Connection method of user equipment and user equipment

Abstract

The application provides a connection method of a user equipment and the user equipment. The user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network through a first USIM card. If the user equipment needs to connect to a second network through a second USIM card, the user equipment can send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference to a base station or the first network without meeting the condition that a timer is not running.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a connection method for user equipment and the user equipment itself. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, multi-USIM card devices have become increasingly popular. For example, a user might install two USIM cards in a phone that supports multiple USIM cards, one for subscribing to personal services and the other for subscribing to office services. Existing multi-USIM card devices are vendor-implemented and have not yet been standardized by 3GPP. This leads to different implementations from different vendors, resulting in varying UE behavior. In existing implementations, if these USIM cards register with different networks (they can register to the same network or to two or more networks), the UE needs to receive paging from these networks. Depending on the UE's transmit / receive capabilities, a possible scenario is that while the UE is receiving a paging from its current network, another network may also initiate paging, or the UE may be communicating with one network while another network initiates paging. If the UE switches between different networks, one possible consequence is that when the UE switches to another network, it can no longer receive data from its current network. This will impair network performance; for example, the network may send a paging message to the UE, but the UE may not receive it due to switching to another network, or the UE may switch to another network and be unable to receive scheduling from its current network. Some manufacturers have proposed conducting 3GPP standardization research on the behavior of UEs with multiple USIM cards accessing the network and related networks. The advantage of this is that network performance can be improved based on predictable UE behavior.

[0003] For the reasons mentioned above, in December 2019, at the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) RAN#86 plenary meeting, vivo proposed a work project for multi-SIM devices in Rel-17 (see non-patent literature: RP-193263: New WID: Support of Multi-SIM devices in Rel-17), which was approved. One of the goals of this work project is to define a mechanism for the UE to notify network A when leaving network A, where network A is NR, network B is LTE or NR, and the UE uses either Single-Rx / Single-Tx or Dual-Rx / Single-Tx.

[0004] This open discussion addresses the relevant issues involved in achieving the aforementioned work objectives. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a connection method and user equipment for efficiently and promptly instructing the base station to release the current RRC connection when the user equipment is operating in network A and in an RRC connection state, but the user equipment needs / wants to establish an RRC connection to network B.

[0006] The present invention provides a connection method for a user equipment. The user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network through a first USIM card. If the user equipment needs to connect to a second network through a second USIM card, it can send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preference to the base station or the first network without satisfying the condition that the timer is not running.

[0007] The above-mentioned user equipment connection method includes: a first step: if the user equipment is configured by the base station to provide release preference via RRC message, then the second step is executed; the second step: if one of the following conditions 1 to 2 is met, then a timer is started and the timer value is set to releasePreferenceProhibitTimer, and the transmission process of the EAssistanceInformation message providing release preference is started, wherein, condition 1: the timer is not running; condition 2: the user equipment that has established an RRC connection with the first network through the first USIM card triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preference to the first network because it needs to connect to the second network through the second USIM card; or the user equipment wants the first network to immediately release the current RRC connection; or the user equipment with multi-USIM capability needs to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state; or the user equipment needs or prefers to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state immediately; or the user equipment prefers to quickly release the current RRC connection; or the most recently sent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preference to the base station. The message is not sent because the user equipment needs to switch to the second USIM card or communicate with the second network through the second USIM card; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station does not contain the immediate release indication field or the release cause field; or the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not indicated / triggered by the upper layer; or the send prohibition flag field indicates that sending a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences is allowed; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is the value corresponding to the immediate release of the current RRC connection; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is the value corresponding to the immediate release of the current RRC connection and the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not sent because the release cause value provided by the upper layer is the value corresponding to the immediate release of the current RRC connection.

[0008] In the above-described user equipment connection method, the base station is configured as a user equipment with multiple USIM cards, and is equipped with a message that enables the user equipment to instruct the first network to immediately release the current RRC connection or to report its release preference to the first network.

[0009] In the above-mentioned user equipment connection method, the UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference means that the message contains the preferredRRC-State field for indicating the RRC state of the UE preference.

