. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second information, and can also determine the scrambling information of the data based on the third identification information, and descrambles the check information of the data by using the scrambling information to obtain the data.

[0223] The first communication device can generate scrambling information of the check information based on the third identification information, the third identification information can be used as initialization information for generating the scrambling information, or the third identification information can be used as the scrambling information, which is not limited in the present application.

[0224] 2. The Xth identification information is encapsulated in a field of the second information, or is carried in a message together with the second information as a field (such as a MAC CE).

[0225] For example, the second information can include a plurality of fields, and the third identification information can be located in one of the plurality of fields, such as a terminal identification field or other fields, and the specific name of the field is not limited in the present application. For example, the plurality of fields can also include a data field, and the data in the second information is located in the data field.

[0226] Optionally, the first communication device and the second communication device can also receive data according to the third identification information.

[0227] For example, the data exchanged between the first communication device 1 and the second communication device can be associated with the third identification information, so that the first communication device can determine that the data from the second communication device belongs to the first communication device 1 based on the third identification information, and the second communication device can determine that the received data is from the first communication device 1, which enables the first communication device 1 and the second communication device to transmit data based on the third identification information, so that the two parties can accurately transmit data to each other.

[0228] On the other hand, the third identification information can avoid other first communication devices from analyzing the content of the first communication device 1 message, or misreceiving the message sent by the first communication device 1 or sent to the first communication device 1.

[0229] The third identification information can be used to distinguish different first communication devices, such as a temporary identification, an AS ID (Access Stratum ID), which can be a contention resolution information or a reader generated / distributed identification information.

[0230] For example, if the second communication device successfully receives the contention resolution information 1 of the first communication device 1, the message sent by the first communication device can be associated with the contention resolution information 1.

[0231] Optionally, the third identification information can include a security parameter, and the security parameters corresponding to different first communication devices in one service (or in a process, such as a complete service triggered by paging) are different, and the security parameter is used for encryption and / or integrity protection of uplink data and downlink data.

[0232] 506. The first communication device receives the second information sent by the second communication device;

[0233] Specifically, the first communication device receives the second information, which can also be described as the first communication device detecting the second information.

[0234] 507. The first communication device determines the second time length based on the second information;

[0235] Specifically, the first communication device receives or detects the second information, fails to parse the second information (such as CRC check failure, descrambling failure, decryption failure, integrity protection check failure, etc.), and then confirms the second time length. Or, receiving the second information, parsing the identification information carried in the second information does not belong to the identification information of itself, then knowing that the self contention resolution fails, and then confirming the second time length.

[0236] Specifically, the first communication device determines the second time length in the manner described with reference to step 503, which will not be described here.

[0237] 508. The first communication device sleeps for the second time length;

[0238] Specifically, after the first communication device confirms the second time length, it triggers to sleep for the second time length. The start time of sleeping for the second time length can be determined based on the time of receiving the second information, for example, it can start to calculate from the time of receiving the second information, or it can start to calculate when the second time length is confirmed based on the second information after receiving the second information. The present application does not make any limitation, as long as the specific start time of sleeping for the second time length is considered when the second time length is configured or confirmed.

[0239] It should be understood that after the first communication device wakes up from sleeping for the first time length, it performs listening to the information sent by the second communication device. If the information sent by the second communication device received is the first information, step 503 is re-executed, and if the information sent by the second communication device received is the second information, step 507 is executed.

[0240] In combination with the examples of FIGS. 5-8, the first communication device sleeping for the second time length can include but is not limited to the following cases:

[0241] Case K: Following case D above, when the first communication device 1 receives the second information sent by the fourth second communication device from the left in FIG. 5, i.e. the second information can be information for contention resolution response (such as ACK), the first communication device 1 parses the identification carried in the second information and matches the random value RN sent by itself in case D, and then knows that the self contention resolution is successful. After sending uplink data (such as tag identification) to the second communication device, it sleeps for the second time length.

[0242] Or, following the case F above, in FIG. 6, the first communication device 1 receives the second information sent by the second communication device on the left second, i.e. the second information can be information for the response of contention resolution (such as ACK), then the first communication device 1 parses the identification carried in the second information and finds that the identification matches the random value RN sent by itself in case D, and then knows that the contention resolution of itself is successful, and after sending the uplink data (such as tag identification) to the second communication device, sleeps for the second time length.

[0243] Case L: In FIG. 5, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the second information sent by the second communication device on the left fourth, or in FIG. 6, the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 receive the second information sent by the second communication device on the left second, and since the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 do not send the identification for contention resolution in the last time slot, the parsing of the second information fails, and it is known that the contention resolution of itself is unsuccessful and other communication devices are successful, and then the first communication device 2 and the first communication device 3 can directly sleep for the second time length.

