CN114070509B

CN114070509B - Method and device for processing reference signal

Info

Publication number: CN114070509B
Application number: CN202010766673.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨拓; 徐晓东
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2020-08-03
Filing date: 2020-08-03
Publication date: 2023-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-03
Also published as: WO2022028358A1; CN114070509A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a method and a device for processing a reference signal, wherein the method comprises the following steps: in an idle state or a non-active state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information, wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following combinations: configuration information of a first reference signal obtained by the terminal through an RRC configuration message or an RRC connection release message; all or part of configuration information of one or more reference signals configured in a connection state obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message is configuration information which is still valid in an idle state or a non-activated state. In the embodiment of the application, the network side device can configure the reference signal which is kept in the RRC connection state for the terminal, and when the terminal enters the RRC idle state/inactive state, the reference signal can be used for assisting the terminal to perform time-frequency domain synchronization, so that the energy consumption of the terminal can be saved.

Description

Method and device for processing reference signal

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for processing a reference signal.

Background

Unlike the fourth Generation mobile communication system (4G) long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) which adopts the cell reference signal (Cell Reference Signal, CRS), the Fifth Generation mobile communication system (5G) introduces the tracking reference signal (Tracking Reference Signal, TRS) into the New air interface (New Radio, NR) for estimating the large-scale channel characteristics such as fine time/frequency synchronization, delay spread, doppler spread, etc. Currently, TRS can only be configured through terminal-specific radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) signaling, that is, can only be configured for RRC-connected terminals.

The existing TRS can only be configured for RRC connected terminals, and terminals in RRC idle state and inactive state cannot use TRS, and can only use Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSB) to perform synchronization tracking, etc. But SSBs are sent in cycles, the default cycle being 20ms. Terminals in the RRC idle state and the inactive state need to wake up for a long time in advance each time when receiving paging signals, and the SSB is received for synchronous tracking. In LTE, since each slot has a CRS, the terminal only needs to advance by 1 or several slots to detect the CRS to acquire synchronization. In the 5G NR, since the terminals in the RRC idle state and the inactive state can only be synchronized by the SSB, a long time is required to wake up in advance, resulting in a longer flow time for detecting the paging signal and an increased energy consumption compared to the 4G LTE.

Disclosure of Invention

An objective of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a method and an apparatus for processing a reference signal, which solve the problem that an idle state or inactive state terminal can only use SSB as a synchronization signal.

In a first aspect, a method for processing a reference signal is provided, including:

in an idle state or a non-activated state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information;

Wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following combinations:

configuration information of the first reference signal, which is obtained by the terminal through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration message;

configuration information of the first reference signal, which is obtained by the terminal through an RRC connection release message;

all or part of configuration information of one reference signal configured in a connection state obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message is still effective in an idle state or a non-activated state;

all or part of the configuration information of the plurality of reference signals configured in the connection state obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message is still effective in the idle state or the inactive state.

Optionally, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information, including:

the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information before a specified time expires or before a failure condition is validated.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

after the specified time expires or after a failure condition is validated, the terminal does not support the first reference signal indicated by the first information.

Optionally, the expiration of the specified time includes any one of:

a timer is overtime, and the timer starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support the reference signal, or starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message;

and when the effective time expires, starting to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support the reference signal, or starting to count from the relevant time of sending the RRC connection release message.

Optionally, the failure condition includes any one of the following:

the terminal receives the paging message;

the terminal enters an RRC connected state.

Optionally, the time length of the specified time, or the failure condition is configured by the network side, or is agreed by a protocol.

Optionally, if the first information is configured by RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding the specified time length or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition, the failure condition or expiration of the specified time includes any one of:

The terminal receives paging information;

the terminal enters an RRC connection state;

there is no time limit.

the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an initial bandwidth portion.

Optionally, in the idle state or the inactive state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information, including:

the terminal receives second configuration information from a network side;

and the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-activated state according to the second configuration information.

