CN113853007B

CN113853007B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113853007B
Application number: CN202010600135.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谢曦; 常俊仁; 张向东
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-28
Filing date: 2020-06-28
Publication date: 2024-05-10
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-28
Also published as: WO2022001970A1; CN113853007A

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can solve the problem that terminal equipment frequently receives configuration information of a reference signal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal equipment, and can be applied to 4G systems, 5G systems and future communication systems, such as 6G systems. The method comprises the following steps: the terminal device receives the indication information which is used for indicating the configuration information of the reference signal to change from the network device, and then determines whether to receive the first message comprising the configuration information of the reference signal according to the indication information, namely the terminal device can determine whether to receive the first message according to the indication information and the self requirement, so that the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

Currently, a terminal device in an IDLE (rrc_idle) state or an INACTIVE (rrc_inactive) state may periodically monitor a specific Paging Occasion (PO) to determine whether the network device pages itself. Specifically, before monitoring the PO, the terminal device measures by using a plurality of synchronization signals/physical broadcast channel blocks (synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block, SSB), and completes operations such as time-frequency tracking, timing synchronization and the like according to the measurement result, so as to ensure that the terminal device can enter an awake state to normally monitor the PO. Due to the longer period of SSB, such as 20ms, 40ms, 160ms, etc., the time for the terminal device to measure with SSB before monitoring PO is longer, resulting in higher power consumption of the terminal device.

In the prior art, the terminal device receives configuration information of the reference signal through system information (system information, SI) or paging message (PAGING MESSAGE), and then performs the above measurement using SSB and the reference signal or using only the reference signal. Therefore, the measurement time of the terminal equipment before monitoring the PO can be shortened from the original multiple SSB periods to fewer SSB periods, such as one SSB period, so as to save the power consumption of the terminal equipment.

However, when the terminal device is in the CONNECTED state (rrc_connected) within the coverage area of the network device, the network device sends the reference signal to the CONNECTED terminal device by means of dedicated signaling. Therefore, if the terminal device in the connected state leaves the current serving cell, or exits the connected state, or other terminal devices enter the current cell, or enter the connected state, the reference signal may change, and the network device may send configuration information of the new reference signal. When the reference signal is changed frequently, the terminal device in an idle state or a non-active state receives the configuration information of the reference signal frequently, so that the power consumption of the terminal device is still high.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can solve the problem that terminal equipment frequently receives configuration information of a reference signal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal equipment.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the application adopts the following technical scheme:

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The communication method comprises the following steps: and receiving the indication information, and receiving the first message according to the indication information. The indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed, and the first message comprises the configuration information of the reference signal.

Based on the communication method of the first aspect, the terminal device receives the indication information for indicating the change of the configuration information of the reference signal, and then determines to receive or not receive the first message including the configuration information of the reference signal according to the indication information, that is, the terminal device can determine whether to receive the first message according to the indication information and the own requirement, so that the problem that the terminal device frequently receives the configuration information of the reference signal which is not required by the terminal device can be solved, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

Alternatively, the configuration information may include configuration information of at least one first reference signal group, which may include one or more reference signals. The indication information may include first indication information, which may be used to indicate that configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, and the first indication information may be included in the control information. That is, the reference signals may be divided into one or more reference signal groups, and configuration information of the reference signals may be further divided into configuration information of one or more first reference signal groups, and the first indication information may indicate which specific one or ones of the configuration information of the reference signal groups are changed.

In one possible design, the receiving the first message according to the indication information may include: receiving a first message according to the first indication information, wherein the method specifically comprises the following steps: and if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the used first reference signal group, receiving a first message. In other words, if the changed configuration information of the first reference signal group is not the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may not receive the first message. In this way, the situation that the terminal equipment receives the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal can be avoided, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment is reduced.

In one possible design, the indication information includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, and the second indication information may be included in the control information. That is, the second indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes only configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the first message only includes configuration information of the reference signal means that: when the first message is a paging message, in the configuration information and paging information of the reference signal, the first message only comprises the configuration information of the reference signal and does not comprise the paging information, and the application does not limit whether the first message further comprises other information.

Alternatively, the indication information may further include third indication information, which may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, and the third indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information. That is, the third indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only short messages.

It should be noted that, in the present application, only short messages are referred to as follows: in the scheduling information of paging message and the short message, the control information only comprises the short message, and does not comprise the scheduling information of the paging message, and the application does not limit whether the control information also comprises other information.

In one possible embodiment, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined from time domain configuration information and/or paging occasions of the reference signals.

Optionally, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to time domain configuration information of the reference signals, and the time domain configuration information may include one or more of the following: the period, offset, start subframe, start slot, start symbol of the reference signal. That is, reference signals whose time domain positions are relatively close may be divided into a group.

Or the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to a positional relationship between the reference signals and paging occasions. That is, the reference signals may be grouped in association with paging occasions, and the group numbers of the respective reference signal groups may be associated with the identity of the paging occasions.

In one possible design, the indication information may include fourth indication information, which may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of paging information and/or reference signals, and the fourth indication information may be included in the control information. That is, the fourth indication information may indicate specific content included in the first message.

In one possible design, the indication information may include fifth indication information and sixth indication information, the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, the sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, the fifth indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information, and the sixth indication information may be included in a short message field of the control information. That is, the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only the short message, and the sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

In one possible implementation manner, the communication method of the first aspect may further include: if the first condition is satisfied, the configuration information of the reference signal is not used, or a first message including only the configuration information of the reference signal is not received. Wherein the first condition comprises one or more of: the method comprises the steps of continuously detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals at least twice, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected in a first time period, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least twice in the first time period, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once in the first time period, and enabling link quality to be smaller than a first threshold value. The first time period, the first threshold, may be preset, protocol defined, configured by RRC messages, configured by a Media Access Control (MAC) element (CE), or configured by physical layer signals/signaling. Therefore, the configuration information of invalid reference signals can be avoided, or the configuration information of only the reference signals is avoided being received, so that the power consumption of the terminal equipment is further saved.

In one possible implementation manner, the communication method of the first aspect may further include: and sending the abnormality indication information to the network equipment. The abnormality indication information is used for indicating that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

Alternatively, the abnormality indication information may indicate configuration information of the first reference signal group in which abnormality occurs. That is, configuration information indicating which particular reference signal group or groups is/are abnormal may be indicated.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The communication method comprises the following steps: and sending the indication information and the first message. The indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed, and the first message comprises the configuration information of the reference signal.

Alternatively, the configuration information may include configuration information of at least one first reference signal group, the indication information may include first indication information, the first indication information may be used to indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, the first reference signal group may include one or more reference signals, and the first indication information may be included in the control information.

In one possible design, the indication information may include second indication information, which may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, and the second indication information may be included in the control information.

Alternatively, the indication information may further include third indication information, which may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, and the third indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information.

Optionally, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to time domain configuration information of the reference signals, and the time domain configuration information may include one or more of the following: the period, offset, start subframe, start slot, start symbol of the reference signal. Or the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to a positional relationship between the reference signals and paging occasions.

In one possible design, the indication information may include fourth indication information, which may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of paging information and/or reference signals, and the fourth indication information may be included in the control information.

In one possible design, the indication information may include fifth indication information and sixth indication information, the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, the sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, the fifth indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information, and the sixth indication information may be included in a short message field of the control information.

In one possible design, the communication method according to the second aspect may further include: and receiving the abnormality indication information sent by the terminal equipment. The abnormality indication information is used for indicating that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

Alternatively, the abnormality indication information may indicate configuration information of the first reference signal group in which abnormality occurs.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, which are not described herein.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a transceiver module and a processing module.