[0244] In an implementation manner, the parsing of the second information fails in the embodiment of the application includes but is not limited to the following cases: the communication device receives the physical reader-to-device channel (physical reader-to-device channel or physical reader-device channel, PRDCH) information or message (including ACK message), the cyclic redundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC) fails or the radio network temporary identifier (Radio Network Temporary Identifier, RNTI) fails to be disentangled, fails to be decrypted, fails to be checked for integrity protection, and the like.

[0245] Case M: In FIG. 8, the first communication device 3 receives the second information sent by the second communication device on the left second, i.e. the second information can be information for the response of contention resolution (such as ACK), and the first communication device 3 parses the second identification carried in the ACK and finds that the second identification does not match the random value RN sent by itself, and then knows that the contention resolution of itself is unsuccessful and other communication devices are successful, and then the first communication device 3 can directly sleep for the second time length.

[0246] In an implementation manner, the state of the first communication device in the embodiment of the application when sleeping for the first time length or sleeping for the second time length specifically includes:

[0247] 1. Optionally, the first communication device can maintain all or part of the temporarily stored information.

[0248] 2. Optionally, the first communication device can receive / detect / listen to a part of designated information, such as wake-up information, which can be a designated sequence or frame header. The deep sleep does not receive / detect / listen to any information.

[0249] 3. Optionally, the first communication device can maintain a timer (such as a low-power crystal oscillator) to count (for example, the application is used to count the first time length and the second time length).

[0250] 4. Optionally, the first communication device does not need to send a message, that is, the transmitter needs to be turned off.

[0251] In an implementation mode, the first communication device in the embodiment of the application can include different levels of sleep with respect to the first sleep time length or the second sleep time length.

[0252] For example, deep sleep and light sleep can be distinguished, and the two types of sleep have different power consumptions and different functions that can be implemented.

[0253] The sleep described in the application can be deep sleep or light sleep, which can be specified by a protocol or indicated by a network (such as indicated in a paging message, where = 0 represents deep sleep and = 1 represents light sleep).

[0254] Deep sleep and light sleep can be distinguished in several ways, but are not limited thereto (the essential difference is still in the power consumption, such as deep sleep can be understood as turning off all power-consuming modules, and light sleep can retain some modules):

[0255] 1. Light sleep can maintain all or part of the temporarily stored information, and deep sleep does not maintain the temporarily stored information.

[0256] 2. Light sleep can receive / detect / listen to a part of designated information, such as wake-up information, which can be a designated sequence or frame header. The deep sleep receives / detects / listens to any information.

[0257] 3. Deep sleep and light sleep can not send a message.

[0258] In an implementation mode, the first communication device in the embodiment of the application can specifically include: instructing the physical layer to enter sleep through a high layer (any layer above the physical layer, such as the MAC layer).

[0259] Specifically, RNTI scrambling / descrambling, CRC execution / verification, and the like are performed by the physical layer, and if the physical layer fails to parse, the higher layer needs to be notified, such as pausing service, suspending a process, or the like, or discarding / clearing saved temporary information, or the like, or telling the higher layer to start a sleep-related timer (the timer can also be maintained by the physical layer).

[0260] In an implementation manner, the second time length is greater than or equal to the first time length.

[0261] Specifically, in the process of the first communication device competing for access, a smaller first time length can be set for higher efficiency, especially in the case of a large number of first communication devices competing for access, so that the communication device sleeps for the first time length to listen to the access opportunity, which can improve the access efficiency. In addition, when the first communication device needs to send data, the time required for sending the tag identifier or the data required to be sent based on the Command is longer than the time required for sending other data (such as sending a random value RN for triggering contention resolution), and the time occupied will be longer. To avoid still letting the communication device sleep for the first time length, which can easily lead to the inability to transmit the uplink data, the second communication device needs to send downlink information, causing uplink and downlink collision, the second time length can be configured to be greater than the first time length, and the second time length can be configured to meet the time length requirement of the communication device sending the tag identifier or the data required to be sent based on the Command.

[0262] In the case where the second time length is equal to the first time length, the embodiments of the present application indicate that the time length of sleep for the currently selected first communication device to be inventoried / accessed is fixed. In the case where the number of first communication devices competing for access is small, the first time length can be configured to be longer to meet the time length requirement of the communication device sending the tag identifier or the data required to be sent based on the Command. In the case where the number of first communication devices competing for access is large, in order to improve the access efficiency, the first time length can also be configured to be shorter; when the communication device successfully sends the uplink data in the contention resolution, as long as the other communication devices can identify the uplink data and the downlink information sent by the second communication device, the specific identification manner is not limited by the present application.

[0263] In an implementation manner, after the first communication device wakes up, the information of the second communication device is received or detected, and whether the information can be successfully parsed or not, frequency calibration can be performed based on the message header or frame header (such as calibration and / or delimiter) of the information.

