Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: when a network device needs to page a terminal device in a non-connected state, generating first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message, the first information being used for indicating parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal being used by the terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization, and the paging message being used for paging the terminal device; and sending the first information, the first reference signal, and the paging message to the terminal device in the non-connected state. In the solution provided in the present application, a network device sends a first reference signal to a terminal device in a non-connected state when paging the terminal device in the non-connected state, so that paging optimization of the terminal device in the non-connected state is still available.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411956204.2, filed on December 25, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] For non-connected terminal devices, the terminal device needs to wake up in advance to perform time and frequency synchronization before receiving paging messages. Generally, the terminal device needs to rely on two or three synchronization signal bursts (SS bursts) to provide time and frequency offset estimation for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), which results in a long wake-up time and high power consumption before the terminal device receives the paging occasion (PO).

[0004] To reduce the power consumption caused by time-frequency synchronization required for waking up terminal devices, time-frequency synchronization can be performed using a tracking reference signal (TRS). When connected terminal devices exist in a cell, the network device periodically sends a TRS to notify non-connected terminal devices of the TRS configuration of the connected terminal devices. This reduces the number of SS bursts required before the terminal device receives paging messages, thereby reducing the wake-up time and optimizing paging for the terminal device. However, the periodic sending of TRS by the network device results in high power consumption. To further save power, the periodic sending of TRS could be cancelled. However, if the periodic sending of TRS is cancelled, no TRS will be available when non-connected terminal devices need it, thus rendering paging optimization unavailable for non-connected terminal devices. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device, in which a network device sends first information and a first reference signal to a non-connected terminal device while paging the non-connected terminal device, thereby ensuring that paging optimization for the non-connected terminal device remains available.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method that can be applied to the network side, such as a network or a communication module within a network, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) responsible for communication functions within the network. Taking the application of this method to a network device as an example, in this method, when the network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, it generates first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of the terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the terminal device; and sends the first information, the first reference signal, and the paging message to the non-connected terminal device.

[0007] In this embodiment, when a network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, the network device sends a first message, a first reference signal, and a paging message to the non-connected terminal device. This facilitates the non-connected terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal and receive the paging message after time-frequency synchronization. This ensures that the non-connected terminal device has a usable first reference signal before receiving the paging message, thereby reducing the number of SS bursts required before the terminal device receives the paging message and reducing the wake-up time required by the non-connected terminal device. This, in turn, helps to reduce the power consumption of the non-connected terminal device. Thus, the paging optimization of the non-connected terminal device can still be used, thereby achieving energy saving.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the parameters include at least one of the following: a first time-domain resource, a first frequency-domain resource, and a quantity r.

[0009] In this embodiment, the parameters of the first reference signal include at least one of the above-mentioned parameters, which is beneficial for the non-connected terminal device to determine the specific location of the first reference signal based on the specific parameters of the first reference signal indicated by the first information. This is beneficial to improving the accuracy of time-frequency synchronization of the terminal device, and further beneficial to improving the probability of the terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the first time-domain resource precedes the second time-domain resource, which is the time-domain resource for transmitting paging messages; the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource and the start position of the second time-domain resource is less than or equal to the time-domain resource for which the first reference signal is synchronized.

[0011] In this embodiment, since the time domain resources between the end position of the first time domain resource and the start position of the second time domain resource are less than or equal to the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized, when the terminal device starts receiving the paging message at the start position of the second time domain resource, the time domain resources corresponding to the time domain resources for which the terminal device starts receiving the paging message are within the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized. This helps to ensure that the terminal device correctly receives the paging message, thereby increasing the probability that the terminal device successfully receives the paging message.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the paging message includes the identifiers (IDs) of n non-connected terminal devices, the n non-connected terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, r≤m, and m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1 and m≤n.

[0013] In this way, when the number of first reference signals r equals m, it is beneficial for the n terminal devices to perform time-frequency synchronization based on m first reference signals; when the number of first reference signals r is less than m, it is beneficial for the n terminal devices to perform time-frequency synchronization based on at least one first reference signal whose value is less than m; thus, under different circumstances, it is beneficial to ensure the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device, and further beneficial to improve the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, when r is a value greater than or equal to 2, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously activated.

[0015] In this embodiment, since the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective, the time-domain positions of these multiple first reference signals may also be different when the time-frequency resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective are different. This is beneficial for each terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal that is closest to the corresponding paging timing in the time domain, thereby ensuring the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device and thus improving the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, if the time-domain resource in which the i-th first reference signal is synchronously effective is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the i-th first reference signal and the start position of the first paging occasion after the i-th first reference signal in the time-domain resource, r = m, and two adjacent first reference signals are separated by 1 paging occasion in the time domain; or, if the time-domain resource in which the i-th first reference signal is synchronously effective is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the i-th first reference signal and the start position of the k-th paging occasion after the i-th first reference signal in the time-domain resource, r < m, and two adjacent first reference signals are separated by k paging occasions in the time domain, where 1 ≤ i ≤ r and 2 ≤ k ≤ m.

[0017] In the embodiments of the present application, when m = n, when two adjacent first reference signals are separated by 1 paging occasion in the time domain, it is beneficial for each terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization based on different first reference signals. When two adjacent first reference signals are separated by k paging occasions in the time domain, it is beneficial for at least two terminal devices to perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal; when m < n, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal; thus, it is beneficial to ensure the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device in different situations, and further beneficial to improve the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip in the terminal responsible for communication functions (such as a modulation and demodulation chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip or system-in-package chip including a modulation and demodulation core). Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, in this method, the terminal device is a non-connected terminal device, and the terminal device receives a first piece of information, a first reference signal, and a paging message from a network device. The first piece of information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for the non-connected terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization, and the paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device.

[0019] Since the non-connected terminal device in the embodiments of the present application receives the paging message after performing time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal, it can ensure that there is an available first reference signal before the non-connected terminal device receives the paging message, reduce the number of SS bursts required before the terminal device receives the paging message, thereby reducing the wake-up time required by the non-connected terminal device, and thus reducing the power consumption of the non-connected terminal device. In this way, the paging optimization of the non-connected terminal device can still be available, and further an energy-saving effect can be achieved.

[0020] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the parameters include at least one of the following: a first time-domain resource, a first frequency-domain resource, and a quantity r.

[0021] In this embodiment of the application, the parameters of the first reference signal include at least one of the above. The non-connected terminal device determines the specific location of the first reference signal according to the specific parameters of the first reference signal indicated by the first information. In this way, the terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the corresponding first reference signal, thereby improving the accuracy of time-frequency synchronization of the terminal device and thus increasing the probability that the terminal device correctly receives paging messages.

[0022] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first time-domain resource precedes the second time-domain resource, which is the time-domain resource for transmitting paging messages; the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource and the start position of the second time-domain resource is less than or equal to the time-domain resource for which the first reference signal is synchronized.