[0010] Another user equipment connection method of the present invention, wherein the user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network through a first USIM card, and if the user equipment needs to connect to a second network through a second USIM card, when a message containing a release preference is triggered to be sent to the first network or base station, that is, when a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a preferredRRC-State field is sent, the UEAssistanceInformation message contains an indication flag, namely an immediateRelease field or a releaseCause field, to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection.

[0011] In the above-mentioned user equipment connection method, if the user equipment initiates UEAssistanceInformation message transmission to provide the user equipment's release preference, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes a releasePreference field, and the preferredRRC-State field included in the releasePreference field is set to the expected RRC state when the UEAssistanceInformation message is sent.

[0012] Alternatively, if the user equipment triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference due to fulfilling condition 2 as described in claim 2, then the immediateRelease field is set or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field or the immediateRelease field is set to a value used to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection.

[0013] Alternatively, if the user equipment triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences because it meets condition 2 as described in claim 2, then the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer or the value corresponding to the release reason.

[0014] Alternatively, if the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, then the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer;

[0015] Alternatively, if the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, then the immediateRelease field is set, or the immediateRelease field is set to the value corresponding to instructing the network to immediately release the current RRC connection, or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection.

[0016] Another connection method for user equipment according to the present invention, wherein the user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network through a first USIM card, and when the user equipment needs to connect to a second network through a second USIM card and triggers the sending of a message containing a release preference to the base station or the first network, that is, when a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a preferredRRC-State field needs to be sent, the UEAssistanceInformation message contains an indication flag, namely an immediateReleasePreference field, to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection.

[0017] In the above-described user equipment connection method, if the user equipment triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference to the first network or base station due to the fulfillment of condition 2 as described in claim 2, then the UEAssistanceInformation message includes an immediateReleasePreference field, the value of which is set to the expected RRC state setting when sending the UEAssistanceInformation message; otherwise, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes a releasePreference field, and the preferredRRC-State contained in the releasePreference field is set to the expected RRC state when sending the UEAssistanceInformation message.

[0018] In the above-mentioned user equipment connection method, if the immediateReleasePreference field is included in the releasePreference field like the preferredRRC-State field, then the immediateReleasePreference field and the preferredRRC-State field cannot appear in the same UEAssistanceInformation message at the same time. If the immediateReleasePreference field is not included in the releasePreference field, then the immediateReleasePreference field and the releasePreference field cannot appear in the same UEAssistanceInformation message at the same time.

[0019] The user equipment of the present invention includes: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0020] Invention Effects

[0021] The user equipment connection method and user equipment of the present invention can efficiently and timely enable the user equipment to instruct the base station to release the current RRC connection of network A in order to meet the performance requirements of the service to be performed by network B, and enable the base station to immediately release the RRC connection between the UE and network A when it receives the UEAssistanceInformation message indicating the release preference. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The above and other features of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0023] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating the application scenario of user equipment connection methods.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 1.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 2.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 3.

[0027] Figure 5 This is a simplified structural block diagram of the user equipment (UE) involved in the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present disclosure should not be limited to the specific embodiments described below. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known technologies not directly related to the present disclosure have been omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present disclosure.

[0029] The following describes some of the terms used in this disclosure. For the specific meanings of the terms, please refer to the latest relevant 3GPP documents, such as TS38.300, TS38.331, TS36.300, TS36.331, etc.

[0030] NAS: Non-access stratum.

[0031] AS: access stratum.

[0032] RRC: Radio Resource Control.

[0033] RRC_CONNECTED: RRC connection state.

[0034] RRC_INACTIVE: RRC inactive state.

[0035] RRC_IDLE: RRC idle state.

[0036] RAN; Radio Access Network.

[0037] USIM: Universal Subscriber Identity Module.

[0038] Tx: transmitter.

[0039] Rx: receiver.

[0040] NR: New RAT, New Wireless Access Technology.

[0041] In this disclosure, the network, base station, and RAN are interchangeable. The network may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an NR network, an enhanced Long Term Evolution (eLTE) network, or other networks defined in subsequent 3GPP versions.