[0264] Specifically, as shown in the frame structure diagram of information sent by the second communication device according to the embodiment of the application in FIG. 9, the header part of the information sent by the second communication device is the same, that is, the delimiter information and the calibration information in the message header or the frame header are the same in different downlink signaling (that is, the information sent by the second communication device when the second communication device is a network device) or the downlink signaling for different first communication devices. As long as the first communication device receives the information sent by the second communication device, the first communication device can perform frequency calibration according to the message header or the frame header for the scrambling part regardless of whether the first communication device needs to parse or can parse the scrambling part, so as to solve the frequency offset problem caused by the low precision of the crystal oscillator of the first communication device.

[0265] In an implementation manner, in the case that the second time length is equal to the first time length, the communication method according to the embodiment of the application further includes: the second communication device sends calibration information, which is used for frequency calibration of the first communication device.

[0266] Specifically, the calibration information can be an empty packet containing only calibration (or frame header information), and the first communication device can perform frequency calibration based on the calibration information after receiving the calibration information. In the process of sending information, if the second communication device encounters an abnormal situation and fails to send the next information at the specified period, the second communication device can send the calibration information to replace the next information that is originally to be sent. In this way, the first communication device can receive the information sent by the second communication device after normal sleep (that is, sleep for the first time length), thereby avoiding the situation that the first communication device cannot listen to the information sent by the second communication device after waking up and needs to continuously listen, thereby causing additional power consumption. As shown in FIG. 10, after receiving the first identifier RN sent by the first communication device 1 for contention resolution, the second communication device fails to send the information ACK for contention resolution response at the interval of the first time length after the last QueryRep (that is, the third information sent from the left), and can send the calibration information to replace the ACK that is originally to be sent. Then, the first communication device 1 and the first communication device 2 can receive the calibration information sent by the second communication device after waking up from sleep for the first time length, and can perform frequency calibration based on the calibration information and continue to sleep for the first time length. The first communication device 1 can receive the information ACK for contention resolution response sent by the second communication device (that is, the fifth information sent from the left) after the next wake-up, and then send the tag identifier of the first communication device 1.

[0267] In an implementation manner, the embodiment of the application can also associate and describe the sleep time length determined by the first communication device with the time slot.

[0268] Specifically, in the random access procedure, the information (e.g. QueryRep) triggering the access opportunity is used to trigger an access opportunity / slot, and the first communication device can determine (e.g. randomly select) an access opportunity / slot for access by itself. The embodiments of the present application can divide the slots into the following three types: empty slot, collision slot and successful slot.

[0269] 1. Empty slot

[0270] If no first communication device satisfies the triggering of the contention resolution, i.e. no first communication device sends the first identifier RN for the contention resolution, the slot can be referred to as an empty slot. For example, the slot between the information (i.e. Paging or Query) sent by the first second communication device from the left in FIG. 5 and the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left is an empty slot. For another example, the slot between the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the fifth second communication device from the left in FIG. 8 and the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the sixth second communication device from the left is an empty slot.

[0271] 2. Collision slot

[0272] If at least two first communication devices satisfy the triggering of the contention resolution, i.e. multiple first communication devices send the first identifier RN for the contention resolution, but the second communication device does not resolve the access request of any first communication device, the slot can be referred to as a collision slot. For example, the slot between the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left in FIG. 5 and the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left is a collision slot. For another example, the slot between the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left in FIG. 7 and the information (i.e. ACK) sent by the third second communication device from the left is a collision slot.

[0273] 3. Successful slot

[0274] If a first communication device satisfies the triggering of the contention resolution and the contention resolution of the first communication device is successful, the successfully accessed first communication device performs data transmission with the second communication device, and completes the data exchange between the two parties, the slot can be referred to as a successful slot. For example, the slot between the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left in FIG. 5 and the information (i.e. Command) sent by the fifth second communication device from the left is a successful slot, or the slot between the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left and the information (i.e. QueryRep) sent by the sixth second communication device from the left is a successful slot.

[0275] The sleep duration determined by the first communication device in the embodiments of the present application can specifically include: the first duration can be determined to be used for sleep in the empty time slot and the collision time slot; the first duration can be determined to be used for sleep in the time period in which the first communication device sends the first identification RN for contention resolution in the success time slot; the second duration can be determined to be used for sleep in the time period in which the first communication device sends the tag identification or the data required to be sent based on the Command.

[0276] For example, for the empty time slot between the information (i.e., Paging or Query) sent by the first second communication device from the left and the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left in FIG. 5, the first communication devices 1, 2 and 3 can confirm to sleep for the first duration after receiving the Paging or Query information, and correspondingly, the second communication devices also send the second information (i.e., QueryRep) from the left after a first duration after sending the Paging or Query. The two parties of communication are aligned.

[0277] For example, for the collision time slot between the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left and the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left in FIG. 5, the first communication devices 1, 2 and 3 can confirm to sleep for the first duration after receiving the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the second second communication device from the left, and correspondingly, the second communication devices also send the third information (i.e., QueryRep) from the left after a first duration after sending the second information (i.e., QueryRep) from the left. The two parties of communication are aligned.

