CN116965107A

CN116965107A - Signal determination method, device, communication equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN116965107A
Application number: CN202380009649.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 江小威
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-06-08
Filing date: 2023-06-08
Publication date: 2023-10-27

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a signal determination method, a signal determination device, communication equipment and a storage medium. A User Equipment (UE) determines whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid according to a communication protocol specification or configuration information of a network device.

Description

Signal determination method, device, communication equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, but is not limited to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a signal determining method, a signal determining device, a communication device, and a storage medium.

Background

The main application scenarios of the fifth generation (5th Generation,5G) mobile communication technology include: enhanced mobile broadband (Enhanced Mobile Broadband, emmbb), high reliability and low latency communications (Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications, URLLC), large-scale machine-type communications (Massive Machine Type Communication, mctc). The ebb aims at users getting multimedia contents, services and data, and its demand is growing very rapidly. . Typical applications of URLLC include: industrial automation, electric power automation, remote medical operation (surgery), traffic safety guarantee and the like. Typical characteristics of mctc include: high connection density, small data volume, delay insensitive traffic, low cost and long service life of the module, etc.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a signal determination method, a signal determination device, communication equipment and a storage medium.

In a first aspect of the disclosed embodiments, a signal determining method is provided, 1. A signal determining method is performed by a user equipment UE, including:

the wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is determined to be valid or invalid according to the communication protocol specification or configuration information of the network device.

In one embodiment, the determining whether the wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid includes:

it is determined that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission.

In one embodiment, the determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission includes at least one of:

determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid during an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission when the cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission;

determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid during a non-active period of the cell discontinuous transmission when the cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission and the configuration of the cell discontinuous transmission is in an active state.

determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in a time domain.

In one embodiment, the determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain includes at least one of:

determining whether the wake-up signal is valid or invalid within the listening period when the listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain;

determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid within an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain.

In one embodiment, the determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid within the listening period when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping time periods in the time domain includes at least one of:

Determining that the wake-up signal transmitted by a period where the listening period and the inactive period of the discontinuous transmission of the cell do not overlap in the time domain is valid or invalid in the listening period of the wake-up signal when the listening period and the inactive period of the discontinuous transmission of the cell have overlapping periods in the time domain;

determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid in an overlapping period when the listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have the overlapping period in a time domain.

In one embodiment, the duration of the overlap period is less than the duration of the listening period;

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the duration of the overlapping period is equal to the duration of the listening period.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises at least one of:

determining that the wake-up signal is valid, and monitoring the wake-up signal within a period of time when the wake-up signal is valid;

and determining that the wake-up signal is invalid, and not monitoring the wake-up signal in a period of time when the wake-up signal is invalid.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises at least one of:

determining that the wake-up signal is invalid, and monitoring a physical downlink channel (PDCCH) in a duration period of discontinuous reception of the UE after a monitoring period of the wake-up signal;

And determining that the wake-up signal is invalid, and monitoring paging messages at paging occasions after a monitoring period of the wake-up signal.

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

a first wake-up signal for indicating whether the UE wakes up within a duration of discontinuous reception of a predetermined UE;

and the second wake-up signal is used for indicating whether the UE wakes up in a preset paging occasion.

In a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a signal determining method is provided, where the signal determining method is performed by a network device, and includes:

and transmitting configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used for indicating whether a wake-up signal associated with discontinuous transmission of a cell is valid or invalid.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

the wake-up signal is active or inactive when a cell is configured with discontinuous transmission of the cell.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate at least one of:

when the cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission, the wake-up signal is valid or invalid in a non-activated period of the cell discontinuous transmission;

when the cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission and the configuration of the cell discontinuous transmission is in an active state, the wake-up signal is valid or invalid in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in a time domain.

when the monitoring period of the wake-up signal and the non-activated period of the discontinuous transmission of the cell have overlapping time periods in the time domain, the wake-up signal in the monitoring period is valid or invalid;

when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain, the wake-up signal in the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid.

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

a first wake-up signal for indicating whether the user equipment UE wakes up within a duration of discontinuous reception of the predetermined UE;

In a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a signal determining apparatus is provided, where the signal determining apparatus is disposed in a user equipment UE, and includes:

and the processing module is configured to determine whether the wake-up signal associated with the discontinuous transmission of the cell is valid or invalid according to the communication protocol specification or the configuration information of the network equipment.