[0042] In this disclosure, User Equipment (UE) may refer to a device that physically supports multiple USIM cards (two or more USIM cards), wherein the device is equipped with two or more USIM cards, and each USIM card is associated with a network. The multiple USIM cards may come from the same operator or different operators. From a network perspective, different USIM cards correspond to different UEs, with each USIM card corresponding to one UE. Unless otherwise specified, this disclosure does not make this distinction. Those skilled in the art can easily determine from the context whether the UE refers to a UE that supports multiple USIM cards or a UE corresponding to each USIM card in a device that supports multiple USIM cards. A UE configured with multiple USIM cards can receive and / or transmit data from multiple networks using time-division multiplexing or other methods, employing single-receive-single-transmit or dual-receive-single-transmit methods. For a UE with two Rx (Receiving Scale) devices, data can be received from two networks simultaneously. Furthermore, the USIM mentioned in this disclosure can be a physical SIM or an eSIM.

[0043] This disclosure uses a UE configured with two USIM cards as an example, but those skilled in the art can easily extend it to the case of multiple USIM cards. A UE with two USIM cards has at least Single-Rx / Single-Tx or Dual-Rx / Single-Tx capabilities. Different UEs corresponding to the two USIMs can share a pair of Tx and Rx, or share a single Tx but each has its own Rx.

[0044] In this disclosure, UE operating in one network (Network A) means that the UE is in RRC connected state, RRC inactive state, or RRC idle state in Network A, monitoring Network A (receiving / sending data or signaling from Network A) while periodically or intermittently leaving Network A to monitor another network (Network B), for example, to receive paging messages from Network B or to measure the signal quality of the serving cell of another USIM card. The UE can indicate the time information for leaving Network A (e.g., the time information for the UE receiving paging messages from Network B or measuring the serving cell of another USIM card) to Network A, so that Network A does not send data to the UE or schedule the UE during the time period when the UE is away. Network A and Network B can be different networks or the same network. The time information for leaving Network A is also the scheduling interval of the UE in Network A. During the scheduling interval, the UE does not expect Network A to schedule the UE, and the UE stops data transmission and reception in Network A. In other words, the UE leaving the network time information refers to the time period indicated by the UE leaving the network when the UE is working in the current network. During this time period, the current network will not schedule the UE, or the UE will not receive data from the current network or expect to be scheduled by the current network during this time period.

[0045] The following is for reference only. Figure 1 This describes a scenario in which the user equipment connection method of the present invention is explained. Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an application scenario for a user equipment (UE) connection method. The UE is in an RRC connected state on network A, but the UE needs / desires to establish an RRC connection to network B (step 001). At this time, the UE needs to send an indication message to network A or the base station to release the current UE's RRC connection (step 002). In the prior art, the UE can send a UEAssistanceInformation message to network A, which carries a preferredRRC-State field to indicate the UE's preferred RRC state, i.e., the RRC state the UE prefers to be released from the RRC connected state. For example, if this field is set to idle, it indicates that the UE prefers to be released from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state.

[0046] In existing technology, before sending a UEAssistanceInformation message containing the preferredRRC-State field, the UE first checks whether timer T346f is running. Only when the timer is not running will it be started and a UEAssistanceInformation message containing the preferredRRC-State field be generated / sent. If, during the operation of T346f, the UE needs to switch to network B (i.e., connect to network B through another USIM card, for example, establishing an RRC connection with network B or sending data to network B) and requests network A or the base station to release the UE's RRC connection with network A, according to existing technology, the UE can only wait for T346f to expire before sending a UEAssistanceInformation message containing the preferredRRC-State field to instruct network A or the base station to release the current RRC connection. This may result in the inability to meet the quality of service or performance requirements of services to be performed on network B.

[0047] It should be noted that the value of timer T346f (which can be referred to as the first timer) is configured by the base station for the UE through the releasePreferenceProhibitTimer field carried in the RRC message sent to the UE. releasePreferenceProhibitTimer is a prohibit timer for releasing preference assistance information reporting, that is, it is used to prevent the UE from frequently sending UEAssi stanceInformation messages containing the preferredRRC-State field to the base station.

[0048] Furthermore, in this disclosure, the UE establishing a connection with the network includes the UE sending an RRC connection establishment request (RRCSetupRequest) message to the network and sending a resume (Resume) message (RRCResumeRequest / RRCResumeRequestl).

