CN112425211B

CN112425211B - Communication method and device, network equipment, user equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN112425211B
Application number: CN202080002896.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李艳华
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-10-20
Filing date: 2020-10-20
Publication date: 2023-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 2040-10-20
Also published as: WO2022082459A1; CN112425211A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a communication method and device, network equipment, user equipment and storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: resource configuration information of a reference signal is transmitted, and the reference signal is valid for all paging occasions or part PO in one paging frame. According to the configuration mode of PO, the time-frequency resource configured by TRS/CRS is indicated by adopting the configuration mode biased by PO, so that TRS/CRS configuration signaling overhead is reduced, configuration complexity is reduced, UE can monitor TRS/CRS more efficiently to synchronize, and complexity of UE processing is reduced.

Description

Communication method and device, network equipment, user equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a power saving configuration technology of a User Equipment (UE), and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus, a network device, a User Equipment, and a storage medium.

Background

In the current communication system, in order to make the UE save more power, a discontinuous reception (Discontinuous Reception, DRX) technique is used to perform time-frequency synchronization, where the UE wakes up to receive a paging (paging) message only in a fixed period, and the rest of time can sleep to reduce power consumption, so as to achieve the purpose of saving power. At present, as the design of the display screen of the UE is larger and larger, the requirement of the user on the standby time of the UE is continuously improved, and the current power saving mechanism cannot meet the requirement of the user yet.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a network device, a user device, and a storage medium.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication method applied to a network device, the method including:

resource configuration information of a reference signal is transmitted, and the reference signal is valid for all Paging Occasions (POs) or part of POs within one Paging Frame (PF).

In some embodiments, the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes: carrying time-frequency position information of the reference signal; the time-frequency position is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

determining the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the demodulation reference signal and the PF/PO in the capability information of the User Equipment (UE);

the bias value is determined based on a minimum bias between the reference signal of the UE to the PF/PO.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

determining the time-frequency location based on the minimum bias; wherein the offset of the time-frequency position relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset.

In some embodiments, the determining the minimum offset between the reference signal supported in demodulating the reference signal and the PF/PO in the capability information of the UE includes:

acquiring minimum bias between a reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO based on a communication protocol; or (b)

Receiving minimum bias between a reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO; or (b)

And receiving the minimum offset between the reference signals supported by the UE and the PF/PO sent by other network equipment.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

capability information of GAP from a reference signal supported by UE to PF/PO under DRX scene is received; or (b)

Capability information is received for a GAP between a reference signal supported by the UE to the PF/PO.

In some embodiments, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal further includes information of a transmission period, where the transmission period includes one of the following:

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

in some embodiments, when the transmission period in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal is bound to the paging frame period, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of the transmission period.

In some embodiments, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of a transmission period, and the transmission period and the paging frame density have a corresponding relationship:

oneT, halfT, quatert, oneEighthT, oneSixteenthT correspond to 10ms,20ms,40ms,80ms,160ms, respectively, of the transmission period.

In some embodiments, the transmitted reference signal comprises at least one of:

tracking reference signals (Tracking Reference Signal, TRS), cell reference signals (Cell Reference Signal, CRS).

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication method applied to a network device, the method including:

and when the configuration density of the synchronous signal and the physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB exceeds a first set threshold, not transmitting TRS.

In some embodiments, when it is determined that the configuration period of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (Physical Broadcast Channel, PBCH) block (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, SSB) is 5ms or 10ms, no resource configuration information of the TRS is transmitted; or (b)

When the SSB configuration period is not larger than the paging frame interval and the interval between the PF and the SSB is smaller than a second set threshold value, not transmitting the resource configuration information of the TRS; or (b)

When the paging search space paging SearchSpace is determined to be indicated as 0 and the multiplexing mode is determined to be mode 2 or 3, the resource configuration information of the TRS is not transmitted.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication method applied to a user equipment UE, the method including:

The minimum offset between the supported reference signal and the PF/PO is sent to the network device.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

receiving resource configuration information of a reference signal sent by the network equipment, wherein the resource configuration information of the reference signal comprises time-frequency position information for bearing the reference signal; the time-frequency position is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

and when the offset of the reference signal configured by the network equipment relative to the PF/PO starting point is determined to be the same as the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, waking up according to the offset value, and performing time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

and when the offset of the reference signal configured by the network equipment relative to the PF/PO starting point is determined to be larger than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, waking up according to the offset value configured by the network equipment, and performing time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

when it is determined that the offset of the reference signal of the network device configuration with respect to the PF/PO start point is less than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE to the PF/PO,

