Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium and program product

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium and a program product. The communication method comprises: sending first information to a second node, wherein the first information includes first capability information and / or first auxiliary information related to support for a low power-wake up signal; and receiving second information from the second node, wherein the second information is used for indicating a low power-wake up signal network group to which a first node belongs.

Description

Communication method and apparatus, storage medium, and program product

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411093245.3, filed on August 8, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a program product. BACKGROUND

[0003] Energy consumption of a 5th generation mobile technology (5G) device is critical. Currently, the energy consumption of a device in a 5G system mainly depends on the configuration of a wake-up period. A long wake-up period results in low energy consumption, but this brings high latency, which is not suitable for delay-sensitive application scenarios. A low power-wake up signal (LP-WUS) / low power-wake up receiver (LP-WUR) uses an independent low power receiver to monitor a low power-wake up signal, thereby triggering a main radio (MR) to wake up. The main radio is used for data transmission and reception, and is only woken up / turned on when triggered, and can be turned off or set to deep sleep otherwise, thereby reducing power consumption. At the same time, the main radio is relatively flexible and can be applied to delay-sensitive application scenarios. Currently, methods for triggering the main radio to wake up based on the low power-wake up signal are still under research and discussion. SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a storage medium, and a program product for reducing the probability of false paging.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first node. The communication method includes: sending first information to a second node, the first information containing first capability information related to supporting a low power-wake up signal and / or first auxiliary information; receiving second information from the second node, the second information being used to indicate a low power-wake up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0007] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a second node. The communication method includes: receiving first information from a first node, the first information containing first capability information related to supporting a low power-wake up signal and / or first auxiliary information; sending second information, the second information being used to indicate a low power-wake up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0008] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a third node. The communication method comprises: receiving second information from a second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which a first node belongs.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to a first node. The communication apparatus comprises: a sending unit configured to send first information to a second node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signals; and a receiving unit configured to receive second information from the second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to a second node. The communication apparatus comprises: a receiving unit configured to receive first information from a first node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signals; and a sending unit configured to send second information, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to a third node. The communication apparatus comprises: a receiving unit configured to receive second information from a second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which a first node belongs.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus comprises a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor. The memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processor. The processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the communication apparatus to implement the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0014] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product containing computer instructions is provided. When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0015] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after receiving the information indicating the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. In this way, after detecting the low-power wake-up signal, if the low-power wake-up signal contains or indicates the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node is triggered to wake up. If the low-power wake-up signal does not contain or indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node does not have to wake up (the main radio can continue to remain in the sleep state). In this way, compared with the related art in which the first node wakes up to perform paging after detecting the low-power wake-up signal, the probability of false paging is reduced, the energy consumption of the first node due to false paging is reduced, and the energy consumption of the first node is also reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification. The drawings, together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, are used to explain the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a flow schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a flow schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a flow schematic diagram of yet another communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a composition schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a composition schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a composition schematic diagram of yet another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0026] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to". As used herein, the terms "example" and "exemplary" indicate functions, structures, or characteristics which could be combined in any suitable manner to produce yet further embodiments. As used herein, the term "or" as used herein, without limitation, can be any logical combination of its elements. As used herein, the terms "first", "second", and the like, do not imply relative importance or a specific order, but are used to distinguish one element from another. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" shall not be construed to mean "one and only one" unless specifically indicated otherwise. As used herein, the term "another" is used to mean "at least one", and is not intended to limit the number of elements to just one. As used herein, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0027] As used herein, the terms "first", "second", and the like, do not imply relative importance or a specific order, but are used to distinguish one element from another. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" shall not be construed to mean "one and only one" unless specifically indicated otherwise. As used herein, the term "another" is used to mean "at least one", and is not intended to limit the number of elements to just one. As used herein, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0028] As used herein, the terms "example" and "exemplary" indicate functions, structures, or characteristics which could be combined in any suitable manner to produce yet further embodiments. As used herein, the term "or" as used herein, without limitation, can be any logical combination of its elements. As used herein, the terms "first", "second", and the like, do not imply relative importance or a specific order, but are used to distinguish one element from another. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" shall not be construed to mean "one and only one" unless specifically indicated otherwise. As used herein, the term "another" is used to mean "at least one", and is not intended to limit the number of elements to just one. As used herein, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0029] As used herein, the terms "example" and "exemplary" indicate functions, structures, or characteristics which could be combined in any suitable manner to produce yet further embodiments. As used herein, the term "or" as used herein, without limitation, can be any logical combination of its elements. As used herein, the terms "first", "second", and the like, do not imply relative importance or a specific order, but are used to distinguish one element from another. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" shall not be construed to mean "one and only one" unless specifically indicated otherwise. As used herein, the term "another" is used to mean "at least one", and is not intended to limit the number of elements to just one. As used herein, the term "plurality" means two or more.

[0030] 5G system design and development take into account both mobile communication and vertical application scenarios. In addition to latency, reliability, and availability, energy efficiency of user equipment (UE) is also a key for 5G. Currently, the charging period of 5G devices can be required every week or every day, depending on the user's usage time. Generally, the UE consumes tens of milliwatts in the radio resource control (RRC) idle / inactive state and hundreds of milliwatts in the RRC connected state. In order to improve energy efficiency and enhance user experience, it is necessary to design to extend the battery life.

[0031] For UEs without a continuous power source, such as devices using small rechargeable or single coin cell batteries, energy efficiency is particularly important. In vertical applications, sensors and actuators are widely used for monitoring, measurement, and charging, etc. Generally, the batteries of these devices are not rechargeable and are required to be used for at least several years. Wearable devices, such as smart watches, rings, health-related devices, and medical monitoring devices, are challenging to meet the 1-2 week battery life requirement given their standard battery capacity.

[0032] Energy consumption depends on the configuration of the wake-up period, such as the paging period. In order to meet the above battery life requirements, a longer enhanced discontinuous reception (eDRX) period can be used, but it will bring high latency, which is not suitable for services that require both long battery life and low latency. For example, in a fire detection and extinguishing scenario, once the sensor detects a fire, the actuator should close the fireproof door and start the fire extinguishing nozzle within 1 to 2 seconds, and a long eDRX period cannot meet this delay requirement. Therefore, eDRX is not suitable for delay-sensitive application scenarios.

