Paging method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The present application provides a paging method, apparatus and system, which can be applied to an NTN, such as a satellite communication system. In the method, a terminal device detects downlink control information on the basis of a paging detection occasion resource associated with a first system message having a relatively small coverage range (or a relatively high antenna gain), so as to schedule a paging message by means of the downlink control information. When the coverage range of the paging message is the same as or similar to that of the first system message, for example, when area-level paging is implemented, transmission performance of the paging message can be improved.

Description

Paging methods, devices and systems

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510363890.0, filed on March 24, 2025, entitled “Paging Method, Apparatus and System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method, apparatus, and system. Background Technology

[0003] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) overcome the limitations of traditional terrestrial communication networks, extending communication coverage to remote areas such as oceans, forests, and deserts, as well as special scenarios such as high and low altitudes. They primarily rely on non-terrestrial network equipment, such as satellites and high-altitude platforms, to achieve communication connections.

[0004] Taking satellite systems as an example, due to the high speed of satellites relative to the ground and the long distances over which signals propagate, significant path loss occurs during signal transmission. This loss not only reduces signal strength but also increases the likelihood of interference during transmission. Therefore, to enable satellites to act as base stations and provide communication services to terminal devices, overcoming path loss and improving the transmission performance of paging messages between idle or inactive terminal devices and satellite base stations is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a paging method, apparatus, and system to improve the transmission performance of paging messages during the paging process.

[0006] Firstly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device. This terminal device can be replaced by components used in terminal devices (such as chips, chip systems, processors, etc.), or it can be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device, etc. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0007] The method includes: a terminal device receiving a synchronization signal block, such as a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block or SSB), hereinafter referred to as SSB, and receiving a first system message based on the search space indicated by the SSB; and then detecting downlink control information from a network device on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, the downlink control information being used to schedule paging messages; wherein the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the first system message, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

[0008] In other words, the terminal device detects downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message with a smaller coverage area (or a larger antenna gain). It then schedules paging messages through the downlink control information. When the coverage area of ​​the paging message is the same as or similar to the coverage area of ​​the first system message, such as implementing regional paging messages, on the one hand, it can improve the transmission performance of paging messages and avoid paging missed detections. On the other hand, it can save detection overhead and reduce device power consumption.

[0009] Secondly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a network device. This network device can be replaced by components used in network devices (such as chips, chip systems, processors, etc.), or it can be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0010] The method includes: a network device sending an SSB and a first system message, and then sending downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, wherein the downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages; wherein the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the first system message, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

[0011] In one possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message is determined based on the identifier of the first location area and the identifier of the SSB. The identifier of the first location area is used to identify the first location area among the M location areas associated with the SSB. The first location area is the location area covered by the first system message.

[0012] In other words, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message is jointly mapped with the first location area and SSB, which can realize differentiated resource mapping in the multi-location area covered by the SSB. This enables the terminal device to detect downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, so as to realize the reception of paging messages, ensure paging performance and save terminal power consumption.

[0013] In one possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message satisfies the following formula: W = n*S + K

[0014] or,

[0015] The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message satisfy the following formula: W = (K-1)*M + n + 1

[0016] Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, n is the identifier of the first location area, n is an integer greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

[0017] Based on the fact that the time-domain locations of the paging detection opportunity resources determined by Formula 2 above are relatively close, the terminal can detect downlink control information more quickly, thereby reducing paging latency. The paging detection opportunities determined by Formula 1 above have a similar implementation method to the paging detection opportunities that are currently determined to repeatedly transmit paging messages.

[0018] In one possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, the first system message carries a paging configuration message for a first location area, the first location area being the location area covered by the first system message, and the paging configuration message being used to configure paging resources associated with the first location area; paging detection opportunity resources are included in the paging resources associated with the first location area.

[0019] In other words, the first system message configures paging resources for the first location area. Based on this area-level paging resource configuration, it is easier to determine the paging detection opportunities associated with the first system message, thereby improving paging performance.

[0020] Thirdly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device. This terminal device has already been described in the first aspect above and will not be repeated for the sake of brevity.

[0021] The method includes: a terminal device receiving an SSB associated with M system messages, the coverage area of ​​the SSB being greater than the coverage area of ​​the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB being less than the antenna gain of the system messages; detecting downlink control information from a network device on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, the downlink control information being used to schedule paging messages.

[0022] In other words, for the M system messages associated with the SSB that have a relatively small coverage area (or a relatively large antenna gain), the terminal device detects downlink control information in the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, and then schedules paging messages through the downlink control information. The terminal device receives paging messages based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages. When the coverage area of ​​the paging message is the same as or similar to the coverage area of ​​the system message, such as when regional paging is implemented, the terminal device can receive paging messages in the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, thereby improving the transmission performance of paging messages.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a first system message based on the search space indicated by the SSB, the first system message carrying paging configuration messages for M location areas, the paging configuration messages being used to configure paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas, the location areas being the location areas covered by the corresponding system message.

[0024] In other words, the first system message configures paging resources for M location areas. Based on this area-level paging resource configuration, it is easier to determine the paging detection opportunities associated with the M system messages, thereby improving paging performance.

[0025] Fourthly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a network device, as described in the second aspect above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0026] The method includes: sending an SSB, the SSB being associated with M system messages, the coverage area of ​​the SSB being greater than the coverage area of ​​the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB being less than the antenna gain of the system messages, and sending downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, the downlink control information being used to schedule paging messages.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending a first system message, the first system message carrying paging configuration messages for M location areas, the paging configuration messages being used to configure paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas, the location areas being the location areas covered by the corresponding system message.

[0028] In one possible implementation of the third and fourth aspects described above, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages are determined based on the identifier of the SSB.

[0029] In other words, the terminal device can determine the paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages based on the received SSB identifier. By dynamically binding the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages to the SSB identifier, the paging resource configuration can be flexibly adjusted. The terminal device can quickly locate the corresponding paging resource based on the identifier of the currently accessed SSB, improving resource allocation efficiency and terminal power consumption.

[0030] In one possible implementation of the third and fourth aspects above, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages satisfy the following formula: W = m * S + K

[0031] Alternatively, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages satisfy the following formula: W = (K-1)*M + m + 1

[0032] Where W is used to identify paging detection opportunity resources in the configured paging resources, m is an integer less than or equal to M and greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

[0033] Based on the fact that the time-domain locations of the paging detection opportunity resources determined by Formula 4 above are relatively close, the terminal can detect downlink control information more quickly, thereby reducing paging latency. The paging detection opportunities determined by Formula 3 above have a similar implementation method to the paging detection opportunities that are currently determined to repeatedly transmit paging messages.

[0034] Fifthly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device. This terminal device has already been described in the first aspect above and will not be repeated for the sake of brevity.

[0035] The method includes: a terminal device receiving an SSB or a second system message, the SSB or the second system message carrying information about M location areas, the coverage of the SSB being greater than the range of the location areas, the coverage of the second system message being greater than the range of the location areas, and detecting downlink control information from a network device on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the terminal device's current second location area, the downlink control information being used to schedule paging messages, and the M location areas including the second location area.

[0036] In other words, the SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas. Since the range of each of the M location areas is smaller than the coverage of the SSB and the second system message, downlink control information is detected on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device to schedule paging messages, thereby making it possible to realize regional paging and improve the transmission performance of paging messages.