In one embodiment, the processing module is specifically configured to:

In one embodiment, the processing module is specifically configured to at least one of:

In one embodiment, the processing module is specifically configured to:

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

In one embodiment, the processing module is further configured to at least one of:

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

In a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a signal determining apparatus is provided, where the signal determining apparatus is disposed in a network device, and includes:

and the transceiver module is configured to transmit configuration information, and the configuration information is used for indicating whether the wake-up signal associated with discontinuous transmission of the cell is valid or invalid.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

In a fifth aspect of the disclosed embodiments, a communication system is provided, comprising a network device and a user equipment UE, wherein,

the UE performing the signal determination method as provided in the first aspect;

the network device performs the signal determination method as provided in the second aspect.

A sixth aspect of the disclosed embodiments provides a communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, wherein the processor executes the signal determining method as provided in the first or second aspect when the executable program is executed by the processor.

A seventh aspect of the presently disclosed embodiments provides a computer storage medium storing an executable program; the executable program, when executed by a processor, is capable of implementing a signal determination method as provided in the first aspect or the second aspect.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a signal determination method, a signal determination device, communication equipment and a storage medium. The UE determines whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid according to a communication protocol specification or configuration information of a network device. As such, the UE may determine whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid through a provision of a communication protocol or an indication of configuration information. The occurrence of a UE not listening for a wake-up signal and/or not listening for a wake-up signal due to uncertainty as to whether the wake-up signal is valid may be reduced.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wake-up signal timing according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wake-up signal timing according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating one signal determination according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating one signal determination according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating one signal determination according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a signal determination according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a signal determining apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a signal determining apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a UE according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with embodiments of the invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with aspects of embodiments of the invention.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in embodiments of the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, the first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "responsive to a determination", depending on the context.

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. As shown in fig. 1, the wireless communication system is a communication system based on a cellular mobile communication technology, and may include: a number of UEs 11 and a number of network devices 12.

Wherein the wireless communication system may be a fourth generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation mobile communication,4G) system, also known as a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system; alternatively, the wireless communication system may be a 5G system, also known as a New Radio (NR) system or a 5G NR system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may be a next generation system of the 5G system. Among them, the access network in the 5G system may be called NG-RAN (New Generation-Radio Access Network, new Generation radio access network). Or, an MTC system.

Wherein UE 11 may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The UE 11 may communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), and the UE 11 may be an internet of things UE such as a sensor device, a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with an internet of things UE, for example, a fixed, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted device. Such as a Station (STA), subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber Station (subscriber Station), mobile Station (mobile Station), mobile Station (mobile), remote Station (remote Station), access point, remote UE (remote terminal), access UE (access terminal), user terminal, user agent (user agent), user device (user equipment), or user UE (UE). Alternatively, the UE 11 may be an unmanned aerial vehicle device. Alternatively, the UE 11 may be a vehicle-mounted device, for example, a laptop with a wireless communication function, or a wireless communication device externally connected to the laptop. Alternatively, the UE 11 may be a roadside device, for example, a street lamp, a signal lamp, or other roadside devices having a wireless communication function.

Network device 12 may include an access network device. Optionally, the network device 12 may also include a core network device. The access network device may be an evolved access device (eNB) employed in a 4G system. Alternatively, an access device (gNB) employing a centralized and distributed architecture in a 5G system may be used. When the access network device adopts a centralized and distributed architecture, it generally includes a Central Unit (CU) and at least two Distributed Units (DUs). A protocol stack of a packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer, a radio link layer control protocol (Radio Link Control, RLC) layer, and a medium access control (Media Access Control, MAC) layer is provided in the centralized unit; a Physical (PHY) layer protocol stack is disposed in the distribution unit, and a specific implementation manner of the access network device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited.

A wireless connection may be established between the network device 12 and the UE 11 over a wireless air interface. In various embodiments, the wireless air interface is a fourth generation mobile communication network technology (4G) standard-based wireless air interface; or, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on a fifth generation mobile communication network technology (5G) standard, for example, the wireless air interface is a new air interface; alternatively, the wireless air interface may be a wireless air interface based on a 5G-based technology standard of a next generation mobile communication network.

5G technology is introduced in 3GPP standard release 15 (R15), and the energy consumption of a 5G base station is four times that of a long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) base station, so network energy saving is an important means for operators to reduce the cost of operating the 5G system.

In 3GPP standard release 16 (R16), as shown in fig. 2, a Wake Up Signal (WUS) is introduced for power saving of a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connected User Equipment (UE). An offset value (offset) preceding the duration (on duration) of UE connected discontinuous reception (Connected Discontinuous Reception, C-DRX) defines a listening period (duration) for transmitting WUS signals, in which WUS signals, i.e. DCI 2-6, are scrambled by a power-saving radio network temporary identifier (Power Saving Radio Network Temporary Identity, PS-RNTI) for indicating whether the UE wakes up to listen to the physical downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH) for the following UE C-DRX duration.

