Quality of Service Flow Management Method and Device

Abstract

The present application provides a method and apparatus for managing quality of service flows, which can manage quality of service flows with associated relationships during the movement of a terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission. The method includes: a terminal device receives a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, the first message including context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in the first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system; during the process of switching from the first communication system to the second communication system or when the switching is successful, the terminal device retains the context information of the second quality of service flow, or deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and retains the marking information according to the first message.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for managing quality of service flows. Background Art

[0002] Extended reality (XR) refers to a human-computer interaction environment created through computer technology and wearable devices, combining the real and virtual worlds. It is a general term for various forms of reality, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). The integration of these three visual interaction technologies creates an immersive experience with seamless transitions between the virtual and real worlds.

[0003] XR services are usually sent between the network and the terminal in the form of "frames", and each frame represents a still image. During the actual transmission process, each frame usually needs to be transmitted through multiple IP packets. Due to the data burst characteristics of XR services, for example, when the XR service is 60 frames / s, a frame of data will arrive at the base station every 16.67ms, that is, a group of IP packets arrive at the base station, requesting the base station to send it to the user equipment (UE). If the base station is unable to send this data, for example, due to network congestion, the base station will randomly discard one or more of the received IP data packets to alleviate the congestion. If the randomly discarded IP data packet belongs to a high-priority (relatively important) frame data, it will have a greater impact on the user; if the discarded data packet belongs to a low-priority (relatively unimportant) frame data, the impact on the user will be smaller.

[0004] In the fifth generation (5G) system, the idea of ​​layered transmission is proposed to address the problem of random packet loss at the base station affecting users' viewing of XR services. For example, after the user plane function (UPF) receives data from the XR server for the UE, it sends the data stream to the UE through two quality of service flows (QoS flows) based on the importance of the data in the data stream. One QoS flow transmits relatively important frames, and the other QoS flow transmits relatively unimportant frames. These two QoS flows are called associated quality of service flows. When the base station cannot guarantee data transmission, such as due to network congestion, the base station prioritizes the transmission of high-priority data and discards low-priority data to ensure the user's service experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a method and apparatus for managing quality of service flows, which can manage quality of service flows with associated relationships during the movement of a terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method for managing a quality of service flow is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device or a chip or chip system on the terminal device side. The method includes: the terminal device receives a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in the first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system; the terminal device retains the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, the first core network network element determines the context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first service quality flow, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system. The first core network network element sends the context information of the first bearer to the terminal device; the terminal device retains the context information of the second service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow during the process of switching from the first communication system to the second communication system or when successfully switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. When the terminal device switches back to the first communication system from the second communication system, the second service quality flow can be activated based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow. Therefore, the technical solution provided by the present application can manage service quality flows with associated relationships during the movement of the terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the terminal device saves the context information of the second quality of service flow according to the first message, including: the terminal device determines that the context information of the corresponding bearer of the second quality of service flow in the second communication system has not been received; the terminal device retains the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message. The context information of the second quality of service flow actively retained by the terminal device can be used to activate the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, that is, the terminal device does not need to request the first core network network element to configure the quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow after switching from the second communication system to the first communication system, and can quickly implement layered transmission.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to retain context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. Optionally, the first indication information may also be sent independently, that is, the first indication information is sent via a message other than the first message.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first message further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow. Optionally, the second indication information may also be sent independently, that is, the second indication information is sent via a message other than the first message.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the second quality of service flow is activated according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow, so that layered transmission can be quickly realized.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, if the second service quality flow cannot be successfully activated based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow, that is, the second service quality flow cannot continue to be used to transmit data, then the terminal device requests to establish a third service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow.

[0013] In a second aspect, a method for managing quality of service flows is provided, which can be performed by a first core network element or a chip or chip system on the side of the first core network element. The method includes: the first core network element determines context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; the first core network element sends a first message to the terminal device, the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, the first core network element retains the context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0014] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method also includes: when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the first core network network element activates the second quality of service flow based on the retained context information of the second quality of service flow, so that layered transmission can be quickly realized.

[0015] In a third aspect, a method for managing a quality of service flow is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device or a chip or chip system on the terminal device side. The method includes: the terminal device receives a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, the first message including context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in the first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system; when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message, the terminal device deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow, and retains marking information, the marking information being used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

[0016] Based on the above technical solution, the first core network network element determines the context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system. The first core network network element sends the context information of the first bearer to the terminal device; when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system or successfully switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, it retains the marking information for establishing a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system. When the terminal device switches back to the first communication system from the second communication system, the terminal device can request to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the retained marking information, or the first core network network element can establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the retained marking information. Therefore, the technical solution provided by the present application can manage quality of service flows with associated relationships during the movement of the terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0017] In a fourth aspect, a method for managing a quality of service flow is provided, which can be performed by a first core network element or a chip or chip system on the first core network element side. The method includes: the first core network element determining context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow being associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow being used to transmit data to the terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer being used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; the first core network element sending a first message to the terminal device, the first message including context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, the first core network element deleting the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow, and retaining marking information, the marking information being used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

[0018] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising an apparatus for executing the method in any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects.

[0019] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a transceiver, wherein the transceiver is used to receive computer code or instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor runs the computer code or instructions, such as the method in any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects or the first to fourth aspects.

[0020] In the seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: the terminal device in the method described in the first aspect or the third aspect and other communication devices that communicate with the terminal device; the first core network network element in the method described in the second aspect or the fourth aspect and other communication devices that communicate with the first core network network element.

[0021] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium stores a computer program; when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the method in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0022] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, wherein when the instructions are executed by a computer, a communication device implements the communication method in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation method of the first to fourth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system architecture for interoperability between 5G and 4G.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of I frame and P frame.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of layered transmission.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic flow diagram of a method for managing quality of service flow in an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Figure 5 This is an example of a method for managing quality of service flow in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Figure 6 Figure 1 is a diagram showing the mapping of two associated quality of service flows to one EPS bearer.