[0037] Sixthly, a paging method is provided, which can be applied to a network device, as described in the second aspect above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0038] The method includes: a network device sending an SSB or a second system message, wherein the SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas, the coverage of the SSB being greater than the range of the location areas, the coverage of the second system message being greater than the range of the location areas, and sending downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device, wherein the downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages, and the M location areas include the second location area.

[0039] In one possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect described above, the SSB or the second system message further carries paging configuration messages for M location areas, which are used to configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas.

[0040] In other words, the SSB or the second system message configures paging resources for M location areas. Based on this area-level paging resource configuration, it is easier to determine the paging detection opportunities associated with the M system messages, thereby improving paging performance.

[0041] In one possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect described above, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location area is determined based on the identifier of the second location area and the identifier of the SSB, wherein the identifier of the second location area is used to identify the second location area among the M location areas associated with the SSB.

[0042] In other words, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area are jointly mapped with the second location area and the SSB, which can achieve differentiated resource mapping in the multi-location areas covered by the SSB. This enables the terminal device to detect downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area, so as to receive paging messages, ensure paging performance and save terminal power consumption.

[0043] In one possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect above, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location region is based on satisfying the following formula: W = q * S + K

[0044] or,

[0045] The paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location region is based on satisfying the following formula: W=(K-1)*M+q+1

[0046] Where W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, q is the identifier of the second location area, q is an integer greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

[0047] The short temporal distance of the paging detection opportunity resources determined by Formula 6 above allows the terminal to detect downlink control information more quickly, thereby reducing paging latency. The paging detection opportunities determined by Formula 5 above have a similar implementation method to the paging detection opportunities that are currently determined to repeatedly transmit paging messages.

[0048] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the methods of any one of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementations. Specifically, the modules, units, or means may be implemented in software, in hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware.

[0049] Eighthly, this application provides a communication device including one or more processors for executing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) in memory, such that the communication device implements the methods of any one of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementation.

[0050] Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing computer programs and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, which, when executing the computer program stored in the memory, can implement the methods described in any of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementations.

[0051] Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface for communicating with other devices. For example, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0052] Ninthly, this application provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in any of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementations described above.

[0053] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing computer programs and data, which may be located inside or outside the processor.

[0054] The chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

[0055] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a power supply circuit for supplying power to the chip system.

[0056] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium including a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method of any one of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementation.

[0057] In one aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising: a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to perform the method of any one of the first to sixth aspects or any possible implementation.

[0058] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a system including the aforementioned terminal device and network device.

[0059] The fifth to tenth aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0060] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of NTN in regeneration mode;

[0061] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to this application;

[0062] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure provided in this application;

[0063] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the interaction flow of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a beam coverage range provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a network access process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the interaction flow of another paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the interaction flow of another paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another network access process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of a possible apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 11 is another schematic block diagram of the device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0071] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0072] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) systems, New Radio (NR) systems, evolution systems of NR systems, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) systems, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) systems, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), 5th Generation Wireless System (5G) or other communication systems, or future communication systems, etc.

[0073] The embodiments of this application are applicable to communication systems that integrate terrestrial and satellite communication systems, which can also be referred to as non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems.

[0074] Terrestrial communication systems can be, for example, long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) systems, new radio (NR) systems, evolution systems of NR systems, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) systems, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) systems, wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WiFi), 5th generation wireless system (5G) or other communication systems, or future communication systems, etc.

[0075] Compared to traditional communication systems, satellite communication systems offer wider coverage and can overcome natural geographical obstacles such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional communication systems, satellite communication systems can serve as an effective supplement. Based on their orbital altitude, satellite communication systems can be classified into three types: geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. GEO satellite communication systems can also be called geostationary orbit satellite systems.

[0076] GEO satellites, also known as geostationary orbit satellites, orbit at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers. Their main advantages are that they are relatively stationary relative to the ground and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellites also have significant disadvantages, such as requiring large-diameter antennas due to their great distance from Earth, relatively high transmission latency (around 0.5 seconds), which cannot meet the needs of real-time services, relatively limited orbital resources, high launch costs, and inability to provide coverage to polar regions. MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2,000 and 35,786 km, achieving global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites. However, their transmission latency is higher than that of LEO satellites, and they are mainly used for positioning and navigation. LEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 300 and 2,000 km. LEO satellites orbit at lower altitudes than MEO and GEO satellites, resulting in lower data propagation latency, lower power loss, and relatively lower launch costs. Therefore, LEO satellite communication systems have made significant progress in recent years.

[0077] It is generally believed that NTN has different channel characteristics compared to terrestrial communication (e.g., large transmission delay, Doppler frequency offset, etc.). For example, the round-trip delay of GEO satellite communication system is 238-270 milliseconds (ms), and the round-trip delay of LEO satellite communication system is 8 ms-20 ms.

[0078] Satellites can operate in two modes: transparent mode and regenerative mode. In transparent mode, the satellite functions as a relay station. The gateway station functions as a base station or partially as one; in this mode, the gateway station can be considered a base station. In regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capabilities and functions as a base station or partially as one; in this mode, the satellite can be considered a base station.

[0079] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of NTN in regenerative mode. As shown in Figure 1, the satellite possesses some or all of the functions of a base station and can be referred to as a satellite base station. The satellite base station provides radio access services and schedules radio resources for terminal devices accessing the network through it. Communication between the satellite base station and the terminal can occur through the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (Uu) interface. Communication between the satellite base station and the core network (CN) can occur through the Next Generation (NG) interface. The satellite base station and the core network can exchange non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and user service data through the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 1, the SRI interface can function as part of the Next Generation (NG) interface to facilitate communication between the satellite base station and the core network.

[0080] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to this application. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device communicates with the ground base station through the Uu interface. The satellite can realize transparent payload transmission between the terminal device and the ground base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be considered as the remote radio unit (RRU) of the ground base station, realizing transparent signal forwarding. That is, the satellite supports functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, and the signal waveform remains unchanged. The satellite forwarding is transparent to the terminal device. The ground base station and the CN can communicate through the NG interface, exchanging NAS signaling of the core network and service data of the terminal device.

[0081] The terminal equipment involved in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc.

[0082] Terminal devices can be stations (STs) in WLANs, cellular phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices, handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in future communication systems such as NR networks, or terminal devices in future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, etc.

[0083] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as ships); and it can also be deployed in the air (such as drones, airplanes, balloons and satellites).

[0084] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical care, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a drone, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0085] By way of example and not limitation, in this embodiment, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific type of application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0086] The network device in the embodiments of this application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device, or a device for connecting a terminal device to a wireless communication network. The network device can be a base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation Node B (gNB) in a 5G system, an access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN), a next-generation base station in a 6G system, a satellite base station in an NTN (as shown in Figure 2), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. Alternatively, the network device can be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, for example, a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module, etc. The network equipment can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a micro base station or an indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110c), a relay node or a donor node, etc. This application does not limit the specific technology or equipment form used in the network equipment.

[0087] In one implementation, the network equipment includes, but is not limited to: a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmit / receive point, a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, access network equipment in an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), a next-generation base station in a 6th-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) system; or it may be a module or unit that performs some functions of a base station, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module.

