Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first communication apparatus receiving a wake-up signal on a first time domain resource; and receiving a paging message on a second time domain resource, wherein the first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, a capability of the first communication apparatus, and the identifier of the first communication apparatus, and the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource. The solution specifies the timing for a terminal device to monitor a wake-up signal, providing support for implementing a WUR function of the terminal device, thereby improving energy efficiency of terminal devices.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411071629.5, filed on August 5, 2024, and entitled “A communication method and apparatus”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] At present, the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system has been widely commercialized. In addition to latency, reliability and feasibility, the energy efficiency of terminal equipment (UE) is also crucial to 5G. While supporting higher speed and larger bandwidth, terminal equipment also faces great challenges in energy saving. For terminal equipment without continuous power supply, such as some sensors deployed in monitoring and measurement, their batteries need to be used for several years. In the Internet of Things scenario, terminal equipment such as wearable devices and medical monitoring devices needs to maintain a battery life of 1-2 weeks while maintaining performance. Therefore, how to improve the energy efficiency of terminal equipment is a necessary condition to improve user experience.

[0005] A wake up radio (WUR) mechanism can achieve lower terminal device power consumption. The principle is that, on the basis of an existing main receiver (MR) of a terminal device, a low-power auxiliary receiver, such as a low-power wake up receiver (LP-WUR), is introduced to monitor a wake up signal (such as a low-power wake up signal (LP-WUS)) sent by a network side. The main receiver is used for normal reception of data / service transmission, and the auxiliary receiver is used as a wake up signal dedicated receiver for detecting and processing the wake up signal. When there is no ongoing data / service transmission on the main receiver, the main receiver can enter an off or sleep state to greatly reduce the power consumption of the terminal device in the "standby" state, and the auxiliary receiver is turned on to monitor the wake up signal. When the wake up signal receives an indication of wake up, the main receiver is woken up for data / service transmission. Only when the auxiliary receiver receives the wake up signal sent by the network, the main receiver is woken up. Through this mechanism, the main receiver of the terminal device can be turned off when not in use, and the energy efficiency of the terminal device can be improved. The technology can be used for small devices and wearable devices in Internet of Things scenarios, and can also be used for other scenarios, such as extended reality (XR), smart phones, and the like.

[0006] However, there is no clear solution for how to transmit the wake up signal at present. SUMMARY

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device for determining the transmission scheme of the wake up signal, which helps to improve the energy efficiency of the terminal device.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be applied to a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal device, or the first communication device can be a module or a chip in the terminal device. The method comprises: receiving a wake up signal on a first time domain resource; and receiving a paging message on a second time domain resource. The first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, and an identifier of the first communication device. The first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource. The wake up signal is, for example, a low power wake up signal (LP-WUS), the first time domain resource is, for example, an LP-WUS occasion (LO), and the second time domain resource is, for example, a paging occasion (PO).

[0009] The scheme explicitly determines the timing at which the terminal device monitors the wake-up signal (i.e., the time domain resource used by the first communication device to receive the wake-up signal, which is related to one or more of the terminal group identifier or the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, the capability of the first communication device, the identifier of the first communication device, etc.), provides support for implementing the wake-up radio (WUR) function of the terminal device, and helps to improve the energy efficiency of the terminal device.

[0010] In a possible design, the first interval is determined according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device and a correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval (e.g., the first communication device or the second communication device determines the first interval according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device and the correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval). The terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device for the second time domain resource. The correspondence is a correspondence between at least two terminal subgroup identifiers and at least one interval, and the at least two terminal subgroup identifiers include the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device.

[0011] With this design, the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource can be grouped first, and then the terminal devices are configured with time domain resources for monitoring the wake-up signal in the granularity of terminal subgroup.

[0012] In a possible design, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is related to the capability of the first communication device, for example, the first communication device or the second communication device determines the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device according to the capability of the first communication device. The capability includes at least one of the following: a signal demodulation manner supported by the first communication device, a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication device.

[0013] With this design, terminal devices with different capabilities can monitor the wake-up signal on different time domain resources.

[0014] In a possible design, when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a first type of signal generation manner, the first interval determined is smaller than the first interval determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a second type of signal generation manner.

[0015] With this design, terminal devices supporting the first type of signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or in other words, receive a "short signal") later, and terminal devices supporting the second type of signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or in other words, receive a "long signal") earlier, which saves network resource overhead while taking into account signal transmission reliability.

[0016] In a possible design, the first interval determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication apparatus is a first wake-up duration is greater than the first interval determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication apparatus is a second wake-up duration; and the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

[0017] By means of the design, the terminal device with a shorter required wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal later, and the terminal device with a longer required wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal earlier, while the signal transmission reliability is taken into account, and the paging latency is reduced and the power consumption of the terminal device is saved.

[0018] In a possible design, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus is related to the identifier of the first communication apparatus. For example, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus determines the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus according to the identifier of the first communication apparatus.

[0019] By means of the design, on one hand, different terminal devices corresponding to a same PO can correspond to different LOs, which can reduce the number of terminal devices corresponding to a same LO, thereby reducing the false alarm rate of the wake-up signal. On the other hand, the network has more paging opportunities based on multiple LOs, which can improve the flexibility of network scheduling. Moreover, the design is simple and easy to implement.

[0020] In a possible design, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus is further related to at least one of the following:

[0021] the total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle;

[0022] the number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity;

[0023] the number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity.

[0024] For example, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus satisfies the following relationship: SubgroupIDperPO=floor(UE_ID / N*Ns)mod subgroupNumforPO.

[0025] wherein SubgroupIDperPO represents the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication apparatus, N represents the total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents the number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, subgroupNumforPO represents the number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and floor is a floor function.

[0026] Of course, the above is only an example, and the manner of determining the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device according to the identifier of the first communication device is not limited thereto.

[0027] In a possible design, the first information is received, and the first information indicates the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device; and the terminal sub-group identifier is determined according to the first information; wherein the first information is carried in any one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), a system information block (SIB), downlink control information (DCI), an LP-synchronization signal (SS), or an LP-WUS.

[0028] By means of the design, the network can indicate the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device to the first communication device, and the implementation on the side of the first communication device is simple.

[0029] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is determined according to the capability of the first communication device and a correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource; wherein the correspondence is a correspondence between at least one capability and at least one time domain resource, and the at least one capability includes the capability of the first communication device.

[0030] By means of the design, the time domain resource for the terminal device to receive the wake-up signal can be configured according to the capability of the terminal device.

[0031] In a possible design, the capability of the first communication device includes a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, the at least one capability includes a first signal generation manner and a second signal generation manner; and the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the first signal generation manner is later than the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the second signal generation manner.

[0032] By means of the design, the terminal device supporting the first signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or a “short signal”) later, and the terminal device supporting the second signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or a “long signal”) earlier, which saves network resource overhead while taking into account signal transmission reliability.

[0033] In a possible design, the capability of the first communication apparatus includes a required wake-up duration of the first communication apparatus, the at least one capability includes a first wake-up duration and a second wake-up duration, the first time domain resource determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication apparatus is the first wake-up duration is earlier than the first time domain resource determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication apparatus is the second wake-up duration, and the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

[0034] By this design, a terminal device with a shorter required wake-up duration can receive a wake-up signal later, and a terminal device with a longer required wake-up duration can receive a wake-up signal earlier, while the signal transmission reliability is taken into account, the paging latency is reduced, and the power consumption of the terminal device is saved.

[0035] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is determined according to the identifier of the first communication apparatus. For example, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus determines the first time domain resource according to the identifier of the first communication apparatus.

[0036] By this design, on one hand, different terminal devices corresponding to a same PO can correspond to different LOs, which can reduce the number of terminal devices corresponding to a same LO, thereby reducing the false alarm rate of a wake-up signal. On the other hand, the network has more paging opportunities based on multiple LOs, which can improve the flexibility of network scheduling. Moreover, this design is simple and easy to implement.

[0037] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is further related to at least one of the following:

[0038] a total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle;

[0039] a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity;

[0040] a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, and the LP-WUS opportunity is used to transmit a wake-up signal, and the first time domain resource is one LP-WUS opportunity.

[0041] For example, the first time domain resource satisfies the following relationship: i_LO=(floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns)mod L.

[0042] where i_LO represents the first time domain resource, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication apparatus, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception DRX cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, L represents a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, floor is a floor function, and mod is a modulo function.

[0043] Of course, the above is only an example, and the manner of determining the first time domain resource according to the identifier of the first communication device is not limited thereto.

[0044] In a possible design, the second information is received, and the second information indicates the first time domain resource; the first time domain resource is determined according to the second information; and the second information is carried in any one of the following: RRC signaling, a MAC CE, a SIB, DCI, an LP-SS, and an LP-WUS.

[0045] By this design manner, the first communication device can be indicated by the network with the first time domain resource, and the implementation on the first communication device side is simple.

[0046] In a possible design, the length of the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner is less than the length of the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner; or,

[0047] In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on an On-off Keying (OOK) ON symbol; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, all the information bits are mapped on an OOK symbol; or,

[0048] In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on a first time unit, and the signal amplitude on the first time unit is not 0; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, part of the information bits are mapped on a second time unit, and the other part of the information bits are mapped on a third time unit, the signal amplitude on the second time unit is not 0, and the signal amplitude on the third time unit is 0; or,

[0049] The wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner supports a phase detection manner, and the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner supports only an envelope detection manner or does not support the phase detection manner; or,

[0050] The first type of signal generation manner supports orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, or supports joint modulation of OFDM and OOK; and the second type of signal generation manner supports only OOK modulation.

[0051] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a second communication device. The second communication device can be a network device, or a module or chip in the network device. The method comprises: sending a wake-up signal to a first communication device on a first time domain resource; and sending a paging message on a second time domain resource. The first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, and an identifier of the first communication device. The first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

[0052] In a possible design, the first interval is determined according to a correspondence between the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device and the interval. The terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device for the second time domain resource. The correspondence is a correspondence between at least two terminal sub-group identifiers and at least one interval. The at least two terminal sub-group identifiers include the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device.

[0053] In a possible design, the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is related to the capability of the first communication device. The capability includes at least one of the following: a signal demodulation manner supported by the first communication device, a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication device.

[0054] In a possible design, when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a first type of signal generation manner, the determined first interval is smaller than when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a second type of signal generation manner.

[0055] In a possible design, when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a first wake-up duration, the determined first interval is greater than when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a second wake-up duration. The first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

[0056] In a possible design, the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is related to the identifier of the first communication device.

[0057] In a possible design, the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is further related to at least one of the following:

[0058] a total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle;

[0059] a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity;

[0060] a number of terminal sub-groups in each paging opportunity, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity.

[0061] In a possible design, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus satisfies the following relationship: SubgroupIDperPO=floor(UE_ID / N*Ns)mod subgroupNumforPO.

[0062] where SubgroupIDperPO represents the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication apparatus, N represents the total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents the number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, subgroupNumforPO represents the number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and floor is a floor function.

[0063] In a possible design, the first information indicating the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus can also be sent, and the first information is carried in any of the following: RRC signaling, a MAC CE, a SIB, DCI, an LP-SS, and an LP-WUS.

[0064] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is determined according to the capability of the first communication apparatus and a correspondence relationship between the capability and the time domain resource, and the correspondence relationship is a correspondence relationship between at least one capability and at least one time domain resource, and the at least one capability includes the capability of the first communication apparatus.

