WO2023087151A1 - Information processing method and apparatus, communication device, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information processing method and apparatus, a communication device, and a storage medium. The information processing method performed by a first network device may comprise: receiving a first message; determining, according to satellite coverage information of a region where a UE is located, whether the UE is reachable; and sending a second message according to the result of determining whether the UE is reachable.

Description

Information processing method and device, communication device and storage medium technical field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communication but is not limited to the technical field of wireless communication, and in particular relates to an information processing method and device, a communication device, and a storage medium.

Background technique

When a terminal or user equipment (User Equipment, UE) accesses the network and conducts services, the power of the terminal will be consumed. Limited by terminal volume, power is often limited. Especially for some IoT terminals, the power supply is more limited.

In order to be more efficient and extend the power usage time as much as possible, some power saving mechanisms and power saving modes have been developed to save terminal power. For example, the Internet of Things terminal is not always in the working state. When it is in the non-working state (sleeping state, etc.), it can save the power of the terminal, thereby prolonging the standby time. For another example, in areas where communication signals are not covered, the terminal will continue to search for cells, which will increase the power consumption of the terminal. Therefore, in areas where communication signals are not covered, it is hoped that the terminal will not perform actions such as cell search and network connection to save the terminal. electricity.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information processing method and device, a communication device, and a storage medium.

The first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides an information processing method, which is executed by a first network device, and the method includes:

receive the first message;

Determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located;

Sending a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable.

A second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing method, wherein, executed by a second network device, the method includes:

receiving the second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information.

A third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing device, wherein the device includes:

a first receiving module configured to receive a first message;

A determining module configured to determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located;

The first sending module is configured to send a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable.

A fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing device, wherein the device includes:

The second receiving module is configured to receive the second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information.

The fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein the processor runs the executable The program executes the information processing method provided in the aforementioned first or second aspect.

The sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a computer storage medium, the computer storage medium stores an executable program; after the executable program is executed by a processor, it can realize the information provided by the aforementioned first aspect or the second aspect Approach.

In the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, after receiving the first message, the first network device will determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located; and then send the second message to the second network device, thus, the first After the second network device receives the second message, it can communicate with the UE when the UE is reachable, and suspend communication with the UE when the UE is unreachable, so as to ensure discontinuous satellite signal coverage, the network side/communication peer initiates normal operation of business.

It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Description of drawings

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

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

Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of eDRX parameters of an e-DRX mechanism shown according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing power saving parameters of a PSM according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of satellite discontinuous coverage according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 9 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 10 is a schematic flowchart of an information processing method according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an information processing device according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an information processing device according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a UE according to an exemplary embodiment;

Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed ways

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numerals 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 invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects of the embodiments of the invention as recited in the appended claims.

Terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure. As used in the examples of this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

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

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which shows a schematic structural diagram of a wireless communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1 , the wireless communication system is a communication system based on cellular mobile communication technology, and the wireless communication system may include: several UEs 11 and several access devices 12 .

Wherein, UE11 may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. UE11 can communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), and UE11 can be an Internet of Things UE, such as a sensor device, a mobile phone (or called a "cellular" phone) and a device with an Internet of Things The UE's computer, for example, may be a fixed, portable, pocket, hand-held, built-in or vehicle-mounted device. For example, Station (Station, STA), subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber station (subscriber station), mobile station (mobile station), mobile station (mobile), remote station (remote station), access point, remote UE ( remote terminal), access UE (access terminal), user equipment (user terminal), user agent (user agent), user equipment (user device), or user UE (user equipment, UE). Alternatively, UE11 may also be a device of an unmanned aerial vehicle. Alternatively, UE11 may also be a vehicle-mounted device, for example, it may be a trip computer with a wireless communication function, or a wireless communication device connected externally to the trip computer. Alternatively, the UE11 may also be a roadside device, for example, it may be a street lamp, a signal lamp, or other roadside devices with a wireless communication function.

The access device 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 (LTE) system; or, the wireless communication system may also be a 5G system, Also known as new radio (NR) system or 5G NR system. Alternatively, the wireless communication system may also be a next-generation system of the 5G system. Among them, the access network in the 5G system can be called NG-RAN (New Generation-Radio Access Network, New Generation Radio Access Network). Or, the MTC system.

