Communication method, device and system

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, apparatus and system, including: determining that a first capability set needs to be updated; sending a first message to a network device, wherein the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, wherein the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, and the second capability set is a capability set that the terminal device negotiates with the network device when initially accessing the network device. When the capabilities supported by the terminal device change, the terminal device sends a first message to the network device to instruct the network device to update the scheduling capabilities of the terminal device, which can effectively reduce signaling redundancy and transmission power consumption, and can more flexibly negotiate capabilities with the network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, device, and system. Background Art

[0002] In wireless communication systems, both communicating parties must negotiate capabilities to obtain the capabilities supported by the other party, ensuring correct data processing. Taking cellular communications as an example, a terminal device sends information to the network device, including its supported multiple input multiple output (MIMO) capabilities, channel bandwidth, and modulation order. After receiving this information, the network device schedules wireless resources and transmits and receives data based on the capabilities identified by the terminal device, ensuring that the wireless resources allocated to the terminal device do not exceed the terminal device's capabilities.

[0003] Currently, after the two communicating parties report their capabilities, they will not update their capabilities. However, the terminal device may need to update its capabilities to save power, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, device and system for providing a highly flexible way of negotiating the capabilities of terminal equipment and network equipment, effectively reducing signaling redundancy and transmission power consumption.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0006] Determine that an update to a first capability set is required; send a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, and where the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0007] Based on this solution, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the capabilities supported by a terminal device change, the terminal device sends a first message to the network device, so that the network device that receives the first message uses a first capability set to schedule the terminal device. Since the first information occupies fewer transmission resources, it can effectively reduce signaling redundancy and transmission power consumption, and through the first message, the terminal device can more flexibly negotiate capabilities with the network device.

[0008] In a possible implementation manner, the first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, the first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the size of the first message is 1 bit.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first message is carried in physical layer control signaling; or, the first message is carried in a reserved bit in the MAC signaling; or, the first message is carried in terminal assistance information in radio resource control RRC signaling; or, the first message is carried in capability update information in RRC signaling.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the first message is used to indicate the level of the first capability set.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: the reason for updating to the first capability set, the application start time of the first capability set, and the application duration of the first capability set.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first capability set is at least two capability sets, and the first message is further used to indicate an application order of the at least two capability sets.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: after the application duration of the first capability set expires, using the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first message is further used to indicate that after the application duration of the second capability set ends, the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set.

[0018] In a possible implementation, an interval for sending the first message is not less than a first threshold.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0020] Receive a first message from a terminal device; determine, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, and the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0021] Based on this solution, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the capabilities supported by a terminal device change, the terminal device sends a first message to the network device, so that the network device that receives the first message uses a first capability set to schedule the terminal device. Since the first information occupies fewer transmission resources, it can effectively reduce signaling redundancy and transmission power consumption, and through the first message, the terminal device can more flexibly negotiate capabilities with the network device.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the size of the first message is 1 bit.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first message is carried in physical layer control signaling; or, the first message is carried in a reserved bit in the MAC signaling; or, the first message is carried in terminal assistance information in radio resource control RRC signaling; or, the first message is carried in capability update information in RRC signaling.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the first message is used to indicate the level of the first capability set.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: the reason for updating to the first capability set, the application start time of the first capability set, and the application duration of the first capability set.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the first capability set is at least two capability sets, and the first message is further used to indicate an application order of the at least two capability sets.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: after the application duration of the first capability set ends, using the first capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the first message is further used to indicate that after the application duration of the second capability set ends, the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set.

[0032] In a possible implementation, an interval for sending the first message is not less than a first threshold.

[0033] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, comprising: at least one processing unit and at least one storage unit, wherein the storage unit stores program code, and when the program code is executed by the processing unit, the processing unit performs the following process:

[0034] The processing unit is configured to determine that an update to a first capability set is required;

[0035] The communication unit is used to send a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in the second capability set, and where the second capability set is the capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, comprising: at least one processing unit and at least one storage unit, wherein the storage unit stores program code, and when the program code is executed by the processing unit, the processing unit performs the following process:

[0037] The communication unit is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device;

[0038] The processing unit is used to determine, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, and the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, which has the ability to implement any one of the first or second aspects of the above-mentioned embodiment; or any method in any possible implementation manner from the first to the second aspect.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the communication device may be a terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system or circuit. The terminal device capability negotiation device may include: a transceiver and a processor. The processor may be configured to support the terminal device capability negotiation device to perform the corresponding functions of the terminal device described above, and the transceiver is used to support communication between the terminal device capability negotiation device and other devices (such as network devices).

[0041] Optionally, the terminal device capability negotiation apparatus may further include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and store program instructions and data necessary for the communication apparatus. The transceiver may be an independent receiver, an independent transmitter, a transceiver with integrated transceiver functions, or an interface circuit.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the communication device may be a network device, or a component that can be used for the network device, such as a chip or chip system or circuit. The network device capability negotiation device may include: a transceiver and a processor. The processor may be configured to support the terminal device capability negotiation device to perform the corresponding functions of the network device described above, and the transceiver is used to support communication between the terminal device capability negotiation device and other devices (e.g., terminal devices).

[0043] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and store program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The transceiver may be an independent receiver, an independent transmitter, a transceiver with integrated transceiver functions, or an interface circuit.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including a terminal device and a network device;

[0045] The terminal device is used to execute any method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; the network device is used to execute any method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0046] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, including a processor and optionally a memory; wherein the memory is used to store computer programs, and the processor is used to call and run computer programs from the memory, so that a communication device equipped with the chip system executes any one of the above-mentioned first or second aspects; or any method in any possible implementation methods of the first to second aspects.

[0047] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program code, which, when executed by a communication unit, a processing unit, a transceiver, or a processor of a communication device, enables the communication device to execute any one of the above-mentioned first or second aspects; or any method in any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0048] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a program, and the program enables a communication device (for example, a terminal device; for example, a network device) to execute any one of the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect; or any method in any possible implementation method of the first aspect to the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the scenario for terminal device capability negotiation provided for this application;

[0050] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the device module structure in the terminal device capability negotiation provided by this application;

[0051] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided by this application;

[0052] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 5 A flow chart of the second communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a third communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 7 A flowchart of the fourth communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the first communication device provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the second communication device provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a terminal device provided for this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] In wireless communication systems, both communicating parties must negotiate capabilities to obtain the capabilities supported by the other party, ensuring correct data processing. Taking cellular communications as an example, a terminal device sends information to the network device, including its supported multiple input multiple output (MIMO) capabilities, channel bandwidth, and modulation order. After receiving this information, the network device schedules wireless resources and transmits and receives data based on the capabilities identified by the terminal device, ensuring that the wireless resources allocated to the terminal device do not exceed the terminal device's capabilities.

[0061] For example, in the 4G system, multiple terminal types are defined, and each terminal type corresponds to a different peak rate. For example, if the terminal device reports the capability as UE categories 4, it means that the terminal device supports a downlink peak rate of 150Mbps and an uplink peak rate of 51Mbps; if the terminal device reports the capability as UE categories DL 12, it means that the terminal device supports a downlink peak rate of 600Mbps; if the terminal device reports the capability as UE categories DL 19, it means that the terminal device supports a downlink peak rate of 1.6Gbps.

[0062] In addition, the terminal device can further report information such as the maximum number of MIMO layers supported, the maximum carrier aggregation bandwidth, and the highest modulation order to the base station.

[0063] For example, in a 5G system, the peak rate supported by a terminal device is calculated based on information such as the number of supported MIMO layers, carrier aggregation bandwidth, and the highest modulation order reported by the terminal device.

[0064] However, after the two parties in existing communication have reported their capabilities, they will not update their capabilities again. If a terminal device previously reported a higher peak rate, this indicates that the terminal device has stronger processing power and higher power consumption. If the terminal device later needs to conserve power, it may wish to update its capabilities to better align with its reported power-saving configuration, for example, by reporting a lower peak rate.

[0065] Terminal devices can update their capabilities by re-registering with the network and then re-reporting their capabilities. However, this approach carries a large signaling payload, typically exceeding 1000 bytes, which incurs additional system overhead. Furthermore, the re-registration process introduces additional latency and power consumption.

[0066] Furthermore, terminal devices can use auxiliary information to report desired radio resource limits to the network to save power. While this avoids issues like increased latency associated with re-registration, the sheer volume of auxiliary information required can lead to significant system overhead. Furthermore, the more auxiliary information a terminal reports, the more scheduling factors the network must consider, increasing the complexity of base station scheduling.

[0067] The embodiments of the present application provide a flexible and efficient method for capability information negotiation between a network device and a terminal device. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, the future fifth generation (5G) system, such as the new radio access technology (NR), and future communication systems such as the 6G system.

[0068] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first Figure 1 The communication system shown in FIG is used as an example to describe in detail the communication system to which the present application embodiment is applicable. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a scheduling node 100 and a terminal device 110. The scheduling node 100 can be a network device or a terminal device.