[0088] In some deployments, network equipment can include centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). This involves RAN equipment at both CU and DU nodes, which separates the protocol layers of the gNB in ​​the NR system. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining partial or complete protocol layer functions are distributed across the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the CU can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP handles control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and the corresponding packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (PDCP-C). PDCP-C is mainly responsible for control plane data encryption / decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP handles user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the corresponding PDCP (PDCP-U). SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption / decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. CU-CP represents the gNB connected to the core network via the NG interface and to the DU via the F1 interface control plane (F1-C). CU-UP is connected to the DU via the F1 interface user plane (F1-U). Alternatively, PDCP-C may also be located within CU-UP.

[0089] It is understood that CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and DU as examples. Network devices may also include active antenna units (AAU). CU implements some of the functions of gNB, and DU implements some of the functions of gNB. For example, CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the RRC layer. DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. In some deployments, the CU can also be divided into a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node. The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, while the CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions.

[0090] Network devices and / or terminal devices can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the environment / scenario in which the network devices and terminal devices are located.

[0091] It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is merely an illustrative example, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-described network elements is applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0092] Before describing the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application in detail, in order to better understand the method provided in the embodiments of this application, the relevant technologies involved in this application will be briefly explained first.

[0093] 1. Beam: Refers to the main lobe of the directional array pattern. In the NR protocol, the beam can be represented as a spatial domain filter, or a spatial parameter, spatial parameter, spatial domain setting, spatial setting, or quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by the transmission configuration indication state (TCI-state) parameter or by the spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in this application, the beam can be replaced by spatial domain filter, spatial filter, spatial parameter, spatial parameter, spatial setting, spatial setting, QCL information, QCL assumption, QCL indication, TCI-state (DL TCI-state, UL TCI-state), spatial relation, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. The beam can also be replaced by other beam terms, which are not limited in this application.

[0094] QCL (Quadrant-Clearing) information refers to information about the spatial similarity of different antenna ports or signals. In the NR (Radio Normative) protocol, if two signals satisfy the QCL condition, then some spatial characteristics, such as angular spread and delay spread, are similar. QCL information can identify signals sharing the same beam-related parameters, thereby reducing system signaling overhead and processing complexity. For example, a base station can use QCL information to transmit multiple signals with similar spatial characteristics using the same beam, improving transmission efficiency.

[0095] QCL assumption: This assumes that certain signals possess QCL characteristics in space, thereby simplifying beam design and processing. For example, assuming that a reference signal and a data signal satisfy QCL, the spatial characteristics of the data signal can be inferred from the spatial characteristics of the reference signal, thus determining the beam of the data signal.

[0096] QCL indication: This is a control message sent by the base station to the terminal to indicate the beam-related configuration used by the terminal for signals with QCL relationships. For example, the base station tells the terminal via QCL indication that the current downlink control signal and downlink data signal satisfy the QCL, allowing the terminal to receive the data signal based on the beam information of the control signal, thus improving the accuracy and efficiency of reception.

[0097] The beam used to transmit signals can be called the transmission beam (Tx beam), or it can be referred to as a spatial domain transmission filter, spatial transmission filter, spatial domain transmission parameter, spatial transmission setting, or spatial transmission setting. The downlink transmission beam can be indicated by the downlink TCI-state.

[0098] The beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter, a spatial reception setting, or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmit beam can be indicated by a spatial relation, an uplink TCI-state, or an SRS resource (indicating the transmit beam using that SRS). Therefore, the uplink beam can also be replaced by an SRS resource.

[0099] The transmitting beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna, while the receiving beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of a wireless signal received from an antenna.

[0100] Furthermore, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beam. The beamforming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies. Specifically, beamforming technology can be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology, etc.

[0101] Beams are generally associated with resources. For example, during beam measurement, network devices measure different beams using different resources. The terminal provides feedback on the measured resource quality, allowing the network device to determine the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, beam information is also indicated through its corresponding resources. For instance, network devices use the TCI field in DCI to indicate the terminal's PDSCH beam information.

[0102] Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered as a single beam. A beam may include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and detection signals, etc. One or more antenna ports forming a beam can also be considered as a set of antenna ports.

[0103] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, a beam refers to the transmit beam of a network device. In beam measurement, each beam of a network device corresponds to a resource, and therefore the beam corresponding to that resource can be uniquely identified by the resource index.

[0104] 2. Coverage Range: The projection range of the beam onto the Earth's surface. By adjusting the antenna weights, the base station can direct its beam in different directions, resulting in varying coverage ranges. The beam coverage range discussed below refers to the beam's coverage area on the ground. Coverage range will change as the satellite moves and the weights are adjusted.

[0105] 3. Initial Access: During the initial access process, as a network device, the satellite needs to sequentially transmit multiple beams to configure random access resources for the terminal device. The random access process generally refers to the period from when the terminal device sends a random access preamble (or simply preamble) to attempt to access the network device until a basic signaling connection is established between the terminal device and the network device. Currently, network devices can broadcast different SSBs for different communication areas and distinguish them using SSB indices. Generally, different SSB indices represent downlink synchronization signals covering and serving different areas in different beam directions. After receiving the SSB, the terminal device completes timing synchronization and determines the time-frequency position of SIB1 based on the information in the SSB. It then further parses SIB1 to obtain the system information of the cell carried in SIB1. The terminal device detects SIB19 based on the search space configured in SIB1, completes data parsing of SIB19, and obtains the ephemeris information of the satellite carried in SIB19. After obtaining the cell's system and ephemeris information, the terminal device sends a random access preamble on the corresponding uplink resources based on the configuration information and SSB index. For the network device, the received random access preamble and corresponding uplink resources can be used to determine the area where the terminal device is located and establish a connection with it. Generally, the messages broadcast by the network device during the initial access process also include: physical cell identifier (PCI) and master information block (MIB). The PCI, MIB, and SSB are combined to enable the terminal device to camp on the cell and initiate initial access.

[0106] 4. Paging: For terminal devices in idle or inactive states, network devices can paging them to resume data transmission. Network devices can scramble the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the paging message using a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI). The terminal device periodically detects the PDCCH channel and parses the downlink control information (DCI) to determine the time-frequency location of the PDSCH channel, and then receives and parses the paging message at the corresponding PDSCH channel location.

[0107] In the time domain, the terminal device attempts to receive the paging message at the paging occasion (PO) of the paging frame (PF) within its paging cycle. Based on this, the network device transmits the paging message over the air interface based on the PO, enabling the terminal device to receive the paging message on the PO.

[0108] In this context, PF stands for Radio Frame, and it can contain one or more POs. A PO can include one or more Physical Downlink Control Channel Monitoring Occasions (PMOs). For example, a PO may include multiple time slots, and a PMO is one of those slots, or one or more Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. PMOs can transmit P-RNTI-scrambled PDCCHs (such as DCIs). In discontinuous reception (DRX) scenarios, the terminal device can detect one PO in each DRX cycle. That is, for each UE, only one PO is available for sending paging messages in each paging cycle. In this embodiment, the DRX cycle and the paging cycle have the same meaning.

[0109] The paging-related parameters are shown in Table 1 below:

[0110] Table 1

[0111] Here, PF is a system frame that satisfies the following formula: (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = (T div N) * (UE_ID mod N). SFN is the system frame number, T div N is equivalent to the number of system frames contained in each part after dividing a DRX cycle into N equal parts; UE_ID mod N is equivalent to taking the "UE_ID mod N" part (within the range of 0 to N-1) of the N equal parts, and PF is the first system frame in that part. PO is indicated by the index i_s: i_s = floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns. i_s refers to the index of the PO within a system frame. Each PO actually corresponds to s consecutive PMOs, where s refers to the number of SSBs actually broadcast in an SSB burst. Referring to Figure 3, N PFs include Ns POs (Figure 3 takes one PO as an example). One PO includes 8 slots. Each slot includes one PMO. Each paging message corresponds to one beam direction. That is, the same paging message is sent in the beam directions of 8 SSBs in 8 consecutive slots. Each UE detects 8 slots from slot #0 to #7 until it detects its own paging message or has detected all 8 slots.