Wherein, the access device 12 may be an evolved access device (eNB) adopted in a 4G system. Alternatively, the access device 12 may also be an access device (gNB) adopting a centralized and distributed architecture in the 5G system. When the access device 12 adopts a centralized distributed architecture, it usually includes a centralized unit (central unit, CU) and at least two distributed units (distributed unit, DU). The centralized unit is provided with a packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer, radio link layer control protocol (Radio Link Control, RLC) layer, media access control (Media Access Control, MAC) layer protocol stack; A physical (Physical, PHY) layer protocol stack is set in the unit, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific implementation manner of the access device 12 .

A wireless connection may be established between the access device 12 and the UE 11 through a wireless air interface. In different embodiments, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on the fourth-generation mobile communication network technology (4G) standard; or, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on the fifth-generation mobile communication network technology (5G) standard, such as The wireless air interface is a new air interface; alternatively, the wireless air interface may also be a wireless air interface based on a technical standard of a next-generation mobile communication network based on 5G.

In some embodiments, an E2E (End to End, end-to-end) connection can also be established between UE11. For example, V2V (vehicle to vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle) communication, V2I (vehicle to Infrastructure, vehicle-to-roadside equipment) communication and V2P (vehicle to pedestrian, vehicle-to-person) communication in vehicle to everything (V2X) communication Wait for the scene.

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

Several access devices 12 are connected to the network management device 13 respectively. Wherein, the network management device 13 may be a core network device in the wireless communication system, for example, the network management device 13 may be a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME). Alternatively, the network management device can also be other core network devices, such as Serving GateWay (SGW), Public Data Network Gateway (Public Data Network GateWay, PGW), policy and charging rule functional unit (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF) or Home Subscriber Server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS), etc. The implementation form of the network management device 13 is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing method, which is executed by a first network device, and the method includes:

S110: Receive the first message;

S120: Determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located;

S130: Send a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable.

The first network device may be a core network device. Exemplarily, the core network device includes but is not limited to an access control function (Access Management Function, AMF). As another example, the first network device may also be an access control device of a non-terrestrial network (Non Terrestrial Network, NTN).

The first message may include but not limited to at least one of the following:

Request for service;

paging request;

UE reachability request.

The first message may be from a second network device, and the second network device may include at least one of the following:

Session Management Function (SMF);

User Plane Function (UPF);

Network Exposure Function (NEF);

Access Function (Access Function, AF);

User Data Management (UDM).

After receiving the first message, it will be determined whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is currently located. Exemplarily, it is determined whether the UE is reachable at the current moment according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located, or the reachability time or the change of the reachability state of the UE is determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located.

Here, the reachability of the UE refers to: it can establish a connection with the UE or communicate with the UE through a satellite.

The satellite coverage information includes but is not limited to at least one of the following:

satellite coverage time information of the area where the UE is located;

The next time the satellite covers the area where the UE is located;

The remaining time information of the area where the UE is currently covered by the satellite.

In a word, the satellite coverage information at least indicates whether the satellite currently covers the area where the UE is located. If the satellite covers the area where the UE is located, the UE is currently in an area covered by the satellite network. At this time, the first network device can communicate with or establish a connection with the UE through the satellite network, that is, the UE is reachable. If the satellite does not cover the area where the UE is located, the UE is currently in an area without satellite network coverage. At this time, the first network device cannot communicate with the UE through the satellite network of the corresponding satellite, that is, the UE is unreachable.

When the UE is unreachable, it indicates that the UE may enter the power saving mode. For example, the UE enters into an extended discontinuous reception (extended Discontinuous Reception, eDRX) mode or a power saving mode (Power saving mode, PSM).

As shown in Figure 3, in each eDRX cycle, only in the paging time window (Paging Time Window, PTW), the UE can receive downlink data, and the terminal is in a dormant state during other times in the eDRX cycle. In the dormant state, the UE does not receive downlink data. The eDRX mode takes into account the low power consumption of the UE and the communication services that have certain requirements on delay, for example, remotely shutting down the gas service.

In each eDRX cycle, the UE monitors the paging channel according to the DRX cycle in the PTW so as to receive downlink data. The DRX cycle is very short, for example, 1.28s, 2.56s, 5.12s or 10.24s.

The eDRX mode involves two important eDRX parameters, namely the duration of the eDRX cycle and the duration of the PTW. The core network configures eDRX parameters to the UE through the initial registration or registration update process. In addition, the core network can also send the eDRX parameters to the base station through a paging message, and then the base station sends it to the UE. For example, when the core network pages the UE, it carries the eDRX parameter in the paging message and sends it to the base station.

