CN115604664A

CN115604664A - Multicast service modification notification method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN115604664A
Application number: CN202110782959.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 项弘禹; 李秉肇; 许斌
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-12
Filing date: 2021-07-12
Publication date: 2023-01-13
Also published as: WO2023284376A1

Abstract

The application provides a multicast service modification notification method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: the terminal device receives the DCI from the network device) and scheduling information. The DCI comprises modification notification information used for indicating that M multicast services are changed. And the scheduling information is borne on the MCCH, and the scheduling information comprises P G-RNTIs and M multicast service identifications. Wherein, one G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of multicast services. And the network equipment indicates the M multicast services to be changed through the DCI. If there is a service that the terminal device is interested in among the M multicast services, the terminal device may retrieve the configuration information of the multicast service according to the scheduling information, and vice versa. If the terminal device is not interested in the M multicast services, the terminal device does not need to acquire the multicast service configuration information again. This avoids unnecessary power consumption overhead for the terminal device as much as possible.

Description

Multicast service modification notification method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of multicast service transmission technologies, and in particular, to a multicast service modification notification method and a communication device.

Background

If the changed multicast service exists, the network side can inform the terminal equipment using the multicast service through modification notification, so that the terminal equipment can acquire the latest configuration information of the changed multicast service. However, the current modification notification can only indicate whether there is a multicast service that has been changed, and cannot indicate which multicast service or services have been changed. For the terminal device, as long as there is a modification notification from the network side, the terminal device can acquire the latest configuration information of all multicast services regardless of whether the terminal device is interested in the changed multicast service, and the power consumption overhead is high.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a multicast service modification notification method and a communication device, which aim to reduce the power consumption of terminal equipment as much as possible.

In a first aspect, a multicast service modification notification method is provided, which may be performed by a first communication device, which may be a communication apparatus or a communication device capable of supporting the communication apparatus to implement functions required by the method, such as a system on a chip. The following description takes the communication device as a terminal device as an example. The method comprises the following steps:

the terminal device receives Downlink Control Information (DCI) and scheduling information from the network device. The DCI comprises modification notification information, wherein the modification notification information is used for indicating that M multicast services are changed, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Scheduling information is carried on a Multicast Control Channel (MCCH), and the scheduling information includes P group radio network temporary identifiers (G-RNTI) and identifiers of M multicast services. Wherein, one G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In this scheme, the network device indicates, through the DCI, that the M multicast services are changed. For the terminal device, it can know that M multicast services are changed through DCI. If there is a service that the terminal device is interested in among the M multicast services, the terminal device may retrieve the configuration information of the multicast service according to the scheduling information, and vice versa. If the terminal device is not interested in the M multicast services, the terminal device does not need to acquire the multicast service configuration information again. This avoids unnecessary power consumption overhead for the terminal equipment as much as possible.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes P Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH) scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes first MTCH scheduling information. The first MTCH scheduling information includes a G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first traffic identity list. The first service identification list comprises at least one service identification, wherein one or more service identifications correspond to one bit of the N bits. In the scheme, one G-RNTI in P G-RNTIs corresponds to a service identifier list. One or more service identifiers in each service identifier list correspond to one bit of the N bits, and whether the corresponding service is changed or not can be directly indicated through each bit of the N bits.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes the P MTCH scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes second MTCH scheduling information. The second MTCH scheduling information includes the first traffic identification, the G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identification, and the auxiliary information. The side information is used to determine a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first service identification. In this scheme, the scheduling information of each MTCH may include a service identifier and a G-RNTI corresponding to the service identifier. Different TMGI can be mapped to the same G-RNTI, and the corresponding bits of the TMGI corresponding to the same G-RNTI in N bits are determined through auxiliary information.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and if the M multicast services have the service which is interested by the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment acquires the MCCH again. Each terminal device can determine that M multicast services have changed. The terminal device interested in the changed multicast service may reacquire the MTCH configuration information. And the terminal equipment which is not interested in the changed multicast service does not need to acquire the configuration information of the MTCH again, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption overhead brought to the terminal equipment.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and if the preset condition is met, the terminal equipment reacquires the DCI for receiving the MCCH. The preset condition includes that the service quality of the multicast service received by the terminal device is lower than a preset threshold value in a preset time period, or the preset condition includes that the terminal device does not receive the data of the multicast service in the preset time period. The preset condition may be considered as a condition that the terminal device may not successfully receive the modification notification information. And if the preset condition is met, the terminal equipment reacquires the DCI for receiving the MCCH. That is, when the terminal device does not receive the modification notification information, the network device is not considered to have not sent the modification notification information, so that the terminal device can be prevented from ignoring the modification notification information.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device employs a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mechanism, and the method further includes: when the difference between the ending time of the activation period of the terminal equipment and the starting time of the Repetition Period (RP) of the MCCH is smaller than a preset threshold, the terminal equipment prolongs the activation period and reacquires DCI for receiving the MCCH within the prolonged activation period. When the RP starting time of the MCCH is reached, the terminal equipment is in an activation period. If the difference between the end time of the activation period and the start time of the RP of the MCCH is small, the terminal device may not be able to successfully receive the modification notification information. In this case, the terminal device may extend the activation period, so that when the start time of the RP of the MCCH reaches, the terminal device is still in the activation period. The terminal device reads the DCI for receiving the MCCH over the extended active period, which may prevent the terminal device from ignoring the modification notification information.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal equipment does not receive DCI used for receiving the MCCH at the current scheduling time, and reacquires the DCI used for receiving the MCCH at the next scheduled time of the MCCH. The scheme may provide that the network device always sends the modification notification message. For the terminal device, if the DCI for receiving the MCCH is not received at the current scheduling time, the DCI for receiving the MCCH is reacquired at the next scheduled time of the MCCH, which can prevent the terminal device from ignoring the modification notification information.

In a second aspect, a multicast service modification notification method is provided, where the method is executable by a second communication device, and a first communication device may be a communication apparatus or a communication device capable of supporting the communication apparatus to implement functions required by the method, such as a system on a chip. The following description will be given taking the communication device as a network device as an example. The method comprises the following steps:

the network device transmits the DCI together with the scheduling information. The DCI comprises modification notification information, wherein the modification notification information is used for indicating that M multicast services are changed, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Scheduling information is carried on a Multicast Control Channel (MCCH), and the scheduling information includes P group radio network temporary identifiers (G-RNTI) and identifiers of M multicast services. One G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes P MTCH scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes first MTCH scheduling information including a G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first traffic identification list. The first service identity list comprises at least one service identity. The one or more service identities correspond to one bit of the N bits.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes P MTCH scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes second MTCH scheduling information. The second MTCH scheduling information includes a first traffic identifier, a G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identifier, and auxiliary information. The side information is used to determine a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first service identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI is further configured to indicate a reason for a change of the M multicast services.

In a possible implementation manner, the N bits are all 0, and are used to instruct the terminal device to reacquire the DCI for receiving the MCCH at the next scheduling time.

With regard to the technical effects of the second aspect or of the various possible implementations of the second aspect, reference may be made to the above description of the technical effects of the first aspect or of the various possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the communication device has a function of implementing a behavior in the method example of the first aspect, and for beneficial effects, reference may be made to description of the first aspect and details are not repeated here. The communication means may be the terminal device in the first aspect, or the communication means may be a device, such as a chip or a system of chips, capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal device in the first aspect to implement the method provided by the first aspect.

In one possible design, the communication device comprises corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the method of the first aspect. For example, the communication device: including a processing unit (also sometimes referred to as a processing module) and/or a transceiver unit (also sometimes referred to as a transceiver module). These units (modules) may perform corresponding functions in the method example of the first aspect, for which specific reference is made to the detailed description in the method example, and details are not described herein.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, where the communication device has a function of implementing the behavior in the method example of the second aspect, and for beneficial effects, reference may be made to description of the second aspect and details are not repeated here. The communication apparatus may be the network device in the second aspect, or the communication apparatus may be an apparatus, such as a chip or a chip system, capable of supporting the functions required by the network device in the second aspect to implement the method provided by the second aspect.

