Signal detection method and apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and in particular, provides a signal detection method and apparatus, an electronic device, and a computer program product. The method comprises: a first event occurring; and stopping detection of a first low-power signal in a second time unit, or maintaining detection of the first low-power signal within a first time length. In the present disclosure, by keeping a low-power wake-up receiver (LR) of a terminal device enabled for a period of time while a main receiver (MR) is turned on (i.e., continuing detection of a low-power synchronization signal (LP-SS) or a low-power wake-up signal (LP-WUS)), the timing synchronization and / or frequency-domain synchronization of the terminal device are maintained in a relatively ideal state, thereby enabling the terminal device to achieve robust link performance during switching between the LR and the MR.

Description

A signal detection method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product.

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411051639.2, filed on August 1, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a signal detection method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product. Background Technology

[0004] In the existing technology (see Figure 1-3), the Low-Power Wake-up Receiver (LR) has the following problems:

[0005] 1. Due to its low power consumption and low transmission rate, its required or achievable timing synchronization and frequency domain synchronization accuracy is relatively poor (compared to the requirements of the main receiver (MR)).

[0006] 2. Low-power wake-up receivers have lower device precision, and after one synchronization is completed, a certain amount of clock drift and frequency offset will occur over time.

[0007] Due to the aforementioned issues and the long time required for the terminal device to enable MR, when the terminal device stops receiving the Low-Power Wake-Up Signal (LP-WUS) (i.e., LR is turned off) and starts receiving paging signals (i.e., MR is enabled), timing and / or frequency domain synchronization issues may occur. This can cause the terminal device to be unable to correctly receive signals based on MR (e.g., synchronization signal block SSB or paging signal (where the paging signal is a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH or downlink control information DCI scrambled with the paging radio network temporary identifier P-RNTI, etc.)). Summary of the Invention

[0008] This disclosure is made in view of the above-mentioned problems. This disclosure provides a signal detection method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product.

[0009] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a signal detection method is provided, the method comprising: an event occurring; stopping the detection of a first low-power signal in a second time unit, or continuing the detection of the first low-power signal for a first time length.

[0010] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: stopping the detection of a first low-power signal after a first time length.

[0011] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: maintaining the detection of a first low-power signal before a second time unit.

[0012] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: the occurrence of a first event in a first time unit.

[0013] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: the starting time unit of the first time length is the first time unit, or the starting time unit of the first time length is the next time unit after the first time unit.

[0014] Furthermore, according to a signal detection method of one aspect of this disclosure, the occurrence of a first event includes one or more of the following: activating a master receiver configured to receive a paging signal; the measurement performance of a first synchronization signal being lower than a first threshold; receiving a first low-power wake-up signal indicating that the master receiver is activated or a paging signal is detected; initiating a random access RACH procedure; requesting uplink data channel UL-SCH resources or sending a scheduling request SR.

[0015] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold further includes at least one of the following: the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold within a preset time period; the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold reaching a preset number; and the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold within a preset time period reaching a preset number.

[0016] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the preset time is a predefined value, or a third configuration is received, the third configuration indicating the preset time.

[0017] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the preset number of times is a predefined value, or a fourth configuration is received, the fourth configuration indicating the preset number of times.

[0018] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the first time length includes one or more of the following: the first time length is a predefined value, or receiving a first configuration, the first configuration including the first time length; the interval between the time unit for receiving a first synchronization signal block (SSB) and the first time unit; the interval between the time unit for receiving a first paging signal and the first time unit, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or downlink control information (DCI) scrambled with a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI); the interval between the time unit for turning on the master receiver and the first time unit, or the interval between the time unit for starting to receive the paging signal and the first time unit; the interval between the time unit for a second time length after the time unit for turning on the master receiver and the first time unit, or the interval between the time unit for a second time length after the time unit for starting to receive the paging signal and the first time unit, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or receiving a second configuration, the second configuration including the second time length.

[0019] Furthermore, according to a signal detection method of one aspect of this disclosure, the second time unit includes one or more of the following: a time unit of a first time length after the first time unit, wherein the first time length is a predefined value, or receiving a first configuration, the first configuration including the first time length; a time unit for receiving a first SSB; a time unit for receiving a first paging signal, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a PDCCH scrambled with P-RNTI, or a DCI scrambled with P-RNTI; a time unit for turning on the main receiver, or a time unit for starting to receive the paging signal; a time unit of a second time length after the time unit for turning on the main receiver, or a time unit of a second time length after the time unit for starting to receive the paging signal, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or receiving a second configuration, the second configuration including the second time length.

[0020] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the first synchronization signal includes at least one of the following: a low-power synchronization signal LP-SS, a primary synchronization sequence PSS, a secondary synchronization sequence SSS, a synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB.