In 3GPP standard release 17 (R17), as shown in fig. 3, a paging wake-up signal (paging WUS) is introduced for RRC idle/RRC inactive UE power saving. I.e. a Paging WUS starts to be sent some time before a Paging Occasion (PO), i.e. a Paging early indication (Paging Early Indication, PEI) for indicating whether the UE listens for Paging schedule information at the PO. Wherein PEI is DCI 2-7, scrambled by a paging early indication radio network temporary identifier (Paging Early Indication Radio Network Temporary Identity, PEI-RNTI).

In 3GPP standard release 18 (R18), in order to reduce network energy consumption, a network energy saving (Network Energy Saving, NES) problem is initiated, and 4 NES functions supported by the standard are as follows:

secondary cell (SSB-less SCell) with reduced synchronization data blocks;

cell discontinuous transmission/reception (cell DTX/DRX);

antenna port adaptation (Antenna port adaptation);

physical downlink shared channel transmission power consumption adaptation (PDSCH transmission power adaptation).

The base station, R18 UE and legacy UEs, RACH, paging, and SIB in idle/inactive state are not affected by the NES mode. The UE may obtain Cell DTX/DRX configuration information configured by the network side. Operate based on Cell DTX/DRX configuration. The configuration information of the Cell DTX/DRX configuration information may include: period, offset, duration (on duration), etc.

In one possible implementation, cell discontinuous transmission (Cell DTX) may include: active (Active) periods and inactive (Non-Active) periods. In the activation period, the base station performs normal communication transmission in the cell; during the inactive period, the base station may be in a dormant state with no communication transmissions in the cell.

When the network enters a power save mode, NES mode, the cell periodically does not transmit and/or does not receive, cell DTX/DRX, at certain intervals, but the master information block (Master Information Block, MIB), system information block (System Information Block, SIB), paging (paging), random access channel (Random Access Channel, RACH) may be transmitted and received. I.e. for.

During cell DTX inactivity (non-active), the network speed may not transmit PDSCH, PUSCH scheduling, PDSCH, SPS, etc.

In the network energy saving mode at the time, whether the UE needs to monitor WUS is not defined. Here, WUS may include: UE DRX WUS associated with connected UE and paging WUS associated with idle UE/inactive UE.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining method, wherein the signal determining method is performed by a UE and includes:

step 401: the wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is determined to be valid or invalid according to the communication protocol specification or configuration information of the network device.

In one possible implementation, the network device may be an access network device, or a core network device. The signal determination between the core network device and the UE may be achieved by the access network device.

In one possible implementation, the wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission includes, but is not limited to, at least one of:

a wake-up signal sent by network equipment in a cell in which cell discontinuous transmission is started;

a wake-up signal transmitted by the network device during an Active (Active) period of discontinuous transmission of the cell;

a wake-up signal transmitted by the network device during a Non-Active period of discontinuous transmission of the cell.

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

In one possible implementation, the first wake-up signal may be listened to by the UE in RRC connected state.

In one possible implementation, the second wake-up signal may be listened to by the UE in an RRC non-connected state, which may include at least one of: an RRC idle state, an RRC inactive state.

Here, the first wake-up signal may be UE connected discontinuous reception (Connected Discontinuous Reception, C-DRX) WUS (abbreviated as C-DRX WUS or UE DRX WUS) for indicating whether the UE wakes up and listens to the PDCCH for a duration of a predetermined UE discontinuous reception. Here, the predetermined UE discontinuous reception duration may be a UE discontinuous reception duration adjacent to the UE DRX WUS.

Here, the first wake-up signal may be a Paging wake-up signal (Paging WUS), i.e., PEI, for indicating whether the UE wakes up within a predetermined Paging occasion and listens for Paging schedule information. Here, the predetermined paging occasion may be a paging occasion adjacent to PEI.

In one possible implementation, the wake-up signal is inactive and may include: the wake-up signal is not used to wake up the UE.

In one possible implementation, the UE DRX WUS is inactive, i.e., the UE DRX WUS is not used to indicate whether the UE wakes up and listens to the PDCCH for a duration of scheduled UE discontinuous reception. Thus, the UE may no longer monitor the UE DRX WUS.

In one possible implementation, the PEI is not active, i.e., the PEI is not used to indicate whether the UE wakes up within a predetermined paging occasion and listens for paging schedule information. Thus, the UE may not monitor PEI any more.