Optionally, the second configuration information is higher layer signaling or a radio resource control connection release message.

Optionally, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state, including:

according to the protocol convention, in an idle state or a non-active state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information.

Optionally, the first reference signal is used for one or more of the following combinations:

time-frequency tracking;

calculating channel state information;

channel state information measurement.

In a second aspect, a method for processing a reference signal is provided, and the method is applied to a network side device, and includes:

configuring first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a first reference signal supported by a terminal in an idle state or a non-active state;

configuration information of the first reference signal, which is obtained by the terminal through an RRC configuration message;

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the configuration or protocol agrees that the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information before the specified time expires or before the failure condition is validated.

Optionally, the expiration of the specified time includes any one of:

A timer is overtime, and the timer starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support a reference signal, or starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message;

and the effective time expires, wherein the effective time starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support a reference signal, or the effective time starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message.

Optionally, the failure condition includes any one of the following:

the terminal receives the paging message;

the terminal enters an RRC connected state.

Optionally, if the first information is configured by RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding the specified time length or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition, the specified time expires or the failure condition includes any one of:

the terminal receives paging information;

the terminal enters an RRC connection state;

There is no time limit.

Optionally, the configuring the first information includes:

and sending second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-activated state.

Optionally, the second configuration message is a higher layer signaling, or a radio resource control connection release message.

time-frequency tracking;

calculating channel state information;

channel state information measurement.

In a third aspect, an apparatus for processing a reference signal is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and includes:

the processing module is used for supporting a first reference signal indicated by first information in an idle state or a non-active state;

A fourth aspect provides a terminal, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method of processing a reference signal as described in the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for processing a reference signal is provided, which is applied to a network side device, and includes:

the configuration module is used for configuring first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a first reference signal supported by the terminal in an idle state or a non-activated state;

In a sixth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method of processing a reference signal as described in the second aspect.

A seventh aspect provides a readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which when executed by a processor performs the steps of a method of processing a reference signal comprising the first or second aspect.

In the embodiment of the application, the network side equipment can configure the reference signal which is kept in the RRC connection state for the terminal, and when the terminal enters the RRC idle state/inactive state, the reference signal can be used for assisting the terminal to perform time-frequency domain synchronization, so that the energy consumption of the terminal is saved.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the figures. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for processing a reference signal at a terminal side according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for processing a reference signal at a network side according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for processing a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a second schematic diagram of an apparatus for processing a reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a network side device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the use of "and/or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects, e.g., a and/or B, meaning that it includes a single a, a single B, and that there are three cases of a and B.

In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, universal terrestrial radio access (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access, UTRA), and the like. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) and other CDMA variants. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as the global system for mobile communications (Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM). OFDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as ultra mobile broadband (Ultra Mobile Broadband, UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 ((Wi-Fi)), IEEE 802.16 ((WiMAX)), IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the universal mobile telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS). LTE and higher LTE (e.g., LTE-a) are new UMTS releases that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-a and GSM are described in the literature from an organization named "third generation partnership project" (3rd Generation Partnership Project,3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in the literature from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3 GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as for other systems and radio technologies.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The method and the device for processing the reference signal provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied to a wireless communication system. Referring to fig. 1, a schematic architecture diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. As shown in fig. 1, the wireless communication system may include: a network device 11 and a terminal 12, the terminal 12 may be denoted as UE12, and the terminal 12 may communicate (transmit signaling or transmit data) with the network device 11. In practical application, the connection between the devices may be wireless connection, and for convenience and intuitionistic representation of the connection relationship between the devices, a solid line is used for illustration in fig. 1.

The network device 11 provided in the embodiment of the present invention may be a base station, which may be a commonly used base station, an evolved node b (evolved node base station, eNB), or a network device in a 5G system (for example, a next generation base station (next generation node base station, gNB) or a transmitting and receiving point (transmission and reception point, TRP)) and the like.

