A Paging Method and Satellite Communication System in Satellite Communication Scenario

Abstract

The present application provides a paging method and a satellite communication system in a satellite communication scenario, which are used to take into account the paging cost and location management cost of a user terminal in a satellite communication scenario. The method includes: a first gateway station receives a paging request, and the paging request carries the terminal ID of a second user terminal; the first gateway station searches for a second gateway station to which the terminal ID belongs, and sends the paging request to the second gateway station, wherein the second gateway station is the gateway station registered by the second user terminal when registering for network access; the second gateway station queries the target location area where the second user terminal is currently located in the local HLR; the second gateway station sends the paging request to a third gateway station responsible for the target location area; the third gateway station queries the target cell where the second terminal is currently located in the local VLR, and the target location area includes different cells; the third gateway station determines the target satellite whose satellite signal covers the target cell, and sends the paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a paging method and a satellite communication system in a satellite communication scenario. Background Art

[0002] Low-orbit satellites are currently a hot topic of research at home and abroad due to their advantages such as low transmission delay, small terminal size, and strong anti-destruction capability. The altitude of low-orbit satellites is generally between 500km and 1500km. The relative movement speed between the satellite and the user terminal is relatively fast, resulting in a single satellite covering the terminal for less than 10 minutes. Therefore, how to perform efficient terminal location management is one of the core issues in low-orbit satellite communication systems.

[0003] The purpose of location management is to enable the gateway to know the location of the user terminal at all times so that paging can reach the user terminal. Therefore, the location of the user terminal needs to be updated, and the triggering mechanism of location update determines the frequency of location update and the corresponding signaling overhead.

[0004] At present, satellite systems generally use a regional division mechanism to determine whether a terminal updates its location. When a terminal crosses a region, it needs to update its location. However, how to perform reasonable regional division to minimize the overhead of terminal location updates and paging is the primary issue in location management research in low-orbit satellite systems.

[0005] In the process of studying the existing related technologies, the inventors found that in the existing location area division strategies, the area division method based on satellite coverage and the area division method based on gateway coverage are mainly used. The area division method based on satellite coverage is to report the current access satellite to the gateway in real time after the user terminal switches the satellite. Although this method can ensure that the paging overhead is small, the frequent switching of satellites by the user terminal will lead to excessive location management overhead; the area division method based on gateway coverage is to use the nearby area managed by the gateway as a location area. The user terminal does not need to report its own location when moving in this location area. Only when entering the coverage area of ​​another gateway does it need to update the location. Although this method has a small signaling overhead for location management, the paging overhead will be very high due to the large management area of ​​the gateway. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides a paging method and a satellite communication system in a satellite communication scenario, which are used to take into account the paging cost and location management cost of a user terminal in a satellite communication scenario, thereby having better practical value.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a paging method in a satellite communication scenario, the method comprising:

[0008] The first gateway receives a paging request initiated by a first user terminal in a location area that the first gateway is responsible for, wherein the paging request is used to request paging to a second user terminal, and the paging request carries a terminal identification (ID) of the second user terminal;

[0009] The first gateway searches for a second gateway to which the terminal ID belongs, and sends a paging request to the second gateway, wherein the second gateway is the gateway where the second user terminal is registered when registering for network access;

[0010] The second gateway queries the target location area where the second user terminal is currently located in a local Home Location Register (HLR), wherein the HLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway when registering for network access, and the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway when registering for network access is represented by the current location area;

[0011] The second gateway sends the paging request to a third gateway responsible for the target location area;

[0012] The third gateway queries the target cell where the second terminal is currently located in a local visitor location register (VLR), wherein the VLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for is represented by a specific cell divided in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the target location area includes different cells;

[0013] The third gateway determines a target satellite whose satellite signal covers the target cell, and sends a paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect of the present application, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, the method further includes:

[0015] When the second user terminal moves from the first cell to the second cell in the target location area, the VLR stores the information of the second user terminal in the second cell.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect of the present application, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, the method further includes:

[0017] When the second user terminal moves from the other location area to the third cell in the target location area, the VLR stores the information of the second user terminal in the second cell;

[0018] The VLR instructs the gateway responsible for other location areas to delete the location of the second user terminal stored in the local VLR through the HLR.