Monitoring the reference signal in a continuous monitoring mode; or (b)

Receiving a second bias of the reference signal reconfigured by the network device relative to a PF/PO start point; or (b)

Monitoring the reference signal according to the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO;

and performing time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

transmitting capability information of the GAP of the supported DRX to the network device; or (b)

And sending the capability information of the GAP supported by the UE for the Long DRX and the Short DRX to the network equipment.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication apparatus applied to a network device, the apparatus comprising:

and a transmitting unit configured to transmit resource configuration information of a reference signal, wherein the reference signal is valid for all paging occasions PO or part PO in one paging frame PF.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

a first determining unit configured to determine a minimum offset between a reference signal supported when demodulating the reference signal and the PF/PO in capability information of the UE;

And a second determining unit configured to determine a bias value based on a minimum bias between the reference signal of the UE to the PF/PO.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

a third determining unit configured to determine the time-frequency position based on the minimum bias; wherein the offset of the time-frequency position relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset.

In some embodiments, the first determining unit is further configured to:

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

a receiving unit configured to receive capability information of GAP between a reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO in the DRX scenario; or (b)

Capability information for GAP between the PF/PO and reference signals supported by the UE of Long DRX and Short DRX types in the DRX scene is received.

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

TRS、CRS。

according to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication apparatus applied to a network device, the apparatus comprising: a determining unit and a transmitting unit, wherein:

the determining unit is configured to determine that the TRS is not transmitted when the SSB configuration density exceeds a first set threshold.

In some embodiments, the determining unit is configured to trigger the transmitting unit not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the configuration period of the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast information PBCH block SSB is 5ms or 10 ms; or (b)

The determining unit is configured to trigger the transmitting unit not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the SSB configuration period is not greater than the paging frame interval and the interval between the PF and the SSB is smaller than a second set threshold; or the determining unit is configured to trigger the sending unit not to send the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the paging search space page search space is indicated as 0 and the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or 3.

According to a sixth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a communication apparatus, for application to a UE, the apparatus comprising:

and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the minimum offset between the supported reference signal and the PF/PO to the network device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive resource configuration information of a reference signal sent by the network device, where the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes time-frequency location information carrying the reference signal; the time-frequency position is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

and the first determining unit is configured to trigger the receiving unit to wake up according to the offset value when the offset of the reference signal configured by the network equipment relative to the PF/PO starting point is the same as the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

and the second determining unit is configured to trigger the receiving unit to wake up according to the offset value configured by the network equipment and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal when the offset of the reference signal configured by the network equipment relative to the PF/PO starting point is larger than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

a third determining unit, configured to trigger the receiving unit to monitor the reference signal in a continuous monitoring mode when determining that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device relative to the PF/PO start point is smaller than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO; or receiving a second bias of the reference signal reconfigured by the network device relative to a PF/PO start point; or monitoring the reference signal according to the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO;

In some embodiments, the transmitting unit is further configured to:

According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a network device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method when the executable program is executed.

According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a user equipment comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method when the executable program is executed.

According to a ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a storage medium on which an executable program is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the communication method.

According to the communication method, the device, the network equipment, the user equipment and the storage medium, the TRS/CRS in the connection state is used for assisting the UE to acquire and synchronize with the time frequency domain of the network in the idle state, compared with SSB synchronization, TRS/CRS configuration can be configured to be closer to PO, and the wake-up time of the UE can be later, so that power can be saved. According to the configuration mode of the PO, the time-frequency resource configured by the TRS/CRS is indicated by adopting the configuration mode biased by the PO, so that the TRS/CRS configuration signaling overhead is reduced, the configuration complexity is reduced, the UE can monitor the TRS/CRS more efficiently so as to synchronize, and the complexity of UE processing is reduced.

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 flow chart diagram illustrating a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method of communication according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method of communication according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a constituent structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a constituent structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a constituent structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a composition structure of a user equipment 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 the embodiments of the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure as detailed in the accompanying claims.

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 and the appended claims, 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 terminals 11 and a number of base stations 12.