The receiving and transmitting module is used for receiving the indication information. Wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed.

And the processing module is used for controlling the receiving and transmitting module to receive the first message according to the indication information. Wherein the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

In one possible design, the processing module is further configured to control the transceiver module to receive the first message according to the first indication information, and may specifically include: and if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the used first reference signal group, controlling the transceiver module to receive the first message.

In one possible design, the processing module is further configured to, if the first condition is met, not use the configuration information of the reference signal, or control the transceiver module not to receive the first message including only the configuration information of the reference signal. Wherein the first condition comprises one or more of: the method comprises the steps of continuously detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals at least twice, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected in a first time period, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least twice in the first time period, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once in the first time period, and enabling link quality to be smaller than a first threshold value. The first time period, the first threshold value may be preset, protocol defined, configured by RRC message, configured by MAC CE, or configured by physical layer signal/signaling.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send the abnormality indication information to the network device. The abnormality indication information is used for indicating that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

It should be noted that the transceiver module of the third aspect may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. The receiving module is used for receiving data and/or signaling from the network equipment; the sending module is used for sending data and/or signaling to the network equipment. The application is not particularly limited to the specific implementation manner of the transceiver module.

Optionally, the communication device according to the third aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the communication device of the third aspect to perform the method of the first aspect.

The communication device according to the third aspect may be a terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be disposed in the terminal device, which is not limited in this aspect of the present application.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication device according to the third aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, which are not described herein.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: and a transceiver module.

The receiving and transmitting module is used for sending the indication information. Wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed.

And the transceiver module is also used for sending the first message. Wherein the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

In one possible design, the configuration information may include configuration information of at least one first reference signal group, the indication information may include first indication information, the first indication information may be used to indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, the first reference signal group may include one or more reference signals, and the first indication information may be included in the control information.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive the abnormality indication information from the terminal device. The abnormality indication information is used for indicating that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

The transceiver module of the fourth aspect may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. The receiving module is used for receiving data and/or signaling from the terminal equipment; the sending module is used for sending data and/or signaling to the terminal equipment. The application is not particularly limited to the specific implementation manner of the transceiver module.

Optionally, the communication device according to the fourth aspect may further include a processing module and a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the communications device of the fourth aspect to perform the method of the second aspect.

The communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be disposed in the network device, which is not limited by the present application.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication device according to the fourth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect, which are not described herein.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a computer program; the processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform a communication method as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first to second aspects.

In one possible design, the communication device according to the fifth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an input/output port. The transceiver may be used for the communication device to communicate with other communication devices.

In the present application, the communication apparatus according to the fifth aspect may be a terminal device and/or a network device, or a chip system provided inside the terminal device and/or the network device.

Further, the technical effects of the communication apparatus according to the fifth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to any implementation manner of the first aspect to the second aspect, and are not described herein.

In a sixth aspect, a communication system is provided. The system comprises a network device and a terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium comprising: the computer-readable storage medium includes a computer program or instructions; the computer program or instructions, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method as described in any one of the possible implementations of the first to second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to second aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a time domain position of a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of time domain positions of a reference signal and PO according to an embodiment of the application;

Fig. 6 is a second schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a second structure of the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram III of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of the application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, such as a wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wiFi) system, a vehicle-to-vehicle (vehicle to everything, V2X) communication system, an inter-device (device-todevie, D2D) communication system, a vehicle networking communication system, a 4th generation (4th generation,4G) mobile communication system, such as a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) mobile communication system, such as a new radio, NR) system, and future communication systems, such as a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) mobile communication system, and the like.

The present application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features about a system that may include a plurality of devices, components, modules, etc. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary," "for example," and the like are used to indicate an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term use of an example is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiment of the present application, "information", "signal", "message", "channel", and "signaling (singalling)" may be used in a mixed manner, and it should be noted that the meaning of the expression is consistent when the distinction is not emphasized. "of", "corresponding (corresponding, relevant)" and "corresponding (corresponding)" are sometimes used in combination, and it should be noted that the meaning of the expression is consistent when the distinction is not emphasized.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to similar technical problems.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which the communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is applicable. To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system suitable for use in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the communication system shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that the solution in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to other mobile communication systems, and the corresponding names may also be replaced by names of corresponding functions in other mobile communication systems.

As shown in fig. 1, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device.

The terminal equipment is a terminal which is accessed to the communication system and has a wireless receiving and transmitting function or a chip system which can be arranged on the terminal. The terminal device may also be referred to as a user equipment, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in unmanned (SELF DRIVING), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (SMART GRID), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (SMART CITY), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a vehicle-mounted terminal, an RSU with a terminal function, or the like. The terminal device of the present application may be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip, or a vehicle-mounted unit that is built in a vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle may implement the communication method provided by the present application through the built-in vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip, or vehicle-mounted unit.

The network device is a device located on the network side of the communication system and having a wireless transceiver function or a chip (system) or other parts or components thereof. Network devices include, but are not limited to: an Access Point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wiFi) system, such as a home gateway, a router, a server, a switch, a bridge, etc., an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a Node B (Node B, NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a transmission point (transmission and reception point, TRP, transmission point, TP), etc., may also be 5G, such as a gcb in a new air interface (NR) system, or a transmission point (TRP, TP), one or a group of base stations (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels in a 5G system, or may also be network nodes constituting a gcb or transmission point, such as a BBU, or a distributed unit (base station), a base station unit (rsside unit), a DU, etc.

It should be noted that, the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1.

It should be understood that fig. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram that is merely exemplary for ease of understanding, and that other network devices, and/or other terminal devices, may also be included in the communication system, which are not shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device that may be used to perform the communication method according to the embodiment of the present application. The communication means may be a network device or may be a chip (system) or other part or component applicable to a network device. Or the communication device may be a terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other part or component applicable to the terminal device.

As shown in fig. 2, the communication device 200 may include a processor 201 and a memory 202. Optionally, the communication device 200 may also include a transceiver 203. Wherein the processor 201 is coupled to the memory 202 and the transceiver 203, such as may be connected by a communication bus.

The following describes the respective constituent elements of the communication apparatus 200 in detail with reference to fig. 2:

The processor 201 is a control center of the communication device 200, and may be one processor or a collective term of a plurality of processing elements. For example, processor 201 is one or more central processing units (central processing unit, CPU), but may also be an Application SPECIFIC INTEGRATED Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the application, such as: one or more microprocessors (DIGITAL SIGNAL processors, DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (field programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGAs).

Among other things, the processor 201 may perform various functions of the communication device 200 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 202 and invoking data stored in the memory 202.

In a particular implementation, the processor 201 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 2, as an embodiment.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 200 may also include a plurality of processors, such as the processor 201 and the processor 204 shown in fig. 2. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more communication devices, circuitry, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 202 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE READ-only memory, EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disc storage, a compact disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory 202 may be integrated with the processor 201 or may exist separately and be coupled to the processor 201 through an input/output port (not shown in fig. 2) of the communication device 200, which is not specifically limited by the embodiment of the present application.

Wherein the memory 202 is used for storing a software program for executing the scheme of the application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 201. The specific implementation manner may refer to the following method embodiments, which are not described herein.

A transceiver 203 for communication with other communication devices. For example, the communication apparatus 200 is a terminal device, and the transceiver 203 may be used to communicate with a network device. As another example, the communication apparatus 200 is a network device, and the transceiver 203 may be used to communicate with a terminal device. In addition, the transceiver 203 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not separately shown in fig. 2). The receiver is used for realizing the receiving function, and the transmitter is used for realizing the transmitting function. The transceiver 203 may be integrated with the processor 201 or may exist separately and be coupled to the processor 201 through an input/output port (not shown in fig. 2) of the communication device 200, which is not specifically limited by the embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 200 shown in fig. 2 is not limited to the communication device, and an actual communication device may include more or less components than those shown, or may combine some components, or may be different in arrangement of components.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application will be specifically described with reference to fig. 3 to 8.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication method may be applied to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 3, the communication method includes the steps of:

S301, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device.

Wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed.

Illustratively, the reference signals may include channel state information reference signals (CHANNEL STATE information REFERENCE SIGNAL, CSI-RS) or tracking reference signals (TRACKING REFERENCE SIGNAL, TRS), etc.

Optionally, the configuration information of the reference signals may include configuration information of at least one first reference signal group, the first reference signal group including one or more reference signals. That is, the reference signals may be divided into one or more reference signal groups, and configuration information of the reference signals may be further divided into configuration information of one or more first reference signal groups.

Illustratively, the time domain configuration information may include one or more of the following: the period, offset, start subframe, start slot, start symbol of the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined from time domain configuration information of the reference signals. That is, reference signals whose time domain positions are relatively close may be divided into a group.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a time domain position of a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. Taking the tracking reference signal TRS as an example in connection with fig. 4, where the positions of the TRS signals on the time axis t represent the time domain positions of the respective TRS signals, assuming that the TRS1 is separated from the TRS2 by 2ms, the TRS3 is separated from the TRS2 by 10ms, and the time domain positions between the TRS1 and the TRS2 are closer, the TRS1 and the TRS2 may be divided into one group and the TRS3 into another group.

In other embodiments, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to a positional relationship between the reference signals and paging occasions. That is, the reference signals may be grouped in association with paging occasions, and the group numbers of the respective reference signal groups may be associated with the identity of the paging occasions.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating time domain positions of reference signals and POs according to an embodiment of the application. Referring to fig. 5, taking tracking the reference signal TRS as an example, where the positions of the TRS signals and the POs on the time axis t represent the time domain positions of the respective TRS signals and the POs, where the TRS4 and the TRS5 are located before the PO1, where the TRS6 is located before the PO2, the TRS4 and the TRS5 may be divided into a group, where the group numbers of the reference signal groups including the TRS4 and the TRS5 may be associated with the identifier "1" of the PO1, such as the reference signal group 1, and where the group numbers of the reference signal groups including the TRS6 may be associated with the identifier "2" of the PO2, such as the reference signal group 2.

Specifically, the reference signals may be divided into N first reference signal groups, N being a positive integer. The value of N may be defined by a protocol, or equal to the number of POs in a paging frame (PAGING FRAME, PF), or configured by a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) message, system information, or paging message.

Alternatively, the indication information may include first indication information, which may be used to indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, and the first indication information may be included in the control information.

For example, the network device may send the first indication information through downlink control information (downlink control information, DCI), such as DCI format 1_0 (DCI format 1_0) scrambled by paging radio network temporary identity (paging radio network temporary identifier, P-RNTI), which may indicate which specific one or more of the configuration information of the reference signal group is changed.

Referring to fig. 5, the first indication information may indicate that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is changed, or that the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is changed, or that the configuration information of both the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 is changed.

The P-RNTI scrambled DCI formats 1_0 are specifically described below in conjunction with tables 1 and 2.

As shown in table 1, the P-RNTI scrambled DCI format 1_0 may include the following fields (fields): short message indication (short message indicator), short message (short message), frequency domain resource configuration information, time domain resource configuration information, transport Block (TB) scaling, etc. The specific contents and definitions of the contents included in the DCI format 1_0 are shown in table 1.

The short message in table 1 occupies 8bits, indicates system information update and/or earthquake and tsunami warning (earthquake and tsunami WARNING SYSTEM, ETWS))/commercial mobile alert (commercial mobile ALERT SERVICE, CMAS). Specifically, the definitions of the individual bits in the short message field are shown in table 2.

TABLE 1

The short message in the above table 1 occupies 8bits, and indicates system information update and/or earthquake and tsunami warning (earthquake and tsunami WARNING SYSTEM, ETWS)/commercial mobile warning (commercial mobile ALERT SERVICE, CMAS). Specifically, the definition of each bit in the short message field is as shown in table 2 above.

Alternatively, the first indication information may occupy 6 reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 in table 1 or reserved bits, i.e., the 3 rd to 8 th bits, in the short message field in table 2.

In some embodiments, the size of the first indication information may be N bits, where N may be the number of the first reference signal groups, and each bit in the N bits corresponds to configuration information of one first reference signal group. Alternatively, a binary "1" may indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group corresponding to the bit is changed, and a binary "0" may indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group corresponding to the bit is unchanged.

In connection with fig. 5 and table 1, assuming that the reference signals are divided into 2 groups, such as reference signal group 1 and reference signal group 2, the first indication information may occupy any 2 bits among the 6 reserved bits in table 1. One bit corresponds to reference signal group 1 and the other bit corresponds to reference signal group 2.

For example, if the bit corresponding to the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is "1", and the bit corresponding to the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is "0", it indicates that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is changed and the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is not changed. For another example, if the bits corresponding to the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 are both "1", the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 is changed.

In connection with fig. 5 and table 2, assuming that the reference signals are divided into 2 groups, such as reference signal group 1 and reference signal group 2, the first indication information may occupy any 2 bits among the 3 rd-8 th reserved bits in table 2.

For example, the 3 rd bit corresponds to the reference signal group 1, the 4 th bit corresponds to the reference signal group 2, and if the 3 rd bit is "1" and the 4 th bit is "0", it indicates that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is changed, and the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is not changed. For another example, if the 3 rd bit and the 4 th bit are both "1", the configuration information indicating the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 are changed.

In other embodiments, the first indication information may occupy at least one bit, and the first indication information may include a bit combination value formed by at least one bit, where the bit combination value formed by at least one bit corresponds to configuration information of at least one first reference signal group one to one, and the bit combination value may indicate that the configuration information of the corresponding first reference signal group changes.

Referring to fig. 5, assuming that the reference signals are divided into 2 groups, such as reference signal group 1 and reference signal group 2, the first indication information may occupy any of 6 reserved bits in table 1, or the first indication information may occupy any of 3 rd to 8 th reserved bits in table 2.

For example, a bit combination value of binary "0" may indicate that the configuration information of reference signal group 1 is changed, a bit combination value of binary "1" may indicate that the configuration information of reference signal group 2 is changed, and a binary "01" or "10" may indicate that the configuration information of both reference signal group 1 and reference signal group 2 is changed. That is, "0" may be used as the identification of the reference signal group 1, and "1" may be used as the identification of the reference signal group 2, with the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 each occupying 1 bit, and the bit positions occupied by the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 are not defined.

For another example, a binary "00" may indicate that the configuration information of reference signal group 1 is changed, a binary "01" may indicate that the configuration information of reference signal group 2 is changed, and a binary "0001" or "0100" may indicate that the configuration information of both reference signal group 1 and reference signal group 2 is changed. That is, "00" may be used as the identifier of the reference signal group 1, and "01" may be used as the identifier of the reference signal group 2, where the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 each occupy 2 bits, and bit positions occupied by the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 2 are not limited.

When the reference signal group 3 and the reference signal group 4 exist, a binary value of "10" can indicate that the configuration information of the reference signal group 3 changes, a binary value of "11" can indicate that the configuration information of the reference signal group 4 changes, and when the first indication information is binary value of "0010" or "1000", the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 and the reference signal group 3 changes, and the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 and the reference signal group 4 does not change; if the first indication information is binary "11", it may indicate that the configuration information of the reference signal group 4 is changed, and the configuration information of the reference signal group 1, the reference signal group 2, and the reference signal group 3 are not changed. That is, the first indication information may not include an identification of the unchanged reference signal group, and the number of bits occupied by the first indication information may not be fixed, and may be related to the number of the changed reference signal groups.