[0069] When the scheduling node is a network device, the network device may be any of the following: for example, access network (AN) equipment and radio access network (RAN) equipment. Access network equipment, such as a base station (e.g., access point), may refer to equipment in an access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices over an air interface through one or more cells. The base station may be configured to convert received air frames into and from Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolved Node B) in a long term evolution (LTE) system or long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), or may also include a next generation node B (gNB) or a next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB), en-gNB (enhanced next generation node B, gNB) in a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) new radio (NR) system: an enhanced next generation base station; it may also include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (Cloud RAN) system, or may also include a relay device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0070] The terminal device 110 is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, and may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal in the embodiments of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0071] Among them, such as Figure 2 As shown, in an optional embodiment of the present application, the scheduling node includes a receiver 101, a transmitter 102, and a processor 103. Receiver 101 is used to receive wireless signals from terminals, and processor 103 is used to obtain the capabilities of the terminal device from the wireless signals received by the receiver and, based on the capabilities of the terminal device, make scheduling decisions that are consistent with the capabilities of the terminal device. The scheduling decision is sent to the terminal device via transmitter 102. In addition, receiver 101, transmitter 102, and processor 103 are further responsible for receiving and processing uplink signals from terminal devices, as well as determining and transmitting downlink signals to be sent to the terminal device.

[0072] In an optional manner of an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device includes a receiver 111 and a transmitter 112. The receiver 111 is used to receive a downlink signal from a base station, and the transmitter 112 is used to send an uplink signal to a scheduling node. Furthermore, the terminal device may also include at least one memory 113 for storing terminal capabilities; the terminal device also includes at least one processor 114, wherein the processor 114 includes a plurality of processing units. The processor 114 is used to generate terminal device capability reporting message data based on the terminal capability information stored in the memory, and then send it to the scheduling node through the transmitter 112. In addition, the processor may also include at least one scheduling unit for processing downlink data and / or uplink data based on the resource scheduling information of the scheduling node.

[0073] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems. It should be understood that Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 This is a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding. The communication system may further include core network equipment, other network equipment, or other terminal equipment; or, the scheduling node may further include other devices or unit modules, and the terminal equipment may further include other devices or unit modules. Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 Not drawn in.

[0074] Some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained below for easier understanding.

[0075] 1) In the embodiments of the present application, the “second capability set” refers to the capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0076] 2) In the embodiment of the present application, the "first capability set" is a portion of the capabilities in the second capability set, for example, capabilities other than at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling, or mandatory capabilities without capability signaling. Exemplarily, the first capability set in the embodiment of the present application may be a basic capability set, i.e., capabilities that the terminal device can only support when power consumption is lowest. This can be understood as capabilities that the protocol requires the terminal device to support.

[0077] For example, the second capability set includes capability A, capability B, and capability C, and the first capability set includes capability B and capability C. That is, when the terminal device is updated to the first capability set, the terminal device does not support capability A.

[0078] 3) In the embodiments of the present application, "capability" refers to whether a terminal device has the ability to support a certain feature or feature set.

[0079] 4) In the embodiments of the present application, “capability information” refers to a collection of functions or characteristics included in a capability, which may also be referred to as a capability set or capability parameters.

[0080] For example, the capability information corresponding to a capability includes some or all of the following:

[0081] The number of downlink CCs supported by the terminal device, the number of uplink CCs supported, the supported downlink bandwidth, the supported uplink bandwidth, the supported number of MIMO layers, the supported downlink aggregate bandwidth, the supported uplink aggregate bandwidth, etc.

[0082] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present application, different basic capabilities are determined for different types of terminal devices. For example, ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) type terminal devices and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) type terminal devices have different basic capabilities. Different types of terminal devices are also called terminal devices with different characteristics, and the unique capabilities of these terminal devices are also called feature sets.

[0083] Taking 3GPP NR Rel-15 as an example, 3GPP defines a series of capabilities (see 3GPP TR 38.822 for details).

[0084] Among them, mandatory capabilities without capability signaling are mandatory capabilities that terminal devices must support and do not require capability signaling reporting. These capabilities do not need to be sent to network devices through capability information reporting. These capabilities can also be called baseline capabilities. For ease of description, mandatory capabilities without signaling capabilities are defined as belonging to the first part of capabilities.

[0085] Optional capabilities are capabilities that terminal devices can optionally support, and this part of the capability needs to be reported through signaling whether it is supported. Mandatory capabilities with capability signaling are mandatory capabilities that terminal devices must support but need to be reported through signaling whether they are supported (see Section 4.2 of 3GPP TS 38.306 for details). If the terminal device reports support for the capability, it means that the capability has passed the interoperability test. If the terminal device does not report support for the capability, it means that the capability of the terminal device has not passed the interoperability test. For the sake of convenience of description, optional capabilities and mandatory capabilities with capability signaling are defined as belonging to the second part of capabilities.

[0086] In addition, the frequency bands and frequency domain segment combinations supported by the terminal device are also part of the terminal device capabilities. An optional method in the embodiment of the present application defines the single-carrier communication of the terminal device within the supported frequency band as the first part of the capability, that is, the basic capability, and defines the support for carrier aggregation capability as the second part of the capability.

[0087] The "second capability set" described in this application may include the first and second capabilities defined above. The "first capability set" described in this application, in one case, includes only the first capabilities defined above; or, in one case, in addition to the first capabilities defined above, also includes part of the second capabilities. In other words, the "first capability set" is a subset of the "second capability set," which includes at least one or part of the second capabilities.

[0088] Among them, the term "at least one" in the embodiments of the present application refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. The following at least one item (individual) or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, at least one item (individual) of a, b and c, or at least one item (individual) of a, b or c, can represent: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0089] Unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0090] In addition, the terms "including" and "having" in the embodiments, claims, and drawings of this application are not exclusive. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or modules is not limited to the listed steps or modules and may also include steps or modules that are not listed.

[0091] Through the introduction of the above application scenarios and other contents, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0092] S300: The terminal device determines that it needs to be updated to the first capability set.

[0093] The terminal device may determine that it needs to be updated to the first capability set based on the usage of the terminal device itself, the service conditions of the terminal device, or the user configuration information of the terminal device.

[0094] Furthermore, before step S300, the method further includes: the network device sending a fourth message to the terminal device, where the fourth message is used to instruct the network device to allow the terminal device to update to the first capability set.

[0095] Furthermore, the fourth message is also used to indicate which first capability set or first capability sets the network device allows the terminal device to update to.

[0096] Furthermore, before step S300, the method further includes: the network device sending an eighth message to the terminal device, wherein the eighth message is used to indicate a first capability set level and / or a first capability set type supported by the network device. The terminal device can learn the capabilities of the network device through the eighth message, thereby avoiding communication failure caused by a mismatch between the terminal device and the network device capabilities.

[0097] S301. The terminal device sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in the second capability set, and where the second capability set is the capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0098] In the embodiment of the present application, the first message indicates various situations, which are not limited to the following:

[0099] First message indication case 1: the first message indicates at least one identifier.

[0100] The at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set but not included in the first capability set. In other words, the first message indicates a capability that the terminal device does not support in the second capability set.

[0101] Thus, the network device can determine the first capability set according to the at least one identifier indicated by the first message and the second capability set.

[0102] Exemplarily, the second capability set includes capability A, capability B, capability C, and capability D, wherein the identifiers indicated by the first message are capability A and capability C. Therefore, after receiving the first message, the network device removes capability A and capability B from the second capability set, thereby obtaining the first capability set, that is, the first capability set includes capability C and capability D.

[0103] First message indication case 2: the first message indicates the level of the first capability set or the type of the first capability set.

[0104] The capability set can be defined as multiple levels, with different capability levels corresponding to different peak rates, which in turn correspond to certain aggregated carrier capabilities, number of MIMO layers, code rates, and modulation orders. For example, level 1 supports a peak rate of 300 Mbps, level 2 supports a peak rate of 600 Mbps, level 3 supports a peak rate of 2.3 Gbps, and level 4 supports a peak rate of 4.6 Gbps.

[0105] Alternatively, the capability set can be defined as multiple different types, for example, type 1 represents enhanced mobile broadband access (eMBB) terminal equipment, type 2 represents URLLC terminal equipment, type 3 represents V2X terminal equipment, type 4 represents low-capability (REDCap) terminal equipment, type 5 represents low-power positioning terminal equipment, and so on.

[0106] When the first message indicates the level of the first capability set, it further includes that before step S301, the terminal device sends a second message to the network device, and the second message is used to indicate the level of the first capability set supported by the terminal device.

[0107] Among them, in the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple ways to indicate the level of the first capability set supported by the terminal device through the second message, which are not limited to the following ones.

[0108] Mode 1: The first capability level supported by the terminal device can be represented by a level number, such as level 1, level 2, level 3, level 4, etc.

[0109] Preferably, the level number in the embodiment of the present application corresponds to the detailed configuration information of the corresponding level, for example, level 1 corresponds to a peak rate of 300Mbps, and level 4 corresponds to a peak rate of 4.6Gbps.