[0065] In a possible design, the capability of the first communication apparatus includes a signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus, the at least one capability includes a first signal generation manner and a second signal generation manner, and the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus is the first signal generation manner is later than the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus is the second signal generation manner.

[0066] In a possible design, the capability of the first communication apparatus includes a wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus, the at least one capability includes a first wake-up duration and a second wake-up duration, the first time domain resource determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus is the first wake-up duration is earlier than the first time domain resource determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus is the second wake-up duration, and the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

[0067] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is determined according to the identifier of the first communication apparatus.

[0068] In a possible design, the first time domain resource is further related to at least one of the following:

[0069] the total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle;

[0070] a number of paging occasions in each paging frame, the second time-domain resource being one LP-WUS occasion;

[0071] a number of LP-WUS occasions corresponding to the second time-domain resource, the LP-WUS occasion being used for transmitting a wake-up signal, the first time-domain resource being one LP-WUS occasion.

[0072] In a possible design, the first time-domain resource satisfies the following relationship: i_LO = (floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns) mod L.

[0073] where i_LO represents the first time-domain resource, UE_ID represents an identifier of the first communication device, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging occasions in each paging frame, L represents a number of LP-WUS occasions corresponding to the second time-domain resource, floor is a floor function, and mod is a modulo function.

[0074] In a possible design, the second information can also be transmitted, and the second information indicates the first time-domain resource; the second information is carried in any of the following: RRC signaling, a MAC CE, a SIB, DCI, an LP-SS, and an LP-WUS.

[0075] In a possible design, a length of a wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner is smaller than a length of a wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner; or,

[0076] In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of information bits are mapped on an OOK ON symbol; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, all information bits are mapped on an OOK symbol; or,

[0077] In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of information bits are mapped on a first time unit, and a signal amplitude on the first time unit is not 0; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, part of information bits are mapped on a second time unit, and another part of information bits are mapped on a third time unit, a signal amplitude on the second time unit is not 0, and a signal amplitude on the third time unit is 0; or,

[0078] The wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner supports a phase detection manner, and the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner supports only an envelope detection manner or does not support the phase detection manner; or,

[0079] The first type of signal generation manner supports orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, or supports joint modulation of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and on-off keying (OOK).

[0080] In a possible design, the wake-up signal can also be sent to the third communication apparatus on a third time domain resource, the third time domain resource being earlier than the second time domain resource.

[0081] The third time domain resource or the second interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal subgroup identifier of the third communication apparatus, a capability of the third communication apparatus, and an identifier of the third communication apparatus; and the second interval is an interval between the third time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

[0082] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a module or unit or means for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. The communication apparatus can be a terminal device, or the communication apparatus can be a module or chip in the terminal device.

[0083] For example, the apparatus can include:

[0084] The transceiver is configured to: receive the wake-up signal on a first time domain resource; and receive the paging message on a second time domain resource; the first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, a capability of the first communication apparatus, and an identifier of the first communication apparatus; and the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

[0085] Optionally, the apparatus can further include a processing module configured to process the wake-up signal and / or the paging message.

[0086] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a module or unit or means for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. The communication apparatus can be a network device, or the communication apparatus can be a module or chip in the network device.

[0087] For example, the apparatus can include:

[0088] The transceiver is configured to: send the wake-up signal to the first communication apparatus on a first time domain resource; and send the paging message on a second time domain resource; the first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, a capability of the first communication apparatus, and an identifier of the first communication apparatus; and the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

[0089] Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a processing module configured to generate the wake-up signal and / or generate the paging message.

[0090] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to enable the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be implemented. The communication apparatus can be a terminal device or a network device, or the communication apparatus can be a module or a chip in a terminal device or a network device.

[0091] Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface connected with the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to enable the communication apparatus to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect through the communication interface.

[0092] Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory. The at least one processor is configured to enable the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be implemented by executing instructions stored in the memory. The memory can be arranged in the communication apparatus, or can be located outside the communication apparatus.

[0093] In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication apparatus, the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect is implemented.

[0094] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which stores instructions. When the instructions are run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0095] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, which comprises:

[0096] The second communication apparatus transmits the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource; and the first communication apparatus receives the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource.

[0097] The second communication apparatus transmits the paging message on the second time domain resource; and the first communication apparatus receives the paging message on the second time domain resource.

[0098] The first time domain resource or the first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication apparatus, a capability of the first communication apparatus, an identifier of the first communication apparatus; and the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

[0099] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication system comprising a communication apparatus according to the third aspect and a communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0100] FIG. 1 is a network architecture diagram of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

[0101] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wake-up mechanism of a long P-WUS;

[0102] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of OOK modulation;

[0103] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of joint modulation of OOK and OFDM;

[0104] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network transmitting a long signal;

[0105] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating a case where a plurality of terminal devices share a second time domain resource;

[0107] FIGS. 8 to 10 are diagrams illustrating examples of a correspondence between a PO and a LO;

[0108] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a structure of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0110] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0111] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of a noun, unless otherwise specified, indicates "a singular noun or a plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "a plurality of" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects. For example, A / B means A or B. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, and (or) c means that a exists alone, b exists alone, c exists alone, a and b exist together, b and c exist together, a and c exist together, and a, b, and c exist together, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0112] The ordinal numbers, such as “first”, “second”, etc., mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority or importance of the multiple objects. For example, the first period and the second period can be the same period, or can be different periods, and the names do not mean that the durations, application scenarios, priorities or importance of the two periods are different.

[0113] The application scenarios of the present application are introduced as follows.

[0114] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as a 5th generation (5G) communication system, a future communication system, or other various wireless communication systems using wireless access technologies, etc., and can all use the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0115] For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied. The communication system 1000 includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200, and optionally, the communication system 1000 can also include an Internet 300. The radio access network 100 includes at least one access network device, such as 110a and 110b in FIG. 1, and at least one terminal device, such as 120a-120j in FIG. 1. Among them, 110a is a base station, 110b is a micro station, 120a, 120e, 120f and 120j are mobile phones, 120b is a car, 120c is a fuel dispenser, 120d is a home access point (HAP) arranged indoors or outdoors, 120g is a notebook computer, 120h is a printer, and 120i is a drone. Among them, the same terminal device or access network device can provide different functions in different application scenarios. For example, the mobile phones in FIG. 1 are 120a, 120e, 120f and 120j, the mobile phone 120a can access the base station 110a, connect to the car 120b, communicate directly with the mobile phone 120e and access the HAP, the mobile phone 120b can access the HAP and communicate directly with the mobile phone 120a, the mobile phone 120f can access the micro station 110b, connect to the notebook computer 120g, and connect to the printer 120h, and the mobile phone 120j can control the drone 120i.

[0116] The terminal device is connected with the access network device, and the access network device is connected with the core network. The core network device and the access network device can be independent and different physical devices, can be integrated with the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the access network device on the same physical device, and can be a physical device integrated with part of the functions of the core network device and part of the functions of the access network device. The terminal device and the terminal device, and the access network device and the access network device can be connected with each other through a wired or wireless manner. FIG. 1 is only a schematic diagram, and other network devices can also be included in the communication system, such as a wireless relay device and a wireless backhaul device, which are not shown in FIG. 1.

[0117] The access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. The access network device can be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the base station, for example, can be a central unit (CU), or can be a distributed unit (DU). The access network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1), or can be a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG. 1), or can be a relay node or a donor node, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the access network device. In the embodiments of the present application, a base station is taken as an example of the access network device for description.

[0118] In a possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), and the like. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0119] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN or ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0120] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, 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 transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device 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. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal device.

[0121] The base station and the UE can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the UE can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; and can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the UE.

[0122] The roles of the base station and the UE can be relative, for example, the helicopter or drone 120i in FIG. 1 can be configured as a mobile base station, which is a base station for those 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 through 120i; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a UE, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, in which case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, the base station and the UE can be collectively referred to as a communication apparatus, 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication apparatus with base station function, and 120a-120j in FIG. 1 can be referred to as a communication apparatus with UE function.

[0123] The base station and the UE, the base station and the base station, and the UE and the UE can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, through an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or through both a licensed frequency spectrum and an unlicensed frequency spectrum; can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), through a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or through both a frequency spectrum below 6 GHz and a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0124] Hereinafter, some technical features involved in the present application are introduced.

[0125] I. Wake up radio (WUR):

[0126] (1) Definition of wake up radio (WUR):

[0127] The wake up radio can be understood as a function of reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. For the terminal device, the wake up radio refers to introducing a low power (LP) interface on the basis of the traditional main receiver (MR) (or main radio (MR) or main module, etc.). The LP interface is implemented by a simple structure circuit or chip, and its power consumption is low. The specific form of the LP interface is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. For example, the LP interface can be implemented by a wake up receiver (WUR), a low power wake up receiver (LP-WUR), a low-power radio (LR), a wake up module or a wake up circuit. The LP interface can also be called a secondary receiver, a secondary module or a secondary circuit, etc. The WUR in this paper can be a wake up radio, a wake up receiver. The WUR in this paper can be replaced by LP-WUR, LR, wake up module or wake up circuit, etc.

[0128] For ease of description, the main receiver and the secondary receiver are described below as examples, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0129] The main receiver is mainly used for data / signaling transmission and / or reception. If there is no need for data / signaling transmission and / or reception, the main receiver can be turned off or the main receiver is in a sleep state or sleep mode. The secondary receiver can be used to wake up the main receiver in the sleep state, for example, when there is a need for data / signaling transmission and / or reception, the secondary receiver wakes up the main receiver. Such design can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0130] The signal received by the secondary receiver can be called a low power signal, a wake up signal (WUS) or a low power wake up signal (LP-WUS), etc. The low power signal in this paper can be replaced by WUS, LP-WUS, etc.

[0131] When the terminal device detects / receives the WUS, the main receiver in the sleep state can be woken up.

[0132] (2) Types of secondary receivers:

[0133] There are multiple ways of mapping the bit information (or information bits) of the wake-up signal to time units, or in other words, multiple ways of modulating the bit information of the wake-up signal, or in other words, multiple ways of generating the wake-up signal. For example, the wake-up signal can be modulated using on-off keying (OOK), and accordingly, the auxiliary receiver in the terminal device receives the wake-up signal in an envelope detection manner. For another example, the wake-up signal can also be transmitted using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform, and accordingly, the auxiliary receiver in the terminal device receives the wake-up signal in a phase detection manner. For convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, the wake-up signal is transmitted using an OFDM waveform is referred to as the wake-up signal being modulated using OFDM (which will be introduced below).

[0134] The auxiliary receiver that receives the wake-up signal in a phase detection manner can be regarded as a type of auxiliary receiver (for example, referred to as a first type of auxiliary receiver), and the auxiliary receiver that receives the wake-up signal in an envelope detection manner can be regarded as another type of auxiliary receiver (for example, referred to as a second type of auxiliary receiver). The first type of auxiliary receiver and the second type of auxiliary receiver are relative, and there are multiple interpretations of the first type of auxiliary receiver and the second type of auxiliary receiver, which will be illustrated below.

[0135] (2.1) The first type of auxiliary receiver is an OFDM receiver, and the second type of auxiliary receiver is an OOK receiver.