[0021] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the measurement performance includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, and received signal strength indication RSSI.

[0022] Furthermore, according to a signal detection method of one aspect of this disclosure, the first low-power signal includes at least one of the following: a low-power wake-up signal LP-WUS and a low-power synchronization signal LP-SS.

[0023] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a signal detection device is provided, the device comprising: a first event module configured to cause a first event; a first stop module configured to stop detecting a first low-power signal in a second time unit, or a first hold module configured to hold detecting the first low-power signal for a first time length.

[0024] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a signal detection method is provided, the method comprising: stopping the detection of a first low-power signal when a second event occurs.

[0025] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: turning on the main receiver or detecting a paging signal when a first event occurs.

[0026] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the occurrence of a first event includes: the measurement performance of a first synchronization signal being lower than a first threshold.

[0027] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the occurrence of a second event includes: the measurement performance of a second synchronization signal being lower than a second threshold.

[0028] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: a second threshold being less than a first threshold, or a first threshold being greater than a second threshold.

[0029] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a fifth configuration, the fifth configuration indicating a first bias, and determining a second threshold based on the first bias and a first threshold.

[0030] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: a second threshold = a first threshold - a first bias.

[0031] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a sixth configuration, the sixth configuration indicating a second bias, and determining a first threshold based on the second bias and a second threshold.

[0032] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the method further includes: a first threshold = a second threshold + a second bias.

[0033] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold further includes at least one of the following: the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold within a preset time period; the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold reaching a preset number; and the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold within a preset time period reaching a preset number.

[0034] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the preset time is a predefined value, or a seventh configuration is received, the seventh configuration indicating the preset time.

[0035] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the preset number of times is a predefined value, or an eighth configuration is received, the eighth configuration indicating the preset number of times.

[0036] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the first synchronization signal includes at least one of the following: a low-power synchronization signal LP-SS, a primary synchronization sequence PSS, a secondary synchronization sequence SSS, a synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB.

[0037] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the signal detection method of this disclosure, the measurement performance includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, and received signal strength indication RSSI.

[0038] Furthermore, according to a signal detection method of one aspect of this disclosure, the first low-power signal includes at least one of the following: a low-power wake-up signal LP-WUS and a low-power synchronization signal LP-SS.

[0039] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a signal detection apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: a stop module configured to stop detecting a first low-power signal upon the occurrence of a second event.

[0040] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a memory configured to store computer-readable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the computer-readable instructions, causing the electronic device to perform the signal detection method as described above.

[0041] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the signal detection method described above.

[0042] As will be described in detail below, the signal detection method according to the embodiments of this disclosure maintains the timing synchronization and / or frequency domain synchronization of the terminal device in a more ideal state by allowing the terminal device to keep the LR (i.e., LP-SS or LP-WUS detection) enabled for a period of time while the MR is enabled, thereby enabling the link performance of the terminal device to be more robust during the LR and MR switching process.

[0043] It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further illustration of the claimed technology. Attached Figure Description

[0044] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the more detailed description of the embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided to further illustrate the embodiments of this disclosure and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this disclosure to explain the disclosure and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same parts or operations.

[0045] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 2 illustrates the I-DRX technology for discontinuous reception in idle state in the prior art.

[0047] Figure 3 illustrates a signal detection method in the prior art.

[0048] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram further illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a signal detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] Figure 8 is a hardware block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer program product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0054] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this disclosure more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments of this disclosure. It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0055] First, let’s take a look at the application scenarios according to the embodiments of this disclosure with reference to FIG1.

[0056] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the application scenario includes at least: a terminal device 10 and a network device 20.

[0057] It should be understood that the signal detection method of this disclosure is applicable to both low-frequency and high-frequency scenarios. Application scenarios of the signal detection method of this disclosure include, but are not limited to, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, cloud radio access network (CRAN) systems, future 5th-General (5G) systems, new radio (NR) communication systems, or future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) systems.

[0058] The terminal device 10 described above can be user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal, wireless communication equipment, terminal agent, or user equipment, etc. This terminal device 10 may have wireless transceiver capabilities, enabling it to communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more network devices 20 of one or more communication systems and receive network services provided by the network devices 20. These network devices 20 include, but are not limited to, the base station shown in the diagram.

[0059] Among them, the terminal device 10 may be a cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) device, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle device, wearable device, user equipment in a future 5G network or user equipment in a future evolved PLMN network, etc.

[0060] Furthermore, to further reduce the communication power consumption of the terminal device 10, the terminal device 10 can have two different receivers:

[0061] Main Receiver (MR): This receiver can be used to receive signals specified in existing 3GPP NR technology. Specifically, it has strong receiving performance and can achieve high transmission rates; however, it also has higher receiver complexity and generates higher power consumption.