[0019] In combination with the first or second possible implementation method of the first aspect of the present application, in the third possible implementation method of the first aspect of the present application, the movement change of the second user terminal is obtained by the second user terminal by comparing the positioning information collected by itself with the preset cell location information, and initiating corresponding location update processing.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect of the present application, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, the third gateway determines a target satellite whose satellite signal covers a target cell, and sends a paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite, including:

[0021] When the third gateway determines that there are multiple satellites whose satellite signals cover the cell, the paging request is sent to the second user terminal through at least one of the multiple satellites.

[0022] In combination with the fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, when the third gateway determines that there are multiple satellites in the satellite signal coverage cell, sending a paging request to the second user terminal through at least one satellite of the multiple satellites includes:

[0023] The third gateway determines the satellite that has the best signal strength among the multiple satellites;

[0024] The third gateway sends the paging request to the second user terminal via a satellite that obtains the best signal strength among the multiple satellites.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect of the present application, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, the method further includes:

[0026] The surface area is divided into different location areas according to the distribution of different gateways;

[0027] In different location areas, different cells are divided according to the corresponding satellite single beam width.

[0028] In combination with the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application, in the seventh possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application, the division of different cells is carried out under a constraint strategy to ensure that the number of satellites covering the cell does not exceed 3.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication system, the system comprising multiple gateways and satellites, for executing the method provided in the first aspect of the present application or any possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application.

[0030] In a third aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores multiple instructions, and the instructions are suitable for a processor to load to execute the method provided by the first aspect of the present application or any possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application.

[0031] From the above content, it can be concluded that the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] In the satellite communication scenario, for the regional division strategy based on the gateway, the present application further subdivides the location area that the gateway is responsible for to obtain multiple cells. In this way, when performing paging, not only can accurate satellite allocation with cell-level granularity in the location area be obtained, which significantly reduces the communication cost requirements involved, but also, under this paging mechanism, the location management of user terminals is more convenient. In the location area, only the cell where the user terminal is located needs to be updated, and there is no need to involve location updates across location areas, which reflects a low-frequency, low-cost location management effect, taking into account the paging cost and location management cost of the user terminal, and thus has better practical value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a paging method in a satellite communication scenario of the present application;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a scenario in the location area of ​​this application

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a scenario for paging processing of this application

[0037] Figure 4 A partial signaling flow chart of the paging process of this application;

[0038] Figure 5 A partial signaling flow chart for location mobility management of this application;

[0039] Figure 6 Another partial signaling flow chart for location mobility management of this application

[0040] Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram of a paging process for this application;

[0041] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of the processing equipment of this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments described here can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described here. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or modules clearly listed, but may include other steps or modules that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The naming or numbering of steps in this application does not mean that the steps in the method flow must be executed in the time / logical sequence indicated by the naming or numbering. The process steps that have been named or numbered can change the execution order according to the technical purpose to be achieved, as long as the same or similar technical effects can be achieved.

[0044] The division of modules in this application is a logical division. There may be other division methods when it is implemented in actual applications. For example, multiple modules can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between modules can be electrical or other similar forms, which are not limited in this application. In addition, the modules or submodules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, may or may not be physical modules, or may be distributed in multiple circuit modules, and some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present application.

[0045] Before introducing the paging method in a satellite communication scenario provided by the present application, the background content involved in the present application is first introduced.

[0046] The paging method, device and computer-readable storage medium in a satellite communication scenario provided in the present application can be applied to a satellite communication system to take into account the paging cost and location management cost of the user terminal in a satellite communication scenario, thereby having better practical value.

[0047] The paging method in the satellite communication scenario mentioned in this application can be performed by a paging device in the satellite communication scenario, or a communication device that integrates the paging device in the satellite communication scenario to form a corresponding satellite communication system. The paging device in the satellite communication scenario can be implemented in hardware or software; the user equipment (UE) in the satellite communication system can be a terminal device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA); the gateway station in the satellite communication system can be understood as the ground master station in the satellite communication system, which plays a role in data exchange in the main satellite communication services, and can also be responsible for other tasks, such as status monitoring, fault query, etc.