[0136] (2.2) The first type of auxiliary receiver is a receiver with both I / Q paths, and the second type of auxiliary receiver is a receiver with only one of the I / Q paths.

[0137] (2.3) The first type of auxiliary receiver is a coherent receiver, and the second type of auxiliary receiver is a non-coherent receiver.

[0138] (2.4) The first type of auxiliary receiver is a coherent receiver with both I / Q paths, and the second type of auxiliary receiver is a non-coherent receiver with only one of the I / Q paths.

[0139] (2.5) The first type of auxiliary receiver receives the signal in a phase detection manner, and the second type of auxiliary receiver receives the signal in an energy / power / amplitude detection manner. Alternatively, the first type of auxiliary receiver can / able to detect phase information, and the second type of auxiliary receiver can / able to detect signal energy / power / amplitude.

[0140] (2.6) The first type of auxiliary receiver can receive complex signals, and the second type of auxiliary receiver cannot receive complex signals (for example, the second type of auxiliary receiver receives real signals).

[0141] (2.7) The first type of auxiliary receiver has phase detection capability, and the second type of auxiliary receiver has envelope detection capability or no phase detection capability. Alternatively, the first type of auxiliary receiver supports receiving signals in a phase detection manner, and the second type of auxiliary receiver supports receiving signals in an envelope detection manner. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase detection capability can be replaced by correlation detection capability and sequence detection capability.

[0142] (2.9) The first type of auxiliary receiver can receive OFDM signals, and the second type of auxiliary receiver cannot receive OFDM signals (for example, the second type of auxiliary receiver receives OOK signals).

[0143] (3) OOK modulation, OFDM modulation, and OOK and OFDM combined modulation:

[0144] OOK modulation: the presence or absence of a signal is used to represent digital information. Bit information corresponding to a signal is mapped to at least one time unit through OOK modulation, one time unit corresponds to one bit of information, and the bit information of the signal is determined by detecting whether there is a signal in the time unit. The presence of a signal in a time unit means that the signal amplitude in the time unit is not zero, such a time unit is also called an ON time unit, or the time unit is in an ON mode; correspondingly, the absence of a signal in a time unit means that the signal amplitude in the time unit is zero, such a time unit is also called an OFF time unit, or the time unit is in an OFF mode. Usually, a sequence is sent in a time unit, and the time unit has a signal; no sequence is sent in a time unit, and the time unit has no signal. For a time unit, the time unit is an ON time unit or the time unit is in an ON mode, which can be decoded as 1; correspondingly, the time unit is an OFF time unit or the time unit is in an OFF mode, which can be decoded as 0.

[0145] Please refer to Figure 3, which is an example diagram of OOK modulation. Figure 3 uses the signal bit information 1001 as an example. After OOK modulation, the 4 bits of information 1001 are sequentially mapped to 4 time units (e.g., time units 1 to 4). It should be understood that time units 1 and 4 are time units with signals, and sequences are transmitted on time units 1 and 4. Time units 2 and 3 are time units without signals, and no sequences are transmitted on time units 2 and 3. When the receiver detects a sequence in time units 1 and 4, it can decode it as 1. When the receiver does not detect a sequence in time units 2 and 3, it can decode it as 0. The receiver combines the decoding of the 4 time units to obtain 1001. It can be seen that for OOK modulation, only 1 bit of information can be obtained within one time unit. It can be understood that when the receiver detects a sequence in a time unit, it means that the receiver has detected the envelope of the signal in that time unit; correspondingly, when the receiver does not detect a sequence in a time unit, it means that the receiver has not detected the envelope of the signal in that time unit.

[0146] OFDM modulation utilizes different signals (such as different phases) to represent different sequences, which in turn carry bit information. For example, different sequences can represent different bit streams; or, within a symbol (such as an OFDM symbol), different sequences can carry different bit states. For instance, if a symbol carries 2 bits of information, then 4 sequences are needed to represent the different bit states. Because OFDM modulation is based on sequence-based information carrying, in some embodiments, OFDM modulation can also be referred to as sequence-based modulation.

[0147] OOK and OFDM combined modulation: This refers to carrying different sequences in the ON portion of the OOK waveform. Specifically, a receiver with OFDM capability can obtain more information from the sequences carried on the ON portion, in addition to the information from the ON / OFF waveform of OOK (also known as ON / OFF mode). For example, four sequences can be used to represent different bit states. For example, four Zadoff-Chu (zc) sequences can be used, which share the same root but have different cyclic shifts. For example, the root of all four sequences is 1, the cyclic shift of sequence #1 is 5, representing a bit state of 00; the cyclic shift of sequence #2 is 12, representing a bit state of 01; the cyclic shift of sequence #3 is 24, representing a bit state of 10; and the cyclic shift of sequence #4 is 35, representing a bit state of 11.

[0148] Please refer to FIG. 4 for an example diagram of OOK and OFDM joint modulation. The first type of auxiliary receiver (e.g., an OFDM receiver) can detect sequence information of ON time units in addition to obtaining 1-bit information (e.g., "1") through ON / OFF mode in one time unit. FIG. 4 takes an example in which a sending end stores 4 sequences (i.e., Sequence 1-Sequence 4 in the figure), which can be used to carry 2-bit information. For example, Sequence 0 corresponds to 00, Sequence 1 corresponds to 01, Sequence 2 corresponds to 10, and Sequence 3 corresponds to 11. In one time unit, if the corresponding bit information is 01, the access network device can determine, according to the above correspondence between the 4 sequences and the bit information, that Sequence 1 corresponds to the bit information 01. The access network device can scramble the time unit by using Sequence 1.

[0149] It can be seen that, based on OFDM modulation or based on OOK and OFDM joint modulation, compared with OOK modulation, if a signal of the same length of bit information is to be transmitted, the signal occupies less time domain resources. For example, to transmit a signal of the same length of bit information, OOK and OFDM joint modulation needs M symbols, OOK modulation needs N symbols, M is less than N, and M and N are both positive numbers.

[0150] For OOK and OFDM joint modulation, there are multiple ways of mapping bit information to a signal, two of which are listed below:

[0151] (1) Part of the bit information is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and another part of the bit information is mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol.

[0152] The first type of auxiliary receiver needs to obtain part of the bit information from the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol and another part of the bit information from the sequence of the OOK ON symbol to obtain all the bit information.

[0153] (2) All the bit information is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and all the bit information is also mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol.

[0154] The first type of auxiliary receiver can obtain all the bit information from the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol or from the sequence of the OOK ON symbol.

[0155] The modulation manner used by the signal depends on the capability of the receiver. Taking the foregoing auxiliary receiver as an example, if the auxiliary receiver is a first type auxiliary receiver (such as an OFDM receiver), the bit information of the LP-WUS can be carried through the ON / OFF mode of the symbol and the sequence on the ON symbol. If the auxiliary receiver is a second type auxiliary receiver (such as an OOK receiver), the bit information of the LP-WUS can be carried through the ON / OFF mode of the symbol. The signal corresponding to the first type auxiliary receiver can be regarded as a type of signal (for example, referred to as a first type signal), and the signal corresponding to the second type auxiliary receiver can be regarded as another type of signal (for example, referred to as a second type signal). Since the second type auxiliary receiver needs to occupy more time domain resources compared with the first type auxiliary receiver, the second type signal is longer than the first type signal, and the second type signal can be referred to as a “long signal” and the first type signal can be referred to as a “short signal”. The first type signal can also be referred to as a first type low power consumption signal, a first type WUS or a first type LP-WUS, and correspondingly, the second type signal can also be referred to as a second type low power consumption signal, a second type WUS or a second type LP-WUS. Relatively speaking, the power consumption required by the second type auxiliary receiver to receive the second type signal is greater than the power consumption required by the first type auxiliary receiver to receive the first type signal. The terminal device has greater energy saving gain in receiving the first type signal by the first type auxiliary receiver. In addition, the detection performance of the second type auxiliary receiver is less than the detection performance of the first type auxiliary receiver, and the coverage performance supported by the second type auxiliary receiver is less than the coverage performance supported by the first type auxiliary receiver. Generally speaking, if the second type auxiliary receiver is used to receive the signal, the coverage performance can be increased through coverage enhancement technology. For example, for the second type auxiliary receiver, the coverage performance can be improved by increasing the number of repeated transmissions of the signal.

[0156] The first type of signal generation manner refers to that the wake-up signal is modulated by using an OOK and OFDM joint modulation manner, or the wake-up signal is modulated by using an OFDM modulation manner. In the following, the first type of signal generation manner refers to that the wake-up signal is modulated by using an OOK and OFDM joint modulation manner: the terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner can be replaced by the terminal device supporting at least using an OOK symbol or a sequence on an OOK ON symbol to carry bit information of the wake-up signal. For example, the bit information of the wake-up signal includes first bit information and second bit information, and the first type of signal generation manner refers to that the first bit information of the wake-up signal is based on OOK modulation, and the second bit information of the wake-up signal is based on sequence modulation or based on OFDM modulation. Alternatively, the first type of signal generation manner refers to that the first bit information of the wake-up signal is carried by using an ON / OFF mode, and the second bit information of the wake-up signal is carried by using an OOK symbol or a sequence on an OOK ON symbol. It can be understood that the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner can be received by the first type of auxiliary receiver, the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner does not need to be repeatedly sent, or the maximum number of repeated sending of the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner is 1.

[0157] Since the wake-up signal generated in the first type of signal generation manner is a "short signal" and occupies less time domain resource, from this perspective, the first type of signal generation manner can also be understood as a signal generation manner that occupies less time domain resource. The terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner can be replaced by the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal occupying / using less time domain resource, the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal being transmitted by using less time domain resource, or the terminal device supporting the resource occupation rate of the wake-up signal being less than or equal to x1%, or the terminal device supporting the available resource ratio being greater than or equal to x1%, where x1 can be (pre)configured or defined by a protocol. In the embodiments of the present application, the resource includes time domain resource and / or frequency domain resource.

[0158] In addition, the terminal device receives the wake-up signal generated in the first type of signal generation manner by using the first type of auxiliary receiver, and has lower power consumption and greater energy saving gain, and is suitable for a scenario with a large load. From this perspective, the first type of signal generation manner can also be understood as a signal generation manner with a load rate greater than or equal to y1% or a signal generation manner with an energy saving gain greater than or equal to z1%. Wherein, y1 and z1 can be (pre)configured or defined by a protocol. The terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner can be replaced by the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal with a load rate greater than or equal to y1%, or the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal with an energy saving gain greater than or equal to z1%.

[0159] Similarly, the second type of signal generation manner refers to that the wake-up signal is modulated by using the OOK modulation manner. The terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner can be replaced by the terminal device supporting carrying all bit information of the wake-up signal by using the ON / OFF mode. For example, the bit information of the wake-up signal is the first bit information, and the second type of signal generation manner refers to that the first bit information of the wake-up signal is carried by using the ON / OFF mode. It can be understood that the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner can be received by the second type of auxiliary receiver, the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner needs to be repeatedly sent, or the maximum number of repeated sending of the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner is greater than or equal to 1.

[0160] Since the wake-up signal generated in the second type of signal generation manner is a "long signal" and occupies more time domain resources, from this perspective, the second type of signal generation manner can also be understood as a signal generation manner that occupies more time domain resources. The terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner can be replaced by the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal occupying / using more time domain resources, the terminal device supporting the wake-up signal being transmitted by using more time domain resources, or the terminal device supporting the resource occupation rate of the wake-up signal being greater than or equal to x2%, or the terminal device supporting the available resource ratio being greater than or equal to x2%, where x2 can be (pre)configured or defined by a protocol. In the embodiment of the present application, the resource includes time domain resource and / or frequency domain resource.