[0112] Paging-related parameters can be configured by network devices to terminal devices. For example, network devices can carry paging configuration messages through SSBs, MIBs, and SIBs (such as SIB1 or SIB19) to configure paging to terminal devices. The terminal devices can then receive paging messages on the corresponding paging resources (such as PFs and POs) based on the configured paging-related parameters.

[0113] Given the advantages of satellites, such as their resistance to natural disasters or external damage, research is currently underway to use them as network equipment (e.g., base stations) in mobile communication systems to provide communication services to areas such as oceans and forests. Unlike terrestrial network equipment, satellites move at higher speeds relative to the ground and travel longer distances, resulting in greater signal path loss when used as network equipment. Furthermore, due to the high-speed movement of satellites, the coverage and service time of a single satellite and each beam within a single satellite are limited. Therefore, this communication scenario places higher demands on terminal access latency.

[0114] However, due to the large coverage area and long transmission distance of satellite beams, the path loss of the signal is large, and the demodulation threshold of the paging message received by the terminal equipment is relatively high, which makes it impossible for the terminal equipment to accurately demodulate the paging message.

[0115] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0116] When the method provided in this application is applied to the system in Figure 1 or Figure 2, the terminal device in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or a module in the terminal device can implement the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiments of this application. Alternatively, the network device in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or a module in the network device can implement the method executed by the network device in the embodiments of this application. Or, the satellite in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or a module in the satellite can implement the method executed by the network device in the embodiments of this application.

[0117] It is understood that this application does not specifically limit the structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The method executed by the terminal device can be applied to the terminal device or the module or chip in the terminal device, and the method executed by the network device can be applied to the network device or the module or chip in the network device. As long as communication can be performed 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, the following description takes the interaction between the terminal device and the network device as an example.

[0118] Figure 4 shows a schematic flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0119] S110, the network device sends an SSB.

[0120] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the SSB.

[0121] In this embodiment, the network device can use a wide beam to transmit SSB, meaning the SSB beam has a large coverage area (hereinafter referred to as SSB coverage). Since the narrower the beam, the smaller the antenna gain loss at the beam edge, an SSB transmitted using a wide beam can also be described as an SSB with a smaller antenna gain. When the network device is a satellite or a ground base station with extremely wide coverage, the signal coverage area of ​​the network device is relatively large, potentially reaching an ultra-large coverage area on the order of tens of kilometers. Given a link budget and system resources, the network device can use multiple beams to transmit SSB multiple times, ensuring that all terminal devices within the signal coverage area of ​​the network device can receive the SSB.

[0122] A terminal device may receive multiple SSBs. The terminal device can choose one or more SSBs that meet the signal quality requirements from the received SSBs as the SSB used to determine the first system information, or it can choose the SSB with the best received signal quality as the SSB used to determine the first system information. Signal quality can be reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal received power (RSRP), or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0123] The SSB includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and the physical broadcast channel block (PBCH). The PSS and SSS are used for time and frequency synchronization between the terminal equipment and the cell, while the PBCH is used to carry information such as the MIB and PBCH additional payloads.

[0124] In this embodiment, the SSB can be associated with M system messages, where M is a positive integer. The SSB can indicate the search space of these M system messages; for example, the starting position of the search space of the system messages in the time domain corresponds to the index of the SSB. When the SSB is associated with multiple system messages, different system messages are transmitted using different beams, that is, different system messages form signal strength distributions in different directions.

[0125] In this embodiment, the first system message among the M system messages is the system message received by the terminal device, or in other words, the coverage of the first system message includes the current location area of ​​the terminal device. The following description uses the first system message as an example to illustrate the M system messages; unless otherwise specified, the first system message can be any one of the M system messages. The first system message is used to configure random access-related information. The first system message can be referred to as regional-level system information. Because the first system message carries the random access-related information necessary for the terminal device to initiate random access, it reduces the amount of information carried and can improve transmission performance.

[0126] In one example, the first system message may include some or all of the information in SIB1, and the terminal device obtains cell information by parsing SIB1. In another example, for an NTN system, the first system message may include some or all of the information in SIB19, and the terminal device obtains ephemeris information of network devices (such as satellites) by parsing SIB19. The first system message may also include other information such as information in SIB2, SIB3, etc., which are not limited in this application.

[0127] For example, the first system message includes some information from SIB1 and some information from SIB19. The first system message may include, for example, at least one of the following:

[0128] Random access channel occasion (RO) resource configuration information;

[0129] Ephemeris information of network devices;

[0130] Uplink transmission common configuration, including uplink configuration common SIB (uplinkConfigCommonSIB) or bandwidth part (BWP) uplink common (BWP-UplinkCommon);

[0131] Random access channel (RACH) common configuration information (rach-ConfigCommon);

[0132] Downlink transport common configuration, including DownlinkConfigCommonSIB or BWP-DownlinkCommon;

[0133] Information related to SSBs includes at least one of the following: SSB quantity, SSB cycle, and SSB pattern. An SSB pattern can also be called an SSB design or SSB design.

[0134] The specific meaning and function of the above information are not limited in this application. For example, you can refer to the relevant literature of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), which will not be repeated here.

[0135] Specifically, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resources used to send the random access request based on the RO resource configuration information and the RACH common configuration information; the terminal device can also determine the relevant information of the random access preamble based on the RACH common configuration information.

[0136] Based on the ephemeris information of the network equipment, the terminal device can determine the timing advance (TA), and thus send uplink data in advance according to the TA to synchronize with the uplink time on the network side.

[0137] S120, the network device sends the first system message.

[0138] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first system message from M system messages based on the search space indicated by the SSB. This search space can be provided to the terminal device via the aforementioned SSB indication.

[0139] In this embodiment, the network device can use a narrow beam to transmit M system messages. It is understood that the wide beam used to transmit the SSB in S110 and the narrow beam used to transmit the first system message in S120 are relative. In other words, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the first system message, or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

[0140] For example, as shown in Figure 5(a), the coverage range of SSB #1 and the coverage range of the first system message #2 are illustrated respectively. As shown in Figure 5(b), assuming that SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the coverage range of SSB can include the coverage range of the 3 system messages, and the coverage range of different system messages is different, such as coverage ranges #2, #3, and #4 can be different.

[0141] Because network devices have a power limit, the larger the beam coverage area, the lower the antenna gain; conversely, the smaller the beam coverage area, the higher the antenna gain. Therefore, although the coverage area of ​​the first system message is smaller than that of the SSB, the antenna gain of the first system message is larger than that of the SSB. This increases the probability that the terminal device can successfully receive the first system message, improves the transmission performance of the first system message, and enhances the initial access performance.

[0142] It is understood that the coverage range of the narrow beam corresponding to different system messages among the M system messages associated with SSB can be the same or different. Similarly, the antenna gain of different system messages can be the same or different. This application does not limit this.