[0062] Low-Power Wake-up Receiver (LR): This receiver can be used to receive low-power signals. In current 3GPP discussions, low-power signals can include Low-Power Wake-up Signal (LP-WUS) and Low-Power Synchronization Signal (LP-SS). Its receiving performance is relatively weak, and its transmission rate is relatively limited; however, its receiver implementation is simple and low-complexity, therefore its power consumption is much lower than that of the main receiver.

[0063] As shown in Figure 1, network device 20 can send two types of signals, and terminal device 10 can receive the corresponding transmission signals based on different receivers.

[0064] Network device 20 can be access network equipment (or access site). Access network equipment refers to equipment that provides network access functionality, such as radio access network (RAN) base stations. Specifically, network equipment may include base station (BS) equipment, or base station equipment and radio resource management equipment used to control the base station equipment. This network equipment may also include relay stations (relay equipment), access points, and base stations in future 5G networks, base stations in future evolved PLMN networks, or NR base stations. Network equipment can be wearable devices or vehicle-mounted devices. Network equipment can also be a communication chip with a communication module.

[0065] For example, network equipment 20 includes, but is not limited to: next-generation base stations (gnodeB, gNB) in 5G, evolved node B (eNB) in LTE systems, radio network controllers (RNC), node B (NB) in WCDMA systems, radio controllers and base station controllers (BSC) in CRAN systems, base transceiver stations (BTS) in GSM or CDMA systems, home base stations (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), baseband units (BBU), transmitting and receiving points (TRP), transmitting points (TP), or mobile switching centers, etc.

[0066] In a mobile communication system, terminal device 10 can exist in several different states, including the idle state (also known as the RRC IDLE / INVACTIVE state). In this state, terminal device 10 has no ongoing data transmission or communication activities and does not need to maintain a continuous connection with the network, that is, it does not need to continuously listen to the network's control channel. Continuously listening to the control channel would consume a lot of battery power, so the idle state can be understood as a power-saving mode of terminal device 10.

[0067] Figure 2 illustrates the Idle Discontinuous Reception (I-DRX) technology in the prior art. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 10 does not need to continuously listen in the idle state, but in order to ensure timely response to network notifications when there is a data transmission requirement, it needs to check the paging channel according to the configured periodic interval (DRX period) to receive paging messages.

[0068] Among them, the paging message is a message sent by the network device 20 to the terminal device 10 to notify the terminal device 10 that there is data or event to be processed (such as voice call, SMS or data packet arrival, etc.) so as to prompt the terminal device 10 to enter the connected state.

[0069] Specifically, network device 20 configures an idle-state DRX (I-DRX) cycle for terminal device 10. During this cycle, terminal device 10 detects the downlink control information DCI (Paging DCI, or P-RNTI scrambled DCI or P-RNTI scrambled PDCCH) corresponding to the paging message at its corresponding paging Occasion (PO).

[0070] Here, PO is a specific time point or time window during which terminal device 10 checks the paging channel within the I-DRX cycle. Terminal device 10 can check at these times whether there is a paging message for itself. DCI (Downlink Control Information) is control information used in LTE and NR to schedule downlink data and uplink resource allocation. Here, Paging DCI can be used to indicate where and when terminal device 10 receives paging messages.

[0071] P-RNTI (Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​is the temporary identifier for paging radio networks. PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) is the physical downlink control channel used to transmit DCI in LTE and NR. During paging, the PDCCH carries the paging DCI, indicating whether the terminal device 10 has a paging message and the location of the message.

[0072] In other words, if terminal device 10 detects a paging DCI scrambled by P-RNTI or a paging message on PDCCH scrambled by P-RNTI on its PO, terminal device 10 will know that network device 20 has data transmission and needs to enter the connected state to receive the data.

[0073] Understandably, before receiving the PO in each I-DRX cycle, the terminal device 10 generally needs to receive multiple (e.g., 2-3) synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) in advance to complete basic time, frequency, and space synchronization, as well as AGC (Automatic Gain Control) calibration.

[0074] It is also understandable that the aforementioned I-DRX technology is based on MR.

[0075] Furthermore, in response to the need to further reduce the communication power consumption of terminal device 10, 3GPP R19 introduced the concept of Low-Power Wake-Up Signal (LP-WUS) based on LR.

[0076] As described above, LR is a signal receiving component integrated within terminal device 10 specifically designed for low-power mode. It operates when there is no data transmission requirement, thereby reducing the power consumption of terminal device 10. The LP-WUS signal is primarily used to instruct terminal device 10 to begin detecting paging signals. In other words, when there is no data transmission requirement, terminal device 10 can primarily use LR to receive signals and, based on the indication of the LP-WUS signal, activate MR at appropriate times and detect paging signals, thereby further reducing power consumption based on the aforementioned I-DRX technology. Specifically, please refer to Figure 3 for a detailed description.

