Grant-free transmission method and related apparatus

Abstract

Provided are a grant-free transmission method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal sending a wake-up signal associated with a grant-free resource (such as a grant-free resource to be used by the terminal), so as to wake up a network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on the grant-free resource. Naturally, the network device may be in a power-saving state if the terminal has not sent the wake-up signal, thereby mitigating the impact on transmission by the terminal while reducing power consumption by the network device.

Description

A grant-free transmission method and related apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411088995.1 filed on August 08, 2024, and entitled "A grant-free transmission method and related apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular to a grant-free transmission method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In wireless communication, in order to save the power consumption of a network device, the network device can be in an energy-saving state, or in other words, some resources (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, or space domain resources, etc.) are turned off.

[0004] Grant-free (GF) transmission refers to a technology in which a terminal performs uplink transmission through pre-configured resources, without the need for a network device to issue downlink control information (DCI) for dynamic scheduling.

[0005] In GF transmission, if the network device is in an energy-saving state, it can affect the transmission of the terminal. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a grant-free transmission method and related apparatus, in order to reduce the impact of network device energy saving on the transmission of the terminal.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a grant-free transmission method, which can be executed by a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can be a terminal, or a component (such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0008] Exemplarily, the method comprises: sending a wake-up signal associated with a GF resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up a network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on the GF resource.

[0009] In the technical solution, the terminal can send a wake-up signal associated with the GF resource (which can be a GF resource to be used by the terminal), to wake up the network device, and instruct the network device to receive the first signal on the unscheduled resource. Correspondingly, if the terminal does not send the wake-up signal, the network device can be in the energy-saving state, which is beneficial to save the power consumption of the network device. Moreover, the transmission of the first signal is performed after the network device is woken up by the wake-up signal, which is beneficial to reduce the probability of the terminal sending the first signal when the network device is in the energy-saving state, and further reduce the impact of the energy-saving of the network device on the transmission of the terminal.

[0010] It should be understood that, in the present application, the network device in the energy-saving state can mean that the network device does not receive signals on the GF resource. In addition, although the network device does not receive signals on the GF resource when it is in the energy-saving state, it can detect signals on other resources or channels, which is not limited in the present application.

[0011] Optionally, the wake-up signal can be used to instruct the terminal not to use GF resources other than the GF resource.

[0012] For example, the terminal sends a wake-up signal, the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is a GF resource to be used by the terminal, and the GF resource not associated with the wake-up signal is a GF resource not used by the terminal. The network device can determine the GF resource not associated with the wake-up signal, i.e., the GF resource not used by the terminal, according to the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal and all GF resources configured for the terminal, and the network device can not start receiving signals on the GF resource not used by the terminal.

[0013] Optionally, in the present application, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the network device, specifically, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the network device to receive signals on the GF resource, for example, the wake-up signal is used to wake up a receiver to receive signals on the GF resource.

[0014] Optionally, in the present application, the scheme can also be replaced by sending a wake-up signal, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the network device and instruct the network device to receive the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the sending the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource comprises: sending the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to first information, the first information being used to indicate the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource.

[0016] The first information is used to indicate an association relationship between the wake-up signal and the GF resource. According to the first information, the terminal can determine the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource, and then transmit the wake-up signal, so as to wake up the network device, so that the network device is in an energy consumption state on the GF resource, or in other words, the network device starts to receive signals on the GF resource, thereby reducing the influence of signal transmission on the terminal.

[0017] Optionally, the method further includes: obtaining the first information.

[0018] In a possible design, the terminal receives the first information from the network device, in other words, the network device can configure the first information for the terminal to indicate the association relationship between the wake-up signal and the GF resource. In another possible design, the terminal can obtain predefined first information. By using the predefined first information, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0019] With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the transmitting the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to the first information includes: transmitting the wake-up signal according to the first information and second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more parameters of the wake-up signal, including periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

[0020] The terminal can determine the one or more parameters of the wake-up signal according to the second information, and then transmit the wake-up signal based on the parameters, so as to wake up the network device, improve the possibility that the signal transmitted by the terminal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is received by the network device, and reduce the influence of network device energy saving on signal transmission of the terminal.

[0021] By way of example but not limitation, the terminal can determine the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource to be used according to the first information, and transmit the wake-up signal according to the second information.

[0022] Optionally, the method further includes: obtaining the second information.

[0023] With reference to the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the transmitting the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource includes: transmitting the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to third information and fourth information, the third information being used to indicate a second signal mapped by the wake-up signal, and the fourth information being used to indicate a GF resource associated with the second signal.

[0024] The terminal can determine a second signal associated with the GF resource to be used according to the fourth information, determine a wake-up signal associated with the second signal according to the third information, and then send the wake-up signal to wake up the network device, so that the network device can turn on the reception of the signal on the GF resource in the duration corresponding to the GF resource, thereby reducing the impact of network energy saving on the transmission of the terminal and protecting the transmission of the terminal.

[0025] Optionally, the method further includes obtaining the third information and the fourth information.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes receiving feedback information, where the feedback information is used for feedback of the wake-up signal.

[0027] It can be understood that when the terminal sends the wake-up signal but the network device does not detect it, the network device will not switch to the energy-consuming state, that is, will not turn on the reception of the signal on the GF resource, while the terminal believes that the network device has turned on the reception of the signal on the GF resource, and then continues to send the first signal on the GF resource, resulting in that the network device cannot receive the first signal transmitted by the terminal. By feeding back the wake-up signal, the terminal can determine whether the network device has turned on the reception of the signal on the GF resource, which is conducive to reducing the impact of false alarm and missed detection of the wake-up signal on GF transmission.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource are different in transmission mode.

[0029] The wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource can be different in transmission mode, which can include that the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource are different in transmission power consumption. For example, the transmission power consumption of the wake-up signal can be lower than that of the signal on the GF resource, which is conducive to saving the power consumption of the terminal.

[0030] Optionally, the method further includes sending the first signal on the GF resource.

[0031] It can be understood that in the case where the network device does not feed back to the terminal after receiving the wake-up signal, if the wake-up signal fails to wake up the network device, that is, if the network device is not woken up, the terminal continues to send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal after sending the wake-up signal, but the sending can fail. In this case, the network device can turn on the reception of the signal on the GF resource, and the terminal can retransmit through higher layer retransmission.

[0032] In the case that the network device sends feedback information to the terminal after receiving the wake-up signal, the feedback information can indicate the terminal to delay sending, or, information of changing from GF transmission to scheduling transmission (such as time of re-sending the signal and resource used by the re-sending signal), or not to send. In this case, after the terminal sends the wake-up signal, the terminal does not send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal.

[0033] In a second aspect, the present application provides a scheduling-free transmission method, which can be executed by a communication device. The communication device can be a network device, a component (such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device, and the present application does not limit the communication device.

[0034] For example, the method comprises: sending configuration information, the configuration information indicating a resource for the terminal to send a wake-up signal; receiving the wake-up signal on the resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up the network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on a scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal.

[0035] In the above technical solution, the network device can send configuration information used to configure the resource of the wake-up signal, and receive the wake-up signal on the resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up the network device and instruct the network device to receive the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal. That is, when receiving the wake-up signal, the network device can start receiving the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal, so as to reduce the influence of the energy saving of the network device on the signal transmission of the terminal. In addition, when not receiving the wake-up signal, the network device can not start receiving the signal on the GF resource, so as to save the power consumption of the network device.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementation manners of the second aspect, the method further comprises: receiving the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal.

[0037] Optionally, receiving the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal comprises: receiving the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the first information, the first information being used to indicate the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource.

[0038] When the network device receives the wake-up signal, the network device can determine the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the first information, and receive the first signal on the GF resource. In other words, the network device is in the energy consumption state on the GF resource, so as to reduce the influence of the energy saving of the network device on the signal transmission of the terminal.

[0039] Optionally, the method further comprises: sending the first information.

[0040] With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation of the second aspect, the receiving the wake-up signal on the resource comprises: receiving the wake-up signal on the resource according to the second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more of the following parameters of the wake-up signal: periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

[0041] The network device can configure the terminal with the wake-up signal, and receive the wake-up signal according to the configuration. In this way, the network device does not need to detect on all resource locations, but can detect the wake-up signal according to the configuration of the resource location of the wake-up signal, which is conducive to reducing the power consumption of the network device.

[0042] Optionally, the method further comprises: transmitting the second information.

[0043] With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation of the second aspect, the receiving the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal comprises: receiving the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the third information and the fourth information, the third information being used to indicate the second signal mapped by the wake-up signal, and the fourth information being used to indicate the GF resource associated with the second signal.

[0044] The network device can determine the second signal corresponding to the wake-up signal according to the third information, determine the GF resource associated with the second signal according to the fourth information, and then receive the signal on the GF resource.

[0045] Optionally, the network device transmits the third information and the fourth information.

[0046] With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further comprises: transmitting feedback information, the feedback information being used to feed back the wake-up signal.

[0047] It can be understood that when the terminal transmits the wake-up signal but the network device does not detect, the network device will not switch to the energy-consuming state, that is, will not start receiving the signal on the GF resource, while the terminal considers that the network device has started receiving the signal on the GF resource, and then continues to transmit the first signal on the GF resource, so as to cause the network device to be unable to receive the first signal transmitted by the terminal. By feeding back the wake-up signal, the terminal can determine whether the network device starts receiving the signal on the GF resource, which is conducive to reducing the influence of false alarm and missed detection of the wake-up signal on the GF transmission.

[0048] With reference to the second aspect, in some possible implementation of the second aspect, the receiving mode of the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource is different.

[0049] The reception mode of the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource can include different reception power consumptions of the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource. For example, the reception power consumption of the wake-up signal can be lower than the reception power consumption of the signal on the GF resource, which is conducive to saving the power consumption of the network device.

[0050] In some possible implementation manners, the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource includes one or more of the following: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, cell association, or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process association. The time domain association indicates that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first time. The frequency domain association indicates that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first frequency. The spatial association indicates that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first space. The cell association indicates that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first cell. The HARQ process association indicates that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first HARQ process.