[0143] In one example, a network device can transmit M system messages associated with an SSB using M narrow beams covering different location areas. A terminal device can receive the first system message arriving at its current location area. For example, the network device might transmit three system messages covering areas #0, #1, and #2 respectively. A terminal device in area #2 can receive the first system message in area #2. In another example, the network device can determine which narrow beam to use to transmit the system message based on the terminal device's current location area. For instance, the network device could use a narrow beam covering area #2, which includes the terminal device, as the narrow beam for transmitting the first system message, allowing the terminal device to receive the first system message in area #2.

[0144] Based on the above S110 and S120, the terminal device and the network device can continue to interact to achieve random access. Referring to Figure 6, the network device uses a wide beam to transmit an SSB and sends three system messages, such as SIB1 and / or SIB19, through area-level narrow beams #0 to #2. The terminal device receives the first system message through narrow beam #2. Referring to Figure 6, in one example, the terminal device uses area-level narrow beam #2 to send a random access request. The random access request can be, for example, a random access preamble carried on the physical random access channel (PRACH). Furthermore, the network device and the terminal device can use area-level narrow beam #2 to transmit a random access response (RAR), a message (Msg) 3 during the random access process, a message (Msg) 4 during the random access process, and a message (Msg) 5 during the random access process. In another example, after receiving the first system message, the terminal device does not restrict the area-level narrow beam used by the terminal device in subsequent uplink transmissions. The network device can use multiple beams to receive uplink data / signaling from the terminal device, such as receiving random access requests, Msg3, Msg5, etc., and determine the location area of ​​the terminal device. Based on the location area of ​​the terminal device, the network device can use area-level narrow beams for downlink transmission, such as using area-level narrow beam #2 to send RAR, Msg4, etc.

[0145] It should be noted that this example only illustrates a 4-step random access method, but it is not a limitation. For example, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to a 2-step random access method.

[0146] In the random access process shown in Figure 6, the terminal device and network device can transmit subsequent information based on the narrow beam of the first system message. This improves the information transmission performance during the random access process and enhances the initial access performance.

[0147] Furthermore, in paging scenarios after a terminal device has accessed the network, to increase the probability of the terminal device successfully receiving the paging message and improve the transmission performance of the paging message, the paging message can be associated with the first system message. In other words, the network device can send the paging message based on the narrow beam of the first system message. It should be noted that sending the paging message based on the beam of the first system message can mean that the base station, for signals with a QCL relationship, such as the first system message and the paging message, uses the same or similar beam parameters as the first system message to beamform the paging message, so that the coverage area of ​​the paging message includes the location area of ​​the terminal device.

[0148] Referring to Figure 6, the network device can use area beam #2 to send paging messages to the terminal device. Optionally, the network device can use area beam #2 to send downlink data, or as shown in Figure 6, the network device can use a user-level narrow beam to send downlink data.

[0149] S130, the network device sends downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message. This downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages.

[0150] Correspondingly, the terminal device detects downlink control information from the network device on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message.

[0151] When a paging message is associated with a first system message, the terminal device can determine the paging resource, such as the PF or PO carrying the paging message, based on the first system message, so that the terminal device can receive the beam of the paging message on the paging resource. Downlink control information scheduling the paging message can be carried, for example, on a P-RNTI-scrambled PDCCH, and downlink control information can be transmitted on paging detection opportunity resources (such as PMO) within the paging resource. Based on this, the first system message can be associated with the paging detection opportunity resource, thereby realizing the association between the paging message and the first system message.

[0152] For example, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message can be determined based on the identifier of the first system message. This identifier can indicate one of M system messages associated with one SSB, or it can indicate one of multiple system messages associated with multiple SSBs sent by the network device. For example, it could be an index of the first system message, such as the index of SIB1 / SIB19; or, for another example, the identifier of the first system message could indicate which system message it is among M system messages associated with one SSB, or which system message it is among multiple system messages associated with multiple SSBs.

[0153] For example, suppose each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the first PMO, the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the fifth PMO, the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the ninth PMO, and so on; or, still suppose each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the first PMO, the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the second PMO, the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the third PMO, and so on.

[0154] Since each system message corresponds to a location area, if a terminal device receives a first system message in a first location area, this first location area is the location area covered by the first system message, and the first location area includes the location area where the terminal device is located. Therefore, the identifier of the first system message can be either the identifier of the first location area, or there is a correspondence between the identifier of the first system message and the identifier of the first location area. It should also be understood that, since the first location area is the location area covered by the first system message, that is, covered by the beam of the first system message, the identifier of the first location area can be replaced by the identifier of the beam of the first system message.

[0155] In one implementation, the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message can be determined based on the identifier of the first location area and the identifier of the SSB.

[0156] For example, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message satisfy the following formula: W = n*S + K

[0157] Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, such as indicating that the Wth PMO in the PF or PO is the paging detection opportunity resource; n is the identifier of the first location area, n is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than M, M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB; S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device; K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S SSBs sent by the network device, where K can be replaced by the index k of the SSB, and when the index k starts from 0, K = k + 1.

[0158] Formula 1 above indicates that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the location area #n associated with the Kth SSB. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the 1st PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the 5th PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the 9th PMO; the PMO associated with the first system message of the second SSB is the 2nd PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the second SSB is the 6th PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the second SSB is the 10th PMO…

[0159] For example, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message satisfy the following formula: W = (K-1)*M + n + 1

[0160] Formula 2 above indicates that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the location area #n associated with the Kth SSB. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the first PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the second PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the third PMO; the PMO associated with the first system message of the second SSB is the fourth PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the second SSB is the fifth PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the second SSB is the sixth PMO…

[0161] This application does not limit the above formula. Any paging detection opportunity resource determined based on the same or similar processing logic for the first system message association falls within the protection scope of this application. For example, in the above formula two, the identifier n of the first location region can be replaced with n′-1, where n′ is used to indicate that the n′-th location region among the M location regions is the first location region.

[0162] The first system message may also carry a paging resource configuration message for the first location area, or a paging resource configuration message corresponding to the first system message, or a paging resource configuration message corresponding to the narrow beam of the first system message. This paging resource configuration is valid for terminal devices within the first location area; that is, terminal devices within the first location area can determine paging resources based on this configuration, and then determine the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message within that paging resource, thereby achieving area-level paging.

[0163] The paging resource configuration message may include the configuration of paging-related parameters, such as those shown in Table 1 in the previous example. For example, the network device may configure the beam of the paging message through a QCL indication, which may be independent of or included in the paging resource configuration message.

[0164] In one possible implementation, the network device can configure the narrow beam of the paging message through a two-level QCL indication. For example, by adding a SIB-Index cell configuration to the first system message, thereby enabling...<SSB index+SIB-Index> The two-level indication determines the SIB. Specifically, SIB-Index INTEGER(0..M-1) defines the information element SIB-Index as an integer, where SIB-Index represents the local identifier of the first system message. In other words, SIB-Index indicates the first system message among M system messages associated with one SSB. If one SSB is associated with M system messages, this is configured via QCL.<SSB index i,SIB-Index j> =<0,2> determines the narrow beam corresponding to system message #2 under SSB#0.

[0165] In another possible implementation, the network device can use the SIB-Index as a globally unique identifier for QCL indication. In this case, the SIB-Index indicates the first system message among multiple system messages associated with S SSBs. For example, the SIB-Index cell configuration is added to the first system message, such as defining the SIB-Index cell as an integer using SIB-Index INTEGER(0..S*M-1). This allows the first system message to be used as the QCL reference signal. <2> The narrow beam corresponding to system message #2 under SSB#0 is designated as the beam for transmitting paging messages. <10> Instruct the narrow beam corresponding to system message #2 under SSB#1 as the beam for sending paging messages.