[0033] Currently, the UE needs to wake up once per DRX (discontinuous reception) cycle, which dominates the power consumption during periods without signaling or data traffic. If the UE wakes up only at the trigger (e.g., paging), the power consumption can be significantly reduced. This can be achieved by using a wake-up signal to trigger the main radio and using an independent receiver that can monitor the wake-up signal with ultra-low power consumption. The main radio is used for data transmission and reception, and can be turned off or set to deep sleep unless it is turned on. The power consumption of monitoring the wake-up signal depends on the design of the wake-up signal and the wake-up receiver used for signal detection and processing.

[0034] Rel-18 study item New Radio (NR) Low Power Wake-up Signal and Receiver discusses the following aspects: low power wake-up signal and receiver, including energy saving effect, coverage, system overhead impact, network energy consumption impact and other related aspects; architecture of low power wake-up receiver, and analysis of power consumption, noise figure, etc.; physical layer design and process changes to support low power wake-up signal, and link performance evaluation; high layer protocol changes required to support low power wake-up signal. Based on the results of the preliminary exploration study, R19 further standardizes the LP-WUS / LP-WUR technology. Supporting LP-WUS / LP-WUR in RRC IDLE / INACTIVE mode needs to consider the LP-WUS process and configuration of LP-WUS triggering paging monitoring, such as LP-WUS monitoring configuration, subgrouping and entry / exit conditions. For RRC CONNECTED mode, the process of allowing LP-WUS triggered UE MR physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring needs to be considered, including the activation and deactivation process of LP-WUS monitoring.

[0035] Currently, paging monitoring in RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE mode is based on configured IDLE-DRX and paging early indication (PEI). LP-WUS is applied, and when the UE detects LP-WUS, the UE will start its main receiver to monitor the traditional paging, i.e., the PDCCH scheduling the paging message on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The UE listens to the paging according to the configuration at the corresponding paging occasion, and multiple UEs can share the same paging occasion. After waking up from LP-WUS, all UEs can be triggered to wake up to monitor the paging in the relevant PO (paging opportunity), or only a subset of UEs sharing the PO, i.e., LP-WUS UE subgrouping. That is, a UE wakes up for paging when it detects LP-WUS, even if the LP-WUS may not be used to wake up the UE for paging, resulting in a high probability of false paging and unnecessary power consumption for the UE. How to reduce the probability of false paging is a problem to be solved.

[0036] Based on this, the embodiment of the disclosure provides a communication method and device, a storage medium and a program product. After receiving information indicating a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. In this way, after detecting a low-power wake-up signal, if the low-power wake-up signal contains or indicates the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node is triggered to wake up. If the low-power wake-up signal does not contain or indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node does not have to wake up (the main radio can continue to remain in a sleep state). In this way, compared with the related art in which the first node wakes up to perform paging after detecting a low-power wake-up signal, the probability of false paging is reduced, the energy consumption of the first node due to false paging is reduced, and the energy consumption of the first node is also reduced.

[0037] The scheme of the embodiment of the disclosure will be introduced below in combination with the drawings.

[0038] The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can be applied to various mobile communication networks, for example, mobile communication networks using 5G NR, future mobile communication networks (for example, 6G wireless communication system) or various communication fusion systems, etc., and the embodiment of the disclosure does not limit this.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes but is not limited to a first node 110, a second node 120 and a third node 130. The first node 110, the second node 120 and the third node 130 can perform wireless signal transmission, reception and related interaction, etc.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first node 110 is a terminal. The terminal can be a device with wireless transceiving function, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet of Things terminal, etc. The type of terminal is not limited by the embodiment of the disclosure.

[0041] In some embodiments, the second node 120 is a core network, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) in the core network. The AMF is used to manage the registration, connection, access authentication and authorization, mobility and reachability management of the terminal.

[0042] In some embodiments, the third node 130 is a base station. The base station can be any one of an evolution nodeB (eNB), a next generation nodeB (gNB), a transmission receive point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a relay node, a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), and some other access node. According to the size of the service coverage area provided, the base station can be further divided into a macro base station for providing a macro cell, a micro base station for providing a pico cell, and a femto base station for providing a femto cell. As wireless communication technologies continue to evolve, future base stations can also be referred to by other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] It should be understood that FIG. 1 is an exemplary structure diagram, and the number of devices included in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is not limited, for example, the number of first nodes and third nodes is not limited. In addition, the communication system shown in FIG. 1 can include other devices in addition to the devices shown in FIG. 1, which are not limited.

[0044] Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method applied to a first node. The first node can be the first node 110 shown in FIG. 1, and the communication method includes the following S101 and S102.

[0045] In S101, first information is sent to a second node.

[0046] In some embodiments, the first node sends the first information to the second node in order to determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. The first information is used to request the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. The second node can be the second node 120 shown in FIG. 1. For ease of description, the following embodiments are described by taking the first node as a terminal, the second node as an AMF, and the third node as a base station.

[0047] The low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs indicates that, after detecting a low-power wake-up signal, if the low-power wake-up signal contains or indicates the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node is triggered to wake up; if the low-power wake-up signal does not contain or indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node does not have to wake up (the main radio can continue to remain in a sleep state).

[0048] In some embodiments, the first information contains first capability information and / or first auxiliary information related to the low-power wake-up signal. The first capability information includes at least one of the following: a capability of supporting a low-power wake-up signal network group; a capability of supporting a low-power wake-up signal and an early indication of paging; a capability of supporting a randomized group based on an identification of the first node.

[0049] The first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: a paging probability; a power consumption state; a power level state; a low-power receiver type; a paging delay tolerance.

[0050] In some embodiments, the first auxiliary information can further include at least one of the following: an error paging probability; a mobility / moving speed; a power consumption state or a power level state; a wake-up latency.

[0051] The mobility / moving speed includes fast / medium / slow / static. The power consumption state or the power level state can be a plugged-in / unplugged (using a battery) indication, or a remaining power level indication (high / medium / low or percentage), or a primary / secondary / tertiary energy consumption indication (for example, primary energy consumption represents the highest energy consumption / power saving, secondary energy consumption represents moderate, and tertiary energy consumption is the next). The low-power receiver type indicates the complexity of the receiver that can support signal processing, such as a binary on-off keying (OOK) detection receiver, a low-complexity orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiver, and the like.