[0051] The first time, the first frequency, the first space, the first cell, and the first HARQ process can be predefined or configured by the network device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0052] In addition, in the present application, the number of the first time, the first frequency, the first space, the first cell, and the first HARQ process can be one or more, which is not limited in the present application.

[0053] In some possible implementation manners, one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal, or one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

[0054] In some possible implementation manners, the wake-up signal and the GF resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different bandwidth parts (BWPs); the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different beams; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are in different carriers; the wake-up signal and the GF resource have different transmission reception points (TRPs); or the wake-up signal and the GF resource are in different cells.

[0055] In some possible implementation manners of the first aspect and the second aspect, the wake-up signal is further used to indicate one or more of the following: a transmission parameter of the GF resource, a channel, partial data of the terminal, or service requirement of the terminal.

[0056] The wake-up signal can indicate the transmission parameter of the GF resource and the channel, to assist the network device in receiving a signal on the GF resource, to reduce the detection range of the network device, and to further reduce power consumption of the network device. The wake-up signal can also indicate the partial data of the terminal, to improve data transmission efficiency. The wake-up signal can also indicate the service requirement of the terminal, to facilitate the network device to flexibly adjust the configuration of the GF resource according to the service requirement of the terminal.

[0057] It can be understood that the transmission parameter of the GF resource can be a transmission parameter to be used by the terminal and indicated to the network device, or a transmission parameter not to be used and indicated to the network device, or both the transmission parameter to be used and the transmission parameter not to be used, which are not limited in the present application. Similarly, the channel can be a channel to be used and indicated to the network device, or a channel not to be used and indicated to the network device, which are not limited in the present application. The partial data of the terminal can be, for example, partial data to be transmitted by the terminal.

[0058] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding modules for performing the above method. The modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in a software and / or hardware manner.

[0059] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor that can be used to execute a computer program in a memory to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0060] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive a signal from another communication apparatus outside the apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor, or send a signal from the processor to another communication apparatus outside the apparatus. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or another type of communication interface.

[0061] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory. The memory is configured to store program instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and the processor implements the method described in any of the aspects above when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions, when the computer program or instructions are executed, implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0063] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions, when the instructions are executed, implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0064] In a seventh aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes at least one processor, configured to support the functions in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or support the functions in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, for example, receiving or processing the data in the above method.

[0065] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, configured to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located in the processor or outside the processor.

[0066] In a possible design, the chip system further includes an interface circuit and / or a power supply circuit, the interface circuit is configured to transmit data, and the power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the chip system.

[0067] The chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes at least two chips, one or more chips (denoted as first chips) in the at least two chips are configured to receive / send a wake-up signal, and the rest of the chips (denoted as second chips) are configured to receive / send a signal on a GF resource, that is, the chip configured to receive / send the wake-up signal is different from the chip configured to receive / send the signal on the GF resource.

[0069] Optionally, the at least two chips can be interconnected, when sending, the sending of the second chip triggers the sending of the first chip; and when receiving, the receiving of the first chip triggers the receiving of the second chip.

[0070] Optionally, the at least two chips are connected through a processor. The processor is configured to control switching of the at least two chips.

[0071] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0072] It should be understood that the third aspect to the ninth aspect of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect and the second aspect of the present application, and the beneficial effects obtained by each aspect and the corresponding possible implementation manners are similar, which will not be described herein again. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0073] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 3 is still another schematic diagram of combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of system architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of system architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a grant-free transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of HARQ process of GF resource according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of association of wake-up signal, second signal and GF resource according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of wake-up signal indicating part of data to be transmitted according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of GF transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG. 12 is another schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG. 13 is another schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0086] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0087] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided in the present application, the following points are first explained:

[0088] First, in the present application, the use of prefixes such as "first", "second", etc. is merely for the convenience of distinguishing different things belonging to the same name category for description, and does not constrain the order, size or quantity of the things. For example, "first information" and "second information" are only different information, and there is no time sequence, size relationship or priority relationship between them.

[0089] Second, in the present application, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, an apparatus, system, product or device comprising a series of modules, modules or units does not have to be limited to those clearly listed, but can include other modules, modules or units not clearly listed or inherent to the apparatus, system, product or device.

[0090] Third, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The association relationship between the associated objects is described by "and / or", which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but does not rule out the case that the associated objects before and after it represent an "and" relationship, and the meaning expressed can be understood in combination with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0091] Fourthly, in the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to a terminal" can be understood as that the destination of the information is the terminal, which can include direct transmission through the air interface, and also includes indirect transmission through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from a network device" can be understood as that the source of the information is the network device, which can include direct reception from the network device through the air interface, and also can include indirect reception from the network device through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0092] In other words, sending and receiving can be between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal; also can be within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wire or interface.

[0093] It can be understood that the information may be processed as necessary before being sent by the source to the destination, such as encoding, modulation, etc., and the destination can also perform corresponding processing after receiving the information from the source, such as decoding, demodulation, etc., so as to interpret the effective information from the source. Similar expressions in the present application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated.

[0094] Fifthly, in the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all refer to the objective situation that the device will make corresponding processing, not limited to time, and also does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor means that there are other limitations.

[0095] Sixthly, in the present application, "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" are used to represent as an example, illustration or explanation. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific way.

[0096] Seventhly, in the present application, the indication can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by certain information (such as a resource update message) is referred to as to-be-indicated information, such as one or more contents indicated by the resource update message in the embodiments of the present application. In the implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part of the to-be-indicated information, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, predefined by a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The present application does not limit the specific manner of indication. It can be understood that for the sender of the indication information, the indication information can be used to indicate the to-be-indicated information, and for the receiver of the indication information, the indication information can be used to determine the to-be-indicated information.

[0097] Eighthly, the technical solutions provided by the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a sidelink communication system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system or a new radio access technology (NR). The 5G mobile communication system can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA).

[0098] The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, which are not limited by the present application.

[0099] Firstly, the devices involved in the embodiments of the present application are introduced: network devices and terminals.

[0100] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can be any device with wireless transceiving function. The network device includes, but is not limited to, an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved Node B or a home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), and the like, and can also be a next generation Node B (gNB) or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G (for example, NR) system, or an antenna panel or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU). The network device can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The network device can also be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device.

[0101] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus.

[0102] The terminal can be widely applied in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart traffic, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc.

[0103] It should be understood that the specific forms of the network device and the terminal are not limited in the present application.

[0104] In order to better understand the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application will be briefly explained as follows.

[0105] 1. Dynamic grant (GB) transmission: also known as dynamic grant-based uplink transmission, which refers to a technology that the terminal dynamically authorizes (or dynamically schedules, or dynamically configures) resources according to the downlink control information (DCI) issued by the network device, and performs uplink transmission according to the dynamically authorized (or dynamically scheduled, or dynamically configured) resources.

[0106] 2、GF transmission: also can be called grant-free transmission, refers to the technology that terminal does not need network equipment to issue DCI for dynamic authorization (or dynamic scheduling, or dynamic configuration) resource, and performs uplink transmission. GF transmission includes one or more of the following: random access (RA) based transmission, 5G system configured grant (CG) resource based transmission, LTE system preconfigured uplink resource (PUR) based transmission, LTE system semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) resource based transmission, semi-static channel state information (SP-CSI) based transmission, small data packet transmission (SDT), or other data transmission technologies without dynamic authorization. Among them, RA includes two-step random access (2-step RA) and four-step random access (4-step RA).

[0107] When the terminal performs GF transmission, one or more of the following can be transmitted: data channel (such as physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), control channel (such as physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)), physical random access channel (PRACH), or physical layer signal (such as reference signal). Among them, the channel or signal transmitted in GF transmission is related to the scene of GF transmission or the technology adopted by GF transmission. For example, GF transmission based on two-step random access can transmit PRACH and / or PUSCH. For another example, GF transmission based on PUR, or SPS, or CG can transmit PUSCH.

[0108] 3. GF resource: refers to a resource configured by a protocol or a network device for GF transmission. Exemplarily, the GF resource can include one or more of the following resources: time domain resource, frequency domain resource, space domain resource, beam domain resource, code domain resource, sequence resource, and power domain resource. The code domain resource can include a signature of non-orthogonal multiple access. The sequence resource (which can also be referred to as a pilot resource) can include one or more of the following: a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence, a preamble sequence, or a sequence used by other reference signals (RS).

[0109] Exemplarily, the GF resource can be configured in one or more of the following ways: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or DCI. In the DCI configuration of grant-free resources, a semi-static configuration method or a static configuration method can be included. In addition, when the network device configures the grant-free resource, the transmission parameters for grant-free transmission can also be configured. The transmission parameters can include one or more of the following parameters: time domain resource period, open loop power control related parameters, waveform, redundancy version sequence, repetition number, frequency hopping mode, resource allocation type, HARQ process number, DMRS related parameters, modulation and coding scheme table, resource block group (RBG) size, time domain resource, frequency domain resource, or modulation and coding scheme (MCS). It can be understood that the GF resource can be periodic.

[0110] 4. GF blind detection reception: Unlike dynamic scheduling, the base station does not know whether there is a signal transmitted by a terminal on the currently configured GF resource in GF transmission. Therefore, the base station first determines whether there is a target signal on the GF resource. In this determination process, the base station assumes that a terminal transmits a signal in a certain transmission configuration on the GF resource, and then detects the received signal according to each transmission configuration. If a configuration meets a preset condition in all detected configurations, the base station considers that a terminal transmits a signal on the GF resource using the configuration, and performs subsequent reception processing of the signal according to the configuration; if no configuration meets the preset condition, it is considered that no terminal transmits a signal, and the processing flow is interrupted.