In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the method of the second aspect. For example, the communication device: including a processing unit (also sometimes referred to as a processing module) and/or a transceiver unit (also sometimes referred to as a transceiver module). These units (modules) may perform corresponding functions in the method example of the second aspect, for specific reference, detailed description of the method example is omitted here for brevity.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication apparatus, which may be the communication apparatus in the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the foregoing embodiments, or a chip system provided in the communication apparatus in the third aspect or the fourth aspect. The communication device comprises a communication interface, a processor and optionally a memory. Wherein the memory is used for storing computer programs or instructions or data, the processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface, and when the processor reads the computer programs or instructions or data, the communication device is caused to execute the method executed by the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes an input/output interface and a logic circuit. The input/output interface is used for inputting and/or outputting information. The logic circuitry is adapted to perform the method of the first aspect or the logic circuitry is adapted to perform the method of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, and may further include a memory and/or a communication interface, and is configured to implement the method in the first aspect or the second aspect. In one possible implementation, the system-on-chip further includes a memory for storing program instructions and/or data. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, where the communication system includes the communication apparatus in the third aspect and the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect; or the communication system comprises the communication device of the third aspect and the communication device of the fifth aspect for performing the method of the second aspect; or the communication system comprises the communication device of the fourth aspect and the communication device of the fifth aspect for performing the method of the first aspect.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed, implements the method of the first or second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when executed, causes the method of the first or second aspect described above to be performed.

Advantageous effects of the above-described fifth to tenth aspects and implementations thereof may be referred to the description of the respective aspects or advantageous effects of the respective aspects and implementations thereof.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture suitable for use in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a MBS scenario;

figure 3 is a schematic diagram of SC-MCCH transmission;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a first multicast service modification notification according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a second multicast service modification notification provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to an internet of things (IoT) system, a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) system, a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, such as a New Radio (NR) system, or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or may also be applied to a next generation mobile communication system or other similar communication systems, which is not limited specifically.

Referring to fig. 1, an exemplary architecture diagram of a communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable is shown, where the communication system may include a core network device, a network device, and at least one terminal. Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a terminal. The terminal is connected with the network equipment in a wireless mode, and the network equipment is connected with the core network equipment in a wireless or wired mode. The core network device and the network device may be independent different physical devices; or the function of the core network equipment and the logic function of the network equipment are integrated on the same physical equipment; or part of the functions of the core network device and part of the functions of the network device are integrated on the same physical device. It should be noted that fig. 1 is only an illustration, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of core network devices, and terminals included in the mobile communication system. In some embodiments, the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices, wireless backhaul devices, and the like.

The network device is AN access device that the terminal accesses to the mobile communication system in a wireless manner, and includes, for example, AN Access Network (AN) device, such as a base station (e.g., AN access point). The network device may also refer to a device that communicates with the terminal at the air interface, such as other possible terminal apparatuses; also for example, in one type of V2X technology, the network device is a Road Side Unit (RSU). The base station may be configured to interconvert the received air frame with an Internet Protocol (IP) packet as a router between the terminal and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity supporting V2X applications and may exchange messages with other entities supporting V2X applications. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved Node B (evolved Node B) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or an LTE-a (long term evolution-advanced), which may also be referred to as (eNB or e-NodeB); or may also include next generation node B (gNB) in a 5G NR system; or may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud RAN (Cloud radio access network) system; or may also include an access node in a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, and the like, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and the specific device form adopted by the wireless network device.

In some deployments, a network device may include CUs and distribution units. CUs and DUs can be deployed as one network node, referred to as centralized deployment; or respectively as independent network nodes, called distributed deployment, where the CU and the DU can communicate with each other through the F1 interface therebetween. The interfaces between CUs and DUs include the F1 interface and other interfaces between CUs and DUs. The network device may also include an Active Antenna Unit (AAU).

The CU may implement part of the functions of the network device, and the DU may implement part of the functions of the network device. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implements functions of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer or a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In one possible configuration, a CU may include a Control Panel (CP) and a User Panel (UP). The CP and UP communicate via the E1 interface.

The DU may be responsible for processing a physical layer protocol and a real-time service, and implement functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer. The AAU may be used to implement portions of the physical layer processing functions, rf processing, and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, the higher layer signaling, such as RRC layer message, may also be considered to be sent by the DU or sent by the DU and the AAU under this architecture. It is to be understood that the network device may be a device that includes one or more of a CU, a DU, or an AAU. Furthermore, the CUs may be divided into devices in the access network, or the CUs may be referred to as access network devices. The CU may also be divided into devices in a Core Network (CN), or the CU may be used as a core network device, which is not limited in this application.

A terminal device, which may be a User Equipment (UE), is sometimes referred to as a terminal, an access station, a UE station, a distant station, a wireless communication device, or a user equipment, etc. The terminal device is a device with a wireless transceiving function, and can transmit signals to the network device or receive signals from the network device. The terminal device is used for connecting people, objects, machines and the like, and can be widely used in various scenes, such as but not limited to the following scenes: cellular communication, device-to-device communication (D2D), vehicle-to-all (V2X), machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC), internet of things (IoT), virtual Reality (VR), augmented Reality (AR), industrial control (industrial control), unmanned driving (self driving), remote medical (remote medical), smart grid (smart grid), smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city (smart city), unmanned aerial vehicle, robot, etc. scenarios. The terminal device in this embodiment may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a smart speaker in an IoT network, a wireless terminal device in telemedicine, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation security, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, and so on. By way of example, and not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable smart device or intelligent wearable equipment etc. is the general term of using wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. While the various terminal devices described above, if located on (e.g. placed in or installed in) a vehicle, may be considered to be vehicle-mounted terminal devices, also referred to as on-board units (OBUs), for example.

The terminal devices may be classified into a plurality of types of terminal devices according to the types of services supported by the terminal devices. For example normal (normal) terminal equipment (also known as legacy (legacy) terminal equipment) and low complexity or low capability terminal equipment. A low complexity or low capability terminal device may be considered to be somewhat less complex than a normal terminal in terms of bandwidth, power consumption, number of antennas, etc., e.g., narrower bandwidth, lower power consumption, fewer number of antennas, etc. A low complexity or low capability terminal device may also be referred to as an (NR light, NRL) terminal device, i.e. a lightweight version of a terminal device. For the purpose of the aspect description, the normal terminal device will be referred to as a first type terminal device, and the low-complexity or low-capability terminal device will be referred to as a second type terminal device. It should be noted that the distinction between the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device is not limited to the bandwidth, power consumption or antenna aspect, but may be different in other aspects. For example, the protocol versions corresponding to the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device are different; or the first type terminal device and the second type terminal device support different Carrier Aggregation (CA) capabilities; or the first class terminal device and the second class terminal device have different data processing time capabilities, and the like, which are not illustrated here.

As described above, the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applied is described, and the technical features related to the embodiments of the present application are described below.

Multicast services, i.e. services directed to multiple terminal devices, such as live broadcast, timed broadcast programs, etc. In LTE, a multicast service is also called a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) service, and in NR, a multicast service is also called a multicast/Multicast Broadcast (MBS) service. For convenience of description, the multicast service is an MBS service as an example hereinafter.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic view of a MBS scene. The network equipment simultaneously sends the MBS service to the multi-terminal equipment. The network device may send the MBS service to the terminal device in a unicast (unicast) manner through the dedicated bearer established for the terminal device, or may send the MBS service to the terminal device in a multicast (multicast) manner through the dedicated bearer established for the MBS service. If the network device sends the MBS service to the terminal device in multicast mode, only a special bearer needs to be established for the MBS service, and the terminal device interested in the MBS service can receive the MBS service through the bearer. The MBS service is sent to each terminal device without the bearer established for each terminal device independently, so that the air interface resource can be saved, the frequency spectrum utilization rate can be improved, and the transmission efficiency can be improved.

The transmission of the MBS service may be implemented based on a single cell point to multipoint (SC-PTM) technique. SC-PTM can send the same service to a plurality of terminal devices at the same time, and a group of terminal devices of the same service use the same downlink configuration to receive the service without establishing own communication links by each terminal device.

Two logical channels are introduced into the SC-PTM, which are a single cell multicast control channel (SC-MCCH) and a single cell multicast traffic channel (SC-MTCH). The SC-MCCH and the SC-MTCH are both mapped to a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), and the SC-MCCH is used to transmit control information, which includes a service identifier and configuration information of the SC-MTCH, such as a G-RNTI and DRX parameters corresponding to the SC-MTCH.