[0052] The wake-up latency of the first node can further include at least one of the following: a wake-up latency of the first node at a low frequency (FR1), a wake-up latency of the first node at a high frequency (FR2), a latency of waking up from different low-power receiver types, a latency of waking up at different subcarrier spacings, a latency of waking up from different sleep states (for example, an ultra-deep sleep state, a deep sleep state, a light sleep state).

[0053] In some embodiments, the network group can have other names, such as a network subgroup, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0054] In S102, second information from a second node is received.

[0055] In some embodiments, after receiving the first information sent by the first node, the second node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. Then, the second node sends second information to the first node, and accordingly, the first node receives the second information from the second node. The second information is used to indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0056] As an example, the second node determines the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the first information.

[0057] As another example, the second node autonomously allocates the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs for the first node.

[0058] In some embodiments, the first node receives the second information from the second node can be that the first node receives the second information sent by the second node through a third node.

[0059] In some embodiments, the second information is carried in non-access stratum (NAS) signaling.

[0060] In some embodiments, the second information includes an identifier of the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. For example, the identifier of the low-power wake-up signal network group is 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5,..., N, where N is a positive integer.

[0061] In some embodiments, after receiving the second information, the first node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0062] Based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, after receiving the information indicating the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. In this way, after detecting the low-power wake-up signal, if the low-power wake-up signal contains or indicates the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node is triggered to wake up; if the low-power wake-up signal does not contain or indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the first node does not have to wake up (the main radio can continue to remain in a sleep state). In this way, compared with the first node waking up to perform paging after detecting the low-power wake-up signal in the related art, the probability of false paging is reduced, the energy consumption of the first node due to false paging is reduced, and the energy consumption of the first node is also reduced.

[0063] In some embodiments, the first node receives third information from the second node. The third information is used to indicate whether the first node needs to listen to the paging early indication.

[0064] It should be understood that, assuming that the first node supports both LP-WUS and PEI at the same time, and is configured with both LP-WUS and PEI at the same time, it is necessary to consider which cases it is beneficial to monitor both signals, and which cases it is unnecessary to monitor both signals. If it is unnecessary to monitor both signals, how to indicate this to the first node.

[0065] Assuming that UEs 1 and 2 sharing the PO belong to the same LP-WUS network group and belong to the same PEI network group, after the UE (e.g., UE1 and / or UE2) is woken up by the LP-WUS, it is unnecessary to further monitor the PEI, because further monitoring the PEI will not reduce false alarms, but will increase additional power consumption. Assuming that UEs 1 and 2 sharing the PO belong to different LP-WUS network groups but belong to the same PEI network group. As above, after the UE (e.g., UE1 and / or UE2) is woken up by the LP-WUS, it is unnecessary to further monitor the PEI, further monitoring the PEI will not reduce false alarms, but will increase additional power consumption. Assuming that UEs 1 and 2 sharing the PO belong to the same LP-WUS network group but belong to different PEI network groups, after the UE (e.g., UE1 and / or UE2) is woken up by the LP-WUS, it can further monitor the PEI, which can reduce false alarms. That is, further monitoring the PEI is beneficial only when UEs in one LP-WUS network group are mapped to multiple PEI network groups.

[0066] For UEs indicating that both PEI and LP-WUS are supported, when the AMF performs PEI network grouping and LP-WUS network grouping, if the network grouping is determined according to the paging probability, mobility, and other information of the UE, when there is a relationship that UEs in one LP-WUS network group correspond to multiple PEI network groups, the AMF can indicate to the UE to monitor the PEI; and when the LP-WUS grouping and the PEI grouping are in a one-to-one relationship, or when UEs in multiple LP-WUS network groups correspond to one PEI network group, the AMF can indicate to the UE that it is unnecessary to monitor the PEI. That is, when the LP-WUS grouping and the PEI grouping are configured at the same time, the AMF can indicate to the UE whether it is necessary to monitor the PEI, and if it is indicated that it is unnecessary to monitor the PEI, the UE is woken up by the LP-WUS signal and does not further monitor the PEI.

[0067] That is, the first node receives third information from the second node, the third information being used to indicate whether the first node needs to monitor the PEI. The first node can determine whether to monitor the PEI based on the third information. In the case that the third information is used to indicate to monitor the PEI, the PEI is monitored. In the case that the third information is used to indicate not to monitor the PEI, the PEI is not monitored.

[0068] In this way, compared with the first node monitoring the PEI by default in the related art, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose that the first node determines whether to monitor the PEI based on the information sent by the second node to indicate whether the first node needs to monitor the PEI, that is, determines whether to monitor the PEI based on the indication of the second node, which can reduce the number of times of monitoring the PEI and help reduce the energy consumption of the first node.

[0069] In some embodiments, for the RRC CONNECTED mode, the procedure of allowing the LP-WUS to trigger the UE's main radio module to perform PDCCH monitoring needs to be considered, for example, the activation and deactivation procedure of LP-WUS monitoring. In the RRC CONNECTED mode, the gNB will configure the UE to enable / disable LP-WUS listening through RRC dedicated signaling.

[0070] Based on this, in order to facilitate the third node to determine to enable or disable the monitoring of the low-power wake-up signal, the first node sends fourth information to the third node. The fourth information contains second capability information and / or second auxiliary information related to supporting the low-power wake-up signal. The fourth information is used by the third node to determine to activate or deactivate the monitoring of the low-power wake-up signal.

[0071] In some embodiments, the second capability information includes at least one of the following: capability of supporting LP-WUS monitoring, capability of supporting LP-WUS network grouping, frequency band list supporting LP-WUS, frequency band combination supporting LP-WUS.

[0072] It should be understood that the second capability information includes the capability of the first node supporting the LP-WUS monitoring, which represents that the first node supports the monitoring of the LP-WUS. After receiving the second capability information, the third node can determine that the first node supports the monitoring of the LP-WUS, and then the third node can determine to enable the monitoring of the LP-WUS. If the second capability information does not include the capability of the first node supporting the LP-WUS monitoring, which represents that the first node does not support the monitoring of the LP-WUS, then the third node can determine to disable the monitoring of the LP-WUS and stop sending the LP-WUS to the first node, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the first node.