[0110] Mode 2: Expressed using one or more parameters corresponding to the capability level, such as aggregated carrier capability, number of MIMO layers, code rate, modulation order, etc. Preferably, the second message is a set of values of key parameters supported by the terminal device for calculating the peak rate.

[0111] For example, the terminal device supports two parameter sets, parameter set 1 = {maximum number of carriers equal to 1, maximum carrier bandwidth equal to 20 MHz, maximum number of MIMO layers = 4, maximum modulation order equal to 64QAM}, parameter set 2 = {maximum number of carriers equal to 2, maximum carrier bandwidth equal to 100 MHz, maximum number of MIMO layers = 4, maximum modulation order equal to 256QAM}.

[0112] When the first message indicates the type of the first capability set, the method further includes, before step S301, the terminal device sending a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to indicate the type of the first capability set supported by the terminal device. For example, the third message indicates that the terminal device is of eMBB type, URLLC type, REDCap type, etc.

[0113] The first message indicates situation 3: the first message indicates that the level of the first capability set is basic capability.

[0114] S302: The network device receives a first message from a terminal device.

[0115] S303. The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set.

[0116] In one optional embodiment of the present application, there are multiple situations in which the first capability set exists, and the situations are not limited to the following:

[0117] Case 1 of the first capability set: the first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

[0118] First capability set case 2: the first capability set is the mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

[0119] First capability set scenario 3: The first capability set includes different capability levels. Different capability levels correspond to different peak rates, which correspond to certain aggregated carrier capabilities, MIMO layer numbers, code rates, and modulation orders.

[0120] For example, level 1 indicates support for a peak rate of 300 Mbps, level 2 indicates support for a peak rate of 600 Mbps, level 3 indicates support for a peak rate of 2.3 Gbps, and level 4 indicates support for a peak rate of 4.6 Gbps. At least one of the first capability sets is a basic capability that only supports the second capability set.

[0121] First capability set scenario 4: The first capability set is of different capability types. For example, type 1 represents eMBB terminal devices, type 2 represents URLLC terminal devices, type 3 represents V2X terminal devices, type 4 represents REDCap terminal devices, type 5 represents low-power positioning terminal devices, and so on.

[0122] The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set. Specifically, the network device performs radio resource control (RRC) configuration or reconfiguration on the terminal device according to the capability information indicated by the first capability set. The RRC reconfiguration does not exceed the capability indicated by the first capability set. The network device communicates with the terminal device according to the radio resources indicated by the reconfiguration.

[0123] The communication method of the present invention is further described in detail below by combining the description of specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The embodiments in this application can be combined with each other. In addition, the explanation of the features in each embodiment can be applied to other embodiments.

[0124] Scenario 1: The first message carries an unsupported capability identifier.

[0125] Thus, the network device that receives the first message removes the unsupported capabilities from the second capability set to obtain the first capability set, and schedules the terminal device using the first capability set.

[0126] like Figure 4 As shown, based on the scenario 1, the specific steps for the terminal device and the network device in the embodiment of the present application to communicate are as follows:

[0127] S400: The terminal device accesses the network device and, when accessing the network device, sends the capabilities supported by the terminal device to the network device by reporting capability information.

[0128] For example, when the terminal device is registering with the network, if it determines that the capabilities currently supported by the terminal device are the second capability set, the terminal device reports the capability parameters (or capability information) corresponding to the second capability set to the network device.

[0129] The capability information corresponding to the second capability set indicates which optional capabilities defined by a protocol or mandatory capabilities with capability signaling defined by a protocol that the terminal device supports.

[0130] It can be understood that the second capability set is the capability of the network device to schedule the terminal device before receiving the first message.

[0131] Taking 3GPP NR Rel-15 as an example, 3GPP defines a series of capabilities (see 3GPP TR 38.822 for details).

[0132] Among them, the first part of capabilities is mandatory capabilities that the terminal device must support and does not require capability signaling reporting. This part of capabilities does not need to be sent to the network device through capability information reporting. This part of capabilities is also called basic capabilities.

[0133] The second part is the capabilities that the terminal device can optionally support. These capabilities need to be reported through signaling, or they are mandatory capabilities that the terminal device must support but need to report through signaling. That is, mandatory capabilities with capability signaling (see Section 4.2 of 3GPP TS 38.306 for details). If the terminal device reports support for this capability, it means that the capability has passed the interoperability test. If the terminal device does not report support for this capability, it means that the capability of the terminal device has failed the interoperability test.

[0134] In addition, the frequency bands and frequency domain segment combinations supported by the terminal device are also part of the terminal device capabilities. An optional method in the embodiment of the present application defines the single-carrier communication of the terminal device within the supported frequency band as the first part of the capability, that is, the basic capability, and defines the support for carrier aggregation capability as the second part of the capability.

[0135] For different types of terminal devices, the mandatory capabilities and optional capabilities that need to be reported through capability signaling may be different. For example, eMBB terminal devices and URLLC terminal devices need to support different mandatory capabilities.

[0136] For example, when registering with the network, the terminal device reports the capabilities supported by the terminal device through terminal device capability parameters. These capability parameters constitute a second capability set, which indicates which optional capabilities the terminal device supports and / or which mandatory capabilities with capability signaling that need to be reported via signaling are supported by the terminal device. In other words, the second capability set includes the first and second capabilities defined by 3GPP.

[0137] Furthermore, in an optional method of an embodiment of the present application, one definition of the first capability set in an embodiment of the present application is that the first capability set is some capabilities in the second capability set that are not supported by the terminal device. For example, the first capability set is determined by removing at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling from the second capability set. It can be understood that the first capability set is a lower capability than the second capability set.

[0138] For example, assume that the second capability set is that the terminal device supports optional capability 1, supports optional capability 2, supports optional capability 3, supports mandatory capability 1 with capability signaling, and supports mandatory capability 2 with capability signaling. The first capability set is the capabilities of the terminal device after it does not support some capabilities in the second capability set. For example, relative to the second capability set, the first capability set does not support optional capability 1, does not support optional capability 2, and does not support mandatory capability 1 with capability reporting signaling. That is to say, the first capability set means that the terminal device, in addition to the capabilities that must be supported and do not need to be reported, only supports optional capability 3 and mandatory capability 2 with capability reporting signaling.

[0139] Furthermore, in another embodiment of the present application, the first capability set is defined as follows: the first capability set is all the second part capabilities supported by the second capability set that are not supported by the terminal device.

[0140] Among them, a specific implementation method is that the first capability set indicates that the terminal device only supports the capabilities that must be supported by the protocol definition and do not need to be reported through signaling. At this time, it can be understood that the first capability set refers to the capabilities or basic capabilities that the protocol requires that this type of terminal device must support.

[0141] For example, assume that the second capability set is that the terminal device supports optional capability 1, optional capability 2, optional capability 3, mandatory capability 1 with capability signaling, and mandatory capability 2 with capability signaling. The first capability set is that the terminal device does not support all capabilities supported by the first capability, that is, the terminal device does not support optional capability 1, optional capability 2, optional capability 3, mandatory capability 1 with capability signaling, and mandatory capability 2 with capability signaling, and only supports basic capabilities.

[0142] Furthermore, when the terminal device accesses the network device, the terminal device sends the second capability set to the network device by reporting capability information.

[0143] Exemplarily, the capability information is reported using existing technologies, one of which is defined in Section 3GPP TS 38.3315.6, and another of which is defined in Section 3GPP TS 36.3315.6, which will not be described in detail in the present invention.

[0144] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine its own capability information in a variety of ways, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0145] For example, terminal equipment confirms its own capabilities according to its own design specifications.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple situations in which the terminal device is triggered to report capability information to the network device, and they are not limited to the following situations:

[0147] Case 1: The terminal device receives capability report request information sent by the network device, and the capability report request information requires the terminal device to send capability information to the network device.

[0148] Case 2: When the terminal device initially accesses the network, it reports capability information to the network device.

[0149] S401: The terminal device determines the capabilities required to communicate with the network device.

[0150] For example, assuming that the capability negotiated by the terminal device with the network device during network registration is the second capability set, but currently when the terminal device communicates with the network device, it is more appropriate to use the first capability set, then the terminal device determines that the first capability set needs to be used in communicating with the network device.

[0151] That is to say, at this time, the capability determined by the terminal device for scheduling is changed from the above-mentioned second capability set to the first capability set.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may determine which capability to use for scheduling in a variety of ways, which are not limited to the following:

[0153] Determination method 1: The terminal device determines that its own capabilities have changed based on its actual situation and needs to update its own capability information to the network device.