[0278] For example, for the success time slot between the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left and the information (i.e., Command) sent by the fifth second communication device from the left in FIG. 5, the first communication devices 1, 2 and 3 can confirm to sleep for the first duration after receiving the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left, and correspondingly, the second communication devices also send the fourth information (i.e., ACK) from the left after a first duration after sending the third information (i.e., QueryRep) from the left. The two parties of communication are aligned.

[0279] For example, for the success time slot between the information (i.e., QueryRep) sent by the third second communication device from the left and the information (i.e., Command) sent by the fifth second communication device from the left in FIG. 5, the first communication devices 1, 2 and 3 can confirm to sleep for the second duration after receiving the information (i.e., ACK) sent by the fourth second communication device from the left, and correspondingly, the second communication devices also send the fifth information (i.e., Command) from the left after a second duration after sending the fourth information (i.e., ACK) from the left. The two parties of communication are aligned.

[0280] For example, in the successful time slot between the information sent by the third second communication device from the left in FIG. 5 (i.e. QueryRep) and the information sent by the sixth second communication device from the left (i.e. QueryRep), the first communication devices 1, 2 and 3 can confirm the dormancy for a second time length after receiving the information sent by the fifth second communication device from the left (i.e. Command), and the second communication device can also send the sixth information from the left (i.e. QueryRep) after a second time length after sending the fifth information from the left (i.e. Command). The communication parties can achieve alignment.

[0281] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above three time slot names, and other time slot names can also be named, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0282] In an implementation manner, the embodiments of the present application further provide another communication method, which can include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0283] 110, the second communication device generates fourth information;

[0284] Specifically, the fourth information is used to trigger the access of the first group of communication devices; that is, the communication devices can be grouped in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the principle schematic diagram of the communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application shown in FIG. 11, the communication devices are divided into four groups.

[0285] In an implementation manner, the fourth information can be Query, that is, different groups are triggered to access by Query. The second communication device can not see the group identifier group ID, and can indicate an identifier information, for example, group ID mod 2 = 1 or 0 can be divided into two groups, and 1 or 0 is carried in Query.

[0286] For the case that the group ID1 and group ID2 can be carried in Paging, the core network CN can send the group ID to the second communication device, or tell the second communication device how many groups there are in total, the second communication device triggers different groups to access by Query, and triggers according to the group-related ID, or the second communication device groups in the access network AS, and assigns the AS group ID to different CN groups.

[0287] 111, the second communication device sends the fourth information;

[0288] Specifically, the second communication device can broadcast the fourth information to the first communication device, for example, broadcast Query.

[0289] 112, the first communication device receives the fourth information;

[0290] 113, in the case that the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, the first communication device sleeps for a fourth duration.

[0291] Specifically, the first communication device parses the fourth information, and confirms whether the group in which the first communication device is located is the first group indicated by the fourth information, or whether the first communication device is in the communication devices of the first group indicated by the fourth information. If not, the first communication device sleeps for the fourth duration. As shown in FIG. 11, the second communication device indicates the communication devices of the first group in the first Query sent by the second communication device, and then the communication devices of the second group, the third group, and the fourth group confirm and sleep for the fourth duration. After sleeping for the fourth duration, the communication devices of the second group, the third group, and the fourth group wake up to listen to the information of the second communication device.

[0292] In an implementation manner, the fourth information in the embodiment of the present application carries a first group identifier (used to indicate the communication devices of the first group). Then, after receiving and parsing the first group identifier in the fourth information, the first communication device checks whether the first group identifier matches the group identifier of the first communication device. If not, the first communication device confirms to sleep for the fourth duration.

[0293] In an implementation manner, the fourth duration in the embodiment of the present application can be configured by third information used for paging or indicating access resources. When the third information is used to indicate access resources, the third information can be the Query described above. That is, the second communication device can configure the fourth duration for the next group or other groups to sleep while indicating different groups by sending the Query.

[0294] In an implementation manner, for the scenario of contention-free random access (CFRA), the first communication device in the embodiment of the present application can determine the fourth duration by configured resources. For example, the first communication device can determine how long each first communication device occupies based on transmission parameters, and determine the fourth duration by determining in which time slot the first communication device is located. For example, based on the transmission parameters, it is determined that each time slot is at least 50 ms (for example, a time slot is empty), and the first communication device is located in the fifth time slot. Then, it is determined that the fourth duration for the first communication device to sleep is 200 ms. Alternatively, the first communication device in the embodiment of the present application can determine the fourth duration by combining the average duration required by a plurality of communication devices to access in advance and the time slot in which the first communication device is located.

[0295] In an implementation, the fourth information triggers the access procedure of the first group of communication devices. The access procedure of the first group of communication devices can perform the access procedure of the above-mentioned embodiment steps 501 to 508. For example, the first information sent by the second communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment 501 can carry information for triggering the access of the first group of communication devices. The first communication device receives and parses that it is in the first group of communication devices, and then the access procedure of the above-mentioned embodiment steps 501 to 508 can be performed.

