TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an indication signal configuration method and device.

BACKGROUND

An indication signal is introduced into a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) system and a new radio (NR) system. The indication signal is used to indicate whether a terminal device needs to continue to receive a signal associated with the indication information or process a channel associated with the indication signal. The signal associated with the indication information is downlink control information (DCI) sent by a network device on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The channel associated with the indication information is the PDCCH. Without loss of generality, the signal associated with the indication signal is any signal sent by the network device, the channel associated with the indication signal is any channel that carries the any signal, and the indication signal is sent before the network device sends the signal associated with the indication signal.

As shown inFIG. 1, the indication signal is associated with a PDCCH channel in a target search space. If the terminal device receives the indication signal, the terminal device further performs blind detection in the associated target search space, to receive DCI sent by the network device on the PDCCH; and the terminal device may receive, based on the received DCI, downlink data sent by the network device on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or send uplink data to the network device on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). If the terminal device does not receive the indication signal or the indication signal instructs the terminal device not to process a PDCCH channel in a subsequent search space, the terminal device directly skips the target search space associated with the indication signal without performing blind detection. However, when the indication signal is not introduced, even if there is no PDSCH scheduling or PUSCH sending, to be specific, there is no PDCCH in a search space, the terminal device still needs to perform blind detection in the target search space. Blind detection in the target search space refers to a process of demodulating and decoding a PDCCH. A decoding process is a process of blind decoding, to be specific, the decoding process is a process in which blind decoding is performed on several candidates. Such a process is comparatively time-consuming and the terminal device consumes comparatively large power. Therefore, the terminal device consumes comparatively large power.

After the indication signal is introduced, because the indication signal is designed to carry only quite limited information, power consumption required for receiving the indication signal is comparatively low. When receiving the indication signal, the terminal device does not perform blind detection. Therefore, power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

In an application example of the indication signal, when the terminal device is in an idle mode, the terminal device needs to periodically wake up to check whether there is a paging message. In this case, the terminal device may determine, by using the indication signal, whether to process a PDCCH starting from each paging occasion. In addition, in this example, the terminal device may further use the indication signal to synchronize with the network device, so that the terminal device does not need to use a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) to synchronize with the network device. This further reduces power consumption of the terminal device.

However, when the terminal device uses the indication signal to synchronize with the network device, to enable the indication signal to meet a detection requirement of the terminal device in target coverage of a cell, comparatively high overheads of the indication signal may be caused. Therefore, to ensure that the indication signal implements the foregoing two functions, the indication signal needs to be optimized in design.

SUMMARY

This application provides an indication signal configuration method and device, to flexibly adjust a coverage area of an indication signal and control overheads of the indication signal.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides an indication signal configuration method, including: sending, by a network device, first configuration information and second configuration information, sending a first indication signal on a first carrier, and sending a second indication signal on a second carrier, where the first configuration information is used to indicate duration of the first indication signal corresponding to the first carrier, the second configuration information is used to indicate duration of the second indication signal corresponding to the second carrier, the first indication signal is used to indicate whether a first terminal device continues to receive a signal associated with the first indication signal or process a channel associated with the first indication signal, the second indication information is used to indicate whether a second terminal device continues to receive a signal associated with the second indication signal or process a channel associated with the second indication signal, the first terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the first indication signal, and the second terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the second indication signal.

In comparison with the prior art in which duration of one indication signal is uniformly configured for different carriers, in this embodiment of this application, the network device can flexibly adjust, based on duration of an indication signal corresponding to each carrier configuration, a coverage area corresponding to the indication signal, and can effectively control overheads of the indication signal.

In a possible design, the duration of the first indication signal is different from the duration of the second indication signal.

The network device may separately configure the duration of the first indication signal and the duration of the second indication signal.

In a possible design, the first carrier is an anchor carrier, and the second carrier is a non-anchor carrier; the second carrier is an anchor carrier, and the first carrier is a non-anchor carrier; or both the first carrier and the second carrier are non-anchor carriers.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a first determining threshold, and the first determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine whether to receive the first indication signal on the first carrier; and the second configuration information further indicates a second determining threshold, and the second determining threshold is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine whether to receive the second indication signal on the second carrier.