[0023] In this embodiment, since the time domain resources between the end position of the first time domain resource and the start position of the second time domain resource are less than or equal to the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized, when the terminal device starts receiving the paging message at the start position of the second time domain resource, the time domain resources corresponding to the terminal device starting to receive the paging message are within the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized. This ensures that the terminal device correctly receives the paging message, thereby increasing the probability that the terminal device successfully receives the paging message.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the paging message includes the IDs of n disconnected terminal devices, the n disconnected terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, r≤m, and m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1 and m≤n.

[0025] In this way, when the number of first reference signals is equal to m, these n terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the m first reference signals; when the number of first reference signals is less than m, these n terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on at least one first reference signal whose value is less than m; thus, the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device can be guaranteed under different conditions, which is beneficial to improving the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0026] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, when r is a value greater than or equal to 2, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously activated.

[0027] In the embodiments of the present application, since the time-domain positions of multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronized and take effect, when the time-frequency resources in which the first reference signals are synchronized and take effect are different, the time-domain positions of these multiple first signals may also be different. Each terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal that is the closest and before the corresponding paging occasion in the time domain, thereby ensuring the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization for each terminal device, and further improving the probability that each terminal device correctly receives a paging message.

[0028] Combined with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, combined with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, if the time-domain resources in which the i-th first reference signal is synchronized and takes effect are equal to the time-domain resources between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the i-th first reference signal and the start position of the first paging occasion after the i-th first reference signal in the time-domain resources, r = m, and the time-domain interval between two adjacent first reference signals is 1 paging occasion; or, if the time-domain resources in which the i-th first reference signal is synchronized and takes effect are equal to the time-domain resources between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the i-th first reference signal and the start position of the k-th paging occasion after the i-th first reference signal in the time-domain resources, r < m, and the time-domain interval between two adjacent first reference signals is k paging occasions, where 1 ≤ i ≤ r and 2 ≤ k ≤ m.

[0029] In the embodiments of the present application, when m = n, when the time-domain interval between two adjacent first reference signals is 1 paging occasion, each terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on different first reference signals; when the time-domain interval between two adjacent first reference signals is k paging occasions, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal; when m < n, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal; thereby ensuring the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization for each terminal device in different situations, which is beneficial to improving the probability that each terminal device correctly receives a paging message.

[0030] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device that implements the functions described in the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first aspect. These modules, units, or means can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The beneficial effects are described in the first aspect and will not be repeated here. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processing unit, used to generate first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message when paging a non-connected terminal device is required. The first information indicates the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of the terminal device, and the paging message is used to paging the terminal device; and a communication unit, used to send the first information, the first reference signal, and the paging message to the non-connected terminal device. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect, as described in the detailed description in the method examples and will not be repeated here.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a network device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0032] In another possible implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication equipment (such as network equipment). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0033] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device that implements the functions described in the second aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second aspect. These modules, units, or means can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The beneficial effects are described in the second aspect and will not be repeated here. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a communication unit for receiving first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message from a network device. The first information indicates parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of a non-connected terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device. These units can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the second aspect above, as detailed in the method examples and will not be repeated here.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for a communication device (such as a terminal device). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for a communication device, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0036] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device including at least one processor for executing computer programs or instructions to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects or any possible implementations of the first to second aspects. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface coupled to the processor, which can be used to input computer programs or instructions to the processor or to output information from the processor.

[0037] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0038] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system or circuit or communication module for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment).

[0039] A sixth aspect provides a processor for executing the methods provided in the first to second aspects or any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0040] Unless otherwise specified, or if it does not contradict its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, the transmission and acquisition / reception operations involved in the processor can be understood as processor output and reception, input and other operations, or as transmission and reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when read and executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0042] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product that, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects or any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0043] Ninth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, the processor reading instructions from a memory through the communication interface and executing the method provided by the first aspect to the second aspect or any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0044] Optionally, as one implementation, the chip also includes a memory storing computer programs or instructions, and a processor for executing the computer programs or instructions in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided by the first to second aspects or any one of the first to second aspects described above.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system including means having a method for implementing any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the second aspect, or all the possible implementations of the first aspect to the second aspect, and various possible design functions. Attached Figure Description

[0046] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0047] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0048] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of time-domain resources.

[0049] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the time and frequency domain structure of SSB.

[0050] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of beam scanning of SSB.

[0051] Figure 6 is a timing diagram of the paging terminal device.

[0052] Figures 7 and 8 are timing diagrams of paging terminal devices before and after enabling TRS.

[0053] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0054] Figure 10 is another timing diagram of the paging terminal equipment.

[0055] Figure 11 is another timing diagram of the paging terminal device.

[0056] Figure 12 is another timing diagram of the paging terminal device.

[0057] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0058] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0059] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a chip system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0060] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 10 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100, wherein the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes can be interconnected via wired or wireless means. The communication system 10 may also include a core network 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 via wireless or wired means. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent and different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network equipment and the logical functions of the RAN node. Communication system 10 may also include Internet 300.

[0062] RAN100 can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system as defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), or it can be a WiFi system. RAN100 can also include two or more of the above-mentioned different radio access systems. RAN100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0063] RAN nodes, also known as radio access network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes, are used to help terminals access communication systems wirelessly. In one application scenario, an RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. 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.

[0064] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing different functions of the base station. For example, a RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium / media access control (MAC) layer, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For specific descriptions of these protocol layers, refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement radio frequency signal transmission and reception. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as within a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). CUs can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane (CP) and CU-user plane (UP).

[0065] The CU (Core Unit) is a platform that performs upper-layer L2 and L3 functions. Midhaul and Backhaul interfaces carry traffic between the CU and DU (Desktop Unit), as well as between the CU and the core network. The DU performs L1 and some L2 functions, while the RU (Realtory Unit) 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. The CU / DU hardware includes a chassis platform, motherboard, peripherals, and cooling. The motherboard contains processing units, memory, internal I / O interfaces, and external connection ports. Its hardware accelerator is designed with interfaces, and hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller.

[0066] 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 hardware accelerator based on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) / graphics processing unit (GPU); or 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 PCIe interface pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) and external connections via GbE.

[0067] The RU comprises three parts: the O-RAN processing unit (O-PU), the O-RU's digital processing unit (DPU), and the O-RAN radio unit (O-RU). The O-PU receives eCPRI frames from the O-RAN fronthaul and performs fronthaul interface operations, the lowest-level L1 layer (coding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. The O-PU can be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The DPU performs synchronization, digital downconversion (DDC), digital upconversion (DUC), crest factor reduction (CFR), and digital pre-distortion (DPD), improving 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 transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains can be performed within the transceiver module; for example, RF sampling, frequency conversion using RF in up-conversion and down-conversion, and mixing of intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO). Note that physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0068] In some examples, the CU can be split into a centralized unit-control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit-user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is a logical node carrying the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the control plane part of PDCP (PDCP-C) layer, used to implement the CU's control plane functions. The CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. The CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and the user plane part of PDCP (PDCP-U) layer, used to implement the CU's user plane functions. The CU-UP can also interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. The above CU and DU configurations are merely examples; the functions of the CU and DU can be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or it can be configured to have partial protocol layer processing functions. For example, some functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer can be placed in the CU, while the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer can be placed in the DU. Another example is that the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to service type or other system requirements. For instance, based on latency, functions that need to meet low latency requirements can be placed in the DU, while functions that do not need to meet such latency requirements can be placed in the CU.