After the UE enters the PSM, the UE is in a dormant state, and the downlink data is unreachable, and no longer receives paging messages and downlink data. UE is woken up in two ways:

The first is that the UE sends uplink data;

The second is that the TAU timer expires.

T3412 is the TAU timer, and T3324 is the activation timer. DRX is the time for periodic paging, and it also supports periodic paging in the idle state.

The values of the two timers T3324 and T3412 are configured by the core network to the UE. Usually, when the UE attaches to the network and performs TAU, the core network configures the above parameters to the UE.

For PSM, if the UE enters the dormant state, it will not receive downlink data and will not perform any measurements on the serving cell and neighboring cells.

The determination result may indicate that the UE is reachable or unreachable at the current moment.

According to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable, the second message is sent based on the first message.

In some embodiments, the second message may be sent to the sender of the first message, or to other devices.

Exemplarily, the first message is sent by the second network device, and what needs to receive the first message may be an application server (Application Server, AS) or an application service function (Application Function, AF).

If the UE supports access to the network through satellites, and the satellites are non-geosynchronous satellites, that is, the satellites are moving relative to the earth, in order to provide communication services for designated areas, satellite chains are required to provide communication signal coverage.

As shown in Figure 5, the star chain composed of satellites SAT_1 and SAT_2 provides communication services for the tracking area (Tracking Area, TA) and TA2. UE is in TA1. At time T1, SAT_2 moves over TA1 to provide signal coverage, and the UE can access the network through the signal provided by SAT_2. At time T2, due to satellite movement, there is no signal coverage provided by satellites in the TA1 area, and the UE cannot access the network at this time. At time T3, SAT_1 moves into the TA1 area to provide signal coverage, and at this time, the UE can access the network again. Since the area where the UE is located cannot support continuous coverage of communication signals, when in a signal blind area, in order to save power consumption, the UE should stop functions such as cell search. Therefore, in the satellite communication scenario, it is necessary to support the UE power saving mechanism in the case of discontinuous coverage.

If the UE is in a situation where satellites provide discontinuous coverage as shown in FIG. 5 , satellite coverage information in the area where the UE is located can be obtained, so as to know whether the UE is reachable at the current moment. If the UE is reachable, the network side or the communication peer can communicate with the UE; otherwise, it needs to wait for the UE to be reachable before communicating with the UE. Exemplarily, UE1 is currently in an area where there is no satellite network coverage. At this time, if UE2 wants to initiate communication with UE1, there may be problems. At this time, the network side or UE2 can send the first network device to the first network device. message, upon receiving the second message returned by the second network device based on the satellite coverage information to determine whether UE1 is reachable, so as to facilitate the network side or UE2 to determine whether it is currently communicating with UE1 or if UE1 is currently unreachable, wait When UE1 is reachable, it communicates with UE1; thus ensuring the orderly development of normal communication services of UE under the condition of discontinuous NTN coverage.

In some embodiments, the determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes at least one of the following:

Determine according to the satellite coverage information that the area where the UE is located has satellite signal coverage, and determine that the UE is reachable;

According to the satellite coverage information, it is determined that the area where the UE is located has no satellite signal coverage, and it is determined that the UE is unreachable.

The coverage of the satellite signal here is: the coverage of the signal transmitted by the satellite to the area where the UE is located. For example, a signal transmitted by a satellite covers the TA where the UE is located.

If according to the satellite coverage information, it is determined that the area where the TA or cell where the UE is located is covered by the satellite signal transmitted by the satellite, the UE can be considered reachable; otherwise, the UE can be considered unreachable.

In some embodiments, the first message includes:

A reachability request message of the UE;

or,

A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE.

The reachability request message of the UE can come from any second network device. For example, after the SMF receives the downlink data sent by the peer UE or the server, it can query the AMF that the UE is reachable at the current moment, and then send the AMF the The reachability request message of the UE mentioned above is used to query whether the current UE is reachable. If the UE is reachable, the downlink data can be directly sent to the UE; if the UE is unreachable, the downlink data can be buffered and then sent to the UE when the UE is reachable, or reject the request of the peer UE or the server.

The second message is sent by the first network device according to the first message. The first message may be a reachability request message of the UE, which is used to request whether the UE is reachable at the current moment.

The subscription message of the reachability event of the UE includes but not limited to at least one of the following:

A UE reachable event subscription message, when the UE switches from the unreachable state to the reachable state, send a notification message indicating that the UE is reachable to the second message receiving end;

A subscription message for the UE unreachable event, when the UE switches from the reachable state to the unreachable state, send a notification message indicating that the UE is unreachable to the receiving end of the second message;

The subscription message of the UE reachability state change event sends a notification message indicating that the UE is unreachable to the receiving end of the second message when the UE switches between the reachable state and the unreachable state.