In one possible implementation, the wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission may be either valid or invalid as specified by the communication protocol. For example, the communication protocol may specify that a wake-up signal transmitted by a network device is not valid during an Active period of a cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation, the network device may send configuration information to the UE indicating whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid. For example, the configuration information may indicate that a wake-up signal transmitted by the network device is inactive during an Active period of cell discontinuous transmission.

The wake-up signal may have a listening period, which may be pre-configured by the network device or may be specified by the communication protocol. The network device may transmit a wake-up signal for the listening period.

In one possible implementation, the listening period may include a listening period of the UE DRX WUS. In one possible implementation, the listening period may include: the period of time between the start of the monitoring of the PEI and the start of the PEI's associated PO. The PEI-associated PO may comprise: the first PO after PEI, i.e., the PO next to PEI after PEI.

If the wake-up signal is valid, the UE may listen for a wake-up information number during a listening period of the wake-up signal.

As such, the UE may determine whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid through a provision of a communication protocol or an indication of configuration information. The occurrence of a UE not listening for a wake-up signal and/or not listening for a wake-up signal due to uncertainty as to whether the wake-up signal is valid may be reduced.

The communication protocol may specify, or the configuration information sent by the network side may indicate that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when the cell is configured with cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation, the network device may still transmit the wake-up signal whether the wake-up signal is valid or not.

In one possible implementation, the network device may not send the wake-up signal if the wake-up signal is not valid.

In one possible implementation, the cell discontinuous transmission may take the form of a configuration, i.e. activation, i.e. if the cell is configured with a cell discontinuous transmission, the cell may communicate using the cell discontinuous transmission. The communication protocol may specify, or the configuration information sent by the network side may indicate that, when the cell is configured with cell discontinuous transmission, the wake-up signal is valid or invalid for a non-active period of the cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation, the cell discontinuous transmission of the cell configuration needs to be activated, i.e. if the cell is configured with a cell discontinuous transmission, the configuration needs to be activated (e.g. by an activation instruction), after which the cell can communicate using the cell discontinuous transmission. The communication protocol may specify, or the configuration information transmitted by the network side may indicate that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission when the cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission and the configuration is activated.

Illustratively, if the wake-up signal (UE DRX WUS and/or PEI) is valid during the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission:

1: the UE DRX WUS is not affected by the cell discontinuous transmission operation, i.e., during the cell discontinuous transmission inactive period, the UE DRX WUS is normally transmitted. The UE may monitor the UE DRX WUS for a cell discontinuous transmission inactivity period.

2: PEI is not affected by the discontinuous transmission operation of the cell, namely PEI normally transmits in the discontinuous transmission non-activated period of the cell. The UE may listen to PEI for the cell non-continuous transmission inactivity period.

Illustratively, the UE determines whether the PEI is affected by the cell discontinuous transmission operation based on the indication of the network device configuration information. If so, the PEI is not monitored during the discontinuous transmission non-active period of the cell.

Here, the wake-up signal includes UE DRX WUS and PEI.

In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 2, the listening period may include a listening period of the UE DRX WUS (i.e., a PS-RNTI listening period). The listening period of the UE DRX WUS may be configured by the network device to the UE.

In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 3, the listening period may include: the period of time between the starting time of the monitoring of the PEI (i.e. the starting time of the monitoring of the PEI-RNTI) and the starting time of the PEI-associated PO. The PEI-associated PO may comprise: the first PO after PEI, i.e., the PO next to PEI after PEI.

The UE may determine whether the wake-up signal is valid when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain according to a specification of a communication protocol or an indication of configuration information transmitted by the network device.

Or alternatively, the process may be performed,

Here, the duration of the overlap period is smaller than the duration of the listening period, i.e. a portion of the listening period of the wake-up signal overlaps with the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission. The duration of the overlapping period is equal to the duration of the listening period, i.e. all listening periods of the wake-up signal overlap with the inactive periods of the cell discontinuous transmission, i.e. the listening period of the wake-up signal falls into the inactive periods of the cell discontinuous transmission.

The UE may determine a period in which the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain according to a specification of a communication protocol or an indication of configuration information transmitted by the network device.

For example, if the listening period of the UE DRX WUS falls in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission and/or a portion of the listening period of the UE DRX WUS falls in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission, the UE considers that the UE DRX WUS transmission in the listening period of the UE DRX WUS is inactive, and the UE may not listen to the UE DRX WUS. The UE may listen to the PDCCH for the next UE DRX duration.