The present application is not limited to how to identify each reference signal group, and may indicate that the configuration information of the corresponding reference signal group is changed.

Alternatively, the indication information may include a first indication information and a system information modification indication. Wherein, the system information modification indication may occupy bit 1 of the short message field in table 2.

Illustratively, the 1 st bit system information modification in table 2 is indicated as "1", and may indicate that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 have modifications; the 1 st bit system information modification in table 2 is indicated as "0", and may indicate that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 are not modified.

Specifically, when the 1 st bit system information modification indication in table 2 is "0", indication information including the first indication information and the system information modification indication may be used to indicate that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 are unmodified and configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed.

When the 1 st bit system information modification indication in table 2 is "1", indication information including the first indication information and the system information modification indication may be used to indicate that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 are modified and configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed.

Alternatively, the indication information may include second indication information, which may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

That is, the second indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes only configuration information of the reference signal. It should be noted that, in the present application, the first message only includes configuration information of the reference signal means that: when the first message is a paging message, in the configuration information and paging information of the reference signal, the first message only comprises the configuration information of the reference signal and does not comprise the paging information, and the application does not limit whether the first message further comprises other information.

The first message, the paging message, and the paging information are explained below.

Alternatively, the first message may be system information or a paging message.

When the first message is a paging message, the paging message may include paging information and/or configuration information of a reference signal, the paging information may include an identifier of at least one terminal device, the identifier of the at least one terminal device may be used by the terminal device to determine whether the network device is paging itself, and if the identifier of the at least one terminal device includes an identifier of the terminal device, the terminal device may determine that the network device pages the terminal device.

When the first message is system information, the system information may include one or more of configuration information of the reference signal, minimum system information, other system information. Wherein the minimum system information is composed of a main information block (master information block, MIB) and a system information block 1 (system information block, sib1), SIB1 is also called residual minimum information (REMAINING MINIMUM SYSTEM INFORMATION, RMSI), and other system information is composed of other SIBs, such as SIB2 to SIB 9.

Alternatively, the second indication information may be included in the control information.

For example, the second indication information may occupy a "00" value in the short message indication field of DCI format 1_0 in table 1, that is, the short message indication field included in the control information, indicating that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal.

For another example, the second indication information may occupy any 1 bit of the 6 reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 in table 1, where a binary "1" may indicate that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal, and a binary "0" may indicate that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal, e.g., the paging message includes only paging information, or the paging message includes both paging information and configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, in the present application, that the paging message includes only paging information means that: in both the configuration information and the paging information of the reference signal, the paging message only includes the paging information and does not include the configuration information of the reference signal, and the application does not limit whether the paging message also includes other information.

Alternatively, the indication information may include third indication information, which may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, and the third indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information.

That is, the third indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only the short message, and the third indication information may occupy a value of "10" in the short message indication field of DCI format 1_0 in table 1, that is, be included in the short message indication field of the control information.

Alternatively, the indication information may include fourth indication information, which may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of paging information and/or reference signals, and the fourth indication information may be included in the control information.

For example, the fourth indication information may occupy 6 reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 in table 1.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, the fourth indication information may occupy 2 bits, for example, a binary "01" indicates that the first message only includes configuration information of the reference signal, a binary "10" indicates that the first message only includes paging information, a binary "11" indicates that the first message includes configuration information of the paging information and the reference signal, and a binary "00" is used as a reserved value. The present application is not limited to the specific definition of each value of these 2 bits, and may indicate the content included in the paging message.

Alternatively, the indication information may include fifth indication information and sixth indication information.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, the indication information including the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information may indicate that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal.

Wherein the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, and the fifth indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information. That is, the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only the short message, and the fifth indication information may occupy a value of "10" in the short message indication field of the DCI format 1_0 in the above table 1, that is, be included in the short message indication field of the control information.

The sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, and the sixth indication information may be included in a short message field of the control information. That is, the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, and the sixth indication information may occupy any 1 bit among the 3 rd to 8 th reserved bits of the short message in table 2.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, the sixth indication information occupies the 3 rd bit in the 3 rd-8 th reserved bits of the short message in table 2, for example, a binary "1" indicates that the paging message includes the configuration information of the reference signal, and a binary "0" indicates that the paging message does not include the configuration information of the reference signal.

Note that the present application does not limit the bits occupied by the first to sixth indication information. For example, the first to sixth indication information may multiplex bits defined in table 1 or table 2 but not used, as for bits shown in row 3 in table 2, which may occupy when not used as ETWS and CMAS indications. For another example, the first to sixth indication information may occupy other extension bits of the control information. The control information in the embodiment of the application is not limited to DCI or DCI format 1_0 scrambled by P-RNTI, but also can be control information sent by RRC message, and the application does not limit the implementation mode of the control information.

S302, the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the first message according to the indication information.

Specifically, if yes, the terminal device executes S303, where the terminal device receives a first message from the network device; if not, the terminal device may not receive the first message from the network device, i.e. may not execute S303 described below.

Wherein the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

Alternatively, the first message may be system information or a paging message. For specific implementation of the system information and the paging message, reference may be made to S301 above, and details are not repeated here.

Alternatively, the terminal device may determine whether to receive the first message according to the indication information in combination with its own type or requirement.

Illustratively, the terminal devices can be divided into three categories: a terminal device that supports and uses a reference signal mechanism, a terminal device that supports but does not use a reference signal mechanism, and a terminal device that does not support a reference signal mechanism. The reference signal mechanism is a mechanism that the terminal device measures by using the SSB and the reference signal or only using the reference signal before monitoring the PO, and completes operations such as time-frequency tracking, timing synchronization and the like according to a measurement result, so that the terminal device can enter an awake state to normally monitor the PO when monitoring the PO.

For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, a terminal device that supports and uses a reference signal mechanism is referred to as a first terminal device, and a terminal device that supports but does not use a reference signal mechanism and a terminal device that does not support a reference signal mechanism are referred to as a second terminal device.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information.

For example, the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information, and reference may be made to the following steps one to three.

Step one, the terminal device may determine a first reference signal group that changes according to the first indication information.

That is, the terminal device may determine which or which of the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed according to the first indication information.

Referring to fig. 5 and table 1, assuming that the first indication information occupies any 2 bits in the 6 reserved bits in table 1, if the first indication information may be "01", where "0" corresponds to indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is unchanged and "1" corresponds to the configuration information of the reference signal group 2, the terminal device may determine that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is unchanged according to the first indication information, and the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is changed.

Step two, the terminal equipment determines whether the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal equipment.

Referring to fig. 5, in the above step, it is determined that the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 is changed, and if the configuration information of the reference signal group used by the terminal device is the configuration information of the reference signal group 2, the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device.

Step three, if the changed configuration information of the first reference signal group is the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment can receive the first message; if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is not the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may not receive the first message.

Referring to fig. 5, in the second step, it is determined that the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device, and the terminal device may receive the first message.

It should be noted that, if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group includes the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may receive the first message. For example, if the first indication information indicates that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 and the configuration information of the reference signal group 2 are both changed, the terminal device may receive the first message so as not to miss the first message if the changed configuration information of the first reference signal group includes the configuration information of the reference signal group 2.

Or if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group does not include the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may not receive the first message. For example, if the first indication information indicates that the configuration information of the reference signal group 1 is changed, the changed configuration information of the first reference signal group does not include the configuration information of the reference signal group 2, the terminal device may not receive the first message, and it may be avoided that the terminal device receives the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal group, thereby reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the system information modification indication.