[0073] The second assistance information includes at least one of the following: an interest indication of the first node being configured / using the LP-WUS, a LP-WUS transmission period expected by the first node, a power saving requirement of the first node, a power saving performance / node level expected by the first node, a low power receiver type, and a wake-up latency of the first node. The wake-up latency of the first node further includes at least one of the following: a wake-up latency of the first node at a low frequency (FR1), a wake-up latency of the first node at a high frequency (FR2), a latency of waking up from different low power receiver types, a latency of waking up at different subcarrier spacings, and a latency of waking up from different sleep states (e.g., a super deep sleep state, a deep sleep state, and a light sleep state).

[0074] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide another communication method applied to a second node. The communication method can include the following S201 and S202.

[0075] In S201, first information from a first node is received.

[0076] In some embodiments, the first information includes first capability information related to a low power wake-up signal and / or first assistance information. The first capability information includes at least one of the following: a capability of supporting a low power wake-up signal network group; a capability of supporting a low power wake-up signal and an early indication of paging; and a capability of supporting a randomized grouping based on an identity of the first node.

[0077] The first assistance information includes at least one of the following: a paging probability; a power consumption state; a power level state; a low power receiver type; and a paging delay tolerance.

[0078] For the description of the first capability information and the first assistance information, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0079] In S202, second information is sent.

[0080] In some embodiments, after receiving the first information, the second node can determine a low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the first information, and then send the second information to the first node through a third node. The second information is used to indicate the low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0081] Based on the embodiments shown in FIG. 3, the second node sends the second information used to indicate the low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, so that the first node can determine the low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the second information, which can reduce the probability of the first node being wrongly paged, reduce the energy consumption of the first node due to the wrong paging, and help reduce the energy consumption of the first node.

[0082] In some embodiments, the second node determines the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the first information, which can be determined based on the first information, local configuration information, paging-related information provided by the third node, statistical information / history information related to the first node, subscription information of the first node.

[0083] In some embodiments, to assist the second node in determining the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs, the third node sends fifth information to the second node, and accordingly, the second node receives the fifth information sent by the third node. The fifth information includes configuration information of low-power wake-up signals of each cell within the coverage of the third node, and / or the number of LP-WUS network groups expected by the third node to be provided by the second node.

[0084] The configuration information of low-power wake-up signals of each cell within the coverage of the third node includes at least one of the following: the total number of LP-WUS network groups per paging occasion, the number of randomized LP-WUS network groups based on the identity of the first node.

[0085] After receiving the fifth information, the second node can determine the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the fifth information and the first information, which helps to improve the accuracy of determining the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0086] In some embodiments, when the first node is configured with both LP-WUS network groups and PEI network groups, the second node sends third information to the first node. The third information is used to indicate whether the first node needs to monitor the paging early indication. If it is indicated that the first node does not need to monitor the paging early indication, the first node will not further monitor the paging early indication after being awakened by the low-power wake-up signal. In this way, the number of times the first node monitors the paging early indication can be reduced, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the first node.

[0087] In some embodiments, the second node can autonomously determine the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups. After determining the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups, the second node sends sixth information to the third node. The sixth information is used to indicate the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups. The third node can refer to the sixth information when configuring the LP-WUS group configuration information of each cell within the network coverage of the third node.

[0088] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the present disclosure provides another communication method applied to a third node. The communication method can include the following S301.

[0089] In S301, second information from a second node is received.

[0090] The second information is used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0091] In some embodiments, the second information is included in the following information: RRC INACTIVE state core network assistance information; or, a paging message.

[0092] Taking the case that the second information is included in the RRC INACTIVE state core network assistance information, after the third node receives the second information, the second information is saved and used by the third node to perform LP-WUS-based paging grouping on the first node in the RRC INACTIVE state. In addition, the RRC INACTIVE state core network assistance information can also include assistance information of the first node. The assistance information of the first node includes at least one of the following: power consumption / charge state, low-power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, error paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), and wake-up delay of the first node. For the description of the wake-up delay of the first node, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 2, which is not repeated here.

[0093] Taking the case that the second information is included in the paging message, when the second node initiates paging of the first node in the RRC IDLE state, the second information is carried in a next generation (NG) paging message. In addition, the paging message can also carry assistance information of the first node. The assistance information of the first node includes at least one of the following: power consumption / charge state, low-power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, error paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), and wake-up delay of the first node.

[0094] In some embodiments, the second information includes an identifier of a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. Taking the case that the second information is included in the RRC INACTIVE state core network assistance information, the identifier of the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs can be included in the following messages: INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST, UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST, HANDOVER REQUEST, and PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE.

[0095] In some embodiments, after receiving the second information from the second node, the third node forwards the second information to the first node, so that the first node determines the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs based on the second information.

[0096] Since the indication information in the LP-WUS signal is limited, i.e., the number of LP-WUS network groups is limited. The capability of supporting randomized grouping based on the identity of the first node / network allocation based grouping per cell can be different, and can only support one or both. In one way, the third node sends fifth information, and the fifth information includes the configuration information of the low power wake-up signal of each cell in the coverage of the third node, and / or the number of LP-WUS network groups expected to be provided by the second node to assist the second node in grouping the low power wake-up signal.

[0097] In some embodiments, the third node receives sixth information sent by the second node. The sixth information is used to indicate the number of low power wake-up signal network groups. The third node can refer to the sixth information when configuring the LP-WUS grouping configuration information of each cell in the coverage of the configuration point.

[0098] In some embodiments, when the third node decides that the first node in RRC INACTIVE initiates RAN paging, the third node sends seventh information to another third node. The seventh information includes the identity of the low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. After receiving the seventh information, the other third node performs LP-WUS based paging grouping for the first node based on the seventh information. In addition, the RAN paging message can also carry auxiliary information of the first node, such as power consumption / charge state, low power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, error paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), and wake-up delay of the first node.

[0099] As an example, the other third node is a third node adjacent to the third node.