[0296] In an implementation, in the RIC and AI architecture of the O-RAN in FIG. 2, the first time length, the second time length, and / or the group ID can be dynamically configured based on the RIC.

[0297] For example, the RIC can allocate the first time length and the second time length according to device-related prior information, and send the first time length and the second time length to the device in the Paging. The RIC can also determine the charging time length or the charging power of the device according to historical information and other prior information, to determine the size of the first time length and the second time length. Optionally, the device can also report the sleep time length or the current charging power that the device wants.

[0298] Optionally, when deciding whether to continue sending the Paging or the Query to trigger the inventory procedure, the BS can also determine whether there is still a device that has not been inventoried based on the prior information provided by the RIC.

[0299] Optionally, when triggering the inventory procedure of the device according to different groups, the RIC can also know the capability or the power consumption of the device, and can preferentially trigger the low-capability device to continue data transmission.

[0300] Optionally, under the O-RAN architecture, the signaling transmission of the BS can be first transmitted between the CU and the DU module.

[0301] In this way, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application can use the RIC module of the O-RAN architecture, more flexibly allocate the sleep time length based on historical data through the RIC, and also use this feature to trigger the inventory procedure of a certain type of device in subsequent scheduling, thereby optimizing the inventory access procedure.

[0302] In an implementation, different first communication devices can select different frequency shift positions, and different first communication devices can send messages at different frequency shift positions, so as to realize frequency division multiplexing (messages orthogonal / non-overlapping in frequency resources). The communication method of the embodiments of the present application can further include: the second communication device sends frequency resource indication information, which can carry relevant parameter information, for the first communication device to determine the parameters of the frequency domain resources. That is, after receiving the frequency resource indication information, the first communication device can determine whether the current indicated frequency point is associated with its own frequency point.

[0303] In an implementation, the frequency resource indication information of the embodiments of the present application can be Query information, QueryRep information, ACK, etc.

[0304] For example, the first communication device 4 and the first communication device 5 on two frequency domains or frequency points respectively are waiting for access. The second communication device sends an information (QueryRep information) for triggering a contention access opportunity, which carries frequency resource indication information. Then one of the first communication devices succeeds in contention, and the other first communication device fails in contention. The first communication device that succeeds in contention can determine the sleep duration based on the received information (i.e., can perform the steps performed by the first communication device in the embodiments of FIG. 5-FIG. 11). For example, the frequency point indicated by the frequency resource indication information is associated with the frequency point of the first communication device 4. Then the first communication device 4 can perform the steps performed by the first communication device in the embodiments of FIG. 5-FIG. 11. The second communication device 5 receives the QueryRep information and can not respond.

[0305] In an implementation, the first communication device can receive the frequency resource indication information, and determine the first frequency domain resource based on the parameters contained in the frequency resource indication information, so as to realize flexible configuration of the first frequency domain resource by the sender (e.g., the second communication device) of the frequency resource indication information.

[0306] The parameters contained in the frequency resource indication information of the embodiments of the present application for determining the first frequency domain resource can be realized in various ways, which will be described below through various examples such as way A to way C.

[0307] Way A: The parameters contained in the frequency resource indication information can indicate the frequency information / frequency domain position / frequency point position of the first frequency domain resource.

[0308] Way B: The parameters contained in the frequency resource indication information can indicate the frequency shift between the first frequency domain resource and the default frequency domain position (or the preconfigured frequency domain position).

[0309] Way C: The parameters contained in the frequency resource indication information can include at least one of the following:

[0310] Parameter 1: time parameter (denoted as Tpri). For example, parameter 1 can indicate an uplink or downlink or uplink-downlink transmission time unit, or a parameter related to the uplink or downlink or uplink-downlink transmission time unit, etc.

[0311] Parameter 2: code length parameter (denoted as M). For example, parameter 2 can be the number of Manchester coding repetitions, or a parameter related to the number of Manchester coding repetitions, etc.

[0312] Parameter 3: scaling parameter (denoted as Rchip). For example, parameter 3 can be the number of level repetitions, or a parameter related to the length of the level, etc.

[0313] In a possible implementation of the manner C, parameters 1 to 3 can be configured by Table 1 as follows.

[0314] Table 1

[0315] As can be seen from Table 1, index = 0 corresponds to Tpri = 25 microseconds (us), Rchip = 4, and M = 1; index = 1 corresponds to Tpri = 25 us, Rchip = 4, and M = 2, and so on.

[0316] The three parameters configured by Table 1 can determine the frequency domain resource / position.