Where the terminal 11 may be a device providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The terminal 11 may communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), and the terminal 11 may be an internet of things terminal such as a sensor device, a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with an internet of things terminal, for example, a stationary, 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), remote Station (remote Station), access point, remote terminal (remote terminal), access terminal (access terminal), user equipment (user terminal), user agent (user agent), user device (user equipment), or User Equipment (UE). Alternatively, the terminal 11 may be an unmanned aerial vehicle device. Alternatively, the terminal 11 may be a vehicle-mounted device, for example, a car-driving computer having a wireless communication function, or a wireless communication device externally connected to the car-driving computer. Alternatively, the terminal 11 may be a roadside device, for example, a street lamp, a signal lamp, or other roadside devices having a wireless communication function.

The base station 12 may be a network-side device in a wireless communication system. 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 any generation 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 the base station 12 may be an evolved base station (eNB) employed in a 4G system. Alternatively, the base station 12 may be a base station (gNB) in a 5G system employing a centralized and distributed architecture. When the base station 12 adopts a centralized and Distributed architecture, it typically includes a Centralized 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 provided in the distribution unit, and the specific implementation of the base station 12 is not limited by the embodiment of the present disclosure.

A wireless connection may be established between the base station 12 and the terminal 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.

In some embodiments, an E2E (End to End) connection may also be established between terminals 11. Such as V2V (vehicle to vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle) communications, V2I (vehicle to Infrastructure, vehicle-to-road side equipment) communications, and V2P (vehicle to Pedestrian, vehicle-to-person) communications among internet of vehicles communications (vehicle to everything, V2X).

In some embodiments, the above wireless communication system may further comprise a network management device 13.

Several base stations 12 are connected to a network management device 13, respectively. The network management device 13 may be a core network device in a wireless communication system, for example, the network management device 13 may be a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME) in an evolved packet core network (Evolved Packet Core, EPC). Alternatively, the network management device may be other core network devices, such as a Serving GateWay (SGW), a public data network GateWay (Public Data Network GateWay, PGW), a policy and charging rules function (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF) or a home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS), etc. The embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the implementation form of the network management device 13.

Execution bodies to which embodiments of the present disclosure relate include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment (UE) in a cellular mobile communication system, a base station for cellular mobile communication, and the like.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, where the communication method in this example is applicable to a network device side, and the network device may include a base station, a relay station, or a remote radio unit, etc. accessing to the network device, and specifically includes the following processing steps:

step 201, resource configuration information of a reference signal is transmitted.

Wherein the reference signal is valid for all Paging Occasions (POs) or part of POs in one Paging Frame (PF), that is, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the reference signal configured by the network device is valid for all POs in the PF or only for a certain PO or certain POs. In particular, the configuration of whether the PO is valid may be implemented by the network device or by a network protocol.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes: carrying time-frequency position information of the reference signal; the time-frequency position is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point. In order to simplify the configuration of the reference signal, the embodiment of the disclosure indicates through the offset information of the reference signal relative to the PF/PO start point, so that the UE can analyze the bearing time-frequency position of the reference signal as soon as possible, so as to monitor and synchronize. In the embodiment of the disclosure, although the PF/PO start point is described, it is only a reference time point, but it may also be offset information of other reference time points, such as the start or end time point of other notification message frames, etc., for those skilled in the art.

As an implementation manner, when determining the time-frequency position information carrying the reference signal, the network device needs to receive the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO reported by the UE, i.e. the network device needs to configure the time-frequency position of the reference signal according to the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO reported by massive UEs, so that the UE can wake up to monitor the reference signal at a proper time based on the capability of the UE. Specifically, the network equipment determines the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO when demodulating the reference signal in the capability information of the UE; the bias value is determined based on a minimum bias between the reference signal of the UE to the PF/PO.

As one implementation, the network device determines the time-frequency location based on the minimum bias; wherein the offset of the time-frequency position relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset. That is, the network device needs to set the time-frequency position information of the reference signal according to the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, so that the UE can monitor the reference signal in its own capability range, and therefore, at this time, needs to set the time-frequency position information of the reference signal according to the maximum value of the minimum offset between the reference signal reported by the UE and the PF/PO, so that the offset between the configured time-frequency position information of the reference signal and the PF/PO is greater than the maximum value of the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by all UEs and the PF/PO, thereby ensuring that all UEs can normally monitor the reference signal in the DTX receiving mode.

