IP Library › Granted Patent US 12713399

Granted Patent B2

US 12713399 · App. 18/479,772 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Paging method and apparatus

Inventors: Cheng Li (Shanghai, CN); Xin Gao (Beijing, CN); Yi Wang (Shanghai, CN)

Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

H04W68/02 H04L5/0048 H04W64/003

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12713399
App. No.: 18/479,772
Granted: Aug 18, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

Embodiments of this application provide a paging method and an apparatus, to reduce paging overheads, and relate to the field of wireless communication technologies. In the method, a serving network device may receive positioning area information. A positioning area represented by the positioning area information herein is used by a terminal device to send an SRS in an inactive mode or an idle mode. The serving network device may send a paging message to one or more neighboring network devices in a paging area. The paging area may be determined based on the positioning area.

Claims (59)

1 . A paging method, comprising:

receiving, by a serving network device, positioning area information, wherein a positioning area represented by the positioning area information is used by a terminal device to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) in an inactive mode or an idle mode;

sending, by the serving network device, a paging message to one or more neighboring network devices in a paging area, wherein the paging area is determined based on the positioning area; and

receiving, by the serving network device, first information from a location server, wherein the first information indicates an occupation status of each of one or more first SRS resources in each of a plurality of cells in the positioning area, the occupation status is “occupied”, or the occupation status is “not occupied”, and the first information is used to determine the paging area, wherein

the paging area is a first cell set of the plurality of cells in the positioning area, a quantity of cells in which one or more second SRS resources are occupied in the plurality of cells comprised in the first cell set is less than or equal to a first threshold, and the one or more second SRS resources are a part or all of the one or more first SRS resources.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein before the receiving, by the serving network device, the first information from the location server, the method further comprises:

sending, by the serving network device, the one or more first SRS resources to the location server, wherein the one or more first SRS resources are SRS resources to be configured by the serving network device for the terminal device, and the one or more first SRS resources are used to determine the first information.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the serving network device, one or more third SRS resources from one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the one or more third SRS resources are not occupied, and the one or more third SRS resources are used to determine the paging area, wherein

the paging area is a second cell set of the plurality of cells in the positioning area, a quantity of cells in which one or more fourth SRS resources are occupied in the plurality of cells comprised in the second cell set is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the one or more fourth SRS resources are a part or all of the one or more third SRS resources.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein before the receiving, by the serving network device, the one or more third SRS resources from the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, the method further comprises:

sending, by the serving network device, one or more fifth SRS resources to the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the one or more fifth SRS resources are SRS resources to be configured by the serving network device for the terminal device, and the one or more third SRS resources are a part or all of the one or more fifth SRS resources.

5 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein before the receiving, by the serving network device, the one or more third SRS resources from the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, the method further comprises:

sending, by the serving network device, a first request message to the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the first request message is used to request an occupied SRS resource, and/or used to request an unoccupied SRS resource.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

sending, by the serving network device, a sixth SRS resource to one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the sixth SRS resource is an SRS resource to be configured by the serving network device for the terminal device; and

receiving, by the serving network device, a first message from the one or more neighboring network devices in the positioning area, wherein the first message indicates that the sixth SRS resource is occupied or not occupied, and the first message is used to determine the paging area, wherein

the paging area is a third cell set of the plurality of cells in the positioning area, and a quantity of cells in which the sixth SRS resource is occupied in the plurality of cells comprised in the third cell set is less than or equal to a third threshold.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the paging area is the same as the positioning area, or the paging area is a part of the positioning area.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein before the sending, by the serving network device, the paging message to the one or more neighboring network devices in the paging area, the method further comprises:

sending, by the serving network device, a second message to the terminal device, wherein the second message is used to release the terminal device to the inactive mode or the idle mode, and the second message comprises information about the paging area;

receiving, by the serving network device, information about the terminal device from a core network device, wherein the information about the terminal device from the core network device is used to trigger the serving network device to send the paging message to the one or more neighboring network devices in the paging area; and

sending, by the serving network device, a paging signal.

9 . An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

a memory containing non-transitory computer instructions for a paging method, that when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus to perform the steps of:

receiving, by the apparatus, positioning area information, wherein a positioning area represented by the positioning area information is used by a terminal device to send a sounding reference signal (SRS) in an inactive mode or an idle mode;

sending, by the apparatus, a paging message to one or more neighboring network devices in a paging area, wherein the paging area is determined based on the positioning area; and

receiving, by the apparatus, first information from a location server, wherein the first information indicates an occupation status of each of one or more first SRS resources in each of a plurality of cells in the positioning area, the occupation status is “occupied”, or the occupation status is “not occupied”, and the first information is used to determine the paging area, wherein

10 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein before the receiving, by the apparatus, the first information from the location server, the apparatus further performs the steps of:

sending, by the apparatus, the one or more first SRS resources to the location server, wherein the one or more first SRS resources are SRS resources to be configured by the apparatus for the terminal device, and the one or more first SRS resources are used to determine the first information.

11 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the apparatus further performs the steps comprising:

receiving, by the apparatus, one or more third SRS resources from one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the one or more third SRS resources are not occupied, and the one or more third SRS resources are used to determine the paging area, wherein

12 . The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein before the receiving, by the apparatus, one or more third SRS resources from one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, the apparatus further performs the steps comprising:

sending, by the apparatus, one or more fifth SRS resources to the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the one or more fifth SRS resources are SRS resources to be configured by the apparatus for the terminal device, and the one or more third SRS resources are a part or all of the one or more fifth SRS resources.

13 . The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein before the receiving, by the apparatus, one or more third SRS resources from one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, the apparatus further performs the steps comprising:

sending, by the apparatus, a first request message to the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the first request message is used to request an occupied SRS resource, and/or used to request an unoccupied SRS resource.

14 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the apparatus further performs the steps comprising:

sending, by the apparatus, a sixth SRS resource to one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, wherein the sixth SRS resource is an SRS resource to be configured by the apparatus for the terminal device; and

receiving, by the apparatus, a first message from the one or more neighboring network devices in the positioning area, wherein the first message indicates that the sixth SRS resource is occupied or not occupied, and the first message is used to determine the paging area, wherein the paging area is a third cell set of a plurality of cells in the positioning area, and a quantity of cells in which the sixth SRS resource is occupied in the plurality of cells comprised in the third cell set is less than or equal to a third threshold.

15 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the paging area is the same as the positioning area, or the paging area is a part of the positioning area.

16 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein before the sending, by the apparatus, a paging message to one or more neighboring network devices in a paging area, the apparatus further performs the steps comprising:

sending, by the apparatus, a second message to the terminal device, wherein the second message is used to release the terminal device to the inactive mode or the idle mode, and the second message comprises information about the paging area;

receiving, by the apparatus, information about the terminal device from a core network device, wherein the information about the terminal device from the core network device is used to trigger the apparatus to send the paging message to the one or more neighboring network devices in the paging area; and

sending, by the apparatus, a paging signal.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) containing non-transitory computer instructions, that when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the steps comprising:

sending, by the apparatus, a paging message to one or more neighboring network devices in a paging area, wherein the paging area is determined based on the positioning area; and

18 . The CRM according to claim 17 , wherein before the receiving, by the apparatus, the first information from the location server, the non-transitory computer instructions further cause the apparatus to perform the steps of:

19 . The CRM according to claim 17 , wherein the non-transitory computer instructions further cause the apparatus to perform the steps of:

20 . The CRM according to claim 19 , wherein before the receiving, by the apparatus, the one or more third SRS resources from the one or more neighboring network devices located in the positioning area, the non-transitory computer instructions further cause the apparatus to perform the steps of: