Paging method and apparatus, and system

Abstract

A paging method and apparatus, and a system, which relate to the technical field of wireless communications. The method comprises: a terminal device acquiring paging configuration information, wherein the paging configuration information indicates M paging occasions, the M paging occasions comprising a first paging occasion, and M being an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first area, the first area comprising a first cell; and receiving a paging message in the first cell by means of the first paging occasion.

Description

A paging method, apparatus and system

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411641939.6, filed on November 15, 2024, entitled "A Paging Method, Apparatus and System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a paging method, apparatus and system. Background Technology

[0004] In current 5G mobile communication systems, base stations can periodically send Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) to indicate the Physical Cell Identity (PCI) to terminal devices. Based on this, when a base station sends a paging message scrambled based on the PCI to a terminal device, the terminal device can descramble the paging message based on the PCI to receive the paging message.

[0005] When a terminal device moves from cell A to cell B, it needs to obtain the PCI of cell B based on the SSB received from cell B, and then receive paging messages from cell B based on the PCI of cell B. If the terminal device does not receive the SSB of cell B after moving to cell B, it will be unable to receive paging messages from cell B, resulting in missed paging detection. This probability of missed paging detection is even greater when the SSB cycle is long or the terminal device moves quickly, affecting the efficiency of the terminal device accessing the cell. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a paging method, apparatus, and system to reduce the paging false alarm rate.

[0007] Some embodiments of this application can be applied to terminal-side devices, which may be terminal devices, modules (such as chips) within terminal devices, or software (such as control subsystems) containing terminal device functions. Other embodiments of this application can be applied to network-side devices, which may be network devices, such as base stations or wireless access network devices. The network-side device may be a network device, a module (such as a chip) within a network device, or software (such as control subsystems) containing network device functions.

[0008] Firstly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device. The method includes: acquiring paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first area, the first area including a first cell; and receiving a paging message in the first cell via the first paging opportunity.

[0009] In the above implementation, since the cells in the first area share the same paging configuration information, after the terminal device obtains the paging configuration information in any cell in the first area, when the terminal device moves from one cell (e.g., the second cell) to a new cell (e.g., the first cell) in the first area, it can receive paging messages in the first cell based on the paging configuration information already obtained for the first area, even if it does not receive system information sent by the first cell (the system information includes the paging configuration information of the first cell).

[0010] In one possible implementation, the paging configuration information includes paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information and paging physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration information. Specifically, the paging PDCCH configuration information indicates the time-frequency resources of the PDCCH carrying paging downlink control information (DCI) (or, in other words, indicates the time-frequency resources of the paging DCI), and the paging PDSCH configuration information indicates the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH carrying the paging message (or, in other words, indicates the time-frequency resources of the paging message).

[0011] In one possible implementation, obtaining the paging configuration information includes: receiving system information in a second cell, the system information including the paging configuration information, wherein the second cell is a cell within the first area.

[0012] Optionally, the second cell is the cell where the terminal device resided before moving to the first cell.

[0013] In one possible implementation, before receiving the paging message in the first cell via the first paging timing, the method further includes: receiving a first signal in the first cell, the first signal indicating the physical cell identity (PCI) of the first cell; receiving the paging message at the first paging timing includes: receiving a paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell at the first paging timing.

[0014] In the above implementation, the first signal can be understood as a signal indicating the PCI issued according to the paging message requirements. When the terminal device moves to a new cell (e.g., the first cell), before receiving the synchronization signal block (SSB) sent by the first cell (which can indicate the PCI of the first cell), it can first receive the first signal, obtain the PCI of the cell based on the first signal, and then use the PCI to descramble the paging message of the cell.

[0015] In one possible implementation, each of the M paging opportunities has a time window preceding its start position that includes a first signal transmission opportunity; receiving the first signal in the first cell includes receiving the first signal within the first time window, wherein the first time window is located preceding the start position of the first paging opportunity.

[0016] One possible implementation also includes: performing downlink synchronization with the first cell based on the first signal.

[0017] One possible implementation further includes: receiving first indication information in a second cell, the first indication information indicating a time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing, the second cell being a cell within the first area; or, the time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing is pre-configured.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing is the same for each cell within the first area.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving PCIs from K cells in the second cell, wherein the K cells are neighboring cells of the second cell, the K cells are cells within the first area, and the first cell is included among the K cells, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; receiving a paging message at the first paging time includes: receiving a paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time.

[0020] In the above implementation, the terminal device can receive the PCI of neighboring cells sent by the cell it is camped in. Thus, when the terminal device moves from the camped cell to a neighboring cell (e.g., the first cell), it can descramble the paging message sent by the first cell based on the PCI of the neighboring cell. The terminal device does not need to wait for the SSB sent by the first cell, which avoids missed paging detections and improves the efficiency of accessing the first cell.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the PCI of the first cell carries the system information of the second cell.

[0022] Secondly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to network devices. The method includes: sending paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities corresponding to a terminal device, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, and M being an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first area, the first area including a first cell; and in the first cell, sending a paging message at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device.

[0023] In one possible implementation, before sending a paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device in the first cell, the method further includes: sending a first signal in the first cell, the first signal indicating the PCI of the first cell; sending a paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device includes: sending a paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device.

[0024] In one possible implementation, each of the M paging opportunities has a time window preceding its start position that includes a first signal transmission opportunity; the step of sending the first signal in the first cell includes: sending the first signal within the first time window, wherein the first time window is located preceding the start position of the first paging opportunity.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first signal is used for downlink synchronization.

[0026] One possible implementation further includes: sending first indication information in a second cell, the first indication information indicating a time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing, the second cell being a cell within the first area; or, the time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing is pre-configured.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in the system information of the second cell.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending PCIs of K cells in the second cell, wherein the K cells are neighboring cells of the second cell, the K cells are cells in the first area, and the first cell is included among the K cells, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; sending a paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device includes: sending a paging message scrambled with the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the PCI of the first cell carries the system information of the second cell.

[0030] Based on the first or second aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the first area is a first tracking area or a first wireless access network notification area.

[0031] Based on the first or second aspect mentioned above, in one possible implementation, the paging configuration information is carried in the system information of each cell in the first area.

[0032] Based on the first or second aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the first signal is an aperiodic signal, or the first signal is sent on demand. For example, if N out of the M paging opportunities carry paging messages, and the first paging opportunity is included among the N paging opportunities, then a first signal precedes each of the N paging opportunities, where N is less than or equal to M, and N is greater than or equal to 1.

[0033] Based on the first or second aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the time-domain end position of the first signal is spaced apart from the start position of the first paging opportunity by one or more time slots. Alternatively, the time-domain end position of the first signal within the first time window is spaced apart from the start position of the first paging opportunity by one or more time slots.

[0034] Based on the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first signal includes a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal, wherein the sequence of the primary synchronization signal and the sequence of the secondary synchronization signal indicate the PCI of the first cell.

[0035] Based on the first aspect described above, one possible implementation further includes: receiving second indication information in the second cell. Based on the second aspect described above, one possible implementation further includes: transmitting second indication information in the second cell. Wherein, the second indication information indicates the frequency domain position of a first signal in K cells, the K cells being neighboring cells of the second cell, the K cells being cells within the first region, the K cells including the first cell, and K being an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0036] Optionally, the second indication information indicates the frequency domain offset between the first signal in the second cell and the first signal in the K cells.

[0037] Optionally, the second indication information is carried in the system information of the second cell.