[0154] For example, assuming that the terminal device previously determined the capabilities to be the second capability set, and that the second capability set requires the terminal device to have stronger processing capabilities, the terminal device, when configured with the second capability set, has greater system and power overhead, but also has better performance due to the stronger processing capabilities. When the terminal device has sufficient power, or when the terminal device requires higher performance, the terminal device determines to use the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0155] Assuming that the first capability set is the basic capability of the terminal device, for example, when the terminal device needs to save power; or when the power of the terminal device is lower than a certain value, such as the power of the terminal device is lower than 20%, the terminal device determines to use the first capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0156] For example, assuming that the previously determined capability of the terminal device is a second capability set, the second capability set indicates that the terminal device supports both enhanced mobile broadband access (eMBB) and V2X functionality. Therefore, under the configuration of the second capability set, the terminal device has strong processing capabilities and can handle vehicle-to-vehicle communication scenarios. When the terminal device is not in the vehicle, the terminal device determines that the V2X functionality is removed from the terminal device.

[0157] Determination method 2: The terminal device determines that its own capabilities have changed based on the messages received from the upper layer or application layer, and needs to update its own capability information to the network device.

[0158] For example, it is assumed that the terminal device receives indication information from a higher layer of the terminal protocol stack, such as the radio resource control layer RRC layer or the application layer, which indicates that the terminal device requires the best performance or the lowest energy consumption, or the information indicates that the terminal device needs to adopt the second capability set or the first capability set.

[0159] For example, the terminal device receives a configuration instruction from a user, indicating that the terminal device needs to fall back to basic capabilities. Therefore, based on the configuration instruction sent by the user, the terminal device determines to use the first capability set to communicate with the network device. Alternatively, for example, based on an application layer message, the terminal device determines that the current service requires maintaining good communication performance. In this case, the terminal device determines to use the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0160] Determination method 3: The terminal device determines the adopted capability according to certain rules.

[0161] Exemplarily, an optional rule of an embodiment of the present application is that if the terminal device determines that the current service is a small packet service that can accept a higher latency, the terminal device uses the first capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0162] If the terminal device determines that the current service is a low-latency service, the terminal device uses the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0163] Another optional rule in the embodiment of the present application is that if the terminal device determines that the current service type is a massive IoT or Machine type communication service, the terminal device uses the first capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0164] If the terminal device determines that the current service is an Ultra Reliability low latency communication (URLLC) service or an enhanced mobile broadband access (eMBB) service, the terminal device uses the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0165] Furthermore, before step S401, the method further includes: the network device sending an eighth message to the terminal device, wherein the eighth message is used to indicate the first capability set level and / or first capability set type supported by the network device. The terminal device can learn the capabilities of the network device through the eighth message, thereby avoiding communication failure caused by a mismatch between the terminal device and the network device capabilities.

[0166] S402. The terminal device determines a first message, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set.

[0167] The first message includes at least one capability identifier.

[0168] The at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set but not included in the first capability set. That is, the network device can determine the first capability set based on the at least one identifier included in the first message and the second capability set.

[0169] Exemplarily, assuming that the terminal device determines that it needs to use the first capability set to communicate with the network device, the terminal device can determine the capability identifier in the second capability set that is not supported in the first capability set, and generate a first message based on the unsupported capability identifier.

[0170] Assume that the second capability set includes optional capability 1, optional capability 2, optional capability 3, mandatory capability 1 reported through signaling, and mandatory capability 2 reported through signaling. The first capability set determined by the terminal device includes optional capability 1. Therefore, the terminal device can determine that the first capability set does not support optional capabilities 2-3 in the second capability set and mandatory capability 1 reported through signaling and mandatory capability 2 reported through signaling, then the terminal device generates the first message, wherein the first message contains an identification group, and the identification group includes identifications of optional capability 2 and optional capability 3 and identifications of mandatory capability 1 reported through signaling and mandatory capability 2 reported through signaling.

[0171] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present application, the first message also includes one or more of the following information:

[0172] (1) The reason for needing to update to the first capability set.

[0173] For example, the terminal device needs to perform capability update due to power saving. For another example, the terminal device determines that it needs to perform capability update due to user's self-setting.

[0174] (3) The application start time of the first capability set.

[0175] (4) The application duration of the first capability set.

[0176] Furthermore, after S400 and before S402, the process also includes: the terminal device receiving a fourth message sent by the network device.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple indication contents of the fourth information, which are not limited to the following ones.

[0178] Indication content 1: The fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to send the first message.

[0179] Indication content 2: The fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to update its capabilities.

[0180] Indication content 3: The fourth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to adopt the first capability set.

[0181] Indication content 4: The fourth message is used to indicate the range of the capability identifier indicated by the first message.

[0182] Exemplarily, it is assumed that the second capability set includes optional capability 1, optional capability 2, optional capability 3, mandatory capability 1 reported through signaling, and mandatory capability 2 reported through signaling. If the fourth message range is optional capability 1 and optional capability 2, it means that the terminal device is allowed to indicate through the first message that the terminal device does not support optional capability 1 and / or optional capability 2. That is to say, the at least one capability identifier included in the first message can only be optional capability 1, or optional capability 2, or optional capability 1 and optional capability 2. By sending the fourth message, the network device and the terminal device can reach a consensus on the scope of capability information updates to avoid scheduling errors caused by inconsistencies.

[0183] As an optional solution, by default, if the network device does not send the fourth message, the terminal device cannot perform a capability update. By indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to perform a capability update through the fourth message, errors caused by the network device being unable to recognize the first message sent by the terminal device can be avoided. If some network devices cannot recognize the first message sent by the terminal device, this default design can avoid unnecessary errors caused by the terminal device sending a message that the network device cannot recognize the terminal device.

[0184] Furthermore, before the terminal device receives the fourth message sent by the network device, the method further includes the terminal device sending a fifth message to the network device, where the fifth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first capability set update. The network device may send the fourth message only to terminal devices that support the first capability set update to reduce scheduling complexity.

[0185] S403. The terminal device sends the first message to the network device.

[0186] Preferably, before the terminal device sends the first message to the network device, the terminal device has the ability to send the first message to the network device; and / or the interval duration between the terminal device continuously sending the first message to the network device is not less than a first threshold duration; and / or the network device allows the terminal device to send the first message, for example, the network device configures the terminal device to send the first message.

[0187] The terminal device may notify the network device of the first message via physical layer signaling, media access control (MAC) layer signaling or high layer signaling.

[0188] Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present application, a physical layer signaling notification method is to notify the network device of the first message through a specific physical layer sequence, such as a sequence with good correlation characteristics. For example, sequence A represents the first message.

[0189] In this manner, the terminal device sends the first message via physical layer signaling, which can save the time required for capability information update and achieve rapid capability update.

[0190] Another physical layer signaling notification method in the embodiment of the present application is to notify the network device through uplink physical layer control signaling.

[0191] In this manner, the terminal device sends the first message via physical layer signaling, which can save the time required for capability information update and achieve rapid capability update.

[0192] In an embodiment of the present application, a MAC layer signaling notification method is to use unused reserved bits in existing MAC signaling for notification, for example, to use reserved bits in existing cache status reporting signaling for notification.

[0193] In this way, the terminal device sends the first message through the reserved bits in the MAC layer signaling, which can save the signaling overhead required for capability update and does not require the addition of additional types of signaling, and has better compatibility.

[0194] In one embodiment of the present application, a high-level signaling notification method utilizes terminal assistance information in radio resource control (RRC). The 3GPP protocol has defined a process for a terminal device to send assistance information. In this method, the first message is sent using the terminal assistance information in an RRC message, which allows for better compatibility with the terminal assistance information configuration and transmission process.

[0195] S404. The network device receives the first message sent by the terminal device.

[0196] S405. The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set.

[0197] Exemplarily, after receiving the first message, the network device determines the first capability set based on the identification group included in the first message and the second capability set, and then determines the first capability set as the capabilities to be used when scheduling the terminal device.

[0198] Furthermore, the network device sends the first message of the terminal device to the access and mobility management function (AMF), and the AMF correspondingly updates the capability information of the terminal device to the first capability set indicated by the first message. In this way, when other network devices need to query the capabilities of the terminal device, they can directly obtain the capabilities of the terminal device from the AFM, thereby eliminating the need for the terminal device to report the capabilities of the terminal device through wireless communication, thereby reducing the redundancy of air interface transmission.

[0199] Furthermore, when the terminal device is switched, the network device sends the capability information indicated by the first message to the switching target cell. In this way, the target cell does not need to report the capabilities of the terminal device via wireless communication, which can reduce the redundancy of air interface transmission.

[0200] Furthermore, when the network device needs to schedule the terminal device, it schedules the terminal device according to the capability indicated by the first message.

[0201] That is to say, the resources scheduled by the network device for the terminal device do not exceed the range defined by the capabilities of the terminal device.

[0202] The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set. Specifically, the network device performs radio resource control (RRC) configuration or reconfiguration on the terminal device according to the capability information indicated by the first capability set. The RRC reconfiguration does not exceed the capability indicated by the first capability set. The network device communicates with the terminal device according to the radio resources indicated by the reconfiguration.

[0203] Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the specific execution content of the network device is different in combination with the different contents contained in the first message, and is not limited to the following situations.

[0204] Case 1: When the first message also includes the application duration of the first capability set, after the network device receives the first message, it uses the first capability set to schedule the terminal device, and after the application duration of the first capability set ends, it uses the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0205] Case 2: When the first message contains at least two capability sets, the application order and application duration of the at least two capability sets, the network device uses the first capability set determined by each capability set in turn according to the application order to schedule the corresponding application duration for the terminal device.