[0029] Figure 7 This is an example of a method for managing quality of service flow in an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Figure 8 This is a schematic flow diagram of another method for managing quality of service flows proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 9 This is an example of another method for managing quality of service flows proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] Figure 10 This is an example of another method for managing quality of service flows proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Figure 11 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] Figure 12 It is a schematic block diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Figure 13 It is a schematic block diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] Figure 14 It is a schematic block diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] Figure 15 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area network (WLAN), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), long term evolution (LTE), satellite communication, fifth generation (5G) system or new communication systems that will appear in the future.

[0040] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of the present application may include various handheld devices with wireless communication functions, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal may be a mobile station (MS), a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a user equipment (UE), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, etc.

[0041] The embodiment of the present application takes the switching between 5G and the fourth generation mobile communication technology (4G) as an example, but the application is not limited to this. The present application is also applicable to switching between other communication systems, and the devices in other communication systems can also adapt accordingly.

[0042] like Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the system architecture for interoperability between 5G and 4G. In this system architecture, the serving gateway (SGW) and mobility management entity (MME) are 4G core network elements, and the evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) is a 4G access network element. The access and mobility management function (AMF) is a 5G core network element, and the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) is a 5G access network element. The home subscriber server (HSS) + unified data management (UDM), policy control function (PCF), session management function (SMF) + packet data network gateway (PGW)-C, and user plane function (UPF) + packet data network gateway (PGW)-U are core network elements of the combined 5G and 4G networks. N26 is the interface between the AMF and MME of the 5G and 4G core networks.

[0043] Among them, MME provides 4G mobility management, bearer management, lawful interception, access authorization and authentication functions. AMF provides mobility management, lawful interception, or access authorization and authentication functions. SMF+PGW-C provides 5G session management, bearer management, address allocation, etc. PGW-C is the control plane function of the 4G gateway, providing address allocation for 4G connections, management of user plane paths, including management of UE IP addresses, management of CN tunnel information, traffic detection, billing, etc. UPF+PGW-U is responsible for management of user plane paths and data distribution, including management of UE IP addresses, management of CN tunnel information, traffic detection, user plane forwarding, billing, etc. PGW-U is the user plane function of the 4G gateway, responsible for 4G user plane forwarding.

[0044] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the existing technologies related to the embodiments of the present application is given.

[0045] Extended reality (XR) refers to a human-computer interaction environment created through computer technology and wearable devices, combining the real and virtual worlds. It is a general term for various forms of reality, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). The integration of these three visual interaction technologies creates an immersive experience with seamless transitions between the virtual and real worlds.

[0046] XR services are typically sent between the network and terminals in the form of "frames," with each frame representing a still image. During actual compression, various algorithms are employed to reduce data capacity. For example, an I-frame represents a keyframe, which can be understood as the complete preservation of this frame's image. Decoding only requires the data for this frame, as the I-frame contains the complete image. A P-frame represents the difference between this frame and the previous keyframe. During decoding, the previously cached image is superimposed on the difference defined by this frame to generate the final image. During actual transmission, the size of each frame is related to the size and quality of the image. Typically, each frame needs to be transmitted via multiple IP packets. For example, an I-frame requires 100 IP packets, and a P-frame requires 40 IP packets.

[0047] Relatively speaking, I frames are more important than P frames because when some P frames fail to transmit, it usually only affects the display of those P frames, and the user experience is a brief freeze. However, if I frame transmission fails, subsequent P frames cannot be parsed, and the user experience is a longer freeze.

[0048] P0 is a P frame that has a major modification to the I frame; P1 is a frame that has a minor modification based on the I frame or P0 frame; P2 is a P frame that has a minor modification to the previous frame. For example, P2 is a P frame that has a minor modification to the I frame, P0 frame, or P1 frame. If P1 or P2 is lost, it will only affect the display of the current frame, which is a minor impact; if I frame or P0 is lost, it will affect the display of the following frames, which is a major impact. Figure 2 As shown, a schematic diagram of I frame and P frame is presented.

[0049] Due to the bursty nature of XR services, for example, when the XR service rate is 60 frames per second, a frame of data arrives at the base station every 16.67ms. This means that a set of IP packets arrives at the base station, requesting the base station to transmit it to the UE. If the base station is unable to transmit this data, for example due to network congestion, it will randomly discard one or more of the received IP packets to alleviate congestion. If the randomly discarded IP packets are high-priority frames, such as I frames or P0 frames, this will have a significant impact on users. However, if the discarded packets are low-priority frames, such as P1 frames or P2 frames, the impact on users will be minimal.

[0050] In the 5G communication system, in order to solve the problem of random packet loss at the base station affecting the user's viewing of XR services, the idea of ​​layered transmission is proposed. For example, after the UPF receives data from the XR server to the UE, it sends the data stream to the UE through two quality of service flows (QoS flows) based on the importance of the data in the data stream. One QoS flow transmits relatively important frames, such as I frames and P0 frames; the other QoS flow transmits relatively unimportant frames, such as P1 and P2. Figure 3 As shown, a schematic diagram of layered transmission is presented.

[0051] QoS flow is the finest granularity of QoS forwarding processing defined in 5G communication systems. Data mapped to the same QoS flow will receive the same forwarding processing, such as scheduling policy, queue management policy, rate shaping policy, etc. Different QoS forwarding processing requires different QoS flows. For convenience, QoS flow 1 can be uniformly defined as the QoS flow for transmitting high-importance (high-priority) data, and QoS flow 2 can be defined as the QoS flow for transmitting low-importance (low-priority) data.

[0052] When the base station cannot guarantee data transmission, such as due to network congestion, it prioritizes sending high-priority data and discards low-priority data to ensure the user's service experience. For example, the base station prioritizes sending data received from QoS flow 1 and discards data received from QoS flow 2.

