User equipment and method of performing the same

Abstract

The application provides an execution method of a user equipment and the user equipment. The user equipment supports multiple USIM cards which can be connected to a network respectively, that is, supports MUSIM. The execution method of the user equipment comprises the following steps: the user equipment sends an RRCResumeRequest message for executing RNAU to a first network corresponding to a first USIM card; and the user equipment receives a response message from the first network, wherein an indication identifier for indicating that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network is contained in the RRCResumeRequest message.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to user equipment and its execution method. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, multi-SIM 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-SIM devices are vendor-implemented and not yet standardized by 3GPP. This leads to different implementations from different vendors, resulting in varying user equipment (UE) behaviors. In existing implementations, if these USIM cards register with different networks (they can register to the same network or two or more networks), the UE needs to receive paging messages from these networks through these USIM cards. Depending on the UE's transceiver capabilities, one possible scenario is that while the UE is receiving a paging message from the current network using one USIM card, another USIM card's network (which may be the same or different) may also initiate a paging request. Alternatively, while the UE is communicating with one network using one USIM card, another USIM card's network (which may be the same or different) may also initiate a paging request. When different USIM cards are registered to different networks, if a UE switches between these networks, one possible consequence is that the UE can no longer receive data from the current network when it switches to a different network. This will impair network performance; for example, the network may send a paging message to the UE, but the UE may not receive the message because it has switched to another network, or the UE may switch to another network and be unable to receive scheduling from the current network. To address these issues, some manufacturers have proposed conducting 3GPP standardization research on the behavior of UEs with multiple USIM cards accessing networks and related network dynamics. The advantage of this research is that it allows for improved network performance based on predictable UE behavior.

[0003] For the reasons mentioned above, in December 2019, at the RAN#86 plenary meeting of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 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.

[0004] In existing systems, when a UE sends an RRCResumeRequest message to a base station to perform a RAN-based Notification Area Update (RNAU), the base station can respond with an RRCResume message or an RRCResume message. Upon receiving the RRCResume message, the UE will execute it and enter RRC connected state. However, for UEs supporting MUSIM (multi-SIM), when the UE is in RRC connected state on network A, and when it sends an RRCResumeRequest to network B to perform an RNAU, it receives an RRCResume message from network B. According to the existing system definition, the UE will also enter RRC connected state on network B. According to 3GPP consensus, at least for single-transmit / single-receive or single-transmit / dual-receive UEs, they are not allowed to be in RRC connected state simultaneously on both network A and network B. Network A and network B can be the same or different, and the same applies below.

[0005] This disclosure aims to address how to prevent a UE supporting multiple USIM cards from being in RRC connected state simultaneously through multiple USIM cards on one or more networks. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a user equipment and its execution method to avoid a UE that supports multiple USIM cards being in RRC connection state simultaneously through multiple USIM cards in one or more networks.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for executing a user equipment is provided, the user equipment supporting multiple USIM cards that can be connected to a network respectively, i.e., supporting MUSIM, wherein the method for executing the user equipment includes: the user equipment sending an RRCResumeRequest message for executing RNAU to a first network corresponding to a first USIM card; and the user equipment receiving a response message from the first network, wherein the RRCResumeRequest message includes an indication identifier for indicating that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0008] In the above-described user equipment execution method, preferably, the indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment is in an RRC connection state on a second network corresponding to a second SIM card different from the first USIM card; or, the indication identifier is used to indicate that the first network cannot reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as the response message; or, the indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment does not expect to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as the response message; or, the indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment expects the first network to send an RRCResume message as the response message.

[0009] In the above-described user equipment execution method, preferably, the value of the ResumeCause field in the RRRCResumeRequest message is set to a value defined for supporting MUSIM user equipment execution of RNAU.

[0010] In the above-described user equipment execution method, preferably, the RRC layer of the user equipment indicates to the upper layer that it needs to perform RNAU in the first network, and the upper layer determines whether the user equipment can establish an RRC connection with the first network. If the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network, the RRCResumeRequest message includes an indication identifier for indicating that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for executing a user equipment is provided, the user equipment supporting multiple USIM cards that can be connected to a network respectively, i.e., supporting MUSIM, wherein the method for executing the user equipment includes: the user equipment sending an RRCResumeRequest message for executing RNAU to a first network corresponding to a first USIM card; the user equipment receiving an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message from the first network as a response message; and the RRC layer of the user equipment indicating information related to the RRCResume message or the RRCSetup message to an upper layer.