The above notification messages are all examples of the second message.

Exemplarily, after receiving the subscription message, the first network device will send the second message to the receiving end of the second message when the subscription condition is met.

The reachability includes: the UE is unreachable and/or the UE is reachable. In some embodiments, the method also includes:

When receiving the subscription message of the reachability event of the UE, a query request may be sent to the UDM;

Receive the query result returned by UDM. The query result may indicate: perform subscription authority verification and/or privacy protection on the second network device sending the subscription message or the queried UE.

For example, the UE to be queried is a smart home device. The query device of the smart home device that requests subscription needs to pass permission verification and privacy protection to determine whether the corresponding query device has permission to query whether the smart home device is reachable, so as to ensure communication. security and protect the privacy of the UE.

In some embodiments, the second message includes:

A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable;

or,

Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable.

The second message may include one or more reachability indication bits, and the reachability indication bits may carry different bit values to respectively indicate whether the UE is reachable.

In some embodiments, the second message further includes:

Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information.

In this way, if the second message also includes the time information of the estimated waiting time, it is equivalent to the first network device notifying the receiving device of the second message of the specific time when the UE will be reachable next time, which is convenient for the receiving device of the second message when the UE is reachable. , to communicate with the UE in time.

In some embodiments, the second message may also be a reachability change report when the reachability of the UE changes. For example, when the UE switches from the unreachable state to the reachable state, send the second message indicating the reachability update information that the current UE is reachable. For another example, when the UE switches from the reachable state to the unreachable state, send the second message of reachability update information indicating that the current UE is unreachable. In this way, the second network device determines whether to communicate with the UE or stop communicating with the UE only when receiving the second message.

In other embodiments, the second message further includes:

The remaining reachable time information indicates the remaining reachable time of the UE or the cut-off time of the UE's reachability determined according to the satellite coverage information when the UE is reachable at the current moment.

In this way, after receiving the second message, the receiving end of the second message can complete the communication before the deadline of the current reachability of the UE or stop the communication when the remaining reachable duration is not enough to meet the communication duration requirement, and wait until the next time the UE is reachable. and then communicate with the UE.

In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information is determined according to satellite ephemeris information and UE current location information.

The current location information of the UE may be information indicating the current location of the UE.

In some embodiments, the UE may be a less mobile UE or a stationary UE. Exemplarily, the UE may be a smart home device or a smart office device. For such a less mobile UE or a fixed UE, the current location of the UE is the location area where the UE is permanently located. The area where the UE is located may be determined according to the current location information of the UE, and the area may be a TA or RA or a satellite cell or the like.

The current location information may include: the latitude and longitude of the satellite's current location and/or the TA code of the TA where the satellite is located or the cell identity of the cell.

The ephemeris information of the satellite can be used to determine the change of the satellite coverage. Therefore, the coverage change of the satellite signal transmitted by the satellite in the area where the UE is located can be determined according to the ephemeris information of the satellite and the current location information of the UE.

In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes at least duration information of a first duration and a second duration;

Wherein, the first duration is: the duration of satellite coverage of a preset area; wherein, the preset area is the area where the current location of the UE is located;

The second duration is: the interval duration between the start times of two adjacent coverages of the preset area by the satellite.

The first time length indicates the duration of the satellite covering the preset area, and the second time length indicates the interval between the revelation moments between the two adjacent satellite coverage satellites. In this way, according to the second time length and the first time length, it can be Determine the time period during which the area where the UE is located is not covered by satellites. For example, if the first duration is Ts1, and the second duration is Ts2, then the duration during which the area where the UE is located is not covered by satellites is: Ts2-Ts1.

In some other embodiments, the satellite coverage information may further include: duration information of the first duration and the third duration;

The first duration is: the duration of satellite coverage of a preset area; wherein, the preset area is the area where the current location of the UE is located;

The third duration is: the interval between two adjacent satellite coverages of the preset area.

As shown in FIG. 6, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing method, which is executed by a second network device, and the method includes:

S210: Receive a second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information.

The second network device includes, but is not limited to: SMF, UPF, or AF.

The second message indicates whether the UE is reachable. Whether the UE is reachable is determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located. In this way, after receiving the second message, the second network device determines whether to communicate with the UE, thereby ensuring normal development of communication services with the UE.