[0206] Scenario 2: The first message carries the capability level or capability type.

[0207] This enables the network device that receives the first message to determine a capability set for scheduling the terminal device based on the capability level or capability type in the first message.

[0208] like Figure 5 As shown, based on the second scenario, the specific steps for the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application to communicate with the network device are as follows:

[0209] S500: The terminal device accesses the network device and, when accessing the network device, sends the capabilities supported by the terminal device to the network device by reporting capability information.

[0210] For example, when the terminal device is performing network registration, if it determines that the capabilities currently supported by the terminal device are the second capability set, the terminal device reports the capability information corresponding to the second capability set to the network device.

[0211] The capability information corresponding to the second capability set indicates which protocol-defined optional capabilities and / or protocol-defined mandatory capabilities with capability signaling are supported by the terminal device.

[0212] Among them, in an optional method in an embodiment of the present application, the second capability set is a capability set that is fully supported by the terminal device.

[0213] Exemplarily, the capability information is reported using existing technologies, one of which is defined in Section 3GPP TS 38.3315.6, and another of which is defined in Section 3GPP TS 36.3315.6, which will not be described in detail in the present invention.

[0214] Furthermore, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine its own capability information in a variety of ways. In an embodiment of the present application, there are a variety of situations that trigger the terminal device to report capability information to the network device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this. For specific determination examples, please refer to the introduction in S400 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0215] S501: The terminal device determines the capabilities required to communicate with the network device.

[0216] For example, assuming that the capability negotiated by the terminal device with the network device during network registration is the second capability set, however, when the terminal device is currently scheduling with the network device, it is more appropriate to use the first capability set, and the terminal device determines that the first capability set needs to be used in communication with the network device.

[0217] That is to say, at this time, the terminal device determines that the capability for scheduling needs to be changed from the above-mentioned second capability set to the first capability set.

[0218] The second capability set is a capability set fully supported by the terminal device, and the first capability set is a partial capability set supported by the terminal device. According to the range of the partial capability set supported by the first capability set, the first capability set can be represented by capability level or capability type.

[0219] For example, the levels of the first capability set are defined according to the peak rates supported by the terminal device, where the different peak rates correspond to at least one parameter supported by the terminal device, including aggregated carrier capability, number of MIMO layers, code rate, and modulation order. For example, level 1 indicates support for a peak rate of 300 Mbps, level 2 indicates support for a peak rate of 600 Mbps, level 3 indicates support for a peak rate of 1.2 Gbps, and level 4 indicates support for a peak rate of 2.3 Gbps.

[0220] For another example, the type of the first capability set is defined according to the characteristics supported by the terminal device, for example, type 1 represents eMBB terminal equipment, type 2 represents URLLC terminal equipment, type 3 represents V2X terminal equipment, type 4 represents REDCap terminal equipment, type 5 represents low-power positioning terminal equipment, and so on.

[0221] The level of the first capability set or the type of the first capability set can be agreed upon. One agreed approach is that the first capability set includes a level, which corresponds to an indication that the terminal device supports only basic capabilities, that is, only mandatory capabilities without capability signaling. Another agreed approach is that the first capability set includes a type, which corresponds to an indication that the terminal device is a REDCap terminal device.

[0222] The level of the first capability set or the type of the first capability set can also be negotiated through signaling. One implementation method is to further include step S500-a and / or step S500-b before step S501:

[0223] Step S500 - a: The terminal device sends a second message to the network device, where the second message is used to indicate a first capability set level supported by the terminal device.

[0224] The first capability set level of the terminal device corresponds to different peak rates. The first capability level supported by the terminal device can be represented by a level number, for example, level 1 corresponds to 300Mbps, level 2 corresponds to 600Mbps, level 3 corresponds to 2.3Gbps, level 4 corresponds to 4.6Gbps, etc., or represented by one or more parameters such as the aggregated carrier capability, number of MIMO layers, code rate, modulation order, etc. corresponding to the peak rate. If the terminal device supports peak rates of 300Mbps and 4.6Gbps, they can be represented in the following two ways respectively:

[0225] Method 1: The capability level number supported by the terminal device. For example, the terminal device supports level 1 and level 3. Level 1 corresponds to a peak rate of 300 Mbps, and level 4 corresponds to a peak rate of 2.3 Gbps.

[0226] Representation 2: The value set of key parameters supported by the terminal device for calculating the peak rate. For example, the terminal device supports two parameter sets: parameter set 1 = {maximum number of carriers equal to 1, maximum carrier bandwidth equal to 20 MHz, maximum number of MIMO layers = 4, maximum modulation order equal to 64QAM}, and parameter set 2 = {maximum number of carriers equal to 2, maximum carrier bandwidth equal to 100 MHz, maximum number of MIMO layers = 4, maximum modulation order equal to 256QAM}. A peak rate can correspond to the value of at least one parameter set.

[0227] It should be noted that the correspondence between capability levels and capability sets is only an example and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0228] Step S500-b: The terminal device sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to indicate the first set capability set type supported by the terminal device. For example, the third message indicates the eMBB type, URLLC type, REDCap type, etc. of the terminal device.

[0229] It should be noted that the correspondence between capability types and capability sets is only an example and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0230] The terminal device determines the capabilities required to communicate with the network device. Further, before step S501, the terminal device receives a fourth message sent by the network device.

[0231] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple indication contents of the fourth information, which are not limited to the following ones.

[0232] Indication content 1: The fourth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to send a capability update.

[0233] Indication content 2: The fourth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to adopt the first capability.

[0234] Indication content 3: The fourth message is used to indicate which first capability level or first capability levels the terminal device is allowed to adopt.

[0235] The network device may allow the terminal device to adopt part or all of the first capability level according to its own situation. By sending the fourth message, the network device and the terminal device may reach a consensus on the scope of capability information update, thereby avoiding scheduling errors caused by inconsistency.

[0236] By default, if the network device does not send the fourth message, the terminal device cannot perform a capability update. By indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to perform a capability update through the fourth message, errors caused by the network device not being able to recognize the first message sent by the terminal device can be avoided. If some parts of the network cannot recognize the first message sent by the terminal device, this default design can avoid unnecessary errors caused by the terminal device sending a message that the network device cannot recognize the terminal device.

[0237] Furthermore, before the terminal device receives the fourth message sent by the network device, the method further includes the terminal device sending a fifth message to the network device, where the fifth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first capability set update. The network device may send the fourth message only to terminal devices that support the first capability set update to reduce scheduling complexity.

[0238] Furthermore, before step S501, the method further includes: the network device sending an eighth message to the terminal device, wherein the eighth message is used to indicate a first capability set level and / or a first capability set type supported by the network device. The terminal device can learn the capabilities of the network device through the eighth message, thereby avoiding communication failure caused by a mismatch between the terminal device and the network device capabilities.

[0239] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine which capability to use for scheduling in a variety of ways, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For specific determination examples, please refer to the introduction in S401 above and will not be repeated here.

[0240] S502. The terminal device determines a first message, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set.

[0241] Specifically, the first message includes the capability level of the first capability set or the type of the first capability set.

[0242] For example, sequence A represents capability level 1, sequence B represents capability level 2, and sequence C represents capability level 3. Therefore, when the first message needs to notify the network device to use the first capability set to schedule the terminal device, the first message includes sequence C to represent the capability set corresponding to capability level 3.

[0243] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present application, the first message also includes one or more of the following information:

[0244] (1) The reason for needing to update to the first capability set.

[0245] For example, the terminal device needs to perform capability update due to power saving. For another example, the terminal device determines that it needs to perform capability update due to user's self-setting.

[0246] (2) The application start time of the first capability set.

[0247] (3) The application duration of the first capability set.

[0248] (4) Capability update sequence.

[0249] When the first message includes more than one capability level or first capability set type of the first capability set, the message further includes a first capability update sequence, which indicates the update sequence between the multiple capability levels or capability types, and the application duration of each capability level or capability type.

[0250] S503. The terminal device sends the first message to the network device.

[0251] Preferably, before the terminal device sends the first message to the network device, the terminal device has the ability to send the first message to the network device; and / or the interval duration between the terminal device continuously sending the first message to the network device is not less than a first threshold duration.

[0252] Among them, the terminal device can notify the network device of the first message in various ways, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For specific determination examples, please refer to the introduction in S403 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0253] S504. The network device receives the first message sent by the terminal device.

[0254] In one optional manner in the embodiment of the present application, after the network device receives the first message, it determines, based on the content of the first message, that the first message indicates a first capability set.

[0255] For example, if the first message includes an identifier of capability level 3, the network device may determine, based on a correspondence between capability levels and capability sets, that the capability set corresponding to capability level 3 is the first capability set.

[0256] S505: The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set.