[0077] Figure 3 illustrates a signal detection method in the prior art. As shown in Figure 3, the signal detection method in the prior art may include:

[0078] (1) MR to LR: When the performance of MR meets certain conditions, the terminal device 10 stops receiving paging signals on MR and switches to LR to start receiving LP-WUS;

[0079] (2) LR to MR: Similarly, when the performance of LR meets certain conditions, or when the terminal device 10 has data transmission requirements, or when LR receives the LP-WUS indication to detect the paging signal, the terminal device 10 stops receiving LP-WUS on LR and switches to MR to start receiving the paging signal.

[0080] In other words, the signal detection process is dynamic, meaning that (1) and (2) above occur alternately.

[0081] However, it should be noted that due to its low power consumption and low transmission rate, the timing and frequency domain synchronization accuracy required or achievable by LR is also relatively poor. Furthermore, the low device precision of LR means that after one synchronization is completed, a certain amount of clock drift and frequency offset will occur over time. While MR does not have the above problems, the turn-on time during the switch from LR to MR is relatively long (generally 400-800ms).

[0082] In summary, due to these problems, in the case described above (2), i.e., when switching from LR to MR, timing and / or frequency domain synchronization issues will occur, causing the terminal device 10 to be unable to correctly receive signals (e.g., the aforementioned SSB or paging signals) based on MR. To solve the above problems, a signal detection method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is proposed, which will be further described in detail with reference to Figures 4-6.

[0083] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the signal detection method may include at least the following operations.

[0084] In operation S401, a first event occurs. As described above (2), when the measurement performance of the reference signal meets certain conditions, or when the terminal device 10 needs to initiate a RACH procedure, or when the LR receives an LP-WUS indication to detect the paging signal, the terminal device 10 stops receiving LP-WUS on the LR and switches to the MR to start receiving the paging signal. Among these, the measurement performance of the reference signal meeting certain conditions, the terminal device 10 needing to initiate a RACH procedure, or the LR receiving an LP-WUS indication to detect the paging signal can be collectively referred to as the occurrence of the first event, and the time point of the occurrence of the first event can be recorded as the first time unit. Specific details will be described with reference to FIG5.

[0085] In operation S402, the detection of the first low-power signal is stopped in the second time unit, or the detection of the first low-power signal is maintained for the first time length. As described above, this disclosure aims to solve the problem of timing and / or frequency domain synchronization loss that occurs when switching from LR to MR. The signal detection method proposed in this disclosure can continue to keep LR on for a period of time after MR is turned on (i.e., the first time length), or in other words, keep LR on until the second time unit, to ensure basic timing and / or frequency domain performance synchronization.

[0086] It should be noted that keeping LR enabled can also be described as continuously detecting the first low-power signal, or maintaining the detection of the first low-power signal.

[0087] It is understood that the first time length mentioned above is the time difference between the second time unit and the first time unit. The first time unit and the second time unit mentioned above can be time slots, or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, radio frames, half frames, milliseconds (ms), seconds (s, etc.) time granularity. This disclosure does not impose specific limitations, and will be specifically described with reference to FIG5.

[0088] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, a first event occurs in a first time unit. The occurrence of the first event may include one or more of the following:

[0089] A. The first event can occur when the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal falls below a first threshold.

[0090] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the first synchronization signal may be one or more of a low-power synchronization signal (LP-SS), a primary synchronization sequence (PSS), a secondary synchronization sequence (SSS), a synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel PBCH block (SSB), and the measurement subject of the first synchronization signal is LR.

[0091] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the measured performance may be one or more of the following: Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), and Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).

[0092] Furthermore, the measurement performance can also be the aforementioned measurement performance within a preset time period (e.g., the preset time is 1 second), that is, the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal within the preset time period is lower than the first threshold. This preset time can be a predefined value, or it can be a configuration value of the network device 20, for example, the terminal device 10 receives a third configuration sent by the network device 20, in which the preset time is indicated.

[0093] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the first threshold may be a specific threshold set by the network, which may indicate that the signal quality is insufficient to maintain stable communication and requires a handover; the first threshold may also be a significant change in the difference in measurement performance, such as a significant signal attenuation or enhancement due to UE movement, requiring a switch to MR for more accurate measurement and scheduling.

[0094] Furthermore, it could also be that the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal has fallen below the first threshold has reached a preset number. For example, the UE reports that the number of times its measurement performance has fallen below the first threshold has reached a certain preset number. This preset number can be a predefined value, or it can be a configuration value of the network device 20, such as the fourth configuration sent by the network device 20 to the terminal device 10, where the preset number is indicated.