[0166] Network devices can use a narrow beam of the first system message to send a paging message to the terminal device on the corresponding paging resource. This paging message can carry the terminal device's identifier (such as UE ID). For example, the network device can determine the terminal device's narrow beam based on the terminal device's current first location area or the first system message selected by the terminal device when sending a random access request. It is understood that the network device can determine the terminal device's paging detection opportunity resource (such as PMO) based on the same logic as the terminal device, for example, by combining the first location area or the first system message selected by the terminal device when sending a random access request, and determining the terminal device's PMO based on Formula 1 or Formula 2 mentioned above.

[0167] Therefore, in this embodiment, the terminal device detects downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message with a small coverage area (or a large antenna gain). In this way, the paging message is scheduled through the downlink control information, so that when the network side performs regional paging, the transmission performance of the paging message can be improved, paging missed detection can be avoided, and detection overhead and device power consumption can be saved.

[0168] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0169] S210, the network device sends an SSB.

[0170] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the SSB from the network device.

[0171] In this embodiment, the network device can use a wide beam to transmit SSBs, as detailed in the description of S110 in the previous example, which will not be repeated here for brevity. Similar to S110, an SSB can be associated with M system messages, and the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​each associated system message, or in other words, the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of each associated system message. See the description in the previous example for details.

[0172] S220, the network device sends downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages. This downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages.

[0173] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages.

[0174] It is understandable that the coverage of one of the M system messages associated with the SSB includes the current location area of ​​the terminal device. Therefore, in the paging scenario, the terminal device can detect the downlink control information for scheduling paging messages by performing detection on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with each of the M system messages, thereby realizing paging detection.

[0175] The association between each of the M system messages and the paging detection opportunity resource can be found in the explanation in the previous example.

[0176] In one implementation, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages can be determined based on the identifier of the SSB. That is, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with that SSB are determined. Without distinguishing the paging detection opportunity resources associated with each system message, the paging detection opportunities associated with the M system messages satisfy the following formula (Formula 3 or Formula 4):

[0177] Formula 3: W = m * S + K

[0178] Formula 4: W = (K-1)*M + m + 1

[0179] Where m is an integer less than or equal to M and greater than or equal to 0. The other parameters in Formulas 3 and 4 can be found in the explanations of Formulas 1 and 2 above, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0180] Formula 3 above states that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the Kth SSB under the constraint of variable m. m = {0, 1, ..., M-1}, K = 1, 2, ..., S. Based on Formula 3, the PMO determined by iterating through m from 0 to M-1 and K from 1 to S is the PMO associated with the M system messages. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages include: the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the first PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the fifth PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the ninth PMO; the PMO associated with the first system message of the second SSB is the second PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the second SSB is the sixth PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the second SSB is the tenth PMO…

[0181] Formula 4 above states that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the Kth SSB under the constraint of variable m. m = {0, 1, ..., M-1}, K = 1, 2, ..., S. Based on Formula 3 above, the PMO determined by iterating through the values ​​of m from 0 to M-1 and K from 1 to S is the PMO associated with the M system messages. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 system messages, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages include: the PMO associated with the first system message of the first SSB is the first PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the first SSB is the second PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the first SSB is the third PMO; the PMO associated with the first system message of the second SSB is the fourth PMO; the PMO associated with the second system message of the second SSB is the fifth PMO; the PMO associated with the third system message of the second SSB is the sixth PMO...

[0182] This application does not limit the above formula. Any PMO that determines the association of M system messages based on the same or similar processing logic falls within the protection scope of this application. For example, the above formula two can be adjusted based on the change in the value range of variable m. For example, when m = {1, 2, ..., M}, the above formula two is W = (K-1) * M + m.

[0183] In this embodiment, the network device can send M system messages associated with the SSB, and correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the first system message from the M system messages based on the search space indicated by the SSB. However, this application does not limit this process; for example, in scenarios where it is not the first access, the network device may not send the M system messages.

[0184] As an example, the first system message can carry paging configuration messages for M location areas. These paging configuration messages configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas. Each of the M location areas is a location area covered by the corresponding system message. The paging message operates on terminal devices within the M location areas. That is, the terminal devices within the M location areas determine the paging resources based on the paging configuration messages, and then determine the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages within those paging resources, thereby achieving area-level paging.

[0185] As another example, the SSB can carry paging configuration messages for M location areas. Carrying this paging configuration message via the SSB can reduce paging configuration latency.

[0186] The paging resource configuration message may include the configuration of paging-related parameters, such as those shown in Table 1 of the aforementioned examples. For example, the network device can configure the beam of the paging message using a QCL indication, which may be independent of or included in the paging resource configuration message. The QCL indication is explained in the aforementioned examples and will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0187] Network devices can use a narrow beam of system messages associated with SSBs to send paging messages to terminal devices on the corresponding paging resources. These paging messages can carry the terminal device's identifier (such as the UE ID). For example, network devices can use a narrow beam to send downlink control information on paging detection opportunity resources associated with M system messages to schedule paging messages. It is understood that network devices can determine the paging detection opportunity resource (such as PMO) of the terminal device based on the same logic as the terminal device, for example, based on formula three or four mentioned above.

[0188] Therefore, in this embodiment, for the M system messages associated with the SSB that have a smaller coverage area (or a larger antenna gain), the terminal device detects downlink control information during the paging detection opportunity associated with the M system messages, and schedules paging messages through downlink control information, so as to improve the transmission performance of paging messages when the network side performs regional paging.

[0189] Figure 8 shows a schematic flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0190] S310a, the network device sends an SSB.

[0191] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the SSB from the network device.

[0192] In this embodiment, the network device can use a wide beam to transmit SSB. For details, please refer to the description of S110 in the previous example. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated.

[0193] The SSB can carry information about M location areas. These M location areas can be the coverage areas corresponding to the M system messages associated with the SSB. The M system messages are explained in the previous example and will not be repeated here for brevity. Furthermore, the relationship between the coverage area of ​​the SSB and the coverage areas of the M system messages has been explained in the previous example. Therefore, it can be understood that the coverage area of ​​the SSB is larger than the range of each of the M location areas.

[0194] The information for the aforementioned M location regions may include at least one of the following:

[0195] The beam center point of M beams used to send M system messages;

[0196] The beam center point, radius, and arrangement of the M location regions of the beam used to transmit one of the M system messages;

[0197] Reference point or angle information for beam / position.

[0198] In this embodiment, different location regions in the M location regions are associated with different paging detection opportunity resources, so that when the network device sends a paging message to the terminal device based on a narrow beam, the paging message can be transmitted based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the current location region of the terminal device.

[0199] S310b, the network device sends a second system message.

[0200] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a second system message from the network device.

[0201] S310b and S310a can be executed one of them, or executed sequentially or in parallel, and this application does not limit this.

[0202] The second system message can be a cell-level system message. For example, system messages can be separated into cell-level system messages, such as the master information block-extended (MIB-E), and area-level system messages, such as the system information block remaining (SIB-R). This application does not limit the naming of these two types of system messages. The MIB-E is used to carry system messages necessary for the terminal to initiate random access. For example, the terminal device can send a random access request based on the MIB-E. The random access request can be, for example, a random access preamble carried on PRACH, which reduces the amount of information carried and can improve the link budget to some extent.