[0100] The low power synchronization signal (LP-SS) can be used for radio resource management (RRM) measurement by the low power receiver, and for coarse time and / or frequency domain synchronization. The periodic LP-SS system overhead depends on the LP-SS period, system bandwidth, number of beams, and resources required for the target function, etc. If the periodic LP-SS signal is used for coarse synchronization, the signal overhead before the LP-WUS can be reduced. The LP-SS can define some different sequences, and different sequences (one or more) are used by different cells, and different sequences can be used for different UE groups, thereby further reducing the system overhead. To avoid interference, the third nodes need to interact with each other the LP-SS sequences used by each other, i.e., the base stations interact with each other the LP-SS sequences used by each other.

[0101] Based on this, in some embodiments, the third node sends the capability information of the third node to another third node. The capability information of the third node includes at least one of the following: the capability of supporting LP-WUS, the LP-SS sequence (or the number of the LP-SS sequence) used by each cell.

[0102] As an example, the capability information of the third node is sent in an Xn Setup request, an NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE, a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST message, or other Xn interface messages. NG-RAN is a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN).

[0103] Correspondingly, the other third node sends the capability information of the other third node to the third node, and the capability information of the other third node includes at least one of the following: the capability of the other third node supporting LP-WUS, the LP-SS sequence (or the number of the LP-SS sequence) used by each cell within the coverage range of the other third node.

[0104] As an example, the capability information of the other third node is sent in an Xn Setup request, an NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE, a CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST message, or other Xn interface messages.

[0105] In some embodiments, the third node adopts a distributed architecture including a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU receives the second information from the second node and sends the eighth information to the DU. The eighth information includes the identification of the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. The DU is used for performing LP-WUS-based paging grouping for the first node. If the first node is limited to only listen to the LP-WUS in the last serving cell (the serving cell where the first node was located before entering the RRC IDLE / inactive state), the eighth information further includes indication information indicating that the paging cell supports the low-power wake-up signal grouping.

[0106] In some embodiments, the eighth information is included in the F1 paging message. For example, the eighth information is included in the F1 paging message, the last used cell is indicated in the paging cell in the F1 paging message. In addition, the paging cell in the F1 paging message can carry an indication of supporting the LP-WUS subgroup, indicating that the first node in the cell supports receiving / listening to the LP-WUS signal.

[0107] In some embodiments, the third node receives the fourth information from the first node. The fourth information includes the second capability information related to the low power wake-up signal and / or the second assistance information. For the description of the second capability information and the second assistance information, please refer to the corresponding description in the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0108] Still taking the third node adopting the distributed architecture as an example, the CU receives the fourth information from the first node and sends the fourth information to the DU. It should be understood that the fourth information is sent to the DU so that in the case that the DU determines that the first node enables or disables listening to the low power wake-up signal, the DU can determine that the first node enables or disables listening to the low power wake-up signal based on the fourth information.

[0109] Under the CU-DU separation architecture, it needs to be considered whether the enabling / disabling of LP-WUS listening is determined by the CU or the DU. The enabling / disabling of LP-WUS listening is relatively static configuration, and the CU can determine the configuration of the enabling / disabling of LP-WUS according to the fourth information reported by the first node, the radio resource management (RRM) measurement report, etc.

[0110] In the case that the CU determines that the first node enables or disables listening to the low power wake-up signal, the CU sends the ninth information to the DU. The ninth information is used to indicate that the first node enables or disables listening to the low power wake-up signal, so that the DU determines whether to send / stop sending the LP-WUS signal to the first node. Alternatively, in the case that the DU determines that the first node enables or disables listening to the low power wake-up signal, the DU sends the ninth information to the CU.

[0111] When the monitoring of the LP-WUS is enabled / disabled, more flexible control of the activation / deactivation of the LP-WUS monitoring can be further considered. For the configuration of the activation / deactivation of the LP-WUS monitoring, it is relatively dynamic / flexible, and it can be necessary to consider the resources / load of the cell in a period of time, and it is more suitable for the DU to configure. The CU can send the ninth information received from the first node to the DU to assist the DU in configuring the activation / deactivation of the LP-WUS. In another way, the CU can also determine the configuration of the activation / deactivation of the LP-WUS, such as configuring the timer of the activation / deactivation of the LP-WUS or configuring the related measurement threshold (for example, when the detected LP-WUS signal / channel quality is lower than a certain threshold, the LP-WUS is deactivated; on the contrary, if it is higher than a certain threshold, the LP-WUS can be activated).

[0112] In some embodiments, before configuring / sending the LP-WUS, the third node wants to know whether the first node can monitor the LP-WUS. If the first node cannot monitor the LP-WUS, and the third node still sends the LP-WUS, the resource will be wasted. Therefore, the first node can report the LP-WUS monitoring state of the first node (for example, monitoring / can monitor the LP-WUS, cannot monitor the LP-WUS) to the third node. After receiving the LP-WUS monitoring state reported by the first node, the CU can send the tenth information to the DU. The tenth information is used to indicate the LP-WUS monitoring state of the first node, so that the DU can configure the LP-WUS based on the LP-WUS monitoring state of the first node.

[0113] The following takes the first node as the UE, the second node as the AMF, and the third node as the base station as an example to exemplarily illustrate a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Exemplarily, the following example 1 to example 4 can be included.

[0114] Example 1

[0115] For the LP-WUS network grouping, two grouping methods can be considered, one is a random grouping method based on UE identification, and the other is a network allocation grouping method.

[0116] For the way of network grouping, the UE can provide the first capability information and / or the first assistance information of the UE to the AMF (through NAS signaling) for assisting the AMF to group the LP-WUS. The first capability information of the UE includes at least one of the following: the capability of the UE to support LP-WUS network grouping, the capability of the UE to support UE identity-based randomization grouping, and the capability of the UE to support both LP-WUS and PEI. The first assistance information of the UE can consider at least one of the following: paging probability, power consumption / charge state, low-power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, false paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), and wake-up latency of the UE; the power consumption / charge state can be an indication of being plugged in / unplugged (using battery) or an indication of remaining charge (high / medium / low or percentage) or an indication of energy consumption level (e.g., level 1 energy consumption means very high energy consumption / power saving, level 2 means moderate, and level 3 means less); the low-power receiver type indicates the complexity of the receiver that can be supported for processing signals, such as an OOK detection receiver, a low-complexity OFDM receiver, etc. The wake-up latency of the UE can further include at least one of the following: the wake-up latency of the UE at low frequency (FR1), the wake-up latency of the UE at high frequency (FR2), the wake-up latency from different low-power receiver types, the wake-up latency at different subcarrier spacings, and the wake-up latency from different sleep states (e.g., ultra-deep sleep state, deep sleep state, light sleep state).