When there is an MBS service that is changed, for example, a new MBS service or an ongoing MBS service, the network device may send an SC-MCCH modification notification (i.e., MCCH change notification) to the terminal device to notify the terminal device whether there is an MBS service that is changed. For different types of terminal devices, the way in which the network device informs the terminal device whether MBS service is changed through MCCH change notification is also different.

For the first class of terminal equipment, the MCCH change notification is carried on DCI of the PDCCH scrambled by the SC-N-RNTI. The DCI is in a DCI format 1C, and indicates that the MBS service is changed through one bit in an 8-bit bitmap (bitmap). For example, when the lowest bit in the 8-bit bitmap is 1, it indicates that the MBS service is changed. The MCCH change notification is sent in the first subframe in the RP that the SC-MCCH can be scheduled. Correspondingly, assuming that the MBS service is transmitted through SC-PTM, after receiving the MCCH change notification, the terminal equipment interested in receiving the MBS service starts to acquire new SC-MCCH information from the same subframe (namely the first subframe in RP which can be scheduled by SC-MCCH). Before the terminal equipment acquires new SC-MCCH information, the terminal equipment always uses the previously acquired SC-MCCH information.

For ease of understanding, please refer to fig. 3, which is a schematic diagram of SC-MCCH transmission. The SC-MCCH is transmitted in a periodic manner. The SC-MCCH period has an RP and a Modification Period (MP), where one MP includes a plurality of RPs and the contents of the SC-MCCH in the MP are not changed, i.e. the contents carried by the SC-MCCH sent by the RP in one MP by the network device are the same. And the network equipment periodically sends the SC-MCCH according to the RP of the SC-MCCH. If the content carried by the SC-MCCH needs to be modified, the network equipment starts to send the SC-MCCH carrying the modified content from the boundary of the MP, namely the updated SC-MCCH. And the network equipment sends MCCH change notification of the SC-MCCH at the boundary of the MP, wherein the MCCH change notification is carried by a PDCCH scrambled based on the SC-N-RNTI. When the terminal device detects the SC-N-RNTI on the PDCCH, the terminal device considers that the MCCH change notification of the SC-MCCH is detected or received, and the terminal device needs to acquire the SC-MCCH again. When the terminal equipment acquires the SC-MCCH again, the PDCCH scrambled by the SC-RNTI needs to be detected so as to acquire the scheduling information of the SC-MCCH. The MCCH change notification and the SC-MCCH carrying the modified content are transmitted in the same MP. And the terminal equipment receives the SC-MCCH bearing the modified content in the same subframe.

And for the second type of terminal equipment, the MCCH change notification is carried in DCI of the PDCCH scrambled by the SC-RNTI. The MCCH change notification indicates that there is a new MBS service when a bit in the bitmap of the DCI, for example, the bit is set to "1". The MCCH change notification is sent on each PDCCH of the first SC-MCCH scheduled in the RP within the current MP. Correspondingly, assuming that the MBS service is transmitted through SC-PTM, the terminal equipment interested in receiving the MBS service acquires the scheduled new SC-MCCH information in the current MP through PDCCH after receiving the MCCH change notification. Before the terminal equipment acquires new SC-MCCH information, the terminal equipment always uses the previously acquired SC-MCCH information.

In addition, for the second type of terminal device, the network device may also indicate MCCH change notification through DCI scrambled by the G-RNTI. For example, the MCCH change notification schedules PDCCH transmission of the SC-MTCH within the current MP, the PDCCH being scrambled based on the G-RNTI. The MCCH change notification may indicate that there is a new MBS service through two bits in the bitmap of the DCI, for example, when the lowest bit in the two-bit bitmap is set to "1"; when the highest bit in the two-bit bitmap is set to be 1, the MBS service is changed. And the terminal equipment receives the MCCH change notification and receives new MCCH information in the next MP. Before the terminal equipment acquires new SC-MCCH information, the terminal equipment always uses the previously acquired SC-MCCH information.

At present, the DCI indicates the MCCH change notification, which only indicates whether MBS services are changed, but cannot indicate which specific services are changed. For the terminal device, any terminal device needs to acquire the latest configuration information of all MBS services as long as the MBS services are changed. That is, even a terminal apparatus that is not interested in the changed MBS service needs to acquire the latest configuration information of all MBS services. However, terminal devices that are not interested in the changed MBS service do not actually need to re-acquire the latest configuration information of the MBS service, and it is seen that the current modification notification method may bring unnecessary overhead to some terminal devices.

In view of this, the present application provides a new notification method for multicast service modification. In the method, the network equipment indicates the MCCH change notification through DCI scrambled by G-RNTI. The difference from the prior art is that each G-RNTI is associated with an MBS service or a group of MBS services. For the terminal device, according to an MBS service or a group of MBS services associated with the G-RNTI, it can know which specific MBS services are changed. Therefore, the terminal equipment interested in the changed MBS service acquires the latest configuration information of the MBS service again, namely acquires the MCCH content again. The terminal equipment which is not interested in the changed MBS service does not need to acquire the latest configuration information of the MBS service again, so that the power consumption expense of the terminal equipment which is not interested in the changed MBS service can be reduced.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The multicast service modification notification method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the network architecture shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, and in addition, the method can be executed by two communication devices, for example, a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device may be a network device or a communication device capable of supporting the network device to implement the functions required by the method, or the first communication device may be a terminal device or a communication device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, or of course, the first communication device may also be other communication devices, such as a system on chip. The same applies to the second communication device, which may be a network device or a communication device capable of supporting the network device to implement the functions required by the method, or may be a terminal device or a communication device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions required by the method, and may of course be other communication devices, such as a system on a chip. And the implementation modes of the first communication device and the second communication device are not limited. For example, the first communication apparatus may be a network device, and the second communication apparatus may be a terminal device; or the first communication means is a network device and the second communication means is a communication means capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal device to implement the method, etc.

For convenience of introduction, in the following, the method is taken as an example executed by a network device and a terminal device, that is, the first communication apparatus is taken as a network device, and the second communication apparatus is taken as a terminal device. If the present embodiment is applied to the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the network device described hereinafter may be a network device in the network architecture shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are only implemented as examples by a network device and a terminal device, and are not limited to these two communication apparatuses. For example, the embodiments of the present application may also be executed by a network device and a plurality of terminal devices. It should be understood that when a plurality of terminal devices are involved, the execution flow of each terminal device in the plurality of terminal devices is the same. For convenience of description, hereinafter, an embodiment of the present application is implemented as an example by a network device and one terminal device.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a first method for notifying modification of multicast service. Fig. 4 illustrates an example of indicating MCCH change notification in DCI for scheduling an MCCH by a network device.

S401, the network equipment sends system information to the terminal equipment, and correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the system information.

The system information may be used for the terminal device to determine the configuration information of the MCCH. For example, the network device may broadcast system information, and any terminal device may obtain configuration information of other SIBs from a system information block 1 (SIB) from the network device, and may receive the other SIBs according to the configuration information of the other SIBs. Other SIBs may include configuration information for the MCCH, for example, SIB20 may include configuration information for the MCCH. For a terminal device interested in receiving a certain or some MBS services, the terminal device may obtain the MCCH configuration information after entering a cell broadcasting system information carrying SIB 20. Or, when MBS service changes, the configuration information of MCCH also changes. The network device notifies the terminal device that the MBS service changes, and the terminal device reacquires the MCCH configuration information according to the notification of the network device.

The configuration information of the MCCH may include a plurality of parameters for receiving the MCCH. For example, the configuration information of the MCCH may include one or more of the following parameters: RP and offset of MCCH, MCCH transmission time, MCCH starting position, MP of MCCH, etc. The RP and the offset of the MCCH may be used to determine a time domain boundary where the MCCH period occurs. For example, the periodicity of the MCCH occurs on a system frame satisfying a System Frame Number (SFN) mod (RP) = offset. Further, the RP and offset of the MCCH may also indicate the specific system frame and subframe location where the MCCH occurs. The MCCH transmission time indicates a duration of the MCCH transmission. The MCCH starting position and the MCCH transmission time may be used to determine the subframe in which the MCCH occurs within one system frame, and even the symbol position in which the MCCH occurs. The MP of the MCCH includes several RPs and the content of the MCCH is unchanged within the MP of the MCCH.