[0049] This disclosure will provide an embodiment 1 to solve this problem.

[0050] Example 1

[0051] In Example 1, when a UE that has established an RRC connection with network A through USIM card A needs to connect to network B through another USIM card (denoted as USIM card B) (for example, USIM card B establishes an RRC connection with network B or sends data to network B), triggering the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preference (i.e., the message containing the preferredRRC-State field) to network A or the base station (i.e. the base station corresponding to network A), it is not necessary to satisfy the condition that timer T346f is not running.

[0052] Specifically, when a UE that has established an RRC connection with network A via USIM card A (i.e., network A is in RRC connected state) needs to connect to network B via USIM card B, it triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences (i.e., containing the preferredRRC-State field) to network A or the base station, or the UE requests network A to immediately release the current RRC connection, the following procedure is executed. See Appendix below. Figure 2 Let me explain the process in detail.

[0053] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 1. In step 101, if the UE is configured by the base station to provide its release preference via an RRC message, then step 102 is executed. Specifically, the base station can instruct / configure the UE to report its release preference through the ReleasePreferenceConfig field carried in the RRC message (e.g., the RRCReconfiguration message). The ReleasePreferenceConfig field is used to configure the UE to report assistance information to inform the gNB about the UE's preference to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0054] In step 102, if one of the following conditions 1 to 2 is met, timer T346f is started, and the value of timer T346f is set to the value configured by the base station for the user equipment, for example, the value specified in the releasePreferenceProhibitTimer field contained in the ReleasePreferenceConfig field (start timer T346f with the timervalue set to the releasePreferenceProhibitTimer), and the transmission process of the UEAssistanceInformation message providing release preference is initiated. The releasePreferenceProhibitTimer field is contained in the ReleasePreferenceConfig field, and the base station configures it for the UE through the same RRC message.

[0055] Condition 1: Timer T346f is not running;

[0056] Condition 2: (A1) A UE that has established an RRC connection with network A through USIM card A triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to network A or the base station because it needs to connect to network B through another USIM card B; or (A2) The UE wants the network to immediately release the current RRC connection; or (A3) A UE with multi-USIM capability needs to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state (transition out of RRC_CONNECTED). (A4) The UE needs (or prefers) to immediately leave the RRC_CONNECTED state; (A5) The UE prefers to quickly release the current RRC connection; (A6) The most recent UEAssistanceInformation message sent to the base station containing the release preference was not because the UE needs to switch to another USIM (USIM card B or communicate with network B through USIM card B); (A7) The most recent UEAssistanceInformation message sent to the base station containing the release preference does not contain the immediate release indication field immediateRelease or the release cause field releaseCause; (A8) The upper layer triggers the UE to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference; (A9) The most recent UEAssistanceInformation message sent to the base station containing the release preference... The UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent was not indicated / triggered by the upper layer; or (A10) the sending prohibition flag field (denoted as preferredRRC-StateAllowed) indicates that the UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences can be sent (or allowed to be sent); or (A11) the release cause value provided by the upper layer is a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection; or (A12) the release cause value provided by the upper layer (i.e., the reason why the UE expects to release the current RRC connection) is a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection, and the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not sent because the release cause value provided by the upper layer was a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection. See Example 2 for the specific meanings of the immediate release indication field immediateRelease and the release cause field releaseCause.

[0057] Optionally, to achieve the above objectives, the base station is configured with user equipment having multiple USIM cards to enable the user equipment to instruct the first network to immediately release the current RRC connection or report the user equipment's release preference to network A, for example, by configuring ReleasePreferenceConfig.