[0069] In some examples, a DU is a logical node that carries the RLC layer, MAC layer, higher physical layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, a DU can control at least one RU. The DU connects to the RU through interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation.

[0070] In some examples, the RU is a logical node carrying both the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and RF processing. In some examples, the RU can be a 3GPP TRP, a remote radio head (RRH), or other similar entity. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes PHY processing functions such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering. The RU communicates with one or more UEs via a radio link.

[0071] The DU and RU can be co-located or not. The DU and RU exchange control plane and user plane information via a fronthaul link through a lower-layer split-control, user, and synchronization (LLS-CUS) interface. LLS-CUS may include interfaces providing control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane) information, respectively. In some examples, the control plane refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via a fronthaul link interface (such as a lower-layer split-management (LLS-M) interface); the user plane refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0072] DU and RU can cooperate to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of DU and RU can be configured in various ways depending on the design. For example, a DU can be configured to implement baseband functions, and an RU can be configured to implement mid-RF functions. Another example is that a DU can be configured to implement higher-level functions in the PHY layer, and an RU can be configured to implement lower-level functions in the PHY layer, or to implement both lower-level and RF functions. Higher-level functions in the physical layer can include a portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the MAC layer, while lower-level functions in the physical layer can include another portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the mid-RF side.

[0073] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and an RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN nodes in the embodiments of this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. For example, a RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software modules. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the RAN nodes. For ease of description, a base station is used as an example of a RAN node in the following description.

[0074] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, capable of sending signals to or receiving signals from a base station. Terminals can also be called terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals 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, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal.

[0075] Base stations and terminals can be fixed 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 satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base stations and terminals.

[0076] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, terminal 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0077] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to this application. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. This network architecture may include, but is not limited to, the following network elements (or functional network elements, functional entities, nodes, devices, etc.): UE, (R)AN, user plane function (UPF) network elements, data network (DN), access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, application function (AF) network elements, network slice selection function (NSSF), authentication server function (AUSF), unified data management (UDM) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements, unified data repository (UDR) network elements, etc.

[0078] The following is a brief introduction to each network element shown in Figure 2:

[0079] 1. UE: A terminal communicating with (R)AN can also be referred to as a terminal device, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment, etc. In this application, the terminal device may have sensing capabilities. For example, the radio frequency module of the terminal device can transmit radio frequency signals and then understand the environment by receiving and processing reflected signals. Therefore, in this application, the terminal device may also perform sensing data detection and / or collection.

[0080] 2. (R)AN: RAN is used to provide network access functionality for authorized terminal equipment in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels of different quality according to the terminal equipment's level and service requirements. RAN can manage radio resources, provide access services for terminal equipment, and thus complete the forwarding of control signals and terminal equipment data between the terminal equipment and the CN. RAN can also be understood as a base station in a traditional network. In this application, when the base station uses the millimeter-wave frequency band for wireless communication, the base station will naturally possess radar-like sensing capabilities, that is, the base station will simultaneously possess wireless communication capabilities and sensing capabilities. Therefore, RAN can detect and / or collect sensing data, and the RAN in this application can also be called a communication radar integrated base station, which can not only achieve communication service coverage for ground users, but also detect flying targets such as drones, helicopters, and birds, as well as ground traffic flow and pedestrians.

[0081] 3. UPF: Includes user plane functions such as packet routing and transmission, packet inspection, service usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing, legality monitoring, uplink packet inspection, and downlink packet storage.

[0082] 4. DN: The network used to provide data transmission. After a terminal device accesses the network, it can establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session and access the DN through the PDU session, interacting with application function network elements deployed in the DN. Depending on the DN accessed by the user, the network can select the UPF accessing the DN as the PDU Session Anchor (PSA) according to network policies, and access application function network elements through the N6 interface of the PSA.

[0083] 5. AMF: Primarily used for mobility management and access management, it can be used to implement functions other than session management in the mobility management entity (MME) functions, such as legality monitoring and access authorization / authentication.

[0084] 6. SMF: Primarily used for session management, allocation and management of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for terminal devices, selection of manageable terminal device plane functions, endpoints for policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification, etc.

[0085] 7. PCF: A unified policy framework used to guide network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.).

[0086] 8. AF: Application Function Network Elements can interact with the 5G system to access network open function network elements or interact with the policy framework for policy control, etc.

[0087] 9. NSSF: Main functions include: selecting a set of network slice instances for the UE, determining the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), and determining the set of AMFs that can serve the UE.

[0088] 10. AUSF: Used for authentication services, generating keys to achieve two-way authentication of terminal devices, and supporting a unified authentication framework.

[0089] 11. UDM / UDR: Used for handling terminal device identification, access authentication, registration, and mobility management, etc., and can refer to a user database. It can exist as a single logical repository for storing user data.

[0090] 12. NEF: Used to provide customized functions for network access. 5G communication systems can also use NEF network elements to expose the capabilities supported by 5GC to external application function network elements, such as providing small data transmission capabilities.

[0091] It is understandable that the aforementioned network elements or functions can be physical entities in hardware devices, software instances running on dedicated hardware, or virtualization functions instantiated on a shared platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Simply put, an NF can be implemented in hardware or software.

[0092] In Figure 2, Nnssf, Nnef, Nnrf, Npcf, Nudm, Nudr, Naf, Nausf, Namf, Nsmf, N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9 are interface sequence numbers. For example, the meanings of these interface sequence numbers can be found in the 3GPP standard protocols, and this application does not limit the meaning of these interface sequence numbers. It should be noted that the interface names between the various network functions in Figure 2 are merely examples; in specific implementations, the interface names of this system architecture may be other names, and this application does not limit them. Furthermore, the names of the messages (or signaling) transmitted between the various network elements are also merely examples and do not constitute any limitation on the function of the messages themselves.

[0093] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals 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.

[0094] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station 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 can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0095] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a radio connection on a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a radio connection is called the terminal's serving cell. When the terminal communicates with this serving cell, it is also susceptible to interference from signals from neighboring cells.

[0096] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device or access network device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on top of the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a CPU, memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. Furthermore, the embodiments of this application do not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. For example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be a terminal device, or a functional module in the terminal device that can call and execute a program.

[0097] Furthermore, various aspects or features of this application may be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. As used herein, the term "article of manufacture" encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. The various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable storage media for storing information. The term "machine-readable storage medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0098] It should be understood that the methods, situations, categories, and classifications of embodiments in this application are for the convenience of description only and should not constitute a special limitation. Various methods, categories, situations, and features in embodiments can be combined without contradiction.

[0099] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the basic concepts involved in this application will be explained first.

[0100] 1. UE's RRC status

[0101] The RRC states of a UE include connected, inactive, and idle states. Both the inactive and idle states are disconnected states.