[0012] In the above-described method for executing user equipment, it is preferable that the upper layer of the RRC layer of the user equipment determines whether the user equipment can continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0013] In the above-described user equipment execution method, preferably, when the priority of the service of the first USIM card is higher than the priority of the service of the second USIM card that is being executed and is different from the first USIM card, the upper layer instructs the user equipment to release the RRC connection and instructs the user equipment to establish an RRC connection with the first network; when the priority of the service of the first USIM card is lower than the priority of the service of the second USIM card that is being executed and is different from the first USIM card, the upper layer instructs the user equipment not to establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0014] In the above-described user equipment execution method, preferably, the RRCResume message or the RRCSetup message includes an indication identifier for indicating the RRC state that the user equipment should enter when it cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0015] In the above-described execution method for user equipment, preferably, if the response message contains suspendConfig and the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network, then the user equipment enters the RRC inactive state according to the configuration indicated by suspendConfig; if the response message does not contain suspendConfig and the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network, then the user equipment enters the RRC idle state.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment is provided that supports multiple USIM cards that can be connected to a network respectively, i.e., supports MUSIM, the user equipment comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the execution method of the user equipment described above.

[0017] Invention Effects

[0018] According to the user equipment execution method and user equipment involved in this invention, it is possible to avoid a UE supporting multiple USIM cards being in RRC connection state simultaneously through multiple USIM cards in one or more networks. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method of a user device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method of a user device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a simplified structural block diagram illustrating the user equipment involved in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific embodiments described below. Furthermore, for simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known technologies not directly related to the present invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present invention. The present invention describes an embodiment using a user equipment (UE) configured with two SIM / USIM cards (i.e., a multi-SIM device) as an example. However, it should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to application scenarios corresponding to UEs configured with two SIM / USIM cards, and can also be used in application scenarios configured with multiple SIM / USIM cards. A user equipment (UE) configured with two SIM / USIM cards refers to a UE that can register on two networks and establish connections or send and receive data with each of the two networks respectively.

[0024] The following describes some of the terms involved in this invention. For the specific meaning of the terms, please refer to the latest relevant 3GPP documents, such as TS38.300, TS38.331, TS36.300, TS36.331, etc.

[0025] NAS: Non-access stratum.

[0026] AS: access stratum.

[0027] DRB: Data Radio Bearer.

[0028] RRC: Radio Resource Control.

[0029] RRC_CONNECTED: RRC connection state.

[0030] RRC_INACTIVE: RRC inactive state.

[0031] RRC_IDLE: RRC idle state.

[0032] RAN; Radio Access Network.

[0033] RNAU: RAN-based Notification Area Update.

[0034] NR: New RAT, New Radio Access Technology.

[0035] USIM: Universal Subscriber Identity Module.

[0036] Tx: transmitter.

[0037] Rx: receiver.

[0038] In this invention, RRCResumeRequest or RRCResumeRequest1 is used to request the continuation of a suspended RRC connection or to execute an RNAU; the information element suspendConfig indicates the configuration for the RRC_INACTIVE state. Furthermore, RRCResumeRequest is used uniformly in this invention, but embodiments obtained by replacing RRCResumeRequest with RRCResumeRequest1 are also within the scope of protection of this invention. The RRCResume message is used to resume the suspended RRC connection; the RRCSetup message is used to establish the signaling radio bearer SRB1. The RRCRelease message is used to command the release of an RRC connection or the suspension of an RRC connection. The RRCReject message is used to reject an RRC connection establishment or an RRC connection resumption.

[0039] In this invention, the network, base station, and RAN can be used interchangeably. The network can be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an NR network, an enhanced Long Term Evolution (eLTE) network, or other networks defined in subsequent 3GPP evolution versions.