[0111] 5、Wake-up signal (WUS): can be divided into uplink (UL) WUS (UL WUS) and downlink (DL) WUS (DL WUS). Among them, the DL WUS is a signal used to wake up the terminal, so that the terminal can recover from the sleep state and start receiving signals. Terminals in the network will usually enter a sleep state to save battery life. Therefore, when the terminal needs to receive signals, the DL WUS can be used to wake up the terminal to facilitate the terminal to receive signals. The DL WUS is a short message, a special signal format or a special signal waveform, usually sent by the base station in the network. When the terminal receives the DL WUS, it will recover from the sleep state and start receiving signals. The length of the WUS in NR is very short, usually only a few milliseconds, so that the device can quickly wake up and start receiving signals, while saving battery life. The counterpart of the DL WUS is the UL WUS signal, which is used to wake up the base station in the sleep state. When the terminal has signals to send to the base station, it will send the UL WUS signal to wake up the target base station.

[0112] 6. Low power (LP) WUS (LP-WUS): further reduce device power consumption, and two sets of receiving modules can also be introduced, one of which is a main communication receiving module (main receiver) responsible for receiving regular signals, and the other is a low-power wake-up signal receiving module (LP WUS receiver, LP WUR). The main communication module is in a dormant state for a long time, and the device uses a low-power module to monitor the low-power wake-up signal. If the LP-WUS signal is monitored, the main communication receiving module is awakened. The above modules can be deployed on the base station side or the terminal side. When deployed on the base station side, it belongs to uplink (UL) LP-WUS (UL LP-WUS), at this time the main communication receiving module receives the regular uplink signals / channels sent by the UE, such as PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc., and the LP-WUR receives the low-power signal LP-WUS sent by the terminal; when deployed on the terminal side, it belongs to downlink (DL) LP-WUS (DL LP-WUS), at this time the main communication receiving module receives the regular uplink signals / channels sent by the base station, such as synchronization signal block (SSB), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc., and the LP-WUR receives the low-power signal LP-WUS sent by the base station. LP-WUS includes various optional waveforms, such as low-power signals based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation signals, and on-off keying (OOK) modulation signals, etc. The above signals can significantly reduce the receiving power consumption of the LP WUR, which is significantly lower than the power consumption of the main communication receiving module.

[0113] 7、Beam: It can be understood as a spatial domain filter, a spatial filter, a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, or quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a QCL assumption, or a QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by a transmission configuration indicator state (TCI-state) parameter or a spatial relation parameter. In other words, in the embodiments of the present application, the beam can be replaced by a spatial domain filter, a spatial filter, a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, QCL information, a QCL assumption, a QCL indication, a TCI-state (such as a downlink TCI-state or an uplink TCI-state), a spatial relation, etc., that is, the above terms are equivalent to each other.

[0114] It should be understood that the above-mentioned terms representing the beam are only examples and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In other embodiments, the beam can also be replaced by other terms representing the beam. For example, the beam can also be replaced by an antenna port, etc.

[0115] Base station energy saving is an important research direction for future networks. Reducing the transmission and reception of base stations is the main way to save energy of base stations. In order to reduce the transmission and reception of base stations, energy saving often uses means such as turning off time / frequency / space resources to achieve.

[0116] The following will explain in detail the problems that may arise from the combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission in combination with FIG. 1.

[0117] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0118] It should be noted that in FIG. 1, the GF transmission is taken as an example of transmission based on CG resources, but this should not constitute any limitation on the present application. For example, the GF transmission can also be a transmission based on RA, a transmission based on PUR, etc. For the GF transmission, please refer to the above.

[0119] In the present application, the receiver (RX) corresponding to the GF resource (the GF resource is taken as an example of the CG resource in FIG. 1) can be recorded as GF-RX, and the GF-RX can be used to receive the signal transmitted on the GF resource. GF-RX on means that the base station starts to receive the signal on the GF resource, and GF-RX off means that the base station does not receive the signal on the GF resource and is in an energy-saving state. In addition, the "Cell DTX / DRX" is also introduced in the existing NR protocol when discussing network energy saving. Cell-RX on means that the base station starts to receive, and Cell-RX off means that the base station does not receive and is in an energy-saving state. A cell (Cell) discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle can be defined from Cell-RX on to the next Cell-RX on. The GF-RX is started only when the Cell-RX is on, and is otherwise turned off.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 1, there are 4 CG resources in 2 Cell DRX cycles. Among them, the Cell-RX does not start to receive in the duration corresponding to the 2nd CG resource and the 4th CG resource, and the GF-RX also does not start to receive. However, the 4th CG resource is occupied by the terminal (or said, there is signal transmission on the 4th CG resource), and therefore, the signal transmission occupying the 4th CG resource is invalid. However, the terminal considers that the transmission is correct, and therefore, the correct transmission of the signal can only be realized through high-layer retransmission, and the transmission delay is greatly increased. The Cell-RX starts to receive in the duration corresponding to the 1st CG resource and the 3rd CG resource, and the GF-RX also starts to receive, and therefore, it can be considered that the 1st CG resource and the 3rd CG resource are effective (or said, the signal is transmitted on the 1st CG resource and the 3rd CG resource, and the GF-RX can receive), but the 3rd CG resource is not occupied by the terminal, and the base station performs a large amount of useless detection, and therefore, the power consumption is wasted.

[0121] As can be seen from the analysis of FIG. 1, if the base station energy saving and the GF transmission are directly combined, the CG resource can be invalid, and therefore, the transmission of the terminal can be affected, and the power consumption of the base station can be wasted. The ways to reduce the invalid transmission of the terminal and avoid the invalid detection of the base station in the prior art will be given below in combination with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0122] It should be noted that in the present application, RX on can also be replaced by active, and RX off can also be replaced by deactive. Among them, active can also be understood as an active state, and deactive can also be understood as an inactive state.

[0123] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of the combination of the base station energy saving and the GF transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0124] As shown in FIG. 2, the base station can indicate the validity of the CG resource by activating / deactivating instructions, thereby reducing the possibility of invalid transmission of the terminal. Exemplarily, the base station can issue an instruction to activate the CG resource to the terminal before GF-RX on, activate the CG resource during the on duration of GF-RX on, and issue an instruction to deactivate the CG resource to the terminal before GF-RX off, so as to deactivate the CG resource. However, the above scheme cannot avoid invalid detection. For example, in FIG. 2, the 2nd and CG resources are not occupied by the terminal, but the base station still receives according to the assumption of occupation, thereby wasting power consumption. In addition, the above scheme not only increases the signaling overhead, but also increases the power consumption of the terminal because the terminal needs to monitor the activating / deactivating instructions, which is not conducive to the energy saving of the terminal.

[0125] FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram of combination of base station energy saving and GF transmission according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0126] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal can inform the base station of the use of subsequent CG resources, such as which time instants of the CG resources are not used by the terminal. The above scheme is applied on the basis of the scheme shown in FIG. 2, in other words, the terminal can report to the base station that the CG resources in the on duration of the tth GF-RX on are not used by the terminal at any on duration of GF-RX on before the on duration of the tth GF-RX on. Then, the base station can turn off the CG detection in the originally on duration of the tth GF-RX on, so as to avoid invalid detection and save power consumption. It can be understood that if only GF transmission is configured in the on duration of Cell-RX on, the detection of signals in the on duration of the tth Cell-RX on can be turned off to realize cell dormancy, and if other transmissions are also configured in the on duration of Cell-RX on, the detection of other signals in the on duration of the tth Cell-RX on can be performed, and the detection of signals on the CG resource is not performed. In FIG. 3, only GF transmission is configured in the on duration of Cell-RX on.

[0127] However, in the scheme shown in FIG. 3, the terminal can only report in the on duration of GF-RX on. If the time interval between two GF-RX on is long, the terminal cannot predict the subsequent occupation behavior, and the above scheme is invalid, and the base station can only keep the detection on. In addition, the terminal can only report in the on duration of GF-RX on through PUSCH and PUCCH signals, or in other words, the terminal can only report through the CG resource, and the reporting time and form are limited.

[0128] To solve the problem that the combination of network device energy saving and GF transmission may affect the transmission of the terminal, the application provides a scheduling-free transmission method. In the case that the terminal needs to use GF resources, the terminal can send a wake-up signal associated with the GF resources, so that the network device turns on the reception within the duration of the GF resources. In this way, the transmission of the terminal on the GF resources is effective, that is, the GF transmission of the terminal is guaranteed. In addition, in the case that the terminal does not wake up the network device, firstly, the network device does not need to receive signals on the GF resources, and secondly, if only GF transmission is configured within the duration of Cell-RX on, the network device can continue to sleep, which will be beneficial to the energy saving of the network device. On the other hand, in general, the energy consumption of the receiver that receives the wake-up signal is lower than that of the receiver that receives the signal on the GF resources, and therefore, compared with using GF resources to wake up the network device, the energy consumption of the network device can be reduced.

[0129] Before introducing the scheduling-free transmission method provided by the application in detail, first, the communication system to which the application is applicable will be introduced in combination with FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The method provided by the application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0130] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the application.

[0131] An example is shown in FIG. 4. The communication system can include one or more network devices and one or more terminals, such as terminal 1 to terminal 6. The network device can be a base station, a micro base station, a TRP or other types of network devices, and the embodiments of the application do not limit this. The terminal 1 to terminal 6 can be mobile or fixed. Each network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and can communicate with terminal devices located in the coverage area (cell), such as the network device can communicate with the terminal 1.

[0132] Another example is shown in FIG. 4. The communication system can include a plurality of terminals and does not include a network device, such as a vehicle-to-everything system. In this communication system, the terminals can communicate with each other. In FIG. 4, the terminal 4, the terminal 5 and the terminal 6 can form a communication system, and the terminal 4, the terminal 5 and the terminal 6 can communicate with each other, for example, the terminal 4 and the terminal 5 communicate with each other.

[0133] It should be understood that the communication system shown in FIG. 4 is only an example and should not constitute any limitation on the application. For example, the communication system can include more or fewer network devices, or a certain number of terminals in the coverage range of each network device.

[0134] FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of the system architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the application.