[0038] Thirdly, a communication system is provided, the communication system comprising a first network device and a terminal device; the first network device is configured to send a paging message in a first cell at a first paging timing corresponding to the terminal device; the terminal device can perform any of the methods described in the first aspect, for example, the terminal device is configured to obtain paging configuration information indicating M paging timings, the M paging timings including a first paging timing, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein the paging configuration information applies to cells in a first area, the first area including a first cell; and receive a paging message in the first cell via the first paging timing.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the communication system further includes a second network device, which is used to send the paging configuration information in a second cell, wherein the second cell is a cell within the first area; the terminal device is specifically used to receive the paging configuration information sent in the second cell when it is camped in the second cell.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the first network device is further configured to send the paging configuration information in the first cell.

[0041] Fourthly, a communication system is provided, including a first network device and a second network device; the second network device is configured to send paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities corresponding to a terminal device, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, and M being an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells in a first area, the first area including a first cell; the first network device is configured to send a paging message in the first cell through the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device.

[0042] The methods implemented by the first network device and the second network device can be found in the second aspect.

[0043] Fifthly, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising a unit or module for performing the method of any one of the first aspects, or comprising a unit or module for performing the method of any one of the second aspects.

[0044] A sixth aspect provides a communication device comprising: one or more processors configured to perform the method described in any one aspect of the first aspect, or to perform the method described in any one aspect of the second aspect.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, the readable storage medium storing a program or instructions that, when the program or instructions are executed on a device, cause the device to perform the method described in any one of the first aspects, or to perform the method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0046] Eighthly, a chip system is provided, including a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the method described in any one of the first aspects, or to implement the method described in any one of the second aspects.

[0047] Ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising a program; when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer causes the computer to perform the method described in any one of the first aspects, or to perform the method described in any one of the second aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0048] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiments of this application;

[0049] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an access network device in an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a common chip architecture for an access network device (e.g., a RAN node) in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a cell PCI allocation in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the time domain location of the downlink synchronization signal in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the frequency domain location of the downlink synchronization signal in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating another paging method provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating another paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an interaction process based on a chip system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] The embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) communication system, 5th Generation (5G) system, or New Radio (NR), or applied to future communication systems or other similar communication systems, etc.

[0062] Referring to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (110a and 110b in Figure 1) and at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal device is wirelessly connected to the wireless access network device, and the wireless access network device is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network. The core network device and the wireless access network device may be independent physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device may be integrated on the same physical device, or a single physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the wireless access network device. Terminal devices and wireless access network devices may be interconnected via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0063] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the network devices and terminal devices.

[0064] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. For terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, drone 120i is a network device; however, for network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a network device-to-network device interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a network device. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with network device functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with terminal device functions.

[0065] Communication between network devices and terminal devices, between network devices, and between terminal devices can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0066] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes network device functions. This control subsystem, including network device functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal device can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device that includes terminal device functions.

[0067] In this embodiment, the network device sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal device, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the network device, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which the terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of that terminal device.

[0068] Terminal equipment 120a-120j can be terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, access terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, UE terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, multimedia equipment, streaming media equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. Access terminals can be cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, vehicles, in-vehicle equipment, wearable devices, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, terminal equipment in future 5G networks, or terminal equipment in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0069] Wireless access network (RAN) equipment, also known as access network equipment, RAN, RAN entity, RAN node, or access node, constitutes part of a communication system and is used to help terminal devices achieve wireless access and communicate with them. Multiple RANs in the communication system 1000 can be nodes of the same type or different types.

[0070] RAN nodes can be base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), relay stations, access points (APs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), base stations in future mobile communication systems, access nodes in wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, or access network equipment in future evolved PLMN networks. RAN nodes can be macro base stations (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), micro base stations or indoor stations (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), relay nodes or donor nodes, or radio controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios, or open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN). Optionally, RAN nodes can also be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be roadside units (RSUs).

[0071] RAN nodes can be applied to cellular systems related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as 4G or 5G mobile communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, or future-oriented evolution systems (such as 6G mobile communication systems), as well as communication systems that integrate two or more of the above systems.

[0072] In the NTN system, the RAN node can be in transparent mode or regenerative mode, and its corresponding cell can be an earth fixed cell or an earth moving cell.

[0073] Communication between access network devices and terminal devices follows a specific protocol layer structure. This protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or PHY layer, etc.

[0074] Access network equipment can be modules or units that perform some of the functions of access network equipment. For example, it can be a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). Here, the CU performs the functions of the RRC and PDCP layers of the access network equipment, and can also perform the functions of the SDAP layer; the DU performs the functions of the RLC and MAC layers of the access network equipment, and can also perform some or all of the PHY layer functions. For detailed descriptions of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications.

[0075] There is an interface between the DU and the radio unit (RU). Depending on the functions and / or the splitting method of the DU and RU, the interface between the DU and RU can be a common public radio interface (CPRI) or an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI).

[0076] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an access network device architecture. The access network device includes one or more functional modules for signal processing. As shown in Figure 2, taking the PHY layer function as an example, the access network device includes one or more of the following functions: coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, digital beamforming (BF), inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT) / adding a cyclic prefix (CP), decoding, rate matching dematching, descrambling, demodulation, inverse discrete Fourier transformation (IDFT), channel equalization (or channel estimation), RE demapping, digital BF, fast Fourier transform (FFT) / CP removal, digital-to-analog (DA) conversion, analog BF, analog-to-digital (AD) conversion, or analog BF.

[0077] One or more of the above functional modules can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of both. Physically, they can be discrete or integrated. It is understood that the functional modules described above are merely examples; access network equipment may include more modules (e.g., scheduling modules, power control modules, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) modules, flow control modules, mobility management modules, or artificial intelligence (AI) modules, etc.) depending on the design, or may exclude a certain functional module shown in Figure 2 (e.g., excluding the digital BF module). The access network equipment also includes a fronthaul (FH) interface between the DU and RU for communication between them. The fronthaul interface includes, but is not limited to, CPRI or eCPRI. In one possible implementation, the DU is located in the baseband unit (BBU), and the RU is located in the remote radio unit (RRU) / active antenna unit (AAU) / remote radio head (RRH). The interface between the BBU and the RRU / AAU / RRH can also be called the fronthaul interface. To implement the fronthaul interface, the BBU can be connected to the RRU / AAU / RRH via the fronthaul network, or the DU can be connected to the RU via the fronthaul network. For example, the fronthaul network includes, but is not limited to: direct fiber optic connection and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network.

[0078] Access network equipment can support one or more types of fronthaul interfaces. Different fronthaul interfaces correspond to DUs and RUs with different functions. As shown in Figure 2, if the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is a CPRI, the DU is configured to implement one or more baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and RU is an eCPRI, compared to the CPRI, some downlink and / or uplink baseband functions are moved from the DU to the RU. Different splitting methods between the DU and RU correspond to different types (Categories, abbreviated as Cat) of eCPRI. Figure 2 shows six examples of eCPRI, represented by Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F (which can also be represented as Option A to F, Option 1 to 6, or other methods). It can be understood that there may be other splitting methods between the DU and RU, that is, there may be other types of eCPRI.

[0079] Taking eCPRI Cat A as an example, for downlink transmission, layer mapping is used as the dividing line. DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding layer mapping (i.e., coding, rate matching, scrambling, modulation, and layer mapping), while other functions following layer mapping (e.g., RE mapping, digital BF, or IFFT / CP addition) are implemented in RU. For uplink transmission, de-RE mapping is used as the dividing line. DU is configured to implement one or more functions preceding de-mapping (i.e., decoding, rate matching de-matching, descrambling, demodulation, IDFT, channel equalization, and de-RE mapping), while other functions following de-mapping (e.g., digital BF or FFT / CP removal) are implemented in RU.