[0040] In this invention, a User Equipment (UE) can refer to a device that physically supports multiple USIM cards (two or more USIM cards). The device is equipped with two or more USIM cards, and each USIM card is associated with a network. The UE establishes an RRC connection with the network through different USIM cards (at this time, the UE corresponding to this USIM card is in an RRC connected state in this network) or camps on the network (at this time, the UE corresponding to this USIM card is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state in this network). The network that a USIM card connects to, registers with, or camps on is the network corresponding to that USIM. The multiple USIM cards can come from the same operator or different operators. From the network's perspective, different USIM cards correspond to different UEs, with each USIM card corresponding to one UE. The core network and / or base station assign a NAS and / or AS layer identifier to each UE corresponding to each USIM card. For example, the NAS layer identifier assigned by the core network to each UE corresponding to a USIM card is denoted as 5G-S-TMSI or S-TMSI, and the AS layer identifier assigned by the base station to each UE corresponding to a USIM card is denoted as C-RNTI. The NAS and / or AS layer identifiers assigned by the core network and / or base stations to UEs corresponding to different USIM cards are different. A UE configured with multiple USIM cards has different NAS and / or AS layer identifiers corresponding to different USIM cards. Unless otherwise specified, this embodiment of the invention does not explicitly define whether the UE refers to a UE configured with multiple USIM cards or the UE corresponding to each USIM card in a device configured with multiple USIM cards. 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 configured with multiple USIM cards) or the 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 send data from multiple networks using time division multiplexing or other methods, utilizing single-receive-single-transmit or dual-receive-single-transmit. For a UE with two Rx, it can receive data from two networks simultaneously. Furthermore, the USIM mentioned in this invention can be a physical SIM or an eSIM.

[0041] This invention 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 must have at least Single-Rx / Single-Tx or Dual-Rx / Single-Tx capabilities. Different UEs corresponding to the two USIM cards can share a pair of Tx and Rx cards, or share a single Tx card but each has its own Rx card. In this embodiment, the UE connects to network A through USIM card A and to network B through USIM card B. Switching between different networks is achieved through the switching of the USIM card.

[0042] In this invention, the UE (or USIM card A) operating in one network (network A, the first network) means that the UE is in RRC connected state in network A, listening to network A (receiving / sending data or signaling from network A). Simultaneously, the UE can periodically or intermittently leave network A to listen to another network (network B, the second network), for example, to receive paging messages from network B or to measure the signal quality of the serving cell, camped cell, or other measurement object of another USIM card (i.e., USIM card B). Network A and network B can be different networks or the same network. The time information for the UE leaving network A to receive paging messages from network B or to measure the signal quality of the serving cell, camped cell, or other measurement object of another USIM card is the UE's scheduling gap in network A, or the scheduling gap for network B. During the scheduling interval, the UE does not expect network A to schedule it. The UE stops sending / receiving data on network A and instead receives paging messages from network B, or measures the signal quality of the serving cell or camped cell of another USIM card (i.e., USIM card B), or measures objects, etc. In other words, the scheduling interval for the UE on network A refers to the time period indicated by the scheduling interval during which network A will not schedule the UE, or the UE will not receive data from network A or expect to be scheduled by network A during the time period indicated by the scheduling interval. The UE operating on network A as described in this disclosure can correspond to a handover procedure (referred to as the first handover procedure) agreed upon by RAN2 at the 3GPP RAN2#113e meeting for the UE to notify network A. This handover procedure is used for the UE to notify network A that it prefers to remain in RRC_CONNECTED state on network A while temporarily switching to network B. In addition, at the 3GPP RAN2#113e meeting, RAN2 also reached another handover procedure for UE to notify network A (referred to as the second handover procedure), which is used for UE to notify network A that the UE has a preference to leave RRC_C ONNECTED state in network A.

[0043] This disclosure discusses issues related to the first handover procedure. Within a scheduling interval for network A, the UE can perform an RNAU in network B. Allowing the UE to perform an RNAU in network B within a scheduling interval for network B while network A is in an RRC connected state avoids signaling overhead and reduces UE power consumption. If it is stipulated that the UE must first disconnect its RRC connection with network A before performing an RNAU in network B (i.e., using the second handover procedure), after the UE completes the RNAU in network B and enters an RRC idle or RRC inactive state, since the RRC connection with network A has been released, if the UE needs to return to network A for data transmission and reception, it must re-execute the RRC connection establishment procedure in network A, which will result in significant signaling overhead and power consumption.

[0044] The following embodiments of the present invention provide different implementation methods to prevent a UE that is in RRC connected state in network A from entering RRC connected state when performing RNAU in network B (i.e., to prevent a UE that uses the first handover procedure from entering RRC connected state when performing RNAU in network B).