In some embodiments, the second message includes:

A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable;

or,

Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable.

If the UE is unreachable, the second message includes a reachability failure notification, and if the UE is reachable, the second message includes a reachability success notification. The second network device may communicate with the UE according to the reachability success notification, or the second network device may communicate with the UE after waiting for the UE to be reachable according to the reachability failure notification.

In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7, the method also includes:

S220A: If the second message indicates that the UE is reachable, send data to the UE.

For example, after receiving the first data packet sent by the communication peer, the SMF and UPF send the first message to the first network device and receive the second message sent by the first network device, and determine that the UE is reachable according to the second message, then the communication The data sent by the peer end is sent to the UE.

For another example, after the AF receives the second message and determines that the UE is reachable, the AF may send data to the UE. If the AF determines that the UE is unreachable after receiving the message, the AF suspends communication with the UE, and communicates with the UE while waiting for the UE to be reachable.

In some embodiments, the second message further includes:

Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information.

If the UE is currently unreachable, the second message may also include time information indicating the estimated waiting time. In this way, after receiving the time information, the second network device can determine the data caching time, perform data caching, communicate with the UE when the UE is reachable next time, and send the cached data to the UE.

In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 8, the method further includes:

S220B: If the second message indicates that the UE is unreachable, buffer the data sent to the UE according to the time information;

S230: When the UE is reachable, send the buffered data to the UE.

If the second message indicates that the UE is unreachable, but the second network device currently receives the data sent by the communication peer, buffer the data according to the time information. When the time information indicates that the UE is reachable, send the buffered data to the UE.

Exemplarily, the S220B may be: if the second message indicates that the UE is unreachable, determine a data buffer time according to the time information, and buffer data sent to the UE according to the data buffer time. For example, data sent to the UE is buffered within the data buffering time. The data caching time may include but be limited to a time period for caching data sent to the UE.

For example, according to the time information, the latest time when the UE is next reachable can be determined, and then the corresponding cache area can be configured to cache UE data, etc., or the cached data can be configured for transmission. For example, the sending configuration indicates the sending time to send the data to the UE.

In some embodiments, the second message is sent based on the first message; wherein the first message includes:

A reachability request message of the UE;

or,

A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE.

The first message may be sent by the second network device, or may be sent by a third network device other than the second network device. For example, when the second network device is AF, the third network device may be a UDM, and the UDM sends a UE reachability event subscription message to the first network device according to UE subscription data.

In a word, the second message is sent by the first network device according to the first message. The first message may be a reachability request message of the UE, which is used to request whether the UE is reachable at the current moment.

The subscription message of the reachability event of the UE includes but not limited to: subscribing to the second message actively pushed when the reachability of the UE changes.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a data transmission control method for the service initiated by the network side/communication peer, which realizes the normal development of the service initiated by the network side/communication peer when the UE accesses through satellite and the satellite is not continuously covered. .

The first network device receives the service-related request message, and the first network device determines whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information. The request message may be the aforementioned first message, and the request message may be a service request triggered by the network side, a paging (paging) request, a UE reachability request, and the like.

If the UE is unreachable, that is, the UE is not covered by satellites, the first network device returns a message indicating that the UE is unreachable.

If the second network device (such as SMF, UPF or NEF) supports data caching, the first network device returns the time information of the estimated waiting time to the second network device. The estimated waiting time is determined by the first network device according to the satellite coverage information, and the estimated waiting time can be used to determine the time when the next satellite coverage starts.

The satellite coverage information is provided by the first network device according to ephemeris information, UE current location information, radio access technology (Radio

Access Technology, RAT) type information and so on are determined. The satellite coverage information at least includes: the first duration Ts1 indicates the satellite coverage duration. The second duration Ts2 represents the duration between the start time of the coverage provided by the satellite and the start time of the next coverage provided, and the duration includes the time when no satellite provides signal coverage.

The second network device determines the data caching time according to the estimated waiting time, and caches the data or sends it to the data caching device for caching. When the UE is reachable, the data is sent again.

When an Application Function (AF) decides to send data to the UE, the AF subscribes to the UE reachability request. The AF subscribing to UE reachability may be: subscribing to UE reachability notification messages. The notification message is one of the aforementioned second messages. In some embodiments, the second message may further include: reachable duration information, and the reachable duration information may be determined according to the first duration. For example, the AF sends a UE reachability event subscription message to the AMF, and each time the UE switches from the unreachable state to the reachable state, the AMF will send a notification message containing the reachability of the UE to the AF based on the subscription message. Further, the notification message may carry the reachable duration information of the UE.