S402, the network equipment sends a PDCCH to the terminal equipment, correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the PDCCH, the PDCCH is used for scheduling the MCCH, the PDCCH comprises DCI, the DCI comprises modification notification information, and the modification notification information is used for indicating that M MBS services are changed.

The PDCCH sent by the network device for scheduling the MCCH may include information for scheduling the MCCH, for example, time-frequency resource information for scheduling the MCCH, and the like. For example, the DCI also includes radio resource allocation information, a modulation and coding scheme, the number of repetitions, the DCI subframe repetition number, and the like. The radio resource allocation information may be used to indicate PDSCH frequency domain resources used by the MCCH. The modulation and coding strategy may be used to indicate the modulation scheme and coding rate used to transmit the MCCH. The number of repetitions may be used to indicate the number of consecutive subframes used to send the MCCH. The DCI subframe repetition number may be used to indicate the number of PDCCH repetitions.

When there is an MBS service that is changed, the network device changes the MCCH information and sends modification notification information, i.e., MCCH change notification, to the terminal device to notify the terminal device that the MBS service is changed. In some embodiments, the network device may indicate the MBS service changed by scheduling DCI included in PDCCH of MCCH.

For example, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding MBS service is changed, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, each bit of the N bits may correspond to one MBS service or a group of MBS services, respectively. When the corresponding bit position is '0', it indicates that the corresponding MBS service is changed, and when the corresponding bit position is '1', it indicates that the corresponding MBS service is not changed. Or, when the corresponding bit position is "1", it indicates that the corresponding MBS service is changed, and when the corresponding bit position is "0", it indicates that the corresponding MBS service is not changed. (this is taken as an example here). The PDCCH may be scrambled by SC-RNTI or G-RNTI.

For another example, the value of a bit in the N bits is inverted to indicate that the corresponding MBS service is changed. And if the bit value sent at the current time is opposite to the bit value sent at the previous time, indicating that the MBS service corresponding to the bit is changed. And if the bit value sent at the current time is the same as the bit value sent at the previous time, indicating that the MBS service corresponding to the bit is not changed. The changed MBS service is indicated by the value reversal of a bit in the N bits, so that the misjudgment rate can be reduced. For example, at time t1, the MBS service changes, the network device sends a prompt indication with a changed bit value (1), the MBS service does not have a new change at time t2, the network device sends a prompt indication with no changed bit value (0), and when the terminal does not receive the prompt at time t1, the terminal considers that no service change occurs all the time when receiving the prompt at time t 2. However, the changed MBS service is indicated by the NDI, so that whether the MBS service is changed or not can be avoided being misjudged.

S403, the network device sends the MCCH to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the MCCH. The MCCH comprises P G-RNTIs and M MBS service identifiers. One G-RNTI corresponds to one or more MBS services, and P is an integer which is greater than or equal to 1.

After the network device sends the PDCCH to the terminal device, the MCCH may be sent to the terminal device. The terminal equipment receives the PDCCH, and can acquire the information of the MCCH from the received PDCCH, so that the MCCH from the network equipment is received according to the information of the MCCH. The MCCH may include scheduling information for scheduling the MTCHs, and the terminal device may determine how to receive the corresponding MTCHs according to the scheduling information of each MTCH, thereby implementing reception of corresponding MBS service data. Scheduling information for scheduling the MTCH may be used to provide a list of ongoing MBS service sessions sent over a Multicast Radio Bearer (MRB). The scheduling information may include an identification for identifying the MBS session, an identification of the MTCH, and the like. The identifier for identifying the MBS session may be a Temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI) or a session identity (session ID). The identity of the MTCH may be a group radio network temporary identity (G-RNTI).

One MTCH may be used to carry data of one or more MBS services. Assuming that M MBS services are changed and data of the M MBS services are carried over P MTCHs, the MCCH includes scheduling information (MTCH-Info) of the P MTCHs and identifiers of the M MBS services, such as TMGI (hereinafter, this is taken as an example). For example, there are P MTCHs, the MCCH may include scheduling information (MTCH-Info) for the P MTCHs. The P MTCH-Infos may also be referred to as an MTCH configuration information List (MTCH-InfoList). That is, the MTCH-InfoList includes at least one MTCH-Info. Since one MTCH corresponds to one G-RNTI, it can also be considered that the MCCH includes P G-RNTIs and M MBS service identities. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific implementation forms of the P G-RNTIs included in the MCCH and the TMGI of the M MBS services.

In a first form, the MCCH includes P MTCH-Info's, each of which may include a G-RNTI corresponding to the MTCH and a TMGI list corresponding to the RNTI, the TMGI list including at least one TMGI. For example, P equals 2, then the P MTCH-infos may comprise a first MTCH-infos and a second MTCH-infos. The first MTCH-Info may include a first G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first TMGI list. The second MTCH-Info may include a second G-RNTI corresponding to the second MTCH and a second TMGI list. The first TMGI list includes at least one TMGI, which also includes at least one TMGI. The number of TMGIs included in the first TMGI list may be the same as or different from the number of TMGIs included in the second TMGI list.

Each TMGI list may include at least one TMGI corresponding to N bits of the DCI, that is, N bits to indicate whether or not the MBS service corresponding to each TMGI is changed. Taking the first MTCH-Info as an example, assume that the first TMGI list includes TMGI A, TMGI B, and TMGI C. An index value may be assigned to each TMGI included in the first TMGI list. For example, the index values may be sequentially assigned to TMGI a, TMGI B, and TMGI C in the order of TMGI a, TMGI B, and TMGI C included in the first TMGI list. For example, the index values of TMGI a, TMGI B, and TMGI C are 1,2,3, respectively. Each index value may correspond to one bit of the N bits in the DCI. For example, N =3,n bits with a value of "101", it may indicate that the MBS service corresponding to the TMGIA is changed, for example, due to a session or service arrival, the configuration information of the MTCH corresponding to the first G-RNTI associated with the TMGI a is changed. The DCI also indicates that the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI B is not changed, namely the configuration information of the MTCH corresponding to the first G-RNTI associated with the TMGI B is not changed. The DCI also indicates that the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI C is changed, namely the configuration information of the MTCH corresponding to the first G-RNTI related to the TMGI C is changed.

Each terminal device can determine that the MBS services corresponding to the TMGI A and the TMGI C are changed respectively. The terminal equipment interested in the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI a may re-acquire the MTCH configuration information. The terminal equipment interested in the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI C may reacquire the MTCH configuration information. On the contrary, for terminal devices that are not interested in the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI a and the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI C, the MTCH configuration information does not need to be re-acquired, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption overhead for the terminal devices.

For example, terminal a is receiving the MBS service corresponding to TMGI a, terminal B is receiving the MBS service corresponding to TMGI B, and terminal C is receiving the MBS service corresponding to TMGI C. If N bits of the DCI indicate that the MCCH change notification is changed for the MBS service corresponding to the TMGI C, if the terminal equipment A and the terminal equipment B are interested in the received MBS service, the terminal equipment A and the terminal equipment B do not need to acquire the MTCH configuration information again. If N bits of the DCI indicate that the MCCH change notification is the MBS service indicated by the TMGI A, the terminal equipment A reacquires the configuration information of the MTCH, and the terminal equipment B does not need to reacquire the configuration information of the MTCH. For the terminal equipment C, if the terminal equipment C is interested in the MBS service indicated by the TMGI a, the terminal equipment C may reacquire the MTCH configuration information; if the terminal equipment C is not interested in the MBS service indicated by the TMGI A, the terminal equipment C does not need to acquire the MTCH configuration information again.

In the above, each index value in the TMGI list corresponds to one TMGI identifier as an example. In some embodiments, one index value may also correspond to multiple TMGIs, i.e., to a set of TMGIs. Thus, 1 bit in the DCI can indicate the change state of the MBS service corresponding to a group of TMGIs, so that the limited number of bits can indicate the change state of more MBS services.

In a second form, each MTCH-Info may include a TMGI, and a G-RNTI corresponding to the TMGI. Wherein different MTCH-Info may correspond to the same G-RNTI. I.e. different TMGIs may be mapped to the same G-RNTI. For example, P equals 3, then the P MTCH-Info's may include a first MTCH-Info and a second MTCH-Info and a third MTCH-Info. The first MTCH-Info may include a first TMGI and a first G-RNTI corresponding to the first TMGI. The second MTCH-Info may include a second TMGI and a second G-RNTI corresponding to the second TMGI. The third MTCH-Info may include a third TMGI and a second G-RNTI corresponding to the third TMGI.