[0048] It should be understood that for the gateways and user equipment involved in the satellite communication system of the present application, no specific changes or adjustments are required in the equipment structure compared to the existing solutions. Only adjustments are required in the functional services, that is, adjustments to the location management of user terminals and related contents involved in paging processing in the system. Therefore, the present application does not make specific descriptions and limitations on the hardware.

[0049] Next, the paging method in the satellite communication scenario provided by the present application is introduced.

[0050] First, see Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic flow chart of a paging method in a satellite communication scenario of the present application is shown. The paging method in a satellite communication scenario provided by the present application may specifically include the following steps S101 to S106:

[0051] Step S101: A first gateway receives a paging request initiated by a first user terminal in a location area that it is responsible for, wherein the paging request is used to request paging to a second user terminal, and the paging request carries a terminal ID of the second user terminal.

[0052] It is understandable that a satellite communication process begins with a user terminal initiating a paging call, and before the calling terminal establishes a communication connection with the called terminal and conducts a satellite call, a paging process may be involved.

[0053] The paging process can be understood as forwarding the call request of the satellite caller to the called party. After confirmation by both parties, a communication connection between the two parties can be established, and the satellite call can be carried out subsequently.

[0054] For the calling party, this application is recorded as a first user terminal, which can also be called a paging terminal, and for the called party, this application is recorded as a second user terminal, which can also be called a paged terminal.

[0055] When the first user terminal initiates a paging request, the gateway in the location area where the terminal is located can receive the paging request. It can be understood that the gateway that is the first to receive the paging request is recorded as the first gateway in this application. The first gateway is preset with a responsible location area (Local Area, LA). In the system, through a preset response strategy, the gateway handles the paging request initiated by the user terminal in the responsible location area.

[0056] The preset field of the paging request may carry the terminal ID of the first user terminal as the calling party, so that the system can identify the specific terminal as the initiator of this call. In addition, the terminal ID of the second user terminal as the called party may also be carried, so that the system can identify the specific terminal as the called party, and then the paging request can be forwarded to the second user terminal.

[0057] Therefore, in order to further process this paging request, after receiving the paging request, the first gateway needs to extract the terminal ID of the second user terminal targeted by this call processing from the request, so as to forward the request to the second user terminal according to the identification function of the terminal ID.

[0058] In addition, in practical applications, a gateway station can also be called an agent. Generally speaking, a gateway station is an agent for the functional services within the location area it is responsible for.

[0059] Step S102, the first gateway searches for a second gateway to which the terminal ID belongs, and sends a paging request to the second gateway, wherein the second gateway is the gateway where the second user terminal is registered when registering to the network;

[0060] It can be understood that in the satellite communication system, for the gateway station, when it is responsible for registering the user terminal in the location area to which it belongs, it can record its terminal ID, thereby completing the binding between the user terminal and its hometown gateway station. Each user terminal entering the network has its own hometown gateway station, and the hometown gateway station will not be adjusted in subsequent satellite calls and position movements.

[0061] Therefore, after obtaining the terminal ID of the second user terminal carried in the paging request, the first gateway can find the home gateway that has a binding relationship with the second user terminal from the binding relationship set, which is recorded as the second gateway in this application.

[0062] The binding relationship set is generally synchronized between gateways.

[0063] Alternatively, the terminal ID of the user terminal may be generated and allocated when the user terminal registers for the network, and may directly identify the hometown gateway to which it belongs, that is, the terminal ID already includes an identifier indicating the corresponding hometown gateway.

[0064] After determining the home gateway to which the second user terminal belongs, that is, the second gateway, the paging request may be forwarded to the second gateway, and the second gateway performs subsequent paging request processing so as to forward the request to the second user terminal.

[0065] Step S103, the second gateway queries the local HLR for the target location area where the second user terminal is currently located, wherein the HLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal registered at the local gateway when registering for network access, and the location of the user terminal registered at the local gateway when registering for network access is represented by the current location area;

[0066] On the gateway side, it can be configured with an HLR, which is specifically used to store the locations of user terminals registered under this gateway. The locations of user terminals stored in the HLR present a dynamic update mechanism, which continuously records the changes between different locations of user terminals in the entire satellite communication system.