[0053] In the above manner, there is an association between QoS flow1 and QoS flow2. UPF determines whether to use QoS flow1 or QoS flow2 for transmission based on the importance of the data in the data flow. Under normal circumstances, to ensure high-priority data transmission, QoS flow1 needs to be created as a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) service quality flow, that is, a QoS flow that requires the network to guarantee the bit rate, and QoS flow2 can be created as a (non-) guaranteed bit rate (non-guaranteed bit rate, non-GBR) service quality flow, that is, a QoS flow that does not require the network to guarantee the bit rate.

[0054] In the prior art, the switching mechanism for QoS flow to 4G in 5G includes: when a protocol data unit (PDU) session is established or a QoS flow is established, the SMF determines whether the QoS flow can be switched to the 4G evolved packet system (EPS) bearer according to the network policy. For those that can be switched, the SMF requests the AMF to allocate a 4G corresponding EPS bearer identifier (EPS bearer ID) for the QoS flow and sends it to the UE; for those that cannot be switched, the SMF will not request the AMF to allocate an EPS bearer ID for the QoS flow, nor will it send the EPS bearer ID to the UE. When the UE switches to 4G, the UE deletes the context information of the QoS flow that is not allocated an EPS bearer ID, and retains the context information of the QoS flow that is allocated an EPS bearer ID, wherein the context information of the QoS flow includes information such as the identifier of the quality of service flow, quality of service parameters, and quality of service rules.

[0055] For QoS flows with associated relationships in 5G, there is currently no mechanism to switch from 5G to 4G.

[0056] If only one of the two associated QoS flows is switched to 4G, the UE will delete the context information of the other QoS flow when switching to 4G. When the UE switches back to 5G, the context information of the other QoS flow will no longer exist. It will be impossible to establish the association between the two QoS flows, and the layered transmission mechanism cannot be activated.

[0057] To this end, the present application proposes a method for managing quality of service flows, which can manage quality of service flows with associated relationships during the movement of terminal equipment between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0058] like Figure 4 As shown, a schematic flow interaction diagram of a method 400 for managing quality of service flow proposed in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0059] 410. A first core network element creates a first quality of service (QoS) flow and a second quality of service (QoS) flow for a terminal device in a first communication system. Data is transmitted between the terminal device and the core network element (UPF) via the first and second QoS flows. The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are associated QoS flows. A QoS flow is the basis for QoS control in the first communication system. It is the finest granularity for QoS differentiation in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session and is typically identified by a QoS Flow ID (QFI). User plane data with the same QFI in a PDU session receives the same traffic forwarding treatment (e.g., scheduling, admission threshold, etc.). The first core network element determines that the first QoS flow supports interoperability with the second communication system, while the second QoS flow does not support interoperability with the second communication system. The first core network element determines context information for a first bearer corresponding to the first QoS flow and determines not to allocate context for the bearer corresponding to the second QoS flow to the second QoS flow. The first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system. A bearer is the granularity level for QoS control in the secondary communication system and is typically identified by an EPS Bearer ID (EBI). This means that all traffic mapped to the same bearer receives the same bearer-level packet forwarding processing (e.g., scheduling policy, queue management policy, rate shaping policy, RLC configuration, etc.). Providing different bearer-level packet forwarding processing requires separate bearers.

[0060] Among them, the context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first service quality flow can be expressed as the bearer context information (EBI, etc.) corresponding to QFI1 (identifier of the first service quality flow) can be understood as the context information corresponding to the first service quality flow in the second communication system, or the context information corresponding to the first service quality flow after switching to the second communication system, or the bearer context information of the second communication system that supports the mapping of the first service quality flow to interoperate with the second communication system.

[0061] The first core network element is a core network element jointly provided by the first communication system and the second communication system. The first communication system may be a 5G communication system, and the second communication system may be a 4G communication system. The first core network element may be an SMF+PGW-C. The first bearer may be an EPS bearer.

[0062] The terminal device transmits data between the core network element (UPF) through the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the first communication system. This can be understood as the terminal transmitting data for a specific application scenario through the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the first communication system. For example, in the XR service scenario, XR application data is transmitted. Furthermore, the first quality of service flow can be used to transmit data with high importance in the above-mentioned XR service, such as I frame, P0 frame, and P1 frame data, and the second quality of service flow can be used to transmit data with low importance in the above-mentioned XR service, such as P2 frame data.

[0063] Exemplarily, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the first bearer (EBI), quality of service parameters (QoS parameters) of the first bearer, a traffic flow template (TFT) of the first bearer, and PGW-U tunnel information (tunnel information) corresponding to the first bearer. The quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, that is, the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the QoS flow with high transmission importance; the traffic flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the first quality of service flow, for example, the packet filter set included in the quality of service rule of the first quality of service flow covers the packet filtering information of the entire XR service, or is generated based on the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the first quality of service flow and the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the second quality of service flow. For example, the packet filter set included in the quality of service rule of the first quality of service flow combined with the packet filter set included in the quality of service rule of the second quality of service flow can cover the packet filtering information of the entire XR service. The bearer service flow template (TFT) is a collection of all packet filters associated with a bearer. When the first core network element maps a first quality of service flow and a second quality of service flow to a first bearer, the service flow template for the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the quality of service rules of the second quality of service flow, wherein the QoS rules include the QFI, packet filter set, and priority value of the associated QoS flow.

[0064] Exemplarily, the first core network element may request the second core network element to allocate identification information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow to the first quality of service flow; the first core network element may be an SMF, and the second core network element may be an AMF.

[0065] 420. The first core network element sends a first message to the terminal device, the first message including context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow. It should be understood that the first core network element does not send context information of the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow to the terminal device.