[0135] As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system can include a network device, a relay, and a terminal. The form of the relay can be a small station, an integrated access and backhauling (IAB) node, a distributed unit (DU), a terminal, a TRP, and the like, and the form of the relay is not limited in the present application. In addition, the relay can be an amplify-and-forward relay or a reflect-and-forward relay, and the present application does not limit this. The amplify-and-forward relay can perform simple radio frequency processing (such as amplification, demodulation, frequency shift, noise reduction, etc.) on the signal before forwarding. The reflect-and-forward relay generally uses a special reflecting or transmitting antenna to directly reflect or transmit the signal (when reflecting or transmitting, some signal attenuation occurs).

[0136] It should be understood that only one relay is shown in FIG. 5, but this should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The method provided by the present application can be applied not only to the single-hop relay system shown in FIG. 5, but also to the multi-hop relay system, and the present application does not limit this.

[0137] The scheduling-free transmission method provided by the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the method is described by taking the interaction between the network device and the terminal as an example, but this should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The network device can be replaced by a component (such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device. The terminal can be replaced by a component (such as a processor, a circuit, a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0138] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a scheduling-free transmission method 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 shown in FIG. 6 includes steps 605, 610, and 620. Each step in the method 600 will be described in detail below.

[0139] In step 610, the terminal sends a GF resource-associated wake-up signal, which is used to wake up the network device and instruct the network device to receive the first signal on the GF resource.

[0140] The GF resource-associated wake-up signal means that the GF resource and the wake-up signal have a corresponding relationship, or in other words, the GF resource and the wake-up signal correspond to each other, or in other words, the GF resource and the wake-up signal are mapped. In other words, the terminal determines the GF resource, and can determine the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource. Correspondingly, the network device determines the wake-up signal, and can determine the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal.

[0141] In addition, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the network device, which can be understood as: the wake-up signal is used to instruct the network device to receive signals in the duration of the GF resource, or in other words, instruct the network device to be in an energy-consuming state (or an on state, an active state, etc.) in the duration of the GF resource.

[0142] In the present application, the network device can include two sets of receiving modules, one of which is a main communication receiving module responsible for receiving regular signals, and the other is a low-power wake-up signal receiving module for receiving wake-up signals, or in other words, the network device deploys two receivers, one of which is used to receive regular signals and the other is used to receive wake-up signals. It can be understood that the network device can also include a set of receiving modules that complete the above two functions, such as receiving both regular signals and wake-up signals, which is not limited in the present application.

[0143] Alternatively, in the present application, the terminal sending the first signal on the GF resource can also be replaced by the terminal sending the first data on the GF resource.

[0144] Correspondingly, in the case that the network device does not receive the wake-up signal, the network device is in an energy-saving state, which can be understood in the present application that the network device does not receive signals on the GF resource, but can detect signals on other resources or channels. If only GF transmission is configured in the duration of Cell-RX on, it can be understood that the network device does not receive signals on the GF resource, and since only GF transmission is configured, it can be considered that the network device also does not receive other signals.

[0145] The scenarios of receiving or not receiving the wake-up signal when the network device is in different states will be described in detail below.

[0146] Design one: when the network device is in a sleep state, if the network device receives the wake-up signal, the network device switches to Cell-RX on and starts receiving signals on the GF resource.

[0147] Design two: when the network device is in the duration of Cell-RX on, or in other words, the network device is awakened by other signals, if the network device receives the wake-up signal, it starts receiving signals on the GF resource.

[0148] Design three: when the network device is in the duration of Cell-RX on, or in other words, the network device is awakened by other signals, if the network device does not receive the wake-up signal, it does not start receiving signals on the GF resource, but does not turn off Cell-RX.

[0149] Design four: when the network device is in the duration of Cell-RX on, or in other words, the network device and is woken up by other signals, if the network device only configures GF transmission in the duration of Cell-RX on, the network device does not receive the wake-up signal, and does not start receiving the signal on the GF resource, and turns off the Cell-RX.

[0150] In the present application, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the network device, and more specifically, the wake-up signal is used to wake up the receiver (which can be denoted as GF-RX) for receiving the signal on the GF resource.

[0151] A possible implementation is that the terminal determines that the GF resource needs to be used, and then sends the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource to indicate that the network device starts receiving the signal at the start time of the GF resource, that is, the network device can detect the signal on the GF resource in the duration corresponding to the GF resource.

[0152] Exemplarily, the terminal determines that the GF resource Y with t1+Δt as the start time needs to be used, and then sends the wake-up signal X associated with the GF resource Y at t1, wherein the wake-up signal X at t1 is associated with the GF resource Y with t1+Δt as the start time.

[0153] Correspondingly, the network device can perform step 605 to receive the wake-up signal on the resource indicated by the configuration information.

[0154] The wake-up signal can be periodic or aperiodic, and the present application does not limit this.

[0155] The network device can send configuration information, which is used to indicate the resource (such as time-frequency resource, etc.) of the wake-up signal, and receive the wake-up signal on the resource. It can be understood that the terminal does not necessarily send the wake-up signal on the resource, and therefore the network device does not necessarily receive the wake-up signal on the resource, so step 605 can also be understood as that the network device listens to the wake-up signal on the resource, and determines whether to detect the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the listening result of the wake-up signal.

[0156] It should be understood that in the following, the network device in the energy saving state can be considered as not receiving the signal on the GF-RX resource, or can be replaced by the GF-RX in the energy saving state.

[0157] For example, when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, the network device starts to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt. When the network device does not receive the wake-up signal X at time t1, the network device does not start to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt, i.e., the network device is still in the energy-saving state at time t1+Δt. Alternatively, when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, but finds that more than one user terminal wants to use the GF resource Y, or when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, but finds that there is a demand for energy saving, the network device does not start to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt, i.e., the network device is still in the energy-saving state at time t1+Δt.

[0158] It should be understood that the above examples should not constitute any limitation on the present application, and the energy-saving signal can also be set based on the function of the wake-up signal. For example, when the network device receives the energy-saving signal M at time t1, the network device does not start to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt, where the energy-saving signal M at time t1 is associated with the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt. When the network device does not receive the energy-saving signal M at time t1, the network device starts to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt.

[0159] It should also be understood that in the present application, the energy-saving state can also be referred to as a sleep state, a sleep state, an off state, etc., and starting to receive the signal can also be referred to as the network device being in an energy-consuming state, an on state or an active state, and the present application does not make specific limitations on the above names.

[0160] In step 620, the terminal sends the first signal on the GF resource.

[0161] For example, the terminal sends the wake-up signal X associated with the GF resource Y at time t1, where the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the GF resource Y starting at time t1+Δt, and the terminal sends the first signal based on the GF resource at time t1+Δt.

[0162] Correspondingly, for the network device, when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, the network device receives the signal from the terminal on the GF resource Y. When the network device does not receive the wake-up signal X at time t1, or when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, but finds that more than one user terminal wants to use the GF resource Y, or when the network device receives the wake-up signal X at time t1, but finds that there is a demand for energy saving, the network device does not start to receive the signal on the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt, i.e., the network device does not receive the signal on the GF resource Y.

[0163] It should be understood that, step 620 is optional, in the case that the network device does not feedback to the terminal after receiving the wake-up signal, if the wake-up signal fails to wake up the network device, that is, if the network device is not woken up, the terminal continues to send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal after sending the wake-up signal, but the sending may fail, in this case, the network device can start receiving the signal on the GF resource, and the terminal can retransmit through high layer retransmission.

[0164] In the case that the network device sends feedback information to the terminal after receiving the wake-up signal, the feedback information can indicate the terminal to delay sending, or the information of changing GF transmission to scheduling transmission (such as the time of re-sending signal and the resource used for re-sending signal), or not to send, in this case, the terminal does not send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal after sending the wake-up signal. Correspondingly, the network device also does not receive the first signal on the GF resource.

[0165] It can be understood that, in the present application, it is assumed that the wake-up signal X at t1 time is associated with the GF resource Y with t1+Δt as the starting time, and Δt satisfies the time of detecting the wake-up signal to wake up the network device. Generally, the sending time of the wake-up signal can be not later than (or earlier than or equal to) the starting time of the associated GF resource in the time domain.

[0166] It should be understood that Δt can also be related to the time of receiving and processing the signal by the network device, the round-trip time (RTT), and other factors. Among them, the round-trip time can be the time from sending the wake-up signal by the terminal to receiving the feedback from the network device, and the feedback can be the feedback to the wake-up signal.

[0167] Optionally, for the terminal, the sending mode of the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource is different. The different sending mode can include different sending power consumption, wherein the different sending power consumption means that the power consumption of sending the wake-up signal is different from the power consumption of sending the signal on the GF resource. Exemplarily, the wake-up signal can be sent by a low-power transmitter (TX), and correspondingly, the signal on the GF resource can be sent by a high-power transmitter. The low-power transmitter can be a transmitter with a sending power consumption lower than a threshold, and correspondingly, higher than the threshold can be considered as a high-power transmitter. Or, the power consumption of the transmitter for sending the wake-up signal is less than the power consumption of the transmitter for sending the signal on the GF resource. Wherein, the transmitter for sending the wake-up signal can be denoted as WUS-TX (or UL WUS-TX), and the transmitter for sending the signal on the GF resource can be denoted as GF-TX.

[0168] The different sending modes can also be different sending occasions. The wake-up signal can be sent when the Cell-TX is off, or can be sent when the Cell-TX is on, as long as it is not later than the sending time corresponding to the GF resource. The signal on the GF resource is sent when the Cell-TX is on and the GF-TX is on. The waveforms of the wake-up signals sent at different occasions can also be different.

[0169] Optionally, for the network device, the receiving modes of the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource are different. The different receiving modes can include different receiving power consumptions, where the different receiving power consumptions refer to that the power consumption of receiving the wake-up signal is different from the power consumption of receiving the signal on the GF resource. Exemplarily, the wake-up signal can be received by a low-power-consumption receiver, and correspondingly, the signal on the GF resource can be received by a high-power-consumption receiver. The low-power-consumption receiver can be a receiver with a power consumption lower than a threshold, and correspondingly, a power consumption higher than the threshold can be considered as a high-power-consumption receiver. Alternatively, the power consumption of the receiver of the wake-up signal is less than the power consumption of the receiver of the signal on the GF resource. Wherein, the receiver for receiving the wake-up signal can be denoted as WUS-RX (or UL WUS-RX), and the receiver for receiving the signal on the GF resource can be denoted as GF-RX,

[0170] The different receiving modes can also be different receiving occasions. The wake-up signal can be received when the Cell-RX is off, or can be received when the Cell-RX is on. The signal on the GF resource is sent when the Cell-RX is on and the GF-RX is on. The waveforms of the wake-up signals received at different occasions can also be different.