The system information modification indication may be the indication information of the 1 st bit (the second row in table 2) of the short message in table 2.

Taking the first message as system information as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the system information according to the first indication information and the system information modification indication by the first terminal device and the second terminal device respectively are as follows.

Assuming that the 1 st bit system information modification indication in table 2 is "1", indicating that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 are modified, both the first terminal device and the second terminal device may perform step S303 described below to receive the system information, avoiding missing the system information.

Assuming that the 1 st bit system information modification indication in table 2 is "0", indicating that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7, SIB8 are not modified, the second terminal device may determine not to receive system information according to the system information modification indication, and may avoid the second terminal device from receiving configuration information of an unnecessary reference signal, so that power consumption of the terminal device may be reduced.

Assuming that the 1 st bit system information modification indication in table 2 is "0", which indicates that other system information blocks except SIB6, SIB7 and SIB8 are not modified, the first terminal device may determine whether to receive the system information according to the first indication information, and if the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal device is changed, the terminal device may determine to receive the system information, and may avoid the terminal device from receiving the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal group, thereby reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the second indication information.

The second indication information may occupy the "00" value in table 1, that is, be included in the short message indication field of the control information, to indicate that the paging message includes only the configuration information of the reference signal.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the paging message by the first terminal device and the second terminal device according to the first indication information and the second indication information respectively are as follows.

When the terminal equipment is the first terminal equipment, the first terminal equipment can acquire that the paging message only comprises the configuration information of the reference signal and does not comprise the paging message according to the second indication information, can determine whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information, and if the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal equipment is changed, the terminal equipment can determine to receive the paging message, and can avoid the terminal equipment from receiving the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal group, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal equipment.

When the terminal equipment is second terminal equipment, the second terminal equipment supporting but not using the reference signal mechanism can obtain the paging message only including the configuration information of the reference signal and not including the paging information according to the second indication information, so that the paging message can be determined not to be received according to the second indication information, the second terminal equipment is prevented from receiving the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced; the second terminal device that does not support the reference signal mechanism may not interpret the second indication information occupying the "00" value in the above table 1, so that the terminal device is not instructed to receive the paging message including only the configuration information of the reference signal, and power consumption of the terminal device may be reduced.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the third indication information.

The third indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only short messages, and for the specific implementation manner of the third indication information, reference may be made to S301 above, which is not described herein again.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the paging message by the first terminal device and the second terminal device according to the first indication information and the third indication information respectively are as follows.

When the terminal equipment is the first terminal equipment, the first terminal equipment can acquire that the control information only comprises the short message and does not comprise the scheduling information of the paging message according to the third indication information, can determine whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information, and if the configuration information of the first reference signal group used by the terminal equipment is changed, the terminal equipment can determine to receive the paging message, and can avoid the terminal equipment from receiving the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal group, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal equipment.

When the terminal device is the second terminal device, the second terminal device can learn that the control information only comprises the short message and does not comprise the scheduling information of the paging message according to the third indication information, so that the paging message can be determined not to be received according to the third indication information, the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal can be avoided being received, and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the second indication information.

The second indication information is used for indicating that the first message only comprises configuration information of the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the second indication information may occupy any 1 bit of the 6 reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 in table 1. For example, a binary "1" may indicate that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal, and a binary "0" may indicate that the paging message includes other than configuration information of the reference signal, such as that the paging message includes paging information, or that the paging message includes configuration information of the paging information and the reference signal.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the paging message according to the second indication information by the first terminal device and the second terminal device respectively are as follows.

When the terminal device is the first terminal device, the first terminal device can determine to receive the paging message whether the 1 bit occupied by the second indication information is binary "1" or binary "0".

When the terminal equipment is the second terminal equipment, if 1 bit occupied by the second indication information is binary '1', the second terminal equipment can acquire that the paging information only comprises the configuration information of the reference signal and does not comprise the paging information, so that the paging information is determined not to be received according to the second indication information, the paging information comprising the configuration information of the reference signal is prevented from being received, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Or if 1 bit occupied by the second indication information is binary "0", the second terminal device can learn that the paging message comprises paging information, or that the paging message comprises paging information and configuration information of the reference signal, so that the paging message can be determined to be received according to the second indication information, and the paging is prevented from being missed.

In other embodiments, the second indication information may occupy the "00" value in table 1, that is, be included in the short message indication field of the control information, to indicate that the paging message includes only the configuration information of the reference signal.

When the terminal device is the first terminal device, the first terminal device can acquire the configuration information of the reference signal only from the paging message according to the second indication information, and the first terminal device can determine to receive the paging message according to the second indication information because the first terminal device needs the configuration information of the reference signal.

When the terminal equipment is second terminal equipment, the second terminal equipment supporting but not using the reference signal mechanism can acquire the paging message only including the configuration information of the reference signal according to the second indication information and does not include the paging information, and the second terminal equipment does not need the configuration information of the reference signal, so that the paging message can not be received, the receiving of the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal can be avoided, and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced; the second terminal device that does not support the reference signal mechanism may not interpret the second indication information occupying the "00" value in the above table 1, so that the terminal device is not instructed to receive the paging message including only the configuration information of the reference signal, and power consumption of the terminal device may be reduced.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the first message according to the fourth indication information.

The fourth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes paging information and/or configuration information of the reference signal, and for the specific implementation of the fourth indication information, reference may be made to S301 above, which is not described herein again.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the paging message by the first terminal device and the second terminal device according to the fourth indication information respectively are as follows.

When the terminal device is the first terminal device, the terminal device may obtain the specific content of the paging message according to the fourth indication information, that is, the configuration information including the paging information and/or the reference signal, and the first terminal device may determine to receive the paging message.

When the terminal device is the second terminal device, if the fourth indication information indicates that the paging message only includes the configuration information of the reference signal, since the second terminal device does not need the configuration information of the reference signal, it can be determined that the paging message is not received, and the reception of the configuration information of the unnecessary reference signal is avoided, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. It should be appreciated that when the fourth indication information indicates that the paging message includes only paging information, or configuration information including paging information and a reference signal, the second terminal device may determine to receive the paging message, avoiding missing the paging.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the first message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information.

The fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only the short message, and the sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal, and for specific implementation manners of the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, reference may be made to S301 above, which is not repeated herein.

Taking the first message as a paging message as an example, examples of determining whether to receive the paging message according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information by the first terminal device and the second terminal device, respectively, are as follows.

When the terminal device is the first terminal device, if 1bit occupied by the sixth indication information is binary "1", the first terminal device may learn that the paging message including the configuration information of the reference signal exists according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, and the first terminal device may determine to receive the paging message. Or if the 1bit occupied by the sixth indication information is binary "0", which indicates that the paging message does not include the configuration information of the reference signal, the first terminal device may learn, according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, that the paging message including the paging information and/or the configuration information of the reference signal does not exist, and the first terminal device may not receive the paging message.

When the terminal device is the second terminal device, the terminal device may obtain, according to the fifth indication information, that the control information includes only the short message and does not include the scheduling information of the paging message, and may determine not to receive the paging message, so as to avoid unnecessarily receiving the paging message, and may reduce power consumption of the terminal device.

S303, the network device sends a first message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first message from the network device.

In one possible design, after the terminal device receives the first message from the network device, if the first condition is met, the terminal device may not use the configuration information of the reference signal, or may not receive the first message including only the configuration information of the reference signal.

Wherein the first condition comprises one or more of: the method comprises the steps of continuously detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals at least twice, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected in a first time period, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least twice in the first time period, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once in the first time period, and enabling link quality to be smaller than a first threshold value. Wherein the first time period, the first threshold value may be preset, protocol defined, configured by RRC message, configured by MAC CE, or configured by physical layer signal/signaling.