[0066] Exemplarily, a first core network element sending a first message to a terminal device may include the first core network element directly sending the first message to the terminal device, or the first core network element sending the first message to the terminal device via an intermediate device such as a second core network element or a base station. For example, the first core network element first sends the first message to the second core network element, which then sends the first message to the base station, which then sends the first message to the terminal device. The first message is transparently transmitted from the first core network element to the terminal device via the second core network element and the base station, not point-to-point transmission. The first core network element may be an SMF, and the second core network element may be an AMF.

[0067] 430. The terminal device receives a first message sent by a first core network element in the first communication system. Exemplarily, the terminal device receives the first message sent by a base station, and the base station transparently transmits the first message.

[0068] 440. When the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system based on the received first message, the terminal device retains the context information of the second quality of service flow. It should be understood that the terminal device may retain the context information of the second quality of service flow during the process of switching from the first communication system to the second communication system, or after successfully switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. The terminal device retains the context information of the second quality of service flow, which can be understood as the terminal device not deleting the context information of the second quality of service flow. The context information of the second quality of service flow includes information such as the identifier of the second quality of service flow and the quality of service parameters of the second quality of service flow.

[0069] The context information of the second quality of service flow retained by the terminal device can be used to activate the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system. That is, during the switching process from the second communication system to the first communication system, the network side directly configures the wireless bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow to the terminal device, and the terminal device can directly use the second quality of service flow to transmit data. The terminal device does not need to request the first core network network element to configure the quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow after switching from the second communication system to the first communication system, and can quickly realize layered transmission.

[0070] Exemplarily, a terminal device does not receive context information for a bearer corresponding to a second quality of service flow in a second communication system in a first communication system. The terminal device determines, based on a first message, that it has received context information for a first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, and based on the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow; the terminal device retains the context information for the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. That is, after receiving the context information for a first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, the terminal device proactively retains the context information for the second quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow. The first quality of service flow corresponding to the context information for the first bearer supports interoperability with the second communication system. It can be understood that the terminal device does not receive context information for a bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow in the first communication system, which can be understood as the terminal device does not store the context information for the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow in the second communication system. The terminal device determines, based on the first message, that it has received context information for a first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, which can be understood as the terminal device storing the context information for the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow after receiving the first message.

[0071] Exemplarily, the first core network element may map the first quality of service flow to a first bearer. The first message may also include first indication information, which is used to instruct the terminal device to retain context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. The terminal device may receive the first indication information sent by the first core network element and, based on the received context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the first indication information, retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. Optionally, the first indication information may be sent to the terminal device by the first core network element separately, i.e., the first message does not include the first indication information, and the first indication message is sent to the terminal device via a message other than the first message. In this case, the first indication information is also transparently transmitted from the first core network element to the terminal device via the second core network element and the base station, rather than point-to-point transmission. In this case, the first bearer sent by the first core network element to the terminal device is the context of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow. The first quality of service flow corresponding to the context information of the first bearer supports interoperability with the second communication system.

[0072] Exemplarily, a first core network element determines that a first quality of service flow and a second quality of service flow support interoperability with a second communication system. The first core network element may map the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow to a first bearer. The first core network element may send second indication information to a terminal device, where the second indication information indicates that the context information of the first bearer is the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow. In other words, the second indication information indicates that the context information of the first bearer is not only the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, but also the context information of the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow. Specifically, the second indication information may be represented as the bearer context information (such as EBI) corresponding to QFI1 (identifier of the first quality of service flow) and QFI2 (identifier of the second quality of service flow). The terminal device may receive the second indication information sent by the first core network element and, based on the second indication information, retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. The second indication information is also transparently transmitted from the first core network element to the terminal device via the second core network element and the base station, rather than point-to-point transmission. Optionally, the second indication information may also be sent through the first message, that is, the first message includes the second indication information. Optionally, the second indication information may also be sent by the first core network network element to the terminal device in a separate manner, that is, the first message does not include the second indication information, and the second indication message is sent to the terminal device through other messages other than the first message; in this case, the first core network network element may request the second core network network element to allocate identification information of a corresponding bearer for the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow. In this case, the context information of the first bearer sent by the first core network network element to the terminal device may be the context of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, and the context information of the first bearer sent by the first core network network element to the terminal device may also be the context of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0073] Optionally, when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the terminal device can activate the second service quality flow based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow, that is, directly use the second service quality flow to transmit data without requesting the first core network network element to configure a service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow, thereby quickly realizing layered transmission.

[0074] Optionally, when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, if the second quality of service flow cannot be successfully activated based on the retained context information of the second quality of service flow, that is, the second quality of service flow cannot continue to be used to transmit data, then the terminal device can request the first core network network element to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0075] At 450, when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, the first core network element retains the context information of the second quality of service flow, i.e., does not delete the context information of the second quality of service flow. It should be understood that the switching of the terminal device from the first communication system to the second communication system is triggered or sensed by the first core network element.

[0076] Optionally, when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system, the first core network network element can activate the second service quality flow based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow. That is, during the switching process from the second communication system to the first communication system, the first core network network element directly sends the context information corresponding to the second service quality flow to the base station, so that the base station configures the wireless bearer corresponding to the second service quality flow to the terminal device. The second service quality flow can be directly used to transmit data to the terminal device without reconfiguring the service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow, and layered transmission can be quickly realized.

[0077] In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first core network network element determines the context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first service quality flow, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system. The first core network network element sends the context information of the first bearer to the terminal device; the terminal device retains the context information of the second service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow during the process of switching from the first communication system to the second communication system or when successfully switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. When the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the second service quality flow can be activated based on the retained context information of the second service quality flow. Therefore, the technical solution provided by the present application can manage service quality flows with associated relationships during the movement of the terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0078] like Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, an exemplary process interaction diagram of a service quality flow management method according to an embodiment of the present application is presented.