[0102] For a UE in connected state, there is a connection between the UE and the gNodeB, and also between the gNodeB and the 5GC. This connected state can also be called the active state. For a UE in inactive state, the connection between the UE and the gNodeB is suspended, but the connection between the gNodeB and the 5GC remains. For a UE in idle state, the connection between the UE and the gNodeB is released, and the connection between the gNodeB and the 5GC is also released.

[0103] 2. Time-domain resources

[0104] Taking 5G NR as an example, referring to Figure 3, in the time domain, the frame structure of 5G NR includes: frame, subframe, slot, and symbol. The frame length is 10ms, and the frame number ranges from 0 to 1023; the subframe length is 1ms, and the subframe number ranges from 0 to 9; the slot: under normal CP conditions, each slot contains 14 symbols, and under extended CP conditions, each slot contains 12 symbols; the symbol: the symbol length is not fixed and is related to the sub-carrier space (SCS).

[0105] In the 5G NR data domain, the scheduling time unit is the time slot. Although the number of symbols in each time slot is fixed, the length of the symbols is related to the Subcarrier Spaced Cross (SCC), therefore the length of the time slot is not fixed. The length of the time slot decreases as the subcarrier spacing increases. For example, when the SCS = 15kHz, the length of one time slot is 1ms; while when the SCS = 120kHz, the length of one time slot is 0.125ms.

[0106] 3. Synchronization signal / PBCH block (SS / PBCH block)

[0107] The SS / PBCH block, also known as the SSB, includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and physical broadcast channel (PBCH). When a terminal device moves within the system, it continuously performs cell search and measurement based on the SSB, selecting an appropriate SSB beam to achieve initial access and mobility management. Each SSB occupies four consecutive symbols in the time domain and 20 resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain, which is equivalent to 240 subcarriers.

[0108] The PSS and SSS occupy 127 subcarriers in the first symbol and the third symbol of the SSB, respectively. These 127 subcarriers include subcarriers 56 to 182. The PBCH occupies the second and fourth symbols of the entire SSB. In addition, the PBCH occupies 48 subcarriers at each end of the third symbol, namely subcarriers 0 to 47 and subcarriers 192 to 239 of the third symbol. The PBCH includes the demodulation reference signal (DMRS), as shown in Figure 4.

[0109] The terminal device obtains the master information block (MIB) from the PBCH, thereby acquiring basic information about the cell, such as whether access is prohibited, as well as the location information of system information blocks 1 (SIB1). After obtaining the location information of SIB1 according to the MIB information, the UE obtains the SIB1 information at the corresponding location, and acquires the remaining basic information required for cell selection during initial network access, as well as scheduling information of other SIBs. SIB1 can also be referred to as remaining minimum system information (RMSI).

[0110] In NR, SSBs are transmitted in the form of beam scanning. Specifically, a network device can transmit a beam direction at a certain moment, and transmit different beams at multiple moments to cover the direction required for the entire cell, as shown in Figure 5. Let N be the total number of SSBs transmitted in different beam velocity directions in a certain round of beam scanning. Then, the total number of beams transmitted in this round is called the SS burst set.

[0111] For connected UEs in 5G NR, network devices locate the terminal device through a paging process. 5G paging has two triggering methods. The first triggering method originates from the 5GC and is called 5GC paging. When downlink data arrives at an idle UE, the 5GC sends a paging message to page the UE. The second triggering method originates from the gNodeB and is called RAN paging. When downlink data arrives at an inactive UE, the gNodeB pages the UE via a paging message.

[0112] The paging message content is sent to the terminal device via the PDSCH resource location, which is indicated by scrambling the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) with the paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI). In other words, to receive a paging message, the terminal device first monitors the PDCCH channel, then parses the downlink control information (DCI), further obtaining the time-frequency location of the PDSCH channel from the DCI, and finally parses the paging message content at the corresponding time-frequency location of the PDSCH channel. The terminal device can use discontinuous reception (DRX) in idle or inactive mode to reduce power consumption. For example, the terminal device periodically wakes up to monitor the PDCCH channel and receives paging messages at fixed time-domain locations. These fixed time-domain locations are called POs, and the radio frames containing these POs are called paging frames (PF). The terminal device can determine the PF and PO locations using relevant formulas.

[0113] The NR paging timing diagram is shown in Figure 6. Before receiving a paging message, the terminal device needs to wake up in advance for time-frequency synchronization. In the NR system, time-frequency synchronization is performed via SS bursts, with a default period of 20ms. The terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization using two or three SS bursts. Furthermore, the SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window defines the duration and period for limiting UE measurements on specific resources. During the SMTC period, the UE will perform radio link monitoring / radio resource management measurements on the configured SSB. However, under this scheme, the terminal device relies on two or three SS bursts to provide time-frequency offset estimation for the paging PDSCH, resulting in a longer wake-up time before PO reception and higher power consumption.

[0114] To reduce the time and power consumption caused by time-frequency synchronization required to wake up the UE, time-frequency synchronization can be performed through TRS. When there are connected terminal devices in the cell, the gNodeB will periodically send TRS, which can notify the idle or inactive terminal devices of the TRS configuration of the connected terminal devices. As an auxiliary TRS for such terminal devices, it increases the density of the reference signal used for time-frequency synchronization by the idle or inactive terminal devices in the time dimension. This can reduce the number of SS bursts required before receiving paging messages, thereby reducing the wake-up time required by the terminal devices and achieving the goal of reducing the power consumption of the terminal devices.

[0115] Figures 7 and 8 show the processing timelines of the idle or inactive terminal before and after the auxiliary TRS function is enabled. Figure 7 corresponds to the scenario where auxiliary TRS is not enabled; it can be seen that the terminal device needs to receive three SS Bursts for time-frequency synchronization before it can receive paging messages. Figure 8 corresponds to the scenario where auxiliary TRS is enabled; the terminal device only needs to receive one SS burst and one TRS to meet the conditions for receiving paging messages.

[0116] However, the periodic transmission of TRS by the gNodeB results in high power consumption. To further conserve power, the periodic transmission of TRS could be eliminated. However, eliminating the periodic transmission of TRS would mean that when a disconnected UE needs TRS, no TRS is available, thus rendering paging optimization unavailable for disconnected UEs. For example, if the gNodeB transmits TRS only when a connected UE has data transmission and not when there is no data transmission, and the gNodeB needs to send downlink data to a disconnected UE, but the connected UE has no data transmission at that time, the gNodeB will not send TRS. This would result in a lack of available TRS for the disconnected UE, making paging optimization unavailable for disconnected UEs.

[0117] Therefore, this application provides a communication method in which a network device sends a TRS to a non-connected UE while paging the non-connected UE, so that paging optimization for the non-connected UE can still be used.

[0118] It should be understood that the communication method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to systems that communicate using multi-antenna technology, such as the communication system 10 shown in FIG1. ​​This communication system may include at least one network device and at least one terminal device.

[0119] The communication between different devices involved in the embodiments of this application can refer to direct communication between different devices (i.e., without the need for relaying or forwarding by other devices), or communication between different devices through other devices (i.e., requiring relaying or forwarding by other devices), or communication between a functional unit within a device and other devices through another functional unit. In other words, "sending information to a terminal device" in this application can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the terminal device. "Receiving information from a network device" can be understood as the source of the information being the network device, and can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the network device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, digital-to-analog conversion, amplification, filtering, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0120] Figure 9 illustrates a communication method 900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication method 900 may include steps 910 to 930.