Since different TMGIs may be mapped to the same G-RNTI, in order to determine an index value of a TMGI corresponding to the same G-RNTI, each MTCH-Info further includes information for determining an index value corresponding to the corresponding TMGI, e.g., referred to as side information. The side information may be used to determine the bits of the N bits corresponding to each TMGI. The auxiliary information may be a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID), that is, the rank of the TMGIs corresponding to the same G-RNTI may be determined according to the LCID, and the index value corresponding to each TMGI may be determined according to the rank. Or, the auxiliary information may be the MBS service priority validation time, that is, the ordering of the TMGIs corresponding to the same G-RNTI may be determined according to the MBS service priority validation time, and the index value corresponding to each TMGI may be determined according to the ordering. Following the above example of P =3, assume that the first MTCH-Info may include TMGI B, and G-RNTI 1 and LCID 1; the second MTCH-Info may include TMGI A, and G-RNTI 1 and LCID 3; the third MTCH-Info may include TMGI C, and G-RNTI 2 and LCID 2. It can be determined that TMGI a and TMGI B correspond to G-RNTI 1. G-RNTI 1 may also be considered to correspond to a TMGI list that includes TMGIA and TMGI B. Similarly, it may be determined that TMGI C corresponds to G-RNTI 2, or it may be considered that G-RNTI 2 corresponds to a TMGI list, which includes TMGI C. It should be noted that, if the assistance information is the MBS service priority effective time, each MTCH-Info need not include the assistance information. That is, each MTCH-Info includes a TMGI and a G-RNTI corresponding to the TMGI.

Similar to the first form, each TMGI included in each TMGI list may be assigned an index value, and each index value may correspond to one bit of the N bits in the DCI. For example, TMGIA and TMGI B correspond to G-RNTI 1, and since TMGIA corresponds to LCID 1 and is smaller than LCID 3 corresponding to TMGI B, the index value assigned to TMGI a is smaller than the index value assigned to TMGI B in the order of LCID size, for example, the index value assigned to TMGI a is 1 and the index value assigned to TMGI B is 2. In this form, any terminal device may determine that the MBS service corresponding to that or those TMGIs respectively changes, and may reacquire the MTCH configuration information for the terminal device interested in the changed MBS service. And for the terminal equipment which is not interested in the changed MBS service, the configuration information of the MTCH does not need to be acquired again. That is, it is not necessary for all terminal devices to obtain the latest configuration information of all MBS services, thereby reducing the power consumption overhead of terminal devices that are not interested in the changed MBS services.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, DCI may be used to indicate that M MBS services are changed. In some embodiments, the DCI may include more than N bits, e.g., N +1 bits. One bit of the N +1 bits is used for indicating whether a new MBS service is generated, and the N bits are used for indicating that M MBS services are changed. In other embodiments, the DCI may also be used to indicate the reason for the MBS change, such as a session change or session stop. For the changed MBS business, the DCI can indicate the reason of the change of the MBS business personnel through more bits. For example, the DCI includes N + Q bits, where N bits are used to indicate that M MBS services are changed, Q bits are used to indicate a reason for the change of the M MBS services, and each bit of the N bits corresponds to one or more bits of the Q bits.

S404, the network device sends a PDCCH to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDCCH, and the PDCCH is used for scheduling MTCH.

The network equipment may send PDCCH for scheduling MTCH to the terminal equipment. The PDCCH carries DCI, which includes time-frequency resource information for scheduling MTCH. And the terminal equipment performs blind detection in the search space, detects the PDCCH for scheduling the MTCH, and analyzes the DCI to obtain the time-frequency resource information for scheduling the MTCH. The time-frequency resource information of the MTCH may include radio resource allocation information, a modulation coding strategy, a repetition number, a DCI subframe repetition number, a number of Transport Blocks (TBs) used to transmit the MTCH, and the like. The radio resource allocation information may be used to indicate PDSCH frequency domain resources used by the MTCH. A modulation coding strategy may be used to indicate the modulation scheme and coding rate used to transmit the MTCH. The number of repetitions may be used to indicate the number of consecutive subframes used to transmit the MTCH. The DCI subframe repetition number may be used to indicate the number of PDCCH repetitions.

S405, the network device sends the MTCH to the terminal device, and accordingly, the terminal device receives the MTCH.

The network equipment may transmit the MTCH to the terminal equipment after transmitting the PDCCH for scheduling the MTCH to the terminal equipment. The terminal equipment can receive the MTCH according to the information of the MTCH, thereby acquiring the MBS service data corresponding to the MTCH.

S406, the terminal device re-acquires the MTCH configuration information.

If the terminal equipment is interested in sending the changed MBS service, the terminal equipment can acquire the MTCH configuration information again. If the network device starts to send the MCCH carrying the modified content from the boundary of the MP and sends the MCCH change notification of the SC-MCCH. It is assumed that a PDCCH carrying an MCCH change notification is scrambled by SC-RNTI. When the terminal device detects the SCRNTI on the PDCCH, it considers that the MCCH change notification is detected or received, and re-acquires the configuration information of the MTCH in the next MP.

In the embodiment of the application, N bits in DCI carried by a PDCCH for scheduling an MCCH may indicate MCCH change notification. N bits of DCI may include a G-RNTI corresponding to the MTCH and a TMGI list corresponding to the RNTI corresponding to each MTCH-Info included in the MCCH, so that the N bits may indicate a change state of the MBS service corresponding to each TMGI. The terminal equipment can know which specific MBS services are changed according to the N bits of the DCI and at least one TMGI corresponding to the G-RNTI in each MTCH-Info. And the terminal equipment interested in the changed MBS service acquires the configuration information corresponding to the changed MBS service again, namely acquires the MCCH content again. All terminal devices are not required to acquire the latest configuration information of all MBS services, so that the power consumption overhead of the terminal devices which are not interested in the changed MBS services is reduced.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a second method for notifying modification of multicast service. The procedure shown in fig. 5 is different from the procedure shown in fig. 4 in that the MCCH change notification may be carried in DCI carried on a PDCCH for scheduling MTCH.

S501, the network equipment sends system information to the terminal equipment, and correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the system information.

The specific implementation of S501 is similar to that of S401, and reference may be made to relevant contents of S401, which is not described herein again.

S502, the network equipment sends a PDCCH to the terminal equipment, correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the PDCCH, and the PDCCH is used for scheduling the MCCH.

And the network equipment sends the PDCCH for scheduling the MCCH to the terminal equipment. The PDCCH carries DCI, which includes scheduling information for scheduling the MCCH. And the terminal equipment performs blind detection in the search space, detects the PDCCH for scheduling the MCCH, and analyzes the DCI to obtain scheduling information of the scheduling MCCH, such as time-frequency resource information of the scheduling MCCH. The time-frequency resource information of the MCCH may include radio resource allocation information, a modulation coding strategy, a repetition number, a DCI subframe repetition number, and the like. The radio resource allocation information may be used to indicate PDSCH frequency domain resources used by the MCCH. The modulation and coding strategy may be used to indicate the modulation scheme and coding rate used for transmitting MCCH. The number of repetitions may be used to indicate the number of consecutive subframes used to send the MCCH. The DCI subframe repetition number may be used to indicate the number of PDCCH repetitions.

S503, the network equipment sends the MCCH to the terminal equipment, and correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the MCCH.

The MCCH comprises P G-RNTIs and M MBS service identifiers. One G-RNTI corresponds to one or more MBS services, and P is an integer which is greater than or equal to 1.

After the network device sends the PDCCH to the terminal device, the MCCH may be sent to the terminal device. The terminal equipment receives the PDCCH, and can acquire the scheduling information of the MCCH from the received PDCCH, so that the MCCH from the network equipment is received according to the scheduling information of the MCCH. For specific implementation of MCCH, reference may be made to the related content of S403, which is not described herein again.

S504, the network device sends a PDCCH to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the PDCCH, the PDCCH is used for scheduling MTCH, the PDCCH comprises DCI, the DCI comprises modification notification information, and the modification notification information is used for indicating that M MBS services are changed.