[0171] Both the WUS-RX and the GF-RX can have two working modes, i.e., RX on and RX off. The RX on indicates that the network device starts to receive the signal, which belongs to an energy-consuming state; and the RX off indicates that the network device does not receive the signal, which belongs to an energy-saving state. The power consumption of the WUS-RX on can be less than the power consumption of the GF-RX on. In this way, the network device only needs to perform blind detection and reception on a small number of occupied GF resources, and can turn off the GF-RX to save energy during the rest of the time. As long as the power consumption of the WUS-RX on can be less than the power consumption of the GF-RX on, the network device can reduce the power consumption.

[0172] Optionally, the GF-RX starts to receive the signal on the GF resource when the following conditions are met, otherwise the GF-RX is in an energy-saving state, i.e., does not start to receive the signal on the GF resource: the time-frequency resource where the GF resource is located; and the network device receives the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource. The WUS-RX can be turned on in the time slot where the wake-up signal is sent, and can be kept off at other time points to save the power consumption of the network device.

[0173] Optionally, before the terminal sends the wake-up signal, the method 600 further includes: the terminal acquires first information, the first information being used to indicate an association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource. The sending of the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource includes: according to the first information, the sending of the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource.

[0174] In other words, the first information is used to indicate the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal, or the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource, or the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between the wake-up signal and the GF resource.

[0175] Exemplarily, the first information is used to indicate that the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the GF resource Y at time t1+Δt.

[0176] The terminal acquires the first information. One possible design is that the network device sends the first information, and accordingly, the terminal receives the first information from the network device. Another possible design is that the first information is predefined, and the terminal acquires the predefined first information.

[0177] According to the first information, the terminal determines the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource to be used, and sends the wake-up signal.

[0178] Correspondingly, if the network device receives the wake-up signal, the receiving of the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal includes: according to the first information, the network device receives the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal. Exemplarily, when the wake-up signal X is received, according to the first information, the network device determines that the wake-up signal X is associated with the GF resource Y, and then the network device receives the signal on the GF resource Y.

[0179] Optionally, the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource includes one or more of the following: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, cell association, or HARQ process association; wherein the time domain association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first time; the frequency domain association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first frequency; the spatial association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first space; the cell association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first cell; and the HARQ process association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first HARQ process.

[0180] The first time, the first frequency, the first space, the first cell, and the first HARQ process can be predefined or configured by the network device, and the present application does not limit this. In the present application, the first frequency can be a carrier, a BWP in which the GF resource is located, or a subcarrier occupied by a specific GF resource, and the present application does not limit this.

[0181] In addition, in the present application, the number of the first time, the first frequency, the first space, the first cell, and the first HARQ process can be one or more, and the present application does not limit this.

[0182] The first time indicates the starting time of the signal on the GF resource. For example, the wake-up signal at time t1 is associated with the GF resource at time t1+Δt, the terminal sends the wake-up signal at time t1, and the network device detects the signal on the GF resource starting from time t1+Δt. For another example, the period of the GF resource is T, the wake-up signal at time t1 is associated with the continuous N GF resources starting from time t1+Δt, the terminal sends the wake-up signal at time t1, and the network device detects the signal on the GF resource starting from time t1+Δt, t1+Δt+T, …, t1+Δt+T×N. The present application does not limit the duration of the GF resource, and after the network device determines the starting time of the GF resource, the duration of the detection can be determined according to the configuration of the GF resource, that is, the duration of the GF resource.

[0183] For example, assuming that the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the GF resource Y starting from time t1+Δt, the association between the wake-up signal X and the GF resource Y can be {t1, t1+Δt, X, Y}. For another example, assuming that the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the continuous N GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN) starting from time t1+Δt and having a period T, the association between the wake-up signal X and the GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN) can be {t1, t1+Δt, T, N, X, Y1, Y2, …, YN}. For another example, assuming that the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the non-continuous N GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN), the association can indicate the time t1 corresponding to the wake-up signal and the time point (such as the starting time) corresponding to each of the N GF resources.

[0184] Optionally, when the network device receives the wake-up signal at time t1 and frequency f1, the network device starts to receive the signal on all GF resources (where the configurations of different GF resources can be different) in the time period (t1+Δt, t1+Δt+Δτ) and the frequency band (f1+Δf, f1+Δf+Δw). Wherein, Δτ represents the duration of the GF resource, and Δw represents the continuous bandwidth of the GF resource.

[0185] The above-mentioned frequency domain association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at the first frequency. It can be understood that, after receiving the wake-up signal, the network device can detect the signal of the GF resource at the frequency domain associated with the wake-up signal. For example, the wake-up signal X1 is associated with the frequency f1, and then the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at the frequency f1 after receiving the wake-up signal X1.

[0186] For example, the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource includes time domain association and frequency domain resource. It is assumed that the wake-up signal X1 and the wake-up signal X2 are associated with the GF resource Y, wherein the starting time of the GF resource Y is t1 and the frequency is f1. The wake-up signal X1 can be associated with the time t1, and the wake-up signal X2 can be associated with the frequency f1. The wake-up signal X1 and the wake-up signal X2 can be two wake-up signals at different times, can be two wake-up signals at the same time but with different carriers, or can be two wake-up signals at the same time but with different formats, and the present application does not limit this.

[0187] The spatial association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at the first space. The first space can be explained as the GF resource configured to different transmission antenna ports (such as sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI)) of the terminal. For example, the wake-up signal X1 is associated with the GF resource Y1 using the SRI 1 antenna port, and the wake-up signal X2 is associated with the GF resource Y2 using the SRI 2 antenna port. It can also be explained as two different TRPs of the same cell. The wake-up signal X1 is associated with the GF resource Y1 sent by the TRP 1, and the wake-up signal X2 is associated with the GF resource Y2 sent by the TRP 2.

[0188] The cell association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at the first cell. For example, the wake-up signal X1 is associated with the GF resource Y, and the cell configured by the GF resource Y is cell 1. The association can be {t1, f1, Δt, cell 1}.

[0189] The HARQ process association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at the first HARQ process. The HARQ process association will be explained in detail below in combination with FIG. 7.

[0190] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the HARQ process of the GF resource according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0191] As shown in FIG. 7, one GF resource can include multiple HARQ processes (e.g., 16 processes, only part of the processes are shown in the figure). The wake-up signal X1 can be associated with part of the HARQ processes of the GF resource, for example, the wake-up signal X1 is associated with the HARQ process 1 and the HARQ process 2 of the GF resource Y1, and the association relationship can be {t1, f1, Δt, HARQ process 1, HARQ process 2}, which indicates that the wake-up signal X1 is associated with the HARQ process 1 and the HARQ process 2 of the GF resource Y1 with t1+Δt as the starting time and f1 as the frequency.

[0192] Optionally, the method 600 further includes that the terminal acquires second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more parameters of the wake-up signal, including periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform. The terminal sends the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to the first information, including that the terminal sends the wake-up signal according to the first information and the second information. Exemplarily, the terminal determines the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource to be used according to the first information, and sends the wake-up signal according to the second information.

[0193] The parameters of the wake-up signal will be explained in detail below.

[0194] Periodicity defines the sending period of the wake-up signal. The network device can determine when to listen to the wake-up signal according to this parameter.

[0195] Duration refers to the length of the wake-up signal in time, and this parameter determines the time period during which the network device needs to listen to the wake-up signal.

[0196] Repetition number: refers to the possible repeated sending of the wake-up signal in time, and this parameter defines the number of repeated sending of the wake-up signal.

[0197] Subcarrier spacing: the wake-up signal can be transmitted using different subcarrier spacings, which will affect the transmission bandwidth and latency of the signal.

[0198] Resource location: refers to the resource location of the wake-up signal in the frequency domain and the time domain. This parameter determines in which frequency band and time the network device listens to the wake-up signal.

[0199] Sequence: the wake-up signal uses a specific sequence for transmission. In this application, the wake-up signal can be a new PRACH format, a new uplink control information (UCI) format, or a low-power signal such as an OOK signal. The signal format of the wake-up signal can be configured by the sequence parameter. In addition, in this application, the signal formats of the wake-up signals associated with different GF resources can be different. For example, GF resource Y1 can be associated with a wake-up signal in PRACH format, and GF resource Y2 can be associated with a wake-up signal in OOK format. When multiple wake-up signals are associated with one GF resource, the signal formats of the multiple wake-up signals can also be different. Therefore, in this application, the flexibility of the wake-up signal is higher.

[0200] Power control: in order to ensure that the network device can reliably detect the wake-up signal, the network needs to control the transmission power of the wake-up signal.

[0201] Correspondingly, the network device can receive the wake-up signal according to the second information. For example, the network device can determine the time window, frequency domain resource, etc. for receiving the wake-up signal according to the second information.

[0202] Optionally, the wake-up signal and the GF resource can also be associated through the second signal. A possible implementation is that the terminal obtains third information for indicating the second signal to which the wake-up signal is mapped, obtains fourth information for indicating the GF resource associated with the second signal, and the terminal sends the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource, including: sending the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to the third information and the fourth information. The wake-up signal mapped to the second signal can be understood as that the terminal sends the second signal based on the resource of the second signal; the second signal associated with the GF resource can be understood as that the resource of the second signal corresponds to (or is associated with, mapped to, or quasi-colocation (QCL)) the GF resource.

[0203] The terminal can determine the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource to be used according to the third information and the fourth information, and send the wake-up signal.

[0204] The second signal can be SSB1, for example. Assuming that GF resource Y1 is associated with SSB1, and wake-up signal X1 is associated with SSB1, the terminal can determine that GF resource Y1 is associated with SSB1 according to the fourth information, and determine that SSB1 is associated with wake-up signal X1 according to the third information, then send wake-up signal X1 and send the first signal on GF resource Y1.