[0121] 910. When a network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, it generates first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time and frequency synchronization of the terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the terminal device.

[0122] 920, send the first information, the first reference signal and the paging message to the non-connected terminal device.

[0123] In this embodiment, steps 910-920 can be executed by a network device, a module of the network device (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor), or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. For ease of description, the following will uniformly use a network device as an example.

[0124] In this embodiment, the terminal device is a disconnected terminal device, meaning its RRC state is disconnected. The disconnected state includes an inactive state or an idle state. In other words, the terminal device in this embodiment can be an inactive terminal device or an idle terminal device.

[0125] In this application, the network device can be an access network device. In a real-world scenario, for an inactive terminal device, when the access network device receives downlink data from the core network device, and this downlink data is intended for transmission to the inactive terminal device, since the destination of the downlink data is the inactive terminal device, and the connection between the access network device and the inactive terminal device is suspended, the access network device cannot directly send the downlink data to the terminal device. Therefore, the access network device needs to page the terminal device. To ensure that the terminal device can correctly receive the paging message, the access network device can also send time-frequency synchronization information, namely, first information and a first reference signal, to the terminal device.

[0126] For idle terminal devices, when the core network device needs to send downlink data to the terminal device, since the destination of the downlink data is the idle terminal device, and the connection between the core network device and the access network device is released, and the connection between the access network device and the idle terminal device is also released, the core network device cannot directly send downlink data. Therefore, the core network device needs to page the terminal device, and the core network device can send a paging message to the access network device. To ensure that the terminal device can correctly receive the paging message, the access network device can also send time-frequency synchronization information to the terminal device, namely, first information and a first reference signal.

[0127] In the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be a TRS, and the first information is used to indicate the parameters of the TRS. The specific contents of these parameters are detailed below and will not be described here.

[0128] 930, receive the first information, first reference signal and paging message from the network device.

[0129] In this embodiment, step 930 can be executed by the terminal device (whose RRC state is disconnected), by a module of the terminal device (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor), or by a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. For ease of description, the terminal device will be used as an example below.

[0130] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, since the terminal device's RRC state is in a disconnected state, the terminal device periodically wakes up to receive information (including first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message). It is possible that when the information sent by the network device reaches the disconnected terminal device, the terminal device is in a sleep state, resulting in the terminal device not receiving the information. Therefore, the terminal device will not send feedback information to the network device. When the network device does not receive feedback information from the terminal device, it indicates that the terminal device has not received the information. Therefore, the network device can resend the information. If the resent information reaches the disconnected terminal device just as it has woken up, the terminal device can receive the information. Thus, the terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal and receive the paging message after time-frequency synchronization.

[0131] In this application embodiment, the first information can be a DCI or a paging early indication (PEI). When the first reference signal is a TRS, the DCI or PEI is used to indicate the parameters of the TRS, and the terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the parameters of the TRS indicated by the DCI or PEI. In this application, the paging message can be carried in the PDSCH, so the network device can indicate the time-frequency position of the PDSCH, and the terminal device can parse it at the corresponding time-frequency position to obtain the paging message.

[0132] In this embodiment, when a network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, the network device sends first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message to the non-connected terminal device. After receiving the information, the non-connected terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal and then receive the paging message. Because the non-connected terminal device receives the paging message after time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal in this embodiment, it can ensure that a usable first reference signal is available before the non-connected terminal device receives the paging message. This reduces the wake-up time required by the non-connected terminal device, thereby reducing its power consumption. This ensures that paging optimization for the non-connected terminal device remains available, thus achieving energy savings.

[0133] It should be noted that in some embodiments, the parameters of the paging message can also be indicated by the first information. In this case, when the network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, the network device can generate the first information and the first reference signal. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, and the first information is used to indicate the parameters of the paging message. After the terminal device receives the first information and the first reference signal, it can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the parameters of the first reference signal indicated by the first information and the first reference signal. After time-frequency synchronization, it can receive the paging message according to the parameters of the paging message indicated by the first information (these parameters may include, for example, time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources).

[0134] The parameters of the first reference signal will be explained in detail below.

[0135] Optionally, in one embodiment, the parameters of the first reference signal include at least one of the following: a first time-domain resource, a first frequency-domain resource, and a quantity r.

[0136] In this embodiment, the first information can indicate a first time-domain resource for the first reference signal, which can be understood as the first information indicating a first time-domain resource used to transmit the first reference signal, so that the terminal device can receive the first reference signal on the first time-domain resource. Similarly, the first information can indicate a first frequency-domain resource for the first reference signal, which can be understood as the first information indicating a first frequency-domain resource used to transmit the first reference signal, so that the terminal device can receive the first reference signal on the first frequency-domain resource. Furthermore, the first information can also indicate the number of first reference signals, for example, the first information indicating that the number of first reference signals is 1, 3, 4, etc.

[0137] It is understandable that when there are multiple first reference signals r, the first information can also indicate the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources of these multiple first reference signals.

[0138] For example, when the number of first reference signals r is 3, the first information can directly indicate the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources of these 3 first reference signals, or the first information can also indirectly indicate the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources of these 3 first reference signals.

[0139] Assuming that the three reference signals are first reference signal 1, first reference signal 2, and first reference signal 3 respectively, the first information can directly indicate the specific location of the time-domain and / or frequency-domain resources of first reference signal 1, the specific location of the time-domain and / or frequency-domain resources of first reference signal 2, and the specific location of the time-domain and / or frequency-domain resources of first reference signal 3.

[0140] Alternatively, the first information indicates the specific location of the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources of the first reference signal 1, wherein the first reference signal 2 is located after the first reference signal 1 in the time domain and its time-domain resources are 10 time slots away from the first reference signal 1, and the first reference signal 3 is located after the first reference signal 2 in the time domain and its time-domain resources are 10 time slots away from the first reference signal 2.

[0141] The frequency domain resources of the multiple first reference signals in the embodiments of this application may be the same or different, and are not limited thereto. Taking the above three first reference signals as an example, the frequency domain resources of these three first reference signals may all be located on subcarrier 0, or the frequency domain resources of these three first reference signals may be located on subcarrier 0, subcarrier 1, and subcarrier 2 respectively, or the two first reference signals, first reference signal 1 and first reference signal 2, may be located on subcarrier 0, and first reference signal 3 may be located on subcarrier 1.

[0142] In this embodiment, the non-connected terminal device determines the specific location of the first reference signal based on the specific parameters of the first reference signal indicated by the first information. In this way, the terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the corresponding first reference signal, thereby improving the accuracy of time-frequency synchronization and increasing the probability that the terminal device can correctly receive paging messages.

[0143] Optionally, in one embodiment, the first time-domain resource precedes the second time-domain resource, which is the time-domain resource for transmitting paging messages. The time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource and the start position of the second time-domain resource is less than or equal to the time-domain resource for which the first reference signal is synchronized.