[0317] As shown in FIG. 12, the principle diagram of the uplink carrier partial bandwidth provided by the embodiment of the present application. The above-mentioned parameter 1 can be used to determine the frequency domain bandwidth (i.e., the uplink carrier partial bandwidth (Uplink carrier BW) in FIG. 12). The frequency domain resource corresponding to “M = 1, Rchip = 16” in FIG. 12 represents the frequency domain resource corresponding to index 9 in the above-mentioned Table 1; the frequency domain resource corresponding to “M = 2, Rchip = 8” in FIG. 12 represents the frequency domain resource corresponding to index 6 in the above-mentioned Table 1; and the frequency domain resource corresponding to “M = 4, Rchip = 4” in FIG. 12 represents the frequency domain resource corresponding to index 2 in the above-mentioned Table 1.

[0318] As can be seen from the example shown in FIG. 12, the product of parameter 2 and parameter 3 (i.e., M and Rchip) determines the effective bandwidth (the part corresponding to the bracket pointed by the arrow), and the same product means the same effective bandwidth, the same effective rate, and the same effective bandwidth ensures the consistent communication performance after different frequency shifts. In addition, the same product of M and Rchip means the same effective bandwidth, and different combinations of M and Rchip configured by Table 1 can realize different frequency shifts of the same bandwidth, thereby realizing uplink frequency division multiplexing.

[0319] Optionally, in the example shown in Table 1, each index can configure three parameters (i.e., Tpri, Rchip and M). In addition to the example shown in Table 1, the three parameters can also be configured in other manners. For example, the three parameters are configured by three different fields / cells / domains respectively; or for example, the three parameters are configured by two different fields / cells / domains respectively, i.e., one field / cell / domain is used to configure one parameter, and the other field / cell / domain is used to configure the other two parameters.

[0320] It can be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the above device comprises hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0321] The embodiments of the present application can divide the function modules of the first communication device or the second communication device according to the above method examples. For example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. Actual implementation can have another division manner.

[0322] Referring to FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 130 can be applied to the method shown in any of the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication apparatus 130 comprises a processing module 131 and a transceiver module 132. The processing module 131 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 132 can be a transceiver or a communication interface. The communication apparatus can be used to realize the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device in any of the above method embodiments, or to realize the functions of the network element in any of the above method embodiments. The network element or network function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on a special hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication apparatus 130 can further comprise a storage module 133 for storing the program code and data of the communication apparatus 130.

[0323] In an example, the communication apparatus is configured to perform the steps of the method embodiments described above as performed by the first communication device or as a chip applied in the first communication device. The transceiver module 132 is configured to perform the sending and / or receiving actions of any of the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 11 by the first communication device, for example, other procedures of the techniques described herein performed by the first communication device. The processing module 131 can be configured to support the communication apparatus 130 to perform the processing actions of the method embodiments described above, for example, other procedures of the techniques described herein performed by the first communication device.

[0324] In an example, the transceiver module 132 is configured to receive the first information from the second communication device. And the transceiver module 132 is configured to receive the second information from the second communication device.

[0325] The processing module 131 is configured to determine the first time duration based on the first information, and sleep for the first time duration. And the processing module 131 is configured to determine the second time duration based on the second information, and sleep for the second time duration.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the first information comprises information for paging or triggering an access opportunity; the second information comprises information for a contention resolution response or a downlink data carrying; and the processing module 131 determines the second time duration based on the second information specifically comprises that the processing module 131 determines the second time duration in a case that the processing module 131 fails to parse the second information.

[0327] In a possible implementation, the second information is for a contention resolution response; and the transceiver module 132 is further configured to send a first identifier for contention resolution before receiving the second information. Then the processing module 131 determines the second time duration based on the second information specifically comprises that the processing module 131 determines the second time duration in a case that a second identifier in the second information does not match the first identifier.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 132 is further configured to receive first indication information; and the first indication information is for frequency calibration of the communication device, i.e., the processing module 131 can perform frequency calibration based on the first indication information.

[0329] In a possible implementation, the processing module 131 is further configured to wake up for a first amount of time in advance of sleeping for the first time duration; and the first amount of time is less than the first time duration. The first amount of time is related to a frequency offset of the first communication device, for example, a percentage of the frequency offset can be used to determine the first amount of time as a percentage of the first time duration.

[0330] In a possible implementation, the processing module 131 is further configured to wake up in advance of the second time duration; the second time duration is less than the second time duration. The second time duration is related to the frequency offset of the first communication device, for example, can be based on the percentage of the frequency offset, corresponding to the percentage of the second time duration as the second time duration.

[0331] In a possible implementation, the processing module 131 is further configured to continue to listen for the information if the transceiver module 132 does not receive the information after waking up from the first time duration or the second time duration.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 132 is further configured to receive fifth information before receiving the first information, the fifth information being used to trigger the communication devices in a target group to access; the first communication device is among the communication devices in the target group. If the transceiver module 132 receives fourth information, the fourth information being used to trigger the communication devices in a first group to access, and the first communication device is not among the communication devices in the first group, the processing module 131 triggers to sleep for a fourth time duration, and wakes up to listen for the information again.