For example, if a part of the listening period of a UE DRX WUS falls in an inactive period of a cell discontinuous transmission, the UE considers WUS transmission in the listening period of the UE DRX WUS to be valid and listens to the WUS (i.e., PS-RNTI scrambled DCI 2-6) in the listening period of the WUS. The UE may decide whether to listen to the PDCCH for the next UE DRX duration based on the WUS indication.

Illustratively, if the paging WUS (i.e., PEI) start time falls in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission, or if a portion of the PEI start time to the PO receive time falls in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission, or if the PEI start time to the PO receive time all fall in an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission, the UE considers the PEI transmission in the PEI to be invalid. The UE may not monitor the PEI and monitor the PDCCH in the next PO.

Illustratively, if the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) start time to the inactive period of time that the PO received falls for a portion of the cell discontinuous transmission, the UE considers the PEI valid and will begin listening to the PEI (i.e., PEI-RNTI scrambled DCI 2-7) at the PEI start time and based on the WUS indication, determine whether to listen for the PDCCH in the next PO.

Illustratively, based on the network side configuration indication, whether the PEI is affected by the cell discontinuous transmission operation or not for a scenario such as a scenario where a paging wake up signal (paging WUS) (i.e., PEI) start time to a non-active period where a portion of the period of time for the PO to receive falls in the cell discontinuous transmission, and/or a scenario where the PEI start time to a non-active period where the period of time for the PO to receive all fall in the cell discontinuous transmission. If so, the PEI is not monitored during the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission.

In the above example, the period from the PEI start time to the PO reception is the listening period of the PEI.

The communication protocol may specify, or the configuration information sent by the network device may indicate: whether the wake-up signal is valid during an overlap of the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission and/or whether the wake-up signal is valid during an un-overlap of the listening period of the wake-up signal.

Illustratively, if a part of the period from the start time of the paging WUS (i.e., PEI) to the time of the PO reception falls in the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission, the UE considers the PEI to be valid, and listens to the PEI (i.e., DCI 2-7 scrambled by the PEI-RNTI) after the start time of the PEI and in the active period of the cell discontinuous transmission, i.e., the PEI is valid in the active period of the cell discontinuous transmission, and the UE may listen to the PEI in the intersection of the listening period of the PEI and the active period of the cell discontinuous transmission. The UE may decide whether to listen to the PDCCH during the next PO based on the PEI indication.

As shown in fig. 5, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining method, wherein the signal determining method is performed by a UE and includes at least one of:

step 501a, determining that the wake-up signal is invalid, and monitoring a PDCCH for a duration period of discontinuous reception of the UE after a monitoring period of the wake-up signal;

step 501b is to determine that the wake-up signal is invalid and monitor paging messages at paging occasions after a listening period of the wake-up signal.

The duration of discontinuous reception of the UE following the listening period of the wake-up signal may be a duration of discontinuous reception of a predetermined UE associated with the wake-up signal.

The paging occasions after the listening period of the wake-up signal may be predetermined paging occasions associated with the wake-up signal. Listening for paging messages may include: and monitoring paging scheduling information of the paging message, and further receiving the paging message according to the paging scheduling information.

In one possible implementation, the wake-up signal may be UE DRX WUS, if the UE DRX WUS is not valid, i.e. the UE DRX WUS is not used to indicate whether the UE wakes up and listens to the PDCCH for a duration of discontinuous reception of the UE after the UE DRX WUS. Therefore, the UE cannot determine whether it is necessary to monitor the PDCCH for the duration of the UE discontinuous reception after the UE DRX WUS according to the UE DRX WUS. To reduce the scheduling information sent by the UE missed network device, the UE may wake up and listen to the PDCCH for the duration of UE discontinuous reception after the UE DRX WUS. In this way, the situation that the scheduling information sent by the network device is missed when the wake-up signal is invalid can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, the wake-up signal may be PEI, if PEI is not active, i.e. PEI is not used to indicate if the UE wakes up in the PO after PEI and listens for paging messages. Thus, the UE cannot determine from the PEI whether it needs to monitor the paging messages in the PO after the PEI. To reduce the paging messages sent by the UE missed network devices, the UE may wake up in the PO after PEI and monitor for paging messages. In this way, the situation of missing the paging message sent by the network device when the wake-up signal is invalid can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 6, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining method, wherein the signal determining method is performed by a UE and includes at least one of:

step 601a: determining that the wake-up signal is valid, and monitoring the wake-up signal within a period of time when the wake-up signal is valid;

step 601b: and determining that the wake-up signal is invalid, and not monitoring the wake-up signal in a period of time when the wake-up signal is invalid.