The terminal 12 provided by the embodiment of the invention can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, an Ultra-mobile personal computer (Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer, UMPC), a netbook or personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a mobile internet Device (Mobile Internet Device, MID), a Wearable Device or a vehicle-mounted Device, and the like.

Referring to fig. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for processing a reference signal, where an execution body of the method may be a terminal, and specific steps include: step 201.

Step 201: in an idle state or a non-activated state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information;

optionally, the first reference signal is used for one or more of the following combinations: time-frequency tracking; calculating channel state information; channel state information measurement.

It should be noted that, the above terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information, which includes one or more of the following combinations:

(1) The terminal receives a first reference signal indicated by first information;

that is, the terminal may receive the first reference signal using the first information.

(2) The terminal performs time domain and/or frequency domain tracking by using a first reference signal indicated by the first information;

(3) And the terminal calculates channel state information by using the first reference signal indicated by the first information.

(4) The terminal saves or does not release or discard or does not suspend the configuration information of the first reference signal.

Alternatively, the first reference signal may be a tracking reference signal (Tracking Reference Signal, TRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI Reference Signal, CSI-RS) or a reference signal other than the synchronization signal block (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, SSB), that is, in the embodiment of the present application, the first reference signal is not specifically limited.

(1) Configuration information of a first reference signal obtained by the terminal through an RRC configuration message;

(2) Configuration information of a first reference signal obtained by the terminal through an RRC connection release message;

the network side carries, for example, first information through an RRC configuration message or an RRC connection release message, where the first information is used to indicate a first reference signal that the terminal may support in an idle state or a non-active state.

Wherein the configuration information of the first reference signal may include one or more of the following combinations: the period, frequency domain density, bandwidth, length, number and spacing of symbols within a slot, antenna ports, reference signal usage, etc. of the reference signal.

It will be appreciated that (1) and (2) above are direct configurations of the first reference signal.

(3) All or part of configuration information of one reference signal configured in a connection state obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message is still effective configuration information in an idle state or a non-activated state;

or the terminal obtains all or part of configuration information of one reference signal which needs to be stored or not released or not abandoned or not suspended after entering the RRC idle state or inactive state through the RRC connection release message.

(4) All or part of configuration information of a plurality of reference signals configured in a connection state obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message is still effective configuration information in an idle state or a non-activated state.

Or the terminal obtains all or part of configuration information of a plurality of reference signals which need to be stored or not released or not abandoned or not suspended after entering the RRC idle state or the inactive state through the RRC connection release message.

It will be appreciated that (3) and (4) above are information indicating which reference signals configuration information of the terminal may continue to be valid, the configuration information of the valid reference signal or signals, i.e. the configuration information of the first reference signal.

Illustratively, the network side configures one or more reference signals, such as reference signals #1, #2, #3, through an RRC configuration message.

The network side carries first information through the RRC connection release message, where the first information indicates that all or part of configuration information of one or more reference signals configured by the terminal by RRC is still valid in an idle state or a non-active state, and for example, the configuration information may include the following several kinds of information:

1) The entire configuration information of one reference signal is valid, for example, the first information indicates the entire configuration information of the reference signal # 1.

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

2) All configuration information of the plurality of reference signals is valid, for example, the first information indicates all configuration information of the reference signals #1, #2, #3.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

3) The partial configuration information of one reference signal is valid, for example, the first information indicates the partial configuration information of the reference signal #1, which may be a period, a frequency domain density, a length, the number of symbols within one slot, a symbol interval, and the like.

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

4) The partial configuration information of the plurality of reference signals is valid: for example, the first information indicates partial configuration information of the reference signals #1, #2, #3, which may be a period, a frequency domain density, a length, the number of symbols within one slot, a symbol interval, and the like.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

The network side indicates that all or part of configuration information of one or more reference signals configured by the terminal in the RRC is still valid in an idle state or a non-active state, or may be part or all of configuration information of one or more reference signals configured in a connection state by informing the terminal whether to save or release or discard or suspend.