[0045] Furthermore, a UE configured with multiple USIM cards has multiple RRC entities, with each USIM card's RRC connection corresponding to a separate RRC entity. In this embodiment of the invention, unless otherwise specified, the operation performed by the UE or the operation performed by the UE's RRC refers to the operation performed by the UE on the RRC (i.e., the RRC layer or RRC entity) of a specific USIM card, and the upper layer refers to the layer above the RRC.

[0046] Specifically, this invention employs two implementation methods to prevent a UE in RRC connected state on network A from entering RRC connected state when performing RNAU on network B. In the first implementation, the UE determines whether it can enter RRC connected state on network B when sending an RRCResumeRequest message for performing RNAU on network B; in the second implementation, the UE determines whether it can enter RRC connected state on network B after receiving a response message to the RRCResumeRequest message from the base station.

[0047] The first and second embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

[0048] First Implementation Method

[0049] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method of a user equipment according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The user equipment described herein supports multiple USIM cards that can be connected to a network, i.e., it supports MUSIM.

[0050] In step S101, the User Equipment (UE) sends an RRCResumeRequest message for performing RNAU to the first network corresponding to the first USIM card. The RRCResumeRequest message includes an indication flag indicating that the UE cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network.

[0051] In step S102, the UE receives a response message from the first network.

[0052] The following are specific examples 1 to 3 for illustration. Example 1 illustrates that when the UE cannot enter the RRC connection state on network B, its RRC includes an indication flag in the RRCResumeRequest message for RNAU to indicate that the UE cannot enter the RRC connection state. Example 2 illustrates that when the UE cannot enter the RRC connection state on network B, its RRC sets the value of the ResumeCause field in the RRCResumeRequest message for RNAU to a specific value to indicate that the UE cannot enter the RRC connection state. Example 3 illustrates that the UE's RRC determines whether the UE can enter the RRC connection state via an upper layer.

[0053] Example 1

[0054] The UE includes an indication flag in the RRCResumeRequest message used for RNAU (i.e., the ResumeCause field of the RRCResumeRequest message is set to rna-Update). The indication flag is used to indicate that the base station cannot reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as a response message, or to indicate that the UE does not expect to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as a response message, or to indicate that the UE expects the base station to send an RRCResume message as a response message, or to indicate that the UE cannot enter the RRC connected state (i.e., the UE cannot enter the RRC connected state in the current network), or to indicate that the UE is already in the RRC connected state in another network.

[0055] Specifically, if the UE resumes the RRC connection due to an RNA update, if the UE supports MUSIM (i.e., multi-SIM) and / or the UE is in RRC connection state on another network, the indication identifier is included in the RRCResumeRequest message.

[0056] Optionally, the UE initiates the transmission of the RRCResumeRequest message to the base station. It should be noted that before initiating the transmission of the RRCResumeRequest message, the UE needs to perform other operations specified in the latest 3GPP TS38.331 protocol for sending the RRCResumeRequest message to implement RNAU, such as applying the default Layer 1 (L1) parameter values ​​defined by the physical layer protocol, applying the default SRB1 configuration, etc.

[0057] Optionally, the UE receives an RRRCRelease message from the base station.

[0058] It should be noted that when a UE performs the operation to continue an RRC connection for the purpose of RNAU, access control needs to be performed, i.e., selecting an appropriate access category and performing the unified access control procedure. The UE can only send the RRCResumeRequest message if the access attempt is not barred. In other words, if the access attempt is barred, the RNAU-triggered RRC connection continuation procedure is aborted. Optionally, for MUSIM-enabled UEs and / or UEs in RRC connection state on other networks and / or UEs that do not wish to establish an RRC connection with the current network, for the RNAU-triggered RRC connection continuation, the access category is set to '8' (select '8' as the Access Category) or set to a value specifically defined for performing RNAU for MUSIM-enabled UEs and / or UEs in RRC connection state on other networks and / or UEs that do not wish to establish an RRC connection with the current network. In this case, the operation of including the aforementioned indicator in the RRCResumeRequest message is only performed when the unified access control procedure is executed and the access attempt is not barred. As an alternative embodiment, in this case, the operation of including the indication identifier in the RRCResumeRequest message is performed before the unified access control process is executed, that is, the unified access control process is executed after the indication identifier is included in the RRCResumeRequest message.