The first network device determines whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information. When the UE is reachable, the first network device reports to the AF that the UE is reachable.

The AF starts communicating with the UE based on the report from the first network device.

As shown in FIG. 9 , when the network side initiates a service or the communication peer initiates a service, and the downlink data arrives at the network, the first network device determines to receive the data transmission according to the satellite coverage of the area where the UE is located. The first network equipment is AMF, and the second network equipment UPF and SMF may specifically include:

1. The UPF receives the downlink data of the service. Exemplarily, if the first packet data of the service is cached in the UPF, and the SMF has subscribed to the UPF for the first packet cache reporting event, then the UPF reports the downlink data cache event to the SMF.

2. The UPF reports the first downlink packet data to the SMF;

3. The SMF sends a UE reachability request to the AMF. The UE reachability request may be one of the foregoing first messages.

4. After receiving the request, the AMF determines whether the UE is reachable according to the location information of the UE and the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located, that is, whether the area where the UE is located is covered by satellite signals.

5. The UE fails in reachability, and indicates to the AMF to wait for the estimated time. Exemplarily, if the UE is unreachable, the AMF rejects the request, returns a reachability failure indicating that the current UE is unreachable, and includes a waiting estimated time. The estimated waiting time is determined by the AMF according to the satellite coverage information, and the estimated waiting time is the time when the next satellite starts to cover.

6. The SMF determines the cache time, for example, after receiving the rejection message, the SMF determines the message cache time according to the estimated waiting time. The cache time is greater than or equal to the estimated waiting time.

7. The SMF sends a UE reachability failure notification to the UPF, and the notification includes the cache time. UPF caches data according to the cache time.

8. AMF sends a paging request to gNB;

The gNB sends a paging request to the UE. In short, if the UE is in the idle state, the AMF sends a paging request (paging request) message to the gNB. AMF may contain auxiliary information of wake up signaling (WUS) in the message.

9. If the gNB receives the paging request, and the UE and the gNB support WUS, and if the paging (paging) request includes the auxiliary information of the recommended cell, the gNB broadcasts the WUS to the most recently used cell.

10. The RRC connection between UE and gNB is established, so the RRC connection between UE and gNB is restored;

11. The UE sends a NAS message to the AMF.

12. AMF returns UE reachability response to SMF.

13. N4 session modification between SMF and UPF.

14. Forward transmission of downlink data, for example, UPF sends buffered data to SMF.

15. The SMF creates and forwards the downlink data Protocol Data Unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU). The SMF creates the downlink data PDU, and sends the downlink data PDU and the PDU session identifier to the AMF.

16. Transmitting the foregoing downlink data to the UE through a NAS message.

If the paging fails, in step 12, the AMF continues to return a reachability failure notification to the SMF. The SMF sends a reachability failure notification to the UPF, and the UPF discards the buffered data packets.

The AMF creates a downlink NAS transmission message, and sends the downlink message to the UE.

As shown in Figure 10, the application function (AF), such as the application server, obtains whether the UE is reachable through the subscription mechanism before initiating the service, and after receiving the report of the corresponding reachable event, the AF initiates the service with the UE, specifically Implementations can include:

1. The AF sends a UE reachability notification request (reachability Notification Request) to the UDM, that is, the AF initiates a subscription to the UE reachability event to the UDM, and requires the network to report the event to the AF when the UE is reachable. The UE reachable event refers to a UE reachable state event.

2. UDM sends a subscription message (Event Exposure subscribe) to AMF, and UDM confirms whether AF has event subscription permission. In the case that the authority is available, subscribe to the corresponding event to AMF.

3. Determine whether the UE is reachable based on the satellite coverage information. For example, the AMF receives a subscription to the reachability event of the UE, and judges that the UE is reachable at this time according to the satellite coverage information in the area where the UE is located, that is, there is satellite signal coverage in the area where the UE is located.

4. The AMF sends an event report to the AF. For example, the AMF reports the UE reachability event to the AF. The report can be directly reported to the AF, or forwarded by other network elements.

5. The AF initiates a corresponding service to the UE according to the reported result.

Before the AF receives the subscription event report, or the result of the report received by the AF is that the UE is unreachable, the AF does not initiate a service with the UE.

In addition, the AF can also subscribe to the UE reachable state change event. For example, the AF subscribes the UE reachable state change event to the UE. Then, when the UE changes from the reachable state to the unreachable state, or the UE switches from the unreachable state When in the reachable state, the AF will receive a reachability state change notification message.