The network apparatus transmits a PDCCH for scheduling MTCH to the terminal apparatus. The PDCCH may be scrambled by the G-RNTI. The PDCCH carries DCI, which includes time-frequency resource information for scheduling MTCH. And the terminal equipment performs blind detection in the search space, detects the PDCCH for scheduling the MTCH, and analyzes the DCI to obtain the time-frequency resource information for scheduling the MTCH. The time-frequency resource information of the MTCH may include radio resource allocation information, a modulation coding strategy, a repetition number, a DCI subframe repetition number, a number of Transport Blocks (TBs) used to transmit the MTCH, and the like. The radio resource allocation information may be used to indicate PDSCH frequency domain resources used by the MTCH. A modulation and coding scheme may be used to indicate a modulation scheme and a coding rate used to transmit the MTCH. The number of repetitions may be used to indicate the number of consecutive subframes used to transmit the MTCH. The DCI subframe repetition number may be used to indicate the number of PDCCH repetitions.

When there is a MBS service that is changed, the network device changes the MCCH information and sends modification notification information, i.e., MCCH change notification, to the terminal device to notify the terminal device that the MBS service is changed. In some embodiments, the network device may indicate the changed MBS traffic by scheduling DCI included in the PDCCH of the MTCH. Namely, the DCI carried by the PDCCH for scheduling the MTCH includes MCCH change notification in addition to the time-frequency resource information for scheduling the MTCH.

For specific implementation of the DCI, reference may be made to the related content of the foregoing S402, which is not described herein again.

It is to be understood that the MCCH is implemented in the first form or the second form, and the at least one TMGI included in the TMGI list corresponding to each G-RNTI may correspond to one bit of the N bits of the DCI, respectively. The terminal equipment can know which specific MBS services are changed according to the N bits of the DCI and at least one TMGI corresponding to the G-RNTI in each MTCH-Info. And the terminal equipment interested in the changed MBS service acquires the configuration information corresponding to the changed MBS service again, namely acquires the MCCH content again. All terminal devices are not required to acquire the latest configuration information of all MBS services, so that the power consumption overhead of the terminal devices which are not interested in the changed MBS services is reduced.

S505, the network device sends the MTCH to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the MTCH accordingly.

And the network equipment sends the MTCH to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment can receive the MTCH according to the time-frequency resource information of the MTCH, so as to acquire the MBS service data corresponding to the MTCH.

S506, the terminal device re-acquires the MTCH configuration information.

For specific implementation of S506, reference may be made to the related content of S406, which is not described herein again.

In the embodiment of the present application, N bits in DCI carried by a PDCCH for scheduling an MTCH may indicate MCCH change notification. N bits of DCI may correspond to each MTCH-Info included in the MCCH and include a G-RNTI corresponding to the MTCH and a TMGI list corresponding to the RNTI, such that the N bits may indicate a change status of an MBS service corresponding to each TMGI. The terminal equipment can know which specific MBS services are changed according to the N bits of the DCI and at least one TMGI corresponding to the G-RNTI in each MTCH-Info. And the terminal equipment interested in the changed MBS service acquires the configuration information corresponding to the changed MBS service again, namely acquires the MCCH content again. All terminal devices are not required to acquire the latest configuration information of all MBS services, so that the power consumption overhead of the terminal devices which are not interested in the changed MBS services is reduced.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of MCCH change notification carried in DCI for a PDCCH carrier used for scheduling MCCH. Fig. 5 illustrates an example that MCCH change notification may be carried in DCI for a PDCCH bearer for scheduling MTCH. In some embodiments, the network device may carry the MCCH change notification through DCI included in PDCCH scheduling the MCCH, and may carry the MCCH change notification through DCI included in PDCCH scheduling the MTCH. Therefore, the terminal equipment can be prevented from missing the MCCH change notification. For example, the MBS service is changed twice consecutively, and the MP is too short, the terminal device may miss the MCCH change notification.

It should be noted that, if the terminal device is a second type of terminal device, the MCCH and MTCH are not transmitted on the same carrier due to the limited complexity of the second type of terminal device. For example, the network device transmits PDCCH and MCCH for scheduling MCCH on carrier 1 and PDCCH and MTCH for scheduling MTCH on carrier 2.

It is considered that although the network device transmits the MCCH change notification to the terminal device, the terminal device may not successfully receive the MCCH change notification. The terminal device does not receive the MCCH change notification, and may consider that the network device does not send the MCCH change notification. However, the network device actually transmits the MCCH change notification. Therefore, in order to avoid that the terminal device ignores the MCCH change notification from the network device, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may reacquire the MCCH change notification in the following three ways.

The first mode is as follows: if the preset condition is met, the terminal equipment can reacquire the DCI for receiving the MCCH. The preset condition may be considered as a condition that the terminal device may not successfully receive the MCCH change notification. For example, the preset condition may be that the service quality of the MBS service used by the terminal device is lower than a preset threshold within a preset time period. The preset condition may be that the terminal device does not receive the data of the MBS service within a preset time period. Because the condition that the MCCH change notification cannot be successfully received is satisfied, the terminal device reacquires the DCI for receiving the MCCH, that is, the terminal device does not consider that the network device does not send the MCCH change notification when not receiving the MCCH change notification, and thus the terminal device can be prevented from ignoring the MCCH change notification.

The second mode is as follows: in order to save power consumption, the terminal device may use a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mechanism to receive data. DRX has a DRX cycle including two states of an awake state and a sleep state within one DRX cycle. If the terminal device employs the DRX mechanism, the terminal device is in an awake state (also referred to as an active period, or a DRX on period) at intervals, and in the awake state, the terminal device reads the PDCCH. However, if the difference between the end time of the activation period and the start time of the RP of the MCCH is small, the terminal device may not be able to successfully receive the MCCH change notification. In this case, the terminal device may extend the activation period, so that when the starting time of the RP of the MCCH reaches, the terminal device is still in the activation period. That is, the difference between the end time of the activation period of the terminal device and the start time of the RP of the MCCH is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the terminal device extends the activation period and reads the PDCCH on the extended activation period.

The third mode is as follows: it may be agreed that the network device always transmits the MCCH change notification. Even if no MBS service is changed, the network equipment sends MCCH change notification. For example, each of the N bits takes a value of "0" to indicate that no MBS service has been changed. For the terminal equipment, if the DCI for receiving the MCCH is not received at the current scheduling time, the DCI for receiving the MCCH is reacquired at the next scheduled time of the MCCH.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device indicates that the M multicast services are changed through the DCI. For the terminal device, it can be known through DCI that M multicast services are changed. If there is a service that the terminal device is interested in among the M multicast services, the terminal device may retrieve the configuration information of the multicast service according to the scheduling information, and vice versa. If the terminal device is not interested in the M multicast services, the terminal device does not need to acquire the multicast service configuration information again. This avoids unnecessary power consumption overhead for the terminal device as much as possible.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is introduced from the perspective of interaction between the terminal device and the network device. The steps executed by the network device may also be implemented by different communication apparatuses. For example: the first apparatus is configured to generate an MCCH, and the second apparatus is configured to send the MCCH, that is, the first apparatus and the second apparatus jointly complete the steps executed by the network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the present application does not limit a specific partitioning manner. When the network architecture includes one or more Distributed Units (DUs), one or more Centralized Units (CUs), and one or more radio frequency units (RUs), the steps performed by the network device may be implemented by the DUs, CUs, and RUs, respectively. In order to implement the functions in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and the network device may include a hardware structure and/or a software module, and the functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure and a software module. Whether any of the above-described functions is implemented as a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution.

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus based on the same inventive concept as the method embodiment. The following describes a communication device for implementing the above method in the embodiment of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 may include a processing module 610 and a transceiver module 620. Optionally, a storage unit may also be included, which may be used to store instructions (code or programs) and/or data. The processing module 610 and the transceiver module 620 may be coupled with the storage unit, for example, the processing unit 610 may read instructions (codes or programs) and/or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding method. The above units may be independently arranged, or may be partially or wholly integrated.