[0059] In this invention, the ResumeCause field is used to provide the resume cause for the RRC connection resume request as provided by the upper layers or RRC (i.e., RRC entity or RRC layer).

[0060] It should be noted that by replacing the UE supporting MUSIM (i.e., multi-SIM) and / or the UE being in RRC connection state in other networks as described in the embodiments of the present invention with the UE being a MUSIM device and / or the UE being in RRC connection state in other networks, or replacing it with the UE not expecting to establish an RRC connection with the current network, or replacing it with the UE expecting the base station not to reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as a response message, or replacing it with the UE not expecting to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as a response message, or replacing it with the UE expecting the base station to send an RRCRelease message as a response message, or replacing it with the UE not being able to enter the RRC connection state (i.e., the UE cannot enter the RRC connection state in the current network or the UE does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network), or replacing it with the UE already being in RRC connection state in another network, while keeping other operations unchanged, new embodiments can be obtained. Furthermore, a UE supporting MUSIM can be replaced by a UE supporting MUSIM and / or a UE in RRC connected state on another network and / or a UE that does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network, or a UE that does not expect the base station to reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as an acknowledgment message, or a UE that does not expect to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as an acknowledgment message, or a UE that expects the base station to send an RRCRelease message as an acknowledgment message, or a UE that cannot enter RRC connected state (i.e., the UE cannot enter RRC connected state on the current network or the UE does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network). Although some embodiments of the present invention provide some alternative descriptions of UE supporting MUSIM (i.e., multi-SIM) and / or UE in RRC connected state on another network and UE supporting MUSIM, they can also be replaced by other alternative descriptions listed herein. When one or more of these descriptions are given in the embodiments, they can be replaced by other alternative descriptions listed herein. These alternative descriptions apply to all embodiments of the present invention and will not be repeated below.

[0061] Example 2

[0062] The UE sets the value of the ResumeCause field contained in the RRCResumeRequest message for RNAU to a value specifically set for RNAU purposes for UEs that support MUSIM and / or UEs that are in RRC connected state on other networks and / or UEs that do not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network.

[0063] Specifically, for a UE in an RRC inactive state, if timer T380 expires or RNAU is triggered due to receiving SIB1, and if the UE supports MUSIM and / or the UE is in an RRC connected state on another network (or the UE needs to instruct the base station not to reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as an acknowledgment message, or the UE does not expect to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as an acknowledgment message, or the UE expects the base station to send an RRCRelease message as an acknowledgment message, or the UE cannot enter the RRC connected state (i.e., the UE cannot enter the RRC connected state on the current network), or the UE is already in an RRC connected state on another network or the UE does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network), then the RRC connection continuation procedure is initiated and resumeCause is set to a value specifically for the RNAU purpose set for UEs that support MUSIM and / or UEs in an RRC connected state on other networks and / or UEs that do not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network).

[0064] It should be noted that in this invention, T380 is used to trigger the periodic RNAU process. Specifically, T380 is started upon receiving an RRCRelease message containing T380; T380 is stopped upon receiving an RRCResume, RRCSetup, or RRCRelease message; and when T380 expires, the RRC connection continuation process for RNAU is executed. SIB1 contains information relevant when evaluating whether a UE is allowed to access a cell and defines the scheduling of other system information; it also includes radio resource configuration information common to all UEs and barring information applied to the unified access control.

[0065] Example 3

[0066] If the UE supports MUSIM, when a UE in an inactive RRC state (or its RRC) needs to perform an RNAU, it instructs the upper layer or instructs the upper layer on relevant information that an RNAU will be performed. This relevant information may be the value of `resumeCause` (`rna-Update`) for performing a continue RRC connection for the purpose of RNAU, or it may be the value of `rna-Update` for performing a continue RRC connection for the purpose of RNAU and its corresponding `resumeCause`. In this case, the RRC layer will not trigger the continue RRC connection process; instead, the upper layer will decide whether to trigger the continue RRC connection process for RNAU.