The UE may determine a period during which the wake-up signal is active and/or inactive based on the communication protocol or configuration information.

For example, the UE may determine that the wake-up signal is valid for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission based on the communication protocol or the configuration information, and then the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission may be a period in which the wake-up signal is valid. The UE may listen for the wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is valid, i.e. during an inactive period of cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation. The UE may monitor for a wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is valid, and may include: the UE may listen for the wake-up signal within an intersection of the active period of the wake-up signal and the listening period of the wake-up signal.

For example, the UE may determine that the wake-up signal is inactive for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission based on the communication protocol or the configuration information, and then the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission may be a period in which the wake-up signal is inactive. The UE may not listen for the wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is inactive, i.e. during an inactive period of cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation, the network device may transmit the wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is active.

In one possible implementation, the network device may not transmit the wake-up signal for a period of time in which the wake-up signal is inactive.

As shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining method, wherein the signal determining method is performed by a network device, and includes:

step 701: and transmitting configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used for indicating whether a wake-up signal associated with discontinuous transmission of a cell is valid or invalid.

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

As such, through the indication of the configuration information, the UE may determine whether a wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid. The occurrence of a UE not listening for a wake-up signal and/or not listening for a wake-up signal due to uncertainty as to whether the wake-up signal is valid may be reduced.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

The configuration information sent by the network side may indicate that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when the cell is configured with discontinuous transmission of the cell.

In one possible implementation, the cell discontinuous transmission may take the form of a configuration, i.e. activation, i.e. if the cell is configured with a cell discontinuous transmission, the cell may communicate using the cell discontinuous transmission. The configuration information sent by the network side may indicate that, when the cell is configured with cell discontinuous transmission, the wake-up signal is valid or invalid during a non-active period of the cell discontinuous transmission.

In one possible implementation, the cell discontinuous transmission of the cell configuration needs to be activated, i.e. if the cell is configured with a cell discontinuous transmission, the configuration needs to be activated (e.g. by an activation instruction), after which the cell can communicate using the cell discontinuous transmission. The configuration information transmitted by the network side may indicate that, when the cell is configured with cell discontinuous transmission and the configuration is activated, the wake-up signal is valid or invalid for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

Here, the wake-up signal includes UE DRX WUS and PEI.

The UE may determine, according to an indication of configuration information transmitted by the network device, whether the wake-up signal is valid when a listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in a time domain.

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

The UE may determine, according to an indication of configuration information transmitted by the network device, a period in which the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in the time domain.

The configuration information sent by the network device may indicate: whether the wake-up signal is valid during an overlap of the listening period of the wake-up signal and the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission and/or whether the wake-up signal is valid during an un-overlap of the listening period of the wake-up signal.

In one embodiment, the UE determines that the wake-up signal is invalid, and listens to the physical downlink channel PDCCH for a duration of discontinuous reception by the UE subsequent to the listening period of the wake-up signal;

In one embodiment, the UE determines that the wake-up signal is invalid and listens for paging messages at a paging occasion subsequent to a listening period of the wake-up signal.

In one embodiment, the UE determines that the wake-up signal is valid and listens for the wake-up signal during a period of time in which the wake-up signal is valid;

in one embodiment, the UE determines that the wake-up signal is inactive and does not listen for the wake-up signal for a period of time in which the wake-up signal is inactive.

The UE may determine a period during which the wake-up signal is active and/or inactive based on the configuration information.

For example, the UE may determine that the wake-up signal is valid for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission based on the configuration information, and then the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission may be a period in which the wake-up signal is valid. The UE may listen for the wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is valid, i.e. during an inactive period of cell discontinuous transmission.

For example, the UE may determine that the wake-up signal is inactive for an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission based on the configuration information, and then the inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission may be a period in which the wake-up signal is inactive. The UE may not listen for the wake-up signal during a period in which the wake-up signal is inactive, i.e. during an inactive period of cell discontinuous transmission.

A number of specific examples are provided below in connection with any of the embodiments described above:

example 1: the manner in which the RRC-connected UE receives WUS in a Network Energy Saving (NES) mode may include, but is not limited to, at least one of:

mode 1: the UE-connected discontinuous reception wake-up signal (UE C-DRX WUS) (simply referred to as UE DRX WUS or WUS) is not affected by the cell discontinuous transmission (cell DTX) operation, i.e., UE C-DRX WUS is normally transmitted during a cell DTX inactive (non-active) period.