[0095] Furthermore, it can also be defined as the number of times the measurement performance falls below the first threshold within a preset time period of the first synchronization signal reaches a preset number. The preset time and preset number of times are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0096] B. The first event may be the receipt of a first low-power wake-up signal, which indicates that the main receiver is turned on or a paging signal is detected.

[0097] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the first low-power wake-up signal may include one or more of LP-WUS and LP-SS, and the first low-power wake-up signal is configured to instruct the terminal device 10 to start detecting a paging signal (or, enable MR). The measurement subject of the first synchronization signal is LR.

[0098] C. The first event can be the initiation of the RACH (Random Access Flow) procedure.

[0099] In one embodiment of this disclosure, when the terminal device 10 needs to initiate a call, send data, or perform a location update, if it has not yet established a connection / uplink synchronization with the network device 20, it needs to initiate a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure to establish a connection / uplink synchronization.

[0100] D. The first event can be the activation of the main receiver, which is configured to receive paging signals.

[0101] The signal detection method proposed in this disclosure aims to ensure basic timing and / or frequency domain synchronization performance. Therefore, the signal detection method in this embodiment will continue to keep LR on for a first time length after MR is turned on (i.e., continue to detect the first low-power signal for a first time length after the first time unit, or stop detecting the first low-power signal after the first time length), or keep LR on until the second time unit (i.e., stop detecting the first low-power signal in the second time unit, or continue to detect the first low-power signal before the second time unit).

[0102] E. The first event can be a request for uplink data channel UL-SCH resources or the sending of a scheduling request SR.

[0103] In one embodiment of this disclosure, when the terminal device 10 needs to perform uplink transmission, it needs to request uplink data channel UL-SCH resources or send a scheduling request SR.

[0104] It should be noted that the starting point of the first time length can be the first time unit or the next time unit after the first time unit.

[0105] Furthermore, the granularity of the two time units mentioned above can be different. For example, the first time unit is a time slot, and the starting point of the first time length is the first OFDM symbol after the first time unit.

[0106] The first time length and the second time unit will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 5.

[0107] The first time length can be explicitly determined (e.g., (a)) or implicitly determined (e.g., (b)-(e)). Specifically:

[0108] (a) The first time length can be explicitly determined, i.e., the first time length is a predefined value, or the first time length is pre-configured by the network device 20. The terminal device 10 receives the first configuration sent by the network device 20, and the first configuration includes the first time length.

[0109] In one embodiment of this disclosure, terminal device 10 starts a timer in a first time unit or the next time unit after the first time unit. When the timer times out or stops, LR is turned off or detection of LP-SS or LP-WUS is stopped. The length of the timer is a predefined value or a value pre-configured for the network device.

[0110] Alternatively, the first time length can also be implicitly determined, i.e., determined based on the time difference between the first time unit and the second time unit.

[0111] (b) The second time unit may be the time unit for enabling the main receiver, or the time unit for starting to receive paging signals. In this case, the first time length is the interval between the time unit for enabling the main receiver and the first time unit, or the interval between the time unit for starting to receive paging signals and the first time unit.

[0112] (c) The second time unit may be a second time length after the time unit in which the master receiver is turned on, or a second time length after the time unit in which paging signal reception begins, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or it may be receiving a second configuration, the second configuration including the second time length. In this case, the first time length is the interval between the second time length after the time unit in which the master receiver is turned on and the first time unit, or the interval between the second time length after the time unit in which paging signal reception begins and the first time unit.

[0113] (d) The second time unit can be the time unit for receiving the first SSB. In this case, the first time length is the interval between the time unit for receiving the first synchronization signal block SSB and the first time unit.

[0114] (e) The second time unit may be the time unit for receiving the first paging signal, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or downlink control information (DCI) scrambled with a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI).

[0115] In summary, by enabling terminal device 10 to keep LR enabled for a period of time while enabling MR (i.e., LP-SS or LP-WUS detection), the timing synchronization and / or frequency domain synchronization of terminal device 10 are maintained in a relatively ideal state, thereby enabling the link performance of terminal device 10 to be more robust during the LR and MR switching process.

[0116] In addition, the same effect can be achieved by independently configuring the threshold for enabling MR and the threshold for disabling LR. See Figure 6 for a detailed description.

[0117] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram further illustrating a signal detection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, when a second event occurs, the detection of the first low-power signal is stopped.

[0118] Furthermore, upon the occurrence of the first event, the main receiver is activated or a paging signal is detected.

[0119] The occurrence of the first event may include: the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than a first threshold;

[0120] The occurrence of a second event may include: the measurement performance of the second synchronization signal falling below a second threshold.

[0121] In a subordinate sense, the second threshold can be less than the first threshold, or the first threshold can be greater than the second threshold.

[0122] Specifically, this can be understood as follows: when the measurement performance of LR reaches the first threshold, the terminal device 10 starts to detect the paging signal (or, in other words, enables MR).