[0333] An example is that the communication apparatus is a first communication device or a chip applied to the first communication device, and performs the steps performed by the first communication device in the method embodiments described above. The transceiver module 132 is configured to specifically perform the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the first communication device in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 5-11, for example, other processes of the first communication device performing the techniques described herein. The processing module 131 can be configured to support the communication apparatus 130 to perform the processing actions in the method embodiments described above, for example, support the first communication device to perform other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0334] For example, the transceiver module 132 is configured to receive first information or first indication information from a second communication device; the processing module 131 is configured to sleep for a third time duration based on the first information or the first indication information; the first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; wherein the first indication information is used for frequency calibration of the communication device; the third time duration is determined based on the time of receiving the first information or the calibration information.

[0335] An example is that the communication apparatus is a first communication device or a chip applied to the first communication device, and performs the steps performed by the first communication device in the method embodiments described above. The transceiver module 132 is configured to specifically perform the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the first communication device in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 5-11, for example, other processes of the first communication device performing the techniques described herein. The processing module 131 can be configured to support the communication apparatus 130 to perform the processing actions in the method embodiments described above, for example, support the first communication device to perform other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0336] Exemplarily, the transceiver 132 is configured to receive fourth information from the second communication device, the fourth information being used to trigger the first group of communication devices to access; and the processor 131 is configured to put the first communication device to sleep for a fourth time duration in a case that the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices.

[0337] In an example, the communication apparatus 130 is configured to perform the steps performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver 132 is configured to perform the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the second communication device in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 5-11, for example, other procedures performed by the second communication device to implement the techniques described herein. The processor 131 is configured to support the communication apparatus 130 to perform the processing actions in the above method embodiments, for example, other procedures performed by the second communication device to implement the techniques described herein.

[0338] Exemplarily, the transceiver 132 is configured to send the first information and the second information. The first information includes information used to page or trigger an access opportunity. The second information includes information used to respond to a contention resolution or carry downlink data; wherein the second information or the next first information is sent after the first information is sent for a first time duration; and the first information or the next second information is sent after the second information is sent for a second time duration.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the first time duration or the second time duration is configured by third information, the third information being used to page or indicate an access resource.

[0340] In a possible implementation, in a case that the second time duration is equal to the first time duration, the transceiver 132 is further configured to:

[0341] send first indication information, the first indication information being used for frequency calibration of the communication device, and a time interval between the first indication information and adjacent information being the first time duration.

[0342] In an example, the communication apparatus 130 is configured to perform the steps performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver 132 is configured to perform the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the second communication device in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 5-11, for example, other procedures performed by the second communication device to implement the techniques described herein. The processor 131 is configured to support the communication apparatus 130 to perform the processing actions in the above method embodiments, for example, other procedures performed by the second communication device to implement the techniques described herein.

[0343] Exemplarily, the processing module 131 is configured to generate fourth information, the fourth information being used to trigger the first group of communication devices to access; and the transceiver module 132 is configured to send the fourth information.

[0344] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 132 is further configured to send the first information and the second information, the first information being used to page or trigger an access opportunity, and the second information being used to respond to a contention resolution or carry downlink data.

[0345] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 130 is a chip of the first communication device or the second communication device, the transceiver module 132 can be a communication interface, a pin, a circuit or the like. The communication interface can be configured to input data to be processed to the processor, and can output a processing result of the processor to the outside. In specific implementation, the communication interface can be a general purpose input output (GPIO) interface, and can be connected with a plurality of peripheral devices (such as a display (LCD), a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna and the like). The communication interface is connected with the processor through a bus.

[0346] The processing module 131 can be a processor, which can execute computer execution instructions stored in a storage module, so that the chip executes a method related to any of the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6. Further, the processor can include a controller, an arithmetic unit and a register. Exemplarily, the controller is mainly responsible for instruction decoding, and sends a control signal for an operation corresponding to the instruction. The arithmetic unit is mainly responsible for executing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operation, shift operation and logic operation, and can also execute address operation and conversion. The register is mainly responsible for saving a register operand and an intermediate operation result temporarily stored in the process of instruction execution, and the like. In specific implementation, the hardware architecture of the processor can be an ASIC architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced RISC machines (ARM) architecture or a network processor (NP) architecture, or the like. The processor can be single-core or multi-core. The storage module can be a storage module in the chip, such as a register, a cache or the like. The storage module can also be a storage module located outside the chip, such as a ROM or another type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or the like.

[0347] It should be noted that the functions of the processor, the interface, and the like can be implemented by hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and are not limited here.

[0348] FIG. 14 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the communication apparatus 140 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are properly configured together to execute the present solution. The communication apparatus 140 can be the first communication device or the second communication device described above, or can be a component (for example, a chip) of the devices, to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. The communication apparatus 140 includes one or more processors 141. The processor 141 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication apparatus, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs.