That is, the terminal may determine or assume that part or all of configuration information of one or more (equivalent to part or all) reference signals configured in the connected state is valid or available in the idle state/inactive state based on the first information, wherein the first information may be configured on the network side or agreed on by a protocol.

In some embodiments, the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information before a specified time expires or before a failure condition is validated.

Optionally, the method further comprises: after expiration of a specified time or after the expiration of a failure condition, the terminal does not support the first reference signal.

In the embodiment of the present application, the expiration of the specified time includes any one of the following:

(1) A timer is overtime, and the timer starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support the reference signal, or starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message;

(2) And when the effective time expires, starting to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support the reference signal, or starting to count from the relevant time of sending the RRC connection release message.

In an embodiment of the present application, the failure condition includes any one of the following:

(1) The terminal receives the paging message;

(2) The terminal enters an RRC connected state.

In this embodiment of the present application, the time length of the specified time or the condition that the specified time expires may be notified by the network side through RRC dedicated signaling (such as an RRC connection release message), or configured by higher layer signaling, or agreed by a protocol, that is, the network may notify, through RRC dedicated signaling, or configured by higher layer signaling, or configured by a protocol, a failure condition of first information, such as a time length of an effective time or a timer, or the network may notify, through RRC dedicated signaling, or configured by higher layer signaling, or configured by a protocol, a failure condition of first information, such as that the first information fails after the terminal receives a paging message or enters a connection state.

For example, the terminal may support the first reference signal for a network side configured or predefined timer or validation time length, but the terminal may not continue to support the first reference signal when the timer expires or the validation time expires. For another example, the terminal may support the first reference signal until the terminal receives the paging message or enters the RRC connected state.

Alternatively, if the first information is configuration information of the first reference signal obtained through an RRC configuration message, the time length of the specified time or the condition or failure condition for expiration of the specified time may be preset or given in the RRC configuration message.

Alternatively, if the first information is configuration information of the first reference signal obtained through an RRC configuration message, the time length of the above specified time or the condition or failure condition for expiration of the specified time may be preset or given in an RRC connection release message.

Alternatively, if the first information is configuration information of the first reference signal obtained through an RRC connection release message, the time length of the above specified time or the condition or failure condition for expiration of the specified time may be preset or given in the RRC connection release message.

Alternatively, if the first information is configuration information of the first reference signal obtained through an RRC connection release message, the time length of the above specified time or the condition or failure condition for expiration of the specified time may be preset or given in an RRC configuration message.

Optionally, if the first information is information that all or part of configuration information of one reference signal configured in a connected state obtained through the RRC connection release message is still valid in an idle state or an inactive state; or when all or part of the configuration information of the plurality of reference signals is still valid in the idle state or the inactive state, the time length of the specified time or the condition or the failure condition of the expiration of the specified time may be preset, or be given in an RRC connection release message, or be given in an RRC configuration message.

Alternatively, if the first information is obtained through an RRC configuration message and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or there is no configuration information regarding a specified length of time or there is no additional configuration information regarding a failure condition, the expiration of the failure condition or specified time includes: the terminal receives the paging message or the terminal enters a connected state or has no time limit. That is, in this case, the failure condition or the specified time may be preset.

Alternatively, if the first information is obtained through an RRC connection release message and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or there is no configuration information regarding a specified length of time or there is no additional configuration information regarding a failure condition, the expiration of the failure condition or specified time includes: the terminal receives the paging message or the terminal enters a connected state or has no time limit. That is, in this case, the failure condition or the specified time may be preset.

Optionally, the terminal enters an RRC idle state or inactive state, the terminal starts a timer or the validation time starts to count, and the terminal cannot receive the first reference signal after the timer expires or the validation time expires.