[0123] Among them, when the measurement performance of LR reaches the first threshold, that is, when the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold; the paging signal may include a paging message or a paging DCI (or a P-RNTI scrambled DCI or a P-RNTI scrambled PDCCH).

[0124] Specifically, the definitions of the first synchronization signal, measurement performance, and first threshold are the same as those in Figure 5(a), and will not be repeated here.

[0125] Furthermore, the measurement performance can also be the above-mentioned measurement performance within a preset time period (e.g., the preset time is 1 second), that is, the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal within the preset time period is lower than the first threshold. This preset time can be a predefined value, or it can be a configuration value of the network device 20, for example, the terminal device 10 receives a seventh configuration sent by the network device 20, and the seventh configuration indicates the preset time.

[0126] Furthermore, it could also be that the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal has fallen below the first threshold a preset number of times. For example, the UE reports that its measurement performance has fallen below the first threshold a certain preset number of times. This preset number can be a predefined value, or it can be a configuration value of the network device 20, such as the eighth configuration sent by the network device 20 to the terminal device 10, where the preset number is indicated.

[0127] Furthermore, it can also be defined as the number of times the measurement performance falls below the first threshold within a preset time period of the first synchronization signal reaches a preset number. The preset time and preset number of times are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0128] Then, when the measurement performance of LR reaches the second threshold (which can be understood as the measurement performance of the second event, including the first synchronization signal, being lower than the second threshold), the detection of low-power signals is stopped (or, LR is turned off).

[0129] The low-power signal may include LP-SS and / or LP-WUS; the second threshold may be less than the first threshold mentioned above.

[0130] Furthermore, the first threshold and the second threshold can be configured independently (i.e., parameters such as performance indicators, measurement time, and the number of times the threshold is lowered can be configured separately).

[0131] Furthermore, the first threshold can be configured based on the second threshold, or the second threshold can be configured based on the first threshold.

[0132] Specifically,

[0133] i) Receive a fifth configuration, which indicates a first bias, and determine a second threshold based on the first bias and a first threshold.

[0134] That is, the second threshold can be defined by the first threshold, for example, the second threshold = the first threshold - the first bias, where the first bias is a predefined value, or the first bias is configured by the network device 20;

[0135] ii) Receive a sixth configuration, which indicates a second bias, and determine a first threshold based on the second bias and a second threshold.

[0136] That is, the first threshold can be defined by the second threshold, for example, the first threshold = the second threshold + the second bias, where the second bias is a predefined value, or the second bias is configured by the network device 20.

[0137] In summary, by specifying the above-mentioned LP-WUR exit scheme, the terminal device can enable MR early before LR is turned off, so that the timing synchronization and / or frequency domain synchronization of the terminal device can be maintained in a more ideal state, thereby making the link performance of the terminal device more robust during the LR and MR switching process.

[0138] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a signal detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7(A), the signal detection apparatus 700 may include at least the following modules.

[0139] The first event module 701 is configured to trigger the first event.

[0140] The occurrence of the first event includes one or more of the following: activating the master receiver, which is configured to receive paging signals; the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than a first threshold; receiving a first low-power wake-up signal, which indicates that the master receiver should be activated or a paging signal should be detected; initiating a random access RACH procedure; requesting uplink data channel UL-SCH resources or sending a scheduling request SR.

[0141] Furthermore, the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold also includes at least one of the following: the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold within a preset time period; the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold reaching a preset number; the number of times the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold within a preset time period reaching a preset number.

[0142] Furthermore, the preset time is a predefined value, or a third configuration is received, which indicates the preset time;

[0143] Furthermore, the preset number of times is a predefined value, or a fourth configuration is received, which indicates the preset number of times.

[0144] The first stop module 702 is configured to stop detecting the first low-power signal in the second time unit.

[0145] The second time unit includes one or more of the following: a time unit of a first time length after the first time unit, wherein the first time length is a predefined value, or receiving a first configuration, wherein the first configuration includes the first time length; a time unit for receiving a first SSB; a time unit for receiving a first paging signal, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a PDCCH scrambled with P-RNTI or a DCI scrambled with P-RNTI; a time unit for turning on the main receiver, or a time unit for starting to receive paging signals; a time unit of a second time length after the time unit for turning on the main receiver, or a time unit of a second time length after the time unit for starting to receive paging signals, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or receiving a second configuration, wherein the second configuration includes the second time length.

[0146] Furthermore, the starting point of the first time length can be either the first time unit or the next time unit after the first time unit. As shown in Figure 7(B), the signal detection device 700 may include at least the following modules.

[0147] The first event module 701 is configured to trigger the first event. A detailed description is shown in Figure 7(A), and will not be repeated here.

[0148] The first holding module 703 is configured to hold the detection of the first low-power signal for a first time period.