[0117] After receiving the first capability information and / or the first assistance information of the UE, the AMF allocates a LP-WUS network grouping identifier (e.g., network grouping 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5,..., N) for the UE and sends it to the UE (NAS signaling). When the AMF allocates the LP-WUS network grouping, it can consider the first capability information and the first assistance information provided by the UE, local configuration information, paging-related information provided by the base station, UE-related statistical information / history information, and UE subscription information, etc.

[0118] On the other hand, the AMF sends the identifier of the LP-WUS network grouping allocated for the UE to the base station.

[0119] As an example, the identifier of the LP-WUS network grouping allocated for the UE can be carried in the core network assistance information for RRC INACTIVE provided by the AMF to the base station (in some embodiments, the core network assistance information can carry the assistance information of the UE, such as power consumption / charge state, low-power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, false paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), and wake-up latency of the UE). After receiving the identifier of the LP-WUS network grouping allocated for the UE, the base station saves it and uses it for LP-WUS-based paging grouping of the UE in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0120] The identification of the LP-WUS network group carried in the RRC INACTIVE core network assistance information can be included in the INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST, UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST, HANDOVER REQUEST, PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE messages.

[0121] As another example, when the network / AMF initiates paging for a RRC IDLE UE, the identification of the LP-WUS network group assigned for the UE is carried in the NG paging message, which is used by the base station to page the UE with LP-WUS based paging group after receiving the message. In addition, the paging message can also carry the UE’s assistance information, such as power consumption / battery status, low power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, error paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), UE’s wake-up latency.

[0122] Since the indication information in the LP-WUS signal is limited, i.e., the number of LP-WUS network groups is limited. The capability of supporting UE identity based randomization group / network assigned group can be different for each cell, and can only support one or both.

[0123] In one way, the base station can send assistance information (i.e., the fifth information described above) to the AMF to assist the AMF in LP-WUS grouping, such as the base station’s LP-WUS related configuration for each cell, or the number of LP-WUS network groups that the base station expects the AMF to provide. The base station’s LP-WUS related configuration for each cell includes at least one of the following: the total number of LP-WUS subgroups per paging occasion, the number of LP-WUS subgroups for UE identity based randomization group.

[0124] Considering the coexistence scenario of LP-WUS and PEI, in some embodiments, the base station can send its PEI related configuration for each cell to the AMF, such as the total number of PEI subgroups per paging occasion, the number of PEI subgroups based on UE identity.

[0125] In one way, the AMF sends the number of network assigned LP-WUS network groups to the base station, which can refer to this information when configuring the LP-WUS grouping configuration information for each cell.

[0126] When the base station decides to initiate RAN paging for a certain RRC INACTIVE UE, the base station sends RAN paging message to the neighboring base station, the RAN paging message can carry the identity of the LP-WUS network group assigned to the UE by the network received from the AMF. In addition, the RAN paging message can also carry the UE's assistance information, such as power consumption / charge state, low-power receiver type, paging delay tolerance, error paging probability, mobility / moving speed (fast / medium / slow / static), UE's wake-up delay. The neighboring base station receives it and uses it to perform LP-WUS-based paging grouping for the UE.

[0127] Under the CU-DU separation architecture, when the CU receives the paging message sent by the AMF or decides to initiate RAN paging, and these paging messages contain the identity of the LP-WUS network group assigned to the UE by the network, the CU includes the identity of the LP-WUS network group assigned to the UE by the network in the F1 paging message when sending the F1 paging message to the DU, and the DU uses it to perform LP-WUS-based paging grouping for the UE.

[0128] If the UE is limited to only listen to the LP-WUS in the last serving cell (the serving cell before the UE enters the RRC idle / inactive state), the last serving cell is indicated in the paging cell in the F1 paging message. In addition, the F1 paging message in the paging cell can carry an indication of support for the LP-WUS subgroup, indicating that in this cell, the UE supports receiving / listening to the LP-WUS signal.

[0129] Example 2

[0130] Assuming that the UE supports both LP-WUS and PEI, and is configured with both LP-WUS and PEI, we need to consider which cases it is beneficial to listen to both LP-WUS and PEI, and which cases it is unnecessary to listen to both signals. If it is not necessary to listen to both signals, how to indicate to the UE.

[0131] Based on this, for UEs indicating that both PEI and LP-WUS are supported, when the AMF performs PEI network grouping and LP-WUS network grouping, if it is determined to group according to the paging probability, mobility, and other information of the UE, when there is a relationship that a plurality of PEI network groupings correspond to a plurality of LP-WUS network groupings, the AMF can indicate to the UE to monitor PEI; and when the LP-WUS network grouping and the PEI network grouping are in a one-to-one relationship, or a plurality of LP-WUS network groupings correspond to one PEI network grouping, the AMF can indicate to the UE that there is no need to monitor PEI. That is, when the LP-WUS network grouping and the PEI network grouping are configured at the same time, the AMF can indicate to the UE whether it is necessary to monitor PEI, and if it is indicated that there is no need to monitor PEI, the UE will not further monitor PEI after being awakened by the LP-WUS signal.

[0132] In this way, the number of times that the UE monitors PEI can be reduced, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the UE.

[0133] Example 3

[0134] For the RRC CONNECTED mode, the process of allowing the LP-WUS to trigger the PDCCH monitoring of the main radio module (MR) of the UE needs to be considered, for example, the activation and deactivation process of LP-WUS monitoring.

[0135] In the RRC connected mode, the base station configures the UE to enable / disable the monitoring of the LP-WUS through RRC dedicated signaling. The UE reports the second capability information and / or the second auxiliary information of the UE to the base station. The description of the second capability information and the second auxiliary information can refer to the corresponding description in the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0136] In the CU-DU separation architecture, it needs to be considered whether the enabling / disabling of the LP-WUS is determined by the CU or the DU. The enabling / disabling of the LP-WUS is relatively static configuration. The CU can determine the configuration of the enabling / disabling of the LP-WUS according to the second capability information, the second auxiliary information, the RRM measurement report, and the like reported by the UE.