[0161] II. Paging

[0162] In a communication system, a network device can notify a terminal device in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or an RRC inactive state to receive a paging message through paging. The network device can be a radio access network (RAN) device or a (core network, CN) core network device. For example, the access network device initiates paging (also referred to as RAN paging), and the access network device can initiate paging for a terminal device in an RRC inactive state. For another example, the core network device initiates paging (also referred to as CN paging), and the core network device can initiate paging for a terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. When CN paging is performed, the core network device instructs the access network device to initiate paging for a terminal device in an RRC idle state, and the access network device initiates CN paging for the terminal device in the RRC idle state after receiving the instruction of the core network device.

[0163] A terminal device in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state monitors a paging occasion (PO) of the terminal device in each paging cycle to determine whether the network device has paged. One PO is included in one paging cycle, and one PO can correspond to one or more terminal devices, i.e., one or more terminal devices can monitor the same PO. The terminal device can calculate the PO position of the terminal device according to the identification information of the terminal device and paging-related parameters. The PO positions calculated by different terminal devices can be the same or different.

[0164] The paging moment (i.e., the moment at which the terminal device detects a paging message) in the paging cycle can be identified by a paging frame (PF) and a PO. The PF is used to represent the system frame number of the paging frame in which the paging message is sent, and the PO is used to represent the subframe occasion in which the paging message is sent. One PF is one radio frame, and one PF usually includes one or more POs (or the start of the PO). The terminal device only monitors the PO corresponding to the terminal device in one paging cycle. The PO is a set of one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring occasions. One PO includes one or more slots (e.g., subframes or orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols). The access network device sends the PDCCH in the slot included in the PO.

[0165] In an example, the system frame number of the PF satisfies the following relationship: (SFN+PF_offset)mod T=(T div M)*(UE_ID mod N)

[0166] wherein SFN is the system frame number of the PF, PF_offset represents the offset of the system frame number, T represents the discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or the paging cycle of the terminal device, N represents the total number of paging frames in the DRX cycle or the paging cycle, and UE_ID is the identification of the terminal device.

[0167] The index i_s of the PO satisfies the following relationship: i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns

[0168] wherein Ns represents the number of POs in each PF, and floor represents the floor function.

[0169] The basic flow of paging is as follows:

[0170] The network device can select a certain paging range, that is, a region for sending a paging (also referred to as a paging area). For example, for a terminal device in an RRC idle state, the network device can take a registration area to which the terminal device belongs as a paging area. For a terminal device in an RRC inactive state, the network device can take a RAN-based notification area (RNA) to which the terminal device belongs as a paging area.

[0171] When the network device needs to page the terminal device, the network device sends a paging downlink control information (DCI) in one or more paging occasions (POs) to indicate a resource carrying a paging message. The terminal device receives / monitors / detects the paging DCI in one or more POs in a paging cycle to receive the paging message and determine whether the network device initiates a paging for itself. The paging DCI can include scheduling information of the paging message (including time-frequency domain information of a resource scheduling the paging message and other scheduling information) and / or a short message. The scheduling information is used to schedule the paging message, for example, the scheduling information includes time-frequency resource information or modulation and coding information of the paging message. The short message can indicate a system information update indication (that is, whether system information is changed), an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) notification, or a commercial mobile alert service (CMAS) notification.

[0172] After the terminal device receives the paging DCI sent by the network device, the terminal device determines a subsequent operation according to content of the paging DCI.

[0173] For example, if the scheduling information of the paging message is contained in the paging DCI, the terminal device receives and decodes the paging message on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to the scheduling information, and then determines the subsequent operation according to the content of the paging message. If the short message is contained in the paging DCI, the terminal device receives at least one of the updated system information, the earthquake tsunami warning, and the commercial mobile alert according to the indication of the short message. If the scheduling information of the paging message and the short message are contained in the paging DCI, the terminal device receives the paging message and at least one of the updated system information, the earthquake tsunami warning, and the commercial mobile alert according to the specified process, respectively.

[0174] The paging message contains terminal device identification information of one or more terminal devices paged by the network device and / or access type information of the paged terminal device. The terminal device determines whether its own terminal device identification information is contained in the paging message after decoding the paging message. If the terminal device identification information of the terminal device itself is contained in the paging message, the terminal device determines the subsequent operation according to other content in the paging message. If the terminal device identification information of the terminal device itself is not contained in the paging message, the terminal device ignores the paging message.

[0175] It can be understood that for a terminal device with a wake-up radio function, when the network device needs to page the terminal device, a wake-up signal needs to be sent to wake up the main receiver of the terminal device in a sleep state to receive the paging message.

[0176] III. Monitoring occasion of wake-up signal

[0177] After the terminal device turns on the wake-up radio function, the main receiver of the terminal device enters a sleep state, and the auxiliary receiver performs signal monitoring. The auxiliary receiver monitors the wake-up signal (such as LP-WUS) at the wake-up signal occasion (such as LP-WUS occasion (LO)). When the base station needs to wake up the terminal device, the wake-up signal is sent to the terminal device and received by the auxiliary receiver. After receiving the wake-up signal, the auxiliary receiver wakes up the main receiver according to the information carried in the wake-up signal, such as terminal device identification (UE ID) or terminal device group identification (UE group ID). After the main receiver is woken up, it needs to monitor the paging message in its corresponding PO.

[0178] Based on the above introduction, the WUR mechanism can achieve lower terminal device power consumption. However, there is no clear solution for how to transmit the wake-up signal, for example, how to determine or configure the time domain resource (such as LO) of the wake-up signal in the paging scenario.

[0179] In some embodiments, there is a scenario that the terminal device of the first type of auxiliary receiver and the terminal device of the second type of auxiliary receiver monitor the same PO. In order to enable the terminal device of the first type of auxiliary receiver and the terminal device of the second type of auxiliary receiver to receive the wake-up signal, the network can choose to send a "long signal" (i.e., the second type of signal).

[0180] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the first (1) example above is taken as an example of OOK and OFDM joint modulation in FIG. 5. The bit information sent by the network is ABC, part of which is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and the other part is mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol. On the first N / 6 OFDM symbols, A is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and BC is mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol; on the second N / 6 OFDM symbols, B is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and AC is mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol; on the third N / 6 OFDM symbols, C is mapped to the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and AB is mapped to the sequence of the OOK ON symbol. As can be seen from FIG. 5, for the first type of auxiliary receiver (OFDM receiver), after receiving the wake-up signal on the first N / 6 OFDM symbols, A can be obtained from the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, and BC can be obtained from the sequence of the OOK ON symbol, that is, only one N / 6 OFDM symbol is needed to obtain all the bit information ABC; but for the second type of auxiliary receiver (OOK receiver), after receiving the wake-up signal on the first N / 6 OFDM symbols, only A can be obtained from the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, so it is still necessary to receive the wake-up signal on the second N / 6 OFDM symbols and the third N / 6 OFDM symbols to obtain B and C respectively, and at least 3xN / 6 OFDM symbols are needed to receive the wake-up signal to obtain all the bit information (i.e., ABC). Therefore, in order to enable the terminal device of the first type of auxiliary receiver and the terminal device of the second type of auxiliary receiver to obtain all the bit information, the network needs to send the wake-up signal on at least 3xN / 6 OFDM symbols.

[0181] However, this scheme of sending a "long signal" has the problem of waste of network resource overhead for the first type of auxiliary receiver.

[0182] In some embodiments, there is a scenario that different terminal devices need different wake-up durations, for example, a terminal device entering a deeper sleep state needs a longer wake-up time. These terminal devices are configured with the same LO, and for a terminal device entering a shallower sleep state, a long idle time needs to be waited before the paging message can be monitored, which has the problems of large paging delay and large power consumption for waiting for paging.

[0183] To solve one or more of the above technical problems, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are provided.

[0184] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown, including S101-S102:

[0185] S101, the second communication device sends a wake-up signal on a first time domain resource, and the first communication device receives the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource.

[0186] The second communication device can be a network device, or a chip or a module in the network device. For ease of description, in the following, the second communication device is taken as the network device, i.e., the second communication device and the network device can be replaced with each other.

[0187] The network device can be a core network device or an access network device, without limitation. If the network device is the core network device, the core network device sends the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource through the access network device. If the network device is the access network device, the access network device sends the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource.

[0188] The first communication device can be a terminal device, or a chip or a module in the terminal device, without limitation. For ease of description, in the following, the first communication device is taken as the first terminal device, i.e., the first communication device and the first terminal device can be replaced with each other.

[0189] In the embodiments of the present application, when the first communication device is a chip or a module in the terminal device, or when the second communication device is a chip or a module in the network device, the receiving / sending can be understood as the inputting / outputting. For example, the second communication device sending the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource can be understood as: the second communication device outputs the wake-up signal, and the wake-up signal is sent on the first time domain resource (i.e., the wake-up signal is carried on the first time domain resource); after the wake-up signal is output to another device (or module, component, etc.), the device can send the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource. For another example, the first communication device receiving the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource can be understood as: the wake-up signal is input to the first communication device, and the wake-up signal is received on the first time domain resource (i.e., the wake-up signal is carried on the first time domain resource); another device (or module, component, etc.) can receive the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource, and then output the wake-up signal to the first communication device.

[0190] In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the processing performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be divided into processing performed by at least one of the CU, the DU, the RU, and the like. It should be understood that "in an embodiment of the present application" means not limited to the current embodiment, and other embodiments are also applicable.

[0191] The wake-up signal is a signal for waking up a terminal device or a signal for waking up a main receiver of a terminal device. For the definition of the wake-up signal, reference can be made to the introduction of the WUR related part above. In some embodiments, the wake-up signal can be specifically a low-power signal, a wake-up signal (WUS), or a low-power wake-up signal (LP-WUS), without limitation.

[0192] The first time domain resource can refer to an opportunity (or occasion) for the second communication device to send a wake-up signal, or in other words, an opportunity (or occasion) for the first communication device to receive (or monitor or detect) a wake-up signal. For ease of description, in the following examples, the wake-up signal is taken as an LP-WUS, and the first time domain resource is taken as an LP-WUS opportunity (i.e., an opportunity for the first communication device to receive an LP-WUS, which can be referred to as an LO) as an example for description.

[0193] As an example, the first communication device receives a wake-up signal on the first time domain resource, specifically, a secondary receiver of the first communication device receives the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource. Further, after receiving the wake-up signal, the secondary receiver of the first communication device wakes up a main receiver of the first communication device according to the wake-up signal.

[0194] S102, the second communication device sends a paging message on a second time domain resource, and the first communication device receives the paging message on the second time domain resource.

[0195] The second time domain resource can be an opportunity (or occasion) for the second communication device to send a paging message, or in other words, an opportunity (or occasion) for the first communication device to receive (or monitor or detect) a paging message, for example, a paging opportunity (referred to as PO).

[0196] In an embodiment of the present application, the first time domain resource is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, and an identifier of the first communication device. Alternatively, the interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, and an identifier of the first communication device. For ease of description, the interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource can be referred to as a "first interval".