[0205] One possible design is that one wake-up signal is associated with one second signal, and one second signal is associated with one GF resource. For example, wake-up signal X1 is associated with SSB1, and SSB1 is associated with GF resource Y.

[0206] Another possible design is that multiple wake-up signals are associated with one second signal, and one second signal is associated with multiple GF resources. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of association between wake-up signals, second signals, and GF resources.

[0207] As shown in FIG. 8, wake-up signal X1 and wake-up signal X2 are associated with SSB1, and SSB1 is associated with GF resource Y1 and GF resource Y2. Here, the time domain of wake-up signal X1 is t1, and the frequency is f1; the time domain of wake-up signal X2 is t2, and the frequency is f2; the starting time of GF resource Y1 is t1+Δt1, and the frequency is f1+Δf1; the starting time of GF resource Y2 is t2+Δt2, and the frequency is f2+Δf2. Assuming that the GF resource to be used by the terminal is GF resource Y1, according to the fourth information, it is determined that GF resource Y1 is associated with SSB1, and further, according to the third information and the starting time and frequency of GF resource Y1 as well as Δt1 and Δf1, it is determined that wake-up signal X1 is associated with SSB1, i.e., GF resource Y1 is associated with wake-up signal X1.

[0208] Another possible design is that one wake-up signal is associated with one second signal, and one second signal is associated with multiple GF resources. For example, wake-up signal X1 is associated with SSB1, and SSB1 is associated with GF resource Y1 and GF resource Y2, and then wake-up signal X1 is associated with GF resource Y1 and GF resource Y2. The terminal sends a wake-up signal at time t1 to indicate GF resource Y1, and sends a wake-up signal at time t2 to indicate GF resource Y2.

[0209] Another possible design is that multiple wake-up signals are associated with one second signal, and one second signal is associated with one GF resource. For example, wake-up signal X1 and wake-up signal X2 are associated with SSB1, and SSB1 is associated with GF resource Y1. Then, wake-up signal X1 and wake-up signal X2 are associated with GF resource Y1.

[0210] It is to be noted that in the present application, the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, etc. can be carried in the same signaling or in different signaling, and the present application does not limit this.

[0211] Optionally, one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal; or, one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

[0212] For example, the transmission parameters include one or more of the following: cell, carrier, time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, or pilot.

[0213] Case one: one GF resource is associated with one wake-up signal. Exemplarily, the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the GF resource Y with the starting time t1+Δt.

[0214] Case two: one GF resource is associated with multiple wake-up signals. Any transmission parameter of the GF resource, such as cell, carrier, time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, or pilot, can be associated with one wake-up signal. The network device receiving multiple wake-up signals determines the GF resource associated with the multiple wake-up signals. An example, the wake-up signal X1 and the wake-up signal X2 are associated with the GF resource Y, where the starting time of the GF resource Y is t1 and the starting frequency is f1, then the wake-up signal X1 can be associated with the time t1 and the wake-up signal X2 can be associated with the frequency f1.

[0215] Case three: multiple GF resources are associated with one wake-up signal. An example, the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the continuous N times of GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN) with the starting time t1+Δt and the period T. Another example, it is assumed that the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the non-continuous N times of GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN).

[0216] In the above, after the network device receives the wake-up signal, the associated GF resource can be determined, and the reception of the signal on the above GF resource is started. Correspondingly, the network device can further determine which GF resources are not used by the terminal according to the above GF resource. For example, the wake-up signal X at time t1 is associated with the continuous N times of GF resources (Y1, Y2, …, YN) with the starting time t1+Δt and the period T, then after the network device receives the wake-up signal X, it can be determined that the terminal does not use other GF resources except the above continuous N times of GF resources with the starting time t1+Δt and the period T, and the network device can stop the reception of the signal on the above other GF resources.

[0217] Optionally, the above wake-up signal and the above GF resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different BWPs; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different beams; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are in different carriers; the wake-up signal and the GF resource have different reception TRPs; or, the wake-up signal and the GF resource are in different cells.

[0218] The wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different BWPs. A possible design is that the wake-up signal is located on the initial BWP and the GF resource is located on other BWPs. For example, the wake-up signal X is associated with the GF resource Y, the wake-up signal X is located on the initial BWP, and the GF resource Y is located on other BWPs.

[0219] The wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different beams. A possible design is that the wake-up signal is transmitted through beam 1, and the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is transmitted through other beams.

[0220] The wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different carriers. A possible design is that the wake-up signal is located in a primary carrier, and the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is located in a secondary carrier.

[0221] The wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different TRPs. A possible design is that the TRP of the wake-up signal is TRP1, and the TRP of the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is another TRP.

[0222] The wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different cells. A possible design is that the wake-up signal is located in a primary cell (PCell), and the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal is located in a secondary cell (SCell).

[0223] The wake-up signal is also used to indicate one or more of the following to the network device: a transmission parameter of the GF resource, a channel, part of data of the terminal, or a service requirement of the terminal.

[0224] It can be understood that the transmission parameter of the GF resource can be a transmission parameter to be used by the terminal to the network device, or a transmission parameter not to be used by the terminal to the network device, or both, which is not limited in the present application. Similarly, the channel can be a channel to be used by the terminal to the network device, or a channel not to be used by the terminal to the network device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0225] Exemplarily, the network device can configure the terminal with multiple sets of transmission parameters of the GF resource, and the terminal can randomly use a set of transmission parameters to transmit data. Assuming that GF resource Y1 and GF resource Y2 are two GF resources using pilot 1 and pilot 2 respectively on the same time-frequency resource. GF resource Y1 is associated with wake-up signal X1, and GF resource Y2 is associated with wake-up signal X2. Assuming that the terminal uses GF resource Y1 to transmit data, the terminal can send wake-up signal X1. The network device listens to the wake-up signal, and when the network device receives wake-up signal X1, it starts receiving signals on GF resource Y1.

[0226] Another example, the network device can configure the terminal with multiple sets of transmission parameters of GF resources, and the terminal can select which set (or multiple sets) of transmission parameters to use to transmit data. Assume that GF resource Y1 and GF resource Y2 are two GF resources using pilot 1 and pilot 2 respectively on the same time-frequency resource. GF resource Y1 is associated with wake-up signal X1, and GF resource Y2 is associated with wake-up signal X2. If the terminal does not use GF resource Y1 to transmit data, the terminal can send wake-up signal X1. The network device listens to the wake-up signal, and when the network device receives wake-up signal X1, it can determine that the terminal does not transmit data on GF resource Y1.

[0227] It can be understood that the above pilot is only an example of transmission parameters, and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. For example, other transmission parameters of GF resources, such as modulation and coding configuration, antenna port configuration, sounding signal configuration, frequency hopping information, etc., can also be indicated to the network device through the wake-up signal to reduce the detection range of the network device and reduce the power consumption of the network device.

[0228] The above channel can be used for the network device to determine the reception configuration. It can be understood that the terminal can obtain the channel information from the base station, such as reference signal receiving power (RSRP), spatial information, etc., through downlink signal measurement. The above information can be fed back to the network device through the wake-up signal, and the network device can adjust its reception configuration through the above information, which is beneficial to the network device to efficiently receive signals from the terminal.

[0229] An example, GF resource Y is associated with multiple wake-up signals, such as wake-up signal X1 and wake-up signal X2, wherein wake-up signal X1 can be associated with low (or poor) reception RSRP of downlink signal on the terminal side, and wake-up signal X2 can be associated with high (or good) reception RSRP of downlink signal on the terminal side, or in other words, wake-up signal X1 can indicate low RSRP, and wake-up signal X2 can indicate high RSRP. When the terminal is a far point user, the RSRP value obtained through downlink signal measurement belongs to low RSRP, then the terminal can send wake-up signal X1. When the network device receives wake-up signal X1, it can be determined that it is low RSRP, and then all reception antennas can be turned on to receive signals on GF resource Y. When the network device receives wake-up signal X2, it can be understood that there is no far point user, and then the network device can turn on part of the reception antennas to receive signals on GF resource Y, so as to save power consumption. The downlink signal can be SSB signal or CSI-RS reference signal.

[0230] Another example, the wake-up signal can also indicate spatial domain information, such as the optimal SSB information measured by the terminal, the optimal CSI-RS port information measured by the terminal, or the SRI information used by the terminal. The network device can determine the receive beam configuration based on the above spatial domain information. Taking SSB as an example, assume that GF resource Y is associated with wake-up signal X1 and wake-up signal X2, where wake-up signal X1 is associated with SSB1, and wake-up signal X2 is associated with SSB2, or in other words, wake-up signal X1 indicates SSB1, and wake-up signal X2 indicates SSB2. When the network device receives wake-up signal X1, it uses the receive beam configuration corresponding to SSB1 to receive the signal on GF resource Y. When the network device receives wake-up signal X2, it uses the receive beam configuration corresponding to SSB2 to receive the signal on GF resource Y.

[0231] It should be noted that the above examples should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The channel information fed back by the terminal can also be poor channel information. For example, poor SSB information measured by the terminal, poor CSI-RS port information measured by the terminal, or SRI information not used by the terminal. The network device can determine the receive beam configuration based on the above spatial domain information. The wake-up signal can also indicate part of the data to be transmitted by the terminal. The network device can determine the part of the data to be transmitted by receiving the wake-up signal. For example, a plurality of wake-up signals are associated with the same GF resource, and the plurality of wake-up signals correspond to part of the data to be transmitted, respectively. The network device can determine the data corresponding to the wake-up signal according to the received wake-up signal.

[0232] The following will be explained in conjunction with FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the wake-up signal indicating part of the data to be transmitted according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0233] As shown in FIG. 9, wake-up signals X1, X2, X3, and X4 are all associated with the same GF resource Y1. The part of the bit sequence (the black part of the bit sequence in the figure) of the data transmitted by the terminal determines the wake-up signal finally used. Among them, the bit sequence "00" corresponds to wake-up signal X1, "01" corresponds to wake-up signal X2, the bit sequence "10" corresponds to wake-up signal X3, and "11" corresponds to wake-up signal X4. As shown in the figure, the bit sequence = 01, so the terminal sends wake-up signal X2. The network device can determine the short bit sequence transmitted by the terminal by receiving the wake-up signal.