[0080] Similarly, for eCPRI Cat B, Cat C, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F, they correspond to different DU and RU segmentation methods. The DU implements the functions at and before the segmentation point, while the RU implements the functions after the segmentation point. The segmentation points for each type of eCPRI are shown in Figure 2 and will not be detailed further. For example, for eCPRI Cat B, RE mapping is used for downlink transmission segmentation, and de-RE mapping is used for uplink transmission segmentation. For uplink transmission, RE mapping and functions before RE mapping are implemented by the DU, while functions after RE mapping and RF functions are implemented by the RU. For downlink transmission, de-RE mapping and functions before de-RE mapping are implemented by the DU, while functions after de-RE mapping and RF functions are implemented by the RU.

[0081] The eCPRI segmentation method can be symmetrical for uplink and downlink, as shown in Figure 2 with eCPRI Cat B and Cat C; or, the eCPRI segmentation method can be asymmetrical for uplink and downlink, as shown in Figure 2 with eCPRI Cat A, Cat D, Cat E, and Cat F, without restriction. Optionally, different segmentation methods can be configured for different channels or different channel groups for uplink and / or downlink, i.e., different types of eCPRI can be configured. A channel group can include one or more channels.

[0082] In one possible design, the DU is located in the BBU, and the RU is located in the RRU / AAU / RRH. The processing unit in the BBU used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH used to implement baseband functions is called the baseband low (BBL) unit.

[0083] Figure 3 illustrates a common chip architecture for access network devices (e.g., RAN nodes), distinguished by CU, DU, and RU. The CU performs upper-layer L2 and L3 functions. Midhaul and backhaul interfaces carry traffic between the CU and DU, as well as between the CU and the core network. The DU performs L1 and some L2 functions, while the RU performs L1 computing and radio frequency (RF) digital functions. Fronthaul and backhaul interfaces carry traffic between the RU and DU, as well as between the CU and DU. An integrated DU includes the functions of both the DU and RU.

[0084] The CU / DU hardware includes a chassis platform, motherboard, peripherals, and cooling system. The motherboard contains processing units, memory, internal input / output (I / O) interfaces, and external connection ports. Its hardware accelerators are designed with interfaces, and hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller.

[0085] DU systems are typically implemented using multi-core processors and one or more hardware accelerators. Parts of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor, while computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) / graphics processing unit (GPU)-based hardware accelerator; alternatively, all L1 functions can be offloaded to an FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerator, while other protocol stack components are implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. The hardware accelerator supports interconnection with x86 or non-x86 processors. Similarly, the accelerator has a multi-channel peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) and external connections via gigabit Ethernet (GbE) connectivity.

[0086] The RU consists of three parts: the OPU (O-RAN Processing Unit), which receives eCPRI frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface, L1 layer (coding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The OPU can be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The DPU (digital processing unit) performs synchronization, digital downconversion (DDC, i.e., digital downconversion in UL (uplink), digital upconversion (DUC, i.e., digital upconversion in downlink (DL), crest factor reduction (CFR), and digital pre-distortion (DPD). It improves power amplifier efficiency by reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) / adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of the RF front-end; the DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or ASIC. The O-RU's RF processing unit includes a transceiver module, up / down converters, power amplifiers (PA), low-noise amplifiers (LNA), and Tx / Rx filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains, including digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions, such as RF sampling, frequency conversion using RF, intermediate frequency (IF), and local oscillator (LO) mixing during up-conversion and down-conversion, are performed within the transceiver module. Physical and logical partitioning within the RF processing unit does not require specific boundaries.

[0087] Based on the architecture shown in Figures 1, 2, or 3 above, in current NR technology, after a terminal device receives the SSB of a cell, it obtains the time-frequency resources of SIB1 (SIB is an abbreviation for System Information Block) from that SSB. The terminal device then receives SIB1 according to its time-frequency resources and obtains paging configuration information from it. Subsequently, the terminal device can receive paging messages in that cell based on the resources indicated by the paging configuration information. In other words, the current paging configuration information is configured at the cell level (i.e., per-cell configuration), and different cells have different paging configuration information. When a terminal device moves to a cell, it can only obtain the paging configuration information of that cell after receiving the SSB and SIB1 of that cell, and then receive paging messages in that cell based on that paging configuration information.

[0088] In some application scenarios, when a terminal device moves to a cell, if the cell initiates a paging request for the terminal device before the SSB transmission time, the terminal device cannot obtain the cell's paging configuration information because it has not yet received the SSB and SIB1 of that cell, and therefore cannot receive the paging request, resulting in a missed paging detection. The probability of missed paging detection increases significantly, especially when the SSB period is extended.

[0089] Currently, the SSB transmission period is 20 milliseconds, resulting in high power consumption for network equipment. To reduce power consumption, the SSB period is being considered for extension, for example, to 320 milliseconds, 640 milliseconds, or 1280 milliseconds, which can effectively reduce the power consumption of network equipment. However, when the SSB period is extended, if the terminal device moves to a new cell during the time interval between two SSB transmissions, and the terminal device has not yet received the SSB and SIB1 of the new cell, if the new cell pagees the terminal device, the terminal device will not receive the paging, resulting in a missed paging detection. For example, with a base station distance of 300 meters, if the terminal device moves at a speed of 60 km / h, with the SSB period extended to 80 milliseconds, the probability of the terminal device moving out of the current cell is 1%. This probability of the terminal device moving out of the cell can be equated to the probability of a missed paging detection. When the probability of a missed paging detection is higher than 1%, it indicates a problem with mobility management.

[0090] Therefore, embodiments of this application provide a paging method and related apparatus for implementing the method, in order to reduce the paging false detection rate.

[0091] To better understand the embodiments of this application, some technologies and technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below.

[0092] (1) Paging configuration information

[0093] Paging configuration information, also known as paging-related configuration information, is used to indicate paging-related resources, including paging message resources. Optionally, it may also include downlink control information (DCI) resources. These resources include one or more of the following resource types: time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and code-domain resources.

[0094] The paging DCI is sent on the paging occasion (PO), and the terminal device can detect the paging DCI on the PO. Network devices can use the paging DCI to indicate whether there is a paging message. For example, the paging DCI can indicate to a terminal device packet that the terminal devices in that packet need to receive a paging message. Accordingly, the terminal devices in that packet receive the paging message on their corresponding PO based on the paging DCI.

[0095] Network devices can determine the paging message resources corresponding to a terminal device based on paging configuration information, so that when paging of the terminal device is required, a paging message can be sent on the resources corresponding to that terminal device. Terminal devices can determine the paging message resources corresponding to themselves based on paging configuration information, so that they can monitor the paging messages sent by network devices on the resources corresponding to their own.

[0096] In this application embodiment, the paging configuration information may contain the same content as the paging configuration information defined in the current protocol, or it may be different. For example, compared with the paging configuration information defined in the current protocol, the paging configuration information in this application embodiment may contain more or less content, and this application does not impose any restrictions.

[0097] For example, the paging configuration information in this application embodiment may include: paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information and paging physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration information.

[0098] The paging PDCCH configuration information is used to indicate the time and frequency resources of the paging DCI. In one possible implementation, the paging PDCCH configuration information may include paging DCI time-domain resource information and / or paging DCI frequency-domain resource information.