[0058] It should be noted that starting timer T346f in step 102 is an optional operation; furthermore, the UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference in this disclosure refers to the message containing the preferredRRC-State field for indicating the RRC state of the UE preference. Furthermore, one or more of (A1) to (A12) in condition 2 can be used as condition 2 to form multiple embodiments with different conditions 2. If two or more of (A1) to (A12) are used as condition 2, they are in an "AND" relationship, meaning that two or more of (A1) to (A12) must be satisfied simultaneously to be considered as satisfying condition 2. If condition 2 includes (A9), the transmit prohibition flag field preferredRRC-StateAllowed is initialized to the value indicating that a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences can be sent (or is allowed to be sent), such as TRUE. Furthermore, when a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences is triggered to be sent to the base station due to the fulfillment of condition (A9), the transmit prohibition flag field preferredRRC-StateAllowed is set to the value indicating that the transmission of UEAssistanceInformation messages containing release preferences is not allowed. Optionally, upon the expiration / delay of T346f, the transmit prohibition flag field preferredRRC-StateAllowed is set to the value indicating that the transmission of UEAssistanceInformation messages containing release preferences is allowed.

[0059] It should be noted that in this disclosure, USIM card A can be referred to as the first USIM card, network A can be referred to as the first network; USIM card B can be referred to as the second USIM card, and network B can be referred to as the second network.

[0060] Furthermore, the UEAssistanceInformation message indicating release preference from the UE to the base station in the prior art is for energy saving purposes. Whether the base station immediately releases the current RRC connection after receiving the message from the UE is determined by the base station based on the current downlink service information of the UE. In other words, in this case, if the UE has downlink data, even if the base station receives the UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preference from the UE, it may not immediately release the current UE's RRC connection. However, in multiple USIMs, a UE in RRC connection state on network A needs to communicate with network B (e.g., switching Rx and / or Tx to network B), and in this case, it is desirable for the base station to immediately release the UE's RRC connection with network A upon receiving the UEAssistanceInformation message indicating release preference. How the UE instructs the base station to immediately release the UE's RRC connection with network A upon receiving the UEAssistanceInformation message indicating release preference is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0061] This disclosure will provide Embodiments 2 and 3 to solve this problem.

[0062] Example 2

[0063] The following is for reference Figure 3 The method of Example 2 will be explained below.

[0064] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 2. A UE that has established an RRC connection with network A via USIM card A (i.e., the UE is in an RRC connected state on network A) triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference (i.e., a preferredRRC-State field) to the base station or network A when it needs to connect to network B via another USIM card (step 201). At this time, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes an indication flag (e.g., an immediateRelease field or a releaseCause field) to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection (step 202).

[0065] Specifically, if the UE initiates a UEAssistanceInformation message transmission to provide the UE's release preference, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes a releasePreference field, and the preferredRRC-State field included in the releasePreference field is set to the desired RRC state on transmission of the UEAssistanceInformation message. If the UE triggers the UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference because it meets condition 2 described in Embodiment 1, the immediateRelease field is set to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection. For example, the immediateRelease field is set to TRUE, or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field, or the immediateRelease field is set to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection. The value corresponding to "immediately" is set to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection; or if the UE triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences due to fulfilling condition 2 described in Embodiment 1, the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer or the value corresponding to the release reason; or the immediateRelease field is set, for example, the immediateRelease field is set to TRUE or the immediateRelease field is set to the value corresponding to instructing the network to immediately release the current RRC connection; or if the upper layer triggers the UE to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer.Alternatively, if the upper layer triggers the UE to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, then the immediateRelease field is set. For example, the immediateRelease field can be set to TRUE, or the immediateRelease field can be set to a value that instructs the network to immediately release the current RRC connection. Alternatively, the immediateRelease field can be included in the releasePreference field to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection.

[0066] Example 3

[0067] The following is for reference Figure 4 The method of Example 3 will be explained below.

[0068] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection method of the user equipment in Embodiment 3. In Embodiment 3, a UE that has established an RRC connection with network A via USIM card A triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference (i.e., containing the preferredRRC-State field) to network A or a base station because it needs to connect to network B via another USIM card (step 301). At this time, the UEAssistanceInformation message contains an indication flag (e.g., the immediateReleasePreference field) to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection (step 302).

[0069] Specifically, if the UE triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to network A or base station because it meets condition 2 described in Embodiment 1, then the UEAssistanceInformation message includes an immediateReleasePreference field, the value of which is set to the expected RRC state when the UEAssistanceInformation message is sent; otherwise, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes a releasePreference field, and the preferredRRC-State contained in the releasePreference field is set to the expected RRC state when the UEAssistanceInformation message is sent.