That is, after the terminal device executes S303 above and receives the first message including the configuration information of the reference information, if the first condition is satisfied, the terminal device may not use the configuration information of the reference signal or not receive the first message including only the configuration information of the reference signal, and may avoid using the configuration information of the invalid reference signal or avoid receiving only the configuration information of the reference signal, thereby further saving power consumption of the terminal device.

By way of example, link quality may refer to channel quality, or serving cell (SERVING CELL) quality, such as serving cell reference signal received power (REFERENCE SIGNAL RECEIVED power, RSRP), reference signal received quality (REFERENCE SIGNAL RECEIVED quality, RSRQ), signal-to-noise AND INTERFERNECE ratio (SINR).

The reference signal received power RSRP may be a power value of the received reference signal within a measurement bandwidth under investigation.

The reference signal received quality RSRQ may satisfy the following equation (1).

Wherein: m is the number of resource blocks in RSSI measurement of NR carrier, NR_RSSI is the new air interface carrier received signal strength, and the new air interface (NR) carrier received signal strength (RECEIVED SIGNAL STRENGTH indicator, RSSI) indication is the linear average of the total received power observed by the terminal device on M Resource Blocks (RBs) from the co-channel serving cell and non-serving cell, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise, etc.

The signal to interference plus noise ratio SINR is the ratio of the linear average of the power of the Resource Element (RE) carrying the reference signal to the sum of the linear averages of the power of the noise and interference on these REs within the considered measurement bandwidth.

Further, the terminal device may send abnormality indication information to the network device. Accordingly, the network device may receive the abnormality indication information from the terminal device.

For example, the abnormality indication information may be used to indicate that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

For another example, the abnormality indication information may indicate configuration information of a reference signal in which an abnormality occurs. That is, configuration information indicating which particular reference signal or signals is/are abnormal may be indicated.

For another example, the abnormality indication information may indicate configuration information of the first reference signal group in which abnormality occurs. That is, configuration information indicating which particular reference signal group or groups is/are abnormal may be indicated.

For example, the terminal device may transmit the abnormality indication information through a random access procedure, such as message 1 or message 3 or message a using random access, or may carry the abnormality indication information through an RRC message or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or a physical layer signal/signaling.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 3, the terminal device receives the indication information for indicating the change of the configuration information of the reference signal, and then determines to receive or not receive the first message including the configuration information of the reference signal according to the indication information, i.e. the terminal device can determine whether to receive the first message according to the indication information and the own requirement, so that the problem that the terminal device frequently receives the configuration information of the reference signal which is not required by the terminal device can be solved, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is specifically described below by taking the first message as system information and taking reference signal grouping as an example.

Fig. 6 is a second flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication method may be applied to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1.

S601, the network equipment sends first indication information to the terminal equipment. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device.

The first indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, and the first indication information is contained in the control information.

For example, the configuration information of the reference signals may include configuration information of at least one first reference signal group including one or more reference signals. That is, the reference signals may be divided into one or more reference signal groups, and configuration information of the reference signals may be further divided into configuration information of one or more first reference signal groups.

In a possible design, the at least one first reference signal group may be determined according to time domain configuration information and/or paging occasion of the reference signal, and the specific implementation may refer to S301 described above, which is not repeated herein.

Specifically, the network device may send first indication information through downlink control information, such as DCI format 1_0 scrambled by a paging radio network temporary identifier (paging radio network temporary identifier, P-RNTI), where the first indication information may indicate which configuration information of a specific reference signal group is changed.

For the P-RNTI scrambled DCI format 1_0, refer to the above tables 1 to 2, and will not be described here again.

Alternatively, the first indication information may occupy reserved bits, i.e., the 3 rd to 8 th bits, of the short message in table 2.

For example, the first indication information may have a size of N bits, where N may be the number of the first reference signal groups, and each of the N bits corresponds to configuration information of one of the first reference signal groups. Alternatively, a binary "1" may indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group corresponding to the bit is changed, and a binary "0" may indicate that the configuration information of the first reference signal group corresponding to the bit is unchanged.

S602, the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the system information according to the first indication information.

Specifically, if yes, the terminal device executes S603, that is, the terminal device receives system information from the network device; if not, the terminal device may not receive the system information from the network device, i.e., may not execute S603 described below.

For a specific implementation manner of determining whether to receive the system information by the terminal device according to the first indication information, reference may be made to S302, and the implementation manner of determining whether to receive the first message by the terminal device according to the first indication information is not described herein.

In some embodiments, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the system information according to the first indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the system information according to the first indication information and the system information modification indication. For a specific implementation manner, reference may be made to S302 above, and the implementation manner of determining whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the system information modification indication by the terminal device is not described herein.

S603, the network device sends system information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives system information from the network device.

Wherein the system information includes configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of S603, reference may be made to the implementation of S303, which is not described herein.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 6, the terminal device receives first indication information for indicating that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, and determines whether to receive configuration information system information including reference signals according to the first indication information, when the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may receive the system information, and when the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is not the configuration information of the reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may not receive the system information, so that the problem that the terminal device frequently receives the configuration information of the reference signal can be solved, thereby reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is specifically described below by taking the first message as a paging message and taking reference signal grouping as an example.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication method may be applied to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1.

S701, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the network device.

Alternatively, the first indication information may occupy 6 reserved bits of DCI format 1_0 in table 1.

In one possible embodiment, the network device may send the second indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device.

Alternatively, the second indication information may be used to indicate that the paging message includes configuration information of the reference signal. That is, the second indication information is used to indicate that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal.

For example, the second indication information may be included in the control information, e.g., the second indication information may occupy a "00" value in the short message indication field of DCI format 1_0 in table 1, i.e., the short message indication field of the control information, indicating that the paging message includes only configuration information of the reference signal.

In another possible embodiment, the network device may send a third indication to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device.

Alternatively, the third indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes a short message, and the third indication information may be included in a short message indication field of the control information. For the specific implementation of the third indication information, reference may be made to S301, which is not described herein.

S702, the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information.

Specifically, if yes, the terminal device performs S703 that the terminal device receives a paging message from the network device; if not, the terminal device may not receive the paging message from the network device, i.e., may not execute S703 described below.

Regarding the specific implementation manner of determining whether to receive the paging message by the terminal device according to the first indication information, reference may be made to S302, and the specific implementation manner of determining whether to receive the first message by the terminal device according to the first indication information is not described herein.

In some embodiments, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information and the second indication information. For specific implementation manner, reference may be made to S302 above, and the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the second indication information, which will not be described herein.

In other embodiments, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information may include: the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the paging message according to the first indication information and the third indication information. For specific implementation manner, reference may be made to S302 above, and the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the first indication information and the third indication information, which will not be described herein.

S703, the network device sends a paging message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the paging message from the network device.

Wherein the paging message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of S703, reference may be made to the implementation of S303, which is not described herein.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 7, the terminal device receives the first indication information for indicating that the configuration information of the first reference signal group is changed, and determines whether to receive the paging message including the configuration information of the reference signal according to the first indication information, when the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may receive the paging message, and when the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is not the configuration information of the reference signal group used by the terminal device, the terminal device may not receive the paging message, so that the problem that the terminal device frequently receives the configuration information of the reference signal can be solved, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is specifically described below by taking the first message as a paging message and not grouping the reference signals as an example.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication method may be applied to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in fig. 1.

S801, the network device sends indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device.

Alternatively, the indication information may include one or more of second indication information, fourth indication information, fifth indication information, and sixth indication information.