[0349] Optionally, in one design, the processor 141 can include a program 143 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times), which can be run on the processor 141, so that the communication apparatus 140 executes the methods described in the above embodiments. In another possible design, the communication apparatus 140 includes a circuit (not shown in FIG. 8) for implementing the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device described in the above embodiments. Optionally, the communication apparatus 140 can include one or more memories 142, which have a program 144 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions at times) stored thereon, and the program 144 can be run on the processor 141, so that the communication apparatus 140 executes the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0350] Optionally, the processor 141 and / or the memory 142 can also store data. The processor and the memory can be separately arranged, or can be integrated together.

[0351] Optionally, the communication apparatus 140 can also include a transceiver 145 and / or an antenna 146. The processor 141 can also be referred to as a processing unit, which controls the communication apparatus (for example, a terminal device or a network device (such as a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.)). The transceiver 145 can also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which is used to realize the transceiving function of the communication apparatus through the antenna 146.

[0352] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication apparatus, which includes at least one processor; wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device of any one of the embodiments of FIGS. 5 to 11.

[0353] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in any one of the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 11.

[0354] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which comprises computer program codes, and when the computer program codes are run by a computer, the computer executes the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in any one of the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 11.

[0355] The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which comprises at least one processor and an interface, and the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are run, the chip executes the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in any one of the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 11.

[0356] The units described as separated parts can or can not be physically separated, and the parts displayed as units can or can not be physical units, that is, can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. According to actual needs, part or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the embodiment of the present application. In addition, each network element unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of software network element unit.

[0357] The integrated unit described above, if implemented in the form of a software network element unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part of the technical solutions of the present application that essentially contributes, or the whole or part of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a terminal device, a cloud server, or a network device (such as a primary network device or a secondary network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method of each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing 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. 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 various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, and these modifications or replacements 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 applied to a first communication device or a chip of the first communication device comprises: receiving first information, determining a first time length based on the first information, and sleeping for the first time length; the first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; receiving second information, determining a second time length based on the second information, and sleeping for the second time length; the second time length is greater than or equal to the first time length.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second information comprises information used for a contention resolution response or carrying downlink data. Determining the second time length based on the second information comprises: determining the second time length in the case of failure in parsing the second information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second information comprises information used for a contention resolution response. Determining the second time length based on the second information comprises: determining the second time length in the case that a second identifier in the second information does not match a first identifier; The first identifier comprises an identifier sent by the first communication device for contention resolution.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving first indication information; the first indication information is used for frequency calibration of a communication device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first time length or the second time length is configured by third information used for paging or indicating an access resource.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first time length or the second time length is a time length determined by a transmission parameter; the transmission parameter comprises at least one of the following: bit repetition number, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transport block, buffer status report, or code rate.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Waking up in advance by a first time amount during the sleeping of the first time length; the first time amount is less than the first time length.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, Waking up in advance by a second time amount during the sleeping of the second time length; the second time amount is less than the second time length.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further comprises: continuously listening for information in the case that no information is received after waking up from the sleeping of the first time length or the sleeping of the second time length.

10. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a second communication device or a chip of the second communication device comprises: sending first information and sending second information; the first information comprises information used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; the second information comprises information used for a contention resolution response or carrying downlink data; wherein the second information or the next second information is sent after a first time length from sending the first information; the first information or the next first information is sent after a second time length from sending the second information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first time length or the second time length is configured by third information used for paging or indicating an access resource.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, The first time length or the second time length is a time length determined by a transmission parameter; the transmission parameter comprises at least one of the following: bit repetition number, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth, preamble length, postamble length, midamble length, time length per bit, signaling bit number, transport block, buffer status report, or code rate.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10-12, characterized in that, In the case that the second time length is equal to the first time length, the method further comprises: sending first indication information; the first indication information is used for frequency calibration of a communication device; a time interval of the first indication information from adjacent sent information is the first time length.

14. A communication method, comprising: The method applied to the first communication device or a chip of the first communication device comprises: receiving fourth information; the fourth information is used for triggering access of the first group of communication devices; in a case where the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, sleeping for a fourth time length.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The fourth time length is configured by third information, and the third information is used for paging or indicating access resources.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The fourth information carries a first group identifier; and in a case where the first communication device is not in the first group of communication devices, sleeping for the fourth time length comprises: in a case where the first group identifier does not match a group identifier of the first communication device, sleeping for the fourth time length.

17. A method of communication, comprising: The method applied to the second communication device or a chip of the second communication device comprises: generating fourth information, the fourth information being used for triggering access of the first group of communication devices; sending the fourth information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The method further comprises: sending first information and sending second information; the first information is used for paging or triggering an access opportunity; and the second information is used for a contention resolution response or carrying downlink data.

19. A communications device, characterized by The chip comprises at least one processor and an interface, and the processor is used for reading and executing instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer program codes, and when the computer program codes are run by a computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

22. A chip, characterized by The chip comprises at least one processor and an interface, and the processor is used for reading and executing instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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