[0144] In this embodiment, the starting position of the time domain resource where the first reference signal is synchronized is the ending position of the first time domain resource. When the terminal device receives a paging message within the time domain resource where the first reference signal is synchronized, it can correctly receive the paging message. If the terminal device receives a paging message after the time domain resource where the first reference signal is synchronized, the terminal device may not be able to correctly receive the paging message.

[0145] Referring to Figure 10(a), the first time-domain resource is time-domain resource 1, and the second time-domain resource is time-domain resource 2. The time-domain resource between the end position of time-domain resource 1 (i.e., time t3) and the start position of the time-domain resource (i.e., time t2) is X. X is less than the time-domain resource for the first reference signal synchronization. For example, assuming that the time-domain resource for the first reference signal synchronization is 10 time slots, then X ≤ 10. If X = 5, after the terminal device performs time-frequency synchronization based on TRS, it can receive the paging message in the 5th time slot after the end position of the TRS time-domain resource, thus ensuring the probability of the terminal device successfully receiving the paging message.

[0146] Referring to Figure 10(b), assuming that the time domain resources for the first reference signal synchronization are 10 time slots, if X = 15, after the terminal device performs time-frequency synchronization based on TRS, the terminal device receives the paging message in the 15th time slot after the end position of the time domain resources of TRS. Since the time domain resources for the terminal device to receive the paging message have exceeded the time domain resources for the first reference signal synchronization, there is a deviation between the time domain resources of the terminal device and the network device. At this time, when the terminal device receives the paging message in the 15th time slot after the end position of the time domain resources of TRS, the terminal device may not be able to receive the paging message correctly, resulting in a low probability of the terminal device successfully receiving the paging message.

[0147] In this embodiment, since the time domain resources between the end position of the first time domain resource and the start position of the second time domain resource are less than or equal to the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized, when the terminal device starts receiving the paging message at the start position of the second time domain resource, the time domain resources corresponding to the terminal device starting to receive the paging message are within the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized. This ensures that the terminal device correctly receives the paging message, thereby increasing the probability that the terminal device successfully receives the paging message.

[0148] In some cases, network devices need to send downlink data to multiple disconnected terminal devices, in which case the network device needs to page these multiple disconnected terminal devices. Optionally, in one embodiment, the paging message includes the identifiers (IDs) of n terminal devices, the n terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, r≤m, and m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1 and m≤n.

[0149] In this embodiment, when a network device needs to send downlink data to n disconnected terminal devices, the paging message may include the IDs of the n terminal devices, indicating that the network device is searching for these n disconnected terminal devices. The n terminal devices can correspond to m paging opportunities. When one paging opportunity is used to page one terminal device, then m = n; when one paging opportunity is used to page at least two terminal devices, then m < n.

[0150] For example, taking n=3, the paging message can include the IDs of three terminal devices: Terminal Device 1, Terminal Device 2, and Terminal Device 3, with corresponding IDs ID1, ID2, and ID3. These three terminal devices can correspond to m paging opportunities, where m is a value less than or equal to 3, such as m=1, m=2, or m=3. Furthermore, the number of first reference signals is a value less than or equal to m. When m=1, the number of first reference signals is less than or equal to 1; when m=2, the number of first reference signals is less than or equal to 2; and when m=3, the number of first reference signals is less than or equal to 3.

[0151] The specific number of first reference signals is related to the location of the paging timing. Taking the paging message containing the IDs of three terminal devices and these three terminal devices corresponding to three paging timings as an example, when two adjacent paging timings are far apart in the time domain, different terminal devices cannot use the same first reference signal for time-frequency synchronization. In this case, the number r of the first reference signals is 3, as shown in Figure 11(a). These three first reference signals are TRS1, TRS2, and TRS3, respectively. In this way, each terminal device performs time-frequency synchronization according to different first reference signals and receives the paging message at the corresponding paging timing. That is, terminal device 1 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS1 and receives the paging message at PO1; terminal device 2 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS2 and receives the paging message at PO2; and terminal device 3 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS3 and receives the paging message at PO3.

[0152] When two of the three paging opportunities are close in time in the time domain, different terminal devices can use the same first reference signal for time-frequency synchronization. In this case, the number of first reference signals r is less than 3, such as 1 or 2. When the number of first reference signals is 2, as shown in Figure 11(b), these two first reference signals are TRS1 and TRS2, respectively. In this way, the terminal devices corresponding to two adjacent paging opportunities that are close in time in the time domain can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal and receive paging messages at the corresponding paging opportunities. That is, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 perform time-frequency synchronization based on TRS1 and receive paging messages at PO1 and PO2, respectively; terminal device 3 performs time-frequency synchronization based on TRS3 and receives paging messages at PO3.

[0153] It should be understood that when a paging message includes the IDs of four terminal devices and these four terminal devices correspond to three paging times, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same first reference signal. Taking Figure 11(a) as an example, assuming that the four terminal devices are terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, and terminal device 4, since these four terminal devices correspond to three paging times, two of these four terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the same TRS, and these two terminal devices receive paging messages based on the same PO. For example, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 perform time-frequency synchronization based on TRS1 and receive paging messages at PO1, terminal device 3 performs time-frequency synchronization based on TRS2 and receives paging messages at PO2, and terminal device 4 performs time-frequency synchronization based on TRS3 and receives paging messages at PO3.

[0154] In the embodiments of the present application, when a paging message includes the IDs of n terminal devices and the n terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, the number of first reference signals is less than or equal to m. Specifically, when the number of first reference signals is equal to m, the n terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the m first reference signals; when the number of first reference signals is less than m, the n terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization according to at least one first reference signal numerically less than m; thus, in different cases, the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device can be ensured, which is beneficial to increasing the probability that each terminal device correctly receives the paging message.

[0155] Optionally, in one embodiment, when r is a value greater than or equal to 2, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective.

[0156] In the embodiments of the present application, that the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective can be understood as that when the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective are different, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals may be different.

[0157] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, regardless of where the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are located, each first reference signal can be used for the terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization. When n = m, in one possible implementation, each first reference signal is used for a different terminal device to perform time-frequency synchronization, as shown in (a) of FIG. 11 above, and each terminal device receives the paging message in a different PO; in another possible implementation, at least one first reference signal is used for multiple terminal devices to perform time-frequency synchronization, as shown in (b) of FIG. 11 above, and each terminal device receives the paging message in a different PO. When m < n, at least one first reference signal is used for multiple terminal devices to perform time-frequency synchronization, and the multiple terminal devices receive the paging message in the same PO.

[0158] It should be noted that the time-domain resources in which the multiple first reference signals are synchronously effective may be equal or unequal, without limitation. For example, taking (a) in FIG. 11 as an example, the time-domain resources in which the three first reference signals TRS1, TRS2, and TRS3 are synchronously effective are all 5 time slots; or, the time-domain resources in which TRS1 is synchronously effective are 5 time slots, the time-domain resources in which TRS1 is synchronously effective are 10 time slots, and the time-domain resources in which TRS1 is synchronously effective are 15 time slots.