[0234] The wake-up signal can also indicate the service demand of the terminal, so that the network device can adjust the configuration of the GF resource. For example, the above wake-up signal X1 corresponds to maintaining the MCS, the above wake-up signal X1 corresponds to reducing the MCS, the above wake-up signal X1 corresponds to raising the MCS, and the above wake-up signal X1 corresponds to re-scheduling. The network device can adjust the subsequent GF resource configuration by receiving the wake-up signal.

[0235] Optionally, the method 600 further includes that the terminal receives feedback information, the feedback information being used for feedback of the wake-up signal.

[0236] One possible design is that when the network device receives the wake-up signal, and starts to receive the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal, the network device can feed back an acknowledgement (ACK) to the terminal; when the network device receives the wake-up signal, but there is a possibility that other user terminals occupy the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal or the network device has energy saving needs, the network device can feed back a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the terminal.

[0237] It can be understood that when the network device receives the wake-up signal, but there is a possibility that other user terminals occupy the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal or the network device has energy saving needs, the feedback information sent by the network device can also be delayed sending, or information of changing GF transmission to scheduling transmission (such as the time of re-sending the signal and the resource used for re-sending the signal). The present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0238] The terminal listens to the feedback information after sending the wake-up signal. Exemplarily, the terminal can listen to the feedback information within a time window T after sending the wake-up signal. If the terminal listens to the ACK, the terminal can send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal. If the terminal listens to the NACK, the terminal does not send the first signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal. If the terminal listens to the delayed sending information, the terminal can delay sending, for example, can send the first signal on the next GF resource of the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal, or send after receiving the scheduling signaling sent by the network device, and the present application does not make any limitation in this regard.

[0239] It can be understood that if the terminal does not receive the feedback information, the terminal can re-send the wake-up signal.

[0240] Optionally, the method 600 further includes that before the terminal acquires the first information, the terminal can further report capability information, the capability information indicating whether the terminal supports waking up the network device based on the wake-up signal.

[0241] One possible implementation is that if the terminal supports waking up the network device based on the wake-up signal, the network device can configure the terminal with the first information, the second information, etc.; if the terminal does not support, the network device can not configure the terminal with the first information, the second information.

[0242] It should be understood that the terminal reporting the capability information is only an example, and should not constitute any limitation to the present application. For example, the network device can also default that all terminals support waking up the network device based on the wake-up signal, and then configure the terminal with the first information, the second information.

[0243] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of GF transmission provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0244] As shown in FIG. 10, the base station sends GF resource configuration, wake-up signal and associated configuration of GF resource. The configuration information of the wake-up signal can be carried in the above-mentioned associated configuration, or can be sent to the terminal separately, which is not limited in the present application. At t1, the terminal does not send the wake-up signal, and the base station does not detect the wake-up signal, so the GF-RX is in the energy-saving state. At t2, the terminal sends the wake-up signal, and accordingly, the network device receives the wake-up signal, and the GF-RX is turned on at t2+Δt. At t3, the terminal sends the wake-up signal, and accordingly, the base station detects the wake-up signal, but since more than one user wants to use the GF resource at t3+Δt, the base station can issue a suspension or delay sending instruction to the terminal to make the terminal not send the first signal on the GF resource at t3+Δt.

[0245] Based on the above technical solution, the terminal can send the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource in the case of needing to use the GF resource, so as to make the network device turn on the reception within the duration of the GF resource, and then transmit the signal on the GF resource. In this way, the transmission of the terminal on the GF resource is effective, that is, the GF transmission of the terminal is guaranteed. In addition, in the case that the terminal does not wake up the network device, the network device can be in the sleep state, which is also beneficial to the energy saving of the network device. On the other hand, generally, the energy consumption of the receiver receiving the wake-up signal is lower than that of the receiver receiving the signal on the GF resource, so compared with using the GF resource to wake up the network device, the energy consumption of the network device can be further reduced.

[0246] The above describes in detail the scheduling-free transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with the drawings. It should be noted that the above-mentioned multiple embodiments can be combined, and the combined scheme can be implemented. Optionally, some operations in the flow of each method embodiment are combined, and / or the order of some operations is changed. Moreover, the execution order between the steps of each flow is only exemplary, and does not constitute a limitation on the execution order between the steps, and other execution orders between the steps can also be used. It is not intended to indicate that the execution order is the only execution order in which the operations can be performed. Those skilled in the art can think of various ways to reorder the operations herein. In addition, it should be pointed out that the process details related to one embodiment herein are also applicable in a similar manner to other embodiments, or different embodiments can be combined for use. The following describes in detail the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with the drawings.

[0247] It should be understood that the apparatuses shown in FIGS. 11-13 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can be a terminal in the method embodiments as shown in FIG. 6, or a component (such as a processor, circuit, chip, chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a logic module or software capable of implementing part or all of the functions of the terminal; or the apparatus can be a network device in the method embodiments as shown in FIG. 6, or a component (such as a processor, circuit, chip, chip system, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing part or all of the functions of the network device.

[0248] FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1100 provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 includes a first transceiver module 1110. The apparatus 1100 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments as shown in FIG. 6.

[0250] When the apparatus 1100 is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments as shown in FIG. 6, the first transceiver module 1110 can be used to send a wake-up signal associated with a GF resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up a network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on the GF resource.

[0251] Optionally, the apparatus 1100 further includes a second transceiver module 1120, which is used to receive the first signal on the GF resource.

[0252] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 can also be used to obtain first information, the first information being used to indicate an association relationship between the wake-up signal and the GF resource.

[0253] The first transceiver module 1110 is specifically used to send the wake-up signal associated with the GF resource according to the first information.

[0254] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 can also be used to obtain second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more of the following parameters of the wake-up signal: periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

[0255] The first transceiver module 1110 is specifically used to send the wake-up signal according to the first information and the second information.

[0256] Optionally, the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource comprises one or more of the following: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, or HARQ process association; wherein the time domain association indicates that the network device detects a signal on the GF resource within a first time; the frequency domain association indicates that the network device detects a signal on the GF resource at a first frequency; the spatial association indicates that the network device detects a signal on the GF resource at a first space; and the HARQ process association indicates that the network device detects a signal on the GF resource at a first HARQ process.

[0257] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 is further configured to obtain third information, the third information being used to indicate a second signal to which the wake-up signal is mapped; and obtain fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate a GF resource associated with the second signal.

[0258] The first transceiver module 1110 is specifically configured to transmit, according to the third information and the fourth information, a wake-up signal associated with the GF resource.

[0259] Optionally, one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal; or one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

[0260] Optionally, the wake-up signal and the GF resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different BWPs; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different beams; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different carriers; the wake-up signal and the GF resource have different TRPs; or the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different cells.

[0261] Optionally, the wake-up signal is further used to indicate one or more of the following to the network device: a transmission parameter of the GF resource, a channel, part of data of the terminal, or a service requirement of the terminal.

[0262] Optionally, the first transceiver module 1110 is further configured to receive feedback information, the feedback information being used to feed back the wake-up signal.

[0263] Optionally, the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource have different transmission modes.

[0264] When the apparatus 1100 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the first transceiver module 1110 can be used to transmit configuration information, the configuration information indicating a resource of a wake-up signal, the first transceiver module 1110 is further used to receive a wake-up signal on the above-mentioned resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up the apparatus 1100 and instruct the apparatus 1100 to receive a first signal on the above-mentioned GF resource.

[0265] Optionally, the apparatus 1100 further includes a second transceiver module 1120, which can be configured to receive the first signal on the GF resource.

[0266] It can be understood that, in the present application, the first transceiver module and the second transceiver module can correspond to different transceivers, for example, the first transceiver module can correspond to a transceiver for transmitting and receiving the wake-up signal, and the second transceiver module can correspond to a transceiver for transmitting and receiving the signal on the GF resource.

[0267] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 is further configured to transmit first information, the first information being used to indicate the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource.

[0268] The second transceiver module 1120 is specifically configured to receive the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the first information.

[0269] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 is further configured to transmit second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more parameters of the wake-up signal, including periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

[0270] The first transceiver module 1110 is specifically configured to receive the wake-up signal according to the second information.

[0271] Optionally, the association between the wake-up signal and the GF resource includes one or more of the following: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, or HARQ process association; wherein the time domain association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource within a first time; the frequency domain association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first frequency; the spatial association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first space; and the HARQ process association is used to indicate that the network device detects the signal on the GF resource at a first HARQ process.

[0272] Optionally, the second transceiver module 1120 is further configured to transmit third information, the third information being used to indicate a second signal mapped by the wake-up signal; and transmit fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate a GF resource associated with the second signal.

[0273] The second transceiver module 1120 is specifically configured to receive the signal on the GF resource associated with the wake-up signal according to the third information and the fourth information.

[0274] Optionally, one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal; or one or more transmission parameters of the GF resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

[0275] Optionally, the wake-up signal and the GF resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different BWPs; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different beams; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different carriers; the wake-up signal and the GF resource are different in TRP; or, the wake-up signal and the GF resource are located in different cells.

[0276] Optionally, the wake-up signal is further used to indicate one or more of the following of the network device: a transmission parameter of the GF resource, a channel, part of data of the terminal, or a service requirement of the terminal.

[0277] Optionally, the first transceiver module 1110 is further used to send feedback information, the feedback information being used for feedback of the wake-up signal.

[0278] Optionally, the wake-up signal and the signal on the GF resource are different in receiving mode.