[0257] In which, the network device has pre-stored configuration information of capabilities corresponding to corresponding capability levels or capability types, so that when the network device receives the first message and determines to use the first capability set to schedule the terminal device, the network device can determine the content of the first capability set based on the pre-stored capability configuration information, and further schedule the terminal device based on the first capability set.

[0258] Furthermore, the network device sends the first message of the terminal device to the access and mobility management element AMF. The AMF correspondingly updates the capability information of the terminal device to the first capability set or the second capability set indicated by the first message. In this way, when other network devices need to query the capabilities of the terminal device, they can directly obtain the capabilities of the terminal device from the AFM, thereby eliminating the need for the terminal device to report the capabilities of the terminal device through wireless communication, thereby reducing the redundancy of air interface transmission.

[0259] Furthermore, when the terminal device undergoes a handover, the network device sends the capability information indicated in the first message to the target cell. This eliminates the need for the target cell to report the terminal device's capabilities via wireless communication, reducing air interface transmission redundancy.

[0260] Furthermore, when the network device needs to schedule the terminal device, it schedules the terminal device according to the capability indicated by the first message.

[0261] That is to say, the resources scheduled by the network device for the terminal device do not exceed the range defined by the capabilities of the terminal device.

[0262] The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set. Specifically, the network device configures or reconfigures the wireless resource control (RRC) of the terminal device according to the capability information indicated by the first capability set, and the RRC reconfiguration does not exceed the capability indicated by the first capability set. The network device communicates with the terminal device according to the wireless resources indicated by the reconfiguration.

[0263] Preferably, in the embodiment of the present application, the specific execution content of the network device is different in combination with the different contents contained in the first message, and is not limited to the following situations.

[0264] Case 1: When the first message also includes the application duration of the capability level or capability type, after receiving the first message, the network device uses the first capability set corresponding to the capability level or capability type to schedule the terminal device, and after the application duration of the capability level or capability type ends, uses the second capability set to communicate with the network device.

[0265] Case 2: When the first message contains at least two capability levels or capability types, the application order and application duration of the at least two capability levels or capability types, the network device uses the first capability set determined by each capability level or capability type in turn according to the application order to schedule the corresponding application duration for the terminal device.

[0266] Scenario 3: The first message directly instructs the network device to fall back to the first capability set.

[0267] That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the first message may not carry other content, and the first message directly has an indicative function, used to instruct the network device to fall back to the first capability set (for example, the first capability set is the basic capability), so that the network device that receives the first message determines to use the first capability set to schedule the terminal device according to the first message.

[0268] like Figure 6 As shown, based on the third scenario, the specific steps for the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application to communicate with the network device are as follows:

[0269] S600: The terminal device accesses the network device and, when accessing the network device, sends the capabilities supported by the terminal device to the network device by reporting capability information.

[0270] For example, when the terminal device is registering with the network, if it determines that the capabilities currently supported by itself are the second capability set, the terminal device reports the capability information corresponding to the second capability set to the network device. The second capability set indicates which optional capabilities defined by the protocol are supported by the terminal device and / or which mandatory capabilities with capability signaling that need to be reported through signaling are supported by the terminal device. It can be understood that the second capability set is the capability used by the network device to schedule the terminal device before receiving the first message.

[0271] Among them, the way in which the terminal device determines its own capability information and the situation of triggering capability information reporting are the same as the above S400. For the sake of concise description, please refer to the introduction of the above S400 and will not be repeated here.

[0272] S601: The terminal device determines to return to the first capability set.

[0273] Exemplarily, when the terminal device receives a user-triggered instruction indicating the need to save power; or when the power level of the terminal device is lower than a certain value, such as the power level of the terminal device is lower than 20%, the terminal device determines to perform energy-saving operations, that is, it needs to return to basic capabilities.

[0274] Furthermore, before step S601, the method further includes: the network device sending an eighth message to the terminal device, wherein the eighth message is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal device to fall back to basic capabilities. The terminal device can learn the capabilities of the network device through the eighth message, thereby avoiding communication failures caused by a mismatch between the terminal device and the network device capabilities.

[0275] S602. The terminal device generates a first message, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to roll back to the first capability set (for example, indicating that the network device needs to roll back the current second capability set to the basic capability).

[0276] Among them, in an optional manner in an embodiment of the present application, the first message indicates that the terminal device does not support all capabilities defined as optional in the second capability set; and / or the first message indicates that the terminal device does not support all capabilities other than the mandatory capabilities with capability signaling in the second capability set.

[0277] In another optional manner in the embodiment of the present application, the first message instructs the network device to schedule the terminal device using basic capabilities.

[0278] The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set. Specifically, the network device configures or reconfigures the wireless resource control (RRC) of the terminal device according to the capability information indicated by the first capability set, and the RRC reconfiguration does not exceed the capability indicated by the first capability set. The network device communicates with the terminal device according to the wireless resources indicated by the reconfiguration.

[0279] Furthermore, after S600 and before S602, the process also includes: the terminal device receiving a fourth message sent by the network device.

[0280] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple indication contents of the fourth information, which are not limited to the following ones.

[0281] Indication content 1: The fourth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to send the first message.

[0282] Indication content 2: The capability configuration information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to update its capabilities.

[0283] Indication content 3: The fourth message is used to indicate whether the terminal device is allowed to fall back to basic capabilities.

[0284] By sending the fourth message, the network device and the terminal device can reach a consensus on the scope of capability information update, thereby avoiding scheduling errors caused by inconsistency.

[0285] By default, if the network device does not send the fourth message, the terminal device cannot fall back to the basic capability.

[0286] By indicating whether the terminal device is allowed to perform a capability update through the fourth message, errors caused by the network device being unable to recognize the first message sent by the terminal device can be avoided. If part of the network cannot recognize the first message sent by the terminal device, this default design can avoid unnecessary errors caused by the terminal device sending a message that the network device cannot recognize the terminal device.

[0287] Furthermore, before the terminal device receives the fourth message sent by the network device, the terminal device sends a fifth message.

[0288] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple indication contents of the fifth information, which are not limited to the following ones.

[0289] Indication content 1: used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first capability set.

[0290] Indication content 2: used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first capability set update.

[0291] Indication content 3: used to indicate whether the terminal device supports updating from the second capability to the basic capability.

[0292] S603. The terminal device sends the first message to the network device.

[0293] S604. The network device receives the first message sent by the terminal device.

[0294] S605: The network device determines, based on the first message, to use the first capability set to schedule the terminal device.

[0295] Among them, an optional method in the embodiment of the present application is that if the network device has stored the configuration information of the basic capabilities in advance, after receiving the first message, the network device directly determines the basic capabilities according to the configuration of the basic capabilities, and uses the basic capabilities to schedule the terminal device.

[0296] Another optional method in the embodiment of the present application is that since the configuration information of the second capability set is stored in the network device, after the network device receives the first message, all optional capabilities supported in the first capability and / or all capabilities other than mandatory capabilities with capability signaling are changed to unsupported, thereby determining the configuration of the basic capability and using the basic capability to schedule the terminal device.

[0297] Furthermore, the network device sends the first message to AMF.

[0298] That is to say, the resources scheduled by the network device to the terminal device do not exceed the basic capabilities of the terminal device.

[0299] Furthermore, the network device retains the normal capability configuration of the terminal device, that is, the network device retains the capability of the terminal device before receiving the first message.

[0300] In addition, in an optional manner of an embodiment of the present application, when the network device determines that the terminal device is switched, the network device sends a second message to the target network device to which the terminal device is to be switched.

[0301] The second message includes one or more of the initial capabilities of the terminal device negotiated with the network device when performing network registration, the current capabilities of the terminal device, and the basic capabilities of the terminal device for resource scheduling with the network device.

[0302] Furthermore, the network device may configure the terminal device to return to normal capabilities.

[0303] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple situations that trigger the network device to configure the terminal device to return to normal capabilities, which are not limited to the following:

[0304] Triggering situation 1:

[0305] The network device receives a seventh message sent by the terminal device, where the seventh message is used to instruct the network device to update the capability of the terminal device to a normal capability, wherein the network device stores capability information included in the normal capability.

[0306] Triggering situation 2:

[0307] After the time duration after the network device updates the capability of the terminal device to the basic capability reaches a threshold time duration, the network device restores the capability of the terminal device to the normal capability.

[0308] Triggering situation 3:

[0309] The network device restores the capability of the terminal device to normal capability according to the resource situation of the service transmission application.

[0310] Scenario 4: The network device proactively updates the capability set used to schedule the terminal device and notifies the terminal device through the sixth information.

[0311] like Figure 7 As shown, based on the fourth scenario, the specific steps for the terminal device and the network device in the embodiment of the present application to communicate are as follows:

[0312] S700: The terminal device accesses the network device and, when accessing the network device, sends capabilities supported by the terminal device to the network device by reporting capability information.

[0313] For example, when the terminal device is registering with the network, if it determines that the capabilities currently supported by the terminal device are the second capability set, the terminal device reports the capability information corresponding to the second capability set to the network device. The second capability set indicates which optional capabilities defined by the protocol are supported by the terminal device and / or which mandatory capabilities with capability signaling that need to be reported through signaling are supported by the terminal device.