As one implementation, the network device may obtain a minimum offset between the reference signals supported by the UE to the PF/PO based on the communication protocol. That is, when the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO is configured by the protocol, the network device may acquire the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO based on the communication protocol. Or, the network device may receive the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, which is reported by the UE by itself, and at this time, the UE may implement reporting of the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO based on the uplink message. Alternatively, the network device may also receive the minimum offset between the reference signals supported by the UE and the PF/PO sent by other network devices. The other network device here may be a related network device on the core network side, for example, a notification of the minimum offset between the reference signals supported by the UE to the PF/PO may be implemented by the core network to the access side network device.

As an implementation manner, the network device receives the capability information of GAP between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO in the DRX scenario; or, capability information for a GAP between a reference signal supported by the UE to the PF/PO is received.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal further includes information of a transmission period, where the transmission period includes one of the following: 10ms,20ms,40ms,80ms,160ms.

In some embodiments, when the transmission period in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal is bound to the paging frame period, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of the transmission period. At this time, the transmission period of the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal is implicitly indicated by a multiple of the paging frame period. As an example, the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of a transmission period, and the transmission period and the paging frame density have a corresponding relationship:

oneT, halfT, quatert, oneEighthT, oneSixteenthT correspond to 10ms,20ms,40ms,80ms,160ms, respectively, of the transmission period. While one implementation is shown here by way of example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other indicators may be used to express the corresponding indication information, and as an example, the above-described transmission periods may be indicated separately by inverted indication information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the transmitting the reference signal includes at least one of: tracking reference signals (Tracking Reference Signal, TRS), cell reference signals (Cell Reference Signal, CRS).

In the embodiment of the disclosure, when the base station does not issue the resource configuration information of the TRS/CRS, the UE still synchronizes based on monitoring the SSB in the original synchronization manner.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, where the communication method in this example is applicable to a network device side, and the network device may include a base station, a relay station, or a remote radio unit, etc. accessing to the network device, and specifically includes the following processing steps:

in step 301, when it is determined that the SSB configuration density exceeds the first set threshold, the TRS is not transmitted.

Here, when the configuration density of SSBs is large, the UE can completely synchronize based on the SSBs without configuring the TRSs.

Specifically, the TRS is not configured when the SSB configuration period and the paging frame interval are the same or smaller than the paging frame interval and the PF configuration position and the SSB are closer.

That is, in the case where the SSB configuration period and the paging frame interval are the same or smaller than the paging frame interval and the interval between the PF configuration position and the SSB is smaller, such as smaller than the second set threshold, the TRS does not need to be configured. The second set threshold here may be 5ms, 10ms, 15ms, or the like.

As one implementation, when the network device determines that the configuration period of the SSB is 5ms or 10ms, the resource configuration information of the TRS is not transmitted; or (b)

When the SSB configuration period is not larger than the paging frame interval and the interval between the PF and the SSB is smaller than a second set threshold value, not transmitting the resource configuration information of the TRS; the second set threshold here may be 5ms, 10ms, 15ms, or the like.

As one implementation, when the network device determines that the paging search space, pageguard space, indicates 0 and the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or 3, the resource configuration information of the TRS is not transmitted.

As one implementation, when the network device determines that the paging search space indicates 0 and the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or 3, the resource configuration information of the TRS is not transmitted in a case where the interval between the PF configuration position and the SSB is small, such as less than the second set threshold.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 4, the communication method of this example is applicable to a UE, and specifically includes the following processing steps:

step 401, transmitting a minimum offset between the supported reference signal and the PF/PO to the network device.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the UE sends the minimum offset between the reference signal and the PF/PO when the UE demodulates the reference signal supported by the UE to the network equipment, so that the network equipment can conveniently determine the time-frequency resource of the reference signal based on the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, and the time-frequency resource information of the reference signal configured by the network equipment is notified to the UE as soon as possible.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, after the UE sends the minimum offset information between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO to the network device, the UE will receive the resource configuration information of the reference signal sent by the network device, so as to monitor the reference signal based on the resource configuration information of the reference signal, so as to monitor the corresponding PO, so as to initiate the corresponding random access.