It can be learned from the foregoing descriptions that when a measurement value of a preset parameter is less than the first determining threshold corresponding to the first carrier, the first terminal device is located outside a target coverage area of the first indication signal, for example, the first terminal device is located in a cell edge area or a poor coverage area. If the first terminal device still determines, by receiving the indication signal, whether the first terminal device needs to continue to receive the signal associated with the indication information or process the channel associated with the indication signal, due to missing detection of the indication signal, there is a high probability that the first terminal device does not receive the associated signal that needs to be received or does not process the associated channel that needs to be processed. This causes data loss, and affects communication between the first terminal device and the network device.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a third determining threshold, and the second configuration information further indicates a fourth determining threshold. The third determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device. The fourth determining threshold is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device.

It can be learned from the foregoing descriptions that when the measurement value of the preset parameter is less than the third determining threshold, if the first terminal device still uses the indication signal to synchronize with the network device, this may cause a synchronization failure, and affect communication between the first terminal device and the network device. Therefore, the first terminal device needs to use the synchronization signal (for example, a PSS and an SSS) to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a fifth determining threshold and a sixth determining threshold, and the fifth determining threshold is less than the sixth determining threshold. The second configuration information further indicates a seventh determining threshold and an eighth determining threshold, and the seventh determining threshold is less than the eighth determining threshold. The fifth determining threshold and the sixth determining threshold are used to instruct the first terminal device to determine whether to receive the first indication signal on the first carrier, and determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device. The seventh determining threshold and the eighth determining threshold are used to instruct the second terminal device to determine whether to receive the second indication signal on the second carrier, and determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device.

According to the foregoing method, the first terminal device can accurately determine, based on the measurement value of the preset parameter, the fifth determining threshold, and the sixth determining threshold, a case in which the indication signal is not received, a case in which the indication signal is received but the indication signal is not used to synchronize with the network device, and a case in which the indication signal is received and the indication signal is used to synchronize with the network device. Therefore, in Manner 3, it can be better ensured that the first terminal device and the network device normally communicate with each other, and ensured that the terminal device always selects a low-power-consumption manner to communicate with the network device.

In a possible design, the network device sends third configuration information, where the third configuration information indicates a ninth determining threshold. The ninth determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine whether to receive the first indication signal on the first carrier, and is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine whether to receive the second indication signal on the second carrier.

In a possible design, the network device sends fourth configuration information, where the fourth configuration information indicates a tenth determining threshold. The tenth determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; and is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the network device sends fifth configuration information, where the fifth configuration information indicates an eleventh determining threshold and a twelfth determining threshold. The eleventh determining threshold is less than the twelfth determining threshold. The eleventh determining threshold and the twelfth determining threshold are used to instruct the first terminal device to determine whether to receive the first indication signal on the first carrier, and determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; and are used to instruct the second terminal device to determine whether to receive the second indication signal on the second carrier, and determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device.

Therefore, the network device needs to configure a corresponding determining threshold for each carrier, or may uniformly configure a same determining threshold for different carriers.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of this application provides an indication signal configuration method, including: receiving, by a first terminal device, first configuration information sent by a network device; receiving a first indication signal on a first carrier; and continuing, by the first terminal device, to receive a signal associated with the first indication signal or processes a channel associated with the first indication signal, or skipping continuing to receive a signal associated with the first indication signal or process a channel associated with the first indication signal, where the first configuration information is used to indicate duration of the first indication signal sent on the first carrier, the duration of the first indication signal is independent of duration of a second indication signal received by a second terminal device on the second carrier, the first indication signal is used to indicate whether the first terminal device continues to receive the signal associated with the first indication signal or process the channel associated with the first indication signal, and the second indication information is used to indicate whether the second terminal device continues to receive a signal associated with the second indication signal or process a channel associated with the second indication signal.

In comparison with the prior art in which duration of one indication signal is uniformly configured for different carriers, in this embodiment of this application, the network device can flexibly adjust, based on duration of an indication signal corresponding to each carrier configuration, a coverage area corresponding to the indication signal, and can effectively control overheads of the indication signal.

In a possible design, the duration of the first indication signal is different from the duration of the second indication signal.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a first determining threshold; and the method further includes: determining, by the first terminal device, that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the first determining threshold, and receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a third determining threshold, and the method further includes: if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is less than the third determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; or if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the third determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using the first indication signal to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the first configuration information further indicates a fifth determining threshold and a sixth determining threshold, and the fifth determining threshold is less than the sixth determining threshold; and the method further includes: if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the fifth determining threshold and less than the sixth determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; or if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the sixth determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using the first indication signal to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the first terminal device receives a reference signal on an anchor carrier, where the anchor carrier is the first carrier or another carrier; and the first terminal device determines a reference signal received power RSRP corresponding to the reference signal as the measurement value of the preset parameter.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of this application provides an indication signal configuration method, including: sending, by a network device, first configuration information, where the first configuration information indicates a first determining threshold, or a second determining threshold, or the first determining threshold and the second determining threshold; the first determining threshold is used to instruct a first terminal device to determine whether to receive a first indication signal on a first carrier; the second determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; and the first terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the first indication signal.