[0159] In this embodiment, since the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective, the time-domain positions of these multiple first signals may also be different when the time-frequency resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously effective are different. Each terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization based on the first reference signal that is closest to the corresponding paging timing in the time domain, thereby ensuring the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device and improving the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0160] Optionally, in one embodiment, if the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to be synchronized is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the ith first reference signal's time-domain resource and the start position of the first paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, the number of first reference signals r is equal to m, and two adjacent first reference signals are spaced apart by one paging opportunity in the time domain; or, if the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to be synchronized is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the ith first reference signal's time-domain resource and the start position of the kth paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, the number of first reference signals r is less than m, and two adjacent first reference signals are spaced apart by k paging opportunities in the time domain, 1≤i≤r, 2≤k≤m.

[0161] In this embodiment, three terminal devices are used as an example: terminal device 1, terminal device 2, and terminal device 3. These three terminal devices correspond to three paging opportunities: PO1, PO2, and PO3. The following will describe the different scenarios.

[0162] Scenario 1: Two adjacent first reference signals are separated by one paging opportunity in the time domain.

[0163] As shown in Figure 12(a), if the time-domain resources for the first reference signal synchronization are all 5 time slots, and the time-domain resource X1 between the end position t3 of time-domain resource 1 of TRS1 and the start position t2 of time-domain resource 2 of the first PO (i.e., PO1) after TRS1 is 5 time slots, and the time-domain resource X2 between the end position t4 of time-domain resource 1 of TRS2 and the start position t5 of time-domain resource 2 of the first PO (i.e., PO2) after TRS2 is 5 time slots, and the end position of time-domain resource 1 of TRS3 is... The time-domain resource X3 between position t6 and the starting position t7 of the first PO (i.e., PO3) after TRS3 (i.e., PO3) is 5 time slots. Since the time-domain resource for each first reference signal to take effect is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the first reference signal and the starting position of the first paging opportunity after the first reference signal, each first reference signal can be used for time-frequency synchronization of one terminal device. Therefore, two adjacent TRSs are spaced one paging opportunity apart in the time domain. As can be seen from the figure, TRS1 is located before PO1 in the time domain, TRS2 is located between PO1 and PO2 in the time domain, and TRS3 is located between PO2 and PO3 in the time domain. Thus, terminal device 1 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS1 and receives the paging message at PO1; terminal device 2 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS2 and receives the paging message at PO2; terminal device 3 performs time-frequency synchronization according to TRS3 and receives the paging message at PO3.

[0164] Scenario 2: Two adjacent first reference signals are separated by k paging opportunities in the time domain.

[0165] As shown in Figure 12(b), if the time-domain resources for the first reference signal synchronization are 10 time slots, and the time-domain resource X1 between the end position t3 of time-domain resource 1 of TRS1 and the start position t4 of time-domain resource 2 of the second PO (i.e., PO2) after TRS1 is 5 time slots, and the time-domain resource X2 between the end position t6 of time-domain resource 1 of TRS2 and the start position t7 of time-domain resource 2 of the first PO (i.e., PO3) after TRS2 is 5 time slots, since the time-domain resources for TRS1 synchronization are equal to the time-domain resources between the end position of the first time-domain resource of TRS1 and the start position of the second paging opportunity after TRS1, TRS1 can be used for time-frequency synchronization of two terminal devices. Therefore, the two adjacent TRSs are spaced 2 paging opportunities apart in the time domain. As can be seen from the figure, TRS1 is located before PO1 and PO2 in the time domain, and TRS2 is located between PO2 and PO3 in the time domain. In this way, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 can synchronize time and frequency according to TRS1, and terminal device 1 receives paging messages at PO1 and terminal device 2 receives paging messages at PO2; terminal device 3 can synchronize time and frequency according to TRS3 and receive paging messages at PO3.

[0166] It should be noted that Figure 12(a) or Figure 12(b) above shows that the time domain resources for multiple TRS synchronizations are equal. In some cases, the time domain resources for multiple TRS synchronizations may not be equal, as shown in Figure 12(c). Referring to Figure 12(c), assume that the paging message includes the IDs of four terminal devices, namely Terminal Device 1, Terminal Device 2, Terminal Device 3, and Terminal Device 4. These four terminal devices correspond to four paging times. The time domain resources for TRS1 synchronization are 10 time slots, and the time domain resources for TRS2 and TRS3 synchronization are each 5 time slots. When the end position t3 of time domain resource 1 of TRS1... The time domain resource X1 between the start position t4 of time domain resource 2 of the second PO (i.e., PO2) after TRS1 consists of 5 time slots. The time domain resource X2 between the end position t6 of time domain resource 1 of TRS2 and the start position t7 of time domain resource 2 of the first PO (i.e., PO3) after TRS2 consists of 5 time slots. The time domain resource X2 between the end position t8 of time domain resource 1 of TRS3 and the start position t9 of time domain resource 2 of the first PO (i.e., PO4) after TRS3 consists of 5 time slots. Since the time domain resource for TRS1 synchronization is equal to the time between the end position of the first time domain resource of TRS1 and the start position of the second paging opportunity after TRS1, the time domain resource X2 is equal to the time domain resource X1 between the end position of the first time domain resource of TRS1 and the start position of the time domain resource of the second paging opportunity after TRS1. The time-domain resources that TRS2 synchronizes with are equal to the time-domain resources between the end position of the first time-domain resource of TRS2 and the start position of the first paging opportunity after TRS2. The time-domain resources that TRS3 synchronizes with are equal to the time-domain resources between the end position of the first time-domain resource of TRS3 and the start position of the first paging opportunity after TRS3. Then, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 can perform time-frequency synchronization according to TRS1 and receive paging messages at PO1 and PO2 respectively; terminal device 3 can perform time-frequency synchronization according to TRS2 and receive paging messages at PO3; terminal device 4 can perform time-frequency synchronization according to TRS3 and receive paging messages at PO4.

[0167] It should be understood that in Figure 12(a) to Figure 12(c), five time slots are set: X1 = X2 = X3 = 5. In actual scenarios, the values ​​of X1, X2, and X3 can be equal or unequal, and there is no restriction.

[0168] In the embodiments of the present application, when m = n, when two adjacent first reference signals are spaced by 1 paging occasion in the time domain, each terminal device can perform time-frequency synchronization according to different first reference signals; when two adjacent first reference signals are spaced by k paging occasions in the time domain, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the same first reference signal; when m < n, at least two terminal devices can perform time-frequency synchronization according to the same first reference signal; thereby ensuring the synchronization effect of time-frequency synchronization of each terminal device in different situations, which is beneficial to improving the probability of each terminal device correctly receiving paging messages.

[0169] It should be understood that the magnitudes of the serial numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution is prior or posterior. The order of execution of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. Moreover, the numerical values shown in the above embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and can also be other numerical values, which should not cause special limitations to the present application.

[0170] It should also be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0171] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, the devices in the existing network architecture are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes (such as network devices, terminal devices, etc.). It should be understood that the specific form of the devices is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0172] It can be understood that in the above method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as network devices, terminal devices) can also be implemented by components of the devices (such as chips or circuits).