The UE receives resource configuration information of a reference signal sent by the network equipment, wherein the resource configuration information of the reference signal comprises time-frequency position information for bearing the reference signal; in the embodiment of the disclosure, the time-frequency position configured by the network device is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, when the UE determines that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network equipment relative to the PF/PO starting point is the same as the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, the UE wakes up according to the offset value, and performs time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

As one implementation, when the UE determines that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device with respect to the PF/PO start point is greater than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, wake up according to the offset value configured by the network device, and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

As one implementation, when a UE determines that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device with respect to a PF/PO start point is less than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE to a PF/PO,

monitoring the reference signal in a continuous monitoring mode; or (b)

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the UE also sends the capability information of the GAP of the supported DRX to the network device; or the UE sends the capability information of the GAP supported by the UE for the Long DRX and the Short DRX to the network equipment. So that the network device determines resource configuration information of the reference signal based on the GAP.

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the TRS/CRS in the connected state is used for assisting the UE to acquire and synchronize with the time frequency domain of the network, and compared with SSB synchronization, the TRS/CRS configuration can be configured to be closer to PO and wake up later, so that power can be saved more. The embodiment of the disclosure is aimed at a TRS/CRS configuration mode, and the offset configuration of the TRS/CRS is carried out for PF and/or PO so as to reduce signaling overhead and configuration complexity. Taking network equipment as an example of a base station, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the disclosure is further explained.

The resources of the TRS/CRS issued by the base station are validated for all or part of the POs in one PF. I.e. multiple POs within the PF or some common same TRS/CRS resource configuration for time-frequency domain synchronization. Wherein, the time domain position of the TRS/CRS resource issued by the base station is offset (offset) relative to the PF frame starting point or PO; the base station refers to the minimum offset between the supported TRS/CRS of the UE and the PF/PO to carry out offset configuration of the TRS/CRS resource time domain position relative to the PF frame/PO starting point, and issues the offset configuration to the UE; the minimum offset between TRS supported by the UE and PF/PO is defined by a protocol or the UE is reported to the base station in advance in a connection state or the base station acquires from a core network and is used as a reference of the time domain position of the resources of the TRS/CRS configured by the base station. As an implementation, the UE may report a capability configuration gap for DRX/eDRX; as another implementation, the UE may report GAP indication capability for eDRX scenario, GAP of Long DRX type and GAP of short DRX type for the first PF/PO in paging time window (Paging Time Window, PTW) in configuring eDRX scenario, and also for other PFs/POs in PTW in configuring eDRX scenario.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the offset configuration of the TRS/CRS resource time domain location issued by the base station to the UE with respect to the PF frame/PO start point may be different from the capability supported by the UE: the UE needs to determine the listening TRS/CRS listening time according to rules. Or if the offset configuration of the TRS/CRS resource time domain position issued by the base station to the UE relative to the PF frame/PO start point is the same as the UE support value, the UE wakes up in advance according to the value and performs time-frequency domain synchronization with the TRS/CRS resource configuration.

As an example, if the offset of the TRS/CRS resource time domain location issued to the UE with respect to the PF frame/PO start point is greater than the UE support value, the UE listens to the reference signal in a continuous listening manner, where the UE discards the DTX manner and continuously listens to the TRS/CRS because the offset of the TRS/CRS supported by the UE with respect to the PF frame/PO start point is greater than the offset of the TRS/CRS configured by the network device with respect to the PF frame/PO start point, and the listening capability of the UE is exceeded; or the UE receives a second offset of the reference signal reconfigured by the network device with respect to a PF/PO start point, the second offset may be, as an example, not less than an offset between a reference signal supported by the UE to a PF/PO, at which time the UE may monitor TRS/CRS based on the second offset; of course, the second bias may still be less than the bias between the reference signals supported by the UE to the PF/PO. As an implementation manner, the UE may monitor the reference signal according to the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal. At this time, the UE may miss the reference signal. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the period of the TRS/CRS resources issued by the base station is {10ms,20ms,40ms,80ms,160ms }.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, when the network device binds the TRS/CRS periods and the paging frame periods, the base station does not need to issue the TRS/CRS period configuration. Specifically, the base station may send indication information such as oneT, halfT, quatert, oneEighthT, oneSixteenthT, etc. to the UE, where the indication information of oneT, halfT, quatert, oneEighthT, oneSixteenthT corresponds to a transmission period of 10ms,20ms,40ms,80ms,160ms, respectively, of the indication reference signal.