[0197] It can be understood that the second communication apparatus needs to determine the first time domain resource before transmitting the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource, and / or the first communication apparatus needs to determine the first time domain resource before receiving the wake-up signal on the first time domain resource. Since the first time domain resource is related to at least one of the above, the second communication apparatus and / or the first communication apparatus can determine the first time domain resource according to at least one of the terminal group identifier or the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, the capability of the first communication apparatus, and the identifier of the first communication apparatus.

[0198] In the embodiments of the present application, when the first communication apparatus is a chip or a module in a terminal device, “the first communication apparatus” should be understood as “the terminal device”. For example, “the terminal group identifier or the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, the capability of the first communication apparatus, and the identifier of the first communication apparatus” should be understood as “the terminal group identifier or the terminal subgroup identifier of the terminal device, the capability of the terminal device, and the identifier of the terminal device”.

[0199] It can be understood that the first interval is the interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource, and the first interval can be determined according to the first time domain resource, and the first time domain resource can also be determined according to the first interval in the case of determining the second time domain resource. Therefore, in this article, the first time domain resource and the first interval can be replaced with each other.

[0200] In some embodiments, the interval, which can also be referred to as offset or other names, is not limited. In some embodiments, the time domain resource, which can also be referred to as time unit, opportunity, occasion, time period or other names, is not limited.

[0201] As an example, the first communication apparatus receives the paging message on the second time domain resource, specifically, the main receiver of the first communication apparatus receives the paging message on the second time domain resource.

[0202] In the above scheme, the time domain resource on which the second communication apparatus (such as a network device) transmits the wake-up signal or the time domain resource on which the first communication apparatus (such as a terminal device) receives the wake-up signal is related to one or more of the terminal group identifier or the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus, the capability of the first communication apparatus, and the identifier of the first communication apparatus. The scheme clearly shows how the network device and the terminal device transmit the wake-up signal, and can provide support for the terminal device to implement the WUR function.

[0203] In a possible scenario, the paging message transmitted by the second communication apparatus on the second time domain resource can be used to page multiple terminal devices, or the second communication apparatus transmits the paging message on the second time domain resource for multiple terminal devices, or multiple terminal devices can monitor the paging message transmitted by the second communication apparatus on the second time domain resource.

[0204] For example, the second communication apparatus includes the terminal device group identifier in the paging message sent on the second time domain resource, to wake up the terminal device group indicated by the terminal device group identifier, the terminal device group including the first communication apparatus (or the first terminal device) and other communication apparatuses (or terminal devices) except the first communication apparatus, such as the third communication apparatus (or the second terminal device). In some embodiments, the terminal device group can also be replaced by a terminal device sub-group or other descriptions, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific description of the grouping of terminal devices. In the following, the description about the terminal device group can be replaced by the description about the terminal device sub-group. In addition, the terminal device group and the terminal device sub-group can also be referred to as one or more terminal devices.

[0205] In this case, before S102, the second communication apparatus can also send a wake-up signal on a third time domain resource, and the third communication apparatus receives the wake-up signal. Then, when the second communication apparatus sends the paging message on the second time domain resource, the third communication apparatus can receive the paging message on the second time domain resource.

[0206] Similarly, the third time domain resource can be related to at least one of the following: the terminal group identifier or the terminal sub-group identifier of the third communication apparatus, the capability of the third communication apparatus, and the identifier of the third communication apparatus. Alternatively, the interval (hereinafter referred to as the second interval) between the third time domain resource and the second time domain resource is related to at least one of the following: the terminal group identifier or the terminal sub-group identifier of the third communication apparatus, the capability of the third communication apparatus, and the identifier of the third communication apparatus.

[0207] It can be understood that the third time domain resource can be the same as the first time domain resource, or can be different from the first time domain resource. Alternatively, the wake-up signal sent by the second communication apparatus on the third time domain resource can be the same as the wake-up signal sent by the second communication apparatus on the first time domain resource, or can be different from the wake-up signal sent by the second communication apparatus on the first time domain resource. Alternatively, the operation of sending the wake-up signal by the second communication apparatus on the third time domain resource can be the same as the operation of sending the wake-up signal by the second communication apparatus on the first time domain resource, or can be different from the operation of sending the wake-up signal by the second communication apparatus on the first time domain resource, and the like.

[0208] For example, with UE1 representing the first communication apparatus (or the first terminal device) and with UE2 representing the third communication apparatus (or the second terminal device), FIG. 7A illustrates a case where the third time-domain resource is the same time-domain resource as the first time-domain resource, and UE1 and UE2 receive the wake-up signal on the same time-domain resource (the first time-domain resource or the third time-domain resource) and receive the paging message on the same time-domain resource (i.e., the second time-domain resource). FIG. 7B illustrates a case where the third time-domain resource is a different time-domain resource from the first time-domain resource, and UE1 and UE2 receive the wake-up signal on the first time-domain resource and the third time-domain resource, respectively, and receive the paging message on the same time-domain resource (i.e., the second time-domain resource).

[0209] In one possible example, the first time-domain resource (or the first interval) is determined according to a terminal group identity (or a terminal sub-group identity) of the first communication apparatus, and the third time-domain resource (or the second interval) is determined according to a terminal group identity (or a terminal sub-group identity) of the third communication apparatus. If the terminal group identity (or the terminal sub-group identity) of the first communication apparatus is the same as the terminal group identity (or the terminal sub-group identity) of the third communication apparatus, the third time-domain resource is the same as the first time-domain resource; if the terminal group identity (or the terminal sub-group identity) of the first communication apparatus is different from the terminal group identity (or the terminal sub-group identity) of the third communication apparatus, the third time-domain resource is different from the first time-domain resource.

[0210] In one possible example, the first time-domain resource (or the first interval) is determined according to a capability of the first communication apparatus, and the third time-domain resource (or the second interval) is determined according to a capability of the third communication apparatus. If the capability of the first communication apparatus is the same as the capability of the third communication apparatus, the third time-domain resource is the same as the first time-domain resource; if the capability of the first communication apparatus is different from the capability of the third communication apparatus, the third time-domain resource is different from the first time-domain resource.

[0211] In one possible example, the first time-domain resource (or the first interval) is determined according to an identity of the first communication apparatus, and the third time-domain resource (or the second interval) is determined according to an identity of the third communication apparatus. The third time-domain resource can be the same as or different from the first time-domain resource, depending on an algorithm for calculating the time-domain resource (or the interval) based on the identity of the communication apparatus.

[0212] In one possible example, the first time domain resource (or first interval) is determined according to the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) and the capability of the first communication device, and the third time domain resource (or second interval) is determined according to the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) and the capability of the third communication device. If the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) of the first communication device is the same as the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) of the third communication device, and the capability of the first communication device is the same as the capability of the third communication device, the third time domain resource is the same as the first time domain resource; if the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) of the first communication device is different from the terminal group identifier (or terminal subgroup identifier) of the third communication device, and / or, the capability of the first communication device is different from the capability of the third communication device, the third time domain resource is different from the first time domain resource.

[0213] It can be understood that the above are only some examples, and the actual situation is not limited thereto, and the present application does not perform an exhaustive enumeration.

[0214] In the embodiments of the present application, for UEs corresponding to the same PO, there are the following three possibilities:

[0215] (1) The UEs monitoring the same PO monitor the same LO.

[0216] (2) The UEs monitoring different POs monitor the same LO.

[0217] (3) The UEs monitoring the same PO are divided into multiple subgroups (or groups), and the UEs in each subgroup (or group) monitor the same LO, and the UEs in different subgroups (or groups) monitor different LOs.

[0218] The third design method above, on the one hand, different terminal devices corresponding to the same PO can correspond to different LOs, which can reduce the number of terminal devices corresponding to the same LO, thereby reducing the false alarm rate of the wake-up signal. On the other hand, the network has more paging opportunities based on multiple LOs, which can improve the flexibility of network scheduling.

[0219] It can be understood that for the related implementation of the third communication device (or second terminal device), the related implementation of the first communication device (or first terminal device) can be referred to, and the first communication device (or first terminal device) will be mainly taken as an example for description hereinafter.

[0220] In a possible design, the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource can be divided into terminal subgroups (i.e., each terminal device is divided into a terminal subgroup), for example, a corresponding terminal subgroup identifier (which can be denoted as SubgroupID) is determined for each terminal device; and a corresponding interval (i.e., an interval between the time domain resource used for receiving the wake-up signal and the second time domain resource) is determined for each terminal subgroup, for example, a corresponding interval is determined for each terminal subgroup according to a corresponding relationship between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval. It can be understood that the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource refer to terminal devices that receive the paging message on the second time domain resource. The terminal subgroup identifier can also be replaced by a terminal group identifier, a group identifier, or a subgroup identifier, or other names.

[0221] It can be understood that the corresponding terminal subgroup is divided for each terminal device, or the corresponding terminal subgroup identifier is determined for each terminal device, which can be performed by the network device or the terminal device, and is not limited.

[0222] Correspondingly, the first interval is determined according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, the corresponding relationship between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval; or the first interval is determined according to the terminal group identifier of the first communication device, the corresponding relationship between the terminal group identifier and the interval; or the first time domain resource is determined according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, the corresponding relationship between the terminal subgroup identifier and the time domain resource; or the first time domain resource is determined according to the terminal group identifier of the first communication device, the corresponding relationship between the terminal group identifier and the time domain resource, and the like.

[0223] The terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device can be a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device for the second time domain resource, that is, an identifier of the terminal subgroup in which the first communication device is located when the first communication device receives the paging message on the second time domain resource, or a terminal subgroup identifier used by the first communication device when the first communication device receives the paging message on the second time domain resource. In a specific implementation, the first communication device can have the same or different terminal subgroup identifiers for different time domain resources, and is not limited. Taking a PO as an example for the time domain resource used for receiving the paging message (such as the second time domain resource), the terminal subgroup identifier can be understood as a terminal subgroup identifier for a single PO, which can be denoted as SubgroupIDperPO.

[0224] The corresponding relationship between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval can be a corresponding relationship between at least two terminal subgroup identifiers and at least one interval. The at least two terminal subgroup identifiers include the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, and the first interval corresponding to the first communication device can be determined according to the corresponding relationship and the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device.

[0225] In a possible example, the correspondence between the at least two terminal subgroup identifiers and the at least one interval can include a one-to-one relationship (i.e., one terminal subgroup identifier corresponds to one interval, and different terminal subgroup identifiers correspond to different intervals), for example, terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO1 corresponds to offset1, terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO2 corresponds to offset2, and terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO3 corresponds to offset3.

[0226] In a possible example, the correspondence between the at least two terminal subgroup identifiers and the at least one interval can include a one-to-many relationship (i.e., one terminal subgroup identifier corresponds to one interval, and different terminal subgroup identifiers can correspond to the same interval), for example, terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO1 corresponds to offset1, terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO2 corresponds to offset2, and terminal subgroup identifier SubgroupIDperPO3 also corresponds to offset2.

[0227] In the embodiments of the present application, the operation of determining the first interval according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device and the correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval can be performed by the first communication device or by the second communication device, and is not limited.

[0228] In a possible implementation, the first communication device determines the first interval according to the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device and the correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval.