For example, the second indication information may be used to indicate that the paging message includes configuration information of the reference signal, the fourth indication information may be used to indicate that the paging message includes configuration information of the paging information and/or the reference signal, the fifth indication information may be used to indicate that the control information includes only the short message, and the sixth indication information may be used to indicate that the paging message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation manner of the second indication information, the fourth indication information, the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, reference may be made to S301 above, and the description thereof is omitted here.

S802, the terminal equipment determines whether to receive the paging message according to the indication information.

Specifically, if yes, the terminal device executes S803 that the terminal device receives a paging message from the network device; if not, the terminal device may not receive the paging message from the network device, i.e., may not execute S803 described below.

In one possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the paging message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the paging message according to the second indication information, and the specific implementation manner may refer to S302 described above, where the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the second indication information, which is not described herein.

In another possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the paging message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the paging message according to the fourth indication information, and the specific implementation manner may refer to S302 described above, where the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the fourth indication information, which is not described herein.

In another possible design, the determining, by the terminal device, whether to receive the paging message according to the indication information may include: the terminal device determines whether to receive the paging message according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, and the specific implementation manner may refer to S302 described above, where the terminal device determines whether to receive the first message according to the fifth indication information and the sixth indication information, which are not described herein again.

S803, the network device sends a paging message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the paging message from the network device.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of S803, reference may be made to the implementation of S303, which is not described herein.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 8, the terminal device receives the indication information for indicating the change of the configuration information of the reference signal, and then determines to receive or not receive the first message including the configuration information of the reference signal according to the indication information, i.e. the terminal device can determine whether to receive the first message according to the indication information and the own requirement, so that the problem that the terminal device frequently receives the configuration information of the reference signal which is not required by the terminal device can be solved, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 3 to 8. The following describes in detail the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 9 to 14.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a second structure of the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application. The communication device is applicable to the communication system shown in fig. 1, and performs the functions of the terminal device in the communication methods shown in fig. 3, 6-8. For convenience of explanation, fig. 9 shows only major components of the communication apparatus.

As shown in fig. 9, the communication apparatus 900 includes: a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902.

The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive the indication information. Wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed.

The processing module 902 is configured to control the transceiver module 901 to receive the first message according to the indication information. Wherein the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

In a possible design, the processing module 902 is further configured to control the transceiver module 901 to receive the first message according to the first indication information, and may specifically include: if the configuration information of the changed first reference signal group is the configuration information of the used first reference signal group, the transceiver module 901 is controlled to receive the first message.

In a possible design, the processing module 902 is further configured to not use the configuration information of the reference signal if the first condition is met, or control the transceiver module 901 not to receive the first message including only the configuration information of the reference signal. Wherein the first condition comprises one or more of: the method comprises the steps of continuously detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals at least twice, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected in a first time period, detecting reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least twice in the first time period, accumulating reference signals corresponding to configuration information of reference signals which are not detected at least once in the first time period, and enabling link quality to be smaller than a first threshold value. The first time period, the first threshold value may be preset, protocol defined, configured by RRC message, configured by MAC CE, or configured by physical layer signal/signaling.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to send abnormality indication information to a network device. The abnormality indication information is used for indicating that the reference signal configuration information is abnormal.

Note that, the transceiver module 901 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module (not shown in fig. 9). The receiving module is used for receiving data and/or signaling from the network equipment; the sending module is used for sending data and/or signaling to the network equipment. The specific implementation manner of the transceiver module 901 is not specifically limited in the present application.

Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage module (not shown in fig. 9) storing programs or instructions. When the processing module 902 executes the program or instructions, the communication apparatus 900 is enabled to perform the functions of the terminal device in the communication method shown in fig. 3, 6-8.

The communication device 900 may be a terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be disposed in the terminal device, which is not limited in the present application.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 900 may refer to the technical effects of the communication methods shown in fig. 3 and fig. 6-8, and will not be described herein.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is applicable to the communication system shown in fig. 1, and performs the functions of the network apparatus in the communication methods shown in fig. 3, 6-8. For convenience of explanation, fig. 10 shows only major components of the communication apparatus.

As shown in fig. 10, the communication apparatus 1000 includes: a transceiver module 1001.

The transceiver module 1001 is configured to send the indication information. Wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the configuration information of the reference signal is changed.

The transceiver module 1001 is further configured to send the first message. Wherein the first message includes configuration information of the reference signal.

It should be noted that, the transceiver module 1001 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module (not shown in fig. 10). The receiving module is used for receiving data and/or signaling from the terminal equipment; the sending module is used for sending data and/or signaling to the terminal equipment. The specific implementation of the transceiver module 1001 is not specifically limited.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further comprise a processing module 1002 and a storage module (not shown in fig. 10), which stores programs or instructions. When the processing module 1002 executes the program or instructions, the communication apparatus 1000 is enabled to perform the functions of the network device in the communication method shown in fig. 3, 6-8.

The communication apparatus 1000 may be a network device, or may be a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be disposed in the network device, which is not limited by the present application.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1000 may refer to the technical effects of the communication methods shown in fig. 3 and fig. 6 to 8, and will not be described herein.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device may be a terminal device or a circuit. The communication means may be adapted to perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above-described method embodiments.

Fig. 11 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device when the communication device is a terminal device. For easy understanding and convenient illustration, in fig. 11, a mobile phone is taken as an example of the terminal device. As shown in fig. 11, the terminal device includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal equipment, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting a baseband signal and a radio frequency signal and processing the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of terminal apparatuses may not have an input/output device.

When data need to be sent, the processor carries out baseband processing on the data to be sent and then outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit carries out radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal equipment, the radio frequency circuit receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor is shown in fig. 11. In an actual end device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc. The memory may be provided separately from the processor or may be integrated with the processor, as the embodiments of the application are not limited in this respect.

In the embodiment of the application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit with the receiving and transmitting functions can be regarded as a receiving and transmitting unit of the terminal equipment, and the processor with the processing function can be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal equipment. As shown in fig. 11, the terminal device includes a transceiving unit 1110 and a processing unit 1120. The transceiver unit 1110 may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver device, etc. The processing unit 1120 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1110 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 1110 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1110 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The transceiver unit 1110 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or the like. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, or receiving circuit, among others. The transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

It should be understood that, the transceiver 1110 is configured to perform the sending operation and the receiving operation on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1120 is configured to perform other operations on the terminal device other than the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiver 1110 is configured to perform a receiving operation on the terminal device side in S301 or a receiving operation on the terminal device side in S303 in fig. 3, and/or the transceiver 1110 is further configured to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in an embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1120 is configured to perform a processing operation on the terminal device side in S302 in fig. 3, and/or the processing unit 1120 is further configured to perform other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another implementation manner, the transceiver 1110 is configured to perform the receiving operation on the terminal device side in S601 and S603 in fig. 6, and/or the transceiver 1110 is further configured to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1120 is configured to perform a processing operation on the terminal device side in S602 in fig. 6, and/or the processing unit 1120 is also configured to perform other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another example, in still another implementation manner, the transceiver 1110 is configured to perform the receiving operation on the terminal device side in S701 and S703 in fig. 7, and/or the transceiver 1110 is further configured to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1120 is configured to perform a processing operation on the terminal device side in S702 in fig. 7, and/or the processing unit 1120 is also configured to perform other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

For another example, in still another implementation manner, the transceiver 1110 is configured to perform the receiving operation on the terminal device side in S801 and S803 in fig. 8, and/or the transceiver 1110 is further configured to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1120 is configured to perform a processing operation on the terminal device side in S802 in fig. 8, and/or the processing unit 1120 is also configured to perform other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