[0149] The first time length includes one or more of the following: the first time length is a predefined value, or receiving a first configuration, the first configuration including the first time length; the interval between the time unit for receiving the first synchronization signal block (SSB) and the first time unit; the interval between the time unit for receiving the first paging signal and the first time unit, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or downlink control information (DCI) scrambled with a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI); the interval between the time unit for the master receiver to turn on and the first time unit, or the interval between the time unit for starting to receive the paging signal and the first time unit; the interval between the second time length time unit after the time unit for the master receiver to turn on and the first time unit, or the interval between the second time length time unit after the time unit for starting to receive the paging signal and the first time unit, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or receiving a second configuration, the second configuration including the second time length.

[0150] Furthermore, the starting point of the first time length can be the first time unit or the next time unit after the first time unit.

[0151] In addition, Figure 7(A) and Figure 7(B) may also include:

[0152] The second stop module is configured to stop detecting the first low-power signal after a first time period.

[0153] Alternatively, the second holding module is configured to hold the detection of the first low-power signal before the second time unit.

[0154] The first synchronization signal may include at least one of the following: low-power synchronization signal LP-SS, primary synchronization sequence PSS, secondary synchronization sequence SSS, synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB.

[0155] The above measurement performance may include at least one of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).

[0156] The first low-power signal may include at least one of the following: a low-power wake-up signal LP-WUS and a low-power synchronization signal LP-SS.

[0157] It should be noted that the signal detection device 700 may include one or more of the first stop module 702, the first hold module 703, the second stop module, and the second hold module.

[0158] Figure 8 is a hardware block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least a processor and a memory configured to store computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are loaded and executed by the processor, the processor performs the signal detection method as described above.

[0159] The electronic device 800 shown in Figure 8 specifically includes a central processing unit (CPU) 801, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 802, and a memory 803. These units are interconnected via a bus 804. The CPU 801 and / or GPU 802 can function as the aforementioned processors, and the memory 803 can function as the aforementioned memory storing computer-readable instructions. Furthermore, the electronic device 800 may also include a communication unit 805, a storage unit 806, an output unit 807, an input unit 808, and an external device 809, all of which are also connected to the bus 804.

[0160] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer program product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, a computer program product 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure stores a computer program 901. When the computer program 901 is executed by a processor, it performs the signal detection method described with reference to the above figures. The computer program product includes, but is not limited to, volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, optical disk, magnetic disk, etc.

[0161] The above description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrates a signal detection method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The signal detection method according to embodiments of the present disclosure, by allowing the terminal device to maintain LR (i.e., LP-SS or LP-WUS detection) for a period of time while MR is enabled, maintains the timing synchronization and / or frequency domain synchronization of the terminal device in a more ideal state, thereby making the link performance of the terminal device more robust during the LR and MR switching process.

[0162] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0163] The basic principles of this disclosure have been described above with reference to specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, benefits, and effects mentioned in this disclosure are merely examples and not limitations, and should not be considered as essential features of each embodiment of this disclosure. Furthermore, the specific details disclosed above are for illustrative and facilitative purposes only, and are not limitations. These details do not limit the scope of this disclosure to the necessity of employing the aforementioned specific details for implementation.

[0164] The block diagrams of devices, apparatuses, devices, and systems disclosed herein are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, or configured in the manner shown in the block diagrams. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these devices, apparatuses, devices, and systems can be connected, arranged, and configured in any manner. Words such as “comprising,” “including,” “having,” etc., are open-ended terms meaning “including but not limited to,” and are used interchangeably with them. The terms “or” and “and” as used herein refer to the terms “and / or,” and are used interchangeably with them unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “such as” as used herein refers to the phrase “such as but not limited to,” and is used interchangeably with it.

[0165] Additionally, as used herein, the “or” used in a list of items beginning with “at least one” indicates a separate list, such that a list of, for example, “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, the word “exemplary” does not imply that the described example is preferred or better than other examples.

[0166] It should also be noted that in the systems and methods of this disclosure, the components or operations can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered as equivalent solutions to this disclosure.

[0167] Various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made to the technology described herein without departing from the teachings defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, the scope of the claims of this disclosure is not limited to the specific aspects of the processes, machines, manufactures, events, means, methods, and actions described above. Currently existing or later-developed processes, machines, manufactures, events, means, methods, or actions that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding aspects described herein can be utilized. Therefore, the appended claims include such processes, machines, manufactures, events, means, methods, or actions within their scope.

[0168] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to be carried out within the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0169] The above description has been given for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although numerous exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, alterations, additions, and sub-combinations therein.

Claims

1. A signal detection method, wherein, The method comprises: a first event occurs; stopping detecting the first low-power signal in a second time unit, or, keeping detecting the first low-power signal for a first time length.