[0229] In this case, the correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval can be predefined (e.g., specified by a protocol), or configured and indicated to the first communication device by the network device (e.g., the second communication device), or determined by the network device (e.g., the second communication device) and the first communication device in negotiation, and the like, and is not limited. For example, the second communication device notifies the first communication device of the correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier and the interval by any one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), a system information block (SIB), downlink control information (DCI), an LP-synchronization signal (SS), an LP-WUS, and the like.

[0230] The terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device can be determined by the first communication device, or can be determined by the network device (e.g., the second communication device) and notified to the first communication device, without limitation. For example, the second communication device notifies the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device to the first communication device through any one of the following: RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, LP-WUS, etc.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the second communication device determines the first interval according to the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device and the correspondence between the terminal sub-group identifier and the interval.

[0232] In this case, the correspondence between the terminal sub-group identifier and the interval can be predefined (e.g., specified by a protocol), or configured by the network device (e.g., the second communication device), or determined by the network device (e.g., the second communication device) and the first communication device, etc., without limitation. The terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device can be determined by the first communication device and notified to the second communication device, or can be determined by the second communication device, without limitation.

[0233] Further, after determining the first interval, the second communication device can notify the determined first interval to the first communication device. For example, the second communication device notifies the first interval (or the first time domain resource) to the first communication device through any one of the following: RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, or LP-WUS, etc.

[0234] The following describes specific implementation modes of terminal sub-group division (or configuration of terminal sub-group identifier) for terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource. It can be understood that each of the following implementation modes can be performed by the first communication device or the second communication device, without limitation.

[0235] In a possible implementation, terminal devices with different capabilities can be divided into different terminal sub-groups, and terminal devices with the same capability can be divided into the same terminal sub-group; or terminal devices with different capabilities can be configured with different terminal sub-group identifiers, and terminal devices with the same capability can be configured with the same terminal sub-group identifier.

[0236] Correspondingly, the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is related to the capability of the first communication device, or the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is determined according to the capability of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device determines the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device according to the capability of the first communication device, or the second communication device determines the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device according to the capability of the first communication device, without limitation.

[0237] The capability of the first communication apparatus can comprise at least one of: a signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus.

[0238] It can be understood that the signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus is related to a circuit structure of the first communication apparatus for demodulating and / or modulating a signal. In a specific implementation, the signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus can also be described as a signal demodulation manner supported by the first communication apparatus, a signal modulation manner supported by the first communication apparatus, a receiver type of the first communication apparatus, or other descriptions.

[0239] In the embodiments of the present application, when the first communication apparatus is a chip or a module in a terminal device, "supported by the first communication apparatus" should be understood as "supported by the terminal device", and "required by the first communication apparatus" should be understood as "required by the terminal device". For example, "a signal generation manner supported by the first communication apparatus, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus" should be understood as "a signal generation manner supported by the terminal device, and a wake-up duration required by the terminal device".

[0240] As a possible example, different intervals can be configured for terminal devices of different signal generation manners. Taking a first type of signal generation manner and a second type of signal generation manner as an example: different terminal sub-group identifications (i.e., divided into different terminal sub-groups) can be configured for terminal devices supporting the first type of signal generation manner and terminal devices supporting the second type of signal generation manner respectively. In the correspondence between the terminal sub-group identification and the interval, the interval corresponding to the terminal sub-group identification corresponding to the first type of signal generation manner is smaller than the interval corresponding to the terminal sub-group identification corresponding to the second type of signal generation manner. In other words, the interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identification corresponding to the first type of signal generation manner is smaller than the interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identification corresponding to the second type of signal generation manner, that is, the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner is later than the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner.

[0241] The first type of signal generation manner and the second type of signal generation manner satisfy one or more of the following:

[0242] 1) The length of the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner is smaller than the length of the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner; or,

[0243] 2) In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on the OOK ON symbol; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, all the information bits are mapped on the OOK symbol; or,

[0244] 3) In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on the first time unit, and the signal amplitude on the first time unit is not 0; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, part of the information bits are mapped on the second time unit, and the other part of the information bits are mapped on the third time unit, the signal amplitude on the second time unit is not 0, and the signal amplitude on the third time unit is 0; or,

[0245] 4) The wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner supports the phase detection manner, and the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner only supports the envelope detection manner or does not support the phase detection manner; or,

[0246] 5) The first type of signal generation manner supports OFDM modulation or supports joint modulation of OFDM and OOK; and the second type of signal generation manner only supports OOK modulation.

[0247] In the above 2), all the information bits are mapped on the OOK ON symbol, which can be understood as that the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol does not carry the information bits; when the first type of signal generation manner supports OFDM modulation, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description. In addition, part of the information bits are mapped on the OOK ON symbol, which can be understood as that the other part of the information bits is carried in other ways, for example, the other part of the information bits is mapped on the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol; when the first type of signal generation manner supports joint modulation of OFDM and OOK, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description. In addition, all the information bits are mapped on the OOK symbol, which can be understood as that all the information bits are mapped on the ON / OFF mode of the OOK symbol, or it can also be described as: part of the information bits are mapped on the OOK ON symbol, and the other part of the information bits are mapped on the OOK OFF symbol; when the second type of signal generation manner supports OOK modulation, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description.

[0248] Similarly, in the above 3), the information bits are all mapped on the first time units, which can be understood as the arrangement of the time units with non-zero signal amplitudes and the time units with zero signal amplitudes does not carry information bits; when the first type of signal generation mode supports OFDM modulation, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description. The information bits are partially mapped on the first time units, which can be understood as another part of the information bits is carried in other ways, for example, another part of the information bits is mapped on the arrangement of the time units with non-zero signal amplitudes and the time units with zero signal amplitudes; when the first type of signal generation mode supports joint modulation of OFDM and OOK, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description. In addition, a part of the information bits is mapped on the second time units and another part is mapped on the third time units, which can be understood as the arrangement of the time units with non-zero signal amplitudes and the time units with zero signal amplitudes carries all information bits; when the second type of signal generation mode supports OOK modulation, the wake-up signal conforms to the above description.

[0249] More explanations about the first type of signal generation mode and the second type of signal generation mode can be referred to the relevant content in the foregoing.

[0250] Correspondingly, for the first communication device, the first interval determined when the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is the first type of signal generation mode is smaller than the first interval determined when the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is the second type of signal generation mode.

[0251] Through the above examples, the terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation mode can receive the wake-up signal (or receive the "short signal") later, and the terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation mode can receive the wake-up signal (or receive the "long signal") earlier, which saves the network resource overhead while taking into account the signal transmission reliability.

[0252] It can be understood that the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus is related to the sleep state supported by the first communication apparatus or the sleep mode supported by the first communication apparatus. For example, the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus refers to the duration experienced by the first communication apparatus from receiving the wake-up signal to being able to receive the paging message, which can be determined by the duration for the first communication apparatus to process the wake-up signal, the duration for the auxiliary receiver of the first communication apparatus to wake up the auxiliary receiver of the first communication apparatus, the duration for the main receiver of the first communication apparatus to perform synchronization, and the like. Among them, the duration for the auxiliary receiver of the first communication apparatus to wake up the auxiliary receiver of the first communication apparatus is related to the sleep state (or sleep mode) of the first communication apparatus (or the main receiver of the first communication apparatus), so in specific implementation, the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus can also be described as the sleep state supported by the first communication apparatus or the sleep mode supported by the first communication apparatus and other descriptions. For example, the sleep mode includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: ultra deep sleep, deep sleep, light sleep, micro sleep. Among them, the wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus corresponding to each sleep mode is sorted in descending order as follows: ultra deep sleep, deep sleep, light sleep, micro sleep.

[0253] As a possible example, different intervals can be configured for terminal devices corresponding to different wake-up durations, or in other words, different intervals can be configured for terminal devices supporting different sleep modes. In the correspondence between the terminal sub-group identifier and the interval, the interval corresponding to the terminal sub-group identifier with shorter wake-up duration is smaller than the interval corresponding to the terminal sub-group identifier with longer wake-up duration. Taking the ultra deep sleep, deep sleep, light sleep and micro sleep introduced above as an example: terminal devices supporting different sleep modes are respectively configured with different terminal sub-group identifiers (i.e. divided into different terminal sub-groups). Among them, the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the micro sleep is smaller than the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the light sleep, the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the light sleep is smaller than the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the deep sleep, and the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the deep sleep is smaller than the first interval determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier corresponding to the ultra deep sleep. Optionally, when a terminal device supports multiple sleep modes at the same time, that is, the wake-up duration required by the terminal device has multiple possibilities, the wake-up duration used for configuring the interval for the terminal device can be the maximum wake-up duration.

[0254] Correspondingly, for the first communication device, the first interval determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication device is the first wake-up duration is greater than the first interval determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication device is the second wake-up duration; wherein the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration. Exemplarily, the first wake-up duration corresponds to a first sleep mode, and the second wake-up duration corresponds to a second sleep mode. The first sleep mode is an ultra-deep sleep, and the second sleep mode is a micro sleep or a light sleep or a deep sleep; or, the first sleep mode is a deep sleep, and the second sleep mode is a micro sleep or a light sleep; or, the first sleep mode is a light sleep, and the second sleep mode is a micro sleep.

[0255] Through the above examples, the terminal device with a shorter required wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal later, and the terminal device with a longer required wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal earlier, while taking into account the signal transmission reliability, reducing the paging delay and saving the terminal device power consumption.

[0256] The above is an example of configuring the first interval for the first communication device by considering the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device and the required wake-up duration. In actual application, the first interval can also be configured for the first communication device by considering the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device and the required wake-up duration in combination, or other types of capabilities can also be considered to configure the first interval for the first communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0257] The above introduces an implementation manner of configuring different terminal sub-group identifiers for terminal devices with different capabilities. In actual application, if all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource only have one capability (or the capabilities of all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource are the same), the same interval can be configured for all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource. In addition, if different terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource have different capabilities, but the network device does not want to configure multiple intervals, terminal devices with different capabilities can also be configured with the same interval.

[0258] Based on the above implementation manner, the terminal sub-group identifier can be configured for the terminal device according to the capability of the terminal device, and then the interval between the time domain resource (such as PO) for receiving the paging message and the time domain resource (such as LO) for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device (or the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device) is determined according to the terminal sub-group identifier. The final effect can be embodied in that the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device is allocated according to the capability of the terminal device, which can reduce the network resource overhead, the paging delay and the terminal device power consumption as much as possible under the premise of ensuring the normal operation of the wake-up radio mechanism and the paging mechanism.

[0259] In a possible implementation, the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resources are evenly grouped or randomly grouped, such that the number of terminal devices in each terminal subgroup is relatively balanced.

[0260] As a possible implementation, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is related to the identifier of the first communication device, or the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is determined according to the identifier of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device determines the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device according to the identifier of the first communication device, or the second communication device determines the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device according to the identifier of the first communication device.

[0261] As an example, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is further related to at least one of the following:

[0262] the total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle;

[0263] the number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity;

[0264] the number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity.

[0265] For example, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device satisfies the following relationship: SubgroupIDperPO=floor(UE_ID / N*Ns)mod subgroupNumforPO.

[0266] wherein SubgroupIDperPO represents the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication device, N represents the total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents the number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, subgroupNumforPO represents the number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and floor is a floor function.