As one example, SSB configuration period = 5ms, no TRS is required; as one example, SSB configuration period = 10ms, no TRS is required; as an example, when the SSB configuration period and the paging frame interval are the same or less than the paging frame interval and the PF configuration location and SSB are closer, then there is no need for a TRS, such as the PF is the next radio frame next to the SSB. As an example, when the digingsetspace=0, the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or mode 3, then TRS is not required. That is, when the paging frame density is more sparse than the SSB configuration period, each paging PF always finds the corresponding SSB, and PF and SSB are frequency division multiplexed, there is no need to retransmit the TRS, nor the configuration information of the TRS.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a composition structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 5, the communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure is applied to a network device, and the apparatus includes:

the transmitting unit 50 is configured to transmit resource configuration information of a reference signal, which is valid for all paging occasions PO or part PO within one paging frame PF.

On the basis of the communication device shown in fig. 5, the communication device of the embodiment of the disclosure further includes:

a first determining unit (not shown in fig. 5) configured to determine a minimum offset between a reference signal supported when demodulating the reference signal to the PF/PO in capability information of the UE;

a second determining unit (not shown in fig. 5) configured to determine a bias value based on a minimum bias between the reference signal of the UE to the PF/PO.

a third determining unit (not shown in fig. 5) configured to determine the time-frequency position based on the minimum bias; wherein the offset of the time-frequency position relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset.

In some embodiments, the first determining unit is further configured to:

a receiving unit (not shown in fig. 5) configured to receive capability information of a GAP between a reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO in the DRX scenario; or (b)

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

TRS、CRS。

in an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting unit 50, the first determining unit, the second determining unit, the third determining unit, the receiving unit, etc. may be implemented by one or more central processing units (CPU, central Processing Unit), graphic processors (GPU, graphics Processing Unit), baseband Processors (BP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC, application Specific Integrated Circuit), digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), programmable logic devices (PLD, programmable Logic Device), complex programmable logic devices (CPLD, complex Programmable Logic Device), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA, field-Programmable Gate Array), general purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers (MCU, micro Controller Unit), microprocessors (Microprocessor), or other electronic components, and may also be implemented in combination with one or more Radio Frequency (RF) antennas for performing the communication methods of the foregoing embodiments.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific manner in which the respective units in the communication apparatus shown in fig. 5 perform operations has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a composition structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 6, the communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a network device, and the apparatus includes: a determination unit 60 and a transmission unit 61, wherein:

the determining unit 60 is configured to trigger the transmitting unit 61 not to transmit the TRS when determining that the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel PBCH block SSB configuration density exceeds the first set threshold.

Specifically, the determining unit 60 is configured to trigger the transmitting unit 61 not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the configuration period of the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast information PBCH block SSB is 5ms or 10 ms; or (b)

The determining unit 60 is configured to trigger the transmitting unit 61 not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when it is determined that the SSB configuration period is not greater than the paging frame interval and the interval between the PF and the SSB is less than the second set threshold; or (b)

The determining unit 60 is configured to trigger the transmitting unit 61 not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the paging search space page search space indicates 0 and the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or 3.

The determining unit 60 is configured to trigger the transmitting unit 61 not to transmit the resource configuration information of the TRS when determining that the paging search space page search space is indicated as 0 and the multiplexing mode is mode 2 or 3 and when the interval between the PF and the SSB is smaller than the second set threshold.

In an exemplary embodiment, the determining unit 60 and the transmitting unit 61, etc. may be implemented by one or more central processing units (CPU, central Processing Unit), graphic processors (GPU, graphics Processing Unit), baseband processors (BP, base processor), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC, application Specific Integrated Circuit), digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), programmable logic devices (PLD, programmable Logic Device), complex programmable logic devices (CPLD, complex Programmable Logic Device), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA, field-Programmable Gate Array), general purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers (MCU, micro Controller Unit), microprocessors (Microprocessor), or other electronic components, and may also be implemented in combination with one or more Radio Frequency (RF) antennas for performing the communication methods of the foregoing embodiments.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific manner in which the respective units in the communication apparatus shown in fig. 6 perform operations has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a composition structure of a communication apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 7, the communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure is applied to a UE, and the apparatus includes:

a transmitting unit 70 configured to transmit a minimum offset between the supported reference signal and the PF/PO to the network device.