2. The signal detection method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: stopping detecting the first low-power signal after the first time length.

3. The signal detection method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: keeping detecting the first low-power signal before the second time unit.

4. The signal detection method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: the first event occurs in a first time unit.

5. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The method further comprises: a starting time unit of the first time length is the first time unit, or, a starting time unit of the first time length is a next time unit after the first time unit.

6. The signal detection method of claim 1 or 4, wherein, The first event occurs comprises one or more of: turning on a main receiver configured to receive a paging signal; a measurement performance of a first synchronization signal is lower than a first threshold; receiving a first low-power wake-up signal indicating to turn on the main receiver or detect a paging signal; initiating a random access (RACH) procedure; requesting an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) resource or transmitting a scheduling request (SR).

7. The signal detection method of claim 6, wherein, The measurement performance of the first synchronization signal being lower than the first threshold further comprises at least one of: the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold within a preset time; a number of times that the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold reaches a preset number of times; the number of times that the measurement performance of the first synchronization signal is lower than the first threshold within the preset time reaches the preset number of times.

8. The signal detection method of claim 7, wherein the preset time is a predefined value, or a third configuration is received, the third configuration indicating the preset time.

9. The signal detection method of claim 7, wherein the preset number of times is a predefined value, or a fourth configuration is received, the fourth configuration indicating the preset number of times.

10. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The first time length comprises one or more of: the first time length is a predefined value, or a first configuration is received, the first configuration comprising the first time length; an interval between a time unit of receiving a first synchronization signal block (SSB) and the first time unit; an interval between a time unit of receiving a first paging signal and the first time unit, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambled by a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI) or a downlink control information (DCI); an interval between a time unit when a main receiver is turned on and the first time unit, or an interval between a time unit when a paging signal starts to be received and the first time unit; an interval between a time unit that is a second time length after a time unit when the main receiver is turned on and the first time unit, or an interval between a time unit that is a second time length after a time unit when the paging signal starts to be received and the first time unit, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or a second configuration is received, the second configuration comprising the second time length.

11. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The second time unit comprises one or more of: a time unit after a first time length of time units from the first time unit, wherein the first time length is a predefined value, or a first configuration is received, the first configuration comprising the first time length; a time unit in which a first SSB is received; a time unit in which a first paging signal is received, wherein the first paging signal is a paging message, or a P-RNTI scrambled PDCCH, or a P-RNTI scrambled DCI; a time unit in which a main receiver is turned on, or a time unit in which a paging signal is started to be received; a time unit after a second time length of time units from the time unit in which the main receiver is turned on, or a time unit after the second time length of time units from the time unit in which the paging signal is started to be received, wherein the second time length is a predefined value, or a second configuration is received, the second configuration comprising the second time length.

12. The signal detection method of any one of claims 6-10, wherein the first synchronization signal comprises at least one of: a low power synchronization signal (LP-SS), a primary synchronization sequence (PSS), a secondary synchronization sequence (SSS), a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB).

13. The signal detection method of any one of claims 6-10, wherein the measurement performance comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indication (RSSI).

14. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-13, wherein, the first low power signal comprises at least one of: a low power wake up signal (LP-WUS), a low power synchronization signal (LP-SS).

15. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein, the method further comprises: stopping detecting the first low power signal when a second event occurs; the second event comprises: a measurement performance of a second synchronization signal being lower than a second threshold.

16. The signal detection method of any one of claims 1-15, wherein, the method further comprises: turning on a main receiver or detecting a paging signal when the first event occurs; the first event comprises: a measurement performance of a first synchronization signal being lower than a first threshold.

17. A signal detection apparatus, wherein, the apparatus comprises: a first event module configured to cause a first event; a first stopping module configured to stop detecting a first low power signal at a second time unit, or a first keeping module configured to keep detecting the first low power signal for a first time length.

18. An electronic device, comprising: comprising: a memory configured to store computer readable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the electronic device to perform the signal detection method of any one of claims 1-16. the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the signal detection method of any one of claims 1-16.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein, comprising:

20. A signal detection method, wherein, turning on a main receiver or detecting a paging signal when a first event occurs; stopping detecting a first low power signal when a second event occurs; wherein the first event comprises a measurement performance of a first synchronization signal being lower than a first threshold, and the second event comprises a measurement performance of a second synchronization signal being lower than a second threshold.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold are independently configured; or a difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is dynamically configured by a bias value, comprising: ​ receive a fifth configuration, the fifth configuration indicating a first offset, determine a second threshold value according to the first offset and a first threshold value, the first offset being a predefined value or configured by a network device; or receive a sixth configuration, the sixth configuration indicating a second offset, determine a first threshold value according to the second offset and a second threshold value, the second offset being a predefined value or configured by a network device.

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