[0137] On the one hand, after the CU determines to configure the enabling / disabling of the LP-WUS for the UE, the CU needs to indicate the enabling / disabling of the LP-WUS to the DU, so that the DU determines whether to send / stop sending the LP-WUS signal to the UE.

[0138] On the other hand, if the DU decides the enabling / disabling of LP-WUS, the DU needs to indicate the enabling / disabling of LP-WUS to the CU, so that the CU generates an RRC message containing the indication and sends it to the UE. In addition, if the DU decides the enabling / disabling of LP-WUS, the CU can send the second capability information and the second assistance information received from the UE to the DU for assisting the DU to make the decision.

[0139] When the configuration of LP-WUS monitoring enabling / disabling is configured, further more flexible control of the activation / deactivation of LP-WUS monitoring can be considered. For the configuration of the activation / deactivation of LP-WUS monitoring, it is relatively dynamic / flexible, and it can be more appropriate for the DU to configure, which can need to consider the resource / load of the cell in a period of time, etc. The CU can send the second capability information and the second assistance information received from the UE to the DU for assisting the DU to configure the activation / deactivation of LP-WUS.

[0140] In another way, the CU can also decide the configuration of the activation / deactivation of LP-WUS, such as configuring the timer of the activation / deactivation of LP-WUS or configuring the related measurement threshold (e.g., when the quality of the LP-WUS signal / channel is detected to be lower than a certain threshold, the LP-WUS is deactivated; otherwise, if it is higher than a certain threshold, the LP-WUS can be activated).

[0141] In some embodiments, before the base station configures / sends the LP-WUS, it is better to know whether the UE can monitor the LP-WUS. If the UE cannot monitor the LP-WUS, but the base station still sends the LP-WUS, it will waste resources. Therefore, the UE can report its LP-WUS monitoring state (e.g., monitoring LP-WUS, unable to monitor LP-WUS) to the base station. After the CU receives the LP-WUS monitoring state reported by the UE, the CU can send the LP-WUS monitoring state of the UE to the DU, so that the DU can configure the LP-WUS.

[0142] Example 4

[0143] From the above description, to avoid interference, the base stations need to interact with each other the LP-SS sequence used by each base station. For example, the base station sends at least one of the following to the neighboring base station: the capability of supporting LP-WUS, the LP-SS sequence (or the number of the LP-SS sequence) used by each cell, which can be sent in the Xn Setup request, NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE, CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST message or other Xn interface message. Accordingly, the neighboring base station includes the capability of supporting LP-WUS of the neighboring base station itself, the LP-SS sequence (or the number of the LP-SS sequence) used by each cell in the Xn setup response, NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE, CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE message or other Xn interface message, and sends the above information.

[0144] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the present disclosure from the perspective of interaction between nodes. It can be understood that each node, such as the first node, the second node or the third node, includes a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function in order to achieve the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present disclosure can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

[0145] The embodiments of the present disclosure can divide the functions of the first node, the second node or the third node into function modules according to the above method embodiments. For example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one function module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. When actually implemented, another division method can be used. The following will be described taking the example of dividing each function module according to each function.

[0146] FIG. 5 is a constituent schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication apparatus 40 includes a sending unit 401 and a receiving unit 402.

[0147] The communication apparatus 40 can be the first node or a chip in the first node. When the communication apparatus 40 is configured to implement the functions of the first node in the above embodiments, each unit is configured to implement the following functions.

[0148] The sending unit 401 is configured to send first information to the second node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signal.

[0149] The receiving unit 402 is configured to receive second information from the second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0150] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 402 is further configured to receive third information from the second node, the third information being used to indicate whether the first node needs to listen to paging early indication.

[0151] In some embodiments, the sending unit 401 is further configured to send fourth information to the third node, the fourth information comprising second capability information and / or second assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signal.

[0152] FIG. 6 is a constituent schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication apparatus 50 comprises a receiving unit 501 and a sending unit 502.

[0153] The communication apparatus 50 can be the second node or a chip in the second node. When the communication apparatus 50 is configured to implement the functions of the second node in the above embodiments, each unit is configured to implement the following functions.

[0154] The receiving unit 501 is configured to receive first information from the first node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signal.

[0155] The sending unit 502 is configured to send second information, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0156] In some embodiments, the sending unit 502 is further configured to send third information to the first node, the third information being used to indicate whether the first node needs to listen to paging early indication.

[0157] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 501 is further configured to receive fifth information from the third node, the fifth information comprising configuration information of low-power wake-up signal of each cell within a coverage range of the third node, and / or a number of low-power wake-up signal network groups expected to be provided by the second node.

[0158] In some embodiments, the sending unit 502 is further configured to send sixth information to the third node, where the sixth information is used to indicate the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups.

[0159] FIG. 7 is a constituent schematic diagram of yet another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication apparatus 60 includes a receiving unit 601. In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 60 further includes a sending unit 602.

[0160] The communication apparatus 60 can be the third node or a chip in the third node. When the communication apparatus 60 is used to implement the functions of the third node in the above embodiments, each unit is configured to implement the following functions.

[0161] The receiving unit 601 is configured to receive second information from the second node, where the second information is used to indicate the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0162] In some embodiments, the sending unit 602 is configured to send fifth information to the second node, where the fifth information includes configuration information of low-power wake-up signals of each cell within the coverage of the third node, and / or the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups expected to be provided by the second node.

[0163] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive sixth information from the second node, where the sixth information is used to indicate the number of low-power wake-up signal network groups.

[0164] In some embodiments, the sending unit 602 is configured to send seventh information to another third node, where the seventh information includes an identifier of the low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

[0165] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive fourth information from the first node, where the fourth information includes second capability information and / or second assistance information related to supporting low-power wake-up signals.

[0166] It should be noted that the units in FIGS. 5 to 7 can also be referred to as modules, for example, the sending unit can be referred to as a sending module. In addition, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the names of the units can also be different from those shown in the figures, for example, the sending unit can also be referred to as a communication unit, and the receiving unit can also be referred to as a communication unit.