[0067] Therefore, through the HLR, the second gateway can query the current location of the second user terminal in the entire satellite communication system.

[0068] When recording the location of the user terminal in the entire satellite communication system, the HLR indicates the location area where the user terminal is located. In this way, the location area where the second terminal is currently located and its gateway station can be located.

[0069] Step S104, the second gateway sends the paging request to a third gateway responsible for the target location area;

[0070] At this time, after determining the target location area where the second terminal is located, the paging request can be forwarded to the gateway station of the target location area, which is recorded as the third gateway station in this application. In this way, the paging request is one step closer to the second terminal.

[0071] Step S105: The third gateway queries the local VLR for the target cell where the second terminal is currently located, wherein the VLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for is represented by a specific cell divided in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the target location area includes different cells;

[0072] The third gateway is the last gateway involved in the entire paging process. In the location area that the third gateway is responsible for, the location management mechanism of the present application is introduced, that is, the location area that the third gateway is responsible for is further divided into different cells. In the location management process of the user terminal, the specific cell of the user terminal in the location area can be recorded to achieve a smaller location management granularity.

[0073] For details, please refer to Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a scenario of the location area of ​​the present application is shown in Figure 2 It can be seen that the first location area (LA1) is divided into three cells, C1, C2, and C3, and the second location area (LA2) is also divided into three cells, C1, C2, and C3. Of course, in actual applications, how to divide the cells is not only related to the range of the location area where each cell is located, but also related to the range of the cell itself. The specific division strategy can be adjusted according to actual needs and is not specifically limited here.

[0074] On the gateway side, it can be configured with a VLR, which is specifically used to store the locations of user terminals registered in the local location area. The locations of user terminals stored in the VLR also present a dynamic update mechanism, which continuously records the changes of user terminals between different cells in this location area.

[0075] Therefore, after receiving the paging request forwarded by the second gateway, the third gateway can query the current cell where the second user terminal is located in the local location area through the VLR.

[0076] Step S106: The third gateway determines a target satellite whose satellite signal covers the target cell, and sends a paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite.

[0077] After determining the specific cell where the second terminal is located, that is, the target cell, the third gateway can determine and forward the final paging request to the second user terminal through the access satellite that covers the cell, that is, the target satellite, through satellite signals.

[0078] At this time, after receiving the paging request initiated by the first user terminal, the second user terminal can confirm the paging request, so that a satellite communication connection with the first user terminal can be established, and a satellite session can be carried out.

[0079] For details, please refer to the above paging process. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a scenario of paging processing of the present application is shown and Figure 4 A partial signaling flow chart of the paging process of the present application is shown for understanding.

[0080] from Figure 4 It can also be seen that during the paging process, the help of the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) in the satellite communication system may also be involved.

[0081] from Figure 1 It can be seen from the illustrated embodiments that in the satellite communication scenario, with respect to the regional division strategy based on the gateway, the present application further subdivides the location area that the gateway is responsible for to obtain multiple cells. In this way, when performing paging, not only can accurate satellite allocation with cell-level granularity in the location area be obtained, the communication cost requirements involved are significantly reduced. In addition, under the paging mechanism, the location management of the user terminal is also more convenient. In the location area, only the cell where the user terminal is located needs to be updated, and there is no need to involve location updates across location areas, which reflects a low-frequency, low-cost location management effect, taking into account both the paging cost and the location management cost of the user terminal, and thus has better practical value.

[0082] From the above content, it can be seen that the satellite communication mechanism proposed in this application is explained with a real-time paging process as the starting point, and there is further explanation on the division of different cells in the location area responsible for the gateway station and the location management of user terminals.

[0083] For the paging method in the satellite communication scenario provided in the present application, before performing the paging process, it may also involve the division processing of the location area and its cells. It can be understood that the division processing is generally performed in the initial stage of the satellite communication system. Of course, in the subsequent normal use stage of the satellite communication system, the division processing may also be performed according to the needs of the system update.

[0084] As a specific implementation method, the division process may include the following contents:

[0085] The surface area is divided into different location areas according to the distribution of different gateways;

[0086] In different location areas, different cells are divided according to the corresponding satellite single beam width.