[0067] Specifically, for a UE in an inactive RRC state, if T380 expires or RNAU is triggered due to receiving SIB1, if the UE supports MUSIM and / or the UE is in an RRC connected state on another network and / or the UE does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network and / or the upper layer needs to decide whether to execute the RRC connection continuation process and / or the upper layer needs to decide whether to establish an RRC connection with the current network, the upper layer is instructed to perform RNAU or to indicate to the upper layer the relevant information that the UE needs to perform RNAU on the current network; otherwise (i.e., the UE does not support MUSIM and / or the UE is not in an RRC connected state on another network and / or the UE can establish an RRC connection with the current network and / or the upper layer does not need to decide whether to execute the RRC connection continuation process and / or the upper layer does not need to decide whether to establish an RRC connection with the current network), the RRC connection continuation process is started and resumeCause is indicated as rna-Update.

[0068] Upon receiving the instruction information, if the upper layer decides to trigger the RRC layer to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure but cannot establish an RRC connection with the current network, it triggers the RRC layer to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure and instructs the value of resumeCause to be the value defined in Embodiment 2 specifically for UEs supporting MUSIM and / or UEs in RRC connection state on other networks and / or UEs that do not wish to establish an RRC connection with the current network for RNAU purposes (here, although the value of resumeCause is the same as in Embodiment 2; however, there is the following difference between here and Embodiment 2: in Embodiment 2, the value of resumeCause is determined by the RRC layer, while here, the value of resumeCause is indicated by NAS). If it decides to trigger the RRC layer to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure and can establish an RRC connection with the current network, it triggers the RRC layer to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure and instructs the value of resumeCause to be rna-Update. The prerequisite for instructing the value of resumeCause to be rna-Update is that the upper layer has no other reason to trigger the RRC layer to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure.

[0069] For a UE in an inactive RRC state, if the barrier for Access Category 8 or Access Category 2 is lifted, if the upper layer does not request the continuation of the RRC connection and pendingRNA_Update is set to true, and if the UE supports MUSIM and / or the UE does not expect to establish an RRC connection with the current network and / or the upper layer needs to decide whether to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure and / or the upper layer needs to decide whether an RRC connection can be established with the current network, then the upper layer is instructed to perform RNAU or to indicate to the upper layer that the UE needs to perform RNAU in the current network. Otherwise (i.e., the UE does not support MUSIM and / or the UE is not in an RRC connection state in other networks and / or the UE can establish an RRC connection with the current network and / or the upper layer does not need to decide whether to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure and / or the upper layer does not need to decide whether an RRC connection can be established with the current network), the RRC connection continuation procedure is initiated and resumeCause is indicated as rna-Update.

[0070] The decision to execute the RRC connection continuation procedure, which needs to be made by the upper layer, can be configured by the base station. In other words, only when the UE has the corresponding field configured will it instruct the upper layer on RNAU or on whether the UE needs to execute RNAU in the current network. Furthermore, the UE variable VarPendingRNA_Update, corresponding to pendingRNA_Update, is used to indicate whether there is a pending RNA update procedure. Setting this BOOLEAN variable to true indicates that there is a pending RNA update procedure.

[0071] Second Implementation Method

[0072] In the second embodiment, after receiving a response message to the RRC Resum Request message from the base station, the UE decides whether it can enter the RRC connected state in network B.

[0073] Figure 2This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method of a user equipment according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The user equipment described herein supports multiple USIM cards that can be connected to a network, i.e., it supports MUSIM.

[0074] In step S201, the user equipment (UE) sends an RRRCResumeRequest message for performing RNAU to the first network corresponding to the first USIM card.

[0075] In step S202, the user equipment (UE) receives an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message from the first network as a response message.

[0076] In step S203, the RRC layer of the user equipment UE indicates the information related to the received RRCResume message or RRCSetup message to the upper layer.

[0077] The following is a detailed description of Example 4.

[0078] Example 4

[0079] If a MUSIM-enabled UE receives an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message from the base station after sending an RRCResume Request message to the base station for performing RNAU, the RRC instructs the upper layer or instructs the upper layer to provide information related to the RRCResume or RRCSetup message. This information may include the RRC instructing the upper layer that it has received a message to continue / establish an RRC connection with the current network, or the RRC requesting the upper layer to decide whether to continue / establish an RRC connection with the current network. The upper layer can determine whether to instruct the RRC to enter the RRC connection state based on information such as the service priorities of the two USIM cards. For example, if the upper layer believes that the service priority of the USIM card corresponding to the current RRC is higher than the service priority of the other USIM card, the upper layer instructs the other USIM card to release the corresponding RRC connection, and then instructs the current RRC to establish an RRC connection; if the upper layer believes that the service priority of the USIM card corresponding to the current RRC is lower than the service priority of the other USIM card, the upper layer instructs the current RRC not to establish an RRC connection.