[0267] For example, assuming that the number of terminal subgroups corresponding to the second time domain resources is subgroupNumforPO (such as the number of terminal subgroups in one PO), and the number of terminal subgroup identifiers corresponding to each interval is subgroupNumforLO (such as the maximum number of terminal subgroup identifiers that can be carried by a wake-up signal sent in one LO), n different intervals (such as n LOs) can be configured, wherein n=subgroupNumforPO / subgroupNumforLO, and the n intervals are evenly distributed to the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resources.

[0268] For example, the terminal devices corresponding to the terminal subgroup identifiers of floor(SubgroupIDperPO((n-k)-1) / n)+1~floor(SubgroupIDperPO(n-k) / n) can be sequentially corresponding according to the size of the terminal subgroup identifier, and the terminal devices correspond to the k-th interval in the n intervals, k=n-1, n-2, …, 0.

[0269] For example, as shown in FIG. 8, subgroupNumforPO=4 and subgroupNumforLO=2: there are two offsets (or two LOs) corresponding to the same PO, the terminal subgroup identifiers of the UE in the PO are 0-4, the terminal subgroup identifiers SubgroupIDperPO 0 and 1 correspond to offset 1 (or LO 1), and the terminal subgroup identifiers SubgroupIDperPO 2 and 3 correspond to offset 2 (or LO 2).

[0270] For example, define LO_num as the number of LOs. The LO number corresponding to the UE is LO_index=SubgroupIDperPO mod LO_num, and different LO_index corresponds to different offset. For example, LO_num=2, LO 0 corresponds to offset 0, and LO 1 corresponds to offset 1.

[0271] Through the above implementation manner, on the one hand, different terminal devices corresponding to the same PO can correspond to different LOs, which can reduce the number of terminal devices corresponding to the same LO, thereby reducing the false alarm rate of the wake-up signal. On the other hand, the network has more paging opportunities based on multiple LOs, which can improve the flexibility of network scheduling. Moreover, the above design manner is simple to implement and easy to implement.

[0272] Optionally, if the second communication device determines the terminal subgroup identifier for the first communication device, and the first communication device determines the first interval or the first time domain resource according to the terminal subgroup identifier, the second communication device needs to notify the first communication device of the determined terminal subgroup identifier, for example: the second communication device sends first information, the first information indicating the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device; the first communication device receives the first information and determines the terminal subgroup identifier according to the first information. Optionally, the first information can be carried in any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, or LP-WUS.

[0273] Optionally, if the second communication device determines the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device according to the capability of the first communication device, the second communication device needs to obtain the capability of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device sends capability information, where the capability information indicates the capability of the first communication device; the second communication device receives the capability information and determines the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device according to the capability information. The capability information may, for example, include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, a signal demodulation manner supported by the first communication device, a required wake-up duration of the first communication device, or a sleep mode supported by the first communication device, and the like.

[0274] In a possible design, the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal can be directly determined for each terminal device corresponding to the second time domain resource (or the interval between the time domain resource for receiving the paging message and the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal can be directly determined for each terminal device corresponding to the second time domain resource).

[0275] The following describes specific implementation manners of determining the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal for the terminal device corresponding to the second time domain resource. It can be understood that each implementation manner below can be performed by the first communication device or the second communication device, without limitation.

[0276] In a possible implementation manner, the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal (or the interval between the time domain resource for receiving the paging message and the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal) is determined for each terminal device according to the capability of each terminal device.

[0277] Correspondingly, the first time domain resource is determined according to the capability of the first communication device and the correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource; or the first interval is determined according to the capability of the first communication device and the correspondence between the capability and the interval. For example, the first communication device or the second communication device determines the first time domain resource according to the capability of the first communication device and the correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource.

[0278] The following mainly takes the correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource as an example for description.

[0279] The correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource can be a correspondence between at least one capability and at least one time domain resource, and the at least one capability includes the capability of the first communication device. The capability of the first communication device may, for example, include at least one of the following: a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, and a required wake-up duration of the first communication device. For details, refer to the related content above, which will not be repeated here.

[0280] In some embodiments, each of the at least one capability can be one specific capability or a combination of multiple specific capabilities.

[0281] In one possible example, each of the at least one capability can be one specific signal generation manner, for example, the at least one capability can include a first type of signal generation manner and a second type of signal generation manner. Different time domain resources for receiving the wake-up signal can be configured for terminal devices according to different signal generation manners of the terminal devices, where the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of a terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner is later than the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of a terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner.

[0282] Then, corresponding to the first communication device, the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the first type of signal generation manner is later than the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the second type of signal generation manner.

[0283] Taking the first time domain resource as a PO and the second time domain resource as an LO as an example:

[0284] For a terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner, i_LO = (floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns) mod L.

[0285] For a terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner, i_LO = ((floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns) mod L1) + (L-L1).

[0286] Wherein, L = LOnumPerPO, which is the number of LOs corresponding to each PO. L1 is the number of LOs corresponding to each signal generation manner.

[0287] Correspondingly, different i_LO corresponds to different offsets of the PO, for example, as shown in FIG. 9: L = 4, L1 = 2. In the FIG. 9, the terminal device supporting the second type of signal generation manner corresponds to the first two LOs (i.e., i_LO = 0 and i_LO = 1), and the terminal device supporting the first type of signal generation manner corresponds to the last two LOs (i.e., i_LO = 2 and i_LO = 3).

[0288] For the first type of signal generation manner and the second type of signal generation manner, reference can be made to the related content above, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] Through the above examples, the terminal device supporting the first signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or receive the "short signal") later, and the terminal device supporting the second signal generation manner can receive the wake-up signal (or receive the "long signal") earlier, while taking into account the signal transmission reliability, the network resource overhead is saved.

[0290] In a possible example, each of the at least one capability can be a specific wake-up duration, for example, the at least one capability can include a first wake-up duration and a second wake-up duration. Different time domain resources for receiving the wake-up signal can be configured for the terminal device according to different wake-up durations required by the terminal device. For example, the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device required for the first wake-up duration is earlier than the time domain resource for receiving the wake-up signal of the terminal device required for the second wake-up duration. Wherein, the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

[0291] Then corresponding to the first communication device, when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is the first wake-up duration, the first time domain resource determined is earlier than when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is the second wake-up duration.

[0292] For the first wake-up duration and the second wake-up duration, please refer to the relevant content above, which will not be repeated here.

[0293] Through the above examples, the terminal device required for a shorter wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal later, and the terminal device required for a longer wake-up duration can receive the wake-up signal earlier, while taking into account the signal transmission reliability, the paging delay is reduced and the terminal device power consumption is saved.

[0294] The above is an example of configuring the first time domain resource for the first communication device by considering the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device and the wake-up duration required by the first communication device. In actual application, the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device and the wake-up duration required by the first communication device can also be considered for configuring the first time domain resource for the first communication device.

[0295] In a possible example, each of the at least one capability can be a combination of a specific wake-up duration and a specific signal generation manner, for example, the at least one capability can include the following four: the first signal generation manner and the first wake-up duration, the second signal generation manner and the second wake-up duration, the second signal generation manner and the first wake-up duration, and the first signal generation manner and the second wake-up duration. Correspondingly, different time domain resources for receiving the wake-up signal can be configured according to different combinations of wake-up duration and signal generation manner.

[0296] Of course, in addition to the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, the required wake-up duration, other types of capabilities can also be considered for configuring the first time domain resource for the first communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0297] The above introduces the configuration of different time domain resources for receiving wake-up signals for terminal devices with different capabilities. In actual application, if all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource have only one capability (or the capabilities of all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource are the same), the same time domain resource can be configured for all terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource. In addition, if different terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource correspond to different capabilities, but the network device does not want to configure multiple time domain resources, terminal devices with different capabilities can also be configured with the same time domain resource, such as L=L1 in the example above.

[0298] In a possible implementation, the terminal devices corresponding to the second time domain resource can be averagely or randomly allocated time domain resources for receiving wake-up signals (or intervals between time domain resources for receiving paging messages and time domain resources for receiving wake-up signals), so that the number of terminal devices in each time domain resource for receiving wake-up signals is relatively balanced.

[0299] As a possible implementation, the first time domain resource is related to the identifier of the first communication device, or the first time domain resource is determined according to the identifier of the first communication device. For example, the first communication device determines the first time domain resource according to the identifier of the first communication device, or the second communication device determines the first time domain resource according to the identifier of the first communication device.

[0300] As an example, the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is also related to at least one of the following:

[0301] The total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle;

[0302] The number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one paging opportunity;

[0303] The number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, and the LP-WUS opportunity is used for transmitting a wake-up signal, and the first time domain resource is one LP-WUS opportunity.

[0304] For example, the first time domain resource satisfies the following relationship: i_LO=(floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns)mod L;

[0305] wherein i_LO represents the first time domain resource, UE_ID represents an identifier of the first communication apparatus, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, L represents a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, floor is a floor function, and mod is a modulo function.

[0306] For example, assume that L = LOnumPerPO, which is the number of LOs corresponding to each PO. The LO number corresponding to the UE is i_LO = (floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns) mod L. For different i_LO, different offsets are configured for the PO to which the UE belongs, as shown in FIG. 10: for the same PO, there are two LOs, and a portion of the UEs in the PO correspond to i_LO = 0, and another portion of the UEs in the PO correspond to i_LO = 1.

[0307] With the above implementation, on the one hand, different terminal devices corresponding to the same PO can correspond to different LOs, which can reduce the number of terminal devices corresponding to the same LO, thereby reducing the false alarm rate of the wake-up signal. On the other hand, the network has more paging opportunities based on multiple LOs, which can improve the flexibility of network scheduling. Moreover, the above design is simple to implement and easy to implement.

[0308] Optionally, if the second communication apparatus determines the terminal subgroup identifier for the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus needs to notify the first communication apparatus of the determined first time domain resource, for example: the second communication apparatus sends second information, the second information indicating the first time domain resource; the first communication apparatus receives the second information and determines the first time domain resource according to the second information. Optionally, the second information can be carried in any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, or LP-WUS.

[0309] Optionally, if the second communication apparatus determines the first time domain resource according to the capability of the first communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus can also obtain the capability of the first communication apparatus. For example, the first communication apparatus sends capability information, the capability information indicating the capability of the first communication apparatus; the second communication apparatus receives the capability information and determines the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication apparatus according to the capability information. The capability information may, for example, include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a signal generation mode supported by the first communication apparatus, a signal demodulation mode supported by the first communication apparatus, a wake-up duration required by the first communication apparatus, or a sleep mode supported by the first communication apparatus.

[0310] It can be understood that each of the above embodiments can be implemented separately or in combination with each other, without limitation.

[0311] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described above with reference to the drawings. The device provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the drawings.

[0312] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication device. The device comprises a module / unit / means for performing the method performed by any of the network functions and entities in the above method embodiments. The module / unit / means can be implemented by software or by hardware, or by the corresponding software executed by hardware.

[0313] For example, referring to FIG. 11, the device can comprise a transceiver module 1101. Optionally, it can further comprise a processing module 1102. The dashed line indicates that the processing module 1102 is optional.

[0314] The transceiver module 1101 can perform the method steps performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments under the control of the processing module 1102.

[0315] For more detailed description of the transceiver module 1101 and the processing module 1102, refer to the relevant description in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0316] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, or the communication device can be a module or a chip in a terminal device or a network device. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication device comprises at least one processor 1201.

[0317] The at least one processor 1201 is configured to enable the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments to be implemented.