[0314] Furthermore, the present invention defines a first capability set, where the first capability set is a portion of the capabilities in the second capability set that are not supported by the terminal device. For example, the first capability set is determined by removing at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling from the second capability set. It can be understood that the first capability set is a lower capability than the second capability set.

[0315] Furthermore, in an optional manner in an embodiment of the present application, the first capability set is a basic capability, that is, the terminal device only supports the capabilities that must be supported by this type of terminal device defined by all protocols or has no mandatory capabilities for capability reporting signaling.

[0316] Among them, the way in which the terminal device determines its own capability information and the situation of triggering capability information reporting are the same as the above S400. For the sake of concise description, please refer to the introduction of the above S400 and will not be repeated here.

[0317] S701: The network device determines that the terminal device is updated to a first capability set.

[0318] In an optional embodiment, the network device determines to update the terminal device to the first capability set based on the auxiliary information reported by the terminal device. For example, if the terminal device reports that the terminal device is in an overheating state, the network device determines to update the terminal device to the first capability set.

[0319] In an optional embodiment, the network device determines, based on the service of the terminal device, that the capabilities of the terminal device to be scheduled need to be updated to a first capability set. For example, if the terminal device has only a small number of data packets to transmit, the network device determines to update the terminal device to the first capability set to save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0320] In an optional embodiment, the network device determines that the terminal device is updated to the first capability set according to a state of the network device. For example, if the network device is busy, the network device determines to schedule the terminal device to update its capability to the first capability set.

[0321] Furthermore, before step S701, the method further includes: the network device receiving a second message sent by the terminal device to the network device, wherein the second message is used to indicate one or more first capability set levels supported by the terminal device. In one implementation method, the second message is used to indicate that the first capability set level supported by the terminal device is basic capability.

[0322] Furthermore, before step S701, the method further includes: the network device receiving a third message sent by the terminal device to the network device, where the third message is used to indicate one or more first capability set types supported by the terminal device.

[0323] Furthermore, before step S701, it also includes that the network device receives a fifth message sent by the terminal device to the network device, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first capability set, or is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the update of the first capability set, or is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the update from the second capability to the basic capability.

[0324] S702: The network device generates sixth information, where the sixth message is used to instruct the terminal device to adopt a first capability set.

[0325] The sixth information is used to instruct the network device to schedule the terminal device using the first capability set.

[0326] Furthermore, the sixth message in the embodiment of the present application also includes one or more of the following information:

[0327] (1) When the first capability set has multiple levels or types, the sixth message indicates the level or type of the first capability set. When the first capability set is a basic capability, the sixth message indicates the basic capability set of the first capability set.

[0328] (2) The reason for needing to update to the first capability set.

[0329] For example, the terminal device needs to perform capability update due to power saving. For another example, the terminal device determines that it needs to perform capability update due to user's self-setting.

[0330] (3) The application start time of the first capability set.

[0331] (4) The application duration of the first capability set.

[0332] (5) Capability update sequence.

[0333] (6) At least one capability identifier. The at least one identifier is used to indicate capabilities included in the second capability set but not included in the first capability set. That is, the terminal device may determine the first capability set based on the at least one identifier included in the sixth message and the second capability set.

[0334] S703. The network device sends the sixth message to the terminal device.

[0335] S704. The terminal device receives the sixth message.

[0336] After receiving the sixth message, the terminal device determines that the network device is scheduled according to the first capability set indicated by the sixth message.

[0337] In one optional embodiment, the terminal device performs corresponding software and hardware configuration according to the first capability set indicated by the sixth message to support or not support the first capability set indicated by the sixth message.

[0338] Among them, preferably, if the terminal device determines that it supports the first capability set indicated by the network device through the first message, it can feedback to the network device that it supports the first capability set; if the terminal device determines that it does not support the first capability set indicated by the network device through the first message, it can feedback to the network device that it does not support the first capability set.

[0339] S705: The network device schedules the terminal device using the first capability set.

[0340] Among them, an optional method in the embodiment of the present application is that when the first capability set is the basic capability, because the network device stores the configuration information of the second capability set, when the network device determines to use the first capability set to schedule the terminal device, all optional capabilities supported in the second capability set will be changed to unsupported, thereby determining the configuration of the basic capability and using the basic capability to schedule the terminal device.

[0341] Furthermore, the network device sends the first message to AMF.

[0342] That is to say, the resources scheduled by the network device to the terminal device do not exceed the basic capabilities of the terminal device.

[0343] Furthermore, the network device retains the normal capability configuration of the terminal device, that is, the network device retains the received second capability set of the terminal device.

[0344] In addition, in an optional manner of an embodiment of the present application, when the network device determines that the terminal device is switched, the network device sends a second message to the target network device to which the terminal device is to be switched.

[0345] The second message includes one or more of the initial capabilities of the terminal device negotiated with the network device when performing network registration, the current capabilities of the terminal device, and the basic capabilities of the terminal device for resource scheduling with the network device.

[0346] Furthermore, the network device may configure the terminal device to return to normal capabilities.

[0347] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple situations that trigger the network device to configure the terminal device to return to normal capabilities, which are not limited to the following:

[0348] In the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple situations that trigger the network device to configure the terminal device to return to normal capabilities, which are not limited to the following:

[0349] Trigger situation 1:

[0350] The network device receives a seventh message sent by the terminal device, where the seventh message is used to instruct the network device to update the capability of the terminal device to a normal capability, wherein the network device stores capability information included in the normal capability.

[0351] Triggering situation 2:

[0352] After the time duration after the network device updates the capability of the terminal device to the basic capability reaches a threshold time duration, the network device restores the capability of the terminal device to the normal capability.

[0353] Triggering situation 3:

[0354] The network device restores the terminal device's capabilities to normal capabilities based on the resource conditions of the service transmission application.

[0355] The network device determines, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to the first capability set. Specifically, the network device configures or reconfigures the wireless resource control (RRC) of the terminal device according to the capability information indicated by the first capability set, and the RRC reconfiguration does not exceed the capability indicated by the first capability set. The network device communicates with the terminal device according to the wireless resources indicated by the reconfiguration.

[0356] Through the above introduction to the scheme of the present application, it can be understood that, in order to realize the above functions, each of the above devices includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easy for those skilled in the art to realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present invention can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0357] Based on the above embodiments, Figure 8 As shown, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor 800, a memory 801 and a communication interface 802.

[0358] The processor 800 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 801 can store data used by the processor 800 when performing operations. The transceiver communication interface 802 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 800 to perform data communication with the memory 801.

[0359] The processor 800 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 800 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. The memory 801 may include various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0360] The processor 800, the memory 801, and the communication interface 802 are interconnected. Optionally, the processor 800, the memory 801, and the communication interface 802 can be interconnected via a bus 803; the bus 803 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 8 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0361] Specifically, when the communication device is a terminal device, the processor 800 is used to read the program in the memory 801 and execute the following Figure 3 The method flow shown in S300-S303 is executed by the terminal device; or Figure 4 The method flow shown in S400-S405 of the terminal device is executed; or the method flow shown in Figure 5 The method flow shown in S500-S505 of the terminal device is executed; or the method flow shown in Figure 6 The terminal device executes the method flow in S600-S605 shown in FIG. 1 ; or executes the method flow in FIG. 1 . Figure 7 The method flow executed by the terminal device in S700-S705 is shown.

[0362] When the communication device is a network device, the processor 800 is used to read the program in the memory 801 and execute the following Figure 3 The method flow executed by the network device in S300-S303 shown; or Figure 4 The method flow shown in S400-S405 executed by the network device; or Figure 5 The method flow shown in S500-S505 executed by the network device; or Figure 6 The method flow shown in S600-S605 of the network device is executed; or the method flow shown in Figure 7 The method flow shown is executed by the network device in S700-S705.

[0363] like Figure 9 As shown, the present invention provides a communication device, which includes a processing unit 900 and a communication unit 901;

[0364] When the apparatus is a terminal device, in an optional manner, the processing unit 900 and the communication unit 901 are configured to perform the following:

[0365] The processing unit 900 is configured to determine whether a capability set needs to be updated to a first capability set;

[0366] The communication unit 901 is used to send a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in the second capability set, and where the second capability set is the capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0367] When the apparatus is a network device, in an optional manner, the processing unit 900 and the communication unit 901 are configured to perform the following:

[0368] The communication unit 901 is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device;

[0369] The processing unit 900 is used to determine, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, and the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device.

[0370] It should be noted that the communication unit 901 may include different communication units corresponding to different communication interfaces.

[0371] Among them, the device in the above embodiment can be a terminal device, or it can be a chip used in the terminal device or other combined devices, components, etc. that can realize the functions of the above terminal device. When the device is a terminal device, the transceiver can be a transmitter and a receiver, or an integrated transceiver, which can include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc., and the processing unit can be a processor, such as a baseband chip, etc. When the device is a component with the functions of the above terminal device, the transceiver can be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module can be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver unit can be the input and output interface of the chip system, and the processing unit can be the processor of the chip system, such as a central processing unit (CPU).