Alternatively, if the network side configures the configuration information of the first reference signal supported by the terminal only through the RRC configuration message, and there is no other configuration message related to the first information, for example, there is no RRC connection release message further indicating that all configuration information or part of configuration information of one or more reference signals configured by the terminal by RRC is still valid in an idle state or a non-active state, the terminal may support the first reference signal all the time, or may not support the first reference signal after receiving the paging message, or may not support the first reference signal after entering the RRC connection state.

In some embodiments, in step 201, a terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information in an initial bandwidth part (BWP).

It is understood that the initial BWP may also be referred to as a default BWP.

For example, the network side indicates, through the first information, that the bandwidth of the first reference signal supported by the terminal in the idle state or the inactive state is within the bandwidth range of the initial BWP, and the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information according to the configured bandwidth range of the first reference signal in the initial BWP.

For another example, the network side indicates, through the first information, that the bandwidth of the first reference signal supported by the terminal in the idle state or the inactive state exceeds the bandwidth range of the initial BWP, and the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information only in a portion of the initial BWP where the bandwidth of the first reference signal configured according to the first information overlaps with the initial BWP. For example, if the frequency domain resource of the first reference signal exceeds the initial BWP of the terminal, the terminal can only receive the first reference signal in the initial BWP.

For another example, the network side only informs the terminal that partial configuration information of one or more reference signals configured by RRC is valid, wherein no configuration information including bandwidth or frequency domain location is included, and the terminal may assume that the first reference signal indicated by the first information is supported in initial BWP or that the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information within a bandwidth range of the first reference signal agreed by the protocol.

Optionally, the terminal is configured according to one or a combination of the following configuration information of the first reference signal in the first information: the frequency domain density, length, number of symbols in one slot, symbol interval, support the first reference signal in the initial BWP or within the bandwidth of the first reference signal agreed by the protocol.

For another example, the network side does not include the configuration information of the bandwidth or the frequency domain position of the first reference signal in the first information, and the terminal may assume that the first reference signal indicated by the first information is supported in the initial BWP or that the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information within the bandwidth range of the first reference signal agreed by the protocol.

In some embodiments, in step 201, the terminal receives second configuration information from the network side; and according to the second configuration information, supporting a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state.

Alternatively, the second configuration information may be higher layer signaling or a radio resource control connection release message.

Taking the example that the second configuration information is high-layer signaling, the network side is configured to start a specific function of the terminal by the high-layer signaling, and the specific function comprises: and the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state. For example, the network side higher layer signaling configures the terminal that the function is turned off, that is, the terminal may not support the first reference signal indicated by the first information in the idle state or the inactive state although the terminal has received the first information.

Taking the example that the second configuration information is a radio resource control connection release message, the network side notifies the terminal that a specific function is started through the radio resource control connection release message, and the specific function comprises: and the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state.

For another example, the network side notifies the terminal that the function is turned off through the radio resource control connection release message, that is, the terminal may not support the first reference signal indicated by the first information in the idle state or the inactive state although the terminal has received the first information.

In some embodiments, in step 201, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state according to a protocol convention.

For example, the protocol agrees that the terminal may support the first reference signal in an idle state or an inactive state according to an indication of the first information after receiving the first information.

That is, the first reference signal indicated by the first information may be supported by the protocol after the terminal enters the RRC idle state or inactive state.

In the embodiment of the application, the network side device informs the terminal of the configuration information of the reference information which can be used in the RRC idle state or the inactive state or the configuration information of the reference signal which is continuously supported and configured in the RRC connection state, and the terminal can receive or support the reference signal in the RRC idle state or the inactive state, so that the terminal can be assisted in using the reference signal to reduce energy consumption. The indication mode of the reference signal can be effectively applied to a network, the network side equipment can predict that a certain terminal is always in a specific service range of the network side equipment in a certain period of time through early statistics, but can frequently switch between an RRC idle state/inactive state and a connection state, for example, an indoor terminal in an office or a home is limited in moving range and is not always in the RRC idle state/inactive state, so that the network side equipment can configure the reference signal reserved in the RRC connection state, and when the terminal enters the RRC idle state/inactive state, the terminal can still use the reference signal to assist the terminal to perform time-frequency domain synchronization, and the energy consumption is reduced.