[0099] Optionally, the paging DCI time-domain resource information includes one or more of the following:

[0100] - Frame structure allocation: Used to indicate the time allocation ratio of uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0101] For example, in time division duplex (TDD) mode, uplink and downlink can be configured in different subframes. For instance, the allocation of uplink and downlink subframes within a radio frame can be indicated using the parameter "tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon".

[0102] For example, in a 5G NR system, the frame structure allocation is called the time slot allocation. For instance, the frame structure allocation can indicate the allocation of uplink and downlink time slots in a subframe.

[0103] - The location of receiving paging DCI, for example, the paging search space.

[0104] - Paging message configuration, including: paging period, number of paging frames (PF) and offset, number of POs in PF, etc.

[0105] - The starting position of PO.

[0106] Optionally, the paging DCI frequency domain resource information includes one or more of the following:

[0107] - Frequency band list: Used to indicate on which frequencies paging DCI is received, i.e., the terminal equipment receives paging DCI on the same frequency.

[0108] -Point A: Indicates the starting position of the initial bandwidth part (BWP).

[0109] -Carrier configuration: Includes a list of carriers with different subcarrier spacings.

[0110] The paging PDSCH configuration information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH carrying the paging message; that is, the paging PDSCH configuration information is used to indicate the time-frequency resources of the paging message. In one possible implementation, the paging PDSCH configuration information may include paging PDSCH time-domain resource information and / or paging PDSCH frequency-domain resource information.

[0111] Optionally, the paging PDSCH time-domain resource information may include one or more of the following:

[0112] -K0: This parameter indicates the slot offset between the paging DCI and the PDSCH scheduled with that paging DCI.

[0113] - The mapping type of PDSCH.

[0114] - Start Symbol and Length: Used to indicate the start symbol and the number of symbols used for paging PDSCH, to ensure that allocated resources do not cross time slot boundaries.

[0115] Optionally, the frequency domain resources indicated by the paging PDSCH frequency domain resource information are kept the same as those in the initial BWP.

[0116] The above paging configuration information can be found in the communication protocol TS38.331.

[0117] In this embodiment, paging configuration information can be applied to cells within a region. This region includes one or more cells, and the paging configuration information of cells within the region is the same, or in other words, cells within the same region share the same paging configuration information.

[0118] Taking the first area as an example, the first area includes the first cell and the second cell. The paging configuration information is applied to the cells in the first area, which means that the paging configuration information of the first cell and the second cell is the same. In other words, the first cell and the second cell share the same paging configuration information, or the first cell and the second cell both send paging configuration information and send the same paging configuration information.

[0119] For a terminal device, the location of its paging opportunity can be determined based on its UE ID and paging configuration information. Since the first cell and the second cell share the same paging configuration information, the location of the terminal device's paging opportunity in the first cell is the same as the location of its paging opportunity in the second cell. In other words, since each cell in the first area shares the same paging configuration information, the location of the terminal device's paging opportunity is the same in every cell within that area.

[0120] Cells within a region can form a cell group. Therefore, it can also be understood that the same paging configuration information is applied to a cell group, or that cells within a cell group share the same paging configuration information.

[0121] Optionally, paging configuration information may differ between different areas, or it may be the same; this application does not impose any restrictions. For example, cells in the first area share the first paging configuration information, while cells in the second area share the second paging configuration information, and the first and second paging configuration information are different.

[0122] Compared to the current cell-level paging configuration information, the paging configuration information in this application embodiment is a larger area-level (or cell group-level) information, meaning that the same paging configuration information can be applied to more cells.

[0123] In this application's embodiments, "region" may include one or more cells. Here, "region" can be used to represent a group of physically close or geographically adjacent cells that collectively cover a large geographical area. The terminal device may move randomly within this large geographical area, possibly moving from one cell to another.

[0124] In this way, the paging configuration information of different cells in the same area is the same. No matter which cell the terminal device moves to, it can send a random access channel in the current cell based on the paging configuration information obtained from the previous cell, without needing to receive the SSB of the current cell, which helps to reduce the latency of the terminal device performing random access.

[0125] In some examples, the aforementioned area can be a tracking area (TA) or a radio access network notification area (RNA).

[0126] A Location Area (TA) is a geographical area in a mobile communication network, consisting of one or more cells, used to manage the mobility and location updates of terminal devices. Within a TA, terminal devices do not need to perform area updates. The paging configuration information is identical across different cells within a TA. Therefore, regardless of which cell a terminal device moves to within a TA, it can send a random access channel in the current cell based on the paging configuration information obtained from previous cells, without needing to receive the current cell's Service Block (SSB), which helps reduce the latency of random access channel transmission.

[0127] An RNA (Radio Access Region) is a specific geographic area used for mobility management of terminal devices. Generally, an RNA can be a smaller area than a TA (Traffic Availability Region), but its function is similar. The paging configuration information is identical across different cells within an RNA. This means that regardless of which cell a terminal device moves to within an RNA, it can send a random access channel in the current cell based on the paging configuration information obtained from previous cells, without needing to receive the current cell's SSB (Standard Service Block), thus reducing the latency of random access for the terminal device.

[0128] In one possible implementation, the paging configuration information in this embodiment can be carried in system information, such as in SIB1. For example, each cell in an area sends an SIB1, and each SIB1 sent by a cell contains paging configuration information; the paging configuration information contained in the SIB1s of these cells is identical.

[0129] Based on the above paging configuration information configuration method, the terminal device can receive paging messages in any cell within a region. For example, taking cell A and cell B as belonging to the same tracking area, the idle terminal device is currently camped in cell A and receives SIB1 sent by cell A, which includes paging configuration information. When the terminal device moves from cell A to cell B, since the terminal device has already obtained the paging configuration information from the SIB1 sent by cell A, and the paging configuration information of cell A is the same as that of cell B, even if the terminal device has not yet received SSB and SIB1 in cell B, it can still determine the corresponding paging timing in cell B based on the paging configuration information and receive the paging message from cell B at that paging timing.

[0130] (2) Physical Cell Identity (PCI)

[0131] Each cell has a PCI, which is used by terminal devices to distinguish the wireless signals of different cells.

[0132] Taking a 5G NR system as an example, this system supports 1008 unique PCIs, which are divided into 336 groups, with each group containing 3 PCIs. During PCI planning, a number between 0 and 1007 can be configured as the PCI for a cell. In the cell search process, the terminal device determines the cell's PCI by retrieving the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS) sequences from the SSB.

[0133] The SSS sequence has 336 possible sequences to distinguish 336 PCI groups; the PSS sequence has 3 possible sequences to distinguish the 3 PCIs contained in a PCI group. The terminal device can determine the PCI group based on the SSS sequence sent by the cell, and determine one of the 3 PCIs contained in the PCI group based on the PSS sequence sent by the cell, thereby determining the PCI of the cell.

[0134] The relationship between PCI and the values ​​of the PSS and SSS sequences satisfies the following formula:

[0135] in, This represents the PCI group identifier, i.e., the value of the SSS sequence, which ranges from 0 to 335. This represents the value of the PCI within the PCI group, i.e., the PSS sequence, and its value ranges from 0 to 2.

[0136] To reduce PCI collisions and confusion, NR cell planning assigns PCIs from the same site to the same PCI group, while PCIs from adjacent sites are placed in different PCI groups. For example, based on Formula 1 above, for an NR site with three cells, the PCIs of these three cells belong to the same PCI group. These three cells are arranged clockwise from due north. They are configured as 0, 1, and 2 respectively; while adjacent NR sites are assigned different PCI groups.