When the communication device is a chip-like device or circuit, the device may comprise a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The receiving and transmitting unit can be an input and output circuit and/or a communication interface; the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, and when the communication device in this embodiment is a terminal device, reference may be made to the device shown in fig. 12. As an example, the device may perform functions similar to processor 201 in fig. 2. In fig. 12, the apparatus includes a processor 1210, a transmit data processor 1220, and a receive data processor 1230. The processing module 902 in the above embodiment may be the processor 1210 in fig. 12 and perform the corresponding functions. The transceiver module 901 in the above-described embodiment may be the transmit data processor 1220 and/or the receive data processor 1230 in fig. 12. Although a channel encoder, a channel decoder are shown in fig. 12, it is to be understood that these modules are not limiting illustrations of the present embodiment, but are merely schematic.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, and a communication apparatus 1300 may be used to perform the actions performed by a terminal device in the above method embodiment. The communication device 1300 includes a modulation subsystem, a central processing subsystem, a peripheral subsystem, and the like. The communication device in this embodiment may act as a modulation subsystem therein. In particular, the modulation subsystem may include a processor 1301, an interface 1302. Wherein processor 1301 performs the functions of processing module 902 described above and interface 1302 performs the functions of receiving module 901 described above. As another modification, the modulation subsystem includes a memory 1303, a processor 1301, and a program stored in the memory 1303 and executable on the processor, where the processor 1301 implements the method on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment when executing the program. It should be noted that the memory 1303 may be non-volatile or volatile, and its location may be located inside the modulation subsystem or in the communication device 1300, as long as the memory 1303 may be connected to the processor 1301.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present application, where a communication apparatus 1400 may be used to perform the actions performed by the network device in the above-described method embodiment. The communication device 1400 includes one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio frequency unit (remote radio unit, RRU) 1410 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as digital units, DUs) 1420. The RRU 1410 may be referred to as a transceiver module, which may also be alternatively referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., corresponding to the transceiver module 1001 in fig. 10, may include at least one antenna 1411 and a radio frequency unit 1412. The RRU 1410 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, for example, for sending indication information to a terminal device. The BBU 1420 is mainly used for baseband processing, control of a base station, and the like. The RRU 1410 and BBU 1420 may be physically located together or physically separate, i.e., distributed base stations.

The BBU 1420 is a control center of the base station, and may also be referred to as a processing module, and may correspond to the processing module 1002 in fig. 10, and is mainly used for performing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and so on. For example, the BBU (processing module) may be configured to control the base station to perform the operation procedure related to the network device in the above method embodiment, for example, generate the above indication information, etc.

In one example, the BBU 1420 may be configured by one or more single boards, where the multiple single boards may support radio access networks of a single access system (such as an LTE network), or may support radio access networks of different access systems (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 1420 further includes a memory 1421 and a processor 1422. The memory 1421 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1422 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to perform the operation procedures related to the network device in the above method embodiment. The memory 1421 and processor 1422 can serve as one or more boards. That is, the memory and the processor may be separately provided on each board. It is also possible that multiple boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

The embodiment of the application provides a communication system. The system comprises one or more terminal devices as described above, and one or more network devices.

Embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium including a computer program or instructions; the computer program or instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method described in the method embodiments above.

Embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method described in the method embodiments above.

It should be appreciated that the processor in embodiments of the application may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), which may also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DIGITAL SIGNAL processors, DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), off-the-shelf programmable gate arrays (field programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It should also be appreciated that the memory in embodiments of the present application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (erasable PROM), an electrically erasable programmable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (random access memory, RAM) which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (random access memory, RAM) are available, such as static random access memory (STATIC RAM, SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double DATA RATE SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ENHANCED SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SYNCHLINK DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

The above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (e.g., circuitry), firmware, or any other combination. When implemented in software, the above-described embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product comprises one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer program are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in accordance with embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains one or more sets of available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium may be a solid state disk.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" is merely an association relationship describing the associated object, and means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: there are three cases, a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the associated object is an "or" relationship, but may also indicate an "and/or" relationship, and may be understood by referring to the context.

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements or modules and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units or modules may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and for example, the above-described division of units or modules is merely a logical function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation, for example, a plurality of units or modules may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some units or modules may be omitted, or their corresponding functions may not be performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via interfaces, devices or units/modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units/modules described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units/modules may or may not be physically units/modules, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units/modules. Some or all of the units/modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit/module in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit/module, or each unit/module may exist alone physically, or two or more units/modules may be integrated in one unit/module.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units/modules, and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

Receiving indication information; wherein the indication information includes first indication information for indicating that configuration information of reference signals in a first reference signal group of at least one reference signal group is changed, and one reference signal group of the at least one reference signal group includes one or more reference signals;

Receiving a first message in case the first reference signal group is a used reference signal group; the first message includes changed configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal belongs to the first reference signal group, and the configuration information of the first reference signal is changed.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information is included in control information.

3. A communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

The indication information further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes configuration information of the first reference signal group, and the second indication information is included in control information.

4. A communication method according to claim 2, wherein,

The indication information further comprises third indication information, the third indication information is used for indicating that the control information comprises a short message, and the third indication information is contained in a short message indication field of the control information.

5. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one reference signal group is determined according to time domain configuration information and/or paging occasions of reference signals.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, wherein,

The at least one reference signal group is determined from time domain configuration information of the reference signal, the time domain configuration information including one or more of: the period, the offset, the initial subframe, the initial time slot and the initial symbol of the reference signal; or alternatively

The at least one reference signal group is determined according to a positional relationship between the reference signal and the paging occasion.

7. A method of communication, comprising:

Transmitting indication information; the indication information comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that configuration information of a first reference signal group in at least one reference signal group is changed, and one reference signal group in the at least one reference signal group comprises one or more reference signals;

Transmitting a first message such that the first message is received by a terminal device if the first reference signal group is a reference signal group used by the terminal device; the first message includes changed configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal belongs to the first reference signal group, and the configuration information of the first reference signal is changed.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the first indication information is included in control information.

9. A communication method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that,

10. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein,

11. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the at least one reference signal group is determined according to time domain configuration information and/or paging occasions of reference signals.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein,

13. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein,

The receiving and transmitting module is used for receiving the indication information; the indication information comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that configuration information of a first reference signal group in at least one reference signal group is changed, and one reference signal group in the at least one reference signal group comprises one or more reference signals;

The processing module is configured to control the transceiver module to receive a first message when the first reference signal group is a used reference signal group; the first message includes changed configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal belongs to the first reference signal group, and the configuration information of the first reference signal is changed.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first indication information is included in control information.

15. A communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that,

16. The communication device of claim 14, wherein the communication device is configured to,

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the at least one reference signal group is determined according to time domain configuration information and/or paging occasions of reference signals.

18. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the communication device is configured to,

19. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver module; wherein,

The receiving and transmitting module is used for transmitting the indication information; the indication information comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that configuration information of a first reference signal group in at least one reference signal group is changed, and one reference signal group in the at least one reference signal group comprises one or more reference signals;

the transceiver module is further configured to send a first message, so that the first message is received by the terminal device when the first reference signal group is a reference signal group used by the terminal device; the first message includes changed configuration information of a first reference signal, the first reference signal belongs to the first reference signal group, and the configuration information of the first reference signal is changed.

20. The communication apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the first indication information is included in control information.

21. A communication device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that,

22. The communication device of claim 20, wherein the communication device is configured to,

23. The communication apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the at least one first reference signal group is determined according to time domain configuration information and/or paging occasions of reference signals.

24. The communication device of claim 23, wherein the communication device is configured to,

25. A communication device, the communication device comprising: a processor coupled to the memory;

The memory is used for storing a computer program;

The processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the communication apparatus to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium comprises a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1-12.