[0079] 1. In 5G application scenarios, the specific process of UE is as follows: Figure 5 Shown, including:

[0080] 501. The UE in the 5G communication system starts an XR application, establishes a socket connection with the XR server through the data channel provided by the PDU session, and performs application layer negotiation, such as XR media stream format negotiation through the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

[0081] 502a, the UE determines to use the associated service quality flow to transmit XR service data based on the negotiation results with the XR server. A QoS flow for transmitting XR service data is created through the PDU session modification process, specifically including the UE sending a PDU session modification request message to the SMF through the base station (gNB) and AMF, that is, the UE transparently transmits the PDU session modification request message to the SMF through the gNB and AMF. The PDU session modification request message carries QoS requirements and packet filter (packetfilter) quintuple information related to XR services. The SMF is a core network element jointly set up by the 5G and 4G communication systems, which can be used for Figure 4 The first core network element in the embodiment.

[0082] The PDU session modification request message is used to request the SMF to establish a QoS flow for transmitting high-importance data and to associate it with a QoS flow for transmitting less important data. Of course, the QoS flow for transmitting less important data can be an existing QoS flow or a newly established QoS flow through the PDU session modification process. The five-tuple information includes the header information, source address, destination address, source port number, destination port number, and transport layer protocol of the XR service IP packet.

[0083] It should be understood that establishing a QoS flow for transmitting highly important data and establishing an association relationship with a QoS flow for transmitting less important data can be initiated by the UE, as described in 502a, or by the XR server, as described in 502b.

[0084] 502b, the XR server sends an SM policy modification request message to the SMF through the PCF and UPF. The SM policy modification request message carries QoS requirements and packet filter quintuple information related to the XR service.

[0085] 503, SMF establishes two associated service quality flows according to the PDU session modification request message sent by the UE or the SM policy modification request message sent by the XR server. The two service quality flows can be used for layered transmission of XR service data. Figure 4 The first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the embodiment.

[0086] The SMF determines, based on the network policy, that the first quality of service flow of the two associated quality of service flows can be switched to a 4G evolved packet system (EPS) bearer, or determines that both the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow of the two associated quality of service flows can be switched to a 4G EPS bearer.

[0087] Exemplarily, the SMF maps the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow of two associated quality of service flows in 5G to a 4G EPS bearer, such as Figure 6 As shown in FIG, a schematic diagram of mapping two associated quality of service flows to one EPS bearer is shown. The first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the two associated quality of service flows are mapped to a 4G EPS bearer. It can be understood that the XR service data transmitted by two associated quality of service flows in 5G is transmitted through one EPS bearer in 4G. The EPS bearer can be Figure 4 The first bearer in the embodiment.

[0088] The SMF determines context information of an EPS bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow in two associated quality of service flows, where the EPS bearer is used to transmit XR service data to a UE in a 4G communication system. The context information of the EPS bearer includes information such as an identifier of the EPS bearer, the quality of service of the EPS bearer, a traffic flow template (TFT) of the EPS bearer, and PGW-U tunnel information corresponding to the EPS bearer.

[0089] Specifically, the SMF may request the AMF to allocate an EPS bearer identifier (EPS bearer ID, EBI) for the first quality of service flow, which is the EBI corresponding to the first quality of service flow with high priority. The quality of service information of the EPS bearer includes parameters such as the quality of service class identifier (QoS class identifier, QCI), guaranteed bit rate (guaranteed bit rate, GBR), maximum bit rate (max bit rate, MBR), and allocation and retention priority (allocation and retention priority, ARP).

[0090] The SMF may determine a QoS class identifier (QoS class identifier) ​​for the EPS bearer based on the QoS parameters of the first QoS flow, where the first QoS flow may be a high-priority QoS flow. The SMF may determine a GBR based on service requirements or a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) for the first QoS flow. The SMF may determine an MBR based on service requirements or a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) for the first QoS flow.

[0091] The SMF can generate TFT information for the EPS bearer based on the QoS rules of the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow. Specifically, the packet filters in the QoS rules of the associated first QoS flow and the second QoS flow used for data transmission in 5G can be combined to generate the TFT of the EPS bearer used for data transmission in 4G.

[0092] In steps 504-506, the SMF sends a first message to the UE, where the first message includes context information for the EPS bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow. The first message does not include context information for the EPS bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow. That is, the SMF does not send the context information for the EPS bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow to the UE via the first message. Exemplarily, the first message may be a PDU Session Modification Command message.

[0093] The SMF sends the first message to the AMF, which then sends it to the gNB. Finally, the gNB sends it to the UE. This means that the first message is transparently transmitted from the SMF to the UE via the AMF and gNB, not point-to-point transmission.

[0094] 507. The UE receives the first message sent by the SMF.

[0095] 2. In the application scenario where UE switches from 5G to 4G, the specific process is as follows Figure 7 Shown, including:

[0096] The steps before 701 are as follows Figure 5 The method is described in the examples.

[0097] 701, AMF sends a handover command to the UE;

[0098] 702. The UE retains, based on the received first message, context information of the second quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow during handover from 5G to 4G or upon successful handover from 5G to 4G, i.e., does not delete the context information of the second quality of service flow. The context information of the second quality of service flow includes information such as an identifier of the second quality of service flow and quality of service parameters of the second quality of service flow.

[0099] Implementation method 1:

[0100] The UE determines that it has not received context information for the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow in the 4G communication system. The UE determines, based on the first message, that it has received context information for the EPS bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow. Based on the association between the two quality of service flows, the terminal device retains the context information for the second quality of service flow when switching from 5G to 4G. That is, after receiving the context information for the EPS bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, the terminal device actively retains the context information for the second quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow.

[0101] It should be understood that the UE does not receive the context information of the bearer corresponding to the second service quality flow in the 4G communication system, which can be understood as the UE does not save the context information of the bearer corresponding to the second service quality flow in the 4G communication system.