[0137] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of cell PCI allocation. As shown in Figure 4, cells A0, A1, and A2 are located at the same site (e.g., a base station), and their PCIs belong to the first PCI group; cells B0, B1, and B2 are located at the same site, and their PCIs belong to the second PCI group; cells C0, C1, and C2 are located at the same site, and their PCIs belong to the third PCI group; cells D0, D1, and D2 are located at the same site, and their PCIs belong to the fourth PCI group; and so on.

[0138] Taking the SSB sent by cell A0 as an example, the terminal device can determine the PCI group of the cell as the first PCI group based on the SSS sequence in the SSB, that is, determine the PCI group in formula 1. The position of the cell's PCI within the PCI group can be determined based on the PSS sequence, which is also the determination of the position in Formula 1. Therefore, it can be based on and Determine the PCI of the cell.

[0139] Cell PCI can be used to scramble common signals transmitted by that cell. For example, the cell PCI can be used to scramble SIB1 and paging messages. Since neighboring cells have different PCIs, using PCI to scramble common signals transmitted by a cell ensures that the terminal device can identify the common signals transmitted by the currently camped cell. Taking scrambling paging messages using the cell PCI as an example, after receiving the SSB sent by the cell, the terminal device can obtain the cell's PCI based on the SSB, and then the terminal device can use that PCI to descramble the paging message sent by that cell.

[0140] (3) In this application, “the first cell sends a message or signaling (e.g., the first cell sends a system message or paging message or a first signal)” can also be understood as: the network equipment (e.g., a base station) to which the first cell belongs sends a message or signaling. Similarly, “the terminal device receives a message or signaling in the first cell” can also be understood as: the terminal device receives a message or signaling sent by the first cell or the network equipment to which the first cell belongs.

[0141] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0142] Based on the architecture shown in Figures 1, 2, or 3 above, Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. This flowchart uses the interaction between a network device and a terminal device as an example. In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network device, or by a control subsystem containing network device functions. This control subsystem containing network device functions can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device containing terminal device functions.

[0143] As shown in Figure 5, the process may include the following steps:

[0144] Step 501: The terminal device obtains paging configuration information.

[0145] The contents of the paging configuration information can be found in the previous text and will not be repeated here.

[0146] In this embodiment, the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first region. The first region includes one or more cells. In one possible implementation, the first region may be a first tracking region, a first RNA region, or a region defined in other ways; this application does not limit the specific implementation.

[0147] In one possible implementation, the paging configuration information is carried within the cell's system information, for example, the paging configuration information is carried within the cell's SIB1. That is, each cell in the first area sends system information, and each cell's system information carries paging configuration information; moreover, the paging configuration information is identical across all cells.

[0148] The terminal device can obtain paging configuration information from any cell it resides in within the first area. This obtained paging configuration information can then be applied to other cells within the first area. For example, in one possible scenario, the first cell group includes a first cell and a second cell. The terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell. While the terminal device is residing in the second cell, it receives system information (e.g., SIB1) from the second cell and obtains paging configuration information from this system information. When the terminal device moves to the first cell, even before it receives system information (e.g., SSB and SIB1) from the first cell, it can apply the paging configuration information obtained in the second cell to the first cell. In other words, the terminal device can determine the paging-related resources in the first cell based on this paging configuration information.

[0149] A terminal device can determine its corresponding paging frame and the paging timing included in the paging frame based on paging configuration information and its own identifier. A cell can contain multiple paging frames, and each paging frame can include multiple paging timings. A terminal device can be mapped to multiple paging timings within a cell; for example, a terminal device can be mapped to multiple paging timings, meaning that within that cell, the terminal device has multiple corresponding paging timings. Different terminal devices may be mapped to the same paging timing or different paging timings. A network device can send paging messages on one or more paging timings corresponding to a terminal device to page that terminal device. Taking the example of a terminal device determining M paging timings (M being an integer greater than or equal to 1) corresponding to it based on paging configuration information, the terminal device can monitor paging messages on these paging timings.

[0150] Since the paging configuration information is the same for each cell in the first area, the paging timing of this terminal device in any cell within the first area is always the same.

[0151] Step 502: In the first cell, the network device sends a paging message at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the paging message at the first paging opportunity.

[0152] The network device sending a paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device can also be understood as: the network device sending a paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device. Similarly, the terminal device receiving a paging message at the first paging time can also be understood as: the terminal device receiving a paging message at the first paging time.

[0153] One interpretation of "first paging opportunity" is that the first paging opportunity is one of M paging opportunities determined by the terminal device based on the paging configuration information. When the network device needs to paging the terminal device, it can send a paging message at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device.

[0154] Another interpretation of "first paging opportunity" is that the first paging opportunity is one of the multiple paging opportunities among the M paging opportunities determined by the terminal device according to the paging configuration information. When the network device needs to paging the terminal device, it can send paging messages at the multiple paging opportunities corresponding to the terminal device to improve the success rate of the terminal device receiving paging messages.

[0155] In one possible implementation, in step 502, the network device may send a paging DCI at the first paging time. This paging DCI instructs a group of terminal devices, including the terminal device, to receive a paging message. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the paging DCI at the first paging time and, according to the instruction of the paging DCI, receives the paging message sent within the first paging time.

[0156] Taking a scenario where the first cell group includes the first cell and the second cell, and the terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell as an example, since the paging configuration information of the second cell and the first cell is the same, after the terminal device moves to the first cell, it can monitor the paging messages sent by the first cell according to the paging-related resources indicated by the paging configuration information obtained in the second cell, thereby reducing the paging missed detection rate.

[0157] Based on the process shown in Figure 5, in one possible scenario, when the terminal device moves from one cell (referred to as the source cell) to another cell (referred to as the target cell), before receiving paging configuration information from the target cell, it can monitor the paging messages of the target cell according to the paging-related resources indicated by the paging configuration information received in the source cell. After receiving the paging configuration information from the target cell, the terminal device monitors the paging messages of the target cell according to the paging-related resources indicated by the paging configuration information received in the target cell. When the target cell and the source cell belong to the same area (i.e., the paging configuration information of the source cell and the target cell is the same), the terminal device can successfully receive paging even if it does not receive paging configuration information in the target cell. When the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same area (i.e., the paging configuration information of the target cell is different from that of the source cell), the terminal device cannot successfully receive paging before receiving the paging configuration information from the target cell; after receiving the paging configuration information from the target cell, it can successfully receive paging according to that paging configuration information.

[0158] In one possible implementation, paging messages sent by a cell are scrambled using the cell's PCI. When a terminal device moves from a second cell to a first cell, it needs to descramble the paging messages sent by the first cell using the first cell's PCI. This application provides the following two methods to enable the terminal device to obtain the PCI of the new cell before receiving system information from the new cell after moving from one cell to another, thereby descrambling the paging messages sent by the new cell.

[0159] The first method to obtain the cell PCI in advance:

[0160] A network device transmits a first signal (e.g., one or more time slots) within a certain period before sending a paging message. This first signal indicates the PCI of the cell. Taking a first cell as an example, the first cell (or the network device to which the first cell belongs) transmits the first signal in one or more time slots before sending a paging message. This first signal indicates the PCI of the first cell. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first signal in the first cell before receiving the paging message through the first paging timing. The terminal device can obtain the PCI of the first cell based on the first signal, and thus can receive the paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell through the first paging timing.

[0161] The first signal is an aperiodic signal, or rather, it is sent on demand. When a network device has a paging need, it sends the first signal before the paging event used to send the paging message. It may not send the first signal before other paging events that do not carry paging messages. In other words, the first signal is bound to the paging message.