Further, the reference signal configuration can be performed through a signaling independent of each terminal, so that the problem of configuring the first reference signal for the idle state or inactive state terminal by using a broadcast message is avoided. Specifically, if the network side broadcasts the configuration information of the TRSs of the existing connection state terminals for the idle state and inactive state terminals through the system message, but if the configuration information of the TRSs of the connection state terminals is changed, or the connection state terminals leave the cell or enter the non-connection state, the network side can only update the change information or the stop information of the configuration of the terminal TRSs in the idle state and inactive state through the system message. Because the configuration information of the TRS of the connection state terminal cannot be guaranteed to be unchanged for a long time, or the connection state terminal is always in the connection state of the cell, the base station may frequently change the system information to update the broadcasted configuration information of the TRS, so that the idle state or inactive state terminal frequently receives new system information for receiving the configuration information of the TRS, and power consumption is increased. According to the embodiment of the application, on one hand, the system message is prevented from frequently occupying the air interface resource, and on the other hand, the frequent system message receiving behavior of the terminal is avoided (the idle state and the connection state terminals can perform the system message updating flow).

In addition, the network side equipment can autonomously determine the time for reserving the configuration information of the reference signals for different RRC idle state/inactive state terminals, and the network side equipment does not need to always reserve the reference signals for all idle state/inactive state terminals, so that the occupation of air interface resources is avoided.

Referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for processing a reference signal, where an execution body of the method may be a network side device, and specific steps include: step 301.

Step 301: configuring first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a first reference signal supported by a terminal in an idle state or a non-active state;

optionally, the first reference signal is used for one or more of the following combinations: (1) time-frequency tracking; (2) channel state information calculation; (3) channel state information measurement.

1) The entire configuration information of one reference signal is valid, for example, the first information indicates the entire configuration information of the reference signal #1.

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

In some embodiments, the method shown in fig. 3 may further comprise: the configuration or protocol agrees that the terminal supports the first reference signal before the expiration of a specified time or before the expiration of a failure condition.

In the embodiment of the application, the failure condition includes any one of the following:

(1) The terminal receives the paging message;

(2) The terminal enters an RRC connected state.

In this embodiment of the present application, the time length or the failure condition of the specified time may be notified by the network side through RRC dedicated signaling (such as an RRC connection release message), or configured by higher layer signaling, or agreed by a protocol, that is, the network may notify, through RRC dedicated signaling, or configured by higher layer signaling, or agreed by a protocol, the failure condition of the first information, such as the time length of the validation time or the timer, or the network may notify, through RRC dedicated signaling, or configured by higher layer signaling, or agreed by a protocol, the failure condition of the first information, such as the first information fails after the terminal receives the paging message or enters the connection state.

In this embodiment of the present application, in step 301, the network side sends second configuration information, where the second configuration information indicates that, in an idle state or a non-active state, the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information.

Taking the example that the second configuration information is high-layer signaling, the network side is configured to start a specific function of the terminal by the high-layer signaling, and the specific function comprises: and the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state.

For another example, the network side higher layer signaling configures the terminal that the function is turned off, that is, the terminal may not support the first reference signal indicated by the first information in the idle state or the inactive state, although the terminal has received the first information.

In the embodiment of the application, the network side device informs the terminal of the configuration information of the reference information which can be used in the RRC idle state or the inactive state or the configuration information of the reference signal which is continuously supported and configured in the RRC connection state, and further the terminal can receive or support the reference signal in the RRC idle state or the inactive state, so that the terminal can be assisted in using the reference signal to reduce energy consumption. The indication mode of the reference signal can be effectively applied to a network, the network side equipment can predict that a certain terminal is always in a specific service range of the network side equipment in a certain period of time through early statistics, but can frequently switch between an RRC idle state/inactive state and a connection state, for example, an indoor terminal in an office or a home is limited in moving range and is not always in the RRC idle state/inactive state, so that the network side equipment can configure the reference signal reserved in the RRC connection state, and when the terminal enters the RRC idle state/inactive state, the terminal can still use the reference signal to assist the terminal to perform time-frequency domain synchronization, and the energy consumption is reduced.