[0080] Optionally, if a MUSIM-enabled UE receives an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message from the base station after sending an RRCResumeRequest message to the base station for performing RNAU, and if the UE is in an RRC connected state on another network, or the UE cannot currently directly continue or establish an RRC connection with the current network, or the RRC cannot determine whether it can continue or establish an RRC connection with the current network, then the RRC will instruct the upper layer, or the RRC will instruct the upper layer on the information related to the RRCResume message or RRCSetup message, or receive a message to continue / establish an RRC connection with the current network, or request the upper layer to decide whether it can continue / establish an RRC connection with the current network. If the RRC receives an instruction from the upper layer instructing the RRC layer to continue or establish an RRC connection (or receives an instruction from the upper layer instructing the RRC layer to continue or establish an RRC connection related to this instruction), the RRC layer will continue to execute the operations required upon receiving the RRCResume or RRCSetup message (i.e., execute the operations specified in TS38.3315.3.13.4 upon receiving an RRCResume message or execute the operations specified in TS38.3315.3.13.7 upon receiving an RRCSetup message). If the RRC receives an instruction from the upper layer instructing the RRC layer to terminate or stop establishing an RRC connection (or receives an instruction from the upper layer instructing the RRC layer to terminate or stop establishing an RRC connection related to this instruction), the RRC layer will execute the operations in the following two ways.

[0081] Implementation Method 1

[0082] RRC performs the operation of entering RRC_IDLE and sets the release reason to 'RRC connection failure', 'RRC Resume failure', 'other', or another value set for this purpose.

[0083] Implementation Method 2

[0084] For MUSIM-enabled UEs sending RRCResumeRequest messages for RNAU purposes, the base station includes an indication identifier in the RRCResume message or RRCSetup message, which serves as a response message, to indicate the RRC state (i.e., RRC idle state or RRC inactive state) the UE enters when the UE's RRC or its upper layer decides not to perform operations related to continuing or establishing an RRC connection. Preferably, if the indication identifier is to indicate that the UE enters the RRC inactive state, it can be suspendConfig. In other words, if the response message contains suspendConfig and the UE determines not to continue or establish an RRC connection, the UE enters the RRC inactive state according to the configuration indicated by suspendConfig. If the response message does not contain suspendConfig and the UE determines not to continue or establish an RRC connection, the UE performs the operation of entering the RRC idle state and sets the release reason to 'RRC connection failure', 'RRC Resume failure', 'other', or other values ​​set for this purpose. Alternatively, if the indication flag indicates that the UE enters the RRC inactive state, the RRC enters the RRC inactive state according to the configuration of the last received suspendConfig indication; if the indication flag indicates that the UE enters the RRC idle state, the UE performs the operation of entering the RRC idle state and sets the release reason to 'RRC connection failure' or 'RRC Resume failure' or 'other' or other values ​​set for this purpose.

[0085] The suspendConfig option is used to indicate the configuration for the RRC inactive state.

[0086] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the operations performed upon receiving the RRCresum message include (see TS38.3315.3.13.4 for details): stopping T319, stopping T380 (if it is running), etc.

[0087] The operations to be performed upon receiving the RRCSetup message include (see TS38.3315.3.13.7 for details): discarding any stored inactive AS context and suspendConfig, and discarding any current AS security context.

[0088] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. The user equipment of the present invention will be described below.

[0089] Figure 3 This is a simplified structural block diagram of the user equipment involved in this invention.

[0090] like Figure 3 As shown, the user equipment 300 includes at least a processor 301 and a memory 302. The processor 301 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 302 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 systems. Program instructions are stored on the memory 302. When executed by the processor 301, these instructions can perform the above-described contents of this disclosure. Figure 1 or Figure 2 One or more steps of the execution method of the user device described.

[0091] The methods and related apparatus of this disclosure have been described above in conjunction with preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the methods shown above are merely exemplary, and the various embodiments described above can be combined with each other without contradiction. The methods of the present invention are not limited to the steps and order shown above.