[0162] Taking a first cell where the terminal device has M paging opportunities as an example, one possible implementation, as shown in Figure 6, is that each of the M paging opportunities has a time window preceding its start position that includes a first signal transmission opportunity. If the network device determines to send a paging message during the first paging opportunity, it sends a first signal within the first time window preceding the start position of the first paging opportunity. Accordingly, the terminal device can obtain the PCI of the first cell based on the first signal, and then receive the paging message subsequently sent during the first paging opportunity based on the PCI. For paging opportunities that do not send paging messages, there is no need to send the first signal during the first signal transmission opportunity within the preceding time window. For example, if no paging message is sent during the second paging opportunity in Figure 6, then there is also no first signal sent during the first signal transmission opportunity within the second time window.

[0163] In one possible implementation, taking the first time window and the first paging timing as an example, the first time window is before the start position of the first paging timing, or the end position of the first time window is before the start position of the first paging timing.

[0164] Optionally, one or more time slots may be spaced between the start position of the paging opportunity and the end position of the time window preceding the paging opportunity. Correspondingly, one or more time slots may be spaced between the time domain end position of the first signal and the start position of the paging opportunity. For example, as shown in Figure 6, one or more time slots may be spaced between the time domain end position of the first signal within the first time window and the start position of the first paging opportunity.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the first signal includes a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal, wherein the sequence of the primary synchronization signal and the sequence of the secondary synchronization signal indicate the PCI of the first cell. The implementation of indicating the cell PCI using the primary and secondary synchronization signals can be found in the foregoing embodiments. Taking a 5G NR system as an example, the terminal device can directly detect values ​​ranging from 0 to 335 based on the sequence of the primary synchronization signal. Sequence detection based on auxiliary synchronization signals has a value range of 0-2. Therefore, according to and Obtain the PCI of the community.

[0166] It should be understood that other sequences may also be used as the sequence of the first signal, as long as the PCI of the cell can be indicated by the first signal, they are all within the protection scope of this application.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the first signal can also serve as downlink synchronization, meaning the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization with the first cell based on the first signal. For example, if the first signal includes a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal, the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization with the first cell based on these two signals, thereby improving the success rate of receiving paging messages in the first cell.

[0168] In one possible implementation, the time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing is the same for each cell within the first area. For example, the first area includes a first cell and a second cell, and the time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing in the first cell is the same as that in the second cell.

[0169] In one possible implementation, the frequency domain positions of the first signals in adjacent cells within a region are offset to reduce interference. Figure 7 exemplarily illustrates the frequency domain offset between the first signal in the first cell (the part filled with diagonal lines in the figure) and the first signal in the second cell (the part filled with diagonal lines in the figure) within a first region.

[0170] In one possible implementation, the time-frequency resources of the first signal are agreed upon or pre-configured by the system. For example, the protocol can specify that the terminal device monitors the first signal in a certain time slot before the paging opportunity. In another possible implementation, the time-frequency resources of the first signal are configured by the network device.

[0171] In one possible implementation of configuring the time-domain resources of a first signal by a network device, each cell within a first area sends first indication information, which indicates the time-domain resources of the first signal in neighboring cells. Optionally, the first indication information may indicate a time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing.

[0172] Taking a first area comprising a first cell and a second cell as an example, where the second cell can be any cell within the first area other than the first cell, such as a neighboring cell of the first cell, the network device sends first indication information in the second cell. This first indication information indicates the time-domain location of a first signal, for example, the time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing. For the terminal device, it can determine its corresponding paging timing based on paging configuration information. Therefore, the terminal device can determine the time-domain location of the first signal in the first cell based on its corresponding paging timing and the time-domain offset between the first signal and the paging timing indicated by the first indication information.

[0173] Optionally, the first indication information can be carried in the system information of the second cell, such as in SIB1. That is, the system information of each cell in the first area includes the first indication information, for example, all of them include the same time-domain offset. Accordingly, the terminal device can obtain the time-domain offset from the system information of the second cell and receive the first signal in the first cell according to the time-domain offset.

[0174] In one possible implementation, there is no need to send indication information of the frequency domain resources of the first signal to the terminal device; the terminal device can perform blind detection of the first signal. In another possible implementation, the frequency domain resources of the first signal are agreed upon by the system or pre-configured, or configured by the network device, in order to reduce the search time of the terminal device for the first signal.

[0175] In one possible implementation of configuring the frequency domain resources of a first signal by a network device, each cell within a first area sends second indication information, which indicates the frequency domain resources of the first signal in neighboring cells. If a cell has multiple neighboring cells, the second indication information indicates the frequency domain resources of the first signal in all neighboring cells. Optionally, the second indication information may indicate the absolute or relative position of the frequency domain resources of the first signal in neighboring cells, where the relative position may be the frequency domain offset between the first signals of the current cell and those of neighboring cells.

[0176] Taking a first region that includes a second cell and K (K is an integer greater than or equal to 1) neighboring cells of the second cell as an example, the network device sends a second indication information in the second cell. The second indication information indicates the frequency domain position of the first signal of the K neighboring cells. For example, the second indication information indicates the frequency domain offset between the first signal of the second cell and the first signal of each of the K neighboring cells.

[0177] For example, if the sequence of the first signal is the same as the sequence of the primary synchronization signal and the sequence of the secondary synchronization signal in the SSB, the second indication information received by the terminal device in the second cell can indicate the offset (i.e., K offset values) between the second cell and the SSB of each neighboring cell in the frequency domain; in the first cell, the terminal device can determine the K frequency domain positions based on the frequency domain position of the SSB received in the second cell and the K offset values, and blindly detect the first signal at the K frequency domain positions in the first cell.

[0178] Optionally, the second indication information can be carried in the system information of the second cell, such as in SIB1. That is, the system information of each cell in the first area includes indication information for the frequency domain resources of the first signal of the neighboring cell. For example, the system information of each cell includes the frequency domain offset between the frequency domain resources of the first signal of the cell and the frequency domain resources of the first signal of the neighboring cell. Accordingly, the terminal device can obtain the frequency domain offset from the system information of the second cell and receive the first signal in the first cell according to the frequency domain offset and the frequency domain position of the first signal transmitted by the first cell.

[0179] Based on the architecture shown in Figures 1, 2, or 3 above, and the cell PCI acquisition method provided by the first method described above, Figure 8 exemplarily illustrates the flow of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method indicates the cell PCI through a first signal. The flow is described using the interaction between a network device and a terminal device as an example. In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can also be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network device, or by a control subsystem containing network device functions. This control subsystem containing network device functions can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device containing terminal device functions.

[0180] As shown in Figure 8, the process may include the following steps:

[0181] Step 801: The terminal device obtains paging configuration information.

[0182] For details on how to implement this step, please refer to step 501 in Figure 5.

[0183] Step 802: The network device sends a first signal before the first paging opportunity in the first cell, the first signal indicating the PCI of the first cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first signal before the first paging opportunity and obtains the PCI of the first cell based on the first signal.

[0184] Optionally, the first signal can also be used for downlink synchronization, and the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization with the first cell based on the first signal.

[0185] For a description of the first signal, please refer to the foregoing embodiments.

[0186] Step 803: In the first cell, the network device sends a paging message scrambled with the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the paging message scrambled with the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time.

[0187] For details on how to implement this step, please refer to step 502 in Figure 5.