In this way, the network device can flexibly configure various determining thresholds, so that based on the determining thresholds, the terminal device determines whether to receive the first indication signal on the first carrier or determines, before receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the first determining threshold corresponds to the first carrier, and the second determining threshold corresponds to the first carrier.

In a possible design, the first determining threshold is further used to instruct a second terminal device to determine whether to receive a second indication signal on a second carrier; the second determining threshold is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; and the second terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the second indication signal.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of this application provides an indication signal configuration method, including: receiving, by a first terminal device, first configuration information, where the first configuration information indicates a first determining threshold, or a second determining threshold, or the first determining threshold and the second determining threshold; the first determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine whether to receive a first indication signal on a first carrier; the second determining threshold is used to instruct the first terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the first indication signal on the first carrier, whether to use a synchronization signal to synchronize with a network device; the first indication signal is used to indicate whether the first terminal device continues to receive a signal or a channel associated with the first indication signal; and the first terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the first indication signal.

In a possible design, the first determining threshold corresponds to the first carrier, and the second determining threshold corresponds to the first carrier.

In a possible design, the first determining threshold is further used to instruct a second terminal device to determine whether to receive a second indication signal on a second carrier; the second determining threshold is used to instruct the second terminal device to determine, in case of receiving the second indication signal on the second carrier, whether to use the synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; and the second terminal device is a terminal device that needs to receive the second indication signal.

In a possible design, the first configuration information indicates the first determining threshold, and the method further includes: determining, by the first terminal device, that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the first determining threshold, and receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier.

In a possible design, the first configuration information indicates the second determining threshold, and the method further includes: if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is less than the second determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; or if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of the preset parameter is greater than or equal to the second determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using the first indication signal to synchronize with the network device.

In a possible design, the first configuration information indicates the first determining threshold and the second determining threshold, and the method further includes: if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of a preset parameter is greater than or equal to the first determining threshold and less than the second determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using a synchronization signal to synchronize with the network device; or if the first terminal device determines that a measurement value of the preset parameter is greater than or equal to the second determining threshold, receiving, by the first terminal device, the first indication signal on the first carrier, and using the first indication signal to synchronize with the network device.

According to a fifth aspect, this application provides an indication signal configuration apparatus, to perform the method in any one of the first aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect. Specifically, the apparatus includes units configured to perform the method in any one of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, this application provides an indication signal configuration apparatus, to perform the method in any one of the third aspect or the possible designs of the third aspect. Specifically, the apparatus includes units configured to perform the method in any one of the third aspect or the possible implementations of the third aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, this application provides an indication signal configuration apparatus, to perform the method in any one of the second aspect or the possible designs of the second aspect. Specifically, the apparatus includes units configured to perform the method in any one of the second aspect or the possible implementations of the second aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, this application provides an indication signal configuration apparatus, to perform the method in any one of the fourth aspect or the possible designs of the fourth aspect. Specifically, the apparatus includes units configured to perform the method in any one of the fourth aspect or the possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, this application provides a network device. The device includes a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory may be configured to store program code, and the processor is configured to invoke the program code in the memory to perform the method in any one of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect. For specific execution steps, refer to the first aspect. Details are not described herein again.

According to a tenth aspect, this application provides a network device. The device includes a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory may be configured to store program code, and the processor is configured to invoke the program code in the memory to perform the method in any one of the third aspect or the possible implementations of the third aspect. For specific execution steps, refer to the third aspect. Details are not described herein again.

According to an eleventh aspect, this application provides a terminal device. The device includes a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory may be configured to store program code, and the processor is configured to invoke the program code in the memory to perform the method in any one of the second aspect or the possible implementations of the second aspect. For specific execution steps, refer to the second aspect. Details are not described herein again.

According to a twelfth aspect, this application provides a terminal device. The device includes a processor, a transceiver, and a memory. The memory may be configured to store program code, and the processor is configured to invoke the program code in the memory to perform the method in any one of the fourth aspect or the possible implementations of the fourth aspect. For specific execution steps, refer to the fourth aspect. Details are not described herein again.

According to a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of this application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a program. When the program is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the methods in the foregoing aspects.

According to a fourteenth aspect, this application further provides a computer program product including a program. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the methods in the foregoing aspects.