[0167] The various units in FIGS. 5 to 7, if implemented in the form of software functional modules and sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, essentially or part of the related art to which contributions are made, or all or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to perform all or part of the steps of the methods in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium storing the computer software product includes: a U disk (Universal Serial Bus Disk), a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0168] In the case where the communication apparatus 40 to the communication apparatus 60 implement the functions of the above-mentioned integrated modules in the form of hardware, the present embodiment provides a structural diagram of a communication apparatus. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 70 includes a processor 702, a communication interface 703, and a bus 704. In some embodiments, the communication apparatus 70 can further include a memory 701.

[0169] The processor 702 can be various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure. The processor 702 can be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure. The processor 702 can also be a combination of computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP) and a microprocessor, etc.

[0170] The communication interface 703 is used to connect with other devices through a communication network. The communication network can be an Ethernet, a wireless access network, a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), etc.

[0171] The memory 701 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this.

[0172] As an implementation manner, the memory 701 can exist independently of the processor 702, and the memory 701 can be connected to the processor 702 through the bus 704, for storing instructions or program codes. When the processor 702 invokes and executes the instructions or program codes stored in the memory 701, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0173] In another implementation manner, the memory 701 can also be integrated with the processor 702.

[0174] The bus 704 can be an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus or the like. The bus 704 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For the convenience of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0175] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, only the above division of functional modules is taken as an example for illustration, and in actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the first node, the second node or the third node is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0176] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer readable storage medium (for example, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium). All or part of the flow of the above-mentioned method embodiments can be instructed by computer instructions to complete the related hardware, and the program can be stored in the above-mentioned computer readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the flow of each method embodiment as described above. The above-mentioned computer readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above-mentioned first node, second node or third node, such as a plug-in hard disk, smart media card (SMC), secure digital (SD) card, flash card and the like equipped on the above-mentioned first node, second node or third node. Further, the above-mentioned computer readable storage medium can also include the internal storage unit of the above-mentioned first node, second node or third node and the external storage device. The above-mentioned computer readable storage medium is used to store the above-mentioned computer program and other programs and data required by the above-mentioned first node, second node or third node. The above-mentioned computer readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store the data that has been output or will be output.

[0177] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer program product, which contains a computer program, and when the computer program product runs on a computer, it makes the computer execute any one of the communication methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0178] Although the present disclosure is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, it will be understood that other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed disclosure, from an inspection of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps not listed in the claims. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. A single processor or other unit can fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to an advantage.

[0179] Although the present disclosure is described herein in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded simply as illustrative of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims, and are to be construed that any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that are within the scope of the present disclosure are to be embraced by the present disclosure. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, if these modifications and changes of the present disclosure belong to the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalent technologies, the present disclosure is also intended to include these modifications and changes.

[0180] The above merely provides the specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure should be covered in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, wherein, The method applied to a first node comprises: sending first information to a second node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting a low-power wake-up signal; receiving second information from the second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first capability information comprises at least one of: a capability of supporting the low-power wake-up signal network group; a capability of supporting the low-power wake-up signal and paging early indication; a capability of supporting a randomized grouping based on an identity of the first node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first assistance information comprises at least one of: a paging probability; a power consumption state; a power level state; a low-power receiver type; a paging delay tolerance.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving third information from the second node, the third information being used to indicate whether the first node needs to listen to a paging early indication.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending fourth information to a third node, the fourth information comprising second capability information and / or second assistance information related to supporting the low-power wake-up signal.

6. A communication method applied to a second node, comprising: receiving first information from a first node, the first information comprising first capability information and / or first assistance information related to supporting a low-power wake-up signal; sending second information, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The first capability information comprises at least one of: a capability of supporting the low-power wake-up signal network group; a capability of supporting the low-power wake-up signal and paging early indication; a capability of supporting a randomized grouping based on an identity of the first node.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The first assistance information comprises at least one of: a paging probability; a power consumption state; a power level state; a low-power receiver type; a paging delay tolerance.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising: sending third information to the first node, the third information being used to indicate whether the first node needs to listen to a paging early indication.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving fifth information from a third node, the fifth information comprising configuration information of low-power wake-up signals of respective cells within a coverage range of the third node, and / or a number of low-power wake-up signal network groups expected to be provided by the second node.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising: sending sixth information to a third node, the sixth information being used to indicate a number of low-power wake-up signal network groups.

12. A communication method applied to a third node, comprising: receiving second information from a second node, the second information being used to indicate a low-power wake-up signal network group to which a first node belongs.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The second information is comprised in: radio resource control (RRC) inactive mode core network assistance information; or a paging message.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: sending fifth information to the second node, the fifth information comprising configuration information of low power wake-up signal of each cell within coverage of the third node, and / or a number of low power wake-up signal network groups that the third node expects the second node to provide. 15.The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving sixth information from the second node, the sixth information indicating the number of low power wake-up signal network groups. 16.The method of claim 12, further comprising: sending seventh information to another third node, the seventh information comprising an identity of a low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein, the third node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) ; the CU receiving second information from the second node and sending eighth information to the DU, the eighth information comprising an identity of a low power wake-up signal network group to which the first node belongs. 18.The method of claim 12, further comprising indication information indicating that a paging cell supports low power wake-up signal groups. 19.The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving fourth information from a first node, the fourth information comprising second capability information and / or second assistance information related to supporting low power wake-up signal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, the third node comprising a CU and a DU; the CU receiving the fourth information from the first node and sending the fourth information to the DU. 21.The method of claim 19, wherein, in a case that the CU determines that the first node enables or disables listening to low power wake-up signal, the CU sends ninth information to the DU, the ninth information indicating that the first node enables or disables listening to low power wake-up signal; or in a case that the DU determines that the first node enables or disables listening to low power wake-up signal, the DU sends the ninth information to the CU. 22.The method of claim 20, further comprising: the CU sending tenth information to the DU, the tenth information indicating a low power wake-up signal listening state of the first node.

23. A communications device comprising: a memory and a processor; wherein the memory is coupled to the processor; the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processor; and the processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

24. A computer readable storage medium, wherein, The computer readable storage medium has stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

25. A computer program product, wherein, The computer program product contains computer instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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