[0279] For more detailed description of the above-mentioned various modules, reference can be directly made to the related description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0280] It should be understood that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division manner can be used. In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processor, or can be physically separated, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0281] FIG. 12 is another schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1200 provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0282] The apparatus 1200 can be a chip system, or can also be a device configured with a chip system to implement the method described in the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0283] As shown in FIG. 12, the apparatus 1200 can include a processor 1210, which can be used to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory to implement the steps performed by the terminal or the steps performed by the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

[0284] Optionally, the apparatus 1200 further includes a communication interface 1220. The communication interface 1220 can be configured to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, thereby enabling the apparatus 1200 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 1220 can be, for example, a transceiver, an interface, a bus, a circuit, or a combination of devices that enable communication. The processor 1210 can input / output data via the communication interface 1220 and can be configured to implement the methods described in the embodiments of FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. Specifically, the apparatus 1200 can be configured to implement the functions of the terminal or network device described in the method embodiments.

[0285] Optionally, the apparatus 1200 further includes at least one memory 1230 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 1230 is coupled to the processor 1210. In the embodiments of the present application, the coupling between apparatuses, units, or modules is indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information interaction between apparatuses, units, or modules. The processor 1210 can operate in cooperation with the memory 1230. The processor 1210 can execute program instructions stored in the memory 1230.

[0286] In the present application, the memory 1230 can be integrated into the processor 1210, and the processor 1210 and the memory 1230 can also be separately arranged, which is not limited in the present application.

[0287] It should be understood that the coupling in the embodiments of the present application is indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information interaction between apparatuses, units, or modules. The processor 1210 can operate in cooperation with the memory 1230. The specific connection medium between the processor 1210, the communication interface 1220, and the memory 1230 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In FIG. 12, the processor 1210, the communication interface 1220, and the memory 1230 are connected through a bus 1240. The connection mode between other components in FIG. 12 is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG. 12, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0288] FIG. 13 is another schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0289] As shown in FIG. 13, the communication apparatus 1300 includes at least one processor 1310. The at least one processor 1310 can be configured to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory to implement the steps performed by the terminal or the steps performed by the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

[0290] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1300 further includes at least one memory 1320 configured to store instructions executed by the processor 1310 or input data required by the processor 1310 to run the instructions or data generated after the processor 1310 runs the instructions. The at least one processor 1310 and the at least one memory 1320 can be separately arranged. For example, each memory can be connected with one or more processors, so that the connected processor can read information from the memory, store and / or write information in the memory. Alternatively, the at least one processor 1310 and the at least one memory 1320 can be integrated together, for example, one or more memories can be integrated in one processor.

[0291] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1300 further includes an interface circuit 1330 configured to transmit data and / or signaling. The at least one processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1330 are coupled with each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1330 can be a transceiver, an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be configured to receive and the output interface can be configured to send.

[0292] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1300 further includes a power supply circuit 1340 configured to supply power to the communication apparatus 1300.

[0293] When the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 6, the interface circuit 1330 is configured to perform the functions of the transceiver module described above. The interface circuit 1330 is configured to send or receive, which can be determined according to whether the communication apparatus 1300 performs a sending action or a receiving action in the scheme.

[0294] It can be understood that when the communication apparatus 1300 is a communication device, the interface circuit 1330 can be a transceiver, which can specifically include a transmitter configured to send signals and a receiver configured to receive signals. When the communication apparatus 1300 is a chip applied to a communication device, the interface circuit 1330 can be an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be configured to receive and the output interface can be configured to send.

[0295] It should also be understood that the coupling between the devices, units or modules in the embodiments of the present application is indirect coupling or communication connection between the devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, for information interaction between the devices, units or modules. The specific connection medium between the at least one processor 1310, the at least one memory 1320, the interface circuit 1330 and the power supply circuit 1340 in the embodiments of the present application is not limited. In FIG. 13, the processor 1310, the memory 1320, the interface circuit 1330 and the power supply circuit 1340 are connected through the bus 1350. The bus 1350 is represented by a thick line in FIG. 13, and the connection mode between other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be a PCI bus or an EISA bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in FIG. 13, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0296] The present application also provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when executed, can implement the steps performed by the terminal or the steps performed by the network device in the method shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6.

[0297] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the steps performed by the terminal or the steps performed by the network device in the method shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6 can be implemented.

[0298] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system, which comprises at least two chips, one or more chips (denoted as first chips) of the at least two chips are used for receiving / sending a wake-up signal, and the remaining chips (denoted as second chips) are used for receiving / sending a signal on a GF resource, that is, the chip used for receiving / sending a wake-up signal is different from the chip used for receiving / sending a signal on a GF resource.

[0299] Optionally, the at least two chips can be interconnected, when sending, the sending of the second chip triggers the sending of the first chip; and when receiving, the receiving of the first chip triggers the receiving of the second chip.

[0300] Optionally, the at least two chips can be connected through a processor. The processor is used for controlling the switching of the at least two chips.

[0301] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system, which comprises the terminal and the network device as described above.

[0302] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with a processing capability of signals. In the implementation process, each step of the method embodiments described above can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware or the instruction in the form of software in the processor. The processor described above can be a general processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. Each method, step and logic block diagram disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware code processor for execution, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor. The software module can be located in a random memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory, and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

[0303] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the system and method described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0304] The terms "unit", "module" and the like used in the specification can be used to represent a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. The units and modules in the embodiments of the present application have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

[0305] Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The choice of hardware or software, or combinations of both, would be dependent on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application. In several embodiments provided in the present application, it will be apparent that the disclosed devices, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and the division into units is merely a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be omitted or not implemented. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0306] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place or can be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments.

[0307] In addition, the functional units in each of the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0308] In the above embodiments, the functions of the various functional units can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the software can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0309] The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that make a contribution to the technology or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions to make a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0310] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of grant-free transmission, the method comprising: Comprising: sending a wake-up signal associated with a scheduling-free resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up a network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on the scheduling-free resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The sending of the wake-up signal associated with the scheduling-free resource comprises: According to the first information, the wake-up signal associated with the scheduling-free resource is sent, and the first information is used to indicate the association relationship between the wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The sending of the wake-up signal associated with the scheduling-free resource according to the first information comprises: According to the first information and the second information, the wake-up signal is sent, and the second information is used to indicate one or more parameters of the wake-up signal; periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein, The association relationship between the wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource comprises one or more of the following: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process association; wherein, The time domain association is used to instruct the network device to detect the signal on the scheduling-free resource within a first time; The frequency domain association is used to instruct the network device to detect the signal on the scheduling-free resource at a first frequency; The spatial association is used to instruct the network device to detect the signal on the scheduling-free resource at a first space; The HARQ process association is used to instruct the network device to detect the signal on the scheduling-free resource at a first HARQ process.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The sending of the wake-up signal associated with the scheduling-free resource comprises: According to the third information and the fourth information, the wake-up signal associated with the scheduling-free resource is sent, the third information is used to indicate a second signal mapped by the wake-up signal, and the fourth information is used to indicate a scheduling-free resource associated with the second signal.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, One or more transmission parameters of the scheduling-free resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal; or, One or more transmission parameters of the scheduling-free resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are located in different bandwidth parts (BWPs); The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are located in different beams; The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are in different carriers; The transmission and reception point (TRP) of the wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource is different; or The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are in different cells.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, The wake-up signal is also used to instruct the network device to perform one or more of the following: transmission parameter of the scheduling-free resource, channel, part of data of the terminal, or service requirement of the terminal.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, The method further comprises: Receiving feedback information, the feedback information being used to feedback the wake-up signal.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, The sending mode of the wake-up signal and the signal on the scheduling-free resource is different.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, The method further comprises: Sending a first signal on the scheduling-free resource.

12. A method of grant-free transmission, the method comprising: Comprising: Sending configuration information, the configuration information indicating a resource for the terminal to send a wake-up signal; receiving a wake-up signal on the resource, the wake-up signal being used to wake up the network device and instruct the network device to receive a first signal on a scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving the first signal on the scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The receiving the first signal on the scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal comprises: receiving a signal on a scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal according to first information, the first information being used to indicate an association between the wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource.

15. The method of any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein, The receiving the wake-up signal on the resource comprises: receiving the wake-up signal on the resource according to second information, the second information being used to indicate one or more parameters of the wake-up signal; periodicity, duration, repetition number, subcarrier spacing, resource location, sequence, power control, or waveform.

16. The method of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein, The association between the wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource comprises one or more of: time domain association, frequency domain association, spatial association, or hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process association; wherein, The time domain association is used to instruct the network device to detect a signal on the scheduling-free resource within a first time; The frequency domain association is used to instruct the network device to detect a signal on the scheduling-free resource on a first frequency; The spatial association is used to instruct the network device to detect a signal on the scheduling-free resource on a first space; The HARQ process association is used to instruct the network device to detect a signal on the scheduling-free resource on a first HARQ process.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, The receiving the first signal on the scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal comprises: receiving the first signal on a scheduling-free resource associated with the wake-up signal according to third information and fourth information, the third information being used to indicate a second signal mapped by the wake-up signal, and the fourth information being used to indicate a scheduling-free resource associated with the second signal.

18. The method of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein, One or more transmission parameters of the scheduling-free resource configuration are associated with one wake-up signal; or, One or more transmission parameters of the scheduling-free resource configuration are associated with multiple wake-up signals.

19. The method of any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein, The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource satisfy one or more of the following conditions: The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are located in different bandwidth parts (BWPs); The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are located in different beams; The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are in different carriers; The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource have different transmission reception points (TRPs); or The wake-up signal and the scheduling-free resource are in different cells.

20. The method of any one of claims 12 to 19, wherein, The wake-up signal is further used to instruct the network device to perform one or more of the following: transmission parameter of the scheduling-free resource, channel, terminal part data, or service requirement of the terminal.

21. The method of any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein, The method further comprises: sending feedback information, the feedback information being used to feed back the wake-up signal.

22. The method of any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein, The receiving mode of the wake-up signal and the signal on the scheduling-free resource is different.

23. A communications device, characterized by comprising means for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, or comprising means for implementing the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

24. A communications device, characterized by comprising a processor operable to execute a computer program in a memory to cause the apparatus to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, or to implement the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, or implement the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

26. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, or implement the method of any one of claims 12 to 22.

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