[0173] As above, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application has been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. The above communication method has been introduced mainly from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. It can be understood that in order to implement the above functions, the terminal device and the network device include the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function.

[0174] Those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0175] The communication device provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 13 and 14. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for content not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some content will not be repeated.

[0176] Figure 13 illustrates a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 may include modules or units for implementing the method embodiments described above. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1300 includes a communication unit 1310. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a processing unit 1320 for processing relevant information. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a storage unit 1330 for storing device program code and / or data.

[0177] The communication device 1300 can be a network-side device in the above embodiments, such as a network or a communication module in a network, or a circuit or chip in a network responsible for communication functions. The device 1300 can be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the above method 900 embodiments.

[0178] When the communication device 1300 is used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the above-described method 900 embodiment, the processing unit 1320 is used to: generate first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message when it is necessary to page a non-connected terminal device. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of the non-connected terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device. The communication unit 1310 is used to: send the first information, the first reference signal, and the paging message to the terminal device.

[0179] For a more detailed description of the communication unit 1310 and the processing unit 1320, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0180] The communication device 1300 can be a terminal-side device as described in the above embodiments, such as a terminal or a communication module in a terminal, or a circuit or chip in a terminal responsible for communication functions. The device 1300 can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method 900 embodiments.

[0181] When the communication device 1300 is used to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method 900 embodiment, the communication unit 1310 is used to: receive first information, a first reference signal and a paging message from the network device, wherein the first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time and frequency synchronization of the non-connected terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device.

[0182] For a more detailed description of the communication unit 1310 and the processing unit 1320, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0183] It is understood that the division of units in the above-described device is merely a logical functional division. Each function can correspond to a functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or some units can be integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be distributed across different physical entities. Furthermore, the aforementioned functional units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Whether a function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0184] In one example, the functional unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more central processing units, one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0185] In one example, storage unit 1330 may include random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory and / or registers, etc.

[0186] Referring to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application, the device 1400 includes a processor 1410 coupled to a memory 1420. The memory 1420 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1410 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1420, or to read the data stored in the memory 1420, to execute the methods in the above-described method embodiments.

[0187] Optionally, there may be one or more processors 1410.

[0188] Optionally, the memory 1420 may be one or more.

[0189] Alternatively, the memory 1420 can be integrated with the processor 1410, or it can be set separately.

[0190] Optionally, as shown in FIG14, the device 1400 further includes a transceiver 1430 for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, a processor 1410 is used to control the transceiver 1430 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0191] As an example, processor 1410 may have the functions of processing unit 1320 shown in FIG. 13, memory 1420 may have the functions of storage unit 1330 shown in FIG. 13, and transceiver 1430 may have the functions of communication unit 1310 shown in FIG. 13.

[0192] As one option, the device 1400 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0193] For example, processor 1410 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1420 to implement the relevant operations of terminal devices or network devices in the various method embodiments described above.

[0194] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit, or it can be other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0195] The processor may include communication and processing circuitry. This communication and processing circuitry may include one or more hardware components that provide a physical structure that performs various processes related to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuitry may include one or more transmit / receive chains. For example, the processor may receive higher-layer signaling (RRC signaling) or physical-layer signaling (DCI) transmitted by a base station. The functions implemented by the communication and processing circuitry may also be processed on a computer-readable medium.

[0196] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), EPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes various forms such as: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0197] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0198] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0199] Referring to Figure 15, Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1500 provided in this embodiment of the application. The chip system 1500 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1510 and an input / output interface 1520.

[0200] The logic circuit 1510 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1500. The logic circuit 1510 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1500 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1520 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1500, outputting processed information from the chip system 1500, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1500 for processing.

[0201] Optionally, the logic circuit 1510 may be implemented by one or more processors, including the one or more processors or the processing portion of the one or more processors.

[0202] Optionally, the input / output interface 1520 may include transceiver circuitry, a transceiver, input / output circuitry, or a communication interface.

[0203] As one option, the chip system 1500 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the various method embodiments described above.

[0204] For example, logic circuit 1510 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 1520 is used to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above method embodiments.

[0205] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the above-described method embodiments.

[0206] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to implement the methods described in the embodiments of the above methods, which are executed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0207] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods described above as being performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0208] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device and network device described in the above embodiments.

[0209] The explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the devices provided above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0210] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0211] 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 instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) 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 (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium, or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available media include, but are not limited to, various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0212] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a network device, and the method includes: When the network device needs to page a non-connected terminal device, it generates first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal. The first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of the non-connected terminal device. The paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device. The first information, the first reference signal, and the paging message are sent to the non-connected terminal device.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The parameter includes at least one of the following: First time domain resource, first frequency domain resource, quantity r.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first time-domain resource is located before the second time-domain resource, which is the time-domain resource for transmitting the paging message; The time domain resources between the end position of the first time domain resource and the start position of the second time domain resource are less than or equal to the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized.

4. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The paging message includes the identifiers of n non-connected terminal devices, the n non-connected terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, r≤m, m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1 and m≤n.

5. The communication method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When r is a value greater than or equal to 2, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously activated.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, characterized in that, If the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to take effect synchronously is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the ith first reference signal and the start position of the time-domain resource of the first paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, r = m, and two adjacent first reference signals are time-domain separated by one paging opportunity; or, If the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to take effect is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the ith first reference signal's time-domain resource and the start position of the kth paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, r < m, and two adjacent first reference signals are time-domain separated by k paging opportunities, 1 ≤ i ≤ r, 2 ≤ k ≤ m.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a non-connected terminal device, and the method includes: The device receives first information, a first reference signal, and a paging message from a network device. The first information is used to indicate the parameters of the first reference signal, the first reference signal is used for time-frequency synchronization of the non-connected terminal device, and the paging message is used to page the non-connected terminal device.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The parameter includes at least one of the following: First time domain resource, first frequency domain resource, quantity r.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first time-domain resource is located before the second time-domain resource, which is the time-domain resource for transmitting the paging message; The time domain resources between the end position of the first time domain resource and the start position of the second time domain resource are less than or equal to the time domain resources for which the first reference signal is synchronized.

10. The communication method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The paging message includes the identifiers of n non-connected terminal devices, the n non-connected terminal devices correspond to m paging opportunities, r≤m, m and n are integers greater than or equal to 1 and m≤n.

11. The communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that, When r is a value greater than or equal to 2, the time-domain positions of the multiple first reference signals are related to the time-domain resources in which the first reference signals are synchronously activated.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, characterized in that, If the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to take effect synchronously is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the first time-domain resource of the ith first reference signal and the start position of the time-domain resource of the first paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, r = m, and two adjacent first reference signals are time-domain separated by one paging opportunity; or, If the time-domain resource for the ith first reference signal to take effect is equal to the time-domain resource between the end position of the ith first reference signal's time-domain resource and the start position of the kth paging opportunity after the ith first reference signal, r < m, and two adjacent first reference signals are time-domain separated by k paging opportunities, 1 ≤ i ≤ r, 2 ≤ k ≤ m.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 12.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver for executing a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 12.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or the instructions.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 12.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer reads and executes the computer program product, it causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7 to 12.

Images