[0203] In one implementation, the second system message may include a synchronization sequence, in which case the network device may not need to send an SSB; or the SSB may carry the second system message, in which case the network device may not need to send the second system message.

[0204] In this embodiment, the network device can use a wide beam to transmit the second system message to improve its coverage. The coverage of the second system message is the same as or similar to that of the SSB. Optionally, other interactive signaling during the random access process can use either a wide or narrow beam; this application does not limit this. For example, a narrow beam can be used to transmit subsequent signaling, such as random access request, RAR, Msg3, Msg4, Msg5, etc.

[0205] Network devices can carry information about M location areas via a second system message. To save resource overhead, either the SSB or the second system message carries information about the M location areas.

[0206] S320, the network device can send downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area, which is used to schedule paging messages.

[0207] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area.

[0208] The second location area is the current location area of ​​the terminal device, and the M location areas include the second location area. For example, the terminal device determines the second location area based on the information of the M location areas indicated by the SSB or the second system message and its own location, and then determines the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location area based on the identifier of the second location area and the identifier of the SSB.

[0209] For example, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location region satisfy the following formula: W = q * S + K

[0210] Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, such as indicating that the Wth PMO in the PF or PO is the paging detection opportunity resource; q is the identifier of the second location area, where q is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than M, and M is the number of location areas associated with the SSB; S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device; K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, where K can be replaced by the index k of the SSB, and when the index k starts from 0, K = k + 1.

[0211] Formula 5 above states that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the location area #q associated with the Kth SSB. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 location areas, the PMO associated with the first location area of ​​the first SSB is the 1st PMO; the PMO associated with the second location area of ​​the first SSB is the 5th PMO; the PMO associated with the third location area of ​​the first SSB is the 9th PMO; the PMO associated with the first location area of ​​the second SSB is the 2nd PMO; the PMO associated with the second location area of ​​the second SSB is the 6th PMO; the PMO associated with the third location area of ​​the second SSB is the 10th PMO…

[0212] For example, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location region satisfy the following formula: W=(K-1)*M+q+1

[0213] Formula 6 above states that the Wth PMO is the PMO associated with the location area #q associated with the Kth SSB. For example, when a network device sends 4 SSBs, and each SSB is associated with 3 location areas, the PMO associated with the first location area of ​​the first SSB is the first PMO; the PMO associated with the second location area of ​​the first SSB is the second PMO; the PMO associated with the third location area of ​​the first SSB is the third PMO; the PMO associated with the first location area of ​​the second SSB is the fourth PMO; the PMO associated with the second location area of ​​the second SSB is the fifth PMO; the PMO associated with the third location area of ​​the second SSB is the sixth PMO…

[0214] This application does not limit the above formula. Any paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location region determined based on the same or similar processing logic are within the scope of protection of this application. For example, in Formula Six above, the identifier q of the second location region can be replaced with q′-1, where q′ is used to indicate that the q′th location region among the M location regions is the first location region.

[0215] The aforementioned SSB or second system message may also carry paging configuration messages for M location areas. These paging configuration messages are used to configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas. These paging messages apply to terminal devices within the M location areas; that is, the terminal devices within the M location areas determine the paging resources based on the paging configuration messages, and then determine the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area within these paging resources, thereby achieving area-level paging.

[0216] The paging resource configuration message may include the configuration of paging-related parameters, such as those shown in Table 1 of the aforementioned examples. For example, the network device can configure the beam of the paging message using a QCL indication, which may be independent of or included in the paging resource configuration message. The QCL indication is explained in the aforementioned examples and will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0217] Network devices can use a narrow beam in the second location area associated with the SSB to send paging messages to terminal devices on the corresponding paging resources. These paging messages can carry the terminal device's identifier (such as the UE ID). For example, network devices can use a narrow beam to send downlink control information on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location area to schedule paging messages. It is understood that network devices can determine the paging detection opportunity resources (such as PMO) of the terminal device based on the same logic as the terminal device, for example, based on Formula 5 or Formula 6 above.

[0218] Optionally, the network device can send a third system message, which can be a regional system message, such as SIB-R. The coverage area of ​​the third system message is smaller than that of the SSB / second system message, or in other words, the antenna gain of the third system message is greater than that of the SSB / second system message. This application does not limit the number of regional system messages associated with the SSB.

[0219] Based on the above S310 (including S310a and / or S310b) and S320, the interaction between the terminal device and the network device can be seen in Figure 9. The network device uses a wide beam to send SSB or second system messages. The terminal device can send a random access request, such as a random access preamble, through one of the area-level narrow beams #0 to #2. The network device can use multiple beams to receive and receive random access requests and determine the location area of ​​the terminal device. Then, the network device can use the area-level narrow beam #2 for downlink transmission, such as transmitting RAR, Msg4 in the random access process, etc. This application does not limit the beam used by the terminal device for uplink transmission. For example, it can be a wide beam or a narrow beam (such as the area-level narrow beam #2). The data / signaling transmitted by the terminal device uplink can include, for example, Msg3 in the random access process, Msg5 in the random access process, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can receive the third system message and RAR in the RAR window after a delay (k-offset) after sending the random access request. It should be noted that this example only illustrates a 4-step random access method, but it is not a limitation. For example, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to a 2-step random access method.

[0220] As shown in Figure 9, after initial access is completed, network devices and terminal devices can use user-level narrow beams for data transmission.

[0221] As shown in Figure 9, in a paging scenario after the terminal device has accessed the network, the network device can use area beam #2 to send a paging message to the terminal device.

[0222] Therefore, in this embodiment, the SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas. Since the range of each location area in the M location areas is smaller than the coverage of the SSB and the second system message, downlink control information is detected on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device to schedule paging messages, so as to improve the transmission performance of paging messages when performing regional paging on the network side.

[0223] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0224] The methods provided in the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to several accompanying drawings. The apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0225] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of a possible apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, an apparatus 400 provided in this application includes a transceiver module 410 and a processing module 420. The apparatus 400 is used to implement the functions of a terminal device or network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 7, or 8 above.

[0226] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to receive SSB and receive the first system message based on the search space indicated by the SSB. The processing module 420 is used to determine the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message. The transceiver module 410 is also used to detect downlink control information from the network device on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages. In this case, the coverage range of the SSB is greater than the coverage range of the first system message, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

[0227] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to send SSB and send a first system message based on the search space, the processing module 420 can be used to determine the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, and the transceiver module 410 is also used to send downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, the downlink control information being used to schedule paging messages; wherein, the coverage range of the SSB is greater than the coverage range of the first system message, and / or, the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

[0228] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to receive an SSB associated with M system messages, the coverage of the SSB being greater than the coverage of the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB being less than the antenna gain of the system messages. The processing module 420 can be used to determine the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages. The transceiver module 410 is used to detect downlink control information from the network device on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages.

[0229] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG7 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to send an SSB, the SSB is associated with M system messages, the coverage of the SSB is greater than the coverage of the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the system messages. The processing module 420 can be used to determine the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages. The transceiver module 410 can also be used to send downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages.

[0230] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the function of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG8 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to receive SSB or second system message. The SSB or second system message carries information of M location areas. The coverage of the SSB is greater than the range of the location area, and the coverage of the second system message is greater than the range of the location area. The processing module 420 can be used to determine the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device. The transceiver module 410 can also be used to detect downlink control information from the network device on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location area. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages. The M location areas include the second location area.