[0188] It should be understood that this application does not limit the order of steps in the process shown in Figure 8. For example, in one possible scenario, the network device sends a first signal and a paging message during the first paging opportunity. After detecting the first signal, the terminal device obtains PCI and performs downlink synchronization, and then uses the PCI to descramble the paging message received during the first paging opportunity.

[0189] Based on the process shown in Figure 8, Figure 9 illustrates an example of a possible application scenario. The first area includes a first cell and a second cell, and the terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell. While the terminal device is stationed in the second cell, it obtains paging configuration information and the time-frequency resources of the first cell's first signal from the SIB1 sent by the second cell. After moving to the first cell, even before receiving the SSB and SIB1 sent by the first cell, the terminal device can receive the first signal based on the time-frequency resources of the first signal, obtain the PCI of the first cell based on the first signal, and perform downlink synchronization with the first cell. The terminal device can also monitor paging messages in the first cell according to the paging-related resources indicated by the paging configuration information and can use the PCI of the first cell to descramble the received paging messages.

[0190] Based on the process shown in Figure 8, when an idle terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell, it can still receive paging messages scrambled using the PCI of the first cell even before receiving system information (such as SSB and SIB1) from the first cell. Compared to related technologies where the terminal device can only receive paging messages from the first cell after receiving system information, this reduces the false negative rate of paging messages.

[0191] The second method to obtain the cell PCI in advance:

[0192] Each cell within an area can send the PCI of its neighboring cells to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can obtain the PCI of the neighboring cell in advance before moving to that neighboring cell.

[0193] Optionally, each cell within an area can carry the PCI of its neighboring cells in a system message, such as SIB1.

[0194] Taking a first area that includes a second cell and K neighboring cells of the second cell as an example, where the first cell is among the K neighboring cells. When the terminal device is camped on the second cell, it can obtain the PCI of the K neighboring cells from the SIB1 sent by the second cell. When the terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell, it can attempt to descramble the paging messages sent by the first cell using the PCI of the K neighboring cells until descrambling is successful.

[0195] As shown in Figure 4, in a cellular network, a cell can be surrounded by six neighboring cells, which belong to multiple network devices (base stations). Taking cell A0 in Figure 4 as an example, among the six neighboring cells of cell A0, cells A1 and A2 belong to the same base station as cell A0, cells C1 and C2 belong to the same base station, and cells B0 and D2 belong to different base stations. If the terminal device can obtain the PCI of the six neighboring cells around cell A0 before moving from cell A0 to its neighboring cells, then regardless of which neighboring cell the terminal device moves from cell A0 to, it can descramble the paging messages of that neighboring cell based on the PCI of that neighboring cell.

[0196] In one possible implementation, a cell can send the PCIs of all its neighboring cells to the terminal device. Taking the second cell in the first area as an example, the system information (e.g., SIB1) sent by the second cell includes the PCIs of the six neighboring cells of the second cell. When the terminal device is camped in the second cell, it can obtain the PCIs of the six neighboring cells, including the first cell, from the system information sent by the second cell.

[0197] In another possible implementation, a cell can send the PCIs of some of its neighboring cells to the terminal device. These neighboring cells include at least three cells belonging to a first network device, a second network device, and a third network device. Specifically, the first, second, and third network devices are adjacent to the network device to which the cell (i.e., the cell sending the neighboring cell PCIs) belongs, or in other words, the first, second, and third network devices are different from the network device to which the cell belongs. For example, in Figure 4, the SIB1 sent by cell A0 includes at least the PCIs of cells B1, C2, and D2. Since a cell PCI consists of two parts (see Formula 1 for details), for three cells belonging to the same network device, obtaining the PCI of one cell is sufficient to determine the PCIs of the other two cells. In other words, although the SIB1 sent by cell A0 only includes the PCIs of 3 neighboring cells, the PCIs of 6 neighboring cells of cell A0 can be indicated based on the PCIs of these 3 neighboring cells and the PCI of cell A0. In other words, the terminal device can determine the PCIs of 6 neighboring cells of cell A0 based on the PCIs of these 3 neighboring cells and the PCI of cell A0.

[0198] In one possible scenario, taking cell A in the first area as an example, if some of cell A's neighboring cells belong to the first area and others do not, then cell A's system information may include the PCI of neighboring cells belonging to the first area, but not the PCI of other neighboring cells, or it may include the PCI of all neighboring cells. This application does not limit this.

[0199] Based on the architecture shown in Figures 1, 2, or 3 above, and the cell PCI acquisition method provided by the second method described above, Figure 10 exemplarily illustrates the flow of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method indicates the PCI of neighboring cells through system information. The flow is described using the interaction between a network device and a terminal device as an example. In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can also be executed by modules (such as chips) within the network device, or by a control subsystem containing network device functions. This control subsystem containing network device functions can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal device, or by a device containing terminal device functions.

[0200] As shown in Figure 10, the process may include the following steps:

[0201] Step 1001: The terminal device obtains paging configuration information and the PCI of the neighboring cells of the second cell, which includes the first cell.

[0202] The second cell is the cell where the terminal device is currently residing.

[0203] The specific implementation of this step can be found in step 501 of Figure 5. The specific implementation of the second cell sending the paging configuration information and the PCI of the neighboring cell to the terminal device can be found in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0204] Steps 1002 and 1003: The network device sends a first signal before the first paging opportunity in the first cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first signal before the first paging opportunity and performs downlink synchronization with the first cell based on the first signal.

[0205] The description of the first signal can be found in the foregoing embodiments. The first signal in this step may not need to indicate the PCI of the first cell.

[0206] Steps 1002 and 1003 are optional.

[0207] Step 1004: In the first cell, the network device sends a paging message scrambled with the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the paging message scrambled with the PCI of the first cell at the first paging time.

[0208] In this step, the terminal device can try to descramble the paging message sent by the first cell using the PCI of different neighboring cells of the second cell in turn. For example, it can first use the PCI of the first neighboring cell to descramble the received paging message. If it fails, it can then use the PCI of the second neighboring cell to descramble the received paging message, and so on, until the descrambling is successful.

[0209] It should be understood that when attempting to descramble paging messages sent by the first cell using the PCI of different neighboring cells of the second cell in sequence, this application does not impose any restrictions on the order of the neighboring cells.

[0210] As mentioned earlier, the second cell can send the PCIs of its six neighboring cells to the terminal device, allowing the terminal device to directly obtain the PCIs of these six neighboring cells. Alternatively, the second cell can send the PCIs of some of its neighboring cells to the terminal device, allowing the terminal device to deduce the PCIs of other neighboring cells based on the received PCIs, thus obtaining the PCIs of the second cell's six neighboring cells.

[0211] Based on the process shown in Figure 10, when an idle terminal device moves from the second cell to the first cell, it can still receive paging messages scrambled with the PCI of the first cell even without receiving system information (such as SSB and SIB1) from the first cell. Compared to related technologies, where the terminal device can only obtain the PC of the first cell after receiving system information from the first cell, this reduces the missed detection rate of paging messages.

[0212] In one possible implementation, when this embodiment of the application is applied to the open O-RAN architecture shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3, the CU sends a paging message to the DU.

[0213] In another possible implementation, when this embodiment of the application is applied to a chip system, the chip system architecture can be flexibly divided to realize the transmission of paging DCI and paging messages.