In addition, the network side equipment can autonomously determine the time for reserving the reference signal configuration information for different RRC idle state/inactive state terminals, and the network side equipment does not need to always reserve the reference signal for all idle state/inactive state terminals, so that the occupation of air interface resources is avoided.

Referring to fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for processing a reference signal, which is applied to a terminal, and the apparatus 400 includes:

a processing module 400, configured to support, in an idle state or a non-active state, a first reference signal indicated by first information by a terminal;

(1) Configuration information of the first reference signal, which is obtained by the terminal through the RRC configuration message;

(2) Configuration information of the first reference signal, which is obtained by the terminal through the RRC connection release message;

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

That is, the terminal supports the reference signal #1.

That is, the terminal supports reference signals #1, #2, #3.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processing module 400 is further configured to: the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information before a specified time expires or before a failure condition is validated.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processing module 400 is further configured to: after the specified time expires or after a failure condition is validated, the terminal does not support the first reference signal indicated by the first information.

In an embodiment of the present application, the expiration of the specified time includes any one of the following:

(1) A timer is overtime, and the timer counts when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support the reference signal, or the timer counts from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message;

(2) And the effective time expires, wherein the effective time is counted when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts supporting the reference signal, or the effective time starts counting from the related time of sending the RRC connection release message.

(1) The terminal receives the paging message;

(2) The terminal enters an RRC connected state.

Alternatively, if the first information is configured through RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding a specified time length or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition, the failure condition or the specified time expires as a time when the terminal receives a paging message or as a time when the terminal enters a connected state or without a time limit.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processing module 400 is further configured to: the first reference signal indicated by the first information is supported in an initial bandwidth portion.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processing module 400 includes:

A receiving unit, configured to receive second configuration information from a network side;

and the processing unit is used for supporting the first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-activated state according to the second configuration information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processing module 400 is further configured to: according to the protocol convention, in an idle state or a non-active state, the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information.

The apparatus for processing a reference signal according to the embodiment of the present application may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment is not repeated here.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a block diagram of a terminal applied in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, a terminal 500 includes: a processor 501, a transceiver 502, a memory 503, and a bus interface, wherein:

in one embodiment of the present application, the terminal 500 further includes: a program stored in the memory 503 and executable on the processor 501, which when executed by the processor 501, performs the functions of the various modules in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

In fig. 5, a bus architecture may comprise any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with one or more processors, represented in particular by processor 501, and various circuits of memory, represented by memory 503, linked together. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 502 may be a number of elements, i.e. comprising a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 501 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 503 may store data used by the processor 501 in performing operations.

The terminal provided in the embodiment of the present application may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 2, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment will not be described herein again.

Referring to fig. 6, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for processing a reference signal, which is applied to a network side device, where the apparatus 600 includes:

a configuration module 601, configured to configure first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first reference signal supported by a terminal in an idle state or a non-active state;

In the embodiment of the present application, the configuration module 601 is further configured to: the configuration or protocol agrees that the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information before the specified time expires or before the failure condition is validated.

Optionally, the expiration of the specified time includes any one of:

(1) A timer is overtime, and the timer starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to support a reference signal, or starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message;

(2) And the effective time expires, wherein the effective time starts to count when the terminal enters an idle state or a non-activated state or starts to receive a reference signal, or the effective time starts to count from the related time of the transmission of the RRC connection release message.

Optionally, the failure condition includes any one of the following:

(3) The terminal receives the paging message;

(4) The terminal enters an RRC connected state.

Alternatively, if the first information is configured through RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition, the designated time is a time when the terminal receives a paging message or a time when the terminal enters a connected state or is not time-limited.