Mode 2: if a WUS listening period (duration) falls within a cell DTX inactive period and/or a portion of a WUS listening period falls within a cell DTX inactive period, the UE considers WUS transmissions in the WUS listening period to be invalid and will not listen to the WUS. The PDCCH is monitored for a next UE C-DRX duration.

Mode 3: if a portion of the WUS listening period falls within a cell DTX inactive period, the UE considers WUS transmissions in the WUS listening period to be valid and listens to the WUS, i.e., PS-RNTI scrambled DCI 2-6, during the WUS listening period. Based on the WUS indication, a decision is made whether to listen to the PDCCH for the next UE C-DRX duration.

Mode 4: based on the network side configuration indication if the WUS listening period falls in a cell DTX inactive period and/or a portion of the WUS listening period falls in a cell DTX inactive period, the WUS is valid, i.e. the UE listens to WUS, i.e. PS-RNTI scrambled DCI 2-6, in the WUS listening period.

Example 2: method for receiving WUS in network energy saving mode by RRC idle state UE/RRC inactive state UE

Mode 1: the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) is not affected by the cell DTX operation, i.e., during the cell DTX inactive period, the UE paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) is normally transmitted.

Mode 2: if the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) start time falls in the cell DTX inactive period, or a portion of the time from the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) start time to the PO reception falls in the cell DTX inactive period, or the time from the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) start time to the PO reception time all falls in the cell DTX inactive period, the UE considers that PEI transmission in the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) is not valid. The PDCCH is listened to in the next PO-in period.

Mode 3.1: if a part of the period from the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to the time of the PO reception falls in the cell DTX inactive period, the UE considers the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to be valid, and starts to monitor the PEI at the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI), i.e. PEI-RNTI scrambled DCI 2-7. Based on the WUS indication, a decision is made whether to listen to the PDCCH in the next PO period.

Mode 3.2: if a part of the period from the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to the reception of PO falls in the cell DTX inactive period, the UE considers the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to be valid, and monitors PEI, namely DCI 2-7 scrambled by PEI-RNTI, after the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) and in the active period of the cell DTX. Based on the WUS indication, a decision is made whether to listen to the PDCCH in the next PO period.

Mode 4: whether the paging wake up signal (i.e., PEI) is affected by cell DTX operation is indicated based on the network side configuration. If so, PEI is not monitored during the cell DTX inactivity period.

Mode 5: based on the network side configuration indication, a part of the time from the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to the time when the PO receives falls in the cell DTX inactive period, and/or the time from the start time of the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) to the time when the PO receives all falls in the cell DTX inactive period, whether the paging wake-up signal (i.e. PEI) is affected by the cell DTX operation. If so, PEI is not monitored during the cell DTX inactivity period.

As shown in fig. 8, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining apparatus 100, which is disposed in a user equipment UE, and includes:

a processing module 110 configured to determine whether a wake-up signal associated with a cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid according to a communication protocol specification or configuration information of a network device.

In one embodiment, the processing module is specifically configured to:

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a signal determining apparatus 200, provided in a network device, including:

the transceiver module 210 is configured to send configuration information, where the configuration information is used to indicate that a wake-up signal associated with discontinuous transmission of a cell is valid or invalid.

In one embodiment, the configuration information is used to indicate:

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

In one embodiment, the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a communication device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory for storing processor-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to: when used to execute executable instructions, implement the signal determination methods of any of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the communication device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: the network controls the repeater and the network device. The network device may here comprise a core network or an access network device, etc. Here, the access network device may include an access network device; the core network may comprise AMF, SMF.

The processor may include, among other things, various types of storage media, which are non-transitory computer storage media capable of continuing to memorize information stored thereon after a power failure of the user device.

The processor may be coupled to the memory via a bus or the like for reading an executable program stored on the memory, for example, at least one of the methods shown in fig. 4-7.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer storage medium storing a computer executable program that when executed by a processor implements the signal determination method of any embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, at least one of the methods shown in fig. 4 to 7.

The specific manner in which the respective modules perform the operations in relation to the apparatus or storage medium of the above-described embodiments has been described in detail in relation to the embodiments of the method, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a UE800, according to an example embodiment. For example, the UE800 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast user equipment, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, an exercise device, a personal digital assistant, and the like.

Referring to fig. 10, ue800 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 802, a memory 804, a power component 806, a multimedia component 808, an audio component 810, an input/output (I/O) interface 812, a sensor component 814, and a communication component 816.

The processing component 802 generally controls overall operation of the UE800, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 802 may include one or more processors 820 to execute instructions to generate all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 802 can include one or more modules that facilitate interactions between the processing component 802 and other components. For example, the processing component 802 can include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 808 and the processing component 802.