As shown in FIG. 11 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing device, wherein the device includes:

The first receiving module 110 is configured to receive a first message;

The determination module 120 is configured to determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located;

The first sending module 130 is configured to send a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable.

The information processing apparatus may be included in the first network device.

In some embodiments, the first receiving module 110 , the determining module 120 and the first sending module 130 may all be program modules; after the program modules are executed by the processor, the operations of the above modules can be realized.

In some other embodiments, the first receiving module 110, the determining module 120, and the first sending module 130 can be a combination of hardware and software modules; the combination of hardware and software modules include but are not limited to: various programmable arrays . The programmable array includes, but is not limited to: a field programmable array and/or a complex programmable array.

In still some embodiments, the first receiving module 110 , the determining module 120 and the first sending module 130 may all include pure hardware modules; the pure hardware modules include but are not limited to application specific integrated circuits.

In some embodiments, the determining module 120 is configured to perform at least one of the following:

Determine according to the satellite coverage information that the area where the UE is located has satellite signal coverage, and determine that the UE is reachable;

According to the satellite coverage information, it is determined that the area where the UE is located has no satellite signal coverage, and it is determined that the UE is unreachable.

In some embodiments, the first message includes:

A reachability request message of the UE;

or,

A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE.

In some embodiments, the second message includes:

A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable;

or,

Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable.

In some embodiments, the second message further includes:

Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information.

In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information is determined according to satellite ephemeris information and UE current location information.

In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes at least duration information of a first duration and a second duration;

Wherein, the first duration is: the duration of satellite coverage of a preset area; wherein, the preset area is the area where the current location of the UE is located;

The second duration is: the interval duration between the start times of two adjacent coverages of the preset area by the satellite.

As shown in FIG. 12 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an information processing device, wherein the device includes:

The second receiving module 210 is configured to receive the second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information.

The information processing apparatus may be included in the second network device.

In some embodiments, the second receiving module 210 may be a program module; after the program module is executed by the processor, it can realize the second message sent after the first network device determines whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information after the festival. The second message indicates whether the UE is currently reachable, or indicates the current reachability state of the UE, and the like.

In some embodiments, the second receiving module 210 can be a combination of hardware and software; the combination of hardware and software includes but is not limited to: various programmable arrays; the programmable arrays include but not limited to field programmable arrays and /or complex programmable arrays.

In another embodiment, the second receiving module 210 may further include: a pure hardware module; the pure hardware module includes but not limited to an application specific integrated circuit.

In some embodiments, the second message includes:

A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable;

or,

Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable.

In some embodiments, the device also includes:

The second sending module is configured to send data to the UE if the second message indicates that the UE is reachable.

In some embodiments, the second message further includes:

Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information.

In some embodiments, the device also includes:

A caching module configured to, if the second message indicates that the UE is unreachable, determine a data caching time according to the time information, and cache data sent to the UE according to the data caching time;

The second sending module is configured to send the buffered data to the UE when the UE is reachable.

In some embodiments, the second message is sent based on the first message; wherein the first message includes:

A reachability request message of the UE;

or,

A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE.

In some embodiments, the first message may be sent by the second network device, then the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 12 may further include: a second sending module, which may send the message to the second network device the first message.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including:

memory for storing processor-executable instructions;

Processor, memory connection respectively;

Wherein, the processor is configured to execute the terminal control method and/or the information processing method provided by any of the foregoing technical solutions.

The processor may include various types of storage media, which are non-transitory computer storage media, and can continue to memorize and store information thereon after the communication device is powered off.

Here, the communication device includes: an access device or a UE or a core network device.

The processor may be connected to the memory through a bus or the like, and used to read the executable program stored on the memory, for example, at least one of the methods shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 6 to 8 .

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a UE 800 according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, UE 800 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast user equipment, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, fitness device, personal digital assistant, etc.

Referring to FIG. 13 , UE 800 may include one or more of the following components: processing component 802, memory 804, power supply component 806, multimedia component 808, audio component 810, input/output (I/O) interface 812, sensor component 814, and communication component 816 .

Processing component 802 generally controls the overall operations of UE 800, such as those associated with display, phone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 802 may include one or more processors 820 to execute instructions to complete all or part of the steps of the above method. Additionally, processing component 802 may include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between processing component 802 and other components. For example, processing component 802 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between multimedia component 808 and processing component 802 .

The memory 804 is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the UE 800 . Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on UE800, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. The memory 804 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or their combination, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Magnetic Memory, Flash Memory, Magnetic or Optical Disk.