[0102] It should be understood that although the context information of the EPS bearer can be generated through the context mapping of two service quality flows, the context information of the EPS bearer is only associated with the first service quality flow, that is, the context information of the EPS bearer received by the UE is the context information of the EPS bearer corresponding to the first service quality flow, and the UE cannot receive the context information of the EPS bearer corresponding to the second service quality flow.

[0103] Implementation 2:

[0104] SMF maps the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow associated in 5G to a 4G EPS bearer, and sends a first indication message to the UE, where the first indication message is used to instruct the UE to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from 5G to 4G. The UE can receive the first indication message sent by the first core network element, and retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from 5G to 4G according to the first indication message. Optionally, the first indication message can also be sent via a first message, that is, the first indication information is included in the first message, or the first indication information can be included in the context information of the first bearer. This application does not make specific restrictions on this. When the first indication message is sent to the UE independently of the first message, the first indication message can specifically be retaining the associated quality of service flow (retainrelated QoS flow) or the associated quality of service flow identifier (correlated QoS flow identifier, QFI).

[0105] Implementation 3:

[0106] The SMF maps the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow associated in 5G to a 4G EPS bearer, and sends a second indication message to the UE. The second indication message is used to indicate that the context information of the EPS bearer is the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow. In other words, the second indication message is used to indicate that the context information of the EPS bearer is not only the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, but also the context information of the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow. The UE can receive the second indication message sent by the SMF and retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from 5G to 4G according to the second indication message. Optionally, the second indication message can also be sent through the first message, that is, the second indication information is included in the first message, or the second indication information can be included in the context information of the first bearer. In this case, the SMF can request the AMF to allocate an EPS bearer identification information for the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0107] 703. The SMF receives a modify bearer request message sent by the SGW. The modify bearer request message is used to request the SMF to modify the first quality of service flow into an EPS bearer.

[0108] 704. When the UE is switching from 5G to 4G or successfully switching from 5G to 4G, the SMF retains the context information of the second quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow, that is, the context information of the second quality of service flow is not deleted.

[0109] 3. In the application scenario where the UE switches from 4G to 5G, the specific process includes:

[0110] The second QoS flow is activated according to the retained context information of the second QoS flow, that is, data is directly transmitted to the terminal device using the second QoS flow without reconfiguring the QoS flow associated with the first QoS flow, thereby quickly achieving layered transmission.

[0111] If the second quality of service flow cannot be successfully activated according to the context information of the retained second quality of service flow, that is, the second quality of service flow cannot continue to be used to transmit data, the UE can request the SMF to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0112] like Figure 8 As shown, a schematic flow interaction diagram of another service quality flow management method 800 proposed in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0113] 810. A first core network element creates a first quality of service (QoS) flow and a second quality of service (QoS) flow for a terminal device in a first communication system. Data is transmitted between the terminal device and the core network element (UPF) via the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow. The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are associated QoS flows. The first core network element determines context information of a first bearer corresponding to the first QoS flow, and determines not to allocate context of the bearer corresponding to the second QoS flow to the second QoS flow. The first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system. The context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first QoS flow can be understood as context information corresponding to the first QoS flow in the second communication system, or context information corresponding to the first QoS flow after switching to the second communication system. The first QoS flow corresponding to the context information of the first bearer supports interoperability with the second communication system.

[0114] The first core network element is a core network element jointly provided by the first communication system and the second communication system. The first communication system may be a 5G communication system, and the second communication system may be a 4G communication system. The first core network element may be an SMF+PGW-C. The first bearer may be an EPS bearer.

[0115] The terminal device transmits data between the core network element (UPF) through the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the first communication system. It can be understood that the terminal uses the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow in the first communication system to transmit data for a specific application scenario. For example, in the XR service scenario, the data of the XR application is transmitted. Furthermore, the first quality of service flow can be used to transmit data with high importance in the above-mentioned XR service, such as I frame, P0 frame, and P1 frame data, and the second quality of service flow can be used to transmit data with low importance in the above-mentioned XR service, such as P2 frame data.

[0116] Exemplarily, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, a traffic flow template (TFT) of the first bearer, and PGW-U tunnel information (tunnel information) corresponding to the first bearer. The quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, that is, the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on high-level quality of service parameters; the traffic flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the first quality of service flow, or is generated based on the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the first quality of service flow and the quality of service rule (QoS rule) of the second quality of service flow. When the first core network element maps the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow to the first bearer, the traffic flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rule of the first quality of service flow and the quality of service rule of the second quality of service flow.

[0117] Exemplarily, the first core network element may request the second core network element to allocate identification information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow to the first quality of service flow; the first core network element may be an SMF, and the second core network element may be an AMF.

[0118] 820. The first core network element sends a first message to the terminal device, the first message including context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow. It should be understood that the first core network element sends context information of the bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow to the terminal device.

[0119] Exemplarily, a first core network element sending a first message to a terminal device may include the first core network element directly sending the first message to the terminal device, or the first core network element sending the first message to the terminal device via an intermediate device such as a second core network element or a base station. For example, the first core network element first sends the first message to the second core network element, which then sends the first message to the base station, which then sends the first message to the terminal device. The first message is transparently transmitted from the first core network element to the terminal device via the second core network element and the base station, not point-to-point transmission. The first core network element may be an SMF, and the second core network element may be an AMF.

[0120] 830. The terminal device receives a first message sent by a first core network element in the first communication system. Exemplarily, the terminal device receives the first message sent by a base station, and the base station transparently transmits the first message.

[0121] 840. When the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system based on the received first message, the terminal device deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow, and retains the marking information. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system to achieve layered transmission.

[0122] 850. When the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, the first core network network element deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow, and retains the marking information. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system to achieve layered transmission.