In some possible embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, implement the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of fig. 4 or fig. 5. For example, the communication apparatus 600 may be a terminal device, a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) applied in the terminal device, or a chip set in the terminal device, or a part of the chip for performing a function of the related method. The transceiver module 620 may be used to perform all of the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5, such as S401-S405 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Such as S501-S505 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Wherein the processing module 610 is configured to perform all operations except transceiving operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5, such as S406 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Such as S506 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 620 is configured to receive DCI from a network device, where the DCI includes modification notification information, where the modification notification information is used to indicate that M multicast services are changed, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The transceiver module 620 is further configured to receive scheduling information from the network device, where the scheduling information is carried in the MCCH, and the scheduling information includes P G-RNTIs and M identifiers of multicast services. Wherein, one G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes P Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH) scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes first MTCH scheduling information. The first MTCH scheduling information includes a G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first traffic identity list. The first service identification list comprises at least one service identification, wherein one or more service identifications correspond to one bit of the N bits.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes the P MTCH scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes second MTCH scheduling information. The second MTCH scheduling information includes the first traffic identification, the G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identification, and the auxiliary information. The side information is used to determine a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first service identity.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 610 is configured to: if it is determined that there is a service in which the communication apparatus 600 is interested among the M multicast services, the MCCH is reacquired.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 610 is further configured to: and if the preset condition is met, re-acquiring the DCI for receiving the MCCH. The preset condition includes that the service quality of the multicast service received by the communication apparatus 600 is lower than a preset threshold value in a preset time period, or the preset condition includes that the communication apparatus 600 does not receive data of the multicast service in the preset time period.

In a possible implementation, the communications apparatus 600 employs a DRX mechanism, and the processing module 610 is further configured to: when it is determined that the difference between the ending time of the activation period of the communications apparatus 600 and the starting time of the RP of the MCCH is smaller than the preset threshold, the activation period is extended, and the DCI for receiving the MCCH is reacquired in the extended activation period. When the RP start time of the MCCH arrives, the communication apparatus 600 is in the active period.

In a possible implementation, the processing module 610 is further configured to: and not receiving the DCI for receiving the MCCH at the current scheduling time, and re-acquiring the DCI for receiving the MCCH at the next scheduled time of the MCCH.

In some possible embodiments, the communication apparatus 600 can implement the behavior and function of the network device in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, implement the method performed by the network device in the embodiment of fig. 4 or fig. 5. For example, the communication apparatus 600 may be a network device, a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) applied in the network device, or a chip set in the network device or a part of the chip for performing the related method function. The transceiver module 620 may be used to perform all of the receiving or transmitting operations performed by the network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5, such as S401-S405 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Such as S501-S505 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Wherein the processing module 610 is configured to perform all operations performed by the base station in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 or fig. 5, except transceiving operations, such as S406 in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein. Such as S506 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 620 is configured to transmit DCI together with scheduling information. The DCI comprises modification notification information, wherein the modification notification information is used for indicating that M multicast services are changed, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. And the scheduling information is borne on the MCCH, and the scheduling information comprises P G-RNTIs and M multicast service identifications. One G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

In a possible implementation manner, the DCI includes N bits, where each bit of the N bits is used to indicate whether a corresponding multicast service is changed, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The scheduling information includes P MTCH scheduling information. The P MTCH scheduling information includes second MTCH scheduling information. The second MTCH scheduling information includes the first traffic identification, the G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identification, and the auxiliary information. The side information is used to determine a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first service identification.

In a possible implementation manner, N bits are all 0, and are used to instruct the terminal device to reacquire the DCI for receiving the MCCH at the next scheduling time.

Fig. 7 shows a communication apparatus 700 provided in this embodiment of the present application, where the communication apparatus 700 may be a terminal device and may implement a function of the terminal device in the method provided in this embodiment of the present application, or the communication apparatus 700 may be a network device and may implement a function of the network device in the method provided in this embodiment of the present application; the communication apparatus 700 may also be an apparatus capable of supporting a terminal device to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, or an apparatus capable of supporting a network device to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may be a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a hardware implementation, the transceiver module 620 may be a transceiver, and the transceiver is integrated in the communication device 700 to form the communication interface 710.

The communication apparatus 700 includes at least one processor 720 for implementing or supporting the communication apparatus 700 to implement the functions of a network device (base station) or a terminal device in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. For details, reference is made to the detailed description in the method example, which is not repeated herein.

The communications apparatus 700 can also include at least one memory 730 for storing program instructions and/or data. Memory 730 is coupled to processor 720. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or a communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be an electrical, mechanical or other form for information interaction between the devices, units or modules. Processor 720 may cooperate with memory 730. Processor 720 may execute program instructions and/or data stored in memory 730 to cause communication device 700 to implement corresponding methods. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor. It should be noted that the storage 730 is not essential, and is illustrated by a dotted line in fig. 7.

The communications apparatus 700 can also include a communication interface 710 for communicating with other devices over a transmission medium such that the apparatus used in the communications apparatus 700 can communicate with other devices. Illustratively, when the communication device is a terminal, the other device is a network device; or, when the communication device is a network device, the other device is a terminal. Processor 720 may send and receive data using communication interface 710. The communication interface 710 may specifically be a transceiver.

The specific connection medium among the communication interface 710, the processor 720 and the memory 730 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In fig. 7, the memory 730, the processor 720 and the communication interface 710 are connected by a bus 740, the bus is represented by a thick line in fig. 7, and the connection manner between other components is merely illustrative and not limited. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 7, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 720 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 730 may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory (RAM), for example. The memory is 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, but is not limited to such. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be circuitry or any other device capable of performing a storage function for storing program instructions and/or data.

The communication device in the above embodiments may be a terminal or a circuit, or may be a chip applied to a terminal or other combined device or component having the above terminal function. When the communication device is a terminal, the transceiver module may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, and the processing module may be a processor, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the communication device is a component having the above terminal functions, the transceiver module may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device may be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a CPU, a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a Microcontroller (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other integrated chips. The processing module may be a processor of a system-on-chip. The transceiver module or the communication interface may be an input-output interface or an interface circuit of the chip system. For example, the interface circuit may be a code/data read/write interface circuit. The interface circuit can be used for receiving code instructions (the code instructions are stored in the memory, can be directly read from the memory, or can be read from the memory through other devices) and transmitting the code instructions to the processor; the processor may be configured to execute the code instructions to perform the methods in the above-described method embodiments. Also for example, the interface circuit may be a signal transmission interface circuit between the communication processor and the transceiver. For example, in a sending scenario, the processor is configured to execute XX to obtain Y data (XX is a non-air interface operation, which includes but is not limited to determining, processing, calculating, searching, comparing, and the like); the interface circuitry may be configured to transmit the Y data to a transmitter (the transmitter configured to perform transmit operations over an air interface). For another example, in a receive scenario, the interface circuit may be configured to receive Z data from a receiver (the receiver is configured to perform a receive operation on an air interface), and send the Z data to the processor; the processor is configured to perform XX processing on the Z data (XX is a non-air interface operation, including but not limited to determining, processing, calculating, searching, comparing, and the like).

By way of example, fig. 8 shows one possible chip structure, where the chip includes a logic circuit and an input/output interface, and may further include a memory. The input/output interface may be configured to receive code instructions (the code instructions are stored in the memory, and may be read directly from the memory, or may also be read from the memory via other devices) and transmit the code instructions to the logic circuit; the logic circuit may be configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method in the above method embodiment.

Alternatively, the input/output interface may be a signal transmission interface circuit between the logic circuit and the transceiver. For example, in a sending scenario, the logic circuit is configured to execute XX to obtain Y data (XX is a non-air interface operation, which includes but is not limited to determining, processing, calculating, searching, comparing, and the like); the input-output interface may be used to send Y data to a transmitter (the transmitter is used to perform send operations over the air interface). For another example, in a receiving scenario, the input/output interface may be configured to receive Z data from a receiver (the receiver is configured to perform a receiving operation on an air interface), and send the Z data to the logic circuit; the logic circuit is configured to perform XX processing on the Z data (XX is a non-air interface operation, including but not limited to determining, processing, calculating, searching, comparing, and the like).

Fig. 9 shows a simplified schematic of a communication device. For ease of understanding and illustration, fig. 9 is an example in which the communication device is a base station. The base station may be applied to the system shown in fig. 1, and may be the network device in fig. 1, and performs the functions of the network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

The communication device 900 may include a transceiver 910, a memory 921, and a processor 922. The transceiver 910 can be used for communication by a communication device, such as for transmitting or receiving the DCI, scheduling information, or the like. The memory 921 is coupled to the processor 922 and can be used to store programs and data necessary for the communication device 900 to implement various functions. The processor 922 is configured to support the communication apparatus 900 to perform the corresponding functions in the above-described methods, which can be implemented by calling a program stored in the memory 921.