[0214] Figure 11 illustrates an example of an interaction flow based on a chip system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0215] As shown in the figure, at 1101, when the system starts up or reconfigures, the BBL sends eCPRI interface signaling to the BBH through the eCPRI interface. This signaling is used to indicate the processing capabilities and conversion rules of channels such as the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), PDSCH, PDCCH, or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). This eCPRI interface signaling is a newly defined signaling based on the existing eCPRI interface, and it contains processing capability information and conversion rules for channels such as PUSCH, PDSCH, PDCCH, or PUCCH. By defining channel conversion rules, interconnection between DUs and RUs from different vendors can be easily achieved, and products from the same vendor can also facilitate decoupling in the design of DUs and RUs.

[0216] In steps 1102 and 1103, the BBH side calculates the BBL processing capacity margin based on the scheduling results of the PUSCH, PDSCH, PDCCH, or PUCCH channels within the current processing cycle, and allocates appropriate PDSCH processing tasks for the next cycle accordingly. The processing cycle involved in this step is determined by the design and can be in the millisecond or second range. The BBH notifies the BBL of the allocated PDSCH processing tasks via the eCPRI interface. PDSCH channel processing defaults to the partitioning scheme deployed on the BBH to leverage the advantages of pooled processing resources and flexible evolution.

[0217] It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the network device and terminal device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to perform each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0218] Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of terminal devices or network devices in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be one of the terminal devices 120a-120j shown in Figure 1, or it can be a base station 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or base station.

[0219] As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 includes a processing unit 1210 and a transceiver unit 1220. The communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 8, or 10.

[0220] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG5, FIG8 or FIG10: the processing unit 1210 is used to obtain paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells in a first area, the first area including a first cell; and, in the first cell, receiving a paging message through the transceiver unit 1220 at the first paging opportunity.

[0221] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG5, FIG8 or FIG10: the processing unit 1210 is used to send paging configuration information through the transceiver unit 1220, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities corresponding to the terminal device, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells in a first area, the first area including a first cell; and, in the first cell, a paging message is sent through the transceiver unit 1220 at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device.

[0222] A more detailed description of the processing unit 1210 and the transceiver unit 1220 can be obtained directly from the description in the method embodiment shown in the relevant drawings, and will not be repeated here.

[0223] As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310, or storing input data required by the processor 1310 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1310 executes instructions.

[0224] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the method shown in FIG5, FIG8 or FIG10, the processor 1310 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1210, and the interface circuit 1320 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 1220.

[0225] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the terminal device, the information being sent to the terminal device by the network device; or, the terminal chip sends information to other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the terminal device, the information being sent to the network device by the terminal device.

[0226] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The network device module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent from the terminal device to the network device. Alternatively, the network device module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent from the network device to the terminal device. The network device module here can be the baseband chip of the network device, or a DU (Digital Unit) or other modules. The DU here can be a DU under an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0227] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0228] This application provides another example of a communication device, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory coupled together. The at least one processor and the at least one memory are used to store instructions. When the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device performs the methods described in the above embodiments. Taking a communication device including a processor and a memory as an example, as shown in FIG13, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and a memory 1330. The processor 1310 and the memory 1330 are coupled together. The memory 1330 stores instructions. When the instructions stored in the memory 1330 are executed by the processor 1310, the communication device 1300 performs the methods performed by the terminal device or network device described in the above embodiments.

[0229] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a network device or a terminal device. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0230] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0231] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0232] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates a "division" relationship between the preceding and following related objects. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0233] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to terminal devices, including: Obtain paging configuration information, wherein the paging configuration information indicates M paging opportunities, the M paging opportunities include a first paging opportunity, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells in a first area, the first area includes a first cell; The paging message is received in the first cell at the first paging time.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first area is the first tracking area or the first wireless access network notification area.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The paging configuration information carries the system information of each cell in the first area.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Before the first cell receives the paging message at the first paging opportunity, the method further includes: A first signal is received in the first cell, the first signal indicating the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of the first cell; Receiving the paging message at the first paging time includes: At the first paging time, a paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell is received.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Each of the M paging opportunities has a time window that includes the first signal transmission opportunity preceding the start position of the paging opportunity. Receiving the first signal in the first cell includes: The first signal is received within a first time window, which is located before the start of the first paging opportunity.

6. The method as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, Also includes: Downlink synchronization is performed with the first cell based on the first signal.

7. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: The first indication information is received in the second cell, the first indication information indicating the time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing, the second cell being a cell within the first area; or... The time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing is pre-configured.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in the system information of the second cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second cell receives PCI from K cells, where the K cells are neighboring cells of the second cell and are cells within the first area, including the first cell, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Receiving the paging message at the first paging time includes: At the first paging time, a paging message scrambled using the PCI of the first cell is received.

10. The method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The PCI of the first cell carries the system information of the second cell.

11. A paging method, characterized in that, include: Send paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities corresponding to the terminal device, the M paging opportunities including the first paging opportunity, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein, the paging configuration information is applied to cells in a first area, the first area including the first cell; In the first cell, a paging message is sent at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The first area is the first tracking area or the first wireless access network notification area.

13. The method according to any one of claims 11-12, characterized in that, The paging configuration information carries the system information of each cell in the first area.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, Before the first cell sends the paging message at the first paging time corresponding to the terminal device, the method further includes: A first signal is transmitted in the first cell, the first signal indicating the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of the first cell; Sending a paging message at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device includes: The terminal device sends a paging message scrambled with PCI of the first cell at the first paging time.

15. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, Each of the M paging opportunities has a time window that includes the first signal transmission opportunity preceding the start position of the paging opportunity. Sending the first signal in the first cell includes: The first signal is sent within a first time window, which is located before the start of the first paging opportunity.

16. The method according to any one of claims 14-15, characterized in that, The first signal is used for downlink synchronization.

17. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, Also includes: A first indication message is sent in the second cell, the first indication message indicating the time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing, the second cell being a cell within the first area; or, The time-domain offset between the first signal and the first paging timing is pre-configured.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The first indication information is carried in the system information of the second cell.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11-18, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second cell sends PCI for K cells, where the K cells are neighboring cells of the second cell, the K cells are cells in the first area, and the K cells include the first cell, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Sending a paging message at the first paging opportunity corresponding to the terminal device includes: The terminal device sends a paging message scrambled with PCI of the first cell at the first paging time.

20. The method as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The PCI of the first cell carries the system information of the second cell.

21. A communication system, characterized in that, This includes the first network device and the terminal device; The first network device is configured to send a paging message in the first cell via a first paging timing corresponding to the terminal device; The terminal device is configured to acquire paging configuration information, the paging configuration information indicating M paging opportunities, the M paging opportunities including a first paging opportunity, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first area, the first area including a first cell; and, in the first cell, receive a paging message at the first paging opportunity.

22. The communication system as described in claim 21, characterized in that, It also includes a second network device, which is used for: The paging configuration information is sent in the second cell, which is a cell within the first area; The terminal device is specifically used to: receive the paging configuration information sent in the second cell when it is camped in the second cell.

23. The communication system according to any one of claims 21-22, characterized in that, The first network device is further configured to: send the paging configuration information in the first cell.

24. A communication system, characterized in that, Including the first network device and the second network device; The second network device is configured to send paging configuration information, wherein the paging configuration information indicates M paging opportunities corresponding to the terminal device, wherein the M paging opportunities include a first paging opportunity, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the paging configuration information is applied to cells within a first area, and the first area includes a first cell; The first network device is configured to send a paging message in the first cell via a first paging timing corresponding to the terminal device.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors are configured to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, or to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 11-20.

27. A readable storage medium, characterized in that, The readable storage medium stores a program or instructions that, when executed on the device, cause the device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11-20.

28. A chip system, characterized in that, Includes a processor for supporting a computer device in implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or in implementing the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

Images