[0123] Exemplarily, the marking information may be part of the context information of the second QoS flow, for example, the QoS parameters of the second QoS flow. The marking information may also be indication information indicating that a QoS flow associated with the first QoS flow may be created. Alternatively, the marking information may be indication information indicating that a QoS flow associated with the first QoS flow may be created, as well as the QoS parameters of the associated QoS flow. This application does not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0124] In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first core network network element determines the context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow, the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system, and the first core network network element sends the context information of the first bearer to the terminal device; the terminal device retains the marking information for establishing a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system during the process of switching from the first communication system to the second communication system or when the terminal device successfully switches from the first communication system to the second communication system. When the terminal device switches back to the first communication system from the second communication system, the terminal device can request to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the retained marking information, or the first core network network element can establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow based on the retained marking information. Therefore, the technical solution provided by the present application can manage quality of service flows with associated relationships during the movement of the terminal device between different communication systems to achieve layered transmission.

[0125] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, an exemplary process interaction diagram of another service quality flow management method proposed in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0126] 1. In 5G application scenarios, the specific process of UE is as follows: Figure 5 The difference is that the SMF does not need to send the first indication information and the second indication information to the UE.

[0127] 2. In the application scenario where UE switches from 5G to 4G, the specific process is as follows Figure 9 As shown, including:

[0128] The steps before 901 are as follows Figure 5 The method is described in the examples.

[0129] 901, AMF sends a handover command to the UE;

[0130] 902. During the process of switching from 5G to 4G or when the UE successfully switches from 5G to 4G, the UE deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow according to the received first message, and retains the marking information. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system to achieve layered transmission.

[0131] 903. The SMF receives a modify bearer request message sent by the SGW. The modify bearer request message is used to request the SMF to modify the first quality of service flow into an EPS bearer.

[0132] 904. When the UE switches from 5G to 4G or successfully switches from 5G to 4G, the SMF deletes the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow, and retains the marking information. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the second communication system back to the first communication system to achieve layered transmission.

[0133] Exemplarily, the marking information may be part of the context information of the second quality of service flow, for example, identification information of the second quality of service flow; the marking information may also be indication information for indicating that a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow may be created. This application does not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0134] 3. In the application scenario where the UE switches from 4G to 5G, the specific process is as follows Figure 10 shown.

[0135] During the process of UE switching back from 4G to 5G or successfully switching back to 5G, the UE may trigger the establishment of a service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow, or the SMF may trigger the establishment of a service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow. The application side may also determine that when the UE switches back from 4G to 5G, based on the characteristics of the service that can execute layered transmission, the modem is triggered to create a service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow.

[0136] 1001. When the UE switches from 4G back to 5G or successfully switches from 4G back to 5G, the UE can determine to establish a service quality flow associated with the first service quality flow based on the retained marking information and initiate an establishment request.

[0137] 1002. During the UE's handover from 4G back to 5G, or when the UE successfully switches back from 4G to 5G, the SMF may determine, based on the retained marking information, to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow. Specifically, the SMF may initiate a PDU session modification based on the retained marking information to establish a quality of service flow and establish an association between the quality of service flow and the first quality of service flow. 1001 and 1002 are two parallel implementations.

[0138] Optionally, the first core network element (SMF) can allocate the context information of the corresponding first bearer for the first quality of service flow, and allocate the context information of the corresponding second bearer for the second quality of service flow. The context information of the first bearer is generated based on the mapping of the context information of the first quality of service flow, or it can be generated based on the mapping of the context information of the first quality of service flow and the context information of the second quality of service flow. The context information of the second bearer is generated based on the mapping of the context information of the second quality of service flow, or it can be a false context information, that is, the second bearer is not used to transmit data in the second communication system, and the data transmitted by the second quality of service flow will be transmitted using the first bearer. In this case, the SMF maps the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow associated in 5G to a 4G EPS bearer, and the data transmitted by the two quality of service flows in 5G are both transmitted through an EPS bearer in 4G. Although the corresponding second bearer is separately allocated to the second quality of service flow, it does not actually transmit data.

[0139] A first core network element (SMF) sends a first message to a terminal device (UE), which includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow and context information of a second bearer corresponding to a second quality of service flow. The terminal device receives the first message and, based on the received first message, retains the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system. In this case, the first quality of service flow supports interoperability with the second communication system, and the second quality of service flow supports interoperability with the second communication system.

[0140] The embodiment of the present application proposes a communication device, such as Figure 11 As shown, a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device can be applied to Figure 4 or Figure 5 or Figure 7 Terminal device / UE in a method embodiment.

[0141] The communication device 1100 includes: a transceiver unit 1110, configured to receive a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data in the second communication system;

[0142] The processing unit 1120 is configured to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message.

[0143] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is specifically used to: determine that the context information of the corresponding bearer of the second service quality flow in the second communication system is not received; and retain the context information of the second service quality flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message.

[0144] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that context information of the second quality of service flow is retained when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

[0145] Optionally, the first message further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0146] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to, when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system, activate the second quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0147] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to, when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system, request to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0148] Optionally, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0149] The embodiment of the present application proposes a communication device, such as Figure 12 As shown, a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device can be applied to Figure 4 or Figure 5 or Figure 7 The first core network element / SMF in the method embodiment. The communication device 1200 includes:

[0150] a determining unit 1210, configured to determine context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in the first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system;

[0151] The transceiver unit 1220 sends a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow;

[0152] The processing unit 1230 is configured to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system.