[0087] It is understandable that the execution of the division processing, in actual applications, can be specifically performed by devices such as MSC and synchronized to devices such as gateways that need to be recorded. Of course, these division processing can also be performed under user operation and synchronized to devices such as gateways that need to be recorded.

[0088] Among them, in the process of dividing cells, as another specific implementation method, the division of different cells in the location area is carried out under the constraint strategy of ensuring that the number of satellites covering the cell does not exceed 3. For example, the diameter of a general cell is on the order of hundreds of kilometers. In this way, while ensuring that the cell has sufficient satellite signal coverage, there is no need to cover too many satellite signals, thereby avoiding the waste of resources and communication costs caused by too many choices of access satellites. In addition, it can also promote the balance between too large and too small cell range and cell granularity, so as to achieve better practicality.

[0089] In terms of location management of user terminals, for example, it can be divided into two categories: one is the location movement of user terminals within a location area, and the other is the location movement of user terminals across location areas.

[0090] For the first category, the processing of location mobility management, taking the second user terminal mentioned above as an example, may specifically include:

[0091] When the second user terminal moves from the first cell to the second cell in the target location area, the VLR stores the information of the second user terminal in the second cell.

[0092] It can be understood that when the second user terminal is judged to have entered a new cell according to the positioning information thereof, but has not crossed the coverage of the local location area, the new and old cells are in the same location area at this time, and only the cell where the second user terminal is located in the VLR needs to be updated. The specific location update process can also be referred to Figure 5 A partial signaling flow chart of location mobility management of the present application is shown.

[0093] For the second category, the processing of location mobility management, still taking the second user terminal mentioned above as an example, may specifically include:

[0094] When the second user terminal moves from the other location area to the third cell in the target location area, the VLR stores the information of the second user terminal in the second cell;

[0095] The VLR instructs the gateway responsible for other location areas to delete the location of the second user terminal stored in the local VLR through the HLR.

[0096] It can be understood that when the second user terminal is judged to have entered a new location area according to the positioning information of the second user terminal, since the location area and the gateway station for which it is responsible have changed, it is necessary to send a location update request to the HLR of the hometown gateway station, and provide the location area and gateway station where the second user terminal is currently located. The hometown gateway station returns a confirmation response to the VLR of the location area where the second user terminal is currently located, so that the VLR of the location area where the second user terminal is currently located registers data for the second user terminal and sends a location update confirmation to the second user terminal. At the same time, the hometown gateway station notifies the VLR of the location area where the second user terminal was located before moving to delete the data recorded about the second user terminal. Specifically, the location update process across location areas can also be referred to. Figure 6 Another partial signaling flow chart of location mobility management of the present application is shown.

[0097] In addition, from Figure 5 , Figure 6 It can also be seen that for the location mobility management of user terminals, in actual applications, as another practical implementation method, it can be triggered by the user terminal monitoring its own location. Specifically, taking the second user terminal as an example, the movement change of the second user terminal is obtained by the second user terminal combining the positioning information collected by itself (for example, it can be obtained by different types of positioning modules such as Beidou positioning modules configured by itself or by adjacent devices) with the preset cell location information (which can be understood as the location distribution information of each location area and each cell), and initiating the corresponding location update processing.

[0098] Further, returning to the paging process, on the third gateway side, after determining that the satellite signal covers the target satellite of the target cell where the user terminal is currently located, there may be multiple cases in actual applications, that is, the target satellite includes multiple satellites. At the same time, when forwarding the paging request through the satellite, the third gateway may select one or more satellites to send the paging request, that is:

[0099] When the third gateway determines that there are multiple satellites whose satellite signals cover the cell, the paging request is sent to the second user terminal through at least one of the multiple satellites.

[0100] For example, see Figure 7 Another schematic diagram of a paging process of the present application is shown, where there are three satellites whose satellite signals cover the cell (Cn), and the paging request can be forwarded to the second user terminal via these three satellites.

[0101] It can be understood that when forwarding paging requests through communication links of multiple satellites, it can facilitate faster forwarding of paging requests to the second user terminal. Secondly, in practical applications, if the threshold of the number of satellites that can cover the cell is considered when dividing the cell, the overhead cost of forwarding paging requests through multiple satellites can also be avoided, thereby achieving a balance between stability, speed and overhead cost.