In the embodiment of the present application, the configuration module 601 is further configured to: and sending second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-activated state.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second configuration message is a higher layer signaling, or a radio resource control connection release message.

The apparatus for processing a reference signal according to the embodiment of the present application may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment is not repeated here.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a block diagram of a network side device applied in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 7, a second node 700 includes: a processor 701, a transceiver 702, a memory 703 and a bus interface, wherein:

in one embodiment of the present application, the network side device 700 further includes: a program stored in the memory 703 and executable on the processor 701, which when executed by the processor 701, performs the functions of the various modules in the embodiment shown in fig. 3.

In fig. 7, a bus architecture may be comprised of any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and in particular, one or more processors represented by the processor 701 and various circuits of memory represented by the memory 703. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 702 may be a number of elements, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a means for communicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium.

The processor 701 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 703 may store data used by the processor 701 in performing operations.

The network side device provided in the embodiment of the present application may execute the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and this embodiment will not be described herein again.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, where a program or an instruction is stored, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the processes of the embodiment of the method shown in fig. 2 or fig. 3 are implemented, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the present disclosure may be embodied in hardware, or may be embodied in software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a read-only optical disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be carried in a core network interface device. The processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a core network interface device.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The foregoing embodiments have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention in further detail, and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but are merely intended to cover any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. based on the teachings of the invention.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present application may take the form of a computer program product on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present application are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of processing a reference signal, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information further comprises one or more of the following in combination:

the terminal obtains the configuration information of the first reference signal through the RRC connection release message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information, comprising:

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the expiration of the specified time comprises any one of:

6. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the length of time of the specified time is network side configured or protocol agreed.

7. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the failure condition comprises any one of:

the terminal receives the paging message;

the terminal enters an RRC connected state.

8. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the failure condition is configured at the network side or is agreed upon by a protocol.

9. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein if the first information is configured by RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding the specified length of time or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition, the failure condition or expiration of a specified time comprises any one of:

The terminal receives paging information;

the terminal enters an RRC connection state;

there is no time limit.

10. A method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the terminal supports a first reference signal indicated by first information, comprising:

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information in the idle state or the inactive state, comprising:

the terminal receives second configuration information from a network side;

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second configuration information is higher layer signaling or a radio resource control connection release message.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal supports the first reference signal indicated by the first information in an idle state or a non-active state, comprising:

14. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 11 or 12 or 13, wherein the first reference signal is used in combination with one or more of the following:

time-frequency tracking;

calculating channel state information;

channel state information measurement.

15. A method for processing a reference signal, applied to a network side device, comprising:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first information further comprises one or more of the following in combination:

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the expiration of the specified time comprises any one of:

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the length of time of the specified time is network side configured or protocol agreed.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the failure condition comprises any one of:

The terminal receives the paging message;

the terminal enters an RRC connected state.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the failure condition is network side configured or protocol agreed.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the specified time expiration or failure condition comprises any one of the following if the first information is configured by RRC and there is no additional configuration message regarding the first information or no additional configuration information regarding the specified time length or no additional configuration information regarding the failure condition:

the terminal receives paging information;

the terminal enters an RRC connection state;

there is no time limit.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein configuring the first information comprises:

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second configuration information is higher layer signaling or a radio resource control connection release message.

25. The method of claim 15 or 16 or 17 or 18 or 19 or 20 or 21 or 22 or 23 or 24, wherein the first reference signal is used in combination with one or more of the following:

Time-frequency tracking;

calculating channel state information;

channel state information measurement.

26. An apparatus for processing a reference signal, applied to a terminal, comprising:

27. A terminal, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor performs the steps of the method of processing a reference signal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14.

28. An apparatus for processing a reference signal, applied to a network side device, comprising:

29. A network side device, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor performs the steps of the method of processing a reference signal as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 25.

30. A readable storage medium, characterized in that it has stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of a method comprising processing a reference signal according to any of claims 1 to 25.