[0372] For a detailed description of the functions or operations performed by the terminal device provided in this application, please refer to the steps performed by the terminal device in the method embodiment of this application, which will not be repeated here.

[0373] For a detailed description of the functions or operations performed by the network device provided in this application, please refer to the steps performed by the network device in the embodiment of the method of this application, which will not be repeated here.

[0374] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal device, which can be the scheduling terminal device and / or the sending terminal device, such as Figure 10 As shown, the terminal 1000 includes components such as a radio frequency (RF) circuit 1010, a power supply 1020, a processor 1030, a memory 1040, an input unit 1050, a display unit 1060, a camera 1070, a communication interface 1080, and a wireless fidelity (WiFi) module 1090. Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 10 The structure of the terminal shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal provided in the embodiment of the present application may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0375] The following combination Figure 10 The components of the terminal 1000 are described in detail below:

[0376] The RF circuit 1010 can be used to receive and transmit data during communications or calls. Specifically, after receiving downlink data from the base station, the RF circuit 1010 sends it to the processor 1030 for processing. Furthermore, the RF circuit 1010 sends pending uplink data to the base station. Typically, the RF circuit 1010 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a duplexer, and the like.

[0377] In addition, the RF circuit 1010 can also communicate with the network and other terminals via wireless communications. The wireless communications can use any communication standard or protocol, including but not limited to Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), email, Short Messaging Service (SMS), etc.

[0378] WiFi technology is a short-range wireless transmission technology. The terminal 1000 can access a data network by connecting to an access point (AP) via the WiFi module 1090. The WiFi module 1090 can be used to receive and send data during the communication process.

[0379] The terminal 1000 can be physically connected to other terminals via the communication interface 1080. Optionally, the communication interface 1080 is connected to the communication interface of the other terminal via a cable to achieve data transmission between the terminal 1000 and the other terminal.

[0380] The terminal 1000 can realize communication services and send information messages to other contacts, so the terminal 1000 needs to have a data transmission function, that is, the terminal 1000 needs to include a communication module. Figure 10 Communication modules such as the RF circuit 1010, the WiFi module 1090, and the communication interface 1080 are shown, but it is understandable that at least one of the above components or other communication modules (such as a Bluetooth module) for implementing communication exist in the terminal 1000 to perform data transmission.

[0381] The memory 1040 may be used to store software programs and modules. The processor 1030 executes the software programs and modules stored in the memory 1040 to perform various functional applications and data processing of the terminal 1000. When the processor 1030 executes the program code in the memory 1040, part or all of the processes in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

[0382] Optionally, the memory 1040 may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system, various application programs (such as communication applications), and a face recognition module, etc.; the data storage area may store data created based on the use of the terminal (such as various multimedia files such as pictures and video files, and face message templates).

[0383] In addition, the memory 1040 may include a high-speed random access memory and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage device.

[0384] The input unit 1050 may be configured to receive numbers or characters input by a user, and generate key signal inputs related to user settings and function control of the terminal 1000 .

[0385] Optionally, the input unit 1050 may include a touch panel 1051 and other input terminals 1052 .

[0386] The processor 1030 is the control center of the terminal 1000. It uses various interfaces and lines to connect various components, and executes various functions and processes data of the terminal 1000 by running or executing software programs and / or modules stored in the memory 1040, and calling data stored in the memory 1040, thereby realizing various services based on the terminal.

[0387] Optionally, the processor 1030 may include one or more processing units. Optionally, the processor 1030 may integrate an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor primarily processes the operating system, user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor primarily processes wireless communications. It is understood that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1030.

[0388] The camera 1070 is used to implement the shooting function of the terminal 1000 and take pictures or videos.

[0389] The terminal 1000 further includes a power supply 1020 (such as a battery) for supplying power to various components.

[0390] Although not shown, the terminal 1000 may further include at least one sensor, an audio circuit, etc., which will not be described in detail here.

[0391] The memory 1040 may store the same program code as the storage unit 1001 . When the program code is executed by the processor 1030 , the processor 1030 implements all functions of the terminal 1000 .

[0392] In some possible implementations, various aspects of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes program code. When the program code is run on a computer device, the program code is used to enable the computer device to execute the steps of the communication method according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in this specification.

[0393] The program product may be any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination thereof. Examples of readable storage media in one implementation of the present application (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0394] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a program product for terminal device capability negotiation can be implemented in a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and can be run on a server device. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto. In this document, a readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with a message transmission, device, or component.

[0395] A readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium that can transmit, propagate, or transfer a program for use by or in conjunction with a periodic network action system, apparatus, or device.

[0396] Program code embodied on a readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0397] The program code for performing the operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages such as Java, C++, and the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device.

[0398] The present invention also provides a computing device-readable storage medium for communication methods, wherein the content is not lost after a power outage. The storage medium stores a software program, including program code. When the program code is executed on a computing device, the software program, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement any of the communication methods described in the present invention.

[0399] The present application is described above with reference to block diagrams and / or flow charts illustrating methods, apparatus (systems) and / or computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that a block of a block diagram and / or flow chart, as well as a combination of blocks of a block diagram and / or flow chart, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer and / or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine such that instructions executed by the computer processor and / or other programmable data processing device create a method for implementing the functions / actions specified in the block diagram and / or flow chart block.

[0400] Accordingly, the present application may also be implemented using hardware and / or software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.). Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system. In the context of the present application, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, transmit, or convey a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0401] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determining that the first capability set needs to be updated; Sending a first message to a network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, where the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device; the first message indicates a level of the first capability set, where the level of the first capability set is basic capabilities; Before determining that the capability set needs to be updated to the first capability set, the method further includes: When communicating with the network device, determining that a service condition of the terminal device or user configuration information of the terminal device has changed; Among them, when the terminal device is switched, the first capability set of the terminal device after being updated is sent to the target cell after the terminal device is switched through the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining that the service status of the terminal device or the user configuration information of the terminal device has changed includes: The terminal device determines to return to the first capability set.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The size of the first message is 1 bit.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: a reason for updating to the first capability set, an application start time of the first capability set, and an application duration of the first capability set.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a first message from a terminal device; Determining, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, where the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device; the first message indicates a level of the first capability set, where the level of the first capability set is basic capabilities; The first message is sent by the terminal device after determining that the service status of the terminal device or the user configuration information of the terminal device has changed when the terminal device communicates with the network device; The method further comprises: When it is determined that the terminal device is switched, the first capability set of the terminal device after being updated is sent to the target cell after the terminal device is switched.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The size of the first message is 1 bit.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: a reason for updating to the first capability set, an application start time of the first capability set, and an application duration of the first capability set.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processing unit and communication unit; The processing unit is configured to determine that an update to a first capability set is required; The communication unit is configured to send a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to indicate that the terminal device needs to be updated to the first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, where the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device; the first message indicates a level of the first capability set, where the level of the first capability set is basic capabilities; Before determining that the capability set needs to be updated, the processing unit is further configured to: When communicating with the network device, determining that a service condition of the terminal device or user configuration information of the terminal device has changed; Among them, when the terminal device is switched, the first capability set of the terminal device after being updated is sent to the target cell after the terminal device is switched through the network device.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically configured to: Determine to return to the first capability set.

16. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

17. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The size of the first message is 1 bit.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

20. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: a reason for updating to the first capability set, an application start time of the first capability set, and an application duration of the first capability set.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processing unit and communication unit; The communication unit is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device; The processing unit is configured to determine, based on the first message, to schedule the terminal device according to a first capability set, where the first capability set includes some capabilities in a second capability set, where the second capability set is a capability set negotiated between the terminal device and the network device when the terminal device initially accesses the network device; the first message indicates a level of the first capability set, where the level of the first capability set is basic capabilities; The first message is sent by the terminal device after determining that the service status of the terminal device or the user configuration information of the terminal device has changed when the terminal device communicates with the network device; The processing unit is further configured to: When it is determined that the terminal device is switched, the first capability set of the terminal device after being updated is sent to the target cell after the terminal device is switched.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The first capability set is the capabilities in the second capability set excluding at least one optional capability and / or at least one mandatory capability with capability signaling.

23. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The first capability set is mandatory capabilities in the second capability set without capability signaling.

24. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The size of the first message is 1 bit.

25. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The first message includes at least one identifier, where the at least one identifier is used to indicate a capability included in the second capability set and not included in the first capability set.

26. The device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The first message is further used to indicate at least one of the following items: a reason for updating to the first capability set, an application start time of the first capability set, and an application duration of the first capability set.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor, communication interface, and memory; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 through the communication interface by calling the program instructions stored in the memory; or execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

28. A communication system, characterized in that: include: Network equipment and terminal equipment; The terminal device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; The network device is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that comprising computer instructions, which, when executed on a terminal device, cause the terminal device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; When the computer instructions are executed on a network device, the network device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed by a terminal device, the terminal device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; when the computer instructions are executed by a network device, the network device executes the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

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