The memory 804 is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the UE 800. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the UE800, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and the like. The memory 804 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk.

The power supply component 806 provides power to the various components of the UE 800. The power components 806 may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the UE 800.

The multimedia component 808 includes a screen between the UE800 and the user that provides an output interface. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may sense not only the boundary of a touch or slide action, but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 808 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data when the UE800 is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

The audio component 810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 810 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the UE800 is in an operational mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in the memory 804 or transmitted via the communication component 816. In some embodiments, audio component 810 further includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface 812 provides an interface between the processing component 802 and peripheral interface modules, which may be a keyboard, click wheel, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: homepage button, volume button, start button, and lock button.

The sensor component 814 includes one or more sensors that provide status assessment of various aspects for the UE 800. For example, the sensor component 814 may detect an on/off state of the device 800, a relative positioning of components, such as a display and keypad of the UE800, the sensor component 814 may also detect a change in position of the UE800 or a component of the UE800, the presence or absence of user contact with the UE800, an orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the UE800, and a change in temperature of the UE 800. The sensor assembly 814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 814 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 814 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 816 is configured to facilitate communication between the UE800 and other devices, either wired or wireless. The UE800 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi,2G, or 3G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 receives broadcast signals or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, the UE800 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), digital Signal Processors (DSPs), digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic elements for executing the methods described above.

In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is also provided, such as memory 804 including instructions executable by processor 820 of UE800 to generate the above-described method. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be ROM, random Access Memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc.

As shown in fig. 11, an embodiment of the present disclosure shows a structure of an access device. For example, the communication device 900 may be provided as a network device. The communication device may be any of the aforementioned access network elements and/or network functions.

Referring to fig. 11, communication device 900 includes a processing component 922 that further includes one or more processors and memory resources represented by memory 932 for storing instructions, such as application programs, executable by processing component 922. The application programs stored in memory 932 may include one or more modules that each correspond to a set of instructions. Further, processing component 922 is configured to execute instructions to perform any of the methods described above as applied to the access device, e.g., as shown in any of fig. 4-7.

The communication device 900 may also include a power supply component 926 configured to perform power management of the communication device 900, a wired or wireless network interface 950 configured to connect the communication device 900 to a network, and an input output (I/O) interface 958. The communication device 900 may operate based on an operating system stored in memory 932, such as Windows Server TM, mac OS XTM, unixTM, linuxTM, freeBSDTM, or the like.

Each step in a certain implementation manner or embodiment may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps may be combined arbitrarily, for example, a scheme of removing part of the steps in a certain implementation manner or embodiment may be implemented as an independent embodiment, the order of the steps in a certain implementation manner or embodiment may be arbitrarily exchanged, and in addition, an optional manner or optional embodiment in a certain implementation manner or embodiment may be arbitrarily combined; furthermore, various embodiments or examples may be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments or examples may be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment or example may be arbitrarily combined with alternative modes or alternative examples of other embodiments or examples.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, which have been described above, and that various modifications and changes may be effected without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A signal determination method, wherein the signal determination method is performed by a user equipment UE, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a cell is configured with the cell discontinuous transmission comprises at least one of:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the wake-up signal associated with the cell discontinuous transmission is valid or invalid comprises:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining that the wake-up signal is valid or invalid when a listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping periods in a time domain comprises at least one of:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining whether the wake-up signal within the listening period is valid or invalid when the listening period of the wake-up signal and an inactive period of the cell discontinuous transmission have overlapping time periods in the time domain comprises at least one of:

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein,

the duration of the overlapping period is less than the duration of the listening period;

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the method further comprises at least one of:

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the method further comprises at least one of:

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

11. A signal determination method, wherein the method is performed by a network device, comprising:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate:

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate at least one of:

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate:

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate at least one of:

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate at least one of:

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein,

or alternatively, the process may be performed,

18. The method of any of claims 11 to 17, wherein the wake-up signal comprises at least one of:

19. A signal determining apparatus, wherein the signal determining apparatus is disposed in a user equipment UE, and comprises:

20. A signal determining apparatus, wherein the signal determining apparatus is provided in a network device, comprising:

21. A communication system comprises a network device and a user equipment UE, wherein,

the UE performing the signal determination method as provided in any one of claims 1 to 10;

the network device performing the signal determination method as provided in any one of claims 11 to 18.

22. A communication device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor performs the signal determination method provided in any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 18 when the executable program is run by the processor.

23. A computer storage medium storing an executable program; the executable program, when executed by a processor, is capable of implementing the signal determination method as provided in any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 18.