[0102] In addition to forwarding paging requests through multiple satellites, one satellite can also be directly designated to perform the forwarding of paging requests.

[0103] It is understandable that when different satellites have satellite signals covering a cell, the present application believes that there may also be differences in signal strength, for example, Figure 7 For example, among the three satellites, only one satellite's sub-satellite point (the center of the coverage area) is directly in the target cell. Therefore, it can be considered that the satellite can obtain a stronger satellite signal in the target cell, and thus the satellite can be selected to forward the paging request.

[0104] Of course, in actual applications, a more comprehensive and accurate determination strategy can be configured for the signal strength of different satellites when forwarding the paging request, so that the satellite with the best signal strength can be selected from different satellites to perform the forwarding of the paging request.

[0105] That is, the process of forwarding the paging request may include:

[0106] The third gateway determines the satellite that has the best signal strength among the multiple satellites;

[0107] The third gateway sends the paging request to the second user terminal via a satellite that obtains the best signal strength among the multiple satellites.

[0108] It can be understood that, compared with forwarding paging requests through multiple satellites as mentioned above, forwarding paging requests through a single satellite with the best signal strength not only achieves a significant reduction in overhead costs, but also, since the satellite that performs the paging request forwarding work has the best signal strength, it is very likely to present a better execution effect than other satellites in actual applications.

[0109] The above is an introduction to the paging method in the satellite communication scenario provided by this application. This application also provides a satellite communication system based on the system composition. In this system, multiple gateways and satellites are included to execute the paging method in the above-mentioned satellite communication scenario to promote satellite communication functions.

[0110] In addition, it should be understood that the satellite communication system may also include user equipment, that is, the user equipment enjoying satellite communication services can be directly dedicated equipment in the satellite communication system. Of course, in actual applications, it may also be equipment outside the system, which is not specifically limited here.

[0111] As for user terminals, gateways, and even user devices, the present application refers to these devices as processing devices. For the hardware structure of these processing devices, please continue to refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 801, a memory 802, and an input / output device 803. The processor 801 is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory 802 to implement the following Figure 1 The steps required to be performed by the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment.

[0112] Exemplarily, the computer program may be divided into one or more modules / units, one or more modules / units are stored in the memory 802, and executed by the processor 801 to complete the present application. One or more modules / units may be a series of computer program instruction segments capable of completing specific functions, and the instruction segments are used to describe the execution process of the computer program in the computer device.

[0113] The processing device may include, but is not limited to, a processor 801, a memory 802, and an input / output device 803. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustration is merely an example of a processing device and does not constitute a limitation on the processing device, and may include more or fewer components than shown in the illustration, or a combination of certain components, or different components. For example, the processing device may also include a network access device, a bus, etc., and the processor 801, the memory 802, the input / output device 803, etc. are connected via a bus.

[0114] The processor 801 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The processor is the control center of the processing device, and uses various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the entire device.

[0115] The memory 802 can be used to store computer programs and / or modules. The processor 801 implements various functions of the computer device by running or executing the computer programs and / or modules stored in the memory 802 and calling the data stored in the memory 802. The memory 802 can mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area, wherein the program storage area can store an operating system, at least one application required for a function, etc.; the data storage area can store data created according to the use of the processing device, etc. In addition, the memory can include a high-speed random access memory, and can also include a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk, a memory, a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (Smart Media Card, SMC), a secure digital (SecureDigital, SD) card, a flash card (Flash Card), at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage devices.

[0116] When the processor 801 is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory 802, it can specifically implement the functions and steps required to be executed by the device itself in the paging method in the satellite communication scenario, thereby achieving the following contents:

[0117] The first gateway receives a paging request initiated by a first user terminal in a location area that it is responsible for, wherein the paging request is used to request paging to a second user terminal, and the paging request carries a terminal ID of the second user terminal;

[0118] The first gateway searches for a second gateway to which the terminal ID belongs, and sends a paging request to the second gateway, wherein the second gateway is the gateway where the second user terminal is registered when registering for network access;

[0119] The second gateway station queries the target location area where the second user terminal is currently located in the local HLR, wherein the HLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway station when registering for network access, and the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway station when registering for network access is represented by the current location area;

[0120] The second gateway sends the paging request to a third gateway responsible for the target location area;

[0121] The third gateway queries the target cell where the second terminal is currently located in the local VLR, wherein the VLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for is represented by a specific cell divided in the location area that the local gateway is responsible for, and the target location area includes different cells;

[0122] The third gateway determines a target satellite whose satellite signal covers the target cell, and sends a paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite.