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

The multimedia component 808 includes a screen providing an output interface between the UE 800 and the user. 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 not only sense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also detect duration and pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 808 includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. When the UE800 is in an operation mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera can receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera can be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capability.

The audio component 810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 810 includes a microphone (MIC), which is configured to receive an external audio signal when the UE 800 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. Received audio signals may be further stored in memory 804 or sent via communication component 816 . In some embodiments, the audio component 810 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

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

Sensor component 814 includes one or more sensors for providing various aspects of status assessment for UE 800 . For example, the sensor component 814 can detect the open/closed state of the device 800, the relative positioning of components, such as the display and the keypad of the UE800, the sensor component 814 can also detect the position change of the UE800 or a component of the UE800, and the user and Presence or absence of UE800 contact, UE800 orientation or acceleration/deceleration and temperature change of UE800. Sensor assembly 814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects in the absence of any physical contact. Sensor assembly 814 may also include an optical sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 814 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor.

Communication component 816 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communications between UE 800 and other devices. UE800 can access wireless networks based on communication standards, such as WiFi, 2G or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 receives broadcast signals or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 also includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. 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, UE 800 may be powered by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gates Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors or other electronic implementations for performing the methods described above.

In an exemplary embodiment, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory 804 including instructions, which can be executed by the processor 820 of the UE 800 to complete the above method. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 14 , an embodiment of the present disclosure shows a structure of an access device. For example, the communication device 900 may be provided as a network-side device. The communication device may be the aforementioned core network device or AF or the like.

Referring to FIG. 14 , the communication device 900 includes a processing component 922 , which further includes one or more processors, and a memory resource represented by a memory 932 for storing instructions executable by the processing component 922 , such as application programs. The application program stored in memory 932 may include one or more modules each corresponding to a set of instructions. In addition, the processing component 922 is configured to execute instructions to perform any of the aforementioned methods applied to the access device, for example, at least one of the methods shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 6 to 8 .

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

Other embodiments of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present invention, these modifications, uses or adaptations follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the technical field not disclosed in this disclosure . The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

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

Claims (17)

An information processing method, wherein, executed by a first network device, the method includes: receive the first message; Determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located; Sending a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located comprises at least one of the following: Determine according to the satellite coverage information that the area where the UE is located has satellite signal coverage, and determine that the UE is reachable; According to the satellite coverage information, it is determined that the area where the UE is located has no satellite signal coverage, and it is determined that the UE is unreachable. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first message comprises: A reachability request message of the UE; or, A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE. The method of claim 3, wherein the second message includes: A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable; or, Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable. The method according to claim 4, wherein the second message further includes: Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the satellite coverage information is determined according to satellite ephemeris information and UE current location information. The method according to claim 6, wherein the satellite coverage information includes at least duration information of a first duration and a second duration; Wherein, the first duration is: the duration of satellite coverage of a preset area; wherein, the preset area is the area where the current location of the UE is located; The second duration is: the interval duration between the start times of two adjacent coverages of the preset area by the satellite. An information processing method, wherein, performed by a second network device, the method includes: receiving the second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information. The method of claim 8, wherein the second message comprises: A reachability failure notification indicating that the UE is unreachable; or, Reachability success notification, indicating that the UE is reachable. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the method further comprises: If the second message indicates that the UE is reachable, send data to the UE. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the second message further includes: Time information of estimated waiting time when the UE is unreachable, wherein the estimated waiting time is determined according to the satellite coverage information. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: If the second message indicates that the UE is unreachable, determine the data cache time according to the time information, and cache the data sent to the UE according to the cache time; When the UE is reachable, send the buffered data to the UE. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the second message is sent based on the first message; wherein the first message includes: A reachability request message of the UE; or, A subscription message of the reachability event of the UE. An information processing device, wherein the device includes: a first receiving module configured to receive a first message; A determining module configured to determine whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located; The first sending module is configured to send a second message according to the determination result of whether the UE is reachable. An information processing device, wherein the device includes: The second receiving module is configured to receive the second message sent by the first network device after determining whether the UE is reachable according to the satellite coverage information. A communication device, comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and an executable program stored on the memory and capable of being run by the processor, wherein, when the processor runs the executable program, the following claims 1 to 1 are executed. The method provided in any one of 7 or 8 to 13. A computer storage medium, the computer storage medium stores an executable program; after the executable program is executed by a processor, the method provided by any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 13 can be implemented.

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