[0231] For example, when the device 400 is used to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG8 above, the transceiver module 410 can be used to send an SSB or a second system message. The SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas. The coverage of the SSB is greater than the range of the location area, and the coverage of the second system message is greater than the range of the location area. The processing module 420 can be used to determine the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device. The transceiver module 410 is also used to send downlink control information based on the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location area. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages. The M location areas include the second location area.

[0232] For a more detailed description of the processing module 410 and the transceiver module 420, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0233] It is understood that the division of units / modules 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.

[0234] Figure 11 is another schematic block diagram of the device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510. The processor 510 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the device (e.g., a vehicle or a chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0235] Alternatively, in one design, processor 510 may include a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that can be executed on processor 510, causing device 500 to perform the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments. In yet another possible design, device 500 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG11) for implementing the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0236] For example, processor 510 may be used to execute a computer program in memory to implement the steps performed by a terminal device or network device in the method embodiment.

[0237] Optionally, the device 500 may include one or more memories 520 storing computer programs (sometimes referred to as code or instructions) that can be run on the processor 510, causing the device 500 to perform the methods performed by the terminal device or network device in the above embodiments.

[0238] Optionally, the processor 510 and / or memory 520 may also store data. The processor and memory may be configured separately or integrated together.

[0239] Optionally, the device 500 may also include a communication interface 530. The processor 510, sometimes referred to as a processing unit, controls the device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device). The communication interface 530, sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver, is used to implement the transceiver function of the device; for example, the communication interface 530 can be used to receive first configuration information.

[0240] Optionally, the device 500 also includes a communication interface 530. The processor 510 and the communication interface 530 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication interface 530 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0241] When the device 500 is used to implement the above method embodiments, the processor 510 can be used to execute the functions of the processing unit 520, and the communication interface 530 can be used to execute the functions of the transceiver unit 510. Whether the communication interface 530 is used for sending or receiving depends on whether the device 500 is used to perform a sending or receiving action in the scheme it is executing.

[0242] When the aforementioned device 500 is a chip applied to a terminal, the chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal's chip receives signals from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, and these signals may be sent to the terminal by network devices; or, the terminal's chip sends signals to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, and these signals may be sent to network devices by the terminal.

[0243] When the aforementioned device 500 is a chip applied to a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip of the network device receives signals from other modules in the network device, which may be signals sent by a terminal to the network device; or, the chip of the network device sends signals to other modules in the network device, which may be signals sent by the network device to a terminal.

[0244] It is understood that when the device 500 is a terminal device or a network device, the communication interface 530 can be a transceiver, specifically including a transmitter and a receiver, with the transmitter used to send signals and the receiver used to receive signals. When the device 500 is a chip applied to a terminal device or a network device, the communication interface 530 can be an input / output circuit, wherein the input circuit can be used for receiving and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0245] Optionally, the device 500 also includes a power supply circuit for supplying power to the device 500.

[0246] The above-described method embodiments can be applied to a processor, or implemented by a processor. A processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or through software instructions.

[0247] The aforementioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0248] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0249] The memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, 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). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0250] This application also provides a chip system including at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions of the terminal device or network device involved in any of the above method embodiments, such as sending, receiving, or processing the information involved in the above methods.

[0251] In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing computer program instructions and data, which may be located inside or outside the processor.

[0252] The chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

[0253] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), wherein when the computer program is run, the method executed by the terminal device or the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiments is executed.

[0254] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is run, the method executed by the terminal device or the method executed by the network device in the above method embodiments is executed.

[0255] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned terminal equipment and network equipment.

[0256] The methods provided in the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, they can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product may include one or more computer instructions. When these 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 may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic disk), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0257] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented 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.

[0258] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0259] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, 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 coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0260] The unit described as a separate component may or may not be physically separate. The component shown as a unit may or may not be a physical unit; that is, it may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0261] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0262] If this function is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, or part of it, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0263] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Claims

1. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the terminal device side, including: Receive synchronization signal block SSB; Based on the search space indicated by the SSB, receive the first system message; On the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message, downlink control information from the network device is detected, and the downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages; Wherein, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the first system message, and / or, the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

2. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the network device side, including: Send SSB; Send the first system message; Based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message, downlink control information is sent, and the downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages; Wherein, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the first system message, and / or, the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the first system message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resource associated with the first system message is determined based on the identifier of the first location area and the identifier of the SSB. The identifier of the first location area is used to identify the first location area among the M location areas associated with the SSB. The first location area is the location area covered by the first system message.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message satisfy the following formula: W = n*S + K or, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the first system message satisfy the following formula: W = (K-1)*M+n+1 Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, n is the identifier of the first location area, n is an integer greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first system message carries a paging configuration message for a first location area, where the first location area is the location area covered by the first system message, and the paging configuration message is used to configure the paging resources associated with the first location area. The paging detection opportunity resources include the paging resources associated with the first location area.

6. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the terminal device side, including: Receive an SSB, wherein the SSB is associated with M system messages, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the system messages; On the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, downlink control information from the network device is detected, and the downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: Based on the search space indicated by the SSB, a first system message is received. The first system message carries paging configuration messages for M location areas. The paging configuration messages are used to configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas. The location areas are the location areas covered by the corresponding system message.

8. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the network device side, including: Send an SSB, which is associated with M system messages, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the coverage area of ​​the system messages, and / or the antenna gain of the SSB is less than the antenna gain of the system messages; Based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages, downlink control information is sent, which is used to schedule paging messages.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: Send a first system message, which carries paging configuration messages for M location areas. The paging configuration messages are used to configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas, and the location areas are the location areas covered by the corresponding system message.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages are determined based on the identifier of the SSB.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages satisfy the following formula: W = m * S + K Alternatively, the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the M system messages satisfy the following formula four: W = (K-1)*M + m + 1 Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, m is an integer less than or equal to M and greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

12. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the terminal device side, including: Receive an SSB or a second system message, wherein the SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas, the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the range of the location areas, and the coverage area of ​​the second system message is greater than the range of the location areas; On the paging detection opportunity resource associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device, downlink control information from the network device is detected. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages. The M location areas include the second location area.

13. A paging method, characterized in that, Applied to the network device side, including: Send an SSB or a second system message, wherein the SSB or the second system message carries information about M location areas, wherein the coverage area of ​​the SSB is greater than the range of the location areas, and the coverage area of ​​the second system message is greater than the range of the location areas; Based on the paging detection opportunity resources associated with the current second location area of ​​the terminal device, downlink control information is sent. The downlink control information is used to schedule paging messages. The M location areas include the second location area.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The SSB or the second system message also carries paging configuration messages for the M location areas, which are used to configure the paging resources associated with the corresponding location areas.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resource associated with the second location area is determined based on the identifier of the second location area and the identifier of the SSB. The identifier of the second location area is used to identify the second location area among the M location areas associated with the SSB.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location region are based on satisfying the following formula: W = q * S + K or, The paging detection opportunity resources associated with the second location region are based on satisfying the following formula six: W = (K-1)*M + q + 1 Wherein, W is used to identify the paging detection opportunity resource in the configured paging resources, q is the identifier of the second location area, q is an integer greater than or equal to 0, S is the number of SSBs sent by the network device, K indicates that the SSB is the Kth of the S S SSBs sent by the network device, and M is the number of system messages associated with the SSB.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: a processor for retrieving and executing computer program instructions from memory, causing the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, characterized in that, The communication device also includes the memory.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store computer program instructions, the computer program causing a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

21. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes computer program instructions that cause a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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