[0123] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the satellite communication system described above can refer to the following. Figure 1 The description of the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0124] A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps in the various methods of the above embodiments may be completed by instructions, or by controlling related hardware through instructions. The instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and loaded and executed by a processor.

[0125] To this end, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a plurality of instructions are stored, and the instructions can be loaded by a processor to execute the present application as follows: Figure 1 The steps of the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment, the specific operation can refer to the following Figure 1 The description of the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0126] The computer-readable storage medium may include: a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0127] Due to the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium, the present application can be executed. Figure 1 The steps of the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment, therefore, the present application can be implemented as follows Figure 1 The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the paging method in the satellite communication scenario in the corresponding embodiment are detailed in the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0128] The paging method, satellite communication system and computer-readable storage medium in the satellite communication scenario provided by the present application are introduced in detail above. Specific examples are used in this article to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present application and its core idea; at the same time, for technical personnel in this field, according to the idea of ​​the present application, there will be changes in the specific implementation method and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

Claims

1. A paging method in a satellite communication scenario, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first gateway receives a paging request initiated by a first user terminal in a location area that the first gateway is responsible for, wherein the paging request is used to request paging to a second user terminal, and the paging request carries a terminal identification ID of the second user terminal; The first gateway searches for a second gateway to which the terminal identification ID belongs, and sends the paging request to the second gateway, wherein the second gateway is the gateway registered by the second user terminal when registering for network access; The second gateway queries the target location area where the second user terminal is currently located in the local home location register HLR, wherein the HLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway when registering for network access, and the location of the user terminal registered in the local gateway when registering for network access is represented by the current location area; The second gateway sends the paging request to a third gateway responsible for the target location area; The third gateway queries the target cell where the second user terminal is currently located in the local visitor location register VLR, wherein the VLR is used to store and update the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area responsible for the local gateway, the location of the user terminal currently located in the location area responsible for the local gateway is represented by a specific cell divided in the location area currently responsible for the local gateway, and the target location area includes different cells; The third gateway determines that a target satellite of the target cell is covered by a satellite signal, and sends the paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite; The method further comprises: When the second user terminal moves from the first cell to the second cell in the target location area, the VLR stores information of the second user terminal in the second cell; The method further comprises: When the second user terminal moves from another location area to a third cell in the target location area, the VLR stores information of the second user terminal in the second cell; The VLR instructs the gateway responsible for the other location area to delete the location of the second user terminal stored in the local VLR through the HLR; The movement change of the second user terminal is obtained by comparing the second user terminal with the preset cell location information in combination with the positioning information collected by the second user terminal, and initiating corresponding location update processing; The third gateway determines that a target satellite of the target cell is covered by a satellite signal, and sends the paging request to the second user terminal through the target satellite, including: When the third gateway determines that there are multiple satellites whose satellite signals cover the cell, the paging request is sent to the second user terminal through at least one of the multiple satellites; When the third gateway determines that there are multiple satellites whose satellite signals cover the cell, sending the paging request to the second user terminal through at least one of the multiple satellites includes: The third gateway determines a satellite having the best signal strength among the plurality of satellites; The third gateway sends the paging request to the second user terminal via a satellite with the best signal strength among the multiple satellites; The method further comprises: The surface area is divided into different location areas according to the distribution of different gateways; In the different location areas, different cells are divided according to the corresponding satellite single beam widths; The division of different cells is performed under a constraint strategy to ensure that the number of satellites covering the cells does not exceed 3.

2. A satellite communication system, characterized in that: The system comprises a plurality of gateway stations and a satellite, and is used to execute the method of claim 1.

3. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a plurality of instructions, and the instructions are suitable for being loaded by a processor to execute the method of claim 1.

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