On the basis of the communication device shown in fig. 7, the communication device of the embodiment of the disclosure further includes:

a receiving unit (not shown in fig. 7) configured to receive resource configuration information of a reference signal sent by the network device, where the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes time-frequency location information carrying the reference signal; the time-frequency position is offset information relative to the PF/PO start point.

On the basis of the communication device shown in fig. 7, the communication device of the embodiment of the disclosure further includes: a first determining unit (not shown in fig. 7) configured to trigger the receiving unit to wake up according to the offset value when the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device with respect to the PF/PO start point is the same as the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

and a second determining unit (not shown in fig. 7) configured to trigger the receiving unit to wake up according to the offset value configured by the network device when determining that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device with respect to the PF/PO start point is greater than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO, and perform time-frequency domain synchronization based on the reference signal.

a third determining unit (not shown in fig. 7) configured to trigger the receiving unit to monitor the reference signal in a continuous monitoring manner when determining that the offset of the reference signal configured by the network device with respect to the PF/PO start point is smaller than the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO; or receiving a second bias of the reference signal reconfigured by the network device relative to a PF/PO start point; or monitoring the reference signal according to the offset between the reference signal supported by the UE and the PF/PO;

In some embodiments, the transmitting unit 70 is further configured to:

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

In an exemplary embodiment, the transmitting unit 70, the first determining unit, the second determining unit, the third determining unit, the receiving unit, etc. may be implemented by one or more central processing units (CPU, central Processing Unit), graphic processors (GPU, graphics Processing Unit), baseband Processors (BP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC, application Specific Integrated Circuit), digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), programmable logic devices (PLD, programmable Logic Device), complex programmable logic devices (CPLD, complex Programmable Logic Device), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA, field-Programmable Gate Array), general purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers (MCU, micro Controller Unit), microprocessors (Microprocessor), or other electronic components, and may also be implemented in combination with one or more Radio Frequency (RF) antennas for performing the communication methods of the foregoing embodiments.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific manner in which the respective units in the communication apparatus perform the operations shown in fig. 7 has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of a user device 8000, according to an example embodiment. For example, user device 8000 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast user device, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, exercise device, personal digital assistant, or the like.

Referring to fig. 8, user device 8000 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 8002, a memory 8004, a power component 8006, a multimedia component 8008, an audio component 8010, an input/output (I/O) interface 8012, a sensor component 8014, and a communication component 8016.

The processing component 8002 generally controls overall operations of the user device 8000, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 8002 may include one or more processors 8020 to execute instructions to carry out all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 8002 may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 8002 and other components. For example, the processing component 8002 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 8008 and the processing component 8002.

Memory 8004 is configured to store various types of data to support operation at user device 8000. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the user device 8000, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, and the like. Memory 8004 may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile memory device or combination thereof, 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 assembly 8006 provides power to the various components of the consumer device 8000. Power supply components 8006 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for user device 8000.

The multimedia component 8008 includes a screen between the user device 8000 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 sliding action, but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or sliding operation. In some embodiments, multimedia component 8008 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data when the user device 8000 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 8010 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 8010 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the user device 8000 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 8004 or transmitted via the communication component 8016. In some embodiments, the audio component 8010 further comprises a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface 8012 provides an interface between the processing component 8002 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, and the like. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: homepage button, volume button, start button, and lock button.

The sensor assembly 8014 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessment of various aspects to the user device 8000. For example, the sensor assembly 8014 may detect the on/off state of the user device 8000, the relative positioning of the assemblies, such as the display and keypad of the user device 8000, the sensor assembly 8014 may also detect the change in position of the user device 8000 or a component of the user device 8000, the presence or absence of a user in contact with the user device 8000, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the user device 8000, and the change in temperature of the user device 8000. The sensor assembly 8014 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 8014 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 8014 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 8016 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the user device 8000 and other devices. The user device 8000 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as Wi-Fi,2G, or 3G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 8016 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 8016 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, user device 8000 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 above-described communication methods.

In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is also provided, such as memory 8004, including instructions executable by processor 8020 of user device 8000 to perform the method of communicating described above. 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.

The disclosed embodiments also describe a network device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method of the previous embodiments when the executable program is executed. The network device may be a base station, a relay station, a remote radio unit, or other network devices in the foregoing embodiments.