[0153] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

[0154] Optionally, the first message further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is the context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0155] Optionally, the processing unit 1230 is further configured to, when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, activate the second quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

[0156] Optionally, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0157] The embodiment of the present application proposes a communication device, such as Figure 13 As shown, a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device can be applied to Figure 8 or Figure 9 or Figure 10 The terminal device / UE in the method embodiment. The communication device 1300 includes:

[0158] The transceiver unit 1310 is configured to receive a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data in the second communication system;

[0159] Processing unit 1320 is used to delete the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message, and retain the marking information, wherein the marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

[0160] Optionally, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0161] The embodiment of the present application proposes a communication device, such as Figure 14 As shown, a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The device can be applied to Figure 8 or Figure 9 or Figure 10 The first core network element / SMF in the method embodiment. The communication device 1400 includes:

[0162] a determining unit 1410, configured to determine context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to the terminal device in the first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system;

[0163] The transceiver unit 1420 sends a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow;

[0164] Processing unit 1430 is used to delete the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, and retain the marking information, wherein the marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

[0165] Optionally, the context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

[0166] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 1500, such as Figure 15 As shown, a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0167] The communication device 1500 includes a processor 1510 and a transceiver 1520. The transceiver 1520 is configured to receive computer code or instructions and transmit them to the processor 1510. The processor 1510 executes the computer code or instructions to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a terminal device or a core network element in the embodiment of the present application.

[0168] The processor 1510 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, the steps of the above-described method embodiments may be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits within the processor or by software instructions. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application may be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application may be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-described method.

[0169] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including a terminal device in the service quality flow management method provided in an embodiment of the present application, a first core network network element, other communication devices communicating with the terminal device, and other communication devices communicating with the first core network network element.

[0170] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for implementing the method in the above method embodiment. When the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer can implement the method in the above method embodiment.

[0171] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a computer, the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0172] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, wherein the processor is connected to a memory, the memory is used to store computer programs, and the processor is used to execute the computer programs stored in the memory, so that the chip executes the method in the above method embodiment.

[0173] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the numbers "first", "second"... are only for distinguishing different objects, such as for distinguishing different indication information, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0174] In addition, the term "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; the term "at least one" in this application can mean "one" and "two or more". For example, A, B and C can represent seven situations: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, C and B exist at the same time, and A, B and C exist at the same time.

[0175] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0176] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0177] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0178] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0179] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0180] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0181] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for managing quality of service flows, characterized in that: include: Receiving, in a first communication system, a first message sent by a first core network network element, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system; retaining context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message; The method further comprises: When the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, it requests to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Saving, according to the first message, context information of the second quality of service flow includes: determining that context information of a bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow in the second communication system is not received; The context information of the second quality of service flow is retained when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first message also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first message also includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the second quality of service flow is activated according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method is executed by the terminal device or a chip or chip system on the terminal device side.

8. A method for managing quality of service flow, characterized in that: include: Determining context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; Sending a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; retaining context information of the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system; When the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow is established.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first message also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first message also includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system, the second quality of service flow is activated according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The method is executed by the first core network element or a chip or chip system on the first core network element side.

14. A method for managing quality of service flow, characterized in that: include: Receiving, in a first communication system, a first message sent by a first core network network element, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in the second communication system; According to the first message, when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system, the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow is deleted, and the marking information is retained. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The method is executed by the terminal device or a chip or chip system on the terminal device side.

17. A method for managing quality of service flow, characterized in that: include: Determining context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; Sending a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; When the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow is deleted, and the marking information is retained. The marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method is executed by the first core network element or a chip or chip system on the first core network element side.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data in the second communication system; a processing unit, configured to retain context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message; The processing unit is further configured to, when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system, request to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically configured to: determining that context information of a bearer corresponding to the second quality of service flow in the second communication system is not received; The context information of the second quality of service flow is retained when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first message further includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that context information of the second quality of service flow is retained when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

23. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first message also includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

24. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The processing unit is further configured to, when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system, activate the second quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow.

25. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a determining unit, configured to determine context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; A transceiver unit sends a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; a processing unit, configured to retain context information of the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system; The processing unit is further configured to establish a third quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The first message also includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to retain the context information of the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system.

28. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The first message also includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the context information of the first bearer is context information of the bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

29. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 28, characterized in that The processing unit is further configured to activate the second quality of service flow according to the retained context information of the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

30. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 28, characterized in that The context information of the first bearer includes at least one of an identifier of the first bearer, quality of service parameters of the first bearer, and a business flow template of the first bearer, wherein the quality of service parameters of the first bearer are determined based on the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, and the business flow template of the first bearer is generated based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow or based on the quality of service rules of the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first message sent by a first core network network element in a first communication system, where the first message includes context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data in the first communication system, and where the first bearer is used to transmit data in the second communication system; A processing unit is used to delete the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association relationship between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow when switching from the first communication system to the second communication system according to the first message, and retain the marking information, wherein the marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when switching back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a determining unit, configured to determine context information of a first bearer corresponding to a first quality of service flow, where the first quality of service flow is associated with a second quality of service flow, the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow are used to transmit data to a terminal device in a first communication system, and the first bearer is used to transmit data to the terminal device in a second communication system; A transceiver unit sends a first message to the terminal device, where the first message includes context information of the first bearer corresponding to the first quality of service flow; A processing unit is used to delete the context information of the second quality of service flow and / or the association between the first quality of service flow and the second quality of service flow when the terminal device switches from the first communication system to the second communication system, and retain the marking information, wherein the marking information is used to establish a quality of service flow associated with the first quality of service flow when the terminal device switches back from the second communication system to the first communication system.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor and a transceiver, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive computer codes or instructions and transmit the computer codes or instructions to the processor, and the processor executes the computer codes or instructions so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is performed.

34. A communication system, characterized in that include: A terminal device that executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and other communication devices that communicate with the terminal device; or, A first core network element executing the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 and other communication devices communicating with the first core network element.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A terminal device that executes the method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, and other communication devices that communicate with the terminal device; or, A first core network element executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 19 and other communication devices communicating with the first core network element.

36. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that include: The computer readable medium stores a computer program; When the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 .

37. A computer program product, characterized in that A computer program is included which, when executed, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 to be implemented.

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