[0318] Optionally, the communication device can further comprise a communication interface 1203 connected with the at least one processor 1201; and the at least one processor 1201 is configured to enable the communication device to perform the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments through the communication interface 1203.

[0319] For example, the at least one processor 1201 executes the instructions stored in the memory 1202, so that the communication device performs the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments through the communication interface 1203.

[0320] Optionally, the memory 1202 is located outside the communication device.

[0321] Optionally, the communication device comprises a memory 1202, the memory 1202 is connected with the at least one processor 1201, and the memory 1202 stores instructions executable by the at least one processor 1201.

[0322] Fig. 12 shows that the memory 1202 and the communication interface 1203 are optional for the communication device.

[0323] The processor 1201 and the memory 1202 can be coupled through an interface circuit or integrated together, which is not limited here.

[0324] The specific connection medium between the processor 1201, the memory 1202 and the communication interface 1203 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Fig. 12, the processor 1201, the memory 1202 and the communication interface 1203 are connected through a bus 1204, the bus is represented by a thick line in Fig. 12, and the connection mode between other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For convenience, 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.

[0325] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor which is implemented by reading software code stored in the memory.

[0326] For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0327] It should be appreciated that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (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 but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0328] It should be noted that when the processor is a general processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated in the processor.

[0329] It should be noted that the memory described in the present application is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0330] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium for storing instructions, when the instructions are executed, the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiment is realized.

[0331] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a chip coupled with a memory, for reading and executing program instructions stored in the memory, to realize the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiment.

[0332] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product containing instructions, and the computer program product stores the instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiment.

[0333] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROMs, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0334] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the method, device (system), and computer program product according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus produce the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0335] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufactured product including instruction devices that implement the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0336] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, so that a series of operation steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0337] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and comprises: receiving a wake-up signal on a first time domain resource; receiving a paging message on a second time domain resource; wherein the first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, an identifier of the first communication device; and wherein the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first interval is determined according to a correspondence between the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device and an interval; the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is a terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device for the second time domain resource; the correspondence is a correspondence between at least two terminal subgroup identifiers and at least one interval, and the at least two terminal subgroup identifiers include the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is related to the capability of the first communication device, and the capability includes at least one of the following: a signal demodulation mode supported by the first communication device, a signal generation mode supported by the first communication device, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: when the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is a first type of signal generation mode, the first interval determined is smaller than the first interval determined when the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is a second type of signal generation mode.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a first wake-up duration, the first interval determined is greater than the first interval determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a second wake-up duration; wherein the first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is related to the identifier of the first communication device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device is further related to at least one of the following: a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle; a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, the second time domain resource being one of the paging opportunities; a number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, the second time domain resource being one of the paging opportunities.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device satisfies the following relationship: SubgroupIDperPO=floor(UE_ID / N*Ns)mod subgroupNumforPO; wherein SubgroupIDperPO represents the terminal subgroup identifier of the first communication device, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication device, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, subgroupNumforPO represents a number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and floor is a floor function.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving first information, the first information indicating a terminal sub-group identity of the first communication device; determining the terminal sub-group identity according to the first information; wherein the first information is carried in any one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), system message block (SIB), downlink control information (DCI), low power (LP)-synchronization signal (SS), and LP-wakeup signal (WUS).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first time domain resource is determined according to a capability of the first communication device and a correspondence between the capability and the time domain resource. The correspondence is a correspondence between at least one capability and at least one time domain resource, and the at least one capability includes the capability of the first communication device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The capability of the first communication device includes a signal generation mode supported by the first communication device, and the at least one capability includes a first signal generation mode and a second signal generation mode. When the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is the first signal generation mode, the determined first time domain resource is later than the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation mode supported by the first communication device is the second signal generation mode.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, The capability of the first communication device includes a required wake-up duration of the first communication device, and the at least one capability includes a first wake-up duration and a second wake-up duration. When the required wake-up duration of the first communication device is the first wake-up duration, the determined first time domain resource is earlier than the first time domain resource determined when the required wake-up duration of the first communication device is the second wake-up duration. The first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first time domain resource is determined according to an identity of the first communication device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first time domain resource is further related to at least one of the following: a total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle; a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, the second time domain resource being one of the paging opportunities; a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, the LP-WUS opportunities being used for transmitting the wake-up signal, the first time domain resource being one of the LP-WUS opportunities.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The first time domain resource satisfies the following relationship: i_LO=(floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns)mod L. Wherein i_LO represents the first time domain resource, UE_ID represents an identity of the first communication device, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, L represents a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, floor is a floor function, and mod is a modulo function.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving second information, the second information indicating the first time domain resource; determining the first time domain resource according to the second information; wherein the second information is carried in any one of the following: RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, and LP-WUS.

17. The method of claim 4 or 11, wherein, a length of the wake-up signal generated based on the first signal generation manner is less than a length of the wake-up signal generated based on the second signal generation manner; or, in the wake-up signal generated based on the first signal generation manner, information bits are all or partially mapped on an OOK ON symbol; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second signal generation manner, information bits are all mapped on an OOK symbol; or, in the wake-up signal generated based on the first signal generation manner, information bits are all or partially mapped on a first time unit, and a signal amplitude on the first time unit is not 0; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second signal generation manner, information bits are partially mapped on a second time unit and partially mapped on a third time unit, a signal amplitude on the second time unit is not 0, and a signal amplitude on the third time unit is 0; or, the wake-up signal generated based on the first signal generation manner supports a phase detection manner, and the wake-up signal generated based on the second signal generation manner only supports an envelope detection manner or does not support the phase detection manner; or, the first signal generation manner supports orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation or supports joint modulation of OFDM and on-off keying (OOK), and the second signal generation manner only supports OOK modulation. The method applied to a second communication device comprises: sending a wake-up signal to a first communication device on a first time domain resource; sending a paging message on a second time domain resource; wherein the first time domain resource or a first interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device, a capability of the first communication device, an identifier of the first communication device; and wherein the first interval is an interval between the first time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

18. A method of communication, comprising: the first interval is determined according to a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device and a corresponding relationship between a terminal sub-group identifier and an interval; the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is a terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device for the second time domain resource; the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between at least two terminal sub-group identifiers and at least one interval, and the at least two terminal sub-group identifiers include the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device. the terminal sub-group identifier of the first communication device is related to a capability of the first communication device, and the capability includes at least one of the following: a signal demodulation manner supported by the first communication device, a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, and a wake-up duration required by the first communication device.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: the first interval determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a first signal generation manner is less than the first interval determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is a second signal generation manner. ​ ​ 20. The method of claim 19, wherein, ​ ​ ​ 22.The method of claim 20, wherein the first interval determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a first wake-up duration is greater than the first interval determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is a second wake-up duration. The first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration. The terminal subgroup identity of the first communication device is related to the identity of the first communication device.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein, The terminal subgroup identity of the first communication device is further related to at least one of the following:

24. The method of claim 23, wherein, a total number of paging frames within a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle; a number of paging opportunities within each paging frame, the second time domain resource being one of the paging opportunities; a number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, the second time domain resource being one of the paging opportunities. The terminal subgroup identity of the first communication device satisfies the following relationship: SubgroupIDperPO=floor(UE_ID / N*Ns)mod subgroupNumforPO.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, wherein SubgroupIDperPO represents the terminal subgroup identity of the first communication device, UE_ID represents the identity of the first communication device, N represents a total number of paging frames within a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities within each paging frame, subgroupNumforPO represents a number of terminal subgroups in each paging opportunity, and floor is a floor function. The method further comprises:

26. The method of any one of claims 19-25, wherein, sending first information, the first information indicating the terminal subgroup identity of the first communication device; wherein the first information is carried in any one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), system message block (SIB), downlink control information (DCI), low power (LP)-synchronization signal (SS), and low power (LP)-wake-up signal (WUS). The first time domain resource is determined according to the capability of the first communication device and a correspondence relationship between the capability and the time domain resource; 27. The method of claim 18, wherein, wherein the correspondence relationship is a correspondence relationship between at least one capability and at least one time domain resource, and the at least one capability includes the capability of the first communication device. The capability of the first communication device includes a signal generation manner supported by the first communication device, and the at least one capability includes a first signal generation manner and a second signal generation manner; 28. The method of claim 27, wherein, The first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the first signal generation manner is later than the first time domain resource determined when the signal generation manner supported by the first communication device is the second signal generation manner. The capability of the first communication device includes a wake-up duration required by the first communication device, and the at least one capability includes a first wake-up duration and a second wake-up duration; 29. The method of claim 27, wherein, The first time domain resource determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is the first wake-up duration is earlier than the first time domain resource determined when the wake-up duration required by the first communication device is the second wake-up duration. ​ The first wake-up duration is greater than the second wake-up duration.

30. The method of claim 18, wherein, The first time domain resource is determined according to an identifier of the first communication device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein, The first time domain resource is further related to at least one of the following: A total number of paging frames in a DRX cycle or a paging cycle; A number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, and the second time domain resource is one of the paging opportunities; A number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, and the LP-WUS opportunities are used for transmitting the wake-up signal, and the first time domain resource is one of the LP-WUS opportunities.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein, The first time domain resource satisfies the following relationship: i_LO=(floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns)mod L; Wherein, i_LO represents the first time domain resource, UE_ID represents the identifier of the first communication device, N represents a total number of paging frames in a discontinuous reception DRX cycle or a paging cycle, Ns represents a number of paging opportunities in each paging frame, L represents a number of LP-WUS opportunities corresponding to the second time domain resource, floor is a floor function, and mod is a remainder function.

33. The method of any one of claims 27-32, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second information, the second information indicating the first time domain resource; Wherein, the second information is carried in any of the following: RRC signaling, MAC CE, SIB, DCI, LP-SS, and LP-WUS.

34. The method of claim 21 or 28, wherein, The length of the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner is less than the length of the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner; or, In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on the OOK ON symbol; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, all the information bits are mapped on the OOK symbol; or, In the wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner, all or part of the information bits are mapped on the first time unit, and the signal amplitude on the first time unit is not 0; in the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner, part of the information bits are mapped on the second time unit, and the other part of the information bits are mapped on the third time unit, the signal amplitude on the second time unit is not 0, and the signal amplitude on the third time unit is 0; or, The wake-up signal generated based on the first type of signal generation manner supports phase detection manner, and the wake-up signal generated based on the second type of signal generation manner only supports envelope detection manner or does not support phase detection manner; or, The first type of signal generation manner supports orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM modulation, or supports joint modulation of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM and on-off keying OOK; and the second type of signal generation manner only supports on-off keying OOK modulation.

35. The method of any one of claims 18-34, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a wake-up signal to a third communication device on a third time domain resource, the third time domain resource being earlier than the second time domain resource; The third time domain resource or the second interval is related to at least one of the following: a terminal group identifier or a terminal sub-group identifier of the third communication device, a capability of the third communication device, an identifier of the third communication device; and the second interval is an interval between the third time domain resource and the second time domain resource.

36. A communications device, characterized by comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 1-17, or comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 18-35.

37. A communications device, characterized by comprising at least one processor configured to cause the method of any one of claims 1-17 to be performed, or the method of any one of claims 18-35 to be performed.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1-17 to be implemented, or the method of any one of claims 18-35 to be implemented.

39. A computer program product, characterised in that, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1-17 to be implemented, or the method of any one of claims 18-35 to be implemented.

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