The disclosed embodiments also describe a user equipment comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being executed by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method of the previous embodiments when the executable program is executed

The present disclosure also describes a storage medium having stored thereon an executable program that is executed by a processor to perform the steps of the communication method of the foregoing embodiments.

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

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are 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 made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of embodiments of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a network device, the method comprising:

transmitting resource allocation information of a reference signal, wherein the reference signal is valid for all paging occasions PO or part PO in one paging frame PF; wherein, the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes: carrying time-frequency position information of the reference signal; the time-frequency position information of the reference signal is set according to the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the user equipment UE and the PF/PO.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time-frequency location is offset information relative to a PF/PO start point.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the offset of the time frequency position relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining the minimum offset between the reference signal supported in demodulating the reference signal and the PF/PO in the capability information of the UE comprises:

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving capability information of GAP from a reference signal supported by UE to PF/PO in discontinuous reception DRX scene; or (b)

Capability information for GAP between the PF/PO and reference signals supported by UE of Long discontinuous reception Long DRX and Short discontinuous reception Short DRX types in a discontinuous reception DRX scene is received.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal further includes information of a transmission period, and the transmission period includes one of:

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when a transmission period in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal is bound to a paging frame period, the information of the transmission period is not included in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of a transmission period, and the transmission period and the paging frame density have a correspondence relationship:

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the transmitting a reference signal comprises at least one of:

tracking reference signal TRS, cell reference signal CRS.

11. A communication method applied to a UE, the method comprising:

transmitting a minimum offset between the supported reference signal and the PF/PO to a network device, wherein the minimum offset is used for the network device to set time-frequency position information of the reference signal, and the reference signal is valid for all paging occasions PO or partial PO in one paging frame PF;

and receiving the resource configuration information of the reference signal sent by the network equipment, wherein the resource configuration information of the reference signal comprises time-frequency position information for bearing the reference signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the time-frequency location is offset information relative to a PF/PO start point.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

monitoring the reference signal in a continuous monitoring mode; or (b)

16. The method of any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the method further comprises:

17. A communication apparatus for use with a network device, the apparatus comprising:

a transmitting unit configured to transmit resource configuration information of a reference signal, the reference signal being valid for all or part of POs in one PF; wherein, the resource configuration information of the reference signal includes: carrying time-frequency position information of the reference signal; the time-frequency position information of the reference signal is set according to the minimum offset between the reference signal supported by the user equipment UE and the PF/PO.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the time-frequency location is offset information relative to a PF/PO start point.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the offset of the time-frequency location relative to the PF/PO start point is greater than or equal to the minimum offset.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first determination unit is further configured to:

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a receiving unit configured to receive capability information of GAP between reference signals supported by the UE and PF/PO in the discontinuous reception DRX scenario; or (b)

Capability information for GAP between reference signals supported by the UE of Long DRX and Short DRX types and PF/PO in discontinuous reception DRX scene is received.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal further includes information of a transmission period, the transmission period including one of:

10ms、20ms、40ms、80ms、160ms。

24. The apparatus of any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein when a transmission period in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal is bound to a paging frame period, the information of the transmission period is not included in the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the resource configuration information of the transmission reference signal does not include information of a transmission period, and the transmission period and the paging frame density have a correspondence relationship:

26. The apparatus of any of claims 18 to 22, wherein the transmitted reference signal comprises at least one of:

TRS、CRS。

27. a communication apparatus for use in a user equipment, UE, the apparatus comprising:

a transmitting unit configured to transmit a minimum offset between a supported reference signal and a PF/PO to a network device, the minimum offset being used for the network device to set time-frequency location information of the reference signal, the reference signal being valid for all paging occasions PO or part PO within one paging frame PF;

the receiving unit is configured to receive resource configuration information of the reference signal sent by the network equipment, wherein the resource configuration information of the reference signal comprises time-frequency position information carrying the reference signal.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the time-frequency location is offset information relative to a PF/PO start point.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

32. The apparatus of any of claims 27 to 31, wherein the transmitting unit is further configured to:

33. A network device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and executable by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 when the executable program is executed.

34. A user equipment comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory and an executable program stored on the memory and executable by the processor, the processor executing the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 11 to 16 when the executable program is executed.

35. A storage medium having stored thereon an executable program which when executed by a processor performs the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.