In particular, the transceiver 910 may be a wireless transceiver, and may be configured to support the communication apparatus 900 to receive and transmit signaling and/or data over a wireless air interface. The transceiver 910 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit or a communication unit, and the transceiver 910 may include one or more radio frequency units 912, such as remote radio frequency units (RRUs) or Active Antenna Units (AAUs), particularly for transmission of radio frequency signals and conversion of radio frequency signals to baseband signals, and one or more antennas 911, particularly for radiation and reception of radio frequency signals. Alternatively, the transceiver 910 may only include the above radio frequency units, and then the communication device 900 may include the transceiver 910, the memory 921, the processor 922, and the antenna 911.

The memory 921 and the processor 922 may be integrated or independent of each other. As shown in fig. 9, the memory 921 and the processor 922 may be integrated in the control unit 920 of the communication apparatus 900. Illustratively, the control unit 920 may include a baseband unit (BBU) of an LTE base station, which may also be referred to as a Digital Unit (DU), or the control unit 910 may include a Distributed Unit (DU) and/or a Centralized Unit (CU) in a base station under 5G and future radio access technologies. The control unit 920 may be formed by one or more antenna panels, where a plurality of antenna panels may support a radio access network (e.g., an LTE network) of a single access system, and a plurality of antenna panels may also support radio access networks (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks) of different access systems. The memory 921 and processor 922 may serve one or more antenna panels. That is, the memory 921 and the processor 922 may be provided separately on each antenna panel. The same memory 921 and processor 922 may be shared by multiple antenna panels. In addition, necessary circuitry may be provided on each antenna panel, for example, to enable coupling of the memory 921 and the processor 922. The above transceivers 910, processors 922, and memory 921 may be connected by a bus (bus) structure and/or other connection medium.

Based on the structure shown in fig. 9, when the communication device 900 needs to transmit data, the processor 922 may perform baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and output a baseband signal to the rf unit, and the rf unit performs rf processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the rf signal in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When there is data to be transmitted to the communication device 900, the rf unit receives an rf signal through the antenna, converts the rf signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 922, and the processor 922 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

Based on the structure shown in fig. 9, the transceiver 910 can be used to perform the above steps performed by the transceiver module 920. And/or processor 922 may be used to call instructions in memory 921 to perform the steps performed by processing module 910 above.

Fig. 10 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a terminal device. For convenience of understanding and illustration, in fig. 10, the terminal device is exemplified by a mobile phone. As shown in fig. 10, 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 vehicle-mounted unit, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. 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 used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of devices may not have input/output means.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the device, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 10. In an actual 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 a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the rf circuit with transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving unit of the apparatus, and the processor with processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of the apparatus. As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus includes a transceiver unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. The processing unit 1020 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Optionally, a device in the transceiving unit 1010 for implementing the receiving function may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiving unit 1010 for implementing the transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiving unit 1010 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. Transceiver unit 1010 may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, or receiving circuit, etc. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

It should be understood that the transceiving unit 1010 is configured to perform the transmitting operation and the receiving operation on the terminal device side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1020 is configured to perform other operations besides the transceiving operation on the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiving unit 1010 may be used to perform S401-S405 in the embodiment illustrated in fig. 4, and/or other processes to support the techniques described herein. In another implementation, the transceiver unit 1010 may be used to perform S501-S505 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, and/or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

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

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, and specifically, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device, or may further include more network devices and a plurality of terminal devices. Illustratively, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device for implementing the related functions of fig. 4 described above.

The network device is configured to implement the functionality of the relevant network part of fig. 4 or fig. 5, respectively. The terminal device is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device related to fig. 4 or fig. 5. Please refer to the related description in the above method embodiments, which is not repeated herein.

Also provided in embodiments of the present application is a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the network device in fig. 4 or fig. 5; or when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the terminal device of fig. 4 or fig. 5.

Also provided in an embodiment of the present application is a computer program product, including instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the network device in fig. 4 or fig. 5; or when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method performed by the terminal device of fig. 4.

The embodiment of the application provides a chip system, which comprises a processor and a memory, and is used for realizing the functions of network equipment or a terminal in the method; or for implementing the functions of the network device and the terminal in the foregoing methods. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple.

And, unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing a plurality of objects, and do not limit the sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects. For example, the first MTCH scheduling information and the second MTCH scheduling information are not different in priority, importance, or the like of the two kinds of MTCH scheduling information, but are used to distinguish different MTCH scheduling information.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps (step) 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 implementation. 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 is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method for notifying modification of multicast service, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives downlink control information DCI from network equipment, wherein the DCI comprises modification notification information, the modification notification information is used for indicating M multicast services to be changed, and M is an integer larger than or equal to 1;

the terminal equipment receives scheduling information from the network equipment, the scheduling information is borne on a multicast control channel MCCH, the scheduling information comprises P group radio network temporary identifiers G-RNTI and identifiers of the M multicast services, one G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of the multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the DCI comprises N bits, each bit of the N bits to indicate whether a corresponding multicast traffic is changed, the scheduling information comprises the P Multicast Traffic Channels (MTCH) scheduling information, the P MTCH scheduling information comprises first scheduling information, the first MTCH scheduling information comprises a G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first traffic identity list, the first traffic identity list comprises at least one traffic identity, wherein one or more traffic identities correspond to one bit of the N bits, and the N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the DCI comprises N bits, each bit of the N bits to indicate whether a corresponding multicast traffic is altered, the scheduling information comprising the P MTCH scheduling information, the P MTCH scheduling information comprising second MTCH scheduling information, the second MTCH scheduling information comprising a first traffic identity, a G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identity, and assistance information to determine a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first traffic identity.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

and if the M multicast services have the service which is interested by the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment acquires the MCCH again.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment reacquires DCI for receiving the MCCH when a preset condition is met, wherein the preset condition comprises that the service quality of the multicast service received by the terminal equipment is lower than a preset threshold value in a preset time period, or the preset condition comprises that the terminal equipment does not receive data of the multicast service in the preset time period.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the terminal device employs a discontinuous reception, DRX, mechanism, the method further comprising:

when the difference between the end time of the activation period of the terminal equipment and the start time of the RP of the repetition period of the MCCH is smaller than a preset threshold value, the terminal equipment prolongs the activation period and reacquires the DCI for receiving the MCCH in the prolonged activation period, wherein when the RP start time of the MCCH arrives, the terminal equipment is in the activation period.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

and the terminal equipment does not receive DCI for receiving the MCCH at the current scheduling time, and reacquires DCI for receiving the MCCH at the next scheduled time of the MCCH.

8. A method for notifying modification of multicast service, comprising:

the network equipment sends downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI comprises modification notification information, the modification notification information is used for indicating M multicast services to be changed, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

the network equipment sends scheduling information, the scheduling information is borne on a multicast control channel MCCH, the scheduling information comprises P group radio network temporary identifiers G-RNTI and identifiers of the M multicast services, wherein one G-RNTI corresponds to a plurality of the multicast services, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the DCI comprises N bits, each bit of the N bits to indicate whether a corresponding multicast traffic is altered, the scheduling information comprising the P multicast traffic channels, MTCH, scheduling information comprising first MTCH scheduling information comprising a G-RNTI corresponding to the first MTCH and a first traffic identity list comprising at least one traffic identity, wherein one or more traffic identities correspond to one bit of the N bits, and wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the DCI comprises N bits, each bit of the N bits to indicate whether a corresponding multicast traffic is altered, the scheduling information comprising the P MTCH scheduling information, the P MTCH scheduling information comprising second MTCH scheduling information, the second MTCH scheduling information comprising a first traffic identity, a G-RNTI corresponding to the first traffic identity, and assistance information for determining a bit of the N bits corresponding to the first traffic identity.

11. The method of any one of claims 8-10, wherein the N bits are all 0, and wherein the N bits are used to instruct the terminal device to reacquire DCI for receiving the MCCH at a next scheduling time.

12. A communication apparatus comprising a processor and an interface, the interface being configured to transmit and/or receive information, the processor being configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 or to perform the method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

13. A communications device comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 or comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11.

14. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, or causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 to be performed, or cause the method of any one of claims 8 to 11 to be performed.