[0070] The immediateReleasePreference field can be included in the releasePreference field, just like the preferredRRC-State field. In this case, the immediateReleasePreference field and the preferredRRC-State field cannot appear in the same UEAssistanceInformation message at the same time. Alternatively, the immediateReleasePreference field can also be excluded from the releasePreference field. In this case, the immediateReleasePreference field and the releasePreference field cannot appear in the same UEAssistanceInformation message at the same time.

[0071] Examples 1-3 address the problems described in this disclosure by using the preferredRRC-State domain, which is introduced for energy-saving purposes. However, the problems described in this disclosure can also be solved without relying on the prior art, as shown in Example 4 below.

[0072] Example 4

[0073] A UE that provides auxiliary information to immediately exit the RRC_CONN ECTED state performs the following operations:

[0074] In step 201, if the UE is configured by the base station to provide its immediate release preference via an RRC message, then step 202 is executed. Specifically, the base station can instruct the UE to report its immediate release preference via the MUSIMReleasePreferenceConfig field carried in an RRC message (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message). The MUSIMReleasePreferenceConfig field is used to configure the UE to notify the network (or base station) of its preference to immediately leave the RRC_CONNECTED state by reporting auxiliary information. The UE has established an RRC connection with network A via USIM card A, but needs to connect to network B via another USIM card (denoted as USIM card B) (e.g., USIM card B establishes an RRC connection with network B or sends data to network B). The MUSIMReleasePreferenceConfig field may contain a usimReleasePreferenceProhibitTimer field. The usimReleasePreferenceProhibitTimer field is a prohibition timer or prohibition period for reporting immediate release preference auxiliary information, used to set the value of a second timer.

[0075] In step 202, if the second timer is not running and if the UE determines that its preference will immediately leave the RRC connected state, then the second timer is started, and its value is set to either usimReleasePreferenceProhibitTimer or the value set by usimReleasePreferenceProhibitTimer. The UEAssistanceInformation message includes a field usimPreferredRRC-State that instructs the UE to immediately release its preference, and its value is set to the RRC state that indicates the UE's preferred RRC state, i.e., the RRC state to which the UE's preference will immediately be released from the RRC connected state.

[0076] It should be noted that in this implementation, the immediate leave release preference means that a UE that has established an RRC connection with network A through USIM card A needs to connect to network B through another USIM card (denoted as USIM card B) (for example, USIM card B establishes an RRC connection with network B or sends data to network B).

[0077] Figure 5 This is a simplified structural block diagram of the user equipment (UE) involved in this invention. Figure 5As shown, the user equipment UE400 includes a processor 401 and a memory 402. The processor 401 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 402 may include, for example, volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory. Program instructions are stored on the memory 402. When executed by the processor 401, these instructions can perform the methods described in detail below, executed by the user equipment. Furthermore, the computer-executable instructions or program running on the device according to this disclosure may be a program that controls the central processing unit (CPU) to enable the computer to perform the functions of the embodiments of this disclosure. The program or the information processed by the program may be temporarily stored in volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0078] Computer-executable instructions or programs for implementing the functions of the embodiments of this disclosure can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The corresponding functions can be implemented by causing a computer system to read and execute the programs recorded on the recording medium. The term "computer system" herein can refer to a computer system embedded in the device, and may include an operating system or hardware (such as peripheral devices). "Computer-readable storage medium" can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-time dynamic program storage medium, or any other computer-readable recording medium.

[0079] Various features or functional modules of the devices used in the above embodiments can be implemented or executed by circuits (e.g., monolithic or multi-chip integrated circuits). Circuits designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above devices. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The circuits described above may be digital circuits or analog circuits. In cases where advancements in semiconductor technology have led to new integrated circuit technologies that replace existing integrated circuits, one or more embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0080] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, this disclosure is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as terminal devices or communication devices, such as AV equipment, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, office equipment, vending machines, and other household appliances.