[0092] The user equipment shown above may include more modules, such as modules that can be developed or will be developed in the future for use with base stations, MMEs, or UEs, etc. The various identifiers shown above are merely exemplary and not limiting, and this disclosure is not limited to the specific information elements exemplified by these identifiers. Many variations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art based on the teachings of the illustrated embodiments.

[0093] It should be understood that the above embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. For example, the various components inside the base station and user equipment in the above embodiments can be implemented by a variety of devices, including but not limited to: analog circuit devices, digital circuit devices, digital signal processing (DSP) circuits, programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and so on.

[0094] Furthermore, the computer-executable instructions or program running on the device according to the invention can be a program that enables the computer to perform the functions of the embodiments of the invention by controlling the central processing unit (CPU). The program or the information processed by the program can be temporarily stored in volatile memory (such as random access memory RAM), hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0095] Computer-executable instructions or programs for implementing the functions of the various embodiments of the present invention 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" here 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.

[0096] 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 above circuits 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 the present invention may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0097] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present invention 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.

[0098] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to the present invention 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 the present invention. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. A method for executing a user equipment, wherein the user equipment supports multiple USIM cards capable of connecting to the network independently using a single-receive-single-transmit, single-receive-multiple-transmit, or multiple-receive-single-transmit method, i.e., supports MUSIM, wherein... The execution method of the user equipment includes: The user equipment sends an RRCresumeRequest message for performing RNAU to the first network corresponding to the first USIM card; and The user equipment receives a response message from the first network. The RRCResumeRequest message contains an indication flag indicating that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network.

2. The user equipment execution method according to claim 1, wherein, The indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment is in RRC connection state on a second network corresponding to a second SIM card different from the first USIM card, or, The indication flag is used to indicate that the first network cannot reply with an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as the response message, or... The indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment does not expect to receive an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message as the response message, or, The indication identifier is used to indicate that the user equipment expects the first network to send an RRRCelease message as the response message.

3. The method for executing a user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The value of the ResumeCause field in the RRRCResumeRequest message is set to a value defined for supporting MUSIM user equipment to execute RNAU.

4. The method for executing a user equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The RRC layer of the user equipment indicates to the upper layer the information that RNAU needs to be performed in the first network, and the upper layer determines whether the user equipment can establish an RRC connection with the first network. If the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network, the RRCResumeRequest message includes an indication identifier to indicate that the user equipment cannot establish an RRC connection with the first network.

5. A method for executing a user equipment, wherein the user equipment supports multiple USIM cards that can be connected to the network separately, i.e., supports MUSIM, using a single-receive-single-transmit, single-receive-multiple-transmit, or multiple-receive-single-transmit method, wherein... The execution method of the user equipment includes: The user equipment sends an RRCResumeRequest message for performing RNAU to the first network corresponding to the first USIM card; The user equipment receives an RRCResume message or an RRCSetup message from the first network as a response message; and The RRC layer of the user equipment will indicate the information related to the RRCResume message or the RRCSetup message to the upper layer. The RRCResume message or the RRCSetup message contains an indication identifier for the RRC state that the user equipment should enter when it cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network.

6. The method for executing a user equipment according to claim 5, wherein, The upper layer of the RRC layer of the user equipment determines whether the user equipment can continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network.

7. The method for executing a user equipment according to claim 6, wherein, When the priority of the service on the first USIM card is higher than the priority of the service on a second USIM card (different from the first USIM card), the upper layer instructs the user equipment to release the RRC connection and instructs the user equipment to establish an RRC connection with the first network. When the priority of the service of the first USIM card is lower than the priority of the service of the second USIM card that is being executed and is different from the first USIM card, the upper layer instructs the user equipment not to establish an RRC connection with the first network.

8. The method for executing a user equipment according to claim 5, wherein, If the response message contains suspendConfig and the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network, then the user equipment enters the RRC inactive state according to the configuration indicated by the suspendConfig. If the response message does not contain suspendConfig and the upper layer determines that the user equipment cannot continue or establish an RRC connection with the first network, then the user equipment enters the RRC idle state.

9. A user equipment that supports multiple USIM cards capable of connecting to a network independently, i.e., supports MUSIM, using a single-receive-single-transmit, single-receive-multiple-transmit, or multiple-receive-single-transmit method, wherein the user equipment comprises: processor; as well as Memory, which stores instructions; The instructions are executed by the processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or the execution method of the user equipment according to any one of claims 5 to 8.

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