[0081] As described above, embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and this disclosure also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to this disclosure within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included within the technical scope of this disclosure. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a user equipment, wherein the user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network via a first USIM card. If the user equipment needs to connect to the second network via the second USIM card, it can send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to the base station or the first network without meeting the condition that the timer is not running. The connection method for the user equipment includes: First step: If the user equipment is configured by the base station to provide release preference via RRC message, then proceed to the second step; Step 2: If the following conditions are met, start the timer and initiate the transmission process of the UEAssistanceInformation message providing the release preference. Conditions: A user equipment that has established an RRC connection with the first network through the first USIM card triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to the first network because it needs to connect to the second network through the second USIM card; or the user equipment wants the first network to release the current RRC connection immediately; or a user equipment with multiple USIM capabilities needs to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state. Or, the user equipment (UE) needs or prefers to immediately leave the RRC_CONNECTED state; or the UE prefers to quickly release the current RRC connection; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference sent to the base station was not because the UE needs to switch to a second USIM card or communicate with a second network through a second USIM card; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference sent to the base station does not contain the immediate release indication field or the release cause field; or the upper layer triggers the UE to send the UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference sent to the base station was not indicated by the upper layer; or the prohibition flag field indicates that sending the UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference is allowed; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is the value corresponding to indicating the immediate release of the current RRC connection; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is the value corresponding to indicating the immediate release of the current RRC connection and the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing the release preference sent to the base station was not sent because the release cause value provided by the upper layer was the value corresponding to indicating the immediate release of the current RRC connection. If the user equipment triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference because the conditions are met, the immediateRelease field is set to TRUE, or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field, or the immediateRelease field is set to a value that instructs the network to immediately release the current RRC connection.

2. The user equipment connection method according to claim 1, wherein, The base station is configured with a user equipment having multiple USIM cards and is equipped with messages that enable the user equipment to instruct the first network to immediately release the current RRC connection or to report the user equipment's release preference to the first network.

3. The user equipment connection method according to claim 1, wherein, A UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences refers to a message that includes a preferredRRC-State field indicating the RRC state of the UE preference.

4. A method for connecting user equipment, wherein the user equipment has established an RRC connection with a first network via a first USIM card. If the user equipment needs to connect to the second network via the second USIM card, and this triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to the first network or base station, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes an indication flag, namely the immediateRelease field or the releaseCause field, to instruct the network to release the current RRC connection. If the user equipment triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing a release preference due to the following conditions, then the immediateRelease field is set to TRUE, or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field, or the immediateRelease field is set to a value that instructs the network to immediately release the current RRC connection. Conditions: A user equipment (UE) that has established an RRC connection with the first network via a first USIM card triggers the sending of a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences to the first network because it needs to connect to the second network via a second USIM card; or the UE wants the first network to immediately release the current RRC connection; or a UE with multi-USIM capability needs to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state; or the UE needs or prefers to leave the RRC_CONNECTED state immediately; or the UE prefers to quickly release the current RRC connection; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not because the UE needed to switch to the second USIM card or communicate with the second network via the second USIM card; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station did not contain immediate release preferences. The release indication field "immediateRelease" or the release cause field "releaseCause" is not included; or the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences; or the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not indicated by the upper layer; or the prohibition flag field indicates that sending a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences is allowed; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection; or the release cause value provided by the upper layer is a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection and the most recent UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences sent to the base station was not sent because the release cause value provided by the upper layer was a value used to indicate the immediate release of the current RRC connection.

5. The user equipment connection method according to claim 4, wherein, If a user equipment initiates a UEAssistanceInformation message transmission to provide the user equipment's release preference, the UEAssistanceInformation message includes a releasePreference field and sets the preferredRRC-State to the expected RRC state when the UEAssistanceInformation message was sent; Alternatively, if the user equipment triggers a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences because the conditions are met, the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer or the value corresponding to the release reason. Alternatively, if the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, then the releaseCause field is set to the value provided by the upper layer; Alternatively, if the upper layer triggers the user equipment to send a UEAssistanceInformation message containing release preferences, then the immediateRelease field is set to the correct TRUE, or the immediateRelease field is set to the value corresponding to instructing the network to immediately release the current RRC connection, or the immediateRelease field is included in the releasePreference field to instruct the network to immediately release the current RRC connection.

6. A user equipment, comprising: processor; as well as Memory, which stores